Muslims Say Beheadings Are An Insult To Islam

Muslims have condemned the murder of aid worker Alan Henning, branding it a "cowardly and criminal act".

In a strongly worded statement, the Muslims of the North Of England said Mr Henning had been a "local and national hero" and called for justice to be carried out on his killers.

Muslim leaders said the beheading of Mr Henning had been carried out on the eve of the "great day of mercy" (Eid Al-Adha) in the Islamic calendar, which set the terrorists apart from ordinary Muslims.

Alan Henning's widow, Barbara

And they condemned the way in which the jihadists had toyed with the family's emotions.

"The killing of Alan Henning was a cowardly and criminal act of appalling brutality by a group who do not represent Islam at all and in fact are an insult to the Islamic faith," they said in a statement.

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

"The killing of Alan Henning marks the beginning of the end of this group. We now call for justice to be carried out on the killers of Alan Henning."

Speaking to Sky News, Naved Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Britain, said there were "very clear distinctions" between the jihadists and ordinary Muslims.

He said that what had sickened people most was the "way in which they were toying with the family. Giving them a glimmer of hope".

Video: Latest Analysis: Sky's Joey Jones

Mr Siddiqi said Muslim leaders were still trying to understand why young Muslims were travelling out to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State fighters.

He said he thought a great number were expecting to find "some sort of utopia" and only by questioning them on their return could the Muslim community understand why those born and brought up in Britain were seeking to join the terrorists.

Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "This reported murder is a despicable and offensive act, coming as it does on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha.

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

"It is quite clear that the murderers of Alan Henning have no regard for Islam, or for the Muslims around the world who pleaded for his life.

"Alan was a friend of Muslims, and he will be mourned by Muslims.

"In this period of Hajj and this festival of Eid, Muslims remember the mercy of God and the emphasis God places on human life.

Video: Alan Henning Beheaded In IS Video

"Alan Henning's murderers have clearly gone against that spirit of Islam. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family."

Sara Khan of Inspire, an anti-extremist campaign group of British Muslim women, said: "The only thing that the killing of Alan has achieved is greater revulsion for ISIS and the fact that more people from across our world, within our communities, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are united in their stance against their barbarity and inhumanity."

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PM Vows Justice For Alan Henning's Killers

David Cameron has vowed to do "everything we can" to "hunt down" Alan Henning's killers and bring them to justice.

Mr Cameron, who arrived back in the UK on Friday night after visiting troops in Iraq, has been meeting with officials from the Foreign Office, intelligence agencies and the military at Chequers, his official country residence.

He said: "We must do everything we can to hunt down and find the people who are responsible for this."

And added: "We will use all the assets we have as we have been up to now to try and find these hostages, to try and help these hostages, to help their families and do everything we can to defeat this organisation which is utterly ruthless, senseless and barbaric in the way it treats people."

The Prime Minister also paid tribute to Mr Henning for his "kindness, peacefulness and gentleness".

Video: Even Al Qaeda Could Not Free Alan

A video lasting one minute and 11 seconds and titled Another Message To America And Its Allies, was posted on YouTube on Friday evening.

It shows Mr Henning, a taxi-driver who was captured on an aid mission in Syria on Boxing Day, kneeling in front of a knife-wielding militant in a desert setting before being beheaded in front of the camera.

Mr Henning, who is dressed in red, says: "I am Alan Henning. Because of our Parliament's decision to attack the Islamic State, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision."

Video: Latest Analysis: Sky's Joey Jones

The masked killer, who speaks with a British accent and is believed to be the man responsible for previous beheadings, makes a direct statement to Mr Cameron: "The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British Parliament."

Last week MPs voted by a majority of 481 to join the US-led coalition and take part in airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

At the end of the video another hostage, a former US soldier turned charity worker believed to be Peter Edward Kassig, is paraded in front of the cameras. The militant in the video says Mr Kassig will be the next victim.

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

The UK Muslim community has condemned Mr Henning's murder, which came on the eve of the Islamic festival Eid Al-Adha - the "great day of mercy".

Leaders said it was a "cowardly and criminal act" and called for action to be taken to bring the terrorists to justice. They say they are struggling to understand why disaffected young people born and brought up in Britain are travelling to Syria to join Islamic State fighters.

There are fears the beheadings could lead to a backlash against the Muslim community.

