Robinson welcomes suspects inquiry

27 February 2014 Last updated at 18:06

On the Runs: Peter Robinson welcomes NI suspects review

Peter Robinson said he was happy with the terms of reference of the inquiry

Continue reading the main story

First Minister Peter Robinson has welcomed the inquiry set up to look into the NI secret letters row.

Mr Robinson also said he was happy with the terms of reference for the inquiry.

He had threatened to resign over the issue of On the Runs, republican paramilitary suspects who were given assurances that they were not being sought by police.

Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed a judge to lead a review that will report by the end of May.

Mr Robinson said: "I am glad that the prime minister made the statement that he did today.

"I very much welcome the judge-led inquiry that he announced and I am happy with the terms of reference that have since been set out."

The DUP leader had made his resignation threat after the trial of Donegal man John Downey collapsed.

Mr Downey denied killing four soldiers in the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing.

Mr Robinson denied that the crisis had been manufactured, and said: "If Sinn Féin were on the phones in our office they would know there was nothing synthetic about our concern over this issue."

Mr Cameron tweeted after his announcement of the inquiry earlier on Thursday: "I have just spoken to Peter Robinson. I told him I shared his anger over the Downey letter - and was glad we have agreed on an inquiry."

On Wednesday, Mr Robinson called for the letters to be rescinded. He also called for a judicial inquiry.

He said he was not prepared to remain as first minister in a power-sharing government "kept in the dark" about the letters.

David Cameron has announced an independent judge-led review

On the Runs included anyone suspected of, but not charged with, paramilitary offences committed before the Good Friday Agreement. They also included those who had been charged or convicted with offences but who had escaped.

'Full access'

Mr Cameron told a Downing Street press conference: "I agree with the first minister of Northern Ireland that after the terrible error of the Downey case it is right to get to the bottom of what happened.

"The case has already been referred to the Police Ombudsman, and, as the first minister has said, we should have a full independent examination of the whole operation of this scheme.

"We will appoint an independent judge to produce a full public account of the operation of this administrative scheme to determine whether any other letters were sent in error.

"The judge will have full access to government files and to government officials."

Mr Cameron said: "It is important to set out the facts of what has happened".

"When we came to power in 2010, we inherited a process where letters were sent, setting out the factual position on whether or not some individuals were wanted for questioning by the police.

"This process continued under this government. There was never any amnesty or guarantee of immunity for anyone, and there isn't now."

Misunderstanding

He added: "It is right that we take swift action, but let us also remember that Northern Ireland has made great strides forward as a result of the peace process.

"It is vital that we deal properly with the events of the past but make sure this never undermines our determination to build a shared and prosperous future for the next generation so that we never again return to the horrors of the past."

However, the chair of Westminster's Northern Ireland committee, Laurence Robertson, said that the committee is "minded" to carry out its own inquiry.

He said he thought the inquiry Mr Cameron announced seems to be "too narrow" and was "wanting".

The committee's full decision would depend on "what else" the government can do, Mr Robertson added.

Earlier on Thursday, Tony Blair's former chief of staff said the crisis in Northern Ireland is based on a misunderstanding.

Jonathan Powell said the argument over the letters is "misplaced".

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said all parties were aware of a scheme informing people they were no longer wanted by the police.

He said "information about this was in the political arena, and to a certain extent in the public domain".

Mr McGuinness also said that a meeting of the Policing Board in 2010 made clear that a scheme for On the Runs was in place.

"Everybody at that meeting knew that there was a scheme and that over a period of years that scheme was being proceeded with," he said.

Dirty stethoscopes 'bacteria threat'

27 February 2014 Last updated at 18:05

Stethoscopes 'more contaminated' than doctors' hands

Stethoscopes can pick up bacteria directly from a patient's skin

Doctors should disinfect their stethoscopes after every examination because the instruments are heavily contaminated by bacteria, a study says.

