IS 'chemical weapons expert killed'

30 January 2015 Last updated at 23:50

A chemical weapons expert with the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Iraq has been killed in a coalition airstrike, the US military has said.

Abu Malik's training provided IS with "expertise to pursue a chemical weapons capability", a statement said.

He served as a chemical weapons engineer under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, before joining al-Qaeda in Iraq and then IS, the US said.

The US-led coalition has carried out nearly 2,000 strikes against IS.

Mr Malik was killed in a raid near Mosul on 24 January, according to the US.

His death is expected to "degrade and disrupt" IS and weaken their ability to produce and use chemical weapons, the US military said.

There have been frequent reports of IS using chlorine gas, but no evidence the group has accumulated a significant chemical weapons cache.

Last year, Iraqi police officers suffered from dizziness and vomiting after clashing with jihadist fighters north of Baghdad. It was thought chlorine gas may have been to blame.

Chlorine gas is classified as a "choking agent", burning the lungs when inhaled in large quantities. But it is nowhere near as dangerous as nerve gases.

Islamic State controls large areas of Syria, where the government has been destroying its chemical weapons, but not all the stockpiles have been accounted for.

The US and its allies has been targeting IS positions in Iraq and Syria since last August, destroying military equipment and killing the group's fighters.

Military chiefs are hoping they can re-take the key city of Mosul with the help of Iraqi forces this spring.

But there are concerns that Iraqi troops are not yet ready to do the fighting needed on the ground.

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Merkel rules out Greek debt relief

31 January 2015 Last updated at 10:22

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out cancelling any of Greece's debt, saying banks and creditors have already made substantial cuts.

But Mrs Merkel told the Die Welt newspaper she still wanted Greece to stay in the eurozone.

Greece's left-wing Syriza party won last weekend's election with a pledge to have half the debt written off.

Its finance minister said the "troika" of global institutions overseeing Greek debt was a "rotten committee".

The troika - the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - had agreed a €240bn (£179bn; $270bn) bailout with the previous Greek government.

But new Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has refused to work with the troika to renegotiate the bailout terms and has already begun to roll back the austerity measures the creditors had demanded of the previous government.

Meanwhile, EU economic and financial affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici told the BBC's Hardtalk that Greece had to honour its previous commitments, although he said he wanted Greece to remain in the eurozone.

'Blackmail'

Mrs Merkel told the Hamburger Abendblatt: "I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation."

She said: "There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt."

Greece still has a debt of €315bn - about 175% of gross domestic product - despite some creditors writing down debts in a renegotiation in 2012.

Greek economy in numbers

• Average wage is €600 (£450: $690) a month
• Unemployment is at 25%, with youth unemployment almost 50%
• Economy has shrunk by 25% since the start of the eurozone crisis
• Country's debt is 175% of GDP
• Borrowed €240bn (£188bn) from the EU, the ECB and the IMF

Mr Merkel insisted she did not want Greece to leave the eurozone.

She said: "The aim of our policy was and is that Greece remains permanently part of the euro community. Europe will continue to show its solidarity with Greece, as with other countries hard hit by the crisis, if these countries carry out reforms and cost-saving measures."

On Friday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Greece about its negotiation tactics on writing off debt.

"There's no arguing with us about this, and what's more we are difficult to blackmail," he said.

Finance Minister Varoufakis on Friday refused to work with the troika, saying he would instead talk to individual organisations and EU member states.

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Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis: "We are not prepared to carry on pretending and trying to enforce an unenforceable programme"

He has brought forward to Saturday his planned trip to Paris, where he will meet French counterpart Michel Sapin.

"We are not prepared to carry on pretending and extending, trying to enforce an unenforceable programme which for five years now has steadfastly refused to produce any tangible benefits," Mr Varoufakis told the BBC's Newsnight.

"The disease that we're facing in Greece at the moment is that a problem of insolvency for five years has been dealt with as a problem of liquidity."

Greece's current programme of loans ends on 28 February. A final bailout tranche of €7.2bn still has to be negotiated.

New Greek PM Alexis Tsipras will visit Cyprus, Italy and France next week but has no plans to visit Germany as yet.

Mr Moscovici meanwhile told the BBC the Greek government had to respect previous commitments.

But he added: "We believe that the place of Greece is in the eurozone, the euro needs Greece and that Greece needs and wants to be in the eurozone.

"We feel that it's very important for the stability of the eurozone and for the credibility of the euro that there is no 'Grexit'. This is why we will do everything that is needed to avoid it."

The full interview with Mr Moscovici can be seen on BBC World News on Monday 2 February at 0430, 0930, 1630 and 2130 GMT.

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Williams wins sixth Australian Open

By Piers Newbery BBC Sport at Melbourne Park

Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova to win her sixth Australian Open and 19th Grand Slam title.

The American world number one served superbly to win a pulsating final 6-3 7-6 (7-5) after Sharapova fought back in the second set.

Williams, 33, moves past Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert with a 19th major singles title.

She has now beaten Russia's Sharapova, the world number two, 16 times in a row dating back to 2004.

"I have to congratulate Maria, she played a wonderful match and she really pushed me," said Williams.

"She played so well and gave me a great final not only for the fans, but for women's tennis. I'm really honoured to play her in the final."

Despite feeling so unwell during a rain delay in the first set that she left the court to vomit, Williams hit 18 aces and 38 winners as she won in one hour and 51 minutes.

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Australian Open: Rallies 'don't get better than this'

Seemingly unsure for a moment that an ace had sealed victory, she then shook hands with Sharapova and bounded over to the corner of Rod Laver Arena towards her player box.

It was a brilliant performance in a final that exceeded many expectations, bearing in mind the players' head-to-head record.

Sharapova made a nervous start, double-faulting to drop serve in game one, while Williams appeared keener than ever to shorten the points, possibly because of her ailment.

The American crushed the Russian's second serve and was not disrupted by a 12-minute rain break that led to the roof being closed.

Still feeling the effects of a heavy cold that has dogged her over the last week, Williams headed off court - in contrast to Sharapova - but the top seed returned at the potentially dangerous score of 3-2, 30-30, to calmly produce an ace and a forehand winner.

Breaks of serve were swapped before Williams took the set in 47 minutes with a backhand and a scream.

Sharapova was looking at another one-sided defeat when facing break points early in the second, but showed why she is a five-time Grand Slam champion.

She served her way out of trouble and managed to cling on in a set in which Williams hit 15 aces and won almost 90% of first-serve points.

A gripping contest developed, with Serena escaping at 3-2, 0-30 thanks to three aces and a service winner.

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Williams seals title with ace

Another game of three aces led to the American being called for hindrance after shouting "Come on" before the point had finished, and she mockingly mouthed "calm down" to herself after another winner soon after.

Sharapova would not give in, saving a match point with a screaming forehand winner to make it 5-5, and seeing off a second in the tie-break behind a bold second serve.

