Two Held After Children Killed In House Fire

Two people have been arrested by police investigating a house fire in which a woman and two children died.

A 20-year-old woman, a boy aged four and a two-year-old girl were pronounced dead by firefighters after the blaze broke out at a property in Maes Y Groes, Prestatyn, on Friday night, a North Wales Police spokeswoman said.

A 23-year-old man and a 15-month-old baby were taken to hospital by ambulance, she added.

Neighbours said the victims lived in a top-floor flat at the property.

Fire crews recovered five people from inside the property

Adele Gordon said: "There were people everywhere. This man came running up the street shouting 'my kids are in there, my kids are in there'.

"People started smashing the windows but the smoke was mad, I've never seen smoke like it. It was thick black smoke bellowing out of the house."

Another neighbour, Mike Foster said: "I can't believe it. I'm just in shock. I didn't even know them but I'm just so upset."

A joint investigation is being carried out by North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and North Wales Police.

A Welsh Ambulance Services spokeswoman said the man and baby were taken to Glan Clwyd Hospital.

The man was later transferred to Whiston Hospital, Merseyside, while the baby was moved to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

Both were said to be in a serious condition.

The spokeswoman described the property as a house that had been converted into flats.

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Lebanon: Protests After Beirut Bomb Blast

Protesters in Lebanon have burnt tyres and set up roadblocks amid growing anger over a car bomb that killed eight people, including one of the country's top security officials.

There are fears that the devastating attack threatens to bring Syria's civil war to Lebanon.

Lebanese troops have been guarding road junctions and official buildings in the capital, Beirut, as the Lebanese cabinet held an emergency meeting to decide on what, if any, action to take.

A day of mourning has been declared for the victims of the Beirut blast which included Brigadier General Wissam al Hassan, head of a Lebanese intelligence department and an opponent of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Dozens were left wounded in the blast in Beirut's mainly Christian Achrafieh neighbourhood.

Politics in Lebanon and Syria are closely connected

Many observers said the attack appeared to have links to the 19-month civil war in Syria.

Brig-Gen al Hassan, 47, headed an investigation over the summer that led to the arrest of former information minister Michel Samaha, one of Mr Assad's most loyal allies in Lebanon.

Mr Samaha, who is in custody, is accused of plotting a campaign of bombings and assassinations to spread sectarian violence in Lebanon at Syria's behest.

Also indicted in the August sweep was Syrian Brigadier General Ali Mamlouk, one of Mr Assad's highest aides.

Lebanon's fractious politics are closely entwined with Syria's.

The countries share political and sectarian ties and rivalries, often causing events on one side of the border to have a "knock on" effect on the other.

Lebanon's opposition is an anti-Syrian bloc, while the prime minister and much of the government are pro-Syrian.

The civil war in Syria has laid bare Lebanon's sectarian tensions as well.

Many of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims have backed Syria's mainly Sunni rebels, while Shi'ite Muslims have tended to back Mr Assad.

Brig-Gen al Hassan was a Sunni whose stances were widely seen to oppose Syria and Shi'ite Hezbollah, the country's most powerful ally in Lebanon.

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Cardiff Hit-And-Runs: Police Hunt Mystery Car

Tributes have been paid to a mother of three who died in a series of hit-and-run crashes in Cardiff, which also left seven children injured.

The woman was named locally as 32-year-old mother Karina Menzies, who died after she was knocked down outside a fire station in the Welsh capital.

Her disabled child is currently on a dream holiday in Florida and is unaware of the tragedy, according to Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan.

A 31-year-old man, arrested on suspicion of murder, remains in police custody for questioning in the wake of the collisions, which occurred at five different locations in the Ely and Leckwith areas.

A total of 14 people were injured in the crashes, and two of those are in a critical condition.

Friends of Miss Menzies have expressed their grief on social networking sites.

The white van pictured after being stopped by police

Facebook user Katy Johanna Benson wrote: "Rest in piece (sic) Karina Menzies. Sleep tight beautiful angel and may the scum responsible for this senseless, evil murder be brought to justice. Cant (sic) imagine what her family are feeling."