Stethoscopes were found to carry as many bacteria as the palms of doctors' hands, and only doctors' fingertips were 'dirtier'.

University of Geneva researchers said stethoscopes may contain thousands of bacteria, including MRSA.

Doctors should clean stethoscopes regularly to cut down on transmission.

The study, published in an issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, said the hands of healthcare workers were still the main source of bacterial transmission in hospitals, but stethoscopes also appeared to have a major impact.

Lead researcher Dr Didier Pittet, director of the infection control programme at the University of Geneva Hospitals, said the instruments were transmitters of bacteria.

"By considering that stethoscopes are used repeatedly over the course of a day, come directly into contact with patients' skin and may harbour several thousand bacteria (including MRSA) collected during a previous physical examination, we consider them as potentially significant vectors of transmission."

Dr Pittet added: "From infection control and patient safety perspectives, the stethoscope should be regarded as an extension of the physician's hands and be disinfected after every patient contact."

Dr Clare Taylor, a council member from the Royal College of General Practitioners and a GP in Birmingham, said doctors were "more aware than ever" of the importance of maintaining hygiene standards to protect patients.

She said: "I regularly clean my own stethoscope with alcohol wipes and ensure I wash or sanitise my hands after every patient. It's part of our role to ensure we do everything we can to prevent the spread of infection."

Contaminated

The University of Geneva research team carried out tests for bacteria on the diaphragm or metal circular end of a stethoscope, which is put against the skin to listen to the body's internal sounds, and the tube connecting it to the ear-pieces.

They also measured bacteria levels on four areas of a doctor's dominant hand - the back of the hand, fingertips and two regions of the palm.

They did this after each of 71 patients had been examined.

Three doctors carried out the examinations using a sterile stethoscope and sterile gloves.

While the doctors' gloved fingertips were found to be most heavily contaminated by bacteria, the stethoscope diaphragm was more contaminated than all other areas of the doctors' hands and the tube of the stethoscope carried more bacteria than the back of the doctors' hands.

When researchers looked for levels of MRSA contamination (meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) in particular, they found similar high levels of bacteria on stethoscopes and doctors' hands.

They did not isolate any other bacteria.

The study said further research was needed to understand how stethoscopes could best be disinfected.

More work is also required on how long bacteria survive on stethoscopes and how they are transmitted on to a person's skin, the Geneva team added.

The British Medical Association said there was no evidence of infections coming from stethoscopes.

VIDEO: Captain returns to Concordia shipwreck

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Costa Concordia captain returns to shipwreck

27 February 2014 Last updated at 18:04 GMT

The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, Francesco Schettino has returned to the wreck for the first time as part of his manslaughter trial.

The ship capsized in January 2012 after hitting a reef near the island of Giglio with the loss of 32 lives.

Schettino denies manslaughter.

Alan Johnston reports from Giglio.

The appeal of an unplayable game

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:32

#BBCtrending: Why do people love #TwitchPlaysPokemon?

By BBC Trending What's popular and why

There have been more than 30 million hits in the last fortnight on the retro computer game Twitch Plays Pokemon. What's the appeal? One of the game's dedicated fans, the BBC's Chris Berrow, attempts to explain.

If you were a child of the 90s, you might have wasted a large part of your childhood hunched in darkened rooms playing Pokemon on your Gameboy. I did, and it was great.

The Pokemon cartoon was huge in the 1990s

Seventeen years on, and my passion for the game has been revived by a strange phenomenon that is taking the internet by storm. An anonymous Australian programmer has created a new version of Pokemon, hosted on a website called Twitch. The game runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What makes it different from my childhood Pokemon is that as many as 120,000 other internet users are trying to control the main character at the same time. Fellow aficionados say it's about "sharing in a common nostalgic adventure", and being part of a community. Very, very occasionally you see your own commands change the course of the game - which can make it very addictive indeed.