Williams had a third opportunity, however, and after an apparent ace was called a let - much to her disbelief - she clinched it with another unplayable serve.

"I've not beaten her for a long time, but I love every time I play her as she is the best and you want to play against the best," said Sharapova.

"I gave it everything. I love playing in the Rod Laver Arena, I've had some of my best memories and toughest losses but that is the life of a tennis player."

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Tasers 'needed for all police'

31 January 2015 Last updated at 11:57

All front-line police in England and Wales should be offered Tasers in light of the increased terrorism threat, the head of the Police Federation says.

Steve White said the devices would help protect against "dangerous people" who could be preparing to attack officers.

"We've got to show our officers that we're taking the threat seriously," he told Radio 4's Today.

Chief Constables' lead expert on armed policing said extended use of Tasers should be linked to risk assessment.

Simon Chesterman, deputy head of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, is the Association of Chief Police Officers lead on armed policing.

"I support extended roll out of Taser if; linked to threat and risk assessment, standards not diluted, volunteers only," he tweeted.

Mr White told The Guardian that terrorists seeking to attract attention could attack at any time, anywhere in the UK.

The federation is to vote on the proposal to offer all frontline officers Taser training next month. Some officers may choose not to carry one, it says.

'Respond to threat'

Continue reading the main story

The alternative is to have officers out there without anything at all - we have to do something"

End Quote Steve White Police Federation

It has been shown that Tasers could keep officers and the public safe, Mr White told Today.

And he said police officers should be able to "respond to the current threat environment".

"We've got to make sure that we give them every opportunity to respond to the threat," he said.

"Because it's not just their personal safety, it's the safety of the public as well."

'Less than lethal'

He told the programme he was making the call after seeing the "usefulness" of Tasers.

Mr White made a similar call when vice-chair of the federation, following the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

Tasers were introduced into British policing in 2003 as a non-lethal alternative for firearms officers facing potentially dangerous suspects.

Officers are required to take a training course before being allowed to use a Taser and they are told only to deploy them when threatened with violence.

'Use sparingly'

Between January and June 2014, the weapons were fired 826 times out of the 5,107 occasions they were deployed.

There have been a number of deaths related to the use of the stun guns.

Amnesty International UK's arms programme director Oliver Sprague said: "We've always said that Tasers can have a part to play in policing operations where there's a clear risk of death or serious injury to police officers or members of the public - but Tasers should be used sparingly and only by highly-trained officers."

He also queried if there was evidence that a terrorist would be deterred by knowing police officers were armed with Tasers.

Sophie Khan, a solicitor, said the weapons are being used too often.

People who are mentally ill are being tasered, people from a certain minority background are being tasered," she said. " When there is an incident, the taser comes out and the person is tasered without really going through the motions of what it is that's happening in front of them.")

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Royal household 'like Wolf Hall'

31 January 2015 Last updated at 11:58

Clarence House's internal rivalries have led to a former staffer calling the Prince of Wales's base "Wolf Hall", says a new biography of the prince.

The Times reports that the book documents "common and bloody" turf wars between Prince Charles' staff.

Author Catherine Mayer claims in Charles: Heart of a King that in-fighting thwarted a deal to streamline his charity operations.

Clarence House told the BBC the biography was not authorised.

"One former householder refers to Clarence House as Wolf Hall, in reference to the treacherous and opportunistic world depicted by Hilary Mantel in her fictionalised account of the rise of Thomas Cromwell under Henry VIII," Ms Mayer writes in her book, according to the paper which is serialising it.

Ms Mayer's account says that his staff call him "the Boss" but the Queen's eldest son identifies with the hapless Blackadder character Baldrick.

She writes about the future king's "native insecurity", and states: "He doesn't always believe he's earned the praise that comes his way, while criticism has the power to cast him into despair."

She also claims that the Prince often changes his aides' job descriptions, leading to some feeling "threatened as colleagues are instructed to undertake work on turf they consider their own".

'Anxiety'

She writes of Charles: "Apart from his time in the Navy, he has never held a paying job and doesn't understand the anxiety such moves can create.

"No student of management theory, he believes rivalries promote better performance, rather than recognising the glitches and strains which territorial disputes can cause."

The reputed organisational problems led to the collapse of a plan to make the Prince's charity operations more efficient, according to Ms Mayer.

Several thousand pounds was allegedly spent on drawing up plans for housing 15 of his charities in the same building, in order to concentrate resources and make a bigger impact.

Ms Mayer writes: "Sources say internal conflicts scuppered the scheme after it was already significantly advanced, wasting money instead of saving it."

Clarence House pointed out the biography, contrary to some reports, was not authorised and the author did not have any exclusive access to the prince or his staff.

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Earthquake recorded in East Midlands

29 January 2015 Last updated at 10:51

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Yeshe Chodom in Rutland said the earthquake felt like "a massive explosion"

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 has been recorded in the East Midlands, the British Geological Survey has confirmed.

The epicentre was near the town of Oakham, in Rutland, at 22:25 GMT on Wednesday.

People reported feeling buildings shake and vibrations lasting as long as 10 seconds.

It comes after an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 was recorded in Hampshire on Tuesday.

The British Geological Survey (BGS), based in Edinburgh, said it had received 1,400 reports so far from people who felt the Oakham earthquake, including residents from as far away as Dudley and Huddersfield.

One person in Rutland told the survey it "sounded like a really large bomb had just gone off" and there was a "build up of rumbling and the house shook really violently".

Another said it was "like a loud explosion" and they looked for cracks in their house.

'Like Jurassic Park'

Other people reported books moving on shelves, dogs growling uneasily and "significant vibration" lasting for about 10 seconds.

One person in Grantham, Lincolnshire, reported: "I could see rings in my glass of wine! A bit like in Jurassic Park when the T Rex chases the car!"

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew was among those who tweeted about the tremor, saying: "The earth just moved in the Vale. I mean seriously. Anyone else feel it?"

The tremor comes after two earthquakes were recorded near Oakham in April last year.

The first, on 17 April, 2014, measured 3.2 in magnitude, followed by a second tremor the following day, which measured 3.5 in magnitude.

On Tuesday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 was recorded in Hampshire.

The British Geological Survey reported a tremor at a depth of 3km (1.9 miles) at Headbourne Worthy, just north east of Winchester.

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'No interest' in care insurance

29 January 2015 Last updated at 06:00 By Nick Triggle and Sophie Woodcock BBC News

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Alex Adamou on his mother's care: "You have to make cold-hearted calculations"

There are no plans for any insurance products to help people plan ahead for their care needs in old age, leading companies have told the BBC.

Creating such a market was one of the key aims underpinning the government's decision to introduce a cap on care costs from next year.

Two years ago Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the plans would "open up an enormous market".

But 17 major companies said there was not enough interest in such policies.

Care experts said the revelation was a blow.

About 60% of people are expected to need care in their old age - with one in 10 facing costs in excess of £100,000.