Video: Terry Waite: Beheading 'Tragic'

Mr Henning's wife Barbara had made a number of emotional appeals to her husband's captors urging them to release him - most recently after they issued footage of him begging for his life.

In her appeal, Mrs Henning said: "Some say wrong time, wrong place. Alan was volunteering with his Muslim friends to help the people of Syria. He was in the right place doing the right thing."

Bill Green, a pastor in Mr Henning's home town of Eccles, said the news had been "gut-wrenching" for the close-knit community. 

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

Kasim Jameel, from Bolton, who was with Mr Henning on the convoys, said: "Everyone that knew him from the convoys just can't stop crying, grown men with beards. We keep expecting him to come round the corner, and say, 'I was only joking'."

It comes as Bilal Abdul Kareem, who played part in the initial negotiations for Mr Henning's release when the father-of-two was first captured during an aid delivery in Syria, told Sky News even al Qaeda had tried to convince Islamic State fighters to release him.

He said the terrorist group had tried to negotiate with the jihadists and added that even they had thought taking British aid workers hostages was "not a good idea".

Video: Wife Pleaded For Henning's Release

:: Full coverage now on Sky News – watch Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

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Beheading Devastates Aid Worker's Home Town

By Nick Martin, North of England Correspondent, in Eccles 

News of the murder of Alan Henning has shocked those who live in his home town of Eccles in Greater Manchester.

The 47-year-old worked as a taxi driver here before deciding to join an aid convoy to Syria last Christmas.

Vigils had been held for Mr Henning in churches, mosques and community centres over the past two weeks.

Yellow ribbons adorned lamposts and railings across Mr Henning's home town

The Rt Rev David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, said the "brutality" of the Islamic State would unite the community.

"In his life Alan Henning united people across the boundaries of nationality and faith.

Video: Shock At Murder Of Alan Henning

"He did so both through his humanitarian actions and by the love that drove him on.

"That his tragic death continues to unite people across Britain and beyond is demonstrated today by the range of people and organisations paying him tribute.

"To ISIS we say 'You no longer have the power to shock us, now you just sicken us.

Video: PM Pledges 'All Assets' Against IS

"Your brutality, against any who don't share your narrow, perverted world view, doesn't undermine our determination, it stiffens our resolve.

"Your destiny is not to be a force in human history, merely one of its sad footnotes'."

Local Pastor Bill Green, from the Gateway Community Church, had led some of the vigils.

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

He told Sky News: "Eccles is waking up to horrific news. People will be devastated. It's a close-knit community especially where Alan and his family live and I'd like to send my sympathies to Barbara and family at this time.

"The people of this town never lost hope we always thought there was a chance that he might come back and we came together and prayed that would happen. It hasn't happened."

Yellow ribbons adorned lamposts and railings across the town in a symbol of hope for Mr Henning.

Video: Even Al Qaeda Could Not Free Alan

Just days ago his wife Barbara made an emotional plea to the Islamic State for her husband's safe return.

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

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Anni Dewani Sister 'Haunted' By Lost Opportunity

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

The parents of murdered bride Anni Dewani say they hope to hear the truth from her husband Shrien at his murder trial next week.

They insist their long fight for justice has left them unable to grieve for their daughter who was kidnapped and shot dead on her honeymoon in South Africa four years ago.

Shrien Dewani, 34, is accused of hiring a hitman to murder his new bride.

The Bristol businessman denies faking the carjacking of their taxi and fleeing before Anni Dewani, 28, was driven off to her death.

Her father, Vinod Hindocha, 65, told Sky News: "We really hope we get to know what happened to Anni. That's all we are asking for.

"Shrien, tell us the truth, tell us what's happened. You were there.

Video: Anni Dewani's Bedroom Now A Shrine

"Anni had no right to die the way she did. This is not acceptable, the way she left us."

This week the Hindocha family were packing their suitcases at their home in Mariestad, Sweden, for the 6,000-mile journey to Cape Town, where the trial is due to start on Monday.

Anni's mother, Nilam, 62, said: "I hope we get justice. And I would love to hear what Shrien has to say.

Video: Sister's Shock Over Anni's Death

"They say time will heal the wounds, but they get deeper and deeper. Let's hope we get justice and we can move ahead with our lives."

Shrien Dewani was extradited to South Africa in April after fighting extradition for three years.