But there is more to its appeal than this. To play the game is to see our hero - who is called Red - anxiously pace back and forth as users send conflicting commands. Watching his troubled progress is a strangely profound experience. The reason it's happening is that although most of us want Red to beat the game's "bosses" and reach the end, some trolls will send him the wrong way, or worse, press pause.

The "hive mind" can lead to a lot of faffing...

This causes Red to stop and look at all the items he's carrying - in the early days of the game, he would neurotically re-examine something called the Helix Fossil every five or 10 seconds. So the players decided that this thing must be a religious artefact of some sort and now you often hear players cry out: "All hail the Helix Fossil!"

Then there was the moment that the Pokemon known as Pidgeot was renamed AAABAAAJSS. No one player chose that name, but that's what it is - and it's become known to players as "Abba Jesus". The actual story of the game has become secondary to these interesting accidents. It's like we are creating a story as we go.

Inevitably, Twitch Plays Pokemon is sending ripples across social media. The hashtag #twitchplayspokemon is accompanied with peculiar commands and comments on the game. Users proudly display anarchy or democracy badges, share their fan art and giggle at Twitch in-jokes.

Red has now completed about half of the game. But like all games, Pokemon only gets harder, so I think it will take at least a few weeks before we finish - if we get to the end at all.

Additional reporting by William Kremer

All our stories are at BBC.com/trending

Follow @BBCtrending on Twitter and tweet using #BBCtrending

The strange appeal of an unplayable game

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:32

#BBCtrending: Why do people love #TwitchPlaysPokemon?

By BBC Trending What's popular and why

There have been more than 30 million hits in the last fortnight on the retro computer game Twitch Plays Pokemon. What's the appeal? One of the game's dedicated fans, the BBC's Chris Berrow, attempts to explain.

If you were a child of the 90s, you might have wasted a large part of your childhood hunched in darkened rooms playing Pokemon on your Gameboy. I did, and it was great.

The Pokemon cartoon was huge in the 1990s

Seventeen years on, and my passion for the game has been revived by a strange phenomenon that is taking the internet by storm. An anonymous Australian programmer has created a new version of Pokemon, hosted on a website called Twitch. The game runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What makes it different from my childhood Pokemon is that as many as 120,000 other internet users are trying to control the main character at the same time. Fellow aficionados say it's about "sharing in a common nostalgic adventure", and being part of a community. Very, very occasionally you see your own commands change the course of the game - which can make it very addictive indeed.

But there is more to its appeal than this. To play the game is to see our hero - who is called Red - anxiously pace back and forth as users send conflicting commands. Watching his troubled progress is a strangely profound experience. The reason it's happening is that although most of us want Red to beat the game's "bosses" and reach the end, some trolls will send him the wrong way, or worse, press pause.

The "hive mind" can lead to a lot of faffing...

This causes Red to stop and look at all the items he's carrying - in the early days of the game, he would neurotically re-examine something called the Helix Fossil every five or 10 seconds. So the players decided that this thing must be a religious artefact of some sort and now you often hear players cry out: "All hail the Helix Fossil!"

Then there was the moment that the Pokemon known as Pidgeot was renamed AAABAAAJSS. No one player chose that name, but that's what it is - and it's become known to players as "Abba Jesus". The actual story of the game has become secondary to these interesting accidents. It's like we are creating a story as we go.

Inevitably, Twitch Plays Pokemon is sending ripples across social media. The hashtag #twitchplayspokemon is accompanied with peculiar commands and comments on the game. Users proudly display anarchy or democracy badges, share their fan art and giggle at Twitch in-jokes.

Red has now completed about half of the game. But like all games, Pokemon only gets harder, so I think it will take at least a few weeks before we finish - if we get to the end at all.