From April 2016, the government is setting the cap on care at £72,000 from the age of 65. Currently people face unlimited costs - although those with little wealth get help towards their costs.

Under the change, once an individual has spent that sum, the state will pick up the bill for care - although people will still be liable for £230 weekly living costs if they are in a care home.

How does the care system for the over-65s work?

Care refers to everything from support provided in people's homes to round-the-clock help in care homes.

Unlike with the NHS, people have to pay towards these services.

Some get help from their local authorities, but others pay the full cost of their care. One in 10 people faces lifetime costs of more than £100,000.

About 420,000 people are currently living in care and nursing homes across the UK, while about one million receive help in their own home.

There are another 1.5 million people who rely on friends and family for support.

By covering the catastrophic costs, ministers hoped insurance policies would be offered to people so they could make small payments in the decades before they reached the age when they needed care.

The only products currently on the market are immediate needs annuities, which involve people paying a one-off lump sum - often about £100,000 - when they start needing care.

The idea is that they will then be paid an income over the rest of their life to cover the costs of care.

However, some people have reported the policies have failed to keep pace with the rising costs of care - and, because of the upfront money involved, they are out of the reach of many people.

Difficulties

The BBC approached 20 companies and received 17 responses as part of its Cost of Care project, which includes an online guide to how care works and what it costs.

The companies participated on the basis they would remain anonymous. One said a key problem was that people tended not to plan for retirement and the government's proposals had not "fundamentally changed that picture".

Another reported that few people were prepared to "defer consumption today to pay for an event which may not occur".

BBC Cost of Care project

Care Minister Norman Lamb said: "I do challenge the insurance industry - don't be conservative on this. Step up to the plate. They have a responsibility in my view too. We need to do this collaboratively.

"We've taken the steps that they wanted us to take to enable them to do these reforms. And I think they need to be ambitious and to recognise the importance of providing products so that people can plan for old age."

But Yvonne Braun, of the Association of British Insurers, said the industry was ultimately responding to the "law of supply and demand".

"If you wanted to sell to somebody in their 30s, 40s and 50s, or even 60s, I think you would find it very very difficult. Younger people... have other financial priorities - specifically paying off their mortgage and supporting their children."

She said it was more likely that other insurance products, such as critical illness cover and life insurance, would be adapted to cover care costs.

James Lloyd, director of the Strategic Society think tank, said there were always doubts the insurance industry would develop products.

"The government could lower the cap to try to encourage more interest, it could just accept that people will have to pay the £72,000 in costs or develop its own state insurance model - that has happened in Germany. But there really isn't an easy answer."

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Malaysia declares MH370 an accident

29 January 2015 Last updated at 11:19

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Azharuddin Abdul Rahman: "We have reviewed all available data"

The Malaysian government has officially declared the disappearance of Malaysian Airline flight MH370 an accident and has said that there were no survivors.

No trace of the Beijing-bound aircraft has been found since it disappeared on 8 March 2014.

Officials said that the recovery operation is ongoing but that the 239 people onboard are now presumed dead.

The plane's whereabouts are still unknown despite a massive international search in the southern Indian Ocean.

The declaration on Thursday should allow compensation payments to relatives of the victims.

Malaysian officials added that the recovery of the missing aircraft remained a priority and that they have pursued "every credible lead".

Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Director-General Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said that it was "with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that we officially declare Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident.''

"All 239 of the passengers and crew onboard MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives," he said.

He added that Malaysia, China and Australia have spared no expense in the hunt for the plane.

Four vessels are currently searching the sea floor with specialised sonar technology in a remote stretch of ocean where the plane is believed to have ended its flight.

'No evidence'

Based on analysis of satellite and aircraft performance data, MH370 is thought to be in seas far west of the Australian city of Perth.

The vessels have so far searched an area of over 18,000 km sq (11,185 sq miles), according to officials.

The search area involved also has known depths of up to 6,000 m (19 685 ft).

Mr Azharuddin said that the progress of the safety investigation into the accident would be released soon, but that "at this juncture, there is no evidence to substantiate any speculations as to the cause of the accident".

The DCA said on Wednesday said that it planned to release an interim report on the investigation on 7 March, a day before the first anniversary of the disappearance.

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More school grades dip amid changes

29 January 2015 Last updated at 11:37 By Hannah Richardson and Katherine Sellgren BBC News education reporters

The number of state secondaries in England said to be underperforming has more than doubled amid exam changes.

Some 330 schools failed to get 40% of pupils gaining five good GCSEs including English and maths, and making the expected progress.

This rise, from 154 last year, comes after ministers toughened exams and banned re-sits and some vocational qualifications from school tables.

Meanwhile scores of top private schools have ended up bottom of the tables.

These include renowned schools such as Eton, Harrow, Winchester and St Paul's Boys'.

This is due to the fact that, in some independent schools, pupils have continued to be entered for unregulated versions of qualifications, such as IGCSEs.

The changes have prompted claims from state and private school heads alike that the league tables are a "nonsense" and the results therein are not comparable with previous years.

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Users of the BBC News app click here to search for a school by postcode.

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School performance data released by the Department for Education - based on last summer's exam results - shows that on average 56.6% of pupils in state schools in England achieved the benchmark of five good GCSEs including maths and English.

Continue reading the main story

This is a decline of four percentage points on 2013, when 60.6% of pupils in state schools reached this benchmark.

The dip in the overall performance of schools comes in the wake of government changes designed to make exams more academically rigorous.

From this year, only a pupil's first attempt at a qualification is included for league table purposes. This was aimed at ending the practice of schools entering pupils for re-sits to boost their ranking.

The list of qualifications included has also been restricted to those the government says are of the highest academic quality, and the number of non-GCSEs counting has been capped at two.

The school with the best GCSE results was Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

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Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says league tables show "a period of transition"

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: "For too long pupils were offered courses of no value to them and schools felt pressured to enter young people for exams before they were ready.

"By stripping out thousands of poor quality qualifications and removing re-sits from tables, some schools have seen changes in their standings.

"But fundamentally young people's achievement matters more than being able to trumpet ever higher grades."

IGCSE confusion

But for some schools, the confusion over which IGCSEs count towards the league tables has cast a cloud over this year's rankings.

The IGCSE - or international GCSE - is sat by candidates overseas, but has long been favoured by many private schools and some leading state schools as a more rigorous assessment.

They were once heavily promoted by the coalition government as a way of increasing rigour in the exams system, but now it wants pupils to take the new "more ambitious" GCSEs currently being phased into schools.

Many leading schools - such as Cheltenham Ladies' College, Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Oundle and Marlborough - are now reported as having 0% of pupils attaining the government's benchmark of five GCSEs at grades A*-C including maths and English.

Richard Harman, chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), which represents many leading independent schools, said the decision to drop IGCSEs made a "nonsense" of the tables.

"Several of the UK's most highly performing independent schools and others offering this excellent qualification will now appear to be bottom of the class in the government's rankings," he said.