He had claimed he was mentally unfit to stand trial, but psychiatrists eventually agreed he was well enough to be treated in a Cape Town clinic, where more doctors said he was ready for the court case.

Video: 'I Told Anni It Was Wedding Stress'

Dewani denies murder, arguing that he loved his wife and had no motive to have her killed.

The prosecution is expected to suggest he is gay and wanted to escape his marriage.

Anni's elder sister, Ami Denborg, 37, revealed: "Three weeks before the wedding Anni actually threw the ring back at Shrien.

Video: Sky's Martin Brunt On Dewani Case

"She called me and said a lot of things, like it wasn't working well.

"I thought she was just stressed out and told her she would get over it.

"Looking back, I should have told her to break it off. If I had, maybe she would be alive today. It still haunts me."

Three local men have already been jailed for Anni's murder.

One of them, taxi driver Zola Tongo, told police Dewani offered him £1,300 to arrange for her to be killed.

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Thai Murders: Suspects Stage Reconstruction

Two Burmese workers who have confessed to the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have been taken to the scene of the crime.

Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds on Sairee beach last month.

Their semi-naked bodies were found on the southern island of Koh Tao, near where they were staying, in the early hours of September 15.

A blood-stained garden hoe, which is thought to be the murder weapon, was discovered nearby.

David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were killed last month

Footage shows the handcuffed suspects, wearing motorcycle helmets and police vests, on the island's Sairee beach, surrounded by police as a reconstruction of the attacks is staged, watched on my hundreds of locals and tourists.

One suspect can be seen walking from the sea to the sandy beach, and wielding a large handled tool to apparently replicate a garden hoe while talking to officers.

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1. Gallery: Thai Murders Accused At Crime Scene

   Two workers from Burma (wearing helmets and handcuffs), suspected of killing two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao last month, stand near Thai police officers where the bodies of the tourists were found

2. The pair have admitted to killing David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on the island in southern Thailand

3. Actors were used in the staging of the reconstruction

4. One of the suspects wields a mock weapon

5. The case has threatened to further damage the country's already bruised tourism sector

6. The victims' bodies were discovered on a beach on the island of Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, on 15 September, close to where they were staying. Continue through for more pictures

The reconstruction also saw a man and woman, depicting the victims, walking along the beach, their arms around each other.

Thai police announced the pair - named as Win, 21, and Saw, 23, from Rakhine state in Myanmar - had been charged after admitting killing the British tourists during questioning.

Thai National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said: "The suspects saw them kissing and were aroused, so they attacked and got rid of the man and proceeded to rape the female victim.

"There was clear evidence: forensic evidence, (testimony from) witnesses and other evidence, as well as closed-circuit television footage."

Video: David Miller Seen On CCTV

He went on: "Looking at the DNA results, we have tested that the DNA of these two match the DNA found in the deceased.

"There was also a mobile, a guitar and a motorcycle used to do the crime.

"The mobile phone was the mobile of the victim which the suspects took it to destroy.

"Police were able to confiscate these."

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1. Gallery: Thailand Beach Murders

   The family of Hannah Witheridge in Thailand. Miss Witheridge was killed alongside David Miller on a beach on Koh Tao

2. Police outside the Ware family home on Jersey. Christopher and James Ware, who were childhood friends of Mr Miller, have been questioned in Thailand as part of the investigation

3. The pair suffered "gruesome" injuries, according to police

4. The victims were staying in this hotel

5. Thai police at the scene of the beach attack

Provincial police chief Kiattipong Khaosamang said the two men had also admitted raping Miss Witheridge. 

Thai police have collected DNA samples from more than 100 men on the island.

Police had originally said they believed three men were involved in the attack - two who raped and killed Miss Witheridge, while a third man watched.

A third Burmese man remains in detention and is being questioned on suspicion of involvement.

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Bogus Bomb Detector Scam Pair Sentenced

A husband has been jailed and his wife given a suspended prison sentence for making and selling bogus bomb detectors.

Sam Tree was jailed for three-and-a-half years, while his wife Joan was handed a two-year prison sentence and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work in the community for her role in the scam.

The 68-year-old claimed the dud devices - which he made is his garden shed in Dunstable, Bedfordshire - could track down explosives, drugs and people - including missing Madeleine McCann.

Detectives heralded the sentencing as the "concluding act in a highly complex, extensive and significant investigation".

The probe has seen three other British con artists convicted of making fake detectors.