The drama began when South Wales Police received calls about an accident on Crossways Road in Ely at 3.30pm on Friday.

One eyewitness reported a woman being dragged along underneath the vehicle suffering terrible injuries.

There were soon reports of hit-and-run collisions in several locations in the west of the city, including Grand Avenue, Cowbridge Road West and the Leckwith Retail Park.

Ely sub-postmaster Shady Taha, 29, served two girls and a young woman moments before one of the hit-and-runs in Grand Avenue, immediately outside a row of shops.

He said the two girls, aged about 10, and a woman in her mid-20s had been browsing the birthday cards in the store before buying a jar of coffee and leaving.

Police were called to five locations in Cardiff

"All of a sudden I heard a bang. I looked out and across the road one girl was on the floor and the other girl was screaming," he said.

"I heard a van speed off but I did not see it."

Other residents said pedestrians were deliberately targeted by someone driving a van.

Ramesh Patel, who runs RM Patel Convenience Stores on Cowbridge Road West, said: "I was in the shop working at the time so I didn't actually see anything but customers have said a white van purposely drove at people.

"Obviously, when someone tries to run you down deliberately that is frightening, not pleasant at all.

"I was working here in the store so I didn't see that myself but that is what most people who have come in here have said. People seem very shocked."

Police examine the scene of one of the crashes

Superintendent Julian Williams said the suspect was arrested while driving a white Iveco transit van and was taken to Cardiff Bay police station.

"Whether the actions were deliberate or reckless is a matter for the inquiry and the person will obviously be spoken to," he added.

Detective Superintendent Paul Hurley said a weapon may have been used against some of those injured, but did not say what type of weapon was alleged to have been used.

He added: "At this stage there is no suggestion that there was anybody else involved with this incident."

He also made an appeal for information about a black Renault Clio seen driving on the wrong side of the road, heading towards Ely last night.

All of the injured were taken to the city's University Hospital of Wales, where the A&E department was initially shut to anyone not involved in the crashes, but has since reopened.

Dr Grahame Shortland, medical director at the hospital, said those being treated mostly had fractures and head injuries.

Cardiff NHS had appealed for blood donors in the immediate aftermath.

Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan said the people of the city were "waking up to a nightmare that's all too real".

He added: "I don't think anyone can quite believe the events that were witnessed in and around this area."

South Wales Police is asking anyone with any information on the collisions to contact them on 01656 655555. Around 70 officers are involved in the investigation.

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Iraq Soldiers' Families Win Damages Fight

Relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq have won the latest round in a fight for compensation from the Government.

The Court of Appeal said families could pursue damages claims on the grounds of negligence.

Relatives say the Ministry of Defence failed to provide armoured vehicles or equipment which could have saved lives and should pay compensation.

MoD bosses say decisions about battlefield equipment are for politicians and military commanders.

A lawyer representing the families described the ruling as "an important victory".

Private Phillip Hewett, 21, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, died in July 2005 after a Snatch Land Rover was blown up.

His mother, Susan Smith, told Sky News outside the court earlier: "Their argument's always been that they didn't really need to protect them because nobody could do anything about it.

"It's just been plodding on trying to get this where they recognise that soldiers have the right to life and the right to be safe in their jobs to the best of their ability.

"I think the MoD have known all along that it wasn't suitable but they just thought people would just leave it."

Legal action was started as a result of the deaths of a number of British soldiers following the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, judges heard.

Corporal Stephen Allbutt, 35, of Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was killed in a "friendly fire" incident in March 2003.

He died after a Challenger 2 tank was hit by another Challenger 2 tank.

Soldiers Dan Twiddy, of Stamford, Lincolnshire, and Andy Julien, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, were badly hurt in the incident.

Similar explosions claimed the lives of Private Lee Ellis, 23, of Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, in February 2006, and Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath, 22, of Romford, Essex, in August 2007.

The Court of Appeal announcement followed a ruling in June 2011 by a High Court judge, who said relatives could pursue claims on negligence grounds – but not under human rights legislation.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) appealed against Mr Justice Owen's ruling on negligence claims - while the relatives challenged his findings on the human rights issue.