Additional reporting by William Kremer

All our stories are at BBC.com/trending

Follow @BBCtrending on Twitter and tweet using #BBCtrending

Defiance and loyalty prove costly for Anelka

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:27

Nicolas Anelka: Defiance and loyalty costly in 'quenelle' case

By Alistair Magowan BBC Sport

"You can judge a man by the company he keeps." So runs the moral from Aesop's fable about a man who quickly assesses the merits of a donkey by the way it sidles up to the laziest and most greedy of its companions.

In the case of Nicolas Anelka, it is hard not to feel that the West Brom striker has also been an ass.

The 34-year-old's 'quenelle' goal celebration against West Ham in December has directly associated him with French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, a man who encourages the use of the gesture and has been convicted seven times of anti-Semitic hate speech.

Anelka has insisted his action was "neither anti-Semitic, nor racist" but with West Brom losing a key sponsor and the Frenchman now banned for five games, it is one of several controversial incidents that have hung over his otherwise successful career.

The former France international has led a nomadic existence, playing for 11 clubs, chalking up over £85m in transfer fees, and winning the Champions League, two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.

But he has had major fallings-out with previous coaches along the way - including a row with France manager Raymond Domenech at the 2010 World Cup that proved the spark for an infamous player mutiny and ended his international career.

The strange thing with the latest episode, however, is that it comes at a time when Anelka appeared to have matured. The Muslim convert is a married father-of-three, and a successful businessman away from football.

During their time together at Bolton, former team-mate Kevin Davies says Anelka paid for the club's players and staff to attend his wedding in Morocco.

So why jeopardise his career with a show of support for Dieudonne, a man who has subsequently been banned from visiting the UK because of public security fears?

Anelka's former Arsenal team-mate Martin Keown and his one-time Chelsea boss Avram Grant believe he may have been ignorant of the consequences rather than acting out of malice.

Grant, who is Jewish and worked with Anelka at Stamford Bridge between 2008 and 2012, said: "He's one of the greatest talents I have ever met in my life but he is not a guy who thinks too much, if I may say, about what he is doing."

And Keown told BBC Sport: "I don't see him as a bad person. I see him as one of the best players I have had the pleasure to play football with.

"He's just a normal kid who might not have realised the significance of what he did. He's protesting his innocence and I prefer to believe that because I know the man very well."

Others are more sceptical, ascribing the gesture to a combination of defiance and loyalty, with a preference to side with people outside the game rather than whoever his current employers might be.

French sports journalist Julien Laurens says it is inconceivable Anelka did not know about the connotations of the gesture. Dieudonne is renowned in France for his controversial shows and has pictures on his website of people performing the 'quenelle' - including at Auschwitz and in front of the Holocaust memorial in Berlin.

The Le Figaro journalist, who has interviewed Anelka many times, says the player's recent actions are in keeping with a character who has little concern for what others think.

"He has always been his own man since he decided to leave Paris St-Germain and join Arsenal when he was 17 because he thought he wasn't playing enough," Laurens said.

"He has never really thought much about the team and the clubs he was at, so I was not really surprised that the whole controversy kicked off.

"He absolutely doesn't care what people think of him - the only thing that matters to him is his close friends and family."

The truth of that, only Anelka knows - but having grown up in the tough Parisian suburb of Trappes, it is clear that, even in his early playing days, he had a stronger bond with those outside football than with his colleagues.

Despite his success at Arsenal, the teenager also alienated people. He accused team-mate Marc Overmars of being "too selfish", was nicknamed "Le Sulk" by fans and eventually decided on a move to Real Madrid after a supporters' poll preferred fellow striker Ian Wright to the youngster.

But Anelka's problems followed him to Spain, where he was banned for 45 days after a row with manager Vicente Del Bosque. He later failed to secure an extended stay at Liverpool after accusing manager Gerard Houllier of not "appreciating his personality" and then had one of his disagreements with a France national team boss - this time with Jacques Santini.

In 2002, he joined Manchester City but three years later he was on his way again, saying he wanted to join a "big club". After a year in Turkey, where he won a Super League title with Fenerbahce, he was back in England as Sam Allardyce brought him to Bolton for £8m.

