Plane Plunges Into Water Near Bali Airport

A plane with more than 100 people onboard has overshot a runway on the island of Bali and plunged into the sea.

Despite dramatic pictures showing the Lion Air jet with a broken fuselage, officials said everyone on board had survived.

The Boeing 787-800 plane came to rest in shallow water near the shoreline and bright yellow life jackets could be seen littering the nearby water and shore.

A passenger being attended to a hospital in Kedongan, near Denpasar

Bali police chief Arif Wahyunadi told local TV One that everyone had been evacuated and taken inside Denpasar airport.

An Indonesian official cited by the AFP news agency said around 130 passengers and crew were on board but other reports said it was more than 170.

At least seven passengers were taken to Sanglah hospital for treatment to head wounds and broken bones, according to hospital officials and paramedics.

Many passengers arrived with wet clothes and bruises.

The cause of the accident is still unclear and crash investigators are preparing to launch an inquiry.

Local residents at the fence of the airport near Denpasar

Mr Wahyunadi said the plane originated from Bandung, the capital of West Java province, and was landing in Bali.

The twin-engined aircraft was operated by local carrier Lion Air, whose operating base is at Bandung.

Access to the crash site was made difficult because of large concrete shore erosion protection blocks.

Some rescuers appeared to have paddled out to the stranded aircraft on surfboards.

Lion Air began operating in 2000 with just one aircraft in its fleet.

It quickly expanded operations to more than 36 locations in Indonesia.

Bali is a popular tourist destination in Indonesia

It also flies to foreign locations including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam and used a fleet Boeing 737 aircraft.

Bali is a hugely popular holiday destination, welcoming millions of foreign tourists from around the world every year.

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Five Dead In Crash Between Lorry And Car

Police have confirmed that five people who died in a head-on crash between a car and a lorry were from the same family.

The victims, who included a baby, were all from the Durham area, according to Humberside Police who are investigating.

Three of the family died at the scene after the smash on the A18 near Grimbsy on Friday lunchtime.

Two were taken to the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital but died later.

They had been on their way to Skegness with friends, travelling in a Nissan Primera.

Three ambulances and an air ambulance rushed to the spot in Laceby, which was then closed until late on Friday night.

The driver of the lorry - a light goods vehicle - is thought to have sustained minor injuries.

The accident happened on the A18 near Grimsby

A Humberside Police spokesman said: "Police officers investigating the serious collision which happened on the A18 near Laceby on Friday 12 April 2013 are now able to confirm that all five people who tragically died were from the same family who were from the Durham area.

"The family, which included a baby, are thought to have been driving to Skegness with friends when the collision happened."

Operations Superintendent Tracy Bradley said: "Our deepest thoughts go out to the family and friends of those who were tragically killed in this collision.

"We are working closely with relatives of those who lost their lives and are supporting them through what will be a very difficult time.

"Roads policing officers are working closely with our collision investigation team to piece together the evidence we have gathered in order to try and determine what led to this tragic incident taking place and took the lives of those travelling in the Nissan at the time.

"We have spoken to a number of key witnesses already, however, if anyone saw the incident but has not come forward I would ask them to do so."

The Grimsby stretch of the A18 featured in a BBC television programme, Britain's Most Dangerous Roads, in 2011.

The show, which aired two years ago, claimed the stretch of road was 25 times more dangerous than the average British motorway, with 20 crashes in the previous three years.

It was also found to be the UK's highest-risk stretch of road for car drivers in a nationwide survey conducted by the Road Safety Foundation in 2010.

After the crash, Jason Abrams, a golfer at the nearby Laceby Manor Golf Club, told ITV News: "All we know is that there's been four adults and one baby killed in the accident.

"It's a bendy road but people do go at a great lick along it. It's 60mph at the moment but the council are looking at changing it to 50 and hopefully this will make a difference.

"A car went into an articulated lorry. All we know is what the police have said - that the car tried to overtake something or the car hit a kerb which has sent it spinning out of control and obviously gone head-on into a lorry."

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Thatcher: Daughter Carol's Personal Tribute

Baroness Thatcher's daughter Carol has spoken of the "tough and tearful week" ahead as the nation prepares for the former prime minister's funeral.

Speaking publicly for the first time since her mother's death, she said: "I feel like anyone else who has just lost a second parent.

"It is a deeply sad and rather thought-provoking landmark in life.

"My mother once said to me 'Carol, I think my place in history is assured'.

"The magnificent tributes this week, the wonderful words of President Obama, to others and colleagues who once worked alongside her, have proved her right."

Lady Thatcher with her husband Dennis and children Mark and Carol in 1976

She thanked people who sent messages of sympathy and support, which she said had given her strength in the days before Wednesday's funeral at St Paul's Cathedral in central London.

But she added: "I know that this is going to be a tough and tearful week even for the daughter of the Iron Lady."

Wearing a black shawl, black trousers and clutching a pair of sunglasses, she delivered the statement outside the family home in Belgravia, before being joined by her brother Sir Mark.

Carol Thatcher with her mother at Wimbledon ladies' singles finals in 2006

He was the first member of the family to speak publicly about Lady Thatcher after she died on Monday at the Ritz in central London.

Sir Mark said his mother had been blessed with "a long life, and a very full one", but that her death was "without doubt a very sad moment".

Carol Thatcher flew in to the UK last night with her boyfriend ski instructor Marco Grass, to help with the arrangements for the ceremonial funeral - for which Lady Thatcher left specific instructions.

Mark Thatcher, his wife Sarah, Carol Thatcher and her boyfriend Marco Grass

Britain's longest serving prime minister and the only woman so far to hold the role will be given a ceremonial funeral with full military honours.