"This obviously absurd situation creates further confusion for parents as they cannot compare schools' performance accurately and transparently.

"Many HMC schools will continue to offer the IGCSE, as experience tells us it is rigorous and offers a good basis for sixth-form study."

'Caught unawares'

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said "quite a few schools have fallen foul" of the various changes to school league tables "by continuing with exams that don't count".

"In spite of this, the children themselves have received a good set of qualifications," he added.

"This calls into question the validity of the performance tables.

"The government has promoted these qualifications [IGCSEs] heavily in the early years of the coalition, but now they have decided that they want everyone to do the new GCSEs.

"Lots of independent schools are carrying on with IGCSEs and have no intention of stopping - their reputation goes beyond the league tables."

He said some state schools had been "caught unawares", adding many were already unhappy with the way their results had been presented in government data. Now his association has launched alternative performance tables aimed at giving a more complete picture.

'Ambitious'

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "As part of our plan for education, we are making GCSEs more ambitious and putting them on a par with the best in the world, to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

"We have made important changes to a system that rewarded the wrong outcomes.

"We have stripped out qualifications that were of little value and are making sure pupils take exams when they are ready, not before."

The DfE added that in some independent schools, pupils had continued to be entered for unregulated qualifications that did not count in performance measures, such as IGCSEs, and not been moved across to the regulated certificate versions.

"The effect of this has been enhanced in 2013-14 by the final group of unregulated IGCSEs reaching the end of their grace period and not being included in results."

Head of the Nasuwt union, Chris Keates, said: "Every year the coalition government has changed the basis on which school performance is measured.

"It's unacceptable that schools, teachers, parents and children are subjected to this negative annual ritual."

And the National Union of Teachers argued that frequent changes to the league table measures meant that "yesterday's success story becomes today's failure - even though a school's quality will not have changed".

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Airport suspends flights due to snow

29 January 2015 Last updated at 11:59

Heavy snowfall has forced flights at Manchester Airport to be suspended as wintry weather disrupts travel across northern England.

The airport said it hoped to resume services later and advised passengers to arrive as normal.

Elsewhere, hazardous driving conditions have been reported and hundreds of schools have been closed across the North.

Parts of Yorkshire, Derbyshire and the North East are the worst affected.

Click here for the latest on the Manchester Airport disruption

A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: "We have currently suspended all departures and arrivals for a short period of time, whilst we are in the process of clearing both runways of snow so we can resume operations as quickly as possible.

"The safety and security of all of our passengers is of paramount importance and we ask for them to come to the airport as normal but to check with their airline for any further update."

Passenger Charlotte Eames, who is travelling to Egypt from the airport, said she was sat on the plane for one hour before being told the plane would not leave.

"We have been told that earliest flight will be at 13:00 GMT. Snow ploughs are working and cleaning the runway. For now we are just waiting and have been given meal vouchers."

Sallie George, BBC News producer at Manchester Airport

"We got on our flight this morning, which was due to set off to Newark at 09:15 GMT and we sat here for about half an hour and then were told both runways were closed for about an hour.

"Since then, the weather has got much worse. It's like a blizzard outside at the moment.

"They're keeping us well informed and we've had a few announcements, but the latest we were told was 11:30 before the runways reopen.

"The de-icing vehicles have been out this morning but I think they're really fighting a bit of a losing battle and the snow has settled.

"We have a nice selection of films, but most people are keeping an eye on the weather really, looking through the windows and chatting about what their arrangements will be if they are not able to make their destination or their connecting flights."

Several road accidents have closed main routes and snow and ice have disrupted bus and train services.

Some flights have been delayed and cancelled at Newcastle International Airport.

In Hunwick, County Durham, resident David Parry said a lorry caught on fire after sliding backwards down a hill.

"In trying to drive out of the position he had got stuck in, two tyres set on fire and the fire then spread to the truck itself," he said.

Schools across northern England have been closed, with 150 in West Yorkshire, about 80 in the Bradford area, 45 in east Lancashire, 40 in South Yorkshire, 34 in Cumbria and 20 in Manchester.

In the North West on the M62 several vehicles have been stuck in snow causing long delays.

In the North East between Consett and Tow Law, near Durham, driver Mark Litt said drifting snow had resulted in the road only being passable by motorists in four-wheel drive vehicles.

In Scotland, wintry weather is causing hazardous driving conditions and has led to more than 130 school closures.

In Northern Ireland, snow showers are continuing to affect the road network with motorists warned about the risk of ice on roads.

Laura Young, from the Met Office, said the deepest snow fell in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland with 9ins (23cm) falling at Tulloch Bridge in Inverness-shire, 8ins (21cm) at Glenanne in Armagh and 5ins (13cm) at Spadeadam in Cumbria.

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Apple profit 'biggest in history'

28 January 2015 Last updated at 11:22

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Apple's China sales are up 70% - and about to grow further, John Sudworth reports

US technology giant Apple has reported the biggest quarterly profit ever made by a public company.

Apple reported a net profit of $18bn (£11.8bn) in its fiscal first quarter, which tops the $15.9bn made by ExxonMobil in the second quarter of 2012, according to Standard and Poor's.

Record sales of iPhones were behind the surge in profits.

Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in the three months to 27 December - well ahead of most analysts' expectations.

In a conference call with financial analysts Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said that demand for phones was "staggering".

However, sales of the iPad continued to disappoint, falling by 22% in 2014 from a year earlier.

Continue reading the main story

The demand for Apple's larger iPhone 6 Plus model appeared to help boost profits and increase the iPhone's gross profit margin - or how much Apple makes per product - by 2% to 39.9%.

However, Apple did not give a breakdown of sales for the iPhone 6 and other models.

Apple shares rose more than 5% in trading after the US markets had closed.

Buster Hein, who edits the "Cult of Mac" website, told the BBC that iPhone sales had surpassed expectations.

"Oh my gosh, it's unbelievable," he said. "I mean, a lot of us were expecting good iPhone sales during the holidays, but I don't think anybody really thought Apple was going to blow past 70 million units sold," he said.

"Apple became the number one smartphone company in China in the last quarter, which was just huge for them," he added.

Analysis: Richard Taylor, BBC North America Technology Correspondent

Apple's impressive results represent a significant shift towards the massive untapped potential of China.

With a strong line-up of devices entering the final quarter, it was able to reap the fruits of its deal with the world's biggest mobile network, China Mobile.

However, the success of its latest big-screen iPhones may have contributed to further cannibalising sales of the iPad.

The once unstoppable tablet is being further squeezed both by a resurgence in laptop sales, as well as by competition - both in an increasingly saturated US market and in emerging markets by lower-priced, rival machines.

All eyes now are on the Apple Watch - but with a relatively high base price it is not clear whether it will be able to woo more than the Apple faithful.

BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said the iPhone had "transformed the mobile phone industry".