Shubhaa Srinivasan, a partner with law firm Leigh Day & Co, which is representing the family of Cpl Allbutt and the surviving servicemen, said: "We await the verdict, having fought for many years to get these claims to court.

"We maintain that the MoD's position has been morally and legally indefensible, as they owe a duty of care to those who fight on behalf of this country.

"British troops should at the very least have adequate equipment and training, ranging from the very basic such as GPS devices, to sophisticated satellite tracker systems, which the Americans had available to them."

The MoD spokesman said: "Our thoughts and concerns remain with those that were injured and the families of those that sadly lost their lives.

"We are considering the judgment by the Court of Appeal and as this is likely to be subject to further legal action it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."

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Savile Inquiry Now A Criminal Investigaton

The inquiry into alleged child abuse by Jimmy Savile is now a formal criminal investigation involving other living people, Scotland Yard says.

Detectives have established that there are lines of inquiry involving "living people that require formal investigation", and Operation Yewtree had moved from an assessment to a criminal investigation.

Scotland Yard said two weeks of gathering information has involved assessing more than 400 lines of inquiry and has identified more than 200 potential victims.

The force said: "As we have said from the outset, our work was never going to take us into a police investigation into Jimmy Savile.

"What we have established in the last two weeks is that there are lines of inquiry involving living people that require formal investigation."

More follows...

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Taxi Driver Pleads Guilty To Clubber Murder

Taxi driver Christopher Halliwell has pleaded pleaded guilty to murdering nightclubber Sian O'Callaghan, who disappeared after a night out in Swindon in March last year.

More follows...

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Missing Ben Needham: New Search In Greece

British police investigating the disappearance of Ben Needham are to search a mound of earth close to where he went missing in Greece 21 years ago.

Ben vanished on the island of Kos in July 1991 when he was 21 months old, after his mother and grandparents moved there from Sheffield.

How Ben might look in his early twenties

Despite a number of possible sightings and a range of theories about what happened to him, no trace of the youngster has been found.

A team of experts will begin examining the grounds of the farmhouse from which Ben disappeared tomorrow, before deciding whether any areas should be dug up.

The search, which is expected to last up to 10 days, will centre on a large mound near the house which is now grassed over.

One theory is that Ben could have been buried beneath building material which was dumped there at the time he went missing.

His mother, Kerry Needham, 41, told the Daily Mirror: "This is an elimination process and that's how I'm dealing with it.

"It's one of the most important things to happen in 21 years."

Mrs Needham has previously said she believes the mound was already there when Ben went missing.

Angela Smith, the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, told BBC Radio Sheffield: "Hopefully they won't find Ben in that rubble and it closes down another line of inquiry and narrows down the possibilities.

"I know that she [Mrs Needham] will be very keen for this work to be undertaken and rock solid confident, I'm sure, that they won't find Ben there."

South Yorkshire Police, which is leading the operation, said the search, which follows a request from Greek police for extra support, would also involve a forensic archaeologist and search dogs.

A spokesman for the force said: "During the past 18 months, South Yorkshire Police has reviewed all material held by the Greek police in relation to Ben's disappearance in order to support the Greek enquiry.

"We have also obtained Ben's DNA from Sheffield Children's Hospital."

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New York Fed 'Bomber' Is Bank Manager's Son

A man arrested trying to blow up the US Federal Reserve building in New York is the son of a bank manager, reports say.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, of Bangladesh, has been charged with trying to detonate a fake device in a vehicle parked outside the Manhattan building, home to "the world's largest accumulation of gold".

In an elaborate FBI sting, agents grabbed Nafis when he made several attempts to detonate the 1,000lb device by mobile phone.

Nafis had travelled to the US with "the purpose of conducting a terrorist attack" and actively tried to make al Qaeda contacts after his arrival, authorities said.

But the family of the 21-year-old suspect insist he had never displayed any radical tendencies and said he was a devout Muslim whose arrest had come as a shock.

His father, Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah, said: "We're stunned. Nafis is not a radical type. He says prayers five times a day, and reads the holy Koran and Hadith every day.

"I have never seen him reading any books on jihad. We don't believe that he can have committed this... He is our pride and joy."

