15 officers injured at city hall

4 December 2012 Last updated at 06:31 ET

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The street behind Belfast City Hall filled with smoke as police came under attack

Fifteen police officers have been injured during rioting at Belfast City Hall on Monday night.

It followed the passing of a vote to change the council's policy of flying the union flag all year round.

A loyalist protest outside the building erupted into violence minutes after the motion was passed. Disorder also broke out in east Belfast.

Council staff removed the flag at 07:00 GMT on Tuesday. It will now only be flown on 17 designated days.

Two security guards and a press photographer were also hurt during the violence at the City Hall.

The police were attacked with bottles and bricks in the Albertbridge Road and Templemore Avenue areas of east Belfast.

"Bottles and other missiles were also thrown and there were reports of damage to homes in the Strand Walk area."

Two buses were also hijacked in east Belfast - an Ulsterbus on the Albertbridge Road at about 22:10 GMT and a Metro bus on the Beersbridge Road at about 22:30 GMT.

The drivers and passengers were told to leave in both incidents and the windows were then smashed on both vehicles.

Three people were arrested - two teenagers in east Belfast and a 22-year-old man in Donegall Square in the city centre.

First Minister Peter Robinson condemned the violence but said the decision to remove the flag was "provocative".

'Damaged relations'

In a statement, the DUP leader said: "There is no excuse or justification for attacks on police officers, council staff, and property."

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Belfast City Council votes to change its Union flag policy, minutes before violence erupts

However, Mr Robinson added: "The decision to pursue the removal of the flag from city hall and other council buildings, despite warnings of the likely consequential impact on community relations, was foolish and provocative.

"Those who talk most about building community relations have by their actions in the council substantially damaged relations across the city."

Nationalists wanted the union flag taken down altogether, but in the end voted on a compromise from the Alliance party that it would fly on designated days.

The vote was 29 to 21, with unionists accusing the Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance of attacking their cultural identity.

Sinn Fein Policing Board member Gerry Kelly said the police operation had been completely inadequate.

"I have to say, and I don't use these words unless I really mean them, it was a disgraceful police operation, or lack of a police operation," he said.

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Clearly there was a level of orchestration - some people brought bolt cutters, others put on masks immediately after the vote came through"

End Quote Alan McCrum PSNI Chief Superintendent

"If that had been 1,000 or more republicans out there they would not have left it that they were able to come into the back of city hall."

'Orchestration'

However, Chief Superintendent Alan McCrum said: "We put in place last night a considered police operation, a substantial police operation - there were dozens, in fact scores of police officers deployed there.

"I had a choice last night, I could have put a ring of steel around the city hall, I could have put 400 or 500 officers there, but three weeks out from Christmas is that the image we want to put out of Belfast.

"There was nothing to suggest before last night that there was going to be any significant violence."

He added: "Put the responsibility on the people who actually committed the criminality.

"Clearly there was a level of orchestration - some people brought bolt cutters, others put on masks immediately after the vote came through."

Justice Minister David Ford said some unionist politicians had to share some of the blame for the disturbances.

"The violence which took place at the city hall and round St Matthew's Church (in east Belfast) was the responsibility of two groups of people," he said.

"The first is those who went to the city hall spoiling for a fight, who attacked police officers and council staff.

"But there is a second group which bears responsibility. DUP and UUP politicians fomented this protest, with both leaflets and the use of social media.

"They called people on to the streets. They must have known, from experience as recent as this summer, that violence was almost inevitable."

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt said: "Firstly, we are clear that no one should have been attacked or injured last night, no property should have been damaged, and no illegality should be tolerated. Attacking police officers is wrong, full-stop.

"But it is also wrong to continue to make the unionist people of Belfast feel that they are to be treated as a minority whose heritage and values are to be suppressed."

However, SDLP councillor Tim Attwood said: "The actions of these people, who were protesting the democratic decision by the council to alter the flag policy at city hall to only flying the union flag on designated days, were themselves an outrage to the democracy they claim to desire.

"This was an appalling spectacle, resulting in significant damage to property and, most alarmingly, injury to a number of those seeking to keep city hall secure, and our thoughts are with those who were hurt."

Bottles and golf balls

The council had to adjourn for half an hour when loyalists stormed Belfast City Hall's courtyard and came close to breaking into the building.

