Questions over cannibal murderer

8 November 2014 Last updated at 11:43

Questions need answering about whether a man who murdered a woman in a cannibal act was properly monitored after his release from prison, a Welsh Assembly Member has said.

Matthew Williams was found attacking Cerys Marie Yemm in Argoed, Caerphilly county, months after leaving jail.

Police used a Taser stun gun on the 34-year-old and he later died.

William Graham AM said he was concerned by the case but an MP said it was not the time for "knee jerk reactions".

It is understood Williams had been released from prison after serving about half of a five-year sentence for assaulting a former girlfriend.

Before that, he had been convicted of a burglary offence.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating, confirmed Williams had been a resident at the Sirhowy Arms hostel, which houses vulnerable and homeless people, including ex-offenders.

It was there on Thursday that police found him attacking Ms Yemm, 22, who was from Blackwood.

Sources confirmed Ms Yemm suffered substantial facial injuries.

The community has reacted with shock to the murder and Mr Graham, a Conservative assembly member for South Wales East, said reports of an apparent lack of monitoring of Williams were "hugely worrying".

"If true, a wider inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his release is urgently required," he said.

"It is now clear that Mr Williams posed a risk to the public and I am extremely concerned that monitoring appears to have been deemed unnecessary.

"Questions must be answered by authorities and a full explanation provided on the decisions taken in this extremely tragic case."

But Chris Evans, MP for Islwyn, said: "This was a horrific and senseless crime that must be condemned without reservation.

"However, this is not the time for knee jerk reactions. A full investigation will be conducted by Gwent Police and the IPCC."

Williams's family said it was in "shock" following the murder, adding it was "devastated by the death of an innocent young lady".

Ms Yemm worked in sales at Next and was formerly a student of Coleg Gwent between 2008 and April 2009. She had been studying health and social care.

Williams and Ms Yemm knew each other and police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder.

A post mortem examination of Ms Yemm's body is expected to take some time to complete.

Gwent Police said a lone female officer initially responded to the attack.

Ch Insp Paul Staniforth told reporters on Friday Ms Yemm's family is being supported by officers.

He also said the female officer and others who later attended were being supported by the force's occupational health department.

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Mexico gang 'admits student deaths'

8 November 2014 Last updated at 09:44

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Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo: ''I know that the information we have obtained causes great pain in the families''

Suspected gang members have confessed to killing more than 40 students missing for six weeks, Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo has said.

He said three alleged gang members claimed the students were handed over to them by police.

They said some were already asphyxiated and they shot the others dead, before setting fire to all the bodies.

A total of 43 students went missing after clashing with police on 26 September in the town of Iguala.

A spokesman for their families said they would not accept they were dead until it had been officially confirmed by Argentine forensic scientists working on the case.

Bags found near river

The suspects from the Guerreros Unidos drug gang were recently arrested in connection with the disappearances.

Relatives of the missing said they had been told that six bags of unidentified human remains had been found along a river near where the students vanished.

Mr Murillo warned that it would be difficult to identify the charred remains and that authorities would continue to consider the students as missing until DNA tests confirmed the identities.

Previous searches have uncovered mass graves in the area, but initial tests suggested they did not contain the remains of the students.

Mr Murillo showed videotaped confessions by the suspects who said they had loaded the students into dumper trucks and taken them to a landfill site in Cocula, a city near Iguala.

About 15 of the students were already dead when they arrived and the rest were shot, according to the suspects.

Mr Murillo said the bodies were then burned with petrol, tyres, firewood and plastic in an inferno that lasted for 14 hours.

"The fire lasted from midnight to 2pm the next day. The criminals could not handle the bodies (for three hours) due to the heat," he said.

He said that the suspects then crushed the remains, stuffed them into bags and tossed them in a river.

Mr Murillo showed videos of investigators combing through small pieces of burned remains that were found in black plastic bags.

The suspects said they were not sure how many students they had taken but one said there were more than 40, Mr Murillo added.

"The high level of degradation caused by the fire in the remains we found make it very difficult to extract the DNA that will allow an identification,'' he added.

At the scene: Will Grant, BBC News Mexico correspondent

In what was at times a very graphic press conference, Attorney General Jesus Murillo laid out his office's findings into the disappearance of the students.

When they were handed over to the gang, around 15 of the students had already died from asphyxiation, he said. The remaining students were shot dead near a rubbish dump.

At that point, members of the gang - according to their own testimony, video clips of which were shown by the attorney general - burnt the students' bodies in a pyre.

Human remains from the river are now to be identified by experts in Austria, but Mr Murillo said it wasn't clear how long the process would take.

However, relatives of the missing remained sceptical. The families have been highly critical of the investigation into the students' disappearance.

"As long as there are no results, our sons are alive," Felipe de la Cruz, the father of one of the disappeared, said in a statement.

"Today they're trying to close the case this way... a blatant way to further our torture by the federal government."

The case has shocked Mexico. Thousands have staged protests over what they say is collusion between officials and organised crime, along with government inaction.

President Enrique Pena Nieto has faced widespread criticism and on Friday he vowed to hunt down all those responsible for the "horrible crime".

The students from a teacher training college in Ayotzinapa, in Guerrero state, had travelled to nearby Iguala to protest against what they said were discriminatory hiring practices, and to collect funds for their college.

But they went missing after clashes with the police.

Six people were also killed after police opened fire and witnesses described seeing the students being bundled into police cars.

More than 70 people have been arrested in connection with the disappearances, including the Mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, who were detained in Mexico City on Tuesday.

Mexican officials accused Mr Abarca of ordering police to confront the students to prevent them from disrupting a public speech given by his wife.

Timeline: Iguala disappearance

26 Sept: Students from a teacher training college in Ayotzinapa travel to Iguala to protest and raise funds

Night of 26 Sept: Police stop the students, 6 people are shot dead, 43 students disappear

30 Sept: Iguala mayor Jose Luis Abarca asks for leave from his post, which is granted

4 Oct: Mass graves are found near Iguala containing 28 bodies

19 Oct: Federal police are deployed to Iguala and replace the municipal force

22 Oct: Mexico's prosecutor general says an arrest warrant has been issued for Mr Abarca, his wife and the town's police chief

23 Oct: Guerrero state governor Angel Aguirre resigns

29 Oct: President Enrique Pena Nieto meets the relatives of the missing students and promises a "renewed search plan"

4 Nov: Mr Abarca and his wife are arrested in Mexico City

7 Nov: Three gang members confess to killing students and burning their bodies, according to Mexico's attorney general

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Osborne defends claim over EU budget

8 November 2014 Last updated at 11:44

George Osborne has defended his claim that the UK's £1.7bn EU budget surcharge had been halved, after he was accused of "smoke and mirrors".