Nafis' extended family lives in North Jatrabari, an upper middle-class neighbourhood of southeastern Dhaka. His father is a senior vice president of National Bank and his sister is a doctor.

The bank is one of the most fortified buildings in the city

Speaking from the family home, Nafis' brother-in-law Arik said they had spoken to him only hours before his arrest and even discussed a possible bride for him.

"We heard the news this morning. Everyone is crying here," Arik told AFP. "Nafis never showed any form of radicalisation when he was in Bangladesh."

Officials at North South University in Bangladesh said Nafis had struggled during his eight terms as an electrical engineering and telecommunications student and had been effectively forced to leave after disappointing exam results.

His family said he then moved to the US where he initially took up a place at Missouri Southern State University, left after a term due to cost and took a job at a New York hotel.

Authorities insisted the alleged terror plot never posed an actual risk - but that it demonstrated the value of using sting operations to neutralise young extremists eager to harm Americans.

Before trying to carry out the plot, Nafis went to a warehouse to help assemble a 453kg (1,000lb) bomb using inert material, according to the FBI.

The alleged attack targeted the Federal Reserve Bank in New York

Court documents claim he asked an undercover agent to videotape him saying: "We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom."

An official complaint said Nafis contacted a confidential FBI informant in July telling him he wanted to form a terror cell.

In further conversations, authorities said Nafis proposed several spots for his attack, including the New York Stock Exchange, and that in a written letter taking responsibility for the Federal Reserve job he was about to carry out, he said he wanted to "destroy America".

Nafis has appeared in court in Brooklyn charged with trying to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda.

The bank in New York, just a short walk from the scene of the September 11 terror attacks in 2001, is one of the most fortified buildings in the city.

It is home to "the world's largest accumulation of gold", according to the bank's website.

Dozens of governments and central banks store a portion of their gold reserves in high-security vaults deep beneath the building - making it a bigger bullion depository than Fort Knox.

"Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure," said Mary Galligan, acting head of the FBI's New York office. "The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences."

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Greek Police Clash With Austerity Protesters

Violence has broken out in the Greek capital Athens, where protesters have clashed with police during an anti-austerity demonstration.

Campaigners threw petrol bombs and rocks at police officers, who responded by firing tear gas to break up groups of troublemakers.

It comes on the day European leaders meet to discuss the future of the single currency.

Millions of Greeks have joined a general strike in a bid to convince politicians to let up on years of crippling austerity.

The 24-hour walkout, organised by the country's two biggest labour unions, is the 20th work stoppage since a devastating debt crisis erupted in the country late 2009.

The financial crisis has since spread to other troubled economies sharing Europe's single currency.

A protest at the Greek finance ministry on Wednesday

The latest action targets a fresh batch of brutal budget cuts which Athens must take to unlock some 31 billion euros in bailout loans it needs to keep the country paying pension, state salaries and running costs.

From taxi drivers to doctors and diplomats, the strike is expected to paralyse an already suffocating economy.

Ships will remain docked throughout the day, hospitals plan to operate on skeleton staff, and dozens of domestic and international flights face cancellation as air traffic controllers agreed to join the protest.

Aircraft will be grounded - and the country isolated from the rest of the world - for three hours.

Most business and public sector activity is expected to come to a screeching halt and government offices will remain shut.

The focus will be in the capital where organisers have called on protesters to rally outside parliament, a venue of frequent, at times, violent, showdowns between demonstrators and police.

Fearing potential violence, authorities have ordered some 4,000 police to the streets to mind demonstrations planned in the capital.

Steel fences and water cannon have been propped outside parliament to shield the sprawling building.

"Just once, the government should reject [international] lenders' absurd demands," said Yannis Panagopoulos, head of the GSEE private sector union.

The Greek parliament has been a frequent venue for protests

"Agreeing to catastrophic measures means driving society to despair and the consequences as well as the protests will be indefinite."

Opinion polls show 8 in 10 Greeks increasingly pessimistic, believing the country was heading down a wrong path of austerity.

Still, with the country running low on cash, the prime minister has said Greece has enough money through November.