The DUP has now asked that the union flag be allowed to be flown every day from the cenotaph in the grounds of the building.

The proposal is being considered and requires the Alliance party to support it.

Of the police officers who were injured in Monday night's violence, two policewomen were treated in hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life threatening.

Some of the protesters who had gathered outside the city hall used metal barriers, bottles and golf balls to attack the police, who maintained a heavy presence in the area.

Windows were also smashed on a number of cars parked within the courtyard, including a vehicle belonging to a DUP councillor.

A police spokesperson said they had deployed additional resources to deal with public disorder in both central and east Belfast.

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William visits Kate in hospital

4 December 2012 Last updated at 06:36 ET

The Duke of Cambridge has returned to visit his pregnant wife Kate, who remains in hospital for a second day with severe morning sickness.

William spent Monday with Kate, after her admission led to the couple announcing she was expecting a child.

The duchess, who is thought to be under 12 weeks pregnant, is expected to remain at King Edward VII hospital in central London for several days.

The news has prompted congratulations from across the UK and the world.

The baby will be third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William.

Families 'delighted'

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It is not uncommon for pregnant women to experience morning sickness, particularly during the first few months of pregnancy.

But some women (around one in every 200) experience severe nausea and vomiting, which continues throughout pregnancy.

This condition is known as hyperemesis gravidarum or HG and needs specialist treatment and often requires a stay in hospital.

The main danger is dehydration - it can be difficult to keep enough fluid down orally.

Doctors can treat HG with medication to help ease the nausea. HG is unlikely to cause harm to your baby. However, if it causes weight loss during pregnancy there is an increased risk that your baby may be born with a low birth weight.

The duchess is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which causes severe nausea and vomiting, and the main danger is dehydration. The condition can require supplementary hydration and nutrients.

Dr Peter Bowen-Simpkins, medical director at London Women's Clinic, said: "People who get it get intractable vomiting and may lose as much as 10% of their body weight and become very dehydrated.

"When this occurs the simple treatment is to get fluids into them - and usually they feel considerably better."

Dr Bowen-Simpkins also said the condition was "more common with a multiple pregnancy", adding the couple "would know by now whether there were twins there or not".

It is understood the duchess is being cared for by gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who delivered the Countess of Wessex's two children.

Catherine and William, who are both 30, were married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011.

In a statement on Monday, St James's Palace said members of both the Royal Family and the Middleton family were "delighted with the news".

"As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter," the statement added.

St James's Palace would not be drawn on when the royal couple had become aware of the pregnancy, only saying "recently", but it is understood the palace announcement was prompted by the duchess's medical condition.

The Queen, Prince Charles and other members of the Royal Family had been told about the pregnancy only earlier in the day.

Prince William's brother, Prince Harry, who is serving with the Army in Afghanistan, is thought to have been told in an email.

Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter that he was "delighted by the news...They will make wonderful parents."

Labour leader Ed Miliband also tweeted: "Fantastic news for Kate, William and the country. A royal baby is something the whole nation will celebrate."

Among those to offer congratulations from further afield were US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

Right to the throne

In October 2011, Commonwealth leaders agreed to change succession laws so that the daughter of any future UK monarch will have the same right to the throne as a son. Under current laws, if a girl was born first to the couple, she would lose her place in line to the throne if a boy was born later.

The law has not yet been altered but a Cabinet Office spokesman said formal consent was expected "very shortly" and ministers have indicated that the legislation will apply to any royal births from the date of the leaders' decision.

The monarch is also head of the armed forces, supreme governor of the Church of England, head of state of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth countries.

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Spending cuts 'to fund schools'

4 December 2012 Last updated at 07:02 ET

Chancellor George Osborne will set out a fresh spending squeeze in Wednesday's autumn statement, to fund new schools, science and transport schemes.

Most government departments will be asked to save an extra 1% next year and a further 2% the following year.

This will release £5bn to be spent on capital projects, sources suggest.

They say the government wants to spend more money on "shovel ready" building projects in an effort to kick start economic growth.

Treasury sources say £1bn will go towards building 100 new free schools and academies, creating an additional 50,000 new school places.

Health, education, international development, HM Revenue and Customs and nuclear decommissioning will be protected from this latest squeeze.

Frontline services in all other departments will also be shielded with a bulk of the savings coming from administration and back office staff, government sources say.