The UK will pay £850m in two interest-free sums next year, instead of £1.7bn by 1 December, after an EU rebate due in 2016 was apparently brought forward.

The chancellor said there had been "real doubt" that the rebate would apply to the surcharge.

Labour's Ed Balls said the deal had not saved UK taxpayers "a single penny".

Other European finance ministers said Britain had not received a discount.

But speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Osborne said it had not been clear before talks in Brussels on Friday that the rebate had been going to apply in full.

He added: "The truth is we have achieved a real win for British taxpayers".

'Straw man'

The UK rebate is calculated on the basis of changes in national income.

Rebates are normally paid in arrears, but BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris said Britain had won a concession meaning the money would now be paid in the same year the money was due.

The UK had been due to get a 1bn euros rebate in 2015-6 but it will now be allowed to bring that forward to the second half of 2015 to reduce the surcharge.

But its 2016 rebate will be 1bn euros smaller as a result.

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"This is smokes and mirrors", says shadow chancellor Ed Balls

Mr Balls, the shadow chancellor, said the rebate "was never in doubt".

He said: "The fact is not a single penny has been saved for the taxpayer compared to two weeks ago.

"The EU budget commissioner was very clear last month, in a statement on these backdated revisions, that the UK rebate would apply as normal. The EU vice-president has also made clear the rebate was never in doubt.

"David Cameron and George Osborne have failed to get a better deal for the British taxpayer and instead of coming clean they're desperately trying to save some face. Their attempts to fool people have now totally unravelled."

Writing on Twitter, UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Mr Osborne was "trying to spin his way out of disaster", saying the UK was still going to pay the full £1.7bn.

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"Instead of footing the bill we have halved the bill", George Osborne said

Eurosceptic Tory MEP Daniel Hannan said the government's argument was "insulting".

He said: "If Brussels had come to us and said you are going to have to pay £850m - enough to hire and fund the pensions of 350 nurses - it would have caused outrage.

"And what we have done instead is we've pretended that the rebate did not apply, we've gone up to a much higher figure, we've then reapplied the rebate, come back to the figure that there was all along and claimed a victory.

"I think that is insulting our intelligence."

The surcharge follows an annual review of the economic performance of EU member states since 1995, which showed Britain had done better than previously thought.

The demand sparked anger across the UK political spectrum, with Prime Minister David Cameron insisting the UK would pay nothing by the original 1 December deadline and calling for the overall sum to be renegotiated.

After a four-hour meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, Mr Osborne hailed an agreement which he said meant the UK would pay a lower sum in two interest-free instalments in July and September 2015.

Analysis

By Gavin Hewitt, BBC Europe editor

How has the UK reached this figure of £850m?

It has included the figure of the UK rebate which is calculated on the gross national income figures.

The Treasury argues that it was not at all clear that the rebate would have been applied in full and they gained that assurance after intensive discussions with the Commission.

Others argue that the UK rebate for next year was never in doubt and that a rebate which the UK would have got anyway is, in effect, being used to reduce this surcharge payment.

It is the case that these figures were never discussed at the finance ministers' meeting on Friday so the announcement that the UK bill has been halved has been met with some surprise.

EU budget: Devil's in the detail

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said: "The UK has... a rebate, which they have had for a very long time and of course this mechanism of rebate will also apply on the new contribution.

"So it's not as if the British have been given a discount."

Mateusz Szczurek, the Polish finance minister, said the talks on Friday had not concerned the "actual amounts" each country would have to pay.

But he said Mr Osborne had convinced his European counterparts that having to pay £1.7bn at "fairly short notice" warranted "a special treatment and a change of rules", and also of the need for "greater transparency" in the calculation of such surcharges.

Prof Iain Begg, from the European Institute at the London School of Economics, said the rebate was always coming to Britain.

He told BBC News: "What would normally happen is that, had Britain paid on 1 December, it would have been £1.7bn this year, and then the following financial year the rebate kicks in, which is the £850m he [Mr Osborne] is now saying he is saving. So the net effect is no change."

'Result for Britain'

Following the Brussels meeting, Mr Osborne said: "Instead of footing the bill, we have halved the bill, we have delayed the bill, we will pay no interest on the bill, and if there are mistakes in the bill we will get our money back.

"We have also changed permanently the rules of the European Union so this never happens again.

"This is far beyond what anyone expected us to achieve and it's a result for Britain."

Asked how this had been achieved, Mr Osborne said the UK's annual rebate from Brussels would be applied in full next year to partially offset the surcharge.

Prime Minister David Cameron said reducing the amount paid to Brussels was "good progress, and the chancellor has done well".

Losers	Additional sum to pay
Source: Leaked EU Commission document
United Kingdom	£1,676m
Netherlands	£506m
Italy	£268m
Greece	£70m
Cyprus	£33m
Winners	Reduction
France	£801m
Germany	£614m
Denmark	£253m
Poland	£249m
Austria	£232m

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Extension for part of poppy display

8 November 2014 Last updated at 11:56

A key part of the World War One poppy display at the Tower of London is to be extended until the end of November, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

The installation of ceramic poppies is to be dismantled on 12 November.

But the Wave segment will now stay in place until the end of the month before being sent on a tour across the UK until 2018.

Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha visited the installation to plant ceramic poppies earlier.

Huge demand from the public sparked a campaign to keep the installation in place longer.

Floodlights are already being used to ensure more people get to see the piece created to mark the centenary of the the start of the First World War.

'Much loved'

The Weeping Willow and the Wave segments will both be sent on a tour of the UK.

The Wave is a steel construction made of poppies surrounding the entrance to the Tower of London while the Weeping Willow depicts poppies falling from a window on the top floor of the Tower.

Both were made by the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, whose chief executive said: "So many more people will have the opportunity to see this wonderful and moving piece of art."

The prime minister said the display had "in a very short space of time become a much loved and respected monument".

Touring segments of the display will eventually go on permanent display at the Imperial War Museums in London and Manchester.

Up to 4m people are expected to have visited before 12 November, when there will be 888,246 ceramic poppies - one for each British and Commonwealth death during WW1.

Entitled Blood Swept Lands And Seas Of Red, the installation is the work of ceramic artist Paul Cummins, from Derbyshire.

Mr Cameron also said the government wanted to ensure that as many people as possible had the opportunity to view the poppies.

"By displaying parts of the installation around the country and then permanently in the Imperial War Museum, we have ensured that this poignant memorial will be saved for the nation," he added.

The Royal British Legion has said it hopes the sale of the poppies, after the installation has been dismantled, will raise in excess of £15m.

All net proceeds plus 10% of every £25 poppy sold will be shared between six service charities, including Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion.