But Athens has little leverage against lenders pushing for it to adopt 13.5 billion euro in added austerity.

Earlier this week, demands for drastic labour overhauls, including cuts in wages and severance fees, kicked up a political storm. The government's junior coalition partner threatened to walk out of government if the measures were adopted.

Under the current agreement, Greece has to adopt the cuts through 2014; to ease the pain, however, the government, wants an extra two years, until 2016.

Entangled in its worst economic crisis since World War II, Greece has seen the recession leave a record 1.3 million people, or 25.1%, jobless.

And so unions have vowed to wage rolling strikes to pressure the government to repeal the latest new labour regulations, which include a reported 15,000 public sector sackings.

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Andrew Mitchell: Ministers 'Beyond Despair'

Senior ministers are "beyond despair" that Andrew Mitchell is still in his job despite his row with a policeman, according to Sky sources.

Sky's deputy political editor Joey Jones says there is an increasing push to oust the Chief Whip because of the clash with an officer in Downing Street in September.

The revelation about the mood at the top of the Tory party comes ahead of two major challenges for Mr Mitchell on what is the first week back in Westminster following the party conferences.

He is set for intense barracking when he attends Prime Minister's Questions this lunchtime and then a few hours later the powerful Conservative 1922 Committee will consider his position.

"The constant and agonising undercurrent for the Conservative Party at the moment is about the position of the Chief Whip. It is becoming a huge preoccupation for MPs and ministers," Joey Jones said.

"Utterly authoritative sources tell me that senior Conservative ministers are beyond despair at the situation, which they can see just dragging on and becoming a huge distraction."

Labour leader Ed Miliband is sure to try and capitalise on the Chief Whip's perilous position during his exchanges with David Cameron at PMQs.

The Opposition has already tabled a motion calling for Mr Mitchell to be docked £1,000 from his salary - roughly the same amount he would have been fined for swearing at an officer.

But the real test is likely to be at the 1922 Committee meeting, which starts at 4pm, where party members will have a chance to state their views.

Mr Mitchell will not attend the session but it is believed that he will meet with the committee's executive afterwards where he will be made aware of the mood.

The senior Tory has been clinging to his job, which he only took on in the recent reshuffle, since it emerged he had rowed with a policeman on September 19.

He ranted at the officer at the Downing Street gates when he was told he could not cycle out of the main entrance.

Mr Mitchell has denied using calling the police "plebs" during the argument but his account conflicts with the official police record.

He failed to quell the row with a lacklustre apology live on Sky News and then stayed away from the Tory conference last week to avoid being a "distraction".

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Gatwick Airport Planning Second Runway

Gatwick Airport bosses have started to draw up detailed options for a new runway which could help resolve the UK's air capacity crisis.

But Gatwick said it would honour a 1979 legal agreement that states no runway can be built at the West Sussex airport before 2019.

The options, to be submitted to a Government-appointed aviation commission, will assess the environmental and economic impacts of a new runway.

The chief executive of Gatwick, which serves 197 destinations and handles around 34 million passengers a year, said a new runway would benefit passengers.

"I believe a new runway at Gatwick could be affordable, practical and give passengers a greater choice of routes to key markets," Stewart Wingate said.

"We have the space, capability and access to financial resources."

London's busiest airport, Heathrow, is operating close to full capacity after the Government blocked a third runway because of the resulting increase in planes flying over the city.

Mr Wingate said a new runway at Gatwick had "clear practical advantages" over expansion at Heathrow.

"When compared with a third runway at Heathrow, we would have a significantly lower environmental impact whilst adding significantly more capacity," he said.

He added that it would also be preferable to other London alternatives.

"Stansted is half empty today, we already have much better surface transport links and feel our business case will be much stronger," he said.

"As for the Estuary airport concepts, there are major questions on affordability, environmental issues and whether they are deliverable."

Gatwick has safeguarded the land that would be required for a new runway since it was bought by Global Infrastructure Partners in 2009.

It estimates that for the rest of this decade, London's airports will be relying on their existing physical capacity.

As such, its submission to the commission will evaluate how the capacity of its existing runway can be maximised.