There began a two-year rehabilitation period at the Reebok Stadium, before he moved on to Chelsea and spent four years at Stamford Bridge. It was his most successful spell in England, and his longest stay at any club in his career.

This, in the striker's own view, is a fairer reflection of the man.

Of his time at Arsenal, he later said:  "I don't know why or who in the first place called me Le Sulk - I'm much more happy-go-lucky than people think. It's just that people don't know me very well."

That more positive portrayal is one backed up, at least in part, by former Bolton skipper Davies.

"He had his own crew around him, but he was generous," Davies told BBC Sport.

"When he got married, he invited all the players and staff, including car washers and groundsmen, to his wedding. He flew them all out to Morocco and put them up for a few days. I'm sure he's a wealthy man but it was a nice gesture."

Even so, the 'quenelle' does not strike Davies as out of character.

"He is obviously a strong-willed personality and stands up for his beliefs and rights when he needs to," he said. "He knows a lot of people, and I imagine he is quite loyal to his friends and his family so it doesn't surprise me that he did that gesture."

He also returns to similar themes about Anelka's loyalty to the cause - or lack of it.

"We always felt Bolton was a stepping stone for him," he said. "Towards the end there were a few snide comments about the way we were playing, and he liked to get on the ball as much as possible. But as a player he was outstanding and it was a coup to get him."

Anelka's demand to be the central figure was the issue that came to a head during half-time of France's 2-0 defeat by Mexico at the 2010 World Cup.

Domenech asked his striker to play further forward, and when Anelka told him bluntly where to stick his tactics he was expelled from the tournament. His team-mates threatened a strike and France went out at the group stage. A government inquiry followed.

If that row and its aftermath exaggerated already divided opinions of him in France, Laurens believes the quenelle episode may deprive him of any good will that is left.

"He is not really seen as a bad guy in France and in fact he is a great guy," said Laurens. "He is knowledgeable, his family is cool, he is interested in other people and business.

"But in the end people will remember him for all the issues he has had more than the goals he has scored.

"He is a very good friend to have and for his mates he will almost do anything - including the quenelle. He says it was only to support his friend but I think he took it too far this time, and some of his closest friends agree."

Also related to this story

• Anelka banned for 'quenelle' gesture 27 Feb 2014 West Brom
• Backing Anelka costly - but was there another choice? 26 Feb 2014 West Brom
• Anelka gesture comic banned from UK 03 Feb 2014 UK
• Anelka calls on FA to drop charge 22 Jan 2014 West Brom
• FA charges Anelka over gesture 21 Jan 2014 West Brom
• FA accused of Anelka 'bad practice' 15 Jan 2014 West Brom
• Anelka given compassionate leave 22 Aug 2013 West Brom
• Anelka reveals depth of tensions 15 Jul 2010 World Cup 2010
• Get Inspired: FOOTBALL 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

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Rape trial striker took sheets photo

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:28

Rape-accused Nile Ranger photographed hotel sheets

Former Newcastle striker Nile Ranger now plays for Swindon Town

A footballer accused of rape took a photo of the bed sheets in a Newcastle hotel room where the attack allegedly took place, a court has heard.

Nile Ranger later deleted the picture but experts were able to retrieve it.

The former Newcastle United player, who is now at Swindon Town, denies rape and said he had consensual sex with the woman in January 2013.

The 22-year-old told Newcastle Crown Court he had never has sex with a woman against her will.

Previously, the jury heard the woman had met him in a bar after the pair had swapped a number of messages.

She said the next thing she remembered was waking up naked in a hotel room the following morning.

'A gentleman'

CCTV footage from the Carlton Hotel in Jesmond showed the woman falling out of a taxi.

The court was told that in a police interview Nile Ranger described helping her get up after she dropped her handbag in the road.