'Stunning memorial'

Chancellor George Osborne has previously agreed to waive the £1.1m VAT from the poppy sales, also using money from Libor fines.

"It's only right that fines from those who have demonstrated the very worst of values should go to support those who have shown the best of British values," he said.

Culture Secretary Sajid Javid, who leads the government's programme to mark the centenary of WW1, said: "The poppies at the Tower are a stunning memorial to those who died in the First World War.

"For me this is public art at its most powerful and moving."

The tour of the poppies is being supported by donations from two charities, the Backstage Trust and the Clore Duffield Foundation, together with government funding.

More than £500,000 is being paid by the government to cover the cost of storing, transporting and installing the poppy sculptures in towns and cities across the UK. The funding will come from fines accrued from the Libor banking scandal.

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Military widows win pension change

8 November 2014 Last updated at 11:58

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Irene Wills, War Widows' Association: "Mr Cameron said he's sorry we had to wait so long"

Rules which denied about 4,000 war widows and widowers a military pension are to be changed next year.

From April 2015, those who "remarry, cohabit or form a civil partnership" would be entitled to the pension for life, the Ministry of Defence said.

Under current rules some have to surrender their survivor's pension.

Irene Wills, chair of the War Widows' Association, said Prime Minister David Cameron had apologised for the delay in implementing the change.

She said: "Mr Cameron said he is sorry we had to wait so long, but he realised that it was a mistake and he is very pleased to now right that mistake and allow all widows to keep their pensions."

She met Mr Cameron on Saturday to deliver a thank you letter.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said he was putting right an issue that had caused "upset and disappointment for many years".

Analysis

By Jonathan Beale, BBC defence correspondent

The government's U-turn is timely. The War Widows' Association had been due to hand in a petition to Downing Street against what it calls an injustice this morning, before they hold their annual Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

Now they say they'll be sending the prime minister a thank you letter instead. Around 4,000 people - mostly widows - will benefit from the changes. They are those who lost loved ones serving between 1973 and 2005 - women whose partners died or were killed during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, or the wars in the Falklands and Iraq.

The cost of service pensions to those who remarry or find new partners will be about £120m over the next 40 years - a small price to pay for putting right an anomaly ministers now recognise has caused "upset and disappointment for years".

'Logical arguments'

The charity said that under the current system, some of those whose spouses died or left military service between April 1973 and April 2005 stopped receiving their survivor's pension once they remarried, cohabited with a new partner or formed a civil partnership.

But those whose spouse died or left military service before 1973, and those who were widowed after 2005, kept their survivor's pension through other schemes.

The association said this meant some widows and widowers were effectively left "disadvantaged" because of the date their spouse died, calling it the "wrong time to die".

As of 1 April next year, those who already receive a survivor's pension will be allowed to keep their pension for life if they do remarry, cohabit or form a civil partnership.

War Widows' Association chairman Irene Willis said: "After campaigning for this amendment, which will benefit a small number of war widows whose partners died in service to their country, we are delighted that the government has decided to provide pensions for life."

Case study

Janice Nicoll's husband Andrew was a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy. He died in 2006.

She subsequently met somebody else but says she cancelled their wedding, fearing she would lose her pension.

"It's absolutely wonderful news for myself, my children and my fiancée.

"It means we can actually rebuild our lives and provide a secure family home for my children which has been so disjointed.

"After Andrew died, it left such a hole in our lives and it's just fantastic I can actually do that now financially secure.

"I've got two children at university and two at senior school and, financially, it just wasn't worth risking the children's security by risking that part of my pension."

'Fair and just'

Maj Gen John Moore-Bick, general secretary of the Forces Pensions Society, told BBC Breakfast: "One of the aspects of armed forces service in the past, in the present and in the future is a degree of turbulence.

"If you move house 10, 15, 20 times as a military spouse, you haven't any chance of building up any sort of pension entitlement."

He added: "To make this ruling is only fair and just and I'm very pleased the prime minister has done it."

Veterans' minister Anna Soubry told BBC Breakfast it was "the right time to do it".

She said: "The money is not actually very much in the overall scheme of things, it's the principle that's important and it's important that we've done it under the covenant.

"I think that's the first time anything like this has been done under the covenant and it shows the power of it."

The Armed Forces Covenant states that personnel and veterans as well as their families should be "sustained and rewarded" for their service.

Labour said it had pressed the government to "address this anomaly". Shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker said he was "glad it has now been resolved".

The change will coincide with the launch of the new armed forces pension scheme, the MoD added.

Are you a war widow or widower that did not receive a military pension? What do you think about the proposed changes to the rules on receiving a military pension for life? You can share your experiences my emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk Please leave your contact details if you are happy to talk to a BBC journalist.

Have your say

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Clifford loses appeal to cut sentence

7 November 2014 Last updated at 11:04

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Sarah Campbell reports on the ruling against Max Clifford's sentence appeal

Former celebrity publicist Max Clifford has had an appeal against his eight-year sentence for sex offences rejected by the Court of Appeal.

Three judges ruled the sentence was justified and correct.

Clifford's lawyer had argued the length of the jail term imposed was unfair and insisted his client was not a danger to women.

Clifford, 71, was convicted in April of eight historical indecent assaults on women and on girls as young as 15.

He was the first person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree, the operation set up by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of allegations against Jimmy Savile.

Consecutive sentences

Lord Justice Treacy, who heard the appeal case with Mr Justice Turner and Judge Michael Pert, said the length of the prison term was "just and proportionate".

The judge added: "It seems to us that, after consideration of the individual offences and the application of modern sentencing attitudes reflected in the guidelines, but tempered by the need to have regard to the statutory maximum available at the time, an overall sentence of eight years was justified and correct."

At the time of Clifford's sentencing, Judge Anthony Leonard said he had groomed and degraded his victims.

One victim - who was 15 at the time - revealed in a statement how she had missed out on having her first sexual relationship with someone her own age because of Clifford's actions.

Another said she would cry whenever she saw him on TV following and feared police would laugh at her when she finally came forward.

Prosecuting barrister Rosina Cottage QC said one of the women felt she had "lost the last 20 years" of her life.

Judge Leonard ruled in May that Clifford should serve his eight sentences of between six and 24 months consecutively.

Lord Justice Treacy added on Friday: "This is a case where it is clear that the effect of what was done to the victims was not something from which they recovered quickly.

"The appellant's actions towards these victims had long term consequences for their lives. This is clearly a highly material circumstance for this court to consider."

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Osborne: I'll get 'deal' on EU bill

7 November 2014 Last updated at 11:46

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George Osborne: "I will make sure we get a better deal for Britain"

Chancellor George Osborne is arguing the UK's case for not paying the EU an extra £1.7bn in a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.