It is believed the criminals made around £80m from the scam.

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McCanns Targeted By 'Venomous' Internet Trolls

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

The Metropolitan Police is investigating a catalogue of vile internet abuse targeting the family of Madeleine McCann including death threats, Sky News can reveal.

Officers are in talks with the Crown Prosecution Service after being handed a dossier of more than 80 pages of Tweets, Facebook posts and messages on online forums aimed at Kate and Gerry McCann.

Over the past few years hundreds of shocking messages have been posted by 'trolls' who believe - despite no evidence - that the McCanns had some involvement in the disappearance of their daughter in Portugal in 2007.

These include suggestions that the McCanns should be tortured and killed and calls for them to "burn in hell".

Some messages are even directed at Madeleine's younger siblings, now aged nine.

Manipulated images involving the McCanns - many of them graphic - are also in wide circulation online.

Video: Some Material 'Really Disturbing'

One troll - who uses the Twitter identity "Sweepyface" and has posted dozens of anti-McCann messages using the #mccann hashtag - was confronted by Sky News.

When asked about her use of social media to attack the couple, she replied: "I'm entitled to."

The dossier - compiled by members of the public alarmed at the online treatment of the McCanns and shown to Sky News - calls on police and MPs to act to crack down on such abuse.

Video: McCanns Abused On Social Media

The Met wrote to the campaigners: "In consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and the McCann family the material will now be assessed and decisions made as to what further action if any should be undertaken."

Among the messages identified in the dossier is an exchange on a message board which reads: "These 2 should burn in hell"; "I will supply the petrol"; "I'll supply the lighter - happily".

Other posts include: "We need some numbers for some assassins on taps", "I hope that the McCanns are living in total misery" and "I want to see them smashed up the back of a bus or trampled by horses".

Video: Sky News Confronts McCann 'Troll'

In one of her tweets "Sweepyface" called for the McCanns to suffer "for the rest of their miserable lives".

In addition to threats and abuse, several trolls have claimed to live nearby to the McCanns in Leicestershire and reported on their movements.

The campaigner spearheading the appeal - who has asked to remain anonymous - told Sky News: "We're very worried that it's only going to take somebody to act out of some of these discussions, some of the threats that have been made, and we couldn't live with ourselves if that happened and we had done nothing."

Video: Sky's Martin Brunt On McCann Abuse

Author Anthony Summers, whose book Looking for Madeleine was published last month, said: "There is a campaign of hatred against the parents.

"It is venomous and vitriolic, most of it done by cowards. We are taken aback by the extent of the sheer evil behind it all."

Sara Payne has become a campaigner for parents' right to a controlled access to the Sex Offenders Register since her daughter, Sarah, was murdered in 2000.

Video: Sept 7: 'Charity Worker' A Suspect?

Responding to the story of the abuse against the McCanns on Twitter, she wrote: "About time, they are certainly not the only victims but they are the most abused.

"I hope this means this kind of disgusting abuse will finally be stopped."

:: At 2pm we will be hosting a Twitter Q&A with crime correspondent Martin Brunt on our exclusive story about the abuse Madeleine McCann's parents have suffered online. Tweet your questions using the hashtag #AskBrunt".

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Thai Murders: Man Admits Killing Britons

A Burmese man has confessed to the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand, police said.

Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds on Sairee beach last month.

Their semi-naked bodies were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao, near where they were staying, in the early hours of September 15.

A bloodstained garden hoe, which is thought to be the murder weapon, was discovered nearby.

Officers near the scene where the backpackers' bodies were found

"The investigation has advanced considerably," deputy national police chief Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda said.

"Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners," he said.

Video: David Miller Seen On CCTV

He said the man who had confessed was being detained, but had not been arrested.

"We still have to wait for DNA tests results which we expect to have in 14 hours from now in order to confirm this," he added.

Police had originally said they believed three men were involved in the attack.

On Wednesday, they revealed Miss Witheridge had been raped by her two killers, while a third man watched.

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1. Gallery: Thailand Beach Murders

   The family of Hannah Witheridge in Thailand. Miss Witheridge was killed alongside David Miller on a beach on Koh Tao

2. Police outside the Ware family home on Jersey. Christopher and James Ware, who were childhood friends of Mr Miller, have been questioned in Thailand as part of the investigation

3. The pair suffered "gruesome" injuries, according to police

4. The victims were staying in this hotel

5. Thai police at the scene of the beach attack

Two different semen samples were collected from her body.