More than 2,000 guests have been invited. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will head a congregation of former leaders, current politicians, Falklands veterans and celebrities including Tony Blair, former South African president FW de Klerk, TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, actress Joan Collins and singer Dame Shirley Bassey who have already confirmed their attendance.

And it will be a precedent - as it will be the first ceremonial funeral for a former British prime minister the Queen has ever attended. She went to Sir Winston Churchill's state ceremony in 1965.

However, some key players - including former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan's wife Nancy, are all unable to attend.

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North Korea: Defector Reveals Harrowing Escape

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

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'Hounslow Slasher' Jailed Over Knife Attacks

A man dubbed the "Hounslow Slasher" after he knifed two women in random attacks in London has been jailed for 18 years.

Sasha Masamba, 21, of Nicholes Road, Hounslow, grabbed both women from behind before cutting them in random attacks 10 days apart in Hounslow last year.

More follows...

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'We Stand With Allies': US Warns North Korea

US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned North Korea it would defend its allies after holding talks in the South Korean capital Seoul.

Speaking at a joint news conference with South Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se, Mr Kerry said the US would never accept North Korea as a nuclear power and described rhetoric from Pyongyang as "unacceptable".

He added that a missile test would be another "unwanted contribution to an already volatile situation" and a "huge mistake".

He said: "It would indicate who was being provactive with an exclamation point again.

"We will defend our allies. We will stand with South Korea, Japan and others. We will defend ourselves.

"Kim Jong Un needs to understand, as I think he probably does, what the outcome of a conflict would be."

A US agency believes that Kim Jong Un does have nuclear weapons

Intelligence reports from the Japanese, South Koreans and Americans have indicated that a North Korean missile test could take place at any time, though there has been silence from the leadership in Pyongyang.

The focus in the North Korean capital has been on a weekend of celebrations to mark a year in office for Kim Jong Un, which fell yesterday, and the anniversary of Mr Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Song, the founder of the nation.

The level of rhetoric to emerge from North Korea is unprecedented.

Over several weeks, the regime has declared itself to be in a "state of war" with the South, announced that a mothballed nuclear site is to be reopened and threatened to carry out nuclear attacks against the US.

Mr Kerry arrived in the region as confusion surfaced in Washington over the true status of North Korea's nuclear capability.

North Korea is celebrating a year in office for Kim Jong Un

The broad consensus is that while Kim Jong Un does poses nuclear devices and has crossed the "nuclear threshold", he does not have the capability to launch a nuclear missile.

However, at a congressional hearing on Thursday night, it emerged that one US government agency believes that Kim Jong Un does have nuclear weapons which could be placed inside a ballistic missile and fired.

Republican US Representative Doug Lamborn, quoting from a March 2013 DIA report which was inadvertently labelled "unclassified", said: "(The) Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low."

The Pentagon was quick to issue a written clarification on the matter.

Spokesman George Little said: "In today's House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of Defence budget, a member of the committee read an unclassified passage in a classified report on North Korea's nuclear capabilities.

Flower displays for the anniversary of Kim Il Sung's death feature missiles

"While I cannot speak to all the details of a report that is classified in its entirety, it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed, or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced in the passage."

Washington added it was concerned about unexpected developments linked to the inexperience of 30-year-old Kim Jong Un.

One official said: "Kim Jong Un's youth and inexperience make him very vulnerable to miscalculation. Our greatest concern is a miscalculation and where that may lead.

"We have seen no indications of massive troop movements, or troops massing on the border, or massive exercises or anything like that that would back up any of the rhetoric that is going on."

North Korea has said that it does possess advanced nuclear devices.

President Barack Obama, speaking after White House talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said "nobody wants to see a conflict".

He added: "We both agree that now is the time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach that they've been taking.

"It's important for North Korea, like every other country in the world, to observe basic rules and norms."

This whole crisis stems from Pyongyang's desire to pursue a nuclear programme which it says it needs to defend itself from "American aggression".

By manufacturing this crisis, Kim Jong Un is likely to be demonstrating strength domestically and thus bolstering his legitimacy.

Internationally, he is determined that his country is taken seriously as a nuclear power.

He would want an acceptance from the Americans that he is part of the 'nuclear club' as a pretext to any negotiations to end this crisis.

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South Africa Rhinos Under Threat From Poaching

By Alex Crawford, At Kruger National Park, South Africa

Officials at South Africa's National Parks say they are "under siege" from rhino poachers and if the killings go on at the current rate the animal will be extinct within decades.

Despite a range of tactics like deploying the army, mounting helicopter patrols and even using drones in the past few months to try to pinpoint the poachers, the killing of rhinos for their horns is continuing at an alarming rate.

More than 200 rhinos were killed in South Africa in the first three months of this year.

The total for 2013 therefore looks set to top last year's figure, which was a record with more than 600 rhinos being slaughtered. And the 2012 figure was a dramatic increase on the previous year's record of 448.

The worst hit by far is the country's flagship Kruger National Park which shares a long 221-mile (356km) border with Mozambique, from where the vast majority of the poachers come.

Kruger saw more than 70 incursions last month by heavily-armed teams of poachers crossing from Mozambique.

Typically the teams are made up of between two and five hunters who find it very easy to slip across the border illegally.

About 20,000 white rhinos are believed to remain in the wild

They arrive carrying multiple weapons according to SANParks (South African National Parks) officials and can spend up to a week in the park, which is more than two million hectares - roughly the same size as Israel.

Ken Maggs, Chief of Staff of Operation Rhino at Kruger told Sky News: "This is a war we are fighting - against an enemy which has no rules."

He was talking whilst overseeing a training exercise which involved teams of armed rangers in camouflage gear using sniffer dogs to track down the poachers.