Ahead of the talks, Mr Osborne said the sum being asked for was "unacceptable" and he would get a "better deal".

David Cameron, who has vowed not to hand over any money by a 1 December deadline, said there would be a "major problem" if the issue was unresolved.

But several EU countries have said they are happy with the sums requested.

Italy, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union and has itself been handed a surcharge, introduced a proposal on Friday to allow the UK to pay back the £1.7bn (2.1bn euros) in instalments.

'Precise and just'

But some of Mr Osborne's counterparts in Europe suggested it was out of the question that the UK should contribute less than the sum demanded.

Magdalena Andersson, the Swedish finance minister, said the issue was a "technical" one while Poland's Mateusz Szczurek said the rules were "precise and just"

"The budget contributions are based on gross national income and I don't really believe that should be changed," he said.

Speaking in Helsinki, where he is attending a meeting of Nordic leaders, Mr Cameron said his views that the bill was too large and the timetable for paying it unfair had not changed.

Before the meeting of finance ministers, Treasury sources said Mr Osborne would continue to demand a cut in the bill's size.

'On the agenda'

The Chancellor told journalists: "The demand that Britain should pay £1.7bn by the 1 December is unacceptable. I wanted this on the agenda. It is on the agenda. I will make sure we get a better deal for Britain."

However, a final agreement is not expected to be reached at Friday's meeting.

The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a compromise based on phasing in interest-free payments over a given time is one that David Cameron "will not be able to sell back home".

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Lord Hill: We need "practical solution" over tax bill

He added that "after the stance he has taken", Mr Cameron "needs the total figure cut rather than phasing in payments.

"If he doesn't get an offer of that, or George Osborne doesn't get it face-to-face in Brussels today, there will have to be more talks to get more concessions," he added.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the UK was short of allies in its attempts to re-negotiate the bill. "I keep hearing the prime minister say we won't pay by the first of December," he said. "Well I expect what it really means is we'll pay on the second of December."

'Practical solution'

The surcharge follows an annual review of the economic performance of EU member states since 1995, which showed Britain had done better than previously thought.

Elements of the black economy - such as drugs and prostitution - have been included in the calculations for the first time.

Italy, Greece and Cyprus were also asked to make extra contributions, while France and Germany are set for refunds.

Speaking on Thursday, the UK's EU Commissioner Lord Hill appealed for calm and for a "practical solution" to be found.

"It seems to me that this is one of those classic examples you get from time to time, where something that a group of people think are technical matters suddenly, and in this case for perfectly understandable reasons, become highly political," he said.

Losers	Additional sum to pay
Source: Leaked EU Commission document
United Kingdom	£1,676m
Netherlands	£506m
Italy	£268m
Greece	£70m
Cyprus	£33m
Winners	Reduction
France	£801m
Germany	£614m
Denmark	£253m
Poland	£249m
Austria	£232m

The row comes as the UK is seeking support for its campaign to change the way the EU operates and for more powers to be returned from Brussels to member states.

David Cameron has promised to renegotiate the UK's membership and hold a public vote on the UK's future in the EU in 2017 if he stays in power after next year's election.

European Commission spokesman Jakub Adamowicz said the £1.7bn sum was "not coming out of nowhere" and was based on "a very specific observation of the regulations".

He added that "the proportion between what the UK pays in and what it receives and how it benefits is actually a very, very positive one", and said the UK "should not lose sight of this global perspective" during the current debate.

'Synthetic anger'

Former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke told BBC Radio 4's Today that although it was "quite reasonable" not to pay a lump sum of £1.7bn by the 1 December, the UK did not default on its debts and a compromise will "depend on how good our case is".

He expressed confidence that Mr Osborne would negotiate a solution after there has been "a look at how the £1.7bn figure was arrived at".

Mr Clarke also said a lot of the anger about the bill was "synthetic", saying "it's all politics getting in the way of commons sense".

He added that if the EU was to be kept together as an economic entity "you have to pay your contribution and you have to have free movement of labour".

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US row over who shot Osama Bin Laden

7 November 2014 Last updated at 06:05

A public row has arisen over which US commando fired the shot that killed Osama Bin Laden, more than three years after the al-Qaeda leader's death.

Ex-Navy Seal Robert O'Neill, 38, has told the Washington Post in an interview that he fired the fatal shot.

This contradicts the account of Matt Bissonnette, another former Seal involved in the raid, in a 2012 book.

The al-Qaeda leader was killed in a 2011 Navy Seal raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Navy Seals usually abide by a code of silence that forbids them from publicly taking credit for their actions.

Mr O'Neill, who retired in 2012, had previously told his story anonymously to Esquire magazine.

He was scheduled to reveal his identity in a television interview later this month, but news of the interview angered other former Seals.

A website run by ex-special forces personnel published his name pre-emptively, apparently in protest at his decision to claim credit for the shooting.

Mr O'Neill said he and another member of the team - whose identity remains secret - climbed the stairs to the third floor of the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and saw Bin Laden poke his head outside the door of one of the rooms.

The unnamed commando, at the "point position" leading the column, fired at him but missed, according to Mr O'Neill.

An instant later, Mr O'Neill went into the room and killed the al-Qaeda leader with shots to the head, he says.

Seal Team 6 (ST6)

• Elite group of US Navy's Sea, Air, Land (Seal) Teams trained to carry out top secret operations
• Part of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DevGru) based in Virginia
• Led the 2009 rescue of US Captain Richard Phillips, kidnapped by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean
• In 2012, several ST6 members were disciplined for working as paid consultants on a video game

Profile: Seal Team 6

However, in the book No Easy Day, Mr Bissonnette claimed it was the point man who killed Bin Laden.

On Thursday, Mr Bissonnette did not directly dispute Mr O'Neill's claim, in an interview with NBC News.

"Two different people telling two different stories for two different reasons," Mr Bissonnette told the broadcaster.

"Whatever he says, he says. I don't want to touch that."

Mr Bissonnette is scheduled to appear on the CBS news magazine programme 60 Minutes ahead of the publication of his second book, No Hero, about his service with the Seals.

Meanwhile, he is under investigation for potentially disclosing classified information in his first book, which is about the Bin Laden raid.

The official account of what happened is unlikely to be disclosed by the US government for many years.

Pentagon officials have neither confirmed nor denied Mr O'Neill's account, but senior special operations leaders sent a letter last week to all Navy Seals urging them to comply with their code of silence about operational details, including avoiding taking "public credit".

"We do not abide wilful or selfish disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety and financial gain," they wrote.

Bin Laden was confirmed killed in the raid and his body was buried at sea.

Darkness and close quarters inside the compound have made some Navy Seals question whether it is possible to determine whose bullets killed the al-Qaeda leader.

