United Kingdom

Ed Miliband is a bigger threat to the Tories in any TV leaders' debates than Nigel Farage whose momentum is "deflating", the former Conservative Party chairman has claimed.

Lord Patten said Farage and Ukip are "probably a balloon which is deflating", while Miliband is "highly intelligent" and a "good debater".

This flies in the face of conventional wisdom in Westminster - which says Farage's persona plays well with audiences while Miliband's failure to come across as authentic is damaging.

Lord Patten described Ed Miliband as 'highly intelligent'

Lord Patten, who chaired the Tory party from 1990 to 1992 and stood down as chair of the BBC Trust last year, told Radio 4's Week in Westminster: "I wouldn't be worried about the Farage factor; I'd be much more worried about the platform it gives Ed Miliband."

He added Miliband could come across "a lot better" than expected during the campaign for May's general election.

It comes as David Cameron continues to refuse to participate in any pre-election debates to which the Green Party is not invited, while Ukip is.

The left-wing Greens are seen as a bigger threat to Labour than the Tories.

"I've been very clear you can't have some minor parties without other minor parties," Cameron said.

"I think the point I made about these debates being outside the election is being borne out by the fact some new outlets find it hard to talk about anything else."

SEE ALSO:
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Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has called Cameron "yellow" for his stance.

During a visit to the US, Balls said: "I think it would be impossible for any incumbent US president to have any prospect of being elected unless they were in the debate.

"Any politician trying to become president or vice president who said in an American context they weren't up for a debate because they didn't like the terms would immediately in American terms be labelled as 'yellow'.

"And the Americans will never elect a yellow president.

"So I think, when people look across the water at our debate, I think they find it quite baffling that, when it comes to the Prime Ministerial debates, we seem to have an uncertainty about whether our PM wants to have a debate or not."

He added George Osborne would be "up" for these debates.

He said: "Whatever I think of George Osborne - and we disagree on lots and lots of different things - I've never thought he was somebody who tried to duck debates. I've never thought of him as being somebody who was a coward.

"It's not going to go away because people want a debate. I don't really know what's going on."

The second round of public flogging of a blogger convicted of "insulting" the Saudi state has been postponed, because his wounds from the first round have not healed.

Amnesty International said blogger Raif Badawi was taken to a prison clinic in the morning for a check-up and the doctor found that "he would not be able to withstand another round of lashes at this time."

According to the group, the doctor recommended Badawi's flogging be postponed for a week.

badawi

Protesters simulate a flogging in front of the Saudi embassy in Washington, DC on Thursday

Badawi's first public flogging took place last Friday before dozens of people in the Red Sea city of Jiddah.

The-father-of-three was taken to a public square, his feet and hands bound, and whipped 50 times on his back before being taken back to prison.

Badawi was sentenced in May to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for criticising Saudi Arabia's powerful clerics and ridiculing the country's morality police on a liberal blog he founded.

The Jiddah Criminal Court also ordered he pay a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals - roughly £180,000.

The lashes are to be administered over 20 weekly sessions, with 50 lashes each week.

Both the U.S. State Department and the U.N. high commissioner for human rights have called on authorities in Saudi Arabia to cancel the punishment.

But, with the attention of free speech champions focussing more on events in France recently, his case has perhaps not triggered as widespread condemnation as it otherwise would.

German newspaper Die Tageszeitung ran the story on the frontpage with the headline: "Everyone's Charlie, but who will help Raif Badawi?"

tageszeitung raif badawi

The Tageszeitung front page

Rights groups and activists say his case is part of a wider clampdown on dissent in the kingdom. Criticism of clerics is seen as a red line because of their influential role in supporting government policies. The clerics' ultraconservative Wahhabi interpretation of religion is effectively the law of the land.

Badawi, 31, has been held since mid-2012 and his Free Saudi Liberals website is now closed.

He was originally sentenced in 2013 to seven years in prison and 600 lashes in relation to the charges, but after an appeal, the judge stiffened the punishment. Following his arrest, his wife and children left the kingdom for Canada.

His wife Ensaf Haidar was among those protesting his sentence in Montreal earlier this week.

raif badawi

Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar, left, takes part in a rally for his freedom in Montreal

Badawi's lawyer, Waleed Abul-Khair, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and barred from traveling for another 15 years after he was convicted by an anti-terrorism court of "undermining the regime and officials," ''inciting public opinion" and "insulting the judiciary."

"The notion that Raif Badawi must be allowed to heal so that he can suffer this cruel punishment again and again is macabre and outrageous," said Said Boumedouha, Amnesty's deputy director for Middle East and North Africa.

UPDATE: Eurotunnel trains set to resume this evening - but Eurostar not restarting services tonight

Holidaymakers are facing hours of travel misery after all Eurostar trains were cancelled due to a lorry fire in the Channel Tunnel.

The blaze at the French end of the tunnel saw all services between London and the Continent cancelled for the rest of the day, leaving many trapped in France and others unable to start their trips abroad.

Eurostar said all trains were returning to original stations because the tunnel would be closed until further notice.

In a message posted on its website: "We are sorry but we are unable to run any further trains today because Eurotunnel has been closed due to smoke detected in the north tunnel.

"If you were planning to travel today, we advise you to postpone your journey and not to come to the station."

These photos show the scale of the disruption with enormous queues stretching outside from St Pancras this afternoon.

It was chaos on both sides - with similar scenes reported in Brussels and passengers caught waiting in Paris.

Chaos at Brussels station. Passengers being told all Eurostar trains been cancelled because of smoke in one of the cross-Channel tunnels.
— Darshna Soni (@darshnasoni) January 17, 2015

Kent Police said the smoke was caused by a lorry fire. A spokesman said: "A lorry fire has led to the closure of both bores of the Channel Tunnel.