"We have very specific rules of engagement and we do not operate a shoot-to-kill policy. We are not allowed to just shoot at a poacher. We have to physically grab him and bring him in for arrest," he said.

The poachers are becoming more sophisticated and audacious - using silencers on their weapons to try to avoid detection and recruiting help from within the park to establish where the rhinos are.

The increase in rhino poaching has been driven by demand from the Far East for rhino horn which is believed to have healing and other properties - and is now more expensive than gold on the black market.

"We want to get the message across that rhino horn is just keratin, like our finger nails," Ranger Andrew Desmet said.

"It has no such qualities at all."

Rangers search the carcasses for bullets to use as evidence

We trekked more than two hours into the bush with one of the Kruger's investigation teams who had been alerted to more dead rhinos. The animals had lain undiscovered in the park for four days.

We saw the vultures first, circling overhead, and then as we approached, we noticed the odour.

"That is the smell of a dead rhino," one of the rangers said.

The two carcasses lay 300m apart. We came across the bones of the calf first, stripped bare by scavengers, its hide left like a folded mat.

It did not take the investigations team long to find the cartridge of a bullet hidden among the bones. It was swiftly bagged. It could be crucial in securing a conviction later. The cartridge will be sent to the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Veterinary Science which is building up a rhino DNA bank which could link the suspects to the dead animals.

Senior investigator Frik Rossouw moved onto the other carcass. This one was virtually intact - apart from a gaping hole where its horn had been.

Again, his colleagues used metal detectors in a circle around the dead animal, then over the animal itself. A beeping noise indicated metal inside the rhino's shoulder.

It took two of the investigations team, using knives to cut through the hide. They found what they were looking for: more evidence - this time a bullet which had remained lodged inside the animal.

"This animal didn't die instantly," Mr Rossouw said.

"The rangers who found them said there were marks indicating the rhino had probably been hit with her calf. She ran for her life before they caught up with her and fired again.

"These poachers just don't care. They want to get out of here as quickly as possible. They know if they get caught, they're in trouble."

The South African judiciary has handed out some tough penalties for rhino poaching recently.

Last year a Thai man was sentenced to a 40-year jail term for overseeing a racket which involved women posing as hunters so he could sell the rhino horn in powder form in the Far East.

SANParks is offering huge rewards, 100,000 South African rand (£7,300), for any information which could lead to the arrest of a poacher and one million rand if you can give police information which could bust a syndicate.

But so far, even the lure of a reward has not done enough to curb the poaching.

"When the sheer numbers keep going up daily, weekly, monthly, sometimes I am not so sure we are winning," special operations ranger Bruce Leslie said.

"It's a lot of pressure on us, our families, everybody involved in this war, but we have to do something and keep going because if we don't, if the world doesn't help, then the rhino will be gone forever."

Donations can be made to help protect rhinos at www.sanparks.org.

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North Korea's Missiles 'In Upright Position'

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

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Margaret Thatcher: 2,000 Invited To Funeral

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who clashed with Baroness Thatcher in the Commons, cannot attend her funeral.

Sky News has confirmed that the peer will miss the ceremony next Wednesday because he is at another funeral in Wales.

Highlights of the guest list for the service are due to be released later today.

Argentinian president Cristina Kirchner, who has repeatedly called for the Falkland Islands to be handed to Argentina, is unsurprisingly not invited.

It has been reported that Lady Thatcher's children Mark and Carol also vetoed the presence of any Argentine officials at the service.

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock is at another funeral in Wales

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are all confirmed guests, with dignitaries from around the world also expected.

FW de Klerk, the last president of apartheid South Africa, will also be attending as a guest of the Thatcher family.

But both former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan's wife Nancy, 91, are not going because of their health.

Mrs Reagan's spokesman said: "Mrs Reagan is heartbroken over Baroness Thatcher's death and would really like to be there in person to pay her respects.

"Unfortunately, she is no longer able to make that kind of a trip, so will not be attending the funeral."

Mikhail Gorbachev, here with Lady Thatcher in 1987, can't make the service

The service, held at St Paul's Cathedral, will involve more than 700 members of the armed forces in recognition of Lady Thatcher's success in the Falklands.

She is not being given a state funeral but the Queen's presence effectively elevates the event to that level, and the former leader is being given full military honours.

Preparations for the ceremony and huge security operation have been dubbed Operation True Blue and ministers and organisers are meeting daily to finalise the arrangements.

It has also emerged that Lady Thatcher's ashes will be buried next to her husband Denis' in the cemetery of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.

The former prime minister was a long-term supporter of the hospital, where the Chelsea Pensioners live, and an infirmary on the site is named after her.

Lady Thatcher's ashes will be buried at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea

Politics however will start to get back to business as usual now that a special session of Parliament where MPs and peers were able to pay tribute is over.

David Cameron is visiting the Midlands as he resumes his regional tours, where he will speak to Sky's Adam Boulton this lunchtime.

Claims have emerged that Speaker John Bercow and Mr Cameron's own chief whip Sir George Young were against recalling Parliament from the Easter break.

A further row appears to be brewing over arrangements for the funeral, with Mr Cameron pushing for PMQs to be cancelled and the Commons to sit later. 

Mr Bercow is said to have insisted the Government tables a motion to change the timetable, which will now be put to the vote when Parliament returns on Monday.

The Prime Minister led the tributes in the Commons on Wednesday, calling Lady Thatcher an "extraordinary leader and an extraordinary woman".

Choking up with emotion, he said: "She made the political weather, she made history, and - let this be her epitaph - she made our country great again."

Labour leader Ed Miliband hailed her as a "unique and towering figure" who had "defined the politics of a generation", while making clear his opposition to some of her work.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg appeared the most uncomfortable of the three men as he insisted it was possible to reject the tenets of Thatcherism and still respect her achievements.

