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.

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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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