He said: "I'm a gentleman... I'm rubbing her back, making sure she's all right, holding her."

Toby Hedworth QC, defending, asked him why he took a photograph of the hotel sheets with the room key the next morning.

Mr Ranger said "I haven't a clue, to be honest."

He deleted it because: "I knew the picture was wrong. I knew it did not look right."

Mr Hedworth listed the footballer's previous convictions which included burglary, drinking and driving, and battery when he pulled his then girlfriend's hair in 2013.

He said: "Have you ever had sexual activity with a female against her wishes?"

Mr Ranger said: "Never."

The trial continues.

Solidarity day for Egypt journalists

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:12

Solidarity day for al-Jazeera journalists held in Egypt

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton: "We're just hoping to keep the pressure on the Egyptian government"

Continue reading the main story

People in cities across the world have been staging protests in support of journalists from the al-Jazeera network who are being detained in Egypt.

Al-Jazeera has called for a "global day of action" to demand the immediate release of the journalists, who include former BBC correspondent Peter Greste.

Mr Greste and eight other al-Jazeera staff went on trial last week on charges including aiding a terrorist organisation - the Muslim Brotherhood.

Six are being tried in absentia.

Another 11 people are also defendants in the case, but al-Jazeera denies the prosecution's claim that they work for it.

It has said the allegations are "absurd, baseless and false" and denied aiding the Brotherhood, on which the authorities launched a fierce crackdown after the military ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July.

The interim government and its supporters have accused international news networks of bias in their reporting of the ongoing political crisis.

'Humiliation, threats and rage'

Thursday's global day of action saw dozens of journalists take part in demonstrations, holding up placards saying "journalism is not a crime". Some also taped their mouths shut.

They demanded the release of Mr Greste, an Australian al-Jazeera English reporter, as well as Egyptian-Canadian Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed and Egyptian al-Jazeera Arabic reporter Abdallah Elshamy.

The first three were seized in a raid at a Cairo hotel on 29 December, while Mr Elshamy was detained in the Egyptian capital on 14 August.

Mr Fahmy and Mr Mohamed are among 16 Egyptians charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation and "harming national unity".

Mr Greste and three other foreigners who have left the country - British al-Jazeera reporters Dominic Kane and Sue Turton, and the Dutch newspaper and radio journalist Rena Netjes - are accused of "collaborating with the Egyptians by providing them with money, equipment, information", and "airing false news".

Those present at the start of the trial pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Al-Jazeera cameraman Mohamed Badr was released last week after seven months in detention. On Thursday, he spoke of the difficulties he endured in prison until he was acquitted of separate charges.

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says the journalists gave a "gripping account" of prison conditions at the start of their trial on 20 February

"I faced humiliation, threats and rage, since the very moment of the arrest, when the officer threatened to kill me when he knew that I was al-Jazeera staff," he said.

"They took me then to some place they call 'the fire pit', where I was welcomed by severe beatings."

Mostafa Souag, acting director-general of al-Jazeera Media Network, said that the network was delighted to have Mr Badr back, but that it looked forward to the release of the rest of its journalists.

"Journalists and individuals have been speaking out in their thousands worldwide, not just in support of al-Jazeera, but because they know that this situation is a threat to freedom of journalists everywhere," he added.

Gehad Khaled, the wife of Mr Elshamy, said he had been detained without charge for 197 days, and that he had been on hunger strike for five weeks in protest.

"Despite what Abdallah is suffering, his message to all his colleagues is to stick to reporting the truth no matter the consequences," she added.

Anelka banned for 'quenelle' gesture

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:20

Nicolas Anelka banned and fined £80,000 for 'quenelle' gesture

West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka has been banned for five matches for his controversial "quenelle" gesture after being found guilty by an FA hearing.

He has also been fined £80,000 and ordered to complete a compulsory education course, pending an appeal.

Anelka, 34, denied his use of the sign, described as an "inverted Nazi salute", was anti-Semitic.