But Whitehall departments will be expected to cut day-to-day spending by 1% (£950m) in 2013/14 and 2% (£2.5bn) in 2014/15.

Under the plan, the government believes it will be able to spend more annually on capital investment, as a proportion of GDP, than Labour did when it was in power.

'Taking longer'

The decision to cut Whitehall budgets comes after a mid-term spending review carried out by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, which suggested many departments were over-achieving on planned savings.

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• One of the two major statements the Treasury has to make to Parliament every year
• Governments decide what form they take and when to make them, so there have been many changes over the years
• Since 1997 the main Budget - which contains the bulk of tax, benefit and duty changes - has been in the spring before the start of the tax year in April
• The second statement has tended to focus on updated forecasts for government finances
• Over the past few years this distinction has become blurred, with the Autumn Statement becoming more of a mini Budget
• Under the last Labour government it was called the pre-Budget report

Departments have under-spent by a total of £3bn over the past two years, the review found, reassuring Mr Osborne that it would be possible to divert spending into more economically valuable areas.

The Treasury believes there may be scope for further efficiencies. If all departments reduce their administrative spending by the same amount as the Department for Education, they would save almost £1bn by 2014/15, sources said.

Mr Osborne and Mr Alexander briefed the cabinet on the plans on Tuesday morning, which will be confirmed in the autumn statement, when Mr Osborne updates MPs on the state of the nation's finances.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is expected to downgrade its forecasts for growth in figures released to be alongside Mr Osborne's statement.

If the figures are as bad as many expect, the chancellor could miss his targets for paying off Britain's debts.

On Sunday, Mr Osborne admitted cutting the deficit was "taking longer" than planned.

'Extra classroom places'

The new money for school places comes on top of the government announcing a £2bn Priority School Building Programme, which will fund 261 school rebuilding projects in England over five years.

An initial 42 schools, among the most dilapidated, were named in a first wave.

This scheme replaced the previous Labour government's Building Schools for the Future project, which had been expected to cost £55bn, but which was scrapped by the coalition government.

Extra classroom places are likely to relieve some of the increasing pressure on primary schools, particularly in London and the big cities, where a surge in the birth rate has seen primary schools struggling to cope with the rising demand.

Official figures published earlier this year showed that there would need to be places for an extra 450,000 primary school pupils in England by 2015.

Many schools have had to add extra classrooms - and a growing number of primary schools will have to expand to more than a thousand pupils.

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Nato warns Syria on chemical arms

4 December 2012 Last updated at 07:03 ET

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has underlined US President Barack Obama's warning to the Syrian government not to use chemical weapons against its own people.

At a Nato foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, Mr Rasmussen said their use would be "completely unacceptable".

The foreign ministers are expected to approve the deployment of Patriot anti-missile batteries to Turkey.

The move is designed to defend Turkey's border with Syria.

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Analysis

Nato's expected deployment of Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to south-eastern Turkey is essentially a gesture of reassurance to Ankara.

Turkey feels threatened by the growing crisis in Syria. Stray Syrian artillery shells have already come across the border on several occasions. Turkey fears that worse could follow.

Patriot is highly capable against both advanced aircraft and ballistic missiles. But Nato will underline that this is to be seen as a defensive deployment only. Patriot has no capacity to deal with stray shell fire.

While Patriot can reach into Syrian airspace, Nato is at pains to stress that this is in no sense a step towards establishing a no-fly zone over Syria. Nonetheless, Nato may also hope that there will be a deterrent effect that may dissuade Syria from operating its aircraft too close to the Turkish frontier.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Rasmussen told reporters: "The possible use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable for the whole international community.

"If anybody resorts to these terrible weapons, then I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community."

The meeting of the 28-member Western military alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels follows a request from Turkey to boost its defences along the border. Nato officials have made clear such a move would be purely defensive.

President Obama has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad he would face "consequences" if he uses chemical weapons against his people.

"The world is watching. The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable," said Mr Obama in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington.

"If you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons there will be consequences and you will be held accountable."

A Syrian official has insisted the country would "never, under any circumstances" use such weapons, "if such weapons exist".

Rebel gains

A Nato team has already visited a number of sites in Turkey in preparation for the deployment of Patriot batteries, which could be used to shoot down any Syrian missiles or warplanes that stray over the border, says BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale.