Almost three weeks after the deaths police also announced they were offering a reward of more than £13,000 (700,000 baht) in an effort to catch the killers.

The island has a large community of migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar, also know as Burma.

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Wonga Writes Off 330,000 Customers' Debts

Payday lender Wonga has said it will write off the debts of 330,000 customers whose loans would not have been approved under new affordability guidelines.

Sky sources said the cost of writing off the debt to the company would be £35m.

There is £220m debt outstanding for the customers affected, at an average loan value of £667 per borrower.

The short-term lender said it would contact the borrowers by October 10.

City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the 330,000 customers who are currently in excess of 30 days in arrears will have the balance of their loan written off and therefore owe Wonga nothing.

And some 45,000 customers who are between zero and 29 days in arrears will be asked to repay their debt without interest and charges and will be given an option of paying off their debt over an extended period of four months.

Wonga currently offers a fixed interest rate of 365% per annum, and gives an example of £150 borrowed for 18 days attracting an interest total of £27.99.

With its "transmission fee" of £5.50, the total one-off payment for the £150 is £183.49, representative of an annual percentage rate of 5,853%.

Wonga founder Errol Damelin resigned his chairman's role in June

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who criticised the lender last year, welcomed the move but said the major issue was to create a reformed financial system.

"The big issue is to create a financial system that gives access to the poor and hope for the poorest in our lands, to be able to flourish and develop and have proper access to finance, not just for loans but for savings," he said.

Video: Wonga Pre-Tax Profit Drops By 53%

"For lives in which finance is a good servant, not a bad master."

The default write-off news comes just days after the company reported a massive drop in earnings.

Wonga's annual profit dropped by 53%, after the payday lender came under fire for the tactics it uses to reclaim money from borrowers in default.

It said full-year pre-tax profit in the 12 months to 31 December was £39.7m, down from £84.5m a year earlier.

The company was criticised over its previous tactic of sending customers in default fake legal letters.

FCA director of supervision Clive Adamson said: "We are determined to drive up standards in the consumer credit market and it is disappointing that some firms still have a way to go to meet our expectations.

"This should put the rest of the industry on notice - they need to lend affordably and responsibly.

"It is absolutely right that Wonga's new management team has acted quickly to put things right for their customers after these issues were raised by the FCA."

The announcement was made after new Wonga chairman Andy Haste completed discussions with the FCA.

Mr Haste said: "It's clear to me that the need for change at Wonga is real and urgent.

"Our regulator is determined to improve standards in consumer credit and I share that determination.

"There is much to do in order to make Wonga a sustainable and accepted business, and today's announcement is a significant step forward in that process."

He added: "We want to ensure we only lend to those who can reasonably afford the loan in question and during my review, it became clear to me that this has unfortunately not always been the case.

"I agreed with the concerns expressed by the FCA and as a consequence of our discussions we have committed to taking these actions."

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IS Fighters Smuggled Into Syria For Just £15

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

For tens of thousands of Syrians, the Kilis border crossing is the official way in and out of Turkey from Syria.

But if you're an Islamic State fighter, Kilis is not an option.

Abu Mustafa (not his real name) is a Syrian people smuggler. He says he's helped hundreds of IS fighters get into Syria.

He's also brought militants - some of them injured - back out.

He took us to the spot where the smuggling happens several times a day, he says, and it didn't take long to see it in action.  

We waited on the side of the road barely 10 minutes before we saw a white car speed across the open field towards the border.

The Kilis border crossing is the official way into Syria from Turkey

The car stopped halfway there and six men got out each holding a big bag. The car sped off and the men headed towards the fence.

We couldn't tell if they were fighters or Syrians without passports, but they were illegally crossing into Syria.

Moments later, more people appeared at the border. It looked like a family including a woman and child.

This time the military police saw them and chased one man, possibly the smuggler, along the fence. 

And the reward for taking such a risk? Abu Mustafa charges just £15 per fighter.

He said: "Last time they caught three people there were seven in total trying to get across among them Turks and Arabs.

A people smuggler talks to Sky's Sherine Tadros

"But the three that got caught were foreigners. They spoke English and the police took them away.

"They often cross with their families - their wives and children. They tell us we're coming to fight with Islamic State and live there.