He made the action during West Brom's draw with West Ham in December, and was found guilty after a two-day hearing.

More to follow.

Also related to this story

• Anelka hearing set for late February 24 Jan 2014 West Brom
• Anelka denies FA 'quenelle' charge 23 Jan 2014 West Brom
• FA charges Anelka over gesture 21 Jan 2014 West Brom
• Get Inspired: FOOTBALL 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

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Nicolas Anelka banned for 'quenelle'

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:20

Nicolas Anelka banned and fined £80,000 for 'quenelle' gesture

West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka has been banned for five matches for his controversial "quenelle" gesture after being found guilty by an FA hearing.

He has also been fined £80,000 and ordered to complete a compulsory education course, pending an appeal.

Anelka, 34, denied his use of the sign, described as an "inverted Nazi salute", was anti-Semitic.

He made the action during West Brom's draw with West Ham in December, and was found guilty after a two-day hearing.

More to follow.

Also related to this story

• Anelka hearing set for late February 24 Jan 2014 West Brom
• Anelka denies FA 'quenelle' charge 23 Jan 2014 West Brom
• FA charges Anelka over gesture 21 Jan 2014 West Brom
• Get Inspired: FOOTBALL 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

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Anelka banned for five matches

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:11

Nicolas Anelka banned for five matches

West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka has been banned for five matches for his controversial "quenelle" gesture after being found guilty by an FA hearing.

He has also been fined £80,000 and ordered to complete a compulsory education course.

More to follow.

Also related to this story

• Anelka hearing set for late February 24 Jan 2014 West Brom
• Anelka denies FA 'quenelle' charge 23 Jan 2014 West Brom
• FA charges Anelka over gesture 21 Jan 2014 West Brom
• Get Inspired: FOOTBALL 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

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No confidence council vote lost

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:10

Carmarthenshire council leadership no confidence vote lost

Mark James has stepped aside while police investigate the matter

A vote of no confidence in the leadership of Carmarthenshire council amid "unlawful" payment claims has failed.

The vote against council leader Kevin Madge and deputy leader Meryl Gravell was lost 28 votes to 41.

Councillors agreed to accept the findings of a Wales Audit Office (WAO) report which ruled payments made to its chief executive were "unlawful".

Mr Madge admitted the situation had damaged the authority.

"We will learn from this, we'll move forward and we'll deliver for the people of Carmarthenshire the things that we promised them and we'll carry on in the next years to come," Mr Madge said before the vote.

Pembrokeshire council, which was also criticised by the WAO over similar "unlawful" pension payments, has already agreed to accept its report.

Carmarthenshire council's chief executive Mark James has stepped aside while police investigate why he was allowed to opt out of a pension scheme and receive cash instead.

Payments for this and for libel action costs were unlawful, the WAO ruled.

The council has defended its actions and welcomed the police investigation.

The meeting saw tense exchanges between councillors.

Plaid Cymru councillor Darren Price told the chamber: "This council's name has been dragged through the mud.

"The chief executive is no longer at his desk. Members are at others' throats.

"Valuable officer and member time has been wasted and redirected away from what we are here to do and that is to provide quality services to the people of Carmarthenshire. And the question to those who made the decision is - was it really worth it?"

Libel case

Mr James maintains that neither he nor any of his officers had done anything wrong.

He has also said it was "right and proper" he should not be at work while Gloucestershire Police conclude their inquiries.

Auditors said Carmarthenshire council acted unlawfully when it indemnified Mr James in a libel counter-claim he brought against blogger Jacqui Thompson.

Mr James won the case and Mrs Thompson was ordered to pay costs of £23,217.

The row began when the blogger was arrested after filming a council meeting on her mobile phone.

On Thursday, councillors agreed to withdraw the provision in the council constitution which allowed such indemnities to be granted.