Continue reading the main story

Syria's chemical weapons

• The CIA believes Syria has had a chemical weapons programme "for years and already has a stockpile of CW agents which can be delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
• Syria is believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent
• The CIA also believes that Syria has attempted to develop more toxic and more persistent nerve agents, such as VX gas
• A report citing Turkish, Arab and Western intelligence agencies put Syria's stockpile at approximately 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, stored in 50 towns and cities
• Syria has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) or ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)

Sources: CSIS, RUSI

The missile deployment is likely to be approved despite opposition from Russia, whose foreign minister is also attending Tuesday's meeting in Brussels, adds our correspondent.

But analysts say any deployment - possibly supplied by the US, Germany or the Netherlands - could take weeks.

Syrian opposition fighters have reportedly made dramatic gains recently, and several government mortar shells - aimed at rebel targets close to the border - have landed across its 900-km (560-mile) border with Turkey.

Ankara's request for Nato to deploy the anti-missile batteries came after intelligence assessments that Damascus was contemplating using ballistic missiles, potentially armed with chemical warheads, reports say.

Syria is believed to hold chemical weapons - including mustard gas and sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent - at dozens of sites around the country.

The CIA has said those weapons "can be delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile and artillery rockets".

One unnamed US official told the New York Times on Monday that the level of concern in Washington is such that contingency plans are being prepared.

On Monday the United Nations said it was pulling "all non-essential international staff" out of Syria, with as many as 25 out of 100 international staff expected to leave this week.

Although the head of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi told AFP on Monday that the Syrian government could fall "any time", it still holds the capital, parts of the second city Aleppo, and other centres.

Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi is said to have fled the country, amid reports he has been dismissed, ostensibly for making statements out of line with government policy.

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Cameron tells editors to act fast

4 December 2012 Last updated at 07:09 ET

The prime minister has met newspaper editors and says he told them to act quickly to set up a new press regulator in the wake of the Leveson report.

David Cameron tweeted: "I've just spoken to newspaper editors in No.10 - telling them they need to set up an independent regulator urgently."

He told the BBC he had told the editors "the clock is ticking."

In his report last week, Lord Justice Leveson recommended an independent self-regulatory body for the press.

He said it should be backed up by legislation.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats both support statutory underpinning, but the prime minister and the majority of Conservative MPs are against it.

In Scotland, MSPs are also debating press regulation and whether to take a UK-wide approach or create a separate system.

Tuesday's meeting was organised by Culture Secretary Maria Miller.

Among editors attending were The Sun's Dominic Mohan, The Guardian's Alan Rusbridger, Peter Wright from the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Telegraph's Tony Gallagher, James Harding from The Times, Sarah Sands from the Evening Standard and The Spectator magazine's Fraser Nelson.

After leaving the meeting, Mr Cameron said the industry had to take action and added: "They have got to do it in a way that absolutely meets the requirement of Lord Justice Leveson's report.

"That means million-pound fines, proper investigation of complaints, prominent apologies, a tough independent regulatory system. And they know, because I told them, the clock is ticking for this to be sorted out."

Civil service help

Press Complaints Commission chairman Lord Hunt, who is also attending the talks, has been leading the industry's attempts to draw up a replacement for his own body.

He said he had the support of 120 publishers, representing 2,000 editors, for his plan for a new independent regulator.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

"If it takes too long we will get statute."

End Quote Chris Blackhurst Editor, The Independent

He said newspapers could sign legally enforceable membership contracts, which would mean it was not necessary to have their agreement backed up with new legislation.

But an online petition in favour of statutory underpinning, launched by campaign group Hacked Off and supported by many victims of press intrusion, has collected more than 135,000 signatures.

Cross-party talks are ongoing and the government is drawing up draft legislation on a new press watchdog.

The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says ministers are prepared to offer the use of the civil service to help the press establish an independent regulator.

He says some ministers hope a judge may lead the process of forming the new watchdog - "that, goes the argument, should silence those demanding legal underpinning".

'Euphoria'

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WHERE DO WE GO NOW?