The Labour benches were sparsely populated for the session, despite the party urging members to attend as a mark of respect, and there were some bitter contributions.

Former minister Michael Meacher said her "scorched earth" tactics had "polarised" the nation, while veteran David Winnick referred to the "immense pain and suffering" she caused to ordinary people.

Labour backbencher Glenda Jackson sparked howls of protest from Conservatives as she launched a full frontal assault on the "heinous" Thatcher record.

"The first Prime Minister of female gender, OK. But a woman? Not on my terms," she said.

In the Lords, speakers included Lord Tebbit who expressed sadness that he had not been able to stop her being ejected from Downing Street in 1990.

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North Korea: South On Alert For Missile Launch

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

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Australia: Dead Nurses 'Tied To Tree For Days'

An inquest into the death of two nurses who were found bound and beaten in a Queensland bush four decades ago has heard how they were tied to a tree for days.

A second inquest into the 1974 killings of hitch-hikers Lorraine Wilson, 20, and Wendy Evans, 18, has reopened.

In one of the country's most shocking unsolved crimes - the women's skeletal remains were discovered near the town of Murphy's Creek in 1976.

Their skulls were crushed and their bones tangled with cord from venetian blinds.

Betty Staid, who gave evidence via phone, said one of the key persons of interest - now deceased, Donald "Donny" Laurie - lived with her for five weeks in the 1970s and made some shocking admissions at the time.

While they were watching a crime show about the murders, she said Mr Laurie told her he had wanted to give the women water when they were tied to a tree for two or three days.

"I was in shock and said: 'How did you know that, Laurie?'," said Ms Staid. "He looked at me like he'd said too much and said: 'I hear things.'"

Ms Staid said her housemate once offered to take her to the crime scene but she refused.

Two of the only three surviving persons of interest in the case - who were named for the first time last year - have given evidence at the inquest while the third, Desmond Roy Hilton is due to take the stand.

Allan Neil "Ungie" Laurie, 63, and Terrence James "Jimmy" O'Neill insisted they had nothing to do with the murders.

The inquest was told the men had a habit of abducting women, taking them to the bush, beating them and raping them - which they also deny.

Trevor Hilton, the uncle of key suspect Wayne "Boogie" Hilton, said his nephew and his friends would ambush young women in Toowoomba's main street on a weekly basis.

Mr Hilton said the group of men, which included now deceased Allan John "Shorty" Laurie, Donald "Donny" Laurie, and Larry Charles, were notorious about town.

Ms Wilson and Ms Evans were last seen leaving a relative's home in the Brisbane suburb of Camp Hill in October 1974 to hitch-hike to Goondiwindi where they were to pick up a car and drive to Sydney.

An inquest held in 1985 found the women had met foul play, but no charges were laid.

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Kidnapped Boys: Parents Held In Florida Jail

A couple accused of kidnapping their two young sons and fleeing by boat to Cuba has been booked into a Florida jail after being handed over to US authorities.

On Tuesday US police said they had information that the family - Joshua Hakken, his wife Sharyn and their sons - had arrived on the island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

Authorities said Hakken kidnapped four-year-old Cole and two-year-old Chase, from his mother-in-law's house north of Tampa. The boys' maternal grandparents had been granted permanent custody of the boys last week.

According to a website for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the couple are being held on a number of charges including kidnapping, child neglect and interference with custody.

Joshua Hakken and his wife in Cuba

Cuban Foreign Ministry official Johana Tablada said in a written statement Cuba had informed the US of the country's decision to hand the couple over.

Ms Tablada said Cuba told the State Department of the Hakkens' presence on Sunday, and that "diplomatic contact has been exchanged and a professional and constant communication has been maintained."

Cuba and the US have not historically maintained diplomatic ties.

Earlier the El Nuevo Herald reported the family was in the custody of Cuban immigration officials and was being tended to by US consular officials.

The boat the family is thought to have fled from Florida on

A reporter for the Associated Press spotted what appeared to be the family and their boat earlier on Tuesday at the Hemingway Marina in Havana.

The reporter said the family appeared to interact normally with one another, though the man - presumed to be Hakken - warned the journalist off.

Police said Hakken entered his mother-in-law's house on Wednesday, tied her up and fled with his sons.

Authorities had been searching the massive Gulf of Mexico by air and sea for a 25-foot boat he had recently purchased.

The truck the family had been travelling in was found abandoned late on Thursday in a coastal parking garage.

The boys had been living with their maternal grandparents since 2012, after Hakken was arrested for drug possession. At one point he reportedly tried to take them from a foster home at gunpoint.

Police have previously characterised the Hakkens as "anti-government".

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Margaret Thatcher: Critics Party In Brixton

Police were called to Brixton in South London after people celebrating the death of Margaret Thatcher gathered in the streets.

Some revellers climbed onto the Ritzy cinema building and rearranged letters on its film listings board to spell out the words: "Margaret Thatchers (sic) dead LOL".

Britain's first and only female prime minister died on Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 87.

Other critics gathered in Windrush Square celebrated with cheers of "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, dead, dead, dead".

A banner celebrating Margaret Thatcher's death hangs from the Ritzy cinema

The area was the scene of fierce riots in 1981, two years into Lady Thatcher's first term in office.

Pictures of anti-Thatcher graffiti scrawled on walls in Brixton also appeared on Twitter, with one reading: "You snatched my milk! & our hope"

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said extra officers were brought in to control the crowds, who "caused low level disorder" and threw "a small number of missiles" at officers.

There were no reports of any arrests and the group dispersed in the early hours of the morning, acccording to police.