The motion also said the council recognised that "the legal position is still as yet unresolved".

Vigorously defended

The Wales Audit Office also found Pembrokeshire council made "unlawful" payments to its chief executive Bryn Parry Jones and another Pembrokeshire official.

Despite calls for him to step aside, Mr Parry Jones has said he will remain at work while police investigate the matter.

Pembrokeshire, which has also vigorously defended the payments, has already held an extraordinary meeting to debate the rulings.

A full meeting of that authority earlier this month was due to vote on suspending Mr Parry Jones, but a number of councillors staged a walk-out after allegations that some people had already pre-determined the outcome.

Meanwhile, two senior council officers at Caerphilly council in south Wales are due in court in April on charges following a police investigation into pay rises they received.

Chief executive Anthony O'Sullivan and his deputy Nigel Barnett face charges of alleged misconduct in a public office.

27 February 2014 Last updated at 17:04

Corroboration move endorsed by MSPs

Kenny MacAskill said many victims could be denied justice if the current system was allowed to continue

Controversial plans to get rid of the need for evidence in Scottish criminal trials to come from two sources have been endorsed by MSPs.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the "outdated rule" of corroboration meant many victims were denied justice.

The reform has been backed by police and prosecutors, but there is fierce opposition from the legal profession.

The measure was part of the Criminal Justice Bill, approved in principle by 64 votes to 5 with 57 abstentions.

The legislation, which brings in a series of reforms to the justice system, still faces two further stages of parliamentary scrutiny before becoming law.

The Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens called on the Scottish government to ditch the proposals while a full review of their impact was carried out.

Supporters of the move to end the requirement for corroboration were required to vote, including Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, who pulled out of an official visit to Poland.

Opening the debate, the justice secretary said: "Too many compelling cases, ones often committed in private, often cannot make it to our courts because of this outdated rule."

He continued: "We cannot have a whole category of victims who are continually denied access to justice."

Mr MacAskill said a group chaired by former High Court judge Lord Bonomy would consider what safeguards would be needed if the change was passed.

He told MSPs the change would not be implemented until parliament had considered the review's recommendations.

But Labour justice spokesman Graeme Pearson, a former senior police officer, said asking parliament to pass the proposals before the review was to "ask members to write a blank cheque with the promise they will receive the goods later".

He added: "I don't do that at home and I wouldn't do that on behalf of victims."

Scottish Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell, who unsuccessfully put forward an amendment to remove the abolition of corroboration from the bill, said: "The rule of corroboration is not some legal relic from antiquity."

Reaching agreement

She said the rule had been arrived at through "centuries of legal thought" and urged Mr MacAskill to "listen to the wisdom of the ages".

The Liberal Democrats' Alison McInnes also called on the Scottish government to wait until Lord Bonomy's review had concluded.

Christine Grahame, convener of the Scottish Parliament's cross-party justice committee, said she understood that concern about the level of prosecutions of crimes such as rape had driven the proposed change.

However, the SNP MSP added that "the abolition of the requirement of mandatory corroboration would apply to all crimes in which it is a requirement" including shoplifting and vandalism.

Legal evolution

Ms Grahame said that the committee "could not reach agreement on whether removing such an integral part of the criminal justice would improve access to justice".

Last month it emerged that the majority of justice committee members did not support change.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie asked why the Scottish government had not brought forward its proposals for measures to replace corroboration at the same time as considering its abolition, allowing parliament to debate both together.

"If Scottish law is going to evolve, into what will it evolve?" he asked.

The Crown Office said that in 2012-13 there were 2,210 domestic abuse cases which could not be prosecuted because of insufficient admissible evidence.

The recommendation to scrap corroboration has been supported by the Scottish government, the Crown Office, Police Scotland and campaigners for victims of domestic violence and rape.

It is opposed by many court judges, who have warned that "the abolition of corroboration may result in miscarriages of justice".

Many criminal lawyers are also against the reform.