• Lord Justice Leveson said the press needed a tough new independent regulator
• He also said the regulator should be backed up by a new law
• The Conservatives say a law will not work and could threaten a free press
• Labour and the Liberal Democrats disagree
• Lord Black and Lord Hunt have been leading the industry's attempts to draw up a replacement for the Press Complaints Commission
• Lord Justice Leveson said the Black/Hunt proposals did not go far enough
• After the Leveson report, Lord Hunt said he would be organising a meeting of the main editors and proprietors to discuss the way forward
• The PM and the culture secretary are meeting editors on Tuesday to urge them to meet most of Leveson's recommendations

Chris Blackhurst, editor of the Independent newspaper, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he expected a very different tone from Mr Cameron than last week, when his response to the idea of legislation was greeted with "euphoria" in many newsrooms.

He said: "I expect the tenor of today's meeting will be very different. He will be saying 'you have to get your act together and if you don't you will get statute'."

Mr Blackhurst said some papers, such as the Independent, Guardian and Financial Times, thought the new press watchdog needed to be more independent of the press.

But others, such as the Telegraph Group and the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, have in the past been "four-square" behind Lord Hunt's plan, he said.

Mr Blackhurst added: "There has got to be some movement. How long it takes I don't know. If it takes too long we will get statute."

Steve Hewlett, commentator and editor of the BBC's Media Show, told Today there was "a certain amount of theatre" about Tuesday's meeting, with the prime minister anxious to show he was getting tough with newspaper editors.

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Lord Hunt: "It's a great opportunity and the industry must seize it"

But he said most editors agreed that the status quo was not viable and had agreed a lot of what Lord Justice Leveson proposed - fines of up to £1m, full-page apologies and compliance. The sticking point, however, he said, remained the independence of the watchdog.

Mr Hewlett said there was still the threat of legislation if the editors did not agree to everything Mr Cameron demanded, but he added: "The cynical view is to say the press might hold on and hold on and nothing changes. But I think that is extremely unlikely."

David Banks, former editor of the Daily Mirror, told BBC Radio Five Live most journalists had been "horrified and chagrined" by the revelations which came out during the Leveson inquiry.

He said: "It's all very well for the prime minister to be meeting national newspaper editors this lunchtime. A more important meeting will take place at the Stationers' Hall in the City tonight when the British Press Awards are handed out.

"The one talking point will be 'we have to get our house in order' but we have to do that without throwing the baby out with the bathwater, because freedom of speech as well as the freedom of the press is the issue here."

'Dark moment'

In a debate in the Commons on Monday, Mrs Miller told MPs the Leveson report marked a "dark moment in the history of the British press" and there was a need for cross-party unity.

She said: "Change can either come with the support of the press or - if we are given no option - without it. Be in no doubt that if the industry doesn't respond, the government will.

"We will not accept a puppet show with the same people pulling the same strings."

She said the government had "grave concerns" about the judge's call for press regulation to be underpinned by statute, but had not ruled it out.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg have voiced their support for the Leveson report, and Labour says it is drafting its own bill in case no agreement can be reached.

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News International chief to leave

3 December 2012 Last updated at 03:24 ET

News International chief executive Tom Mockridge is to leave his role at the end of December.

Mr Mockridge, who replaced Rebekah Brooks in July 2011, is stepping down to "pursue outside opportunities", News Corporation announced.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp, said Mr Mockridge's decision was "absolutely and entirely his own".

News International publishes newspapers including the Sun and the Times.

The announcement comes as News Corp plans to split into two businesses, separating its newspaper and book publishing interests from its now dominant TV and film enterprises.

The BBC's media correspondent Torin Douglas said Mr Mockridge was understood to have been passed over in the restructuring.

It is expected that Robert Thomson, a former editor of the Times and now managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and editor-in-chief of Dow Jones, will head the publishing company, our correspondent said.

'Steadfast leadership'

In a statement, Mr Murdoch said: "For nearly 22 years it has been my pleasure to have Tom Mockridge as a colleague.

"Whether it was his early days with our newspaper group in Australia, his incredible work building Sky Italia, or his steadfast leadership of News International, Tom has always been a skilled executive and a trusted friend.

"His decision to step down is absolutely and entirely his own. I am sorry to see him leave us but I know he will be a great success wherever he goes."

Mr Mockridge replaced Mrs Brooks last year when she resigned after another News International newspaper, the now closed News of the World, became embroiled in the phone-hacking scandal.

Channel launch

Mr Mockridge was previously in charge of News Corp's Italian broadcasting operation, Sky Italia.