Passengers at Paris #garedunord where all #Eurostar trains have been cancelled pic.twitter.com/ppqYHZ8xFg
— karine mayer (@foreignproducer) January 17, 2015

"The fire was at the French end of the tunnel and is being dealt with by the French authorities. There are no reported injuries.

"However, rail passengers are advised to expect significant delays whilst the vehicle is being recovered and fumes are cleared from the tunnels."

One woman said the queue had been told the wait to refund or exchange Eurostar tickets could be more than three hours.

The wait to exchange/refund #Eurostar tickets. Just told it could be over 3 hour wait here at St Pancras. pic.twitter.com/eUATZrGzRI
— Margaret Murphy (@Margaret_Murph) January 17, 2015

Meltdown at St Pancras due to all Eurostars cancelled. Lots of pissed-off French people.
— Ben Pedroche (@Ben_Pedroche) January 17, 2015

We're at St Pancras and all the Eurostar trains are cancelled. Tannoy says "due to an infrastructure problem". Internet says lorry on fire!
— Diniel (@DrDiniel) January 17, 2015

If you'd planned a romantic weekend in Paris, looks like you'll be staying in St Pancras tonight! #Eurostar #lorryfire #closed #trip #ruined
— Anthony Davis (@theanthonydavis) January 17, 2015

Stuck at St Pancras as no trains... smoke and fire in tunnel..... :((((((
— IsabellePasmantier (@Ipasmantier) January 17, 2015

Eurostar's own Twitter account was frantically answering people's questions and advising anyone forced to stay anywhere overnight to keep any receipts for refunds.

In March, hundreds of Eurostar passengers were delayed after a lightning strike triggered a fire in a building close to the entrance to the tunnel in Kent.

Although there was no damage to the track, four trains in and out of England were affected. Three eventually reached their destinations but the fourth, which had been heading to Paris, was forced to turn back to London.

The latest fire comes as security remains heightened following the fatal terror attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris last week.

The president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has spoken out, following criticism of this year’s Oscar nominations.

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Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is the Academy’s first black president, has insisted that the academy is “committed to seeking out the diversity of voice and opinion”, reports NBC News.

Cheryl Boone Isaacs

The 2015 Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday, though a number of fans and critics soon pointed out the lack of diversity in the nominees lists.

All 20 of the nominees in the main acting categories are white, and no women have made the shortlists for the writing and directing accolades.

"In the last two years, we've made greater strides than we ever have in the past toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive organization through admitting new members and more inclusive classes of members," Cheryl continues. “And, personally, I would love to see and look forward to see a greater cultural diversity among all our nominees in all of our categories."

British actor David Oyelowo has scored a number of award nominations for his portrayal of Martin Luther King in ‘Selma’, though he has not been recognised by the Academy.

The nominations are selected by branches of the Academy, notes the BBC. Then, almost 7,000 individual members vote to decide the winner.

A 2013 survey, conducted by the LA Times, found that the average age of the members is 63 years old, while 76% of them are male, and 93% are white.

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Ed Miliband has accused David Cameron of trying to "magic away" the problems of struggling families by claiming credit for falling oil prices.

The Labour leader said workers would be "choking on their cornflakes" after the Prime Minister urged firms to give pay rises with the windfall from cheaper oil.

He warned that the Tories' only plan was slashing state spending further, and accused Mr Cameron of cowardice for dodging televised general election debates.

In a speech to the Fabian Society's conference, Mr Miliband said: "Week after week, month after month, year after year, this Government has shown a tin ear for what is really going on.

Labour leader Ed Miliband delivers the keynote speech to the Fabian Society at its one day conference held at the Institute of Education, London

"They have denied the cost of living crisis. They have been woefully out of touch with the daily struggles of families. They have rubbished the idea that people are worse off.

"Even this week George Osborne was saying we were set under him to be 'the richest country in the world', and that his economic victory is complete.

"But we wake up this morning to hear that the Prime Minister thinks 'Britain needs a pay rise'. People across the country will have been choking on their cornflakes.

"This is someone who has spent months and years telling us there was no cost of living crisis, and then if there ever was one, it had been fixed. You couldn't make it up.

"Five years of denial, complacency and failure on living standards, and less than four months before an election, he claims to have woken up to the problem.

"You can't wipe out five years of failure on living standards with pre-election pleading. You can't magic away people being £1,600 a year worse off by trying to take credit for falling oil prices."

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Mr Miliband said Mr Cameron was desperate because he "knows he has failed".

"That's one of the reasons he is running from debates. He is neither proud of his record nor confident about his plans for the future," he said.

"Why did the chicken cross the road? To avoid the TV election debates."

The Labour leader insisted he was serious about tackling environmental issues, amid concern from strategists about the growing popularity of the Green Party.

'Britain needs a pay rise': President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron at a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Friday

"I cared about climate change when I was climate change secretary," he said. "I care about it as leader of the Opposition. And I will care about it as prime minister of this country."

Appealing for activists to work hard for a Labour victory, Mr Miliband promised a "political campaign like no other".

"Those who currently have the power will do anything to keep it," he said. "But they are the pessimists at this election, saying this is as good as it gets for this country. We are the optimists. We've got our chance now to change our country."

A senior Labour source said they believed Mr Cameron had made a "major strategic error" by raising the issue of living standards.

The Opposition would be taking the Tories on over the economy, according to the source.

Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "Labour lack all credibility. People will not forget that Miliband and Balls were at the heart of the last Labour government that crashed the economy. They have opposed every step we've taken to reduce the deficit - the British economy wouldn't be at the races at all with a Labour government.

"The Liberal Democrats in Government have delivered a strong economic recovery. We will finish the job of balancing the books fairly and quickly to keep that recovery on course. Miliband's 'manana, manana' on the deficit means borrowing billions more. The Conservatives will cut more than is needed, putting public services in jeopardy.

"Only the Liberal Democrats will keep the economy on course so that the recovery creates opportunity for everyone."