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Inquiry into alleged rape victim case

7 November 2014 Last updated at 11:20

An investigation has been launched into the case of a woman who was prosecuted over an alleged false rape claim - and then killed herself.

Eleanor De Freitas, 23, had bipolar disorder, and left notes saying she was frightened of going to court.

She said she had been raped but later faced trial for allegedly perverting the course of justice.

Her father, David, described the situation as "tragic" and called for an inquest with a jury.

Director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders said she was personally asking officials for answers.

Mental breakdown

An inquest into Ms De Freitas' death is due to open on Friday, but her family want it to be treated as a special type of legal case where a jury can consider whether public bodies could have done more to prevent a death.

Ms De Freitas suffered a mental breakdown during her first year at Durham University. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had received medical treatment.

In early 2013 she made a rape complaint to the Metropolitan Police.

The force told her there would not be a prosecution because of some inconsistencies in her evidence.

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Eleanor's father David described the impact of the prosecution on his daughter as "utterly devastating"

The man she had accused of rape then launched his own private prosecution, accusing her of perverting the course of justice.

Ms De Freitas' solicitors asked the Crown Prosecution Service to halt the private action but the CPS decided to take it over and continue it.

Three days before Ms De Freitas was due to stand trial in April, she took her own life.

'Soul destroying'

David De Freitas told BBC Radio 4's Today programme his daughter feared the prospect of testifying at trial.

He said: "I saw a quarter of the Eleanor that used to be there. It was soul destroying and it ground her down.

"She masked really what she was going through because she seemed on the surface to have been coping quite well, but clearly she wasn't.

"I personally think that it was because she feared being sectioned under the Mental Health Act that she took strenuous efforts to mask her feelings and what she reported to her medical team and to us."

"In the end, she couldn't cope with it and it was tragic, tragic, tragic."

He added that while he was grateful the investigation was taking place, "it very much falls into the category of too little too late".

Analysis By Dominic Casciani, BBC News home affairs correspondent

In January 2011, the then DPP said he would personally oversee decisions to charge people with making a false rape allegation.

Over the following 17 months lawyers considered 121 alleged false claims and charged in 35 cases.

In other words, taking someone to court for falsely alleging rape is pretty rare.

So the simple question for the CPS is why it thought it was in the public interest to continue with this private prosecution, rather than stop it, given Ms de Freitas' documented mental health problems - and its duty to take all circumstances into account before putting someone in the criminal dock.

Under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, public bodies must account for their actions if they were either involved in a death or they could have done something to prevent it. That typically leads to an inquest before a jury, rather than just before a coroner.

And that is why the family's lawyers want a wider investigation - because they fear that a narrow inquest won't allow the full circumstances of this tragedy to be understood.

In a statement, Ms Saunders said she wanted to meet the De Freitas family after she had completed her investigation.

"I am very saddened by the tragic death of Eleanor de Freitas," she said.

"I have asked the team which dealt with this case for a full explanation which addresses all of the De Freitas family's concerns.

"I appreciate the family's unease which is why I am looking at this personally in order to satisfy myself of the detail surrounding all the stages of the case.

"Prosecuting cases of perverting the course of justice in connection with an alleged false rape allegation is rare, extremely difficult and always complex and sensitive.

'Serious implications'

"This case was one of the most difficult I have seen. To say any more at this stage would be inappropriate until I can answer the De Freitas family's concerns fully and directly."

Under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, public bodies must account for their actions if they were either involved in a death or there is a question over whether they could have done something to prevent it from happening.

In practice, this usually means holding an inquest before a jury so that it can decide whether or not the state had any role in what happened.

Adam Pemberton, from the charity Victim Support, which helps rape and sexual assault victims, said it could have "serious implications" on the willingness of to report rape.

He said: "This is a tragic and troubling case which raises broader concerns about the use of private prosecutions against rape complainants and whether or not they are fair and appropriate in such circumstances."

"We are concerned in principle about someone who has been accused of rape being able to bring a private prosecution against the complainant because this allows that individual to use the law to do something guaranteed to intimidate their accuser.

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Ex-NoW news editor jailed over hacking

7 November 2014 Last updated at 12:10

Former News of the World news editor Ian Edmondson has been jailed for eight months for his role in phone hacking.

Edmondson, 45, is the eighth person to be convicted over hacking at the now closed Sunday tabloid newspaper.

He admitted his part in the hacking plot at the Old Bailey last month.

Victims of hacking by the paper were said in court to have included two home secretaries, Sir Paul McCartney and actors Jude Law and Sienna Miller.

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Savile hospital abuse inquiry widens

6 November 2014 Last updated at 12:09

The number of NHS organisations investigating allegations of abuse by Jimmy Savile has been extended to 41, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says.

The findings of inquiries at 28 hospitals were published in June.

A further wave of allegations has since emerged at some of those hospitals, and meanwhile a further eight hospitals and one ambulance service are starting investigations.

The results are expected in January 2015.

The former BBC presenter of Top Of The Pops and Jim'll Fix It, who also worked as a Radio 1 DJ and received a knighthood in 1990, died aged 84 in October 2011.

He was an opportunistic and prolific sex offender, who took advantage of his celebrity status to carry out abuse in dozens of NHS hospitals, according to the reports published in June.

Assaults on victims aged from five to 75 were described in reports into Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor.

Reports from four hospitals - Stoke Mandeville, Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, Springfield Hospital in London and Crawley Hospital in West Sussex - were also due in June, but have been delayed.

Eight hospitals are starting fresh inquiries:

• Birch Hill Hospital in Rochdale
• Scott House Hospital in Rochdale
• Bethlem Royal Hospital in London
• Shenley Hospital in London
• St Martin's Hospital in Canterbury
• Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead
• Meanwood Park Hospital near Leeds
• Calderdale Royal Hospital

West Yorkshire Ambulance Service is also investigating allegations.

The precise details of Savile's links with these institutions or the number of alleged offences is unknown.

'Sports event'

The Shenley Hospital closed in 1998, but the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is conducting the investigation.

It said: "The allegation is about a teenager, not a patient, who took part in a sports event held there when Savile was present.

"We have spoken to this person, our report will be published in line with all the others."

The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Bethlem Royal Hospital, said: "We are investigating this evidence thoroughly and if necessary will ensure that any lessons are learnt for the future."

Meanwhile, Leeds General Infirmary, Stoke Mandeville and the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle are investigating fresh allegations that have emerged since June.

In a written ministerial statement, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "At the request of the Crown Prosecution Service, the publication of the NHS investigations into Jimmy Savile is being delayed until the conclusion of ongoing legal proceedings.

"Therefore, I wish to advise the House that there will be a delay in the publication of the outstanding NHS investigation reports.