At the time of Mr Mockridge's appointment as News International chief executive, Mr Murdoch praised him as "a highly respected and accomplished media executive", who had shown "leadership and integrity" in creating Sky Italia.

Mr Mockridge, who was born in New Zealand, started his career in newspapers and launched the Sky Italia 24-hour news channel in Italy in 2003.

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Hospitals are 'full to bursting'

3 December 2012 Last updated at 04:49 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

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Dan Poulter Health Minister said the NHS needs to prevent "people who don't need to be in hospital from being there in the first place".

Hospitals are "full to bursting" in England, creating a potentially dangerous environment for patients, an analysis by experts suggests.

Hospitals should run at about 85% capacity to give them room to cope with surges in demand, and figures show the NHS average hovering around that mark.

But analysts Dr Foster said the figure was skewed by quiet periods and rose higher if they were stripped out.

Ministers denied the NHS is overcrowded and said it could manage demand peaks.

According to the analysis, if only midweek figures are taken into account, the average capacity figure for 2011-12 was 88%.

It rose to 90% if holiday periods, such as the royal wedding and Christmas, were stripped out, Dr Foster said.

The private research group said this was important as the quiet periods were helping to mask the fact that many trusts were now too full for long periods of the year.

Its report, which excluded specialist centres but included 145 hospital trusts, said when hospitals were too busy patient care suffered because systems started breaking down.

Dr Foster co-founder Roger Taylor said: "When that happens, patients are put in whatever bed can be found, orderly management of admission and discharge can become strained, infections are harder to control and mistakes are more likely to happen."

But the analysis argued that if the NHS organised itself better it could relieve the pressure on hospitals.

From its analysis, Dr Foster said 29% of beds were taken up by patients who did not necessarily need to be there.

These included more than 10% who had conditions such as asthma and heart disease, which could be treated in the community, it said.

Another 5% were readmissions within a week or discharge, while 2.5% were for dementia.

'Real strain'

Patients Association chief executive Katherine Murphy said: "These distressing figures reveal bed occupancy rates are at the very limit of what is safe or indeed desirable for patients.

"Our helpline hears day in day out from patients and relatives who are experiencing unacceptably poor care, with nursing staff telling relatives that they simply do not have time to deliver the fundamentals of good care or dignity."

Dr Andrew Goddard, director of the Royal College of Physicians' Medical Workforce Unit, said: "The staggeringly high bed occupancy rates show that hospitals are at bursting point.

"The medical profession now must carefully consider these findings and decide how to improve hospital services to better meet the needs of patients."

Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, said: "The big message at the heart of this report is that hospitals are under real strain and patients will suffer unless we are able to take swift action."

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Dr Mike Williams says 'mistakes' are more likely from overworked NHS staff

He added the solution lay in investing in community services to take the strain off hospitals.

Dr Foster's study also included data on death rates. It uses four different measures, including deaths after surgery and among those with low-risk conditions, to help assess which hospitals are falling outside of what would be expected.

A total of 12 trusts - down on last year's more than 20 - were flagged up as performing worse than expected on two of the four measures.

This does not mean services are performing poorly, but instead the findings act as more of a "smoke alarm", suggesting something could be going wrong.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said local managers in those areas should investigate.

On bed occupancy, he said: "The NHS is not overcrowded - on average, there are around 20,000 of its beds available. Of course this goes up and down, but the NHS has practice and experience in managing peaks in demand, particularly in the winter."

But Dr Foster medical guide editor, Alex Kafetz, said that figure was only an average and the number of patients using beds was "not particularly smooth" and more needed to be done to make sure patients who potentially should not be in hospital were cared for at home or at specialised care facilities.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter agreed this was key, adding: "That is exactly why the government has embarked on a programme of reforming the NHS to make sure more of the budgets and money is held in the community and people can be better looked after and supported in their own homes.

Panorama will be covering more of the Dr Foster report in How Safe is Your Hospital? on Monday, 3 December at 20:30 GMT on BBC One.

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Global firms' tax pay 'an insult'

3 December 2012 Last updated at 05:44 ET

Global firms in the UK that pay little or no tax are an "insult" to British businesses, a committee of MPs says.

Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC) needed to be "more aggressive and assertive in confronting corporate tax avoidance".

Multinationals such as Starbucks and Amazon have come under fire for paying little or no tax.

They generate UK sales of hundreds of millions of pounds.