"Others have a bigger share of the market - Samsung, for instance, actually sells more phones than Apple - but Apple makes just an extraordinary amount of money from this one phone.

"A lot of this, at the moment, is about China, where this brand has got extraordinary cachet. They [Apple] sold more phones in China in the last quarter than they have in the United States."

He added that one possible shadow on Apple's future was the question of whether the firm could repeat the success of the iPhone.

"The next one [product] that's supposed to be coming along is the Apple Watch in April," he said. "I've got some doubts as to whether that will be the mass market success, beyond the geek population, that the iPhone has been."

Currency woes

Apple's revenue grew to $74.6bn in 2014 - a 30% increase from a year earlier.

However, on a conference call to discuss earnings, Mr Cook complained of "fierce foreign exchange volatility", which added Apple to a growing list of US firms who have been hurt by the strong dollar abroad.

Apple said that currency fluctuations shaved 4% from its first-quarter revenue.

Sales in greater China hit $16bn in 2014 - a 70% increase from a year earlier, and almost equalling the $17bn in sales the company recorded in Europe last year.

A report by research firm Canalys released on Tuesday said that Apple had overtaken competitors to become China's number one seller of smartphones by units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Apple also said that its newest product, the Apple Watch, was still on schedule and would begin shipping in April.

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Bank chief warns of pandemic threat

28 January 2015 Last updated at 01:42

The world is "dangerously unprepared" for future deadly pandemics like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the president of the World Bank has warned.

Jim Yong Kim, speaking in Washington, said it was vital that governments, corporations, aid agencies and insurance companies worked together to prepare for future outbreaks.

He said they needed to learn lessons from the Ebola crisis.

More than 8,500 people have died, most in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

"The Ebola outbreak has been devastating in terms of lives lost and the loss of economic growth," Mr Kim told an audience at Georgetown University.

"We need to make sure that we get to zero cases in this Ebola outbreak. At the same time, we need to prepare for future pandemics that could become far more deadly and infectious than what we have seen so far with Ebola. We must learn the lessons from the Ebola outbreak because there is no doubt we will be faced with other pandemics in the years to come."

'Insurance policy'

Mr Kim said the World Bank Group had been working with the World Health Organisation (WHO), other UN agencies, academics, insurance company officials and others to work on a concept of developing a financial "pandemic facility".

He said he expected a proposal for this to be presented to leaders of developed and developing countries in the coming months.

Mr Kim said the proposal would probably involve a combination of bonds and insurance plans but that, in some ways, the facility could be similar to a homeowner's insurance policy.

"This could work like insurance policies that people understand, like fire insurance," he said.

"The more that you are prepared for a fire, such as having several smoke detectors in your house, the lower the premium you pay.

"The more that countries, multi-lateral institutions, corporations and donors work together to prepare for future pandemics - by building stronger health systems, improved surveillance and chains of supply and transportation, and fast-acting medical response teams - the lower the premium as well.

"That would benefit donors and others who would pay the premium, but the greatest benefit would be that market mechanisms would help us to push improvements in our preparedness for epidemics."

He said that one possible outcome of a pandemic facility would be a stronger World Health Organisation. He said disease-control agencies in developing countries could also develop greater capacity.

Mr Kim said informal talks on the subject had also been held at last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Slow response

His talk, "Lessons from Ebola: Toward a post-2015 strategy for pandemic response", was the inaugural Global Futures Lecture at Georgetown.

Correspondents say there is general acknowledgement among governments and global health agencies that the international response to the Ebola crisis was belated and disorganised.

The WHO recently announced a series of reforms, admitting that it had been too slow to respond to the outbreak in West Africa.

At an emergency session in Geneva, director-general Margaret Chan said Ebola had taught the world and the WHO how they must act in the future.

She said the corner had been turned on infections but warned against complacency.

Reforms announced included a dedicated contingency fund "to support rapid responses to outbreaks and emergencies".

There would also be improvements in international co-ordination and greater support for countries that needed to respond quickly to emergencies.

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Greece will not default - PM Tsipras

28 January 2015 Last updated at 11:34

New Greek PM Alexis Tsipras says his country will not default on its debts.

Addressing his first cabinet meeting since Sunday's victory, Mr Tsipras said he would negotiate with creditors over the €240bn (£179bn; $270bn) bailout.

"We won't get into a mutually destructive clash, but we will not continue a policy of subjection," said the left-wing Syriza party leader.

The EU has warned his government to stick to its commitments. A default could force Greece out of the euro.

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Mark Lowen looks at the issues around a possible debt "haircut"

As the newly elected leader of the radical left party made his inaugural cabinet speech, Greek government bond yields rose to near record levels - reflecting investors' concerns about short-term risks of a debt restructuring over the coming months. The Greek stock market fell 6.4%.

Greece has endured tough budget cuts in return for its 2010 bailout, negotiated with the so-called troika - the European Union, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB).

The economy has shrunk drastically since the 2008 global financial crisis, and increasing unemployment has thrown many Greeks into poverty.

Analysis: Mark Lowen, BBC News, Athens

Alexis Tsipras sought to strike a balance - defiant about negotiating debt relief from the eurozone, while reassuring his European partners.

Across the eurozone, governments oppose a debt write-off for Greece.

The Netherlands has added its voice to that of Germany and France in insisting that Greece stick to its previous commitments. The Dutch finance minister, who heads the group of those in the eurozone, will be in Athens later this week for discussions.

Both sides will try to stick to their positions - and it may come down to which will blink first.

Mr Tsipras's speech is, perhaps, an olive branch extended from Athens after hardline pre-election rhetoric, but there is no sign that the new government will back down on its opposition to austerity.

Five things Syriza wants to change

Tsipras faces great expectations

Unbowed? Continue reading the main story

Vowing to defend Greek dignity, Mr Tsipras said a renegotiation of the Greek debts would be in search of "a viable, fair, mutually beneficial solution". He did not give any details.

Mr Tsipras promised "realistic proposals" for an economic recovery and vowed to fight corruption and tax evasion.

His recovery plan was aimed at preventing deficits in the future.

Mr Tsipras's new coalition government - with the right-wing Greek Independents - was sworn into office on Tuesday, after sweeping to power on the pledge of ending years of austerity.

The Greek government's chief economics spokesman, Euclid Tsakalotos, has argued that it is unrealistic to expect Greece to repay its huge debt in full.

The current bailout programme of loans to Greece ends on 28 February. There are still 1.8bn euros of loans that could be disbursed to Greece if it meets the conditions imposed by the troika.

Economists estimate that Greece needs to raise about 4.3bn euros in the first quarter of 2015 to help pay its way, with Athens possibly having to ask the IMF and eurozone countries.

The new government, however, has announced that it is putting on hold major privatisation projects, including the port of Piraeus and the main power company, the Public Power Corporation of Greece.