"We now hope trusts will publish their reports in January 2015."

The investigation at Leeds, published earlier this year, found patients, including teenagers recovering from surgery, had been abused in their beds and one 10-year-old boy had been sexually assaulted while waiting on a trolley for an X-ray on his broken arm.

When the reports came out, Mr Hunt apologised on behalf of the government and the NHS.

He said there was a "deep sense of revulsion" over the findings, adding: "We let them [the victims] down badly."

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Mirror reporter admits phone hacking

6 November 2014 Last updated at 11:24

A former Sunday Mirror journalist has pleaded guilty to intercepting voicemail messages in 2001.

The paper's former investigations editor, Graham Johnson, is the first Mirror Group Newspapers journalist to admit to phone-hacking.

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard that Mr Johnson, who will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 27 November, voluntarily contacted police in 2013.

He worked at the Sunday Mirror between 1997 and 2005.

Mr Johnson came forward in March 2013 after hacking a phone to investigate whether a soap star was having an affair with a gangster in autumn 2001.

The court heard that he had been "shown by a senior person in a supervisory capacity how to access voicemails" and that he was not aware that it was a crime at the time.

He confessed to a "short and intense" period of hacking lasting three to seven days.

Granting unconditional bail, the magistrate said he deserved great credit for turning himself in.

In September, Trinity Mirror admitted for the first time that some of its journalists were involved in phone hacking.

Former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, entertainer Shane Richie and actor Christopher Eccleston are among those to have received compensation from the newspaper group.

Trinity Mirror publishes titles including the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People.

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Osborne 'expects' fuel price cut

6 November 2014 Last updated at 11:44

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has said the government will be watching petrol and diesel distributors "very carefully" to ensure they pass on oil price reductions to customers.

Oil has fallen from about $115 (£72) per barrel in June to about $84 per barrel, a decline of about a quarter.

In comparison, petrol prices in the UK have fallen from a high of about 131.7p per litre in the summer to 124.22p - a decline of about 6%.

Diesel dropped from 136.37p to 128.58p.

Campaigners argue that taxes account for the bulk of UK pump prices, and that the government therefore has more power to reduce prices than petrol companies.

According to analysis by the AA, out of the 124.22p average paid for a litre of petrol, about two-thirds is accounted for by a combination of Value Added Tax (VAT), at 20%, and fuel duty, at 57.95p.

Arthur Renshaw, an analyst at Experian, says that if VAT and fuel duty are stripped out, the underlying price of petrol has dropped by 21% since last year.

Additionally, because oil is traded in dollars, the weaker pound has reduced the effect of the drop in oil for UK consumers.

Continue reading the main story

During the past few months, the pound has weakened against the dollar. Whereas a pound bought $1.7165 at its height in the summer, it now buys $1.598 - a drop of 6.9%

But the government says fuel companies must do their bit to reduce the price of petrol for consumers.

"Our message is clear - the oil price has fallen and we expect that to be passed on to people at the petrol station filling up their cars," said Mr Osborne.

"We expect the oil companies to do this and we will be watching very carefully to make sure they do."

'Like a feather'

Treasury minister Danny Alexander will use a speech in Aberdeen on Thursday to warn people would "rightly be angry" if they felt prices were not coming down as much as they should.

"I believe it's called the rocket and feather effect," he will say, in prepared remarks seen by the BBC for a speech to the Highlands & Islands Branch of The Energy Institute in Aberdeen.

"The public have a suspicion that when the price of oil rises, pump prices go up like a rocket. But when the price of oil falls, pump prices drift down like a feather."

Continue reading the main story

While no research supports this, the thought of this effect creates ill feeling, he will say.

Labour's Chris Leslie, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, rebuffed Mr Alexander's comments, saying that while drivers ought to benefit from falling prices, "since 2011 people have paid 3p more on every litre of petrol because the Lib Dems broke their promise and backed the Tories in raising VAT".

In separate developments on Thursday, three major UK supermarkets said they would further reduce prices of petrol and diesel by as much as 1p per litre.

Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco, who last reduced prices in September, all announced price cuts, with Asda dropping petrol to 119.7p a litre - the first time the price has fallen below 120p in four years.

The motoring organisations AA and the RAC welcomed the move.

However the group representing independent fuel retailers said the announcements would further endanger local petrol stations.

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Complete the fields and select Calculate to see how much more - or less - you are paying for fuel

To fill your tank you pay:

Is the cost of fuel affecting your driving habits? How much is petrol in your area? Should retailers be made to cut fuel prices? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

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Royal Family joins remembrance events

6 November 2014 Last updated at 11:45

The Queen and other members of the Royal Family are taking part in remembrance-themed events in London.

The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of Cambridge are at the opening of a memorial garden at Wellington Barracks in central London.

The garden has been created with soil from battlefields and Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries in Flanders.

Prince Harry visited the field of remembrance at Westminster Abbey.

He met the president of the Royal British Legion Poppy Factory and workers from the factory, as well as the dean of Westminster and clergy from St Margaret's Church.

The prince laid a cross of remembrance in front of two wooden crosses from the graves of unknown British soldiers from the World War One and World War Two.

The Last Post was played and attendees observed two minutes' silence.

It was his second visit to the field of remembrance at Westminster Abbey - he accompanied Prince Philip to the site last year.

The first field of remembrance was opened in the grounds of the abbey in November 1928, when two tribute crosses were planted.

Since then, the tradition has grown and the field is home to thousands of remembrance tributes every year, each cross carrying a personal message to someone who lost his or her life.

Wellington Barracks, where the Flanders Field Memorial Garden will be based, is the home of Her Majesty's Household Division.

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Bird of prey poisoner sentenced

6 November 2014 Last updated at 11:57

A gamekeeper convicted of "the worst case of bird of prey poisoning" recorded in England has been given a 10-week suspended sentence.

Allen Lambert, 65, who worked on the Stody Estate, near Holt in Norfolk, was found guilty of deliberately killing 10 buzzards and a sparrowhawk.

Head of RSPB investigations Bob Elliot said the discovery of the carcasses at Lambert's home was "truly dreadful".

Norwich Magistrates' Court heard he did it to protect pheasants he was rearing.

In October Lambert, of Holt Road, Edgefield, was also found guilty of possessing pesticides and items used to prepare poison baits. He had pleaded guilty to five other charges including illegal use of pesticides.

District judge Peter Veits said the offences had "crossed the custody threshold" but said his sentence would be suspended.

His 10-week sentence was suspended for a year and he was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £930.

Birds of prey are protected by law and the Stody Estate has been a national pioneer in wildlife enhancement schemes.

The RSPB said it was the worst bird of prey poisoning case it had seen in England and was one of the worst to ever occur in the UK.