Starbucks, for example, sold nearly £400m worth of goods in the UK last year, but paid no corporation tax at all, because much of the money it earns in this country is transferred to a sister company in the Netherlands in the form of royalty payments.

HMRC said it already ensured that international companies paid the tax due "in accordance with UK tax law".

UK-based companies pay corporation tax on their taxable profits wherever they are made. Companies based outside the UK must pay tax on profits made in this country.

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Multinationals in the tax spotlight

Starbucks' UK sales last year were £400m but much of its earnings are paid as royalties to another part of the company.

Amazon generated sales of more than £3.3bn in the UK last year but paid no corporation tax on any of the profits, and is under investigation by the UK tax authorities, according to the Guardian newspaper.

Apple paid less than 2% corporation tax on its profits outside the US, paying $713m (£445m) on foreign pre-tax profits of $36.8bn.

Google's UK unit paid £6m to the Treasury in 2011 on UK turnover of £395m, according to the Telegraph newspaper.

Source: Various

The influential committee's report comes after it took evidence in November from executives from Starbucks, Google and Amazon about the amount of corporation tax the companies have paid in the UK.

'Evasive evidence'

Margaret Hodge told the BBC that there was a danger corporation tax was becoming "voluntary" and that this had to change.

"These global companies are making money in the UK. All we are saying is that if you have economic activities in the UK you are making profits and tax is payable on that," she said.

It emerged on Sunday that coffee shop chain Starbucks is in talks with HMRC about the amount of tax it pays.

Meanwhile, Chancellor George Osborne will unveil later details of £154m of funding to help tackle tax avoidance and evasion, amid public concern over the tax affairs of major international companies and wealthy individuals.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Although they employ many thousands of people in Britain, it is unclear whether collectively they are net creators or destroyers of employment"

End Quote

The money will be used to take on extra staff to investigate high earners who aggressively avoid or evade paying tax and global firms that use legal loopholes to move profits out of the UK.

The funding is expected to help bring in about £2bn a year for HMRC.

In the report, Mrs Hodge said the level of tax taken from multinational firms with large UK operations was, "outrageous and an insult to British businesses and individuals who pay their fair share".

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Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge: "It is time for HMRC to get a grip".

"The inescapable conclusion is that multinationals are using structures and exploiting current tax legislation to move offshore profits that are clearly generated from economic activity in the UK.

"HMRC should be challenging this, but its response so far to these big businesses and their aggressive tax planning has lacked determination and looks way too lenient. Policing the tax system must be at the heart of what HMRC does.

An HMRC spokesman said: "We relentlessly challenge those that persist in avoiding tax and have recovered £29bn additional revenues from large businesses in the last six years, including £4.1bn in the last four years from transfer pricing enquiries alone."

'Breathtaking hypocrisy'

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Jonty Bloom Business correspondent, BBC News

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It is worth remembering that corporation tax is not the only tax that companies pay. Corporation tax does raise £50bn in the UK, but other taxes that cannot be avoided so easily include VAT; then there is the business rate, which raises some £25bn a year. The Institute for Economic Affairs says that is enough to pay for the secondary education system and the police and the fire service.

Also, companies pay National Insurance contributions for every worker they hire and fuel duty and vehicle excise duty which are one of the biggest revenue earners for the government.

That doesn't mean that foreign companies aren't doing their best to avoid paying corporation tax on the profits they make here, but then UK companies operating in France, China or the US are probably doing much the same there.

Laws on corporate taxation are extremely complex and often part of internationally negotiated treaties, one reason they are difficult to change and why companies have become very good at exploiting every legitimate and legal loophole that they can.

In a statement to coincide with the committee's report, Amazon said it paid all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operated in: "We have a single European headquarters in Luxembourg with hundreds of employees to manage this complex operation."

Starbucks said in a statement: "We have listened to feedback from our customers and employees, and understand that to maintain and further build public trust we need to do more.

"As part of this we are looking at our tax approach in the UK. The company has been in discussions with HMRC for some time and is also in talks with the Treasury."

'Small fry'

The War on Want charity, which is campaigning for more to be done to tackle tax avoidance, accused the government of "breathtaking hypocrisy".

It said: "Osborne and Cameron are happy to talk tough on tax. But, in reality, their plans will only go after the small fry on the fringes, while giving a green light to multinationals like Amazon, Google and Starbucks to continue avoiding billions in tax."