It will also argue that a second runway would help ensure that London's airports provide the South East and the rest of UK with the connectivity needed in the future.

The commission, led by the former head of the Financial Services Authority Sir Howard Davies, will make its full report into the South East's airport capacity in 2015.

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House Fire: Father Escaped With Child In Arms

A doctor who lost his wife and all but one of his five children in a suspected arson attack escaped their blazing home with a child in his arms.

Dr Abdul Shakoor, who suffered minor injuries as he desperately tried to rescue his family from their Essex home, is being treated at Broomfield hospital in Chelmsford.

He was moved there last night to be closer to his critically ill daughter - three-year-old Maheen, who is fighting for her life at a burns unit.

Dr Shakoor's wife Sabah Usmani, sons Sohaib, 11, and Rayan, six, and 12-year-old daughter Hira, died in their end-of-terrace house in Barn Mead, Harlow, in the early hours of Monday.

A Ford Focus was found blazing yards away from the house

A third son, Muneeb, nine, later died at the Princess Alexandra hospital, where Dr Shakoor worked and was also being treated until late last night. Police have not said which of the children he was able to bring outside.

According to neighbours, Dr Shakoor had to be physically restrained from going back inside the property and police have said he "fought hard" to save his family.

Police, who have started a painstaking forensic examination of the house, are now investigating whether the family were not the intended targets of the attackers.

But they stressed it was an isolated incident and there was no evidence that a serial arsonist was involved. There had been no previous problems with racism in the area.

Dr Shakoor with his wife, Sabah

Dr Shakoor, who reportedly left from a first-floor window as flames engulfed the house, is said to be in "severe shock".

Witness reports suggest between one and four people were in the area at the time of the fire. Such sightings will form key lines of inquiry, police said.

A Ford Focus was found burning a short distance from the house when fire crews arrived at the address.

The vehicle was not connected to the family but that fire is also being treated as arson.

Flower tributes have been left close to the house. One message read: "RIP little angels and your special mummy xxx."

Detective Superintendent Rob Vinson, who is leading the investigation, said the local community and Islamic groups could hold the answer to who was behind the attack.

He said: "Nobody expects such a catastrophic incident in their own neighbourhood."

Flowers have been left close to the scene

Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, the couple had lived in Saudi Arabia, where the children were born, for more than a decade before moving to the UK.

Parvez Hamid, 43, and Safia Anwar, 38, said they had known the couple since they moved to Harlow and some of their children attended the nearby Abbotsweld Primary School together.

Mrs Anwar said: "They were a wonderful family. Their children were best friends with our own."

Mr Hamid said: "Their children were so well behaved and I was always envious that mine weren't the same."

Neighbours raised the alarm after being woken in the early hours. It is thought some form of fuel may have been used to start the fire.

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Jimmy Savile: Labour Demands New Abuse Inquiry

Labour has called for the Government to set up an independent inquiry into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse allegations to "do right by the victims".

Culture Secretary Maria Miller has already dismissed demands for an independent inquiry, saying she was "confident" BBC chiefs were taking the claims "very seriously".

But Labour leader Ed Miliband insists that the BBC's internal investigations are not enough.

He told Sky News on Tuesday: "I think we owe it to the victims to say 'look we are not going to have the institutions where the activities took place investigating themselves, we are going to have a separate inquiry across all those institutions'.

"I think they deserve truth and justice and I think that is the best way of getting to it."

The abuse allegations span six decades

His latest comments came after he told ITV1's The Agenda: "These are horrific allegations. In order to do right by the victims I don't think the BBC can lead their own inquiry.

"We need a broad look at all the public institutions involved - the BBC, parts of the NHS and Broadmoor. This has got to be independent."

Labour want an independent inquiry that has the power to call for documents and summon witnesses and would look at Savile's activities at the BBC, Stoke Mandeville hospital and Broadmoor.

Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman also told Sky News on Tuesday that Savile's alleged victims would not be satisfied with the BBC investigating itself and insisted wider action was required.

"There was obviously a culture of silence which fermented a situation where more and more victims were able to be abused by Jimmy Savile," she said.