'Tricky fox'

The hearing at Norwich Magistrates' Court followed an investigation at the game shooting estate in April 2013 by RSPB officers.

They found the remains of several birds of prey in woodland and a feed bag containing nine dead buzzards in Lambert's house.

Analysis of the remains found 11 birds had been poisoned.

Police found containers of the pesticide in Lambert's car and storeroom, as well as a syringe and needles.

During the trial Lambert claimed a dog walker with a grudge against him had planted the dead birds, but the district judge said his theory was "implausible".

Earlier the court was told that Mr Lambert still says he was not responsible for the death of the birds and he only kept the poisons to deal with "a tricky fox".

Roger Harrabin, Environment Analyst

What is the responsibility of the landowner in a case like this? Well, it depends where you live.

In England a landowner is not responsible for a gamekeeper's crimes.

There is no evidence that the owner of the prestigious Stody Estate, Charles MacNicol, knew about the poisonings. He wouldn't tell BBC News whether he knew, or whether he condemned the killings.

The Scottish government has made landowners share the blame for gamekeepers' misdemeanours. It says there appears to have been a significant drop in killings.

The RSPB wants England to follow suit but the environment department Defra says the evidence that the policy is working is not strong enough.

The RSPB is also calling for the Stody Estate to be stripped of government grants it has received for promoting wildlife.

Follow Roger on Twitter.

The Stody Estate is now being investigated by the Rural Payments Agency which could withdraw tens of thousands of pounds of subsidy if the estate is found to have been negligent, prosecutor Kevin Eastwick said.

In a statement, the estate distanced itself from the offences saying it had considered Lambert a "valued and trusted member of staff" and that he was "not authorised, trained or asked to kill wildlife".

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Republicans win control of US Senate

5 November 2014 Last updated at 07:52

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Rajini Vaidyanathan looks back at how the night unfolded

The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the US mid-term elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency.

The party won in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.

And it is expected to post more gains as votes are counted in other states.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, poised to lead the chamber, said the result was a vote against "a government that people can no longer trust".

In the mid-terms, so-called because they fell half way into Mr Obama's second four-year term in office, about one-third of the Senate, the entire House of Representatives, 36 of 50 state governors, and countless state and local offices were up for election.

Continue reading the main story

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Throughout the campaign, Republicans focused on voter dissatisfaction with Mr Obama, a Democrat, describing the vote as a referendum on his presidency.

As the first results came in late on Tuesday, it became clear they had made convincing gains in the chamber.

With the votes still being counted in many states, the Republican Party easily won the six seats it needed to win control of the Senate.

The party now controls 52 seats, and is tipped to win more.

Analysis, Jon Sopel, BBC North America editor

Barack Obama's unpopularity in the run-up to these mid-term elections is hard to exaggerate. One of the things that is lost in the big picture of the night is some of the sidebar poll findings - the American people are fed up with all their politicians. It's not just the occupant of the White House, though as Harry Truman most famously noted, the buck stops with the president.

Mitch McConnell will be conscious of that, and will know that in two years' time, when it is not just the Senate but the presidency in play, the American people could be venting their spleen on him. Be fearful of the blame game.

That leaves the Kentucky senator with some important tactical decisions to make.

Sopel: Obama's mid-term headache

Mitch McConnell: DC insider with a mission

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Rajesh Mirchandani explains the mid-term election results and what they mean for the Obama presidency

As well as taking the Senate, the Republicans are projected to increase their majority in the House of Representatives to levels not seen since before World War Two.

They also made gains among the 36 governorships up for re-election.

When the new Congress is sworn in in January, it will mark the first time the Republicans have held both chambers since 2006.

They will now have the power to complicate, if not block completely, Mr Obama's agenda in the last two years of his tenure in the White House.

Control of the Senate will also enable the Republicans to stymie his ability to name new federal judges, cabinet members and senior government officials.

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"We are heading to Washington, and we are going to make them squeal" - successful Iowa Republican Senator-elect Joni Ernst

In addition to seats the party won from the Democrats, the Republicans retained seats in at least a dozen other states.

In Louisiana, neither of the top two candidates gained 50% of the vote, forcing a run-off election in early December.

In Virginia, Democrat Mark Warner was expected to retain his Senate seat amid a much tighter than expected race with Republican ex-lobbyist Ed Gillespie.

In other developments:

• Voters approved ballot measures legalising cannabis in Oregon and Washington DC, while Florida rejected a medical marijuana proposal
• Three states - South Dakota, Arkansas and Nebraska - approved increases in the minimum wage and a fourth - Alaska - was poised to do so as well
• Michael Grimm, under federal indictment for fraud, was re-elected to his House seat from New York City
• Republican Scott Brown has now lost Senate races in two states - New Hampshire on Tuesday and Massachusetts in 2012
• Utah's Mia Love has become the first black Republican woman to be elected to the House

One of the night's key early results came in Kentucky, where Mr McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, fended off Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Mr McConnell will now become the Senate majority leader, giving him control over the chamber's legislative agenda and floor proceedings.

"It wasn't about me or my opponent," he told supporters as he declared victory, "it was about a government that people can no longer trust."

Current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid congratulated Mr McConnell in a short statement.

"The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together," said Mr Reid of Nevada, whose role in the soon-to-be Democratic minority remains uncertain. "I look forward to working with Senator McConnell to get things done for the middle class."

In the governor's races, Republican incumbents survived tough re-election battles in Florida, Maine and Wisconsin.

Two other results illustrate the breadth of the Republican sweep - the party's candidates won in Maryland and Massachusetts, two of the most Democratic-friendly states in the nation. Republican Bruce Rauner also won in Illinois - Mr Obama's home state - against incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn.

Political gridlock in Congress has already reached historic levels and was a major concern among voters, with many expressing their frustration with the lack of progress on the most pressing issues facing the nation.

Analysts say the Republicans' victory could make the situation even worse ahead of the presidential poll in 2016.

Republican leaders have already pledged to move forward on their key policy priorities, pressing Mr Obama to negotiate on their terms

"It's time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy," said Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

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Government crackdown on 'notspots'

5 November 2014 Last updated at 08:36 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

The government plans to oblige mobile operators to improve their coverage, possibly by sharing rivals' networks.

Partial 'notspots', where there is coverage from some but not all of the mobile networks, affected a fifth of the UK, leaving people unable to make calls or send texts, it said.

One possible solution would see people transferred to rival networks when they lose signal.

But experts are not convinced this would work.

Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said he was determined to sort out the issue of mobile notspots.

A series of talks held with mobile operators has so far failed to find a solution.

"It can't be right that in a fifth of the UK, people cannot use their phones to make a call. The government isn't prepared to let that situation continue," he said.