Heather Self, a tax expert, told the BBC assessing tax for major companies was not simple.

"If you buy a book from Amazon you are actually buying from a Luxembourg company," she said. "It decides how many books to buy and at what price they sell them for. All you have in the UK is a warehouse, a very big warehouse that employs a lot of people but that is all it does. The risk is taken in Luxembourg.

"Profits paid here are for the activities it undertakes here and that is not highly profitable. It is not as simple a situation as the Public Accounts Committee likes to make out sometimes."

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UK summons Israel's ambassador

3 December 2012 Last updated at 06:55 ET

The UK has summoned Israel's ambassador in London over the plans to expand settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Foreign Office warned of a "strong reaction", but dismissed reports that the British ambassador in Tel Aviv could be withdrawn.

Israel authorised 3,000 additional housing units a day after the UN voted to upgrade Palestinian status.

The UN expressed "disappointment", but Israel has vowed to continue building.

The country's ambassador to London, Daniel Taub, has been called to the Foreign Office for a meeting with minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt.

'Reconsider'

The government said Mr Burt would "set out the depth of the UK's concern about decisions concerning all settlement building".

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The Foreign Secretary [William Hague] has consistently made it very clear that settlement building, such as the recent Israeli government decision to build 3,000 new housing units, threatens the two-state solution and makes progress through negotiations harder to achieve.

"We have called on the Israeli government to reconsider. We have told the Israeli government that if they go ahead with their decision, then there will be a strong reaction."

Continue reading the main story

The British and French governments have made their displeasure at Israel's latest settlement announcement clear, and there are hints that further steps could be taken.

The threat to build in the area designated E1, east of Jerusalem, has especially annoyed Western governments - indeed, successive US administrations have been given assurances by Israel that it would not build there. Construction in E1 would effectively cut the West Bank into two and form a settlement barrier to the eastern approaches of Jerusalem.

Indications from Israel had suggested that its initial response to the UN General Assembly vote granting the Palestinians permanent observer status would be largely rhetorical. There's a sense in the air that the diplomatic climate is changing but no real evidence as yet that Washington - the critical player - is again ready to invest in the elusive quest for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The spokesman added: "Any decision about any other measures the UK might take will depend on the outcome of our discussions with the Israeli government and with international partners including the US and European Union."

The Israeli envoy to Paris was also summoned to a meeting on Monday morning, French foreign ministry spokesman, Philippe Lalliot, said in a statement.

The BBC's Peter Biles says the UK is coordinating closely with France in sending clear warning signals to Israel, but he says a suggestion in the Israeli press that Britain and France may recall their ambassadors in protest seems unlikely at this stage.

The UK abstained in Friday's UN vote on upgrading the Palestinian status, but the organisation's General Assembly backed the move by 138 votes to nine.

Israel announced its building plans for the "E1" area between East Jerusalem and the West Bank on Saturday.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Palestinians in East Jerusalem could be completely cut off from the rest of the West Bank by the proposed development.

But, at a meeting on Sunday of the Israeli cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Palestinian campaign at the UN as a "gross violation" of previous agreements with Israel.

He brushed off international criticism of Israel's settlement plans, saying: "We will carry on building in Jerusalem and in all the places that are on the map of Israel's strategic interests."

Two decades of on-off negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have failed to produce a permanent settlement, with the latest round of direct negotiations breaking down in 2010.

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May starts Abu Qatada appeal bid

3 December 2012 Last updated at 06:13 ET

Home Secretary Theresa May has applied for permission to appeal against a decision to block the removal of Jordanian terror suspect Abu Qatada.

Papers have been lodged with the civil appeals office at the Court of Appeal ahead of a deadline later.

Abu Qatada was released on bail from jail three weeks ago.

Immigration judges had said there was a risk that evidence obtained through torture could be used at his re-trial in Jordan.

An appeal in this case can be made only on a point of law.

The home secretary said at the time of the ruling that she "strongly disagreed" with the judgment, claiming that the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) had applied the "wrong legal test".

A judge will now consider her appeal application by examining documents on the case.

The judge may make a decision, or decide that the application should be dealt with at a court hearing.

A decision is expected to be made before Christmas.

If the judge decides to refuse the application, the home secretary can ask a court to reconsider the matter.

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