Some revellers sprayed champagne as they celebrated in Brixton

A spokesman for Ritzy said there was some damage to its building, adding that staff helped clear up the streets after the demonstration.

Meanwhile in Glasgow, up to 300 people gathered in George Square, 24 years after poll tax protests were held there.

Some anti-capitalist campaigners wore party hats and launched streamers into the air, while a bottle of champagne was sprayed.

Earlier, David Hopper, general secretary of Durham Miners' Association, said he was celebrating on his 70th birthday after learning of Baroness Thatcher's death.

"She was a heartless woman who tore the heart out of the mining communities of the North," he said.

George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bradford West, wrote on Twitter: "Thatcher described Nelson Mandela as a 'terrorist'. I was there. I saw her lips move. May she burn in the hellfires."

Parliament is being recalled on Wednesday for a special session to allow politicians to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher.

A full ceremonial funeral will take place at St Paul's Cathedral next week.

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Margaret Thatcher: Funeral Next Wednesday

Margaret Thatcher's funeral will be held next Wednesday at St Paul's Cathedral in central London - and will be attended by the Queen.

The monarch will be joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as other heads of state and foreign dignitaries from across the globe.

Downing Street said the date had been agreed at a meeting with Lady Thatcher's family and officials from Buckingham Palace.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who is in charge of some of the arrangements, said: "There's already a huge amount of interest. There's a guest list and people will be invited over the coming days. It will be a big event. I think there's a huge amount of people - not just in Britain, but around the world - who will want to pay their respects to her."

The Queen was "sad" to hear the news of Lady Thatcher's death

Parliament is expected to be suspended for the event, which means the first Prime Minister's Questions since the Easter break could be cancelled.

The announcement came amid calls by supporters for a state funeral, as preparations for the ceremonial farewell for Britain's first and only woman prime minister got under way.

Some Tory MPs have expressed their disappointment that the 87-year-old has not been granted a state funeral - even though such a ceremony would be against her own wishes.

Peter Bone, MP for Wellingborough, said she should have "the highest kind of funeral that can be allowed".

The media, home and abroad, reacts to the news

"I would have thought a state funeral would be very appropriate. She was the first female prime minister. She was also the greatest peacetime prime minister we ever had," he told the Daily Mail.

However, it is understood she did not want to lie in state, or attract controversy, and thought a fly-past would be a waste of money.

Lady Thatcher's body was removed shortly after midnight by private ambulance from the Ritz Hotel in central London where she suffered a stroke, following her death on Monday morning.

The former prime minister will be laid to rest with a televised ceremonial funeral with full military honours - the same status afforded to the Queen Mother and Princess Diana - in recognition of her influence on the country.

A private ambulance takes Lady Thatcher's body from the Ritz

The last non-royal honoured with a state funeral was Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

For such a ceremony to be granted to a non-royal, a parliamentary vote must be passed to permit public funds for a state funeral.

The day before Lady Thatcher's funeral her coffin will be transferred to the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster. There will be a short service following its arrival before the coffin rests in the chapel overnight.

A Downing Street statement said: "On the day itself, the streets will be cleared of traffic and the coffin will travel by hearse from the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster to the Church of St Clement Danes, the RAF Chapel, on the Strand.

A flag flies at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament

"At the church the coffin will be transferred to a gun carriage drawn by the King's Troop Royal Artillery. The coffin will then be borne in procession from St Clement Danes to St Paul's Cathedral.

"The route will be lined by tri-service military personnel."

At St Paul's it will be met by a guard of honour as members of the armed services and pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea line the steps.

The service will reportedly be followed by a private cremation.

The former PM sits for a 70th birthday photograph at her London home

The public will not be able to attend the funeral service itself but will be able to line the route of the procession.

Lady Thatcher's family have asked that if people wish to pay their respects, they consider making a donation to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, rather than laying flowers.

Parliament has been recalled from Easter recess on Wednesday to allow MPs to voice their tributes to the former Tory prime minister.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who has already hailed Lady Thatcher as "a great Briton", is expected to give a statement to the Commons, followed by Ed Miliband, the Labour leader.

Margaret Thatcher in a tank on a British base in Germany in 1986

Mr Miliband said on Monday that while he "disagreed with much of what she did", he respected "her extraordinary achievements and her extraordinary personal strength".

Friends and foes alike marked the end of an era.

While some laid lowers in tribute outside Lady Thatcher's home in Belgravia, London - others took to the streets to rejoice.

Bottles and cans were thrown at police officers - injuring six - when a scuffle broke out at a party in Bristol where some 200 people assembled to celebrate.

Flowers are left outside Lady Thatcher's home in Belgravia, London

There were similar scenes in south London, where more than 100 people gathered in Brixton - the scene of fierce riots in 1981, two years into Lady Thatcher's first term in office.

A crowd of 300 gathered in Glasgow's George Square, where in 1989 protests at the introduction of the infamous poll tax took place.

Many on the Left have condemned the social impacts of her policies encouraging the free market and stripping power from unions during her 11 years in office.

Her death was also welcomed by veterans of the Falklands conflict in Argentina, who blamed her for the deaths of the 649 troops who died during the 74-day war.

Crowds celebrate the death of the former Tory PM on the streets of Brixton

But the news was received with "great sadness" by islanders on the Falklands, who flew the union flags at half mast and hailed her intervention 31 years ago.

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Film-Maker Death Post-Mortem Inconclusive

By Frazer Maude, Sky News Reporter

A coroner has been told that it's still not known how a young film-maker died as he was making a documentary about sleeping rough in Newcastle.

Lee Halpin, 26, had planned to spend a week living rough in his home city, but his body was found in a derelict building in the West End area three days into his project .

Newcastle coroner David Mitford said that the post-mortem was not able to establish the cause of his death and further tests were being carried out.