"Some of them don't even know where exactly they're going, they just say, we are going to the Islamic State."

It's a common story. Abu Ahmed fought with IS for 10 months in northwestern Syria.

We met him in Turkey where he agreed to speak with us as long as we covered his face and changed his name.

He joined IS at the start because they were the most effective force fighting Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

But when they turned against the Free Syrian Army (FSA) he left the group.

He explained why so many foreign fighters join the group.

"They go to Syria to be martyred, they say their former lives are over and there is no going back. Most of them rip up and throw away their passports when they arrive."

Abu Ahmed also thinks US-led airstrikes against IS are backfiring, bringing extremist groups closer together.

"After the recent strikes, more fighters are joining IS - like the Nusra Front. I know some of them who have joined," he said.

Abu Ahmed doesn't have much hope for Syria's future, or his own.

He thinks the situation is out of hand and too many players have a vested interest in keeping the war going.

"What will happen next?" he said. "Only God knows."

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Lloyds Bank Sacks Eight And Stops £3m Bonuses

Lloyds Banking Group has sacked eight staff and forfeited their bonuses of £3m, over Libor and currency manipulation attempts.

The staff members of the taxpayer-backed bank were found guilty of misconduct for actions between 2006 and 2009.

The findings come following investigation by UK and US regulators over manipulation attempts for the interbank lending rate, and the currency fixing known as the Sterling Repo rate.

Lloyds Banking Group CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio said: "Having now taken disciplinary action against those individuals responsible for the totally unacceptable behaviour identified by the regulators' investigations, the board and the group's management team are committed to preventing this type of behaviour happening again."

"A number of individuals have been dismissed. In addition, the Remuneration Committee is tasked with ensuring that the outcome of the disciplinary process and the significant reputational damage and financial cost to the group are fully and fairly reflected in the options considered in relation to other staff bonus payments."

Sources have told Sky News the bonus-cutting - averaging £375,00 per employee - was part of new rules over so-called clawback.

The purpose of clawing back bonus and other incentives from previous years it to dissuade bankers from reckless behaviour, if they are found liable at a later date.

The unnamed Lloyds staff now have the right to appeal the decision, in accordance with Lloyds's disciplinary policies and procedures.

Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman revealed in February that Royal Bank of Scotland - 81% owned by the taxpayer - was eyeing up to £100m in staff bonus claw back over Libor at its investment bank.

Lloyds admitted it was unable to take any disciplinary action against a number of other staff members who left the group prior to the settlements with regulators in July.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority fined Lloyds £105m, and it was also heavily fined by US regulators, with the overall penalty coming to £218m.

Chancellor George Osborne said the Libor fine for Lloyds would go to military good causes.

Royal Bank of Scotland was fined £390m manipulating benchmark rates in February last year, and there have been a number of other banks, including Barclays, UBS, Deutsche and JPMorgan.

Barclays was the first bank to settle with regulators for manipulating Libor submissions, paying £290m in June 2012.

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Osborne: 'Raise The Ambition Of The Nation'

George Osborne has told the Tory conference it is time to "raise the ambition of the nation so everyone has the chance to succeed".

The Chancellor said the Government's "long-term economic plan is working" and that Britain had done what it always did to recover from the economic crisis four years ago: "picked ourselves up, we sorted ourselves out and we got back in the fight"

He said it was not time to finish the job that had been started and added that the country had achieved the result "together" and warned a Labour Government would push Britain back into the past and the economic crisis of recent years.

In a dig at the Labour leader's speech last week he said Ed Miliband made a "speech that was so forgettable, he forgot most of it". Mr Miliband admitted he left out a passage on the deficit when he delivered his keynote speech without notes in Manchester at the party's conference. 

The Chancellor also challenged Labour's claims to being the only party of the NHS saying "the real party of the NHS is in this hall today".

Mr Osborne said the party would "ruin" the NHS because the health service could not exist without a healthy economy.

He said Britain faced a number of choices but most immediately it was time to chose between the past and the future.

Mr Osborne said he has spoken to Conservative delegate who had lost his job in the Northern Rock crisis who had told him Britain should never return to such a time of risk adding the Conservatives did not want to go back either.

He said the deficit is approaching half what it was when the Conservatives come to office but cautioned there was more to be done. But he added: "The option of taxing your way out of the deficit no longer exists, if it ever did."