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "Ed Miliband is saying that Labour would put up taxes, borrow forever and burden our children with more debt than they could ever hope to repay.

"Britain's future economic security and hardworking taxpayers' financial security would be put at risk.

"That's why Ed Miliband is simply not up to the job and hardworking taxpayers would pay dearly as a result."

Cecil Jenkins, an activist from Hampstead, asked Mr Miliband: "We have been told by London region not to talk too much about the economy because it is not one of our strengths. Can this conceivably be true?"

The Labour leader replied, to laughter: "No."

He added: "We should talk about the economy as much as possible between now and the general election, because they have failed.

"There is a reason why Cameron is doing what he is doing today ... Suddenly the PM is on the plane back from the US, and he suddenly says Britain needs a pay rise."

Mr Miliband went on: "The answer to the gentleman's question is we should be talking about their record and their future. Because this point about the 1930s, you can't build a productive economy, you can't build a high- skill, high-wage economy if you slash back all the investments that actually create that economy of the future.

"So I say bring that economic debate on."

Mr Jenkins told a Telegraph reporter after the session that he had not been directly instructed to avoid talking about the economy.

"This is a small internal matter. The information was passed to me indirectly, it was written off as ridiculous," he said.

Britain woke up to frost and, in some places, snow on Saturday morning after temperatures plummeted overnight, with the Met Office issuing severe warnings of further snow, ice and hail are.

Temperatures fell below freezing overnight and snow fell in Yorkshire and Cumbria while heavy snow in Scotland caused trouble for motorists on Friday night.

Yellow warnings of snow and ice have been issued for much of the UK and it could be as cold as -13C in the Scottish highlands overnight and -7C in other parts of the country.

We could see around -12 °C in the highlands of Scotland tonight. Rural areas across the UK could see -6 to -7 °C or lower
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 17, 2015

England is likely to experience colder than average conditions over the next five days, but a spokeswoman for the Met Office said that overall it is a case of "typical British winter weather".

snow

A snow plough in Troutbeck, Cumbria on Saturday

The Met Office's Laura Young said: "It doesn't really warm up in Scotland and northern parts of England all weekend, so there is a very good potential for ice on Sunday. People really need to be aware of that.

"Basically, snow and sleet, then it becomes very, very clear, but then the temperatures really drop, and then it freezes."

snow

Snow covered fields near Reeth in North Yorkshire

Ms Young said it was "colder than average" for the time of year, and there are more snow and ice warnings than the same period last year.

snow

A man grits a snow covered road near Ripponden in West Yorkshire

The Met Office has issued an amber severe cold weather alert for north east and north west England, Yorkshire and Humber, and the East and West Midlands.

The amber alert, level three, "requires social and healthcare services to target specific actions at high-risk groups", the Met Office website said.

South west England, south east England and the east of England have been issued with a yellow alert for "alert and readiness".

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Caroline Abrahams, director of charity Age UK, said older people were at particular risk for older people, whom she urged to "take basic precautions", such as sleeping with all the windows closed.

"The cold weather can be particularly dangerous for older people who are more at risk of suffering health problems when the temperature drops," she said.

"It's a shocking fact that this winter one older person could die every seven minutes from the cold. Yet, with just under one million older people living in fuel poverty, many simply cannot afford to heat their homes to a temperature high enough to keep warm and well."

The Met Office has predicted a 90% probability of "severe cold weather/icy conditions" in parts of England by 12pm on Tuesday.

It said: "England is likely to experience colder-than-average conditions, with widespread overnight frosts. Some wintry precipitation can be expected for most areas too, mostly in the form of scattered showers, leading to lying snow and icy stretches in places.

"There is currently a good deal of uncertainty about the expected weather over south east England on Sunday, with a period of persistent rain potentially turning to sleet or snow over hills. Please stay in touch with the weather forecast for latest developments."

Meanwhile, photographer Rob Stothard took these amazing photos of Richmond Park in the frost on Saturday morning.

Frost in Richmond Park

Scores of university students have joined water rescue professionals as the search for teenager Euan Coulthard stretches into its third day.

Police say their "concerns are rising" for the 19-year-old but they remain hopeful he will be found safe and well.

The law student from Durham University's St Mary's College has not been seen or heard from since shortly before midnight on Wednesday, when CCTV captured him crossing the pedestrian Framwellgate Bridge alone. Police have established that his mobile phone powered down several minutes later.

The search for Euan Coulthard has stretched into a third day

On Saturday around 100 fellow students continued to work alongside professional rescue teams as searchers began to scour the fast-flowing River Wear below. Its waters reached about one metre higher than usual earlier this week.

"Because the river has been so high, today, Saturday, has actually been the first opportunity we've got to actually search the river as well as the banks," Chief Inspector Sue Robinson told Sky News.

"Of course as time passes, and we've had tremendously cold weather over the last three days, the welfare of Euan is paramount and our concerns are rising. However, this is still an active missing from home inquiry, and we'll continue in that vein until we receive information otherwise."

euan coulthard

Around 100 students are working alongside professional rescue teams

She said she had "every hope" Mr Coulthard would still be found.

It is expected the search will be called off at sunset but will resume at first light on Sunday.

Mr Coulthard is 5ft 9in, of average build, with light brown hair, which is short on the sides and longer on the top. When last seen he was wearing black skinny jeans, a denim jacket and a beige patterned shirt.

He'd been out celebrating a friend's 21st birthday at an Italian restaurant, and went on to the Love Shack nightclub.

The Labour Party is losing votes to Ukip because Nigel Farage sounds "much more authentic", a senior Labour MP has warned.

Margaret Hodge, the chair of the public accounts committee, told the Fabian Society conference in central-London on Saturday that the Labour leadership was too controlling.

"That top down agenda doesn't work. We also really think it's important to keep on message." she said. "I can't tell you how many emails I get every day telling me what to think, what to do and what to campaign on. I can tell you I never even open them, I delete them."