Mr Mitford said: "There are tests being taken and will need to be analysed. That might take some time and it depends on the nature of the tests.

"We don't know the reason why he died and we do not have full information about the background circumstances."

Speaking in a YouTube video he made the day before he started his week on the streets, Mr Halpin, whose body was found on Wednesday, said the documentary was part of an application for a Channel 4 investigative journalism scheme.

He said he hoped it would be an example of fearless reporting.

On the video he said he had spoken to a homeless charity about the rise in the number of people on the streets and the effect of changes to Britain's welfare system this month.

"I'm about to go and spend a week being homeless in the West End of Newcastle. I will sleep rough for a week, scrounge for my food, access the services that other homeless individuals use," he said.

"I will interact with as many homeless people as possible and immerse myself in that lifestyle as deeply as I can."

Channel 4 has defended its decision to ask aspiring journalists to demonstrate their 'fearlessness' following his death.

In an online application form for the broadcaster's Investigative Journalism Programme 2013, applicants were asked to post a YouTube video describing a time in which they were "fearless in a pursuit for a story".

No date has been fixed for the inquest to resume, after the coroner was told that further tests to establish the cause of Mr Halpin's could take some weeks.

Meanwhile the police investigation continues. Two men, aged 26 and 30, were arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs in connection with Lee Halpin's death, and have both been released on bail.

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Bali Court Upholds Briton's Death Penalty

A British grandmother sentenced to death in Bali for trafficking cocaine has lost her appeal.

Lindsay Sandiford, 56, was sentenced to capital punishment in January for taking almost 5kg (10.6lb) of cocaine onto the island.

She launched an appeal but on Monday the Bali High Court ruled the original punishments was "accurate and correct" and confirmed it.

Sandiford, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has 14 days to appeal to the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court also rejects her plea, she can seek a judicial review of the decision from the same court.

After that, only the president can grant her a reprieve.

The sentence would see her shot by a firing squad.

Sandiford after her arrest at Bali airport

The Government said it was disappointed at the high court's decision.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK strongly opposes the death penalty and has repeatedly made representations to the Indonesian government on this matter."

Sandiford was arrested in May 2012 at Bali airport when customs officers found the drugs, worth £1.6m, in her luggage.

She said she had been forced to smuggle the drugs into Bali from Thailand by a criminal gang and that the safety of her children was at risk.

She has cooperated with the police and local authorities, which has led to other arrests.

January's death sentence came as a shock because prosecutors had recommended a 15-year jail term.

Sandiford's lawyer has said the punishment is out of proportion, given she has admitted her crime, expressed regret and helped police in the investigation.

Paul Beales (L), Rachell Dougall and Julian Ponder received jail sentences

But the court ruled she had damaged Indonesia's hard-line stance on drugs as well as Bali's reputation as a tourism destination.

Three other Britons arrested in connection with the case received lighter sentences.

Julian Ponder was sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of possessing cocaine in his luxury Bali villa.

Rachel Dougall was sentenced to 12 months for failing to report Sandiford's crime, and Paul Beales received four years for possession of hashish but was cleared of drug trafficking.

Indonesia enforces stiff penalties for drug trafficking, but death penalty sentences are commonly commuted to long jail sentences.

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Disability Benefits: New System Rolled Out

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky Reporter

A petition calling on Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith to live off £53 a week has been handed in to his office - as major changes to disability benefits are rolled out.

New claimants in parts of northern England will now receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in place of the old Disability Living Allowance (DLA), which critics say will leave many worse off.

The new system which includes face-to-face assessments and regular reviews will take at least two years to roll out across the country.

Iain Duncan Smith: Old system is "ridiculous"

Steven Sumpter from Worcestershire, who suffers from ME and diabetes so finds walking painful, told Sky News he was worried about the future.

Previously, to get disability benefit he had to prove he was unable to walk 50m, but that will be changed to 20m.

He said he fears in the future he will lose half of the money he receives and the subsidised car he relies on.

"It means every single trip to the shops and the doctor will turn into maybe three hours of effort and that will leave me in bed, exhausted and in pain for days afterwards," he said.

The Government insists DLA was outdated and the changes mean those who really need support will now receive it.

Mr Duncan Smith has described the previous system as "ridiculous".

"We've seen a rise in the run-up to PIP. And you know why? They know PIP has a health check. They want to get in early, get ahead of it. It's a case of 'get your claim in early'," he told the Daily Mail.

He added that rigorous new health checks for claimants were "common sense".

Some charities have already expressed concerns that it will mean 600,000 people miss out on support.

Chief Executive of Scope, Richard Hawkes admitted changes were needed but claimed the Government was motivated by cost cutting.

"The Government has already announced how much the Disability Living Allowance budget is going to be reduced, they've already announced how many people are going to lose DLA and they're introducing a test which is going to provide them with the results they want to reduce those costs. It's not right, it's not fair," he told Sky News.

PIP will initially be introduce for new claimants in northwest England, Cumbria, Cheshire, northeast England and Merseyside.

Welfare reform campaigners this morning delivered a petition bearing 450,000 names to the Department of Work and Pensions.

Campaigners handing in the IDS petition at Caxton House, central London

Mr Duncan Smith was challenged to live on £53 a week after a market trader on a radio show said that was all he had to live on despite working 50 to 70 hours a week.

Asked whether he could live on £53 a week, the former army officer who now earns around £1,600-a-week after tax replied: "If I had to I would."

The Cabinet minister has since dismissed the campaign as a "complete stunt".

Musician and part-time shop worker Dominic Aversano, who started the petition on campaigning website Change.org, said: "I don't think Mr Duncan Smith has a choice about whether to listen to the petition because so many people have signed it.