Greek economy in numbers

• Average wage is €600 (£450: $690) a month
• Unemployment is at 25%, with youth unemployment almost 50%
• Economy has shrunk by 25% since the start of the eurozone crisis
• Country's debt is 175% of GDP
• Borrowed €240bn (£188bn) from the EU, the ECB and the IMF

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Glitter sobs over child porn images

28 January 2015 Last updated at 11:41

Gary Glitter broke down in tears as he explained to jurors why he had been in possession of child pornography images.

Sobbing uncontrollably, the 70-year-old said he had been in a bad place in his life, and was struggling financially, with alcohol and with drugs.

He issued a tearful apology to his fans saying: "I lost my own dignity, and I am so sorry. I am very sorry."

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, denies 10 charges relating to three girls between 1975 and 1980.

In November 1997, when Glitter went to pick up a Toshiba laptop he had handed to a PC World branch in Bristol, he was arrested, Southwark Crown Court in London heard.

The engineer who examined the machine had discovered images on it related to child pornography.

Glitter subsequently admitted responsibility for a "large number" of images - depicting a full range of sexual activity taking place between men and very young children - being on his computer.

He was jailed for four months in 1999 for the collection of 4,000 images.

In cross-examination, prosecutor John Price QC, asked the singer: "Why were you looking at pictures of men having sex with young children?"

Immediately breaking into sobs and reaching for a tissue, Glitter replied: "I was in a very bad place in my life at that time and I had a lot of very serious decisions to make about my future."

He added that he had invested £200,000 in his own career, and that his record company and fans were demanding a lot from him.

'I was abused'

Mr Gadd said that at that stage in his life he was not able to empathise with the child victims of the indecent images that were found on his computer, but added that he now recognised the damage caused to the vulnerable youngsters.

He said: "I was abused as a child so maybe I was trying to work my own feelings out.

"Today it would not happen, I have no interest in looking at that awful porn now.

"[I have] absolutely no interest at all, it has destroyed my life, it has destroyed my family's life and it has most likely destroyed all those poor victims' lives. I have total empathy for those poor children."

In this trial, Mr Gadd is accused of attempting to rape and indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 13 in 1975.

He is also charged with four counts of indecent assault on a fan in 1977 at hotels in Leicester and Birmingham when she was aged 12 and 13; plying the same girl with alcohol, and having unlawful sexual intercourse with her.

Two further charges allege he indecently assaulted a girl of 13 on a date between October 1979 and December 1980, in his dressing room at a venue in Watford where he was performing.

The trial continues.

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Murder negligence claim rejected

28 January 2015 Last updated at 11:54

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Joanna's mother, Angela: "I've lost a wonderful daughter"

The family of a woman who was murdered by her boyfriend after a 999 delay have been told they cannot sue two police forces for negligence.

Joanna Michael, 25, from St Mellons, Cardiff, rang 999 twice before Cyron Williams stabbed her to death in 2009.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruled she was failed by South Wales and Gwent Police.

The Supreme Court said Ms Michael's family would not be able to proceed with claims against the two forces.

Ms Michael's parents and children won the right to try to bring a claim for damages against both police forces in 2011, but it was thrown out by the Court of Appeal because police officers have immunity from negligence claims.

'Wonderful daughter'

The family had hoped the Supreme Court would overrule the ruling, but were left disappointed on Wednesday when the justices sitting decided by a 5-2 majority to dismiss the family's appeal.

Speaking on the steps of the court Ms Michael's mother Angela said: "I have lost a wonderful daughter. The children have lost a loving mother and provider.

"I brought this case to secure damages for the children and also to make the police answerable for their failures to deal effectively with serious domestic violence cases.

She added: "I take some comfort that the appeal may bring this problem to the attention of the nation. It is unacceptable in modern Britain that a doctor can kill a patient through a negligent act or omission and be liable to pay compensation, but where the police fail and someone dies they are immune in negligence."

The seven justices also unanimously dismissed a cross-appeal by the chief constables of South Wales and Gwent Police.

The forces wanted to block the appeal court judges' linked ruling that the family should be allowed to go ahead with a claim that their Article 2 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights were breached by a police failure to protect Joanna's life.

Reading out the judgement Lord Neuberger passed on his "considerable sympathy" for Ms Michael's family.

Jailed for life

On the night of the murder on 5 August 2009, Williams, 19 at time, broke into Ms Michael's home and found her with another man.

She called 999 at 02:29 BST and told the Gwent Police operator Williams was at the house and had threatened to kill her.

The call went through to Gwent Police but was passed to South Wales, the force covering the area of Ms Michael's address.

Once transferred, the call should have been graded as requiring an immediate response, but was instead graded at a lower level.

When officers had still not arrived, Ms Michael called 999 again at 02:43 BST and was heard screaming before the line went dead.

Police arrived at 02:51 BST but in the 22 minutes it took them to respond to her first call the mother of two had been stabbed 72 times. Her children were in the house at the time.

Williams was jailed for life in March 2010 after admitting murder at Cardiff Crown Court.

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New York shuts down for blizzard

27 January 2015 Last updated at 10:58

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Nick Bryant: "You are not allowed on the roads with a car, only the emergency service"

New York City, Boston and other areas in the north-eastern US have shut down, with forecasters warning residents to expect "crippling" amounts of snow.

Winter Storm Juno could dump up to 60cm (25in) of snow near New York City, and in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Driving bans for all but emergency vehicles are in place in New York and Boston, with subway systems suspended.

Some 60 million people may be affected by the shutdown.

An emergency has been declared in the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Meteorologists have downgraded their predictions, having initially predicted up to 90cm (36in) of snow.

Parts of eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey have been spared extreme snow, and at least one winter storm warning in New Jersey has been cancelled.

However, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the storm could still bring "crippling snowfall amounts and life-threatening blizzard conditions to much of the north-east".

In other developments:

• 6,500 flights in and out of airports along the East Coast have been cancelled
• Businesses and schools closed early on Monday
• Schools are not expected to reopen before Wednesday at the earliest
• Boston is expected to bear the brunt of the storm

'Matter of life and death'

The NWS had previously warned that a "potentially historic blizzard" was approaching the north-east.

However, the blizzard appeared less severe than expected on Tuesday morning, with snowfall levels ranging from 2.5cm (1in) in Washington DC to 38cm (15in) at New York State's Islip airport at 03:00 local time (08:00 GMT).

Meteorologists expect the snow and strong winds to continue throughout Tuesday, before weakening overnight.

"In areas close to the immediate coastline... hurricane force wind gusts to near 120km/h (75mph) will be possible," the NWS said.

At the scene: Nick Bryant, BBC News, New York

As the weather deteriorated, workers in New York left early and headed for the safety of home, heeding warnings from officials. The subway system has been shut down, for the first time because of snow.

Broadway shows were dark, the neon-lit avenues deserted. It gave a ghostly feel to a city that famously never sleeps.

The storm's effects are being felt way beyond Manhattan, from New Jersey to Maine. Coastal areas such as Cape Cod and Long Island could face flooding and power blackouts. Boston is also in its path.