Hodge, the veteran MP for Barking, was taking part in a panel discussion on how much of a threat Ukip was to Labour at the election in May and beyond. Her success in seeing off the BNP in her east London seat at the 2010 election has led many in the party to look to her as an example of how to fight anti-immigrant parties.

"Mainstream political parties and how they function is broke," she said, explaining why she believed Ukip had seen a surge in support. "None of this is about apathy, it is more about anger with mainstream political parties."

Labour leader Ed Miliband delivers the keynote speech to the Fabian Society at its one day conference held at the Institute of Education

"If you think about Farage and us, Farage sounds much more authentic. We just all say the same thing without responding to the actuality of the situation we are in, [if we do] we are seen to be not on message."

Hodge also warned that Labour had to "have the guts" to talk about why migration could be a good thing. "We're not scared about talking about immigration, we are scared about talking about the benefits of immigration."

Earlier, Labour leader Ed Miliband had faced questions over whether the party had asked members not to talk about the economy.

Margaret Hodge: 'Farage sounds much more authentic'

Cecil Jenkins, an activist from Hampstead, asked Mr Miliband: "We have been told by London region not to talk too much about the economy because it is not one of our strengths. Can this conceivably be true?"

The Labour leader replied, to laughter: "No."

He added: "We should talk about the economy as much as possible between now and the general election, because they have failed.

"There is a reason why Cameron is doing what he is doing today ... Suddenly the PM is on the plane back from the US, and he suddenly says Britain needs a pay rise."

Mr Miliband went on: "The answer to the gentleman's question is we should be talking about their record and their future. Because this point about the 1930s, you can't build a productive economy, you can't build a high- skill, high-wage economy if you slash back all the investments that actually create that economy of the future.

"So I say bring that economic debate on."

Mr Jenkins told a Telegraph reporter after the session that he had not been directly instructed to avoid talking about the economy.

"This is a small internal matter. The information was passed to me indirectly, it was written off as ridiculous," he said.

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Stephen Fry has married his partner Elliott Spencer, he revealed this afternoon

The 57-year-old QI host posted a picture for his 8.5 million Twitter followers this afternoon, showing him and the 27-year-old signing a marriage register.

With the picture the actor and television presenter tweeted: "Gosh. @ElliottGSpencer and I go into a room as two people, sign a book and leave as one. Amazing."

Gosh. @ElliottGSpencer and I go into a room as two people, sign a book and leave as one. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/bPDQD5WQoB
— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) January 17, 2015

The wedding comes 11 days after it was revealed that the couple planned to marry.

Fry gave formal notice to wed at a register office in Dereham, Norfolk, near where he grew up.

According to documents on display in Norwich, the wedding was due to take place in the Breckland Business Centre, which houses the register office.

On the paperwork, Fry gave his occupation as "actor" while Mr Spencer was listed as a writer. Both said they were currently living in Norfolk.

After the nuptials plan was revealed, Fry tweeted that he had hoped for a private wedding, adding: "Fat chance."

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Fry's former comedy partner, House star Hugh Laurie, later tweeted his congratulations.

He wrote: "Bloody hell it's happened! @ElliottGSpencer has made an honest man of m'col. Love and happiness to all!!"

Bloody hell it's happened! @ElliottGSpencer has made an honest man of m'col. Love and happiness to all!!
— Hugh Laurie (@hughlaurie) January 17, 2015

These things always seem like a good idea in theory, but seldom do they go as planned, and Scottish Labour learnt the hard way Saturday what a vicious beast social media can be.

Labour wanted young people to tweet their ideas on the hashtag #MyFutureScotland

Launching its #MyFutureScotland campaign for "young people" with the aim to make Scotland 'the fairest nation on earth', Labour must have thought it was on a winner:

Across Scotland in the last five years, people under 35 have borne the brunt of unemployment and of college cuts. Too many young people are struggling to make ends meet. Young families need more affordable childcare. Young people need a positive future

Today we launch #MyFutureScotland to hear young people's ideas & help us make Scotland the fairest nation on earth http://t.co/YIrGDnpo1F
— Melanie Ward (@melanie_ward) January 17, 2015

And with new leader Jim Murphy still technically in his honeymoon period, everything was looking rosy:

Good to see #MyFutureScotland trending thanks to @melanie_ward
Here's what it's about.
http://t.co/2deryedBRd
— Jim Murphy (@jimmurphymp) January 17, 2015

But Twitter politics rarely gets more brutal than when it involves Scottish independence, and especially the social media bruisers know as The 45%.

So it wasn't long before #MyFutureScotland was trending across the UK.

twitter trends

It's just that it really wasn't what Jim Murphy or Labour had in mind:

It's trending JIM but not as you thought! #myfuturescotland #SlabFail pic.twitter.com/Wi5geIU4C8
— 45Storm (@The45Storm) January 17, 2015

And that tweet seemed to set the tone of what became a huge Labour-bashing pile-on in which the pro-independence camp let off some serious steam:

Hey, Scottish Labour, all your hashtags belong to us. #MyFutureScotland pic.twitter.com/p50mzZcGR7
— declassified scotbot (@scotbot) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland , saltire will be first minister ! pic.twitter.com/bHFf3CFLYg ;-) @SaltireComics
— BraveStarr (@Justin_Fellow) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland will prove that all those independence scare stories were bullshit and we'll make a success of it
— big red (@TBoltBananas) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland all labour MPs in blair cabinet who lied abt wmd in Iraq and caused over 100k deaths will stand trial for war crimes
— willie watt (@scrubsworld) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland will extradite everybody that supported the Iraq invasion to The Hague. pic.twitter.com/wJu5mglMyY
— BraveStarr (@Justin_Fellow) January 17, 2015

Jim Murphy will take credit for the "success" of #myfuturescotland. He's dishonest like that.
— Shauny Boy (@Shiny02) January 17, 2015

