Friday, October 29, 2010

The Independent - UK RSS Feed

The Independent - UK RSS Feed

MI6 chief admits to his 'dilemma' over torture

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

The head of MI6 emerged from the shadows yesterday to describe the moral dilemma over the use of intelligence obtained by torture while facing the threat of terrorism. In the first ever public speech by a head of the intelligence service, Sir John Sawers presented a defence of his organisation against charges that it has become complicit in some of the dark acts of George W Bush's "war on terror".

The spirits of England

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

England is a haunted country. Several explanations, for the ubiquity of the ghost in this land, can be offered. Alone among the countries of Europe, England is bordered by original British (or Celtic) nations. The popularity of the English ghost tradition – the English see more ghosts than anyone else – is deeply rooted in its peculiar mingling of Germanic, Nordic and British superstitions. The English are also in many respects obsessed with the past, with ruins, with ancient volumes. It is the country where archaeology is placed on national television, and where every town and village has its own local historian. Ghosts therefore may be seen as a bridge of light between the past and the present, or between the living and the dead. They represent continuity, albeit of a spectral kind.

Woman charged with murder of transvestite

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

A woman has been charged with the murder of a cross-dressing immigration lawyer who was allegedly pushed beneath an oncoming London Underground train on Monday.

101,000 stop and searches. No terror arrests

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Not one person stopped and searched under anti-terrorism powers in Britain was arrested for terrorism-related offences last year, the Government's own figures show.

Merseyside police face assault claim by stab victim

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

CCTV footage that appeared to show police officers repeatedly punching a stab victim is being investigated.

Cameron's gift list leaves Clegg wanting

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Spare a thought, or better a present, for Nick Clegg. He may have the trappings of power – his own office in Downing Street, civil servants to do his bidding and a referendum on electoral reform, but he's still not worth more than £140 to anybody.

The 'scatterbrained' spy who helped win the war

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

One of Britain's most-decorated female spies was initially dismissed as "scatterbrained" and "not very intelligent" by her superiors, documents released for the first time today reveal.

Prime Minister faces battle over rise in European budget

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

David Cameron won the support of ten other countries last night in his battle to veto an above-inflation boost to Europe's budget.

Cash incentives for councils that sign up for new wind farms

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Local councils are to get extra funding if they give the go-ahead to new wind farms, under plans to stop local communities sabotaging renewable energy projects.

Klasnic arrested over rape claim

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

The Bolton striker Ivan Klasnic has been arrested on suspicion of rape, it was confirmed yesterday.

Black Rod resigns over ill health

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 10:14 AM PDT

Lieutenant-General Sir Freddie Viggers has resigned as Black Rod because of ill health, Lords Leader Lord Strathclyde said today.

Mother unlawfully killed daughter

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 08:11 AM PDT

A schizophrenic mother unlawfully killed her three-year-old daughter before dousing her body in acid, a jury ruled today.

Footballer Ivan Klasnic arrested over rape claim

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 08:00 AM PDT

Premier league striker Ivan Klasnic, who plays for Bolton Wanderers, was arrested on suspicion of rape, sources confirmed today.

No terror arrests in 101,000 stop-searches

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 07:48 AM PDT

No-one stopped and searched by police under controversial anti-terror powers was arrested for a terrorism-related offence, figures showed today.

Tests on spy's body draw blank

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 07:37 AM PDT

Tests on the body of MI6 spy Gareth Williams have revealed no traces of any foreign substances that may have led to his death.

MI6 has nothing to do with torture, says chief

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 07:01 AM PDT

MI6 does not pass on intelligence to foreign agencies if it believes that it could result in torture, even if it could prevent terrorist activity taking place, the head of the service said today.

Lake rescue victim 'condemned to death' says mother

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 06:57 AM PDT

A mother today accused a fire brigade of condemning her son to death for not going into a frozen lake to rescue him because of policy.

Government minister Lord Hill mugged

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 06:54 AM PDT

A Government education minister was mugged as he walked home, it emerged today.

Tommy Sheridan 'panicked' in swingers club, court hears

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 06:53 AM PDT

Former MSP Tommy Sheridan "panicked" when he was recognised visiting a swingers' club in Manchester, a court heard today.

Ex-housemistress cleared of school abuse charges

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 06:50 AM PDT

A former housemistress at a top school was today cleared of helping a male teacher abuse boys.

David Cameron faces 'difficult' task on EU budget

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 05:41 AM PDT

David Cameron faces a "difficult" task in getting European leaders to reduce the EU's proposed budget increase for next year, Downing Street acknowledged today.

Water companies miss leakage targets

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 05:19 AM PDT

More than a quarter of all water companies in England and Wales failed to do enough to manage leakage, regulator Ofwat said today.

Amount of seized cannabis falls 53%

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:42 AM PDT

The amount of cannabis seized by police and border officials more than halved last year, figures showed today.

Knifeman jailed for minimum of 26 years

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:13 AM PDT

A knifeman who stabbed his friend 32 times after ringing 999 and saying he would kill someone, was jailed for at least 26 years today.

Boris Johnson opposes David Cameron over housing benefit cut

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:00 AM PDT

Boris Johnson has intervened in startling fashion in the coalition Government's controversial cuts to housing benefit, incensing Downing Street by suggesting that the reforms could cause "Kosovo-style social cleansing" of the poor from London.

11 released during teenager murder investigation

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 02:35 AM PDT

Eleven young people arrested over the murder of a 17-year-old boy during a street fight were released on bail today.

House prices show 0.7 per cent fall

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:31 AM PDT

House prices fell by 0.7 per cent during October as buyers continued to stay away from the market, figures showed today.

Nick Clegg invites regional growth fund bids

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 12:38 AM PDT

Nick Clegg will invite bids for a share of a new £1.4 billion regional growth fund today as ministers set out plans to stimulate areas hit by public spending cuts.

Tube passengers face ninth disrupted weekday

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 12:14 AM PDT

Services on London Underground were disrupted for the ninth weekday in a row today because of late running engineering works which hit one of the capital's busiest Tube lines.

Not his finest hour: The dark side of Winston Churchill

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Winston Churchill is rightly remembered for leading Britain through her finest hour – but what if he also led the country through her most shameful hour? What if, in addition to rousing a nation to save the world from the Nazis, he fought for a raw white supremacism and a concentration camp network of his own? This question burns through Richard Toye's new history, Churchill's Empire, and is even seeping into the Oval Office.

posted by Greg Shaw at Friday, October 29, 2010