The Governor of Massachusetts called it "a top five historic storm."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned residents against violating the driving ban in 13 southern counties of the state.

"If you are in your car and you are on any road, town, village, city, it doesn't matter, after 11 o'clock [23:00 local time; 04:00 GMT], you will technically be committing a crime.

"It could be a matter of life and death so caution is required," the governor said.

Echoing his words, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to stay out of the way of the 2,300 snowploughs clearing city streets.

"You can't underestimate this storm. What you are going to see in a few hours in something that is going to hit very hard and very fast."

Similar bans for non-emergency vehicles were enacted in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Are you in the north-east USA? What preparations are you making for the blizzard? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number.

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Litvinenko murder 'of global concern'

27 January 2015 Last updated at 11:40

The poisoning of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is a matter of "utmost gravity", the judge leading the inquiry into his death has said.

Sir Robert Owen said Mr Litvinenko's death from radiation poisoning in London in 2006 had attracted "worldwide interest and concern".

Two prior attempts had been made on Mr Litvinenko's life, the BBC has learned.

He had fled to the UK where he became a fierce critic of the Kremlin and worked for MI6.

Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina says he blamed the Kremlin as he lay dying in hospital, but Russia denies any involvement.

Her lawyer has described his murder as "an act of state-sponsored nuclear terrorism on the streets of London".

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera earlier said investigators had followed a radioactive trail across London and it suggested Mr Litvinenko was poisoned not on the first attempt, but on the third.

Invitations

Mr Litvinenko died in hospital nearly three weeks after he drank tea laced with radioactive polonium-210, following a meeting with two former Russian agents at the Millennium Hotel in central London.

UK police identified two suspects in the case - Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun - but both deny any involvement and remain in Russia.

The judge-led inquiry was officially opened by Sir Robert Owen at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Sir Robert said both suspects had been invited to give evidence via videolink from Russia.

The senior judge said polonium could have been used to "kill large numbers of people or spread general panic and hysteria among the public".

"The issues to which his death gives rise are of the utmost gravity and have attracted worldwide interest and concern," he said.

Sir Robert said sensitive evidence had established there was a "prima facie case" as to the culpability of the Russian state in Mr Litvinenko's death.

The judge was originally appointed as the coroner at Mr Litvinenko's inquest but he called for a public inquiry because the inquest could not consider sensitive evidence due to national security fears.

The UK government resisted the move at first but later changed its stance last July, amid worsening relations with Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.

The Litvinenko case

• 23 Nov 2006 - Litvinenko, 43, dies three weeks after having tea with former agents Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun in London
• 24 Nov 2006 - His death is attributed to polonium-210
• 22 May 2007 - Britain's director of public prosecutions decides Mr Lugovoi should be charged with the murder of Mr Litvinenko
• 31 May 2007 - Mr Lugovoi denies any involvement in his death but says Mr Litvinenko was a British spy
• 5 Jul 2007 - Russia officially refuses to extradite Mr Lugovoi, saying its constitution does not allow it
• May-June 2013 - Inquest into Mr Litvinenko's death delayed as coroner decides a public inquiry would be preferable, as it would be able to hear some evidence in secret
• July 2013 - Ministers rule out public inquiry
• Jan 2014 - Marina Litvinenko in High Court fight to force a public inquiry
• 11 Feb 2014 - High Court says the Home Office had been wrong to rule out an inquiry before the outcome of an inquest
• July 2014 - Public inquiry announced by Home Office
• January 2015 - Inquiry starts. Judge expects to conclude open hearings by early April and report before end of 2015

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera: Will inquiry find answers?

Counsel to the inquiry Robin Tam QC said many theories had been put forward about what happened to Mr Litvinenko, including he had committed suicide and accidentally poisoned himself when handling the radioactive substance as part of a smuggling deal.

"As we shall hear over the coming weeks, for some of these theories, there is considerable supporting evidence, for others less, and for yet others none at all," he said.

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Leaders in '100 days to go' battle

27 January 2015 Last updated at 10:59

Ed Miliband has set out Labour's "10-year plan" for the NHS including longer home visits by social care workers as the parties step up their campaigning 100 days before the general election.

The Labour leader has pledged new safety checks to identify people at risk of hospitalisation and to recruit 5,000 new home care workers.

Meanwhile David Cameron has been outlining plans to cut the benefits cap to pay for more apprenticeships.

The cap "encouraged work", he said.

In a BBC interview, Prime Minister David Cameron also hinted that pensioner benefits may continue to be protected from further welfare savings mooted for after the election.

All of the major parties have pledged what they say is enough money to maintain NHS services in the next Parliament after the general election.

The Conservatives say they would ring-fence and "protect" the NHS budget while the Liberal Democrats have promised to meet "in full" the £8bn extra NHS managers say is needed by 2020 and UKIP has said it would commit an extra £3bn a year to the service.

'Perilous moment'

Labour has promised to keep the NHS ring-fence and spend an extra £2.5bn a year across the UK by the end of the next Parliament.

In a speech in Trafford, Greater Manchester on Tuesday, Mr Miliband said David Cameron had "totally betrayed" promises made on the NHS before the last election and "the country's most precious institution faced its most perilous moment in a generation".

"David Cameron says he cares about the NHS but that is not enough. What tuition fees is for Nick Clegg, the NHS has become for David Cameron.

"It has become a question of trust."

Under a Labour government, Mr Miliband said 5,000 extra home care workers would be recruited to treat terminally ill people in their own beds and spelt out financial incentives for social care workers to spend more than 15 minutes on home visits.

Limiting visits to 15 minutes was "a symbol of what has gone wrong in the NHS where failure and false economies threaten the financial future of the service", he said.

Promising to tackle what he said was an "iron curtain" between social care and the NHS, he said care workers often had to choose between preparing a meal for people they were visiting or taking them to the toilet because of time constraints.

"We have got to join up services at every stage for home to hospital so people can get the care they need when they need it," he said.

The party, which has already announced plans to recruit 20,000 more nurses and provide cancer tests and results within a week, is putting the NHS at the heart of its campaign.

In response, Mr Cameron attacked Labour's record of running the health service in Wales, saying waiting lists had gone up and problems at A&E had multiplied.

"I think we need to look at Labour's record rather than its rhetoric," he said.

"I'm satisfied that we are putting the money into the NHS. Yes, we need to do better on A&E, but let's not forget that.... we have almost abolished mixed-sex wards, hospital-acquired infections are down by more than half, we are treating something like six million more outpatients every year and we have a cancer drugs fund for the first time in our country that is getting those drugs to the people who need them."

Benefit plans

Mr Cameron is focusing on the economy on Tuesday, promising a law to reduce the annual household welfare cap to £23,000 from the current £26,000 in the first week of a Conservative government.

Mr Cameron told the BBC that reforming the welfare system was the "best way to tackle poverty and spread advantage".