In #myfuturescotland MP's who swindle the public by cheating on their expenses, will no longer be deemed fit for public office @jimmurphymp
— Lynn Blair (@makingclayblog) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland.
Where attitudes such as this won't be tolerated pic.twitter.com/kp5XuO08zi
— Dave (@57d2e8b8ba774cb) January 17, 2015

just to be clear @melanie_ward & @jimmurphymp #myfuturescotland we are not laughing With you #SilenceOfTheUnionists
— traquir (@traquir) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland a scottish govt would regulate the banks pic.twitter.com/zoRjT5Rqrv
— longjohnsilver (@55depp55) January 17, 2015

.@jimmurphymp You really didn't look at ANY of the tweets under that hashtag did you? Numpty!
— Fairweather Friend (@ActionsThatEcho) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland will never, ever have Jim Murphy as First Minister
— patronsaintofcats (@patronsaintofca) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland will probably, in a great many respects, be fairly similar to the present. But hopefully independent.
— Mhairi Hunter (@MhairiHunter) January 17, 2015

#MyFutureScotland would see #UKLabour obliterated, giving us a chance to build a fairer society without them holding us back
— Gordon Sinclair (@ThistleWeb) January 17, 2015

In #myfuturescotland Jim Murphy will check why something is trending before boasting that it is...
— Mark McDonald (@markmcdsnp) January 17, 2015

Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent (based in Scotland), which Labour backs, was a popular theme:

As a young person, #myfuturescotland is one without Trident and tuition fees. So one without Jim Murphy as First Minister, basically.
— Chris Glendinning (@cglendinning95) January 17, 2015

#MyFutureScotland One where money is spent on our children's future - not nuclear weapons or unelected peers in the House of Lords
— Anum (@anum_qaisar) January 17, 2015

In #myfuturescotland we would have no weapons of mass destruction pic.twitter.com/n9dIin4Ipc
— the45 (@Phoenix45Blog) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland will be nuclear free, and independent of course
— Mr Bradley (@niallbtwit) January 17, 2015

In #myfuturescotland abominations like this will be illegal...and so will Trident! pic.twitter.com/DRLbUvaFav
— Gerry Mckay (@gerrymckay) January 17, 2015

In fact, even the tweets that first appeared to be mildly supportive of Jim Murphy, actually turned out to be the 'laughing AT you' type:

You foolish cybernats! Jim Murphy's plan has worked. If you tweeted #myfuturescotland you have just #AccidentallyJoinedLabour . GAME OVER.
— Shauny Boy (@Shiny02) January 17, 2015

And these tweets, pretty well summed it up:

#myfuturescotland hashtag shows a complete misunderstanding by @scottishlabour of what took place during #IndyRef & why people participated.
— National Collective (@WeAreNational) January 17, 2015

#myfuturescotland hashtag - rousing Yessers to idealistic #indy aspiration (& total critiques of ScotLab). Whose brilliant idea was THAT?
— Pat Kane (@thoughtland) January 17, 2015

RT: HILARIOUS! Another Jim Murphy stunt backfires! Yes @jimmurphymp #myfuturescotland is trending, but.....#Creepyjim pic.twitter.com/WbuyL3fcU4
— 45Storm (@The45Storm) January 17, 2015

As of publication, Jim Murphy was yet to respond on Twitter.

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2015 Looks Like A Good Year For The SNP

The group that has attracted tens of thousands to its anti-Islam rallies has called off the latest one because of an alleged terrorist threat against one of its organisers.

Pegida, or Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West (Patriotische Europaer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes), has held rallies every Monday in Dresden.

Last week's event drew the largest crowd yet, with police estimating some 25,000 people attended.

pegida

A Pegida demonstration in December in Dresden

Pegida said on Facebook that this Monday's rally was called off for security reasons because, according to police, "there is a concrete threat against a member of the organisation team."

Post by PEGIDA.

Dresden police chief Dieter Kroll said there had been a call for attackers to mingle with the demonstrators and kill one of the protest organisers.

He issued an order barring any rallies in the city on Monday.

He didn't specify where the threat came from, or if any group was behind it but said it resembled an Arabic-language Tweet describing Pegida as an "enemy of Islam."

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Mr Kroll said there was no information about any specific potential attacker or how exactly an attack might be carried out, which led officials to conclude that there was no way to prevent possible danger other than canceling the rally.

The move comes amid heightened security concerns across Europe following last week's terror attacks in Paris, in which 17 people were killed.

Pegida called on supporters to instead hang flags out of their windows and light candles on Monday evening. It said the group and authorities were working on a "security concept" for its next rally on January 26.

The Dresden rallies have drawn criticism from many German politicians. Similar groups in other German cities haven't drawn anywhere near as much support, and there have been much larger demonstrations against them.

Pegida's demonstrations in Dresden

Forecasters are predicting the coldest night in Britain so far this winter, with temperatures plunging as low as -15C late tonight and early tomorrow morning in parts of inland Scotland.

Some areas have already experienced freezing conditions with the temperature dropping to minus -7C in Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands last night.

Met Office operational forecaster Calum MacColl said conditions would be "clear as a bell" in affected areas and urged people to wrap up. "It only has to get past minus 9C (15.8F) and we'll have the coldest night for winter," he said.

That record was set on December 27, in Cromdale, Moray. Snow showers are also expected to push into coastal areas in the north east of Scotland but severe yellow weather warnings for snow and icy conditions covering large swathes of the country have been lifted.

Drivers have been warned to take extra care on the roads in icy conditions. A new yellow "be aware" warning of snow and ice has been put in place for much of the north east of Scotland, as well as coastal areas in North East England and Yorkshire and Humber.

Forecasters say a small area of low pressure will move southwards down the North Sea later today and overnight into Monday, bringing rain, sleet and snow.

Britain Blanketed In Frost Is Absolutely Beautiful

Up to five centimetres of snow could fall on inland areas above 200 metres with more expected at higher altitudes, while coastal areas are more likely to experience a mix of rain and sleet.