At the centre of Mr Osborne's speech is scrapping the so-called "death tax" on pension pots with immediate effect. It will mean those who have saved into their pensions will no longer pay the 55% tax if they wish to pass the money to their families.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of his speech, Mr Osborne said the move was a reward for those who "worked and saved".

The Chancellor's speech is largely being seen as an attempt to seize back ground made by UKIP and to steady the ship after two Conservative defections and the resignation of the Minister for Civil Society over a sex pictures scandal at the weekend.

The "death tax" cut will cost the Treasury a estimated £150m - the equivalent of just a 0.03p cut in income tax - but it will appeal to older voters who are more likely to be swayed by Nigel Farage's party.

However, it has emerged Mr Osborne had been the one to increase the tax from 35% to 55% and had already suggested it in the Autumn Statement.

More follows...

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Japan Volcano: More Than 30 Hikers Feared Dead

More than 30 hikers are believed to have died near the peak of an erupting volcano in Japan.

Police said they were found unconscious and in cardiac arrest near the summit of the 3,067 metre (10,121ft) Mount Ontake, which erupted on Saturday, spewing large white plumes of gas and ash high into the sky and blanketing the surrounding area in ash.

Video footage posted online of the aftermath of the eruption shows huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people scrambling to get down as blackness envelops them.

Hundreds of rescue workers are trying to reach those who are stranded

Footage on NHK national television shows windows in a mountain lodge darkening and people screaming as heavy objects pelt the roof.

"We have confirmed that more than 30 individuals in cardiac arrest have been found near the summit," a Nagano prefecture police spokesman told the AFP news agency, without elaborating further.

Nagano prefecture posted on its website that those found have heart and lung failure - the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police doctors can examine it.

The mountain is popular with tourists and hikers

Hundreds of soldiers, police officers and firefighters have been involved in a large-scale search and rescue operation in an effort to save dozens of hikers who were thought to have been stranded on the volcano since it erupted without warning.

At least 250 people were initially trapped, but most made their way down by Saturday night. More than 40 people have been injured, and several have broken bones.

A suffocating blanket of ash up to 20cm (eight inches) thick covered a large area of the volcano, which is some 200km (125 miles) west of the capital, Tokyo.

Climbers come down the mountain after the eruption

The volcano was still erupting on Sunday, pouring smoke and ash hundreds of metres into the sky.

Ash has been found on cars as far as 80km (50 miles) away.

Although details remain unclear, local officials believe 45 to 49 hikers sheltered overnight in cabins on the mountain, which is popular with tourists and hikers.

Military helicopters rescued seven people off the mountainside earlier on Sunday, and workers on foot are helping others to make their way down.

A restricted zone has been set up in the area

A worker in a mountain lodge just below the peak, Shuichi Mukai, said: "All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn't even open the door.

"We were really packed in here, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down."

Mount Ontake sits on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures, on the main Japanese island of Honshu.

The volcano's last major eruption was in 1979.

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Sex Scandal And Defection Hit Tory Conference

The Conservatives have been dealt a devastating double blow after a minister quit over a sex scandal and another party MP announced he was defecting to UKIP.

Cabinet Office minister Brooks Newmark resigned after reportedly sending explicit pictures of himself online to an undercover tabloid newspaper reporter.

His announcement came just hours after Rochester and Strood MP Mark Reckless declared he was joining UKIP leader Nigel Farage's "people's army".

He is the second Conservative to defect to UKIP within a month, joining Clacton MP Douglas Carswell.

Speaking on the BBC's The Andrew Marr show on Sunday, Prime Minister David Cameron said it was "counterproductive and senseless".

For the Tories arriving in Birmingham for their final party conference before the general election in May, there could hardly have been a worse start to the gathering.

Nigel Farage could not contain his delight at Mark Reckless's defection

Meanwhile, an opinion poll in the Sunday Mirror and Independent on Sunday suggests Mr Farage is more popular than the PM.

The setbacks overshadowed the announcement of plans for a new squeeze on benefits to fund millions of new apprenticeships.

Samantha Cameron and the PM arrive in Birmingham for the conference

According to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Newmark allegedly exchanged explicit pictures over the internet with a female reporter posing as a Tory PR worker.

The 56-year-old married father of five tendered his resignation after learning that the newspaper was about to publish details of their exchanges.