New BBC boss George Entwistle

"Instead of just looking at the BBC, we need to look at those other organisations as well. Instead of a number of different inquiries, we need one inquiry to look at all these horrific allegations."

She added: "Until we have really got to the truth, then we can't ever be complacent that these sorts of things won't happen again."

Before Labour's demand, Ms Miller had rejected calls for an outside inquiry to restore the public's faith, warning it could hamper police investigations.

"In terms of a wider inquiry, we have a police investigation on-going at the moment," she said.

"Everybody would agree that it is really important that those individuals who have been victims know that that investigation can go on unfettered and that that should be our priority at this stage."

She cited the three separate internal investigations already launched by the BBC into the affair.

Police believe the DJ and television presenter's alleged catalogue of child sex abuse could have spanned six decades and included around 60 victims and are also investigating.

But former Met Police chief Sir Ian Blair has questioned the validity of a police investigation, given that Savile is no longer alive.

Appearing on Sky News, he said: "I don't quite know what this police inquiry is going to be into. They need to be taken seriously by the responsible authorities and when a man is dead, the police are not that person.

"It just seems to me that the police might be the right clearing house but this really is a matter for other authorities. Jimmy Savile is standing before a different tribunal now."

BBC director-general George Entwistle is due to appear before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee next week where he will face further questions about the affair.

Leeds North East MP Fabian Hamilton said his constituents, who turned out in their thousands to pay tribute to the broadcaster when he died, felt "betrayed and angry".

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Starbucks: No UK Tax Paid Since 2009

Since opening its first coffee shop in the UK in 1998, Starbucks has racked up over £3bn in sales but shelled out just £8.6m in income taxes, according to new research.

In the latest example of tax avoidance by a multinational company, Reuters revealed that for the past three years the coffee chain reported a loss at its UK business.

As a result it paid no income tax in Britain - but over the same period, its sales hit £1.2bn.

By comparison, McDonald's paid a tax bill of over £80m on £3.6bn of UK sales, and KFC incurred taxes of £36m on sales worth £1.1bn.

There is no suggestion Starbucks has done anything illegal - according to accounts filed with Companies House, Starbucks has made no profit in the UK over the past 10 years.

But transcripts of investor and analyst calls over the period reveal the company has repeatedly said it is pleased with its UK business, which it described as "profitable".

The coffee chain has defended its actions, saying it follows international accounting rules and pays the appropriate level of tax in all the countries where it operates.

"We seek to be good taxpayers and to pay our fair share of taxes ... We don't write this tax code; we are obligated to comply with it. And we do," a spokeswoman said.

Its overall tax rate globally last year was much higher than average at 31%.

But on overseas income, Starbucks paid an average tax rate of 13% - one of the lowest in the consumer goods sector.

The chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, Matthew Sinclair, said companies exploit loopholes because the UK's tax system is too complicated.

He told Sky News: "There has been a succession of companies from high street names to internet giants who, thanks to the labyrinth of our tax system, appear to be paying much less in tax than many people would expect."

Starbucks, which has a market capitalisation of $40bn (£24.8bn), has a low UK tax rate because of a number of complicated corporate measures.

For example, its overseas operations have to pay a royalty fee - 6% of total sales - for the use of its "intellectual property", including its brand and business processes.

It also buys its coffee beans for its European divisions through a firm based in Lausanne in Switzerland, and the beans are shipped to Amsterdam to be roasted before they reach the UK.

As a result, Starbucks allocates some profits from its UK sales to these Dutch roasting and Swiss trading units.

Mr Sinclair called for a radical overhaul of Britain's tax system to make it simpler.

"Tinkering is not enough; we have one of the most complicated tax codes in the world which is an incredible burden to administer," he said.

"If Britain wants to remain competitive and ensure everyone pays their fair share then we need radical reform that restores legitimacy to our tax code and kick starts economic growth."

HM Revenue and Customs said it cannot comment on the tax affairs of individual businesses.

"We make sure that multinationals pay the right tax to the UK in accordance with UK tax law," it said in a statement.

"Our tax rules combat tax avoidance, and we employ specialist tax professionals to ensure that MNs play by the rules."

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