In the north west, one man was lucky to be pulled from an icy riverbank at Sedgwick. Cumbria Police Inspector Christ Wright said paramedics called in shortly before 9am this morning with reports that a man had fallen onto the rocks. Authorities were not sure if he'd been in the water, nor how long he'd been exposed to the elements.

Temperatures in the area hovered below freezing overnight. "The weather was against us this morning, there was thick fog in the area and we have had snow," Insp Wright said. "The male was found lying on an island in the middle of the river."

It's believed the man, a Lancashire local aged in his early 50s, had to be treated for hypothermia but is now recovering in hospital.

It was a sunnier start to the day at Bottoms Farm in Keighley, a 200-year-old converted barn on a sheep farm near the Yorkshire Dale, where owner Linda Littler snapped a quartet of geese taking a wander through the snow.

The forecast led to bookmaker Coral slashing the odds from 20-1 to 8-1 that the UK's record low temperature of -27.2C (-17F) will be broken this year.

Coral's Nicola McGeady said: "As Britain braces itself for freezing weather, we have witnessed an avalanche of bets on 2015 being the coldest ever."

A Christian nurse will take her NHS Trust to court over claims she was disciplined for "praying" for a Muslim colleague, which was deemed tantamount to "harassment and bullying".

Victoria Wasteney, 37, a senior occupational health therapist at the John Howard Centre which is a mental hospital in London, told the Sunday Telegraph she wanted to help her friend and colleague Enya Nawaz when she was unwell, and described placing her hand on her knee and asked if she could pray for her.

Wasteney, a born-again Christian from Buckhurst Hill in Essex, claims she said: "God, I trust You will bring peace and You will bring healing."

She was later suspended on full pay for nine months and given a written warning about the prayer, which her superiors described as "harassment".

Wasteney told the Sunday Telegraph she is taking the East London NHS Foundation Trust to a tribunal. "I'm not a hard-line evangelical. I'm not anti-Muslim. I believe in freedom of speech, but I've always believed we should be sensitive to one another's beliefs and feelings," she said.

Nawaz alleged in an eight-page document that Wasteney had tried to convert her to Christianity. Wasteney admitted inviting Nawaz to her church to take part in activism over human trafficking, which they had a shared interest in. She said she had also given Nawaz a book called I Dared To Call Him Father, about a Muslim woman who converts to Christianity.

Nawaz came to Wasteney in distress over medical issues, and the nurse said she gave her a shoulder to cry on. "She was very emotional and tearful and was talking to me about her fear of dying," she told the Telegraph. "I put my hand on her knew to comfort her – asking her if that was all right – and prayed with her, asking God to heal her. It was a natural and open thing for me to do and she didn't object in any way."

“Jesus is a central figure in both religions and we discussed this and other aspects quite openly and comfortably,” she added. “It wasn’t a case of me trying to convert her, let alone force Christianity on her. How could you?”

Wasteney returned to work in March 2014 but said she was treated like a “religious nutcase”, and was later moved to another role at the trust’s head offices.

In documents submitted to the East London Employment Tribunal, she claims: “My professional career has been jeopardised, my reputation damaged, relations with colleagues ruined and I was subjected to an ordeal of persecution dressed as 'disciplinary action’ for an extraordinarily long time. I was discriminated against because of my faith.”

A businessman said to have advised David Cameron has been arrested on suspicion of raping a girl under the age of consent.

Doug Richard was questioned by police and released on bail.

A spokesman for City of London Police said: "City of London Police detectives arrested a 56-year-old man on January 5 2015 on suspicion of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual activity with a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming and rape of a girl under the age of consent. He was bailed on January 6 until March 2015."

The Sunday Mirror reported that Mr Richard, who starred on BBC's Dragons' Den in the first two series, has travelled with Mr Cameron on an official government trip to Africa and advised on policy.

The American-born married millionaire has also worked as an adviser to Chancellor George Osborne, the newspaper said.

The alleged victim is 13 years old, it added.

The newspaper quoted a statement issued by Mr Richard which said: "I absolutely deny the allegations made about me.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further given that the police are at a very early stage of their investigation."

Mr Richard's association with Mr Cameron goes back to at least 2007, when the then Opposition leader invited the technology entrepreneur to write a report about small business in Britain, the newspaper said.

In 2008, the Californian founded a business loans initiative called School for Startups, alongside the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, it added, and he remained an adviser after Mr Cameron entered Downing Street in 2010.

Miss Lebanon is facing calls for her to be stripped of her title because of this image.

Good morning from us! Miss Japan , miss Slovenia, miss Lebanon & I ❤️ @missunews @missuniverse @beautyschoolbs @belezasdouniverso @missuniversusa @miss_israel #miami #mu2014 #missisrael #loveisrael #MissIsraelUniverse #missuniversemiami

A photo posted by Doron Matalon (@doronmatalon) on Jan 11, 2015 at 5:46am PST

The photo was taken on January 11 by Miss Israel and fellow Miss Universe contestant Doron Matalan, and shows her with Miss Lebanon Saly Greige alongside Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan.

It led to some on social media calling for Ms Greige to be stripped of her title for fraternising with the enemy.

Israel and Lebanon remain technically at war and fought their most recent conflict in 2006. The comments on the instagram post mostly related to people arguing over politics in the Middle East.

Lebanese TV Station Al Jadeed joked that Ms Greige, who listed reading among her hobbies in the Miss Universe pageant, should read up on the history of Israeli-Lebanese relations.

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Ms Greige insisted she did her best to avoid being photographed with Ms Matalan, who she accused of photo-bombing her.

"Since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss Universe, I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel, who tried several times to take a photo with me," she said.

"I was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia, suddenly Miss Israel jumped in and took a selfie, and uploaded it on her social media."

“This is what happened. I hope you continue supporting me.”