The proposals to end the frustration - currently only aimed at improving 2G services - are as follows:

• National roaming - phones would use another network when theirs was unavailable, similar to how roaming works when abroad

• Infrastructure sharing - mobile networks would be able to put transmitters on each other's masts

• Reforming virtual networks - agreements that companies such as Tesco and Virgin currently have with single operators would be extended to all four networks

• Coverage obligation - obliging the networks to cover a certain percentage of the UK - and leaving them to decide how to do it

The government has given the industry, businesses and the public until 26 November to respond to the proposals.

Leaked letter

Mr Javid may face opposition to the move from within his own party.

The Times newspaper has reported that a leaked Whitehall letter contains a warning from the Home Secretary Theresa May that allowing people to roam between networks could compromise efforts to track criminals and terrorists.

"[It] could have a detrimental impact on law enforcement, security and intelligence agency access to communications data and lawful intercept," states the letter.

It adds that further research is needed to ensure the change would not make it more difficult for police to access information about calls and emails that is "crucial to keeping us safe".

The Labour Party has seized on the apparent clash.

"The detail of this policy needs careful consideration," said Harriet Harman, shadow culture secretary.

"Rather than briefing against each other as part of the ongoing Tory leadership squabble to replace David Cameron, cabinet ministers should be making clear what the impact will be on 4G services for consumers and the emergency services, as well as any possible implications for national security and the fight against serious crime."

Phone masts

BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said mobile phone operators had indicated that national roaming would be bad for the consumer.

"Operators argue that roaming would shorten battery life as phones searched for the strongest signal, and pose a risk to the security of their networks," he said.

He said the operators wanted changes to planning laws and the ability to build and share more phone masts.

Matthew Howett, an analyst with research firm Ovum, also thinks that the government's preferred plan of national roaming is "a messy solution that ought to be abandoned".

"The cost, complexity and side-effects of national roaming make it such an unworkable fix that the industry thought had been dropped," he told the BBC.

"What needs to happen over the next month is collectively for the the mobile operators to work with government to come up with an agreeable fix that addresses not only poor voice coverage, but also data too," he added.

Making it easier for operators to put up masts quickly in a cost-effective way would also help current coverage issues, he added.

Mobile spectrum auctioned last year was well-suited to covering rural areas and operators were starting to make use of it and that too should help improve the situation, he said.

While the government's consultation is looking specifically at 2G services, a study commissioned by consumer watchdog Which indicates 3G and 4G coverage is also patchy around the UK.

The report into the state of the mobile phone network found big differences between the four operators in different parts of the country.

• Both 3G and 4G are best in London and worst in Wales
• Three had the best 3G coverage and Vodafone the worst, but Vodafone offered the fastest 4G speeds
• Three was the slowest 4G network and had the worst coverage, while EE had the best 4G coverage

The report, compiled by OpenSignal, a company that crowd sources phone signal strength, looked at the 3G and 4G mobile signals of nearly 40,000 phone users of EE, 02, Three and Vodafone's networks.

It found that 4G speeds have almost halved in the past year as more people sign up to such services.

The difference between operators in different parts of the country highlighted the need for detailed information for consumers before they signed up to a particular service, said Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which.

"We're calling on providers to publish the reliability and speeds their networks actually achieve, so people can make an informed choice before signing on the dotted line," he said.

Vodafone agreed that an industry-wide standard for measuring network performance was needed.

"We've now had numerous different reports with different conclusions," said a spokesman.

All the operators are currently investing in their networks and offering more rural coverage.

Do you live in a 'notspot' area? You can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

If you are willing to talk to a BBC journalist, please leave a contact number.

Have your say

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M&S sees clothing sales fall again

5 November 2014 Last updated at 09:59

Marks and Spencer has reported its 13th consecutive quarterly drop in clothing sales, blaming the "unseasonal conditions in September" for the poor performance.

The 130-year old retailer said like-for-like general merchandise sales - which are primarily clothing - fell 4% in the second quarter.

Despite the drop M&S boss Marc Bolland said he was "pleased" with its progress in "challenging market conditions".

Shares rose 8% in early trading.

Continue reading the main story

Analysts said the High Street chain's performance was largely better than expected.

Half-year pre-tax profit fell 0.4% to £279.4m, but underlying profits rose 2.3% to £267.6m which was ahead of expectations.

Online sales at its revamped website, which was re-launched in February, were down 4.6% in the second quarter, but this was an improvement on the 8.1% drop it reported in the previous quarter.

And M&S said sales of womenswear also continued to improve. It did not give a quarterly performance, but said total sales were up 1.3% in the first five months of the year.

In food, like-for-like sales rose 0.2% in the second quarter, much weaker than the first quarter, but in line with analyst forecasts.

Across the M&S group, like-for-like sales fell 0.2% in the three months to 27 September, but were up 1% for the half-year.

And a closely-watched City measure - the margin at which M&S sells its clothing - also improved by more than expected.

Analysis: Kamal Ahmed, BBC business editor:

The City is likely to welcome Marks and Spencer's results - gross margins are up, profit before tax is up (for the first time in four years), cash generation is up and dividends are up.

But the overall story is still one familiar to all those who have been watching M&S for any length of time - food doing well but overall general merchandising - including vital clothing - down.

The retailer does appear better positioned to gain when real incomes start rising, with up-market store refits. There has been some improvement in womenswear sales.

One big worry will be the performance of the website where sales are still down over 6%, although M&S insists it is turning around rapidly. It will need to, Christmas is just around the corner.

'Glimmer of hope'

Neil Saunders, managing director of Conlumino, said the results suggested the overall picture was improving, with the pick-up in womenswear sales indicating "the years of decline may well have bottomed out".

"Beneath the surface some faint glimmers of hope are beginning to shine through as the company's strategy starts to deliver," he added.

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M&S boss Marc Bolland rejects criticism over clothing sales

But Phil Dorrell, director of the retail consultancy Retail Remedy, said "no amount of hand-wringing about September's unseasonal weather can explain away such weak clothing sales".

"The brand is finally introducing more clarity to its over-complex clothing lines, but look beyond the flagship stores and many are still a mess of baffling sub-brands, and feel like museums where older people go to browse endless rows of black slacks," he added.

However, Mr Bolland told the BBC's Today programme that he was encouraged by the improvement in womenswear.

"The trend is positive. Customers are telling us the style is back at M&S," he said.

Mr Bolland said people should disregard September due to the warm weather, and said without that month womenswear sales had risen.

However, he said market conditions continued to be challenging.

"As a result we remain cautious about the outlook for the remainder of the year," he added.

M&S is not the only retailer to blame the unusually warm September for affecting trade.

Clothing retailers H&M and Next have both said that the weather has hit sales.

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