"I think it has changed the debate around welfare cuts. I was surprised because I didn't think we would have such a large response. I am delighted."

As well as the Personal Independence Payments, other reforms including a below inflation 1% cap on working-age benefits and tax credit rises for three years, have already come into force.

Around 660,000 social housing tenants deemed to have a spare room will lose an average of £14-a-week in what critics have dubbed a "bedroom tax".

Trials of a £500-a-week cap on household benefits are also due to begin in four London boroughs.

Chancellor George Osborne insisted on Sunday that the public was behind his changes to the benefits system.

Mr Osborne also said he felt "angry" that too much money was being "spent in the wrong way in our welfare system".

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North Korea: Putin In 'Chernobyl' Warning

Vladimir Putin has said a war in Korea could be more devastating than the Chernobyl disaster as Pyongyang was warned against another nuclear test.

The Russian President said he was "worried about the escalation on the Korean peninsula, because we are neighbours".

And Mr Putin, who also praised a US decision to postpone a planned missile test as part of efforts to reduce tensions, said he feared a situation worse than that in Chernobyl after a nuclear accident that was later linked to thousands of deaths.

"If, God forbid, something happens, Chernobyl which we all know a lot about, may seem like a child's fairy tale," he said.

"Is there such a threat or not? I think there is ... I would urge everyone to calm down ... and start to resolve the problems that have piled up for many years there at the negotiating table."

His intervention came after United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the North not to carry out a new nuclear test - saying it would be a "provocative" act.

South Korea raised fears a fourth test was due amid reports of increased activity at the main atomic test site Punggye-ri but later backtracked.

Its Defence Ministry said: "We found there had been no unusual movements that indicated it wanted to carry out a nuclear test."

Mr Ban said: "The Democratic People's Republic of North Korea cannot go on like this, confronting and challenging the authority of the (UN) Security Council and the international community.

"I am urging them to refrain from taking any further provocative measures."

China's Foreign Ministry also said it wanted peace on the Korean peninsula, not war, adding a proper solution to the crisis was the responsibility of all parties.

The Pentagon has already strengthened its missile defences in response to the repeated threats made by Pyongyang in recent weeks.

However, the New York Times has reported a more thorough plan that sets out a limited but forceful response to any future provocation has been drawn up by the US and South Korea.

It said US officials had outlined a "counter-provocation" plan that would see a "response in kind" that would hit the source of any North Korean attack with similar weapons.

Meanwhile, North Korea said it was withdrawing all workers and suspending operations at its joint industrial zone with South Korea, the only surviving symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

South Korea has appealed for North Korea to allow access to the Kaesong joint industrial park, six miles inside its borders.

The North banned South Korean managers and personnel from crossing the border to enter the complex since last Wednesday.

So far 13 the 123 South Korean firms operating there have been forced to halt production due to fuel and raw material shortages.

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Cameron: Welfare Reforms 'Put Fairness Back'

The Prime Minister has insisted that welfare reforms are "putting fairness back" into Britain as a poll suggests six out of 10 people think state handouts are too generous.

David Cameron has given a staunch defence of the controversial benefit shake-up in an article for The Sun newspaper.

As the welfare state overhaul continues to fuel an increasingly bitter political row, the Prime Minister said Government is on the side of "each and every hardworking person in our country".

He suggested it was "crazy" that claimants could have a bigger income on benefits than work and argued it is "fair that we all play by the same rules".

Mr Cameron pledged to "always help" the most vulnerable but insisted "those who can, should" as he warned that the system was causing "resentment" across the country.

He wrote: "We are putting fairness back at the heart of Britain. We are building a country for those who work hard and want to get on. And we are saying to each and every hardworking person in our country: we are on your side.

"This is a Government for hardworking people: and that's the way it will stay."

Over the last week widespread welfare and tax changes have come into force including a below inflation 1% cap on working-age benefits and tax credit rises for three years.

Around 660,000 social housing tenants deemed to have a spare room will lose an average £14 a week in what critics have dubbed a "bedroom tax" and trials are due to begin in four London boroughs of a £500-a-week cap on household benefits.

An opinion poll for The Sun found six out of 10 voters believe benefits are too generous and 79% back the Government's plan to cap a family's benefit at £26,000 a year.

Mr Cameron said the system had "lost its way" and had become a "lifestyle choice for some".

He wrote in The Sun: "It was designed to bring us together, but is causing resentment. I think the British people are about the most fair and generous people on the planet - but no-one wants to work hard every day and see their hard-earned taxes being used to fund things they themselves cannot afford or keep generations dependent on welfare.

"So this month we are making some big changes. They are changes that have a simple principle at their heart: we are restoring the fairness that should lie at the very heart of our tax and welfare systems."

Speaking on Sky's Murnaghan programme former Labour Chief Whip and MP for Newcastle East Nick Brown, said: "It is morally wrong to demonise the poor.

"Within my constituency I have 7,500 people on Job Seekers Allowance - out of work, looking for work - and the number of job vacancies in the region is 10,000. There is a grotesque mismatch between those seeking work and the number of jobs available.

"The correct thing to thing to do is to intervene with the private sector to create jobs and to help them into obtaining them."

Meanwhile there are suggestions that Labour is planning a significant shift in its approach to welfare.

Detailed work is under way on possible policy proposals that would mean benefit payments to those out of work or on low incomes would vary according to their past contributions, according to The Observer.

It quotes a Labour party source saying: "The problem at the moment is that you have a person aged 50 who has worked all his life and then becomes unemployed getting much the same as the person next door who has never worked. It is about linking what you take out to what you have put in."

In an article for the newspaper shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said: "There are lots of people right now who feel they pay an awful lot more in than they ever get back.

"That should change."