After the image caused a storm, Ms Matalan reposted it to instagram on Sunday, saying: "It doesn't surprise me, but it still makes me sad.

"Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game, only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country."

People watching ITV News on Sunday evening saw something the journalist didn't - a moped drive straight into a passing pedestrian.

The reporter Ria Chatterjee was at St Pancras Station, covering the second day of misery for travellers amid delays following the lorry fire on Saturday which left thousands of passengers stranded on either side of the Channel.

As she was describing the latest developments during a piece to camera, a moped hit a pedestrian and knocked him to the ground, in plain sight of the camera but behind her.

As this Vine shows, the sound of the crash and a yelp of pain were clearly audible to the viewers at home.

just casually getting run over by a moped live on itv news... https://t.co/F8VzzFxNuw
— •.• (@eyeyeyleyeyey) January 18, 2015

People were tweeting in disbelief just after they saw it happen.

I know i cant be the only person who just saw the man crash his moped behind the news reporter on ITV news
— Marcus Nasty (@MARCUSNASTY) January 18, 2015

Love how a pedestrian got knocked over by a moped live on ITV News and the presenter carries on like she hasn't heard anything lol!
— Ryan Stanley (@rstanley91) January 18, 2015

Erm, did anyone else just see a moped crash happen live, right behind the reporter on itv news?!
— James McIntyre (@MackyJamesUK) January 18, 2015

Ms Chatterjee, who continued the piece uninterrupted after the crash happened, later tweeted that were both ok.

The pedestrian and motorcyclist who collided during my live broadcast at St Pancras Stn are both fine.
— Ria Chatterjee (@RiaChatter) January 18, 2015

Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) is a farce and should be scrapped altogether, Nick Clegg has said.

He said that he found sitting alongside David Cameron during the weekly Commons clashes "awkward".

Interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics on Sunday, Mr Clegg said: "How much (more) awkward can you get?

nick clegg prime ministers

Nick Clegg is feeling 'awkward' in this photo, he has confirmed

"To have to sit to listen to your two main rivals tear strips off each other and you're not allowed to say anything.

"Of course it's awkward, it's ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous, the whole thing should be scrapped.

"It's an absolute farce, Prime Minister's Questions."

Asked whether he would be sitting next to Cameron at PMQs right up until Parliament dissolves for the general election, Mr Clegg said: "I sometimes will, I sometimes won't.

"Do I think that use of my time, sitting there biting my tongue as I listen to them say increasingly daft and shrill things to each other, do I think it's a great use of my time?

"No. Do I wish I didn't have to do it? Probably, quite a lot of the time."

Clegg is not the first heavyweight parliamentarian to condemn PMQs in the last year.

Speaker John Bercow condemned the bad behaviour at PMQs and cited the many letters from the public, pouring scorn on parliament's "nodding donkeys" and "sneering fools", as evidence it needs to reform.

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Ed Miliband has said he would replace PMQs with a "public question time" if he becomes prime minister after May's general election.

He said: "At the moment there is the glass that separates the public in the gallery from the House of Commons, but there is a gulf miles wide between the kind of politics people want and what Prime Minister's Questions offers."

Have you ever tried to explain the British political system to an American? I tried to do that today. We were discussing the upcoming elections in both Britain and the USA, where we would be choosing our new parliament in May this year while they would be choosing their new President in 2016. The biggest difference between are two systems, is that in Britain we don't CHOOSE our prime minister, or our government. We only choose our Member of Parliament. But do we?

Before we answer that question, I want to ask another, related question. Why is this election looking to be so different than previous ones, with neither Labour nor Conservative parties being able to make significant gains from the last election, despite the expected collapse of the Lib Dem vote? The answer takes us back to the first question; it is because we don't really choose our members of parliament in a true, representative fashion. And it is damaging not only the political parties but also British politics as a whole.

When I go campaigning as a member of the Conservative party, most people at the door say to me "ahhh politicians, they're all the same!" When I ask why they think this, the answer is usually "well, they're all rich already! They all went to posh schools, they all had lots of money already. They don't understand what it is like for the rest of us". That to me, is interesting. It's not that they think all MPs are liars, or cheats or corrupt. It's that they are not able to recognise or associate with the challenges of the majority of the population.

And I think that's a fair point. In this parliament, despite a long, downward trend over the last twenty years, the number of public school MPs has risen, with a huge 20 of them from Eton alone. That's five more MPs than the previous Parliament. Twenty MPs from one school. I want you to think about how truly representative that is. In this parliament, 40% of MPs went to a comprehensive school, compared to the 88% of the UK population (I'm proud to say, I was a comprehensive school boy!). 25% of MPs were educated at Oxbridge universities, while only 1% of the UK population shares that privilege. The electorate are right, our politics is unrepresentative and therefore, undemocratic.

The House of Lords is even more terrifying; 50% of its members are educated privately and of the remainder only 12% went to a comprehensive school. Three in five Lords come from 24 universities.

In the current government, five went to Cambridge, and nine went to Oxford. That means 64% of the cabinet went to two universities. Much has been made of those who studied PPE at Oxford, including David Cameron, William Hague, Chris Huhne (now out of course), Jeremy Hunt, and Philip Hammond all studied PPE at Oxford (along with 30 others MPs, including Ed Balls and Ed Milliband). PPE is only studied at Oxford with about 200 grads a year.

It would appear that our parliament, our government our electoral system is not representative. And therefore, it simply cannot be democratic. Political parties are choosing people similar to themselves to be candidates, opening doors to the most elite circles in British society to those already amongst the elite.

While political parties must take action to change this, to be more representative, so we the people of Britain must take action to find those among us, who went to comprehensive schools, who went to former polytechnic universities, to get involved with politics and put themselves forward for election. There's no point moaning we aren't represented, we have to be willing to make the commitment ourselves.