Fellow Conservative Nadine Dorries told Sky's Murnaghan programme she didn't think the claims are "that big a deal".

Downing Street said that Reading East MP Rob Wilson had been appointed the new Civil Society Minister.

Mr Reckless received an ecstatic reception from UKIP activists at their party conference in Doncaster after he declared he was leaving the Tories.

He accused the leadership of failing to keep its promises on Europe, the economy and immigration.

Brooks Newmark resigned over claims he sent explicit photos

"People feel ignored, taken for granted, over-taxed, over-regulated, ripped off and lied to," he declared to rapturous applause.

He dismissed the PM's promise of an in/out EU referendum as a "device" designed to deliver the "pre-ordained" result in favour of Britain's continued membership.

There was deep anger in the Conservative ranks at Mr Reckless's move, with a party spokesman denouncing the defection as "completely illogical".

Mark Reckless was a close ally of fellow defector Douglas Carswell

Mr Reckless's constituency party chairman, Andrew Mackness, said that he was "astonished and disgusted" at the decision, and said he had been given assurances by Mr Reckless that he wouldn't defect.

Like Mr Carswell, Mr Reckless said that he would be standing down as an MP in order to fight the seat as a UKIP candidate in a by-election.

Although he took the Kent constituency with a majority of almost 10,000 at the last general election, he may face a tough battle to return to Westminster.

Samantha Cameron was all smiles as she arrived in Birmingham

In his last act as a Tory MP, Mr Reckless rebelled against the Government in the Commons vote on air strikes against Islamic State militants.

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "Even late last night he was leaving voicemails with people saying how much he was looking forward to coming to a campaign day this Sunday here in Birmingham Northfield for one of our candidates.

"People will come to their own conclusions about whether this is therefore a trustworthy individual."

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'Nothing Token' About Britain's Iraq Mission

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has rejected claims Britain's role in the fight against Islamic State (IS) is a "token" gesture, as he confirmed RAF Tornados are now flying daily over northern Iraq.

He told Sky's Murnaghan programme the United States welcomes the contribution of six aircraft to the mission.

Mr Fallon said: "There's nothing token about this. On the contrary, I spoke to the American Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel immediately after the vote and he welcomed the contribution that we're now able to make.

"They need our help, not simply with the Tornados, which are now flying daily from Cyprus, but also from the surveyance aircraft that we have overhead and very sophisticated surveyance and intelligence to add to the operations of Iraqi and Kurdish forces."

His comments come after Richard Williams, a former commanding officer of the SAS who served in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote in the Independent on Sunday the deployment of RAF bombers was a "military sugar rush" that "risks looking fearful and half-cocked".

Lieutenant Colonel Williams said the sending in of RAF bombers had "taken on a military and political significance out of all proportion to their real military value".

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, a former head of the UK military who stepped down as chief of the defence staff last year, also told The Sunday Times that a campaign involving ground troops would be needed to crush IS.

The RAF carried out two sorties over Iraq on Saturday after Parliament cleared the way for airstrikes on IS militants in a vote on Friday.

In both missions the Tornado GR4 fighter bombers did not use their weapons, although the Ministry of Defence said "invaluable intelligence" had been gathered using the planes' surveillance equipment.

An RAF Tornado takes off from the Akrotiri base on Sunday

The jets, which fly in pairs, returned to their base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at the end of their hours-long missions with their weapons payload intact.

Sky's Tom Parmenter, who is at the base, says that two Tornados took off on another mission just after midday on Sunday.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he also wants to make the case for targeting Syria.

RAF crew at the base on Saturday morning. Pic: MoD

In an interview with the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister revealed he would argue that targeting Syria is both legal and appropriate.

"There are complications but there aren't legal difficulties," he said.

Mr Cameron said he would respond to the challenge thrown down by Ed Miliband to seek a UN resolution supporting attacks in Syria, if only to show that his request is impossible.

A member of the aircrew prepares to depart on the first mission. Pic: MoD

"We have to demonstrate to people that we'd like a UN security council resolution but it's very difficult to get one and to demonstrate that what we propose is legal. Attempts have been made but there's the existence of a Russian veto."

Ministers had cautioned not to expect a campaign of "shock and awe" and that after weeks of US airstrikes in the area it could take time to identify new targets.

Mr Cameron insisted the involvement of RAF combat aircraft showed Britain was there to "play our part" in the international coalition being assembled against IS.

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