He said: "The criticism of our benefit cap, which was set at £26,000, in many parts of the country was that it was too high.

"So we think that reducing it to £23,000 will help to get more families back into work and we'll use the savings from that money to make sure we train three million apprentices in the next Parliament."

The Lib Dems launched an online advertisement, based on a Conservative election poster, arguing they would cut less than the Tories and borrow less than Labour.

"Britain needs a liberal voice in government, keeping the country on track, and stopping Labour and the Conservatives from lurching to the extremes of left and right," the party's leader Nick Clegg said.

Do you, or a family member, rely on social care visits? What impact do you think longer social care visits will have? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number.

Have your say

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UK economic growth hits 2.6% in 2014

27 January 2015 Last updated at 11:16

The UK's economy grew by 2.6% last year, the fastest pace since 2007 and up from 1.7% in 2013, official figures have shown.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the economy grew by 0.5% in the final three months of 2014.

That was a slowdown from 0.7% growth recorded in the previous three months.

Economists were mixed over whether the loss of momentum in the final quarter might be temporary or prolonged.

The ONS's chief economist, Joe Grice, said it was "too early to say" if this slowdown would persist.

"The dominant services sector remains buoyant while the contraction has taken place in industries like construction, mining and energy supply, which can be erratic," he said.

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Joe Grice from ONS: Growth figures "fairly respectable, fairly solid"

But Nancy Curtin, chief investment officer at Close Brothers Asset Management, said the fourth-quarter figure "hardly set the world alight... and it's clear that [the economy] is slowing".

She said: "There are clouds looming large on the horizon, and the general election is the biggest of these. Investors don't like uncertainty."

The services sector grew by 0.8% in the quarter, but construction contracted by 1.8%. Manufacturing grew by just 0.1%, its worst performance since the start of 2013.

"The main disappointment with growth in the fourth quarter was that it looks unbalanced on the output side of the economy at least," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.

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George Osborne: "These figures show that the recovery is on track"

But Chancellor George Osborne said the figures showed the economy was "on track". He warned that the international economic climate was "getting worse", and so the government must continue with its economic strategy.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the slowdown in fourth-quarter growth was a concern, and that "Tory claims that the economy is fixed will ring hollow with working people" whose "wages are down by £1,600 a year since 2010".

'At odds'

The ONS figures are the first estimate of fourth-quarter growth and could be revised up or down as more economic data for the three months is gathered by the statistics office.

Economists at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said they "wouldn't be surprised if the ONS figures are revised up over time, painting a stronger picture for economic performance at the end of the year".

The construction data which dragged down the fourth-quarter figures were "surprising and at odds with other indicators and surveys" which presented a healthier picture, the CEBR said.

Tuesday figures mean the UK was among the best-performing of the all the major economies in 2014. US growth figures are due to be published on Friday, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating expansion of 2.4% for the year.

The IMF forecasts UK growth of 2.7% in 2015. However, Samuel Tombs, of consultancy Capital Economics, has predicted growth of 3%.

"With the recent halving of oil prices providing a timely boost to households' discretionary spending power, credit still becoming cheaper and pay growth on an improving trend... the best days of the UK's recovery may still lie ahead," he said.

Analysis: Robert Peston, BBC economics editor

How significant is the slowdown in the British economy, given that the dominant service sector is still booming, but construction is shrinking and manufacturing almost back to flatlining?

The deceleration is not surprising, in view of the flatlining of the UK's main trading partner, the eurozone.

And two of the negative influences, a fall in energy supply of 2.8% and in construction of 1.8%, are in industries that tend to be volatile.

That said, it does give pause for thought that growth is now apparently being driven to a large extent by retail and consumer spending.

We were supposed to be rebalancing, towards manufacturing and investment. And although there has been a bit of that over the past couple of years, it appears to be petering out.

Read Robert's blog in full

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Survivors mark Auschwitz anniversary

27 January 2015 Last updated at 11:44

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Former prisoners and museum staff laid wreaths and candles at the Death Wall

About 300 Auschwitz survivors have gathered at the site of the former Nazi death camp to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation.

The commemoration will be held at the site in southern Poland where 1.1 million people, the vast majority Jews, were killed between 1940 and 1945.

It is expected to be the last major anniversary event that survivors are able to attend in considerable numbers.

Heads of state and representatives from wartime Allies will also be present.

Events include the laying of a wreath, a church service, and the lighting of candles at a memorial in the former death camp of Birkenau, which was part of the Auschwitz complex.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by the Red Army of the Soviet Union on 27 January 1945. It opened as a museum in 1947.

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Aerial footage of Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Renee Salt, 85, from north London, is among the survivors travelling to Tuesday's commemoration.

She visited the camp for the first time 10 years ago and "buried the ghosts", she told the BBC, and has been going back ever since.

"I'll do it for as long as I can. Why? There are still a lot of Holocaust deniers, the world over, and if we don't speak out, the world won't know what happened."

At the scene: Kevin Connolly, BBC News

Those who survived Auschwitz lived through one of the 20th Century's worst acts of hatred and inhumanity. Many of those still alive today were children in 1945, but they are elderly now and this may be the last significant anniversary where so many will gather.

A huge, white temporary building has been erected over the brick railway buildings where many of the Jews of Europe were sorted into those who were fit enough for slave labour and those who would be taken straight to the gas chambers.

Candles have been lit at the Death Wall where prisoners were executed - small points of light in this wintry landscape of snow and ice, where Europe is remembering a time of darkness.

Bearing witness through drawing

Life in the city of Auschwitz

On Tuesday the Russian defence ministry published what it said were archive documents about the liberation of Auschwitz.

They include an account by Gen Kramnikov of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front, whose soldiers opened the gates, about "endless crowds of people" leaving the death camp.

"They all look extremely exhausted, grey-haired old men, youths, women with young babies and teenagers, nearly all of them half-naked," the general wrote.

"The first indications are that in Auschwitz hundreds of thousands of prisoners have been worked to death, burned or shot dead."

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The BBC's Fergal Keane: "The human imagination still struggles to comprehend what went on here"

German President Joachim Gauck and French President Francois Hollande are among the national leaders travelling to Poland for the anniversary.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending, amid a row with Poland over the commemoration and linked to Russia's recent intervention in Ukraine.

Before leaving Paris, Mr Hollande condemned the "unbearable" problem of contemporary anti-Semitism, telling Jews at a Holocaust memorial: "France is your homeland."

On the eve of the anniversary, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was a "disgrace" that Jews faced insults, threats and violence in Germany.

"We've got to fight anti-Semitism and all racism from the outset," she said at a memorial event in Berlin. "We've got to constantly be on guard to protect our freedom, democracy and rule of law."

The museum has long struggled to find funding for its upkeep, though the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation recently said it had almost reached its goal of raising an endowment of more than $150m (£100m).

Are you related to a survivor or a survivor attending the commemoration? If so, what are your memories? You can share your pictures by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number.

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