It's been eight years since the global economic recession took place in December 2007. It left a trail of unemployment, a tougher jobs market, a surplus of unemployed graduates and low public confidence in its wake.

It was around this time that entrepreneurship and social enterprise took off with thousands of people taking matters into their own hands and starting up their own businesses to resolve the issue of joblessness. It's certainly the reason why I decided to start up my own business.

Technology has dramatically changed the modern world of work has dramatically changed and continues to change attitudes in favour of a more fluid career path.

A study conducted by The Prince's Trust found that 5% of young people are currently self employed, that 25% of young people expect to become self employed in the next five years and 30% expect to be self employed in the next future.

The Apprentice candidate Solomon Akhtar showed us that young people can become entrepreneurs by being passionate about an idea and utilising their knowledge and skills set. (Just don't put two pages of sailing boats in a business proposal!)

As a young entrepreneur myself, here is a list of valuable tips and advice that I have been given by business mentors and colleagues:

1. Think about what you really want and go for it

Starting up your own business can feel very overwhelming and it's normal to feel stressed out most of the time - especially if you have no previous experience of doing so (as I did).
A useful technique that many successful entrepreneurs use is to mentally visualise themselves reaching their target goal and then implement realistic strategies that will help them to achieve it.

2. Be financially savvy

The Prince's Trust Report found that 59% of young people felt that the only thing stopping them from starting up a business was a lack of money.

Finances are a crucial part of running a business, large or small, so it is important to keep an eye on your earnings and spendings. Generally speaking, it is now cheaper than ever to start up a business thanks to the Internet.

If you are worried about finances, it is worth getting advice from a financial planner or a bank manager. A useful way to streamline your finances is have a separate account for your daily expenses, another for your business income and a third as a savings account.

3. Patience really is a virtue: but it pays off

The process of starting up your own business is a laboured love that takes time. I didn't make a profit for a whole year, but I am glad that I stuck to my guns and persevered through the tough times.

A lack of patience is one of the main reasons why so many start ups fail; even if the idea that you have is fantastic and will generate a profit.
Whenever you feel like this it's important to put things into perspective. Take a step back and remember how excited, determined and passionate you were about your idea. Remember the reasons why you chose a different path and began your business.

4. Support other entrepreneurs

A great piece of advice I was given from a mentor was to avoid the four "Cs" and don't:
Compare
Criticise
Compete
Complain

Every entrepreneur's journey is as unique as their business and we all have our ups and downs. It's not worth putting each other down or feeling envious of another's success. We're all at different stages in our businesses and it is far more nicer (and professional) to support each other. After all: we're more or less in the same boat.

5. Network, network, network!

Networking is a vital lifeline of any start up. Yes, it's a very daunting prospect as we're all scared of looking needy or judged, but - in the words of my mentor - "They have two eyes, two ears, a stomach and a bum. There's nothing to worry about."

Networking is more than just generating profit, attending swanky events to drink champagne or rubbing shoulders with big shots. It is the greatest source of support and advice that you will ever have. I always ensure that I have a minimum of 10 business cards on me at all times; you never know when an opportunity will come along!

Other entrepreneurs and seasoned business owners are more than happy to give advice and support upcoming entrepreneurs because they know how difficult it is.

With technology at our fingertips, it is now far more easier to build up a wide ranging professional network. The Internet and having a smart phone makes this process so much more easier as you can connect with people from all over the world via forms of social media and LinkedIn.

You can also directly contact individuals you admire as well as traditional word of mouth.

Starting up a business from scratch is a scary prospect and sometimes you may want to just give up. Please don't. I promise you that the modern working world needs young creative innovators with ideas and that this demand isn't going to go down anytime soon.

This year's houseful of washed-up celebrities is starting to look a bit thin, Katie Price's £500,000 surprise* appearance notwithstanding, as yet another one departed, admittedly this time of his own volition.

Alexander O'Neal walked three hours after being admonished by Big Brother for using a derogatory term to describe Perez Hilton. Some might suggest there are thousands more appropriate derogatory terms available to describe Perez Hilton, but that kind of talk is for another columnist. Katie Hopkins, for example.

Yet Ms Hopkins has been out-nastied at every turn; the best she can come up with is being mean to Alicia Duvall on the basis that she reckons the plastic surgery fan is stupid. Even Keith Chegwin climbed onto the Alicia-Is-A-Thicko bandwagon, saying that when he tells a joke he has to count to 20 as it takes that long for Alicia to get the punch line. Given that Cheggers jokes are (1) not funny, (2) still not funny and (3) nope, not even a hefty dose of laughing gas is going to work, Alicia's behaviour is not that of the slow-witted. Rather, she is not in the business of pretending she gets the joke when no joke has been made. No matter how many times you shriek "Wha-HAY!"

Alicia also hid two bananas under her bed, a crime apparently punishable by death if some of the louder voices in the household had their way. Only Kavana appears to be even vaguely connected with the normal, and that's probably down to the fact that he's not a celebrity.

This is a household where everybody shouts at and over everybody else, and when that isn't happening there is nothing other than an endless stream of bitching, arguing, back-biting and sly, cruel remarks. The Daily Mail has taken to referring to Perez Hilton as "The Most Hated Man In Britain", a patently ludicrous moniker and one that nobody is using other than the Daily Mail itself. Hilton is finding little support this side of the Atlantic though, with celebrities such as Louis from 1D, Amanda Abbington and Arlene Phillips all condemning his actions.

With the exception of the increasingly deranged Hilton, most of the people in the house are pretty normal, and I never thought I'd say that about Calum Best. But if the programme can't keep hold of its guests long enough to evict them, then the public doesn't get its say and that's not the premise of Big Brother.

As for the Channel 5 execs, before they congratulate themselves on all the publicity they've garnered, they should remember this: they could have saved themselves close on a million quid by not bothering with either Katie Price or Hopkins.

*Absolutely nobody was surprised

(This post was first published here)

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