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India Houseboat Murder: 'Dutch Man Confesses'

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent, in Kashmir

Police sources tell Sky News that a Dutch man they have been questioning over the murder of a British woman has now confessed.

Sarah Groves, 24, was found in a pool of blood inside the houseboat she had been living on for up to two months on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir.

Officers have named the suspect as Richard de Wit, 43, and said he claimed to have been under the influence of drugs.

He had been staying on a neighbouring boat. When he was arrested 60 miles away he was carrying only his passport and was not wearing shoes.

The victim was staying on a houseboat on picturesque Dal Lake

Local police said Miss Groves, from Guernsey, had been stabbed at least 25 times with what was described as a "mountain knife".

The door to her room had also been forced open.

Her body is being sent for medical examination to determine whether she was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Deputy General Inspector Ahafadul Mujtaba told Sky News: "He has told us he killed the girl - we don't know why. He also says he had taken drugs, cannabis.

Shoes sit outside the door of the houseboat where Sarah Groves was staying

"We have taken his blood samples and have sent them away for testing. We have also not ruled out a sexual motive but there was no direct evidence at the scene. We are awaiting medical results."

Under Indian law a confession to a police officer is not admissible in a court of law.

The police say de Wit will be held in custody for the next 14 days whilst they continue to gather evidence.

Friends have paid tributes to Miss Groves on Facebook. Underneath a photograph of her smiling, Charlene Carter said: "That beautiful smile I will never forget."

Donna Stacey said: "Waste of a beautiful life just goes to show the world we live in."

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Teen Crime Commissioner In Offensive Tweet Row

Britain's first youth police commissioner has refused to step down after it was revealed she had posted a string of offensive comments on Twitter.

Paris Brown, 17, who took up the post just days ago, wrote homophobic, violent and racist comments on her Twitter account and boasted about getting drunk.

She also condoned violence in a tweet in which she said she was pleased that her brother had thumped someone and "given his tiny little friend a black eye".

The messages were all posted before she took up the one-year post, which has a £15,000 salary funded by the taxpayer, for Kent Police last week.

The disclosure of the tweets has prompted Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, to call for her to step down from the post.

However, speaking to Sky News, Miss Brown said that she would not be resigning and felt she could still do the job.

She said: "I don't want to be judged on tweets that were written a long time ago, before I found out I had the job.

"I don't think it should affect my future, my career. I still want to be the voice of young people. I still think I can be.In a way it shows I am - those tweets are horrible obviously - but I am just a normal teenager.

"Everybody's got a regret, maybe it's a tweet, maybe it's a status but out of 4,000 tweets, there's only a few that have been picked up upon."

Paris Brown with her 'boss', the Kent Police Commissioner, Ann Barnes

In her tweets, the teenager, who turned 17 two days ago, refers to immigrants as "illegals" and gay people as "fags".

In one message she admits "Im (sic) either really fun, friendly and inclusive when Im drunk or Im an anti social, racist, sexist, embarrassing a*******. often its the latter."

Another said: "Been drinking since half 1 and riding baby walkers down the hall at work oh my god I have the best job ever haha!!"

In another she wrote: "I really wanna make a batch of hash brownies."

Miss Brown explained that a lot of the language she used was the language of youth and that "fag" was not a term of homophobic abuse, but actually meant silly or idiotic. She explained that was the youth definition given for the word "fag" in the "Urban Dictionary".

Mr Vaz told the Mail on Sunday: "I am deeply shocked by these disclosures. This individual must be removed from their post immediately. Public money should never be given to anyone who refers to violence, sex, drunkenness and other anti-social behaviour in this offensive manner.

"The Government must now reconsider its point blank refusal to publish a national list of all the appointments made by Crime Commissioners - as requested by my committee.

"The public has a right to know who they are, how they were appointed and their full backgrounds. That is the best way to stop irresponsible and unsuitable people being taken on."

Speaking on Sky News' Boulton & Co after her appointment on Friday, Miss Brown had said: "Being a young person today you feel like you have got to sort of show that you are growing up, that you are a grown up, even when you are as young as maybe 13 or 14.

"You are growing up at a faster rate in today's time and people might feel I am being patronised or I am being intimidated and that's why the are acting like they are in certain situations."

Miss Brown, whose appointment was to be a trail blazer for other Youth Commissioners across the country, reports directly to the newly elected Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, Ann Barnes.

The police and crime commissioners' roles, which command salaries of up to £100,000, have themselves been controversial, largely because they put inexperienced commissioners in charge of the budget, policing and choosing the chief constable.

Mrs Barnes has said she would not be asking Miss Brown to leave the post.

She said: "I absolutely do not condone the content and language of Paris' tweets. I suspect that many young people go through a phase during which they make silly, often offensive comments and show off on Facebook and Twitter.

"I think that if everyone's future was determined by what they wrote on social networking sites between the ages of 14 and 16 we'd live in a very odd world.

"I also suspect that thousands of parents would be at best surprised and at worst deeply shocked and ashamed if they looked into the social networking of their children."

She said that the role of youth commissioner was not a "gimmick" and was part of the manifesto upon which she was elected.

Speaking to Sky News said added: "I wanted a typical teenager and frankly, it looks like I've got one."

Miss Brown, who lives with her parents in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey, has a full-time apprenticeship role as an office junior at Kent's Swale Borough Council.

She said she had put off doing A-levels for a year while she undertakes the job as commissioner.

Miss Brown has removed her @vilulabelle account from Twitter following the revelations. She now tweets under an official account.

There was a significant backlash against Miss Brown on Twitter.

Alex Cahill wrote: "Well Paris Brown (@vilulabelle) is a shining example of young people ..."

Paul Davies wrote: "God help us and our police!!!"

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