Anger as Winsor named for Chief Inspector of Constabulary role

The lawyer whose review of police pay and conditions led to 30,000 officers taking to the streets in protest is set to become the next Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

Tom Winsor, whose two reports were part of the most wide-ranging review of policing in more than 30 years, was named as Home Secretary Theresa May's preferred candidate for the £200,000-a-year role.

But the move prompted anger and surprise among rank-and-file officers, with much criticism focusing on Mr Winsor's lack of policing experience.

He is a "risky if not reckless choice" which could damage the reputation of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), said Matt Cavanagh, of the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank. "As well as putting the relationship between Government and the police under further strain, this provocative choice could put at risk the growing reputation and contribution of HMIC at a crucial time," he said.

Mr Winsor, 54, would be the first civilian to take up the role since the inspectorate was first established in 1856. He has been put forward by the Home Office to replace Sir Denis O'Connor, who retires at the end of next month, overseeing the functioning and performance of police forces.

But first he is likely to face tough questions from members of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee next week before his appointment can be sent to Prime Minister David Cameron and the Queen for approval. Committee chairman Keith Vaz said he was "looking forward" to hearing from Mr Winsor, with whom he has clashed during previous hearings. Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, said she was "stunned" by the decision, saying she could not even believe reports that Mr Winsor had applied.

The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said that "if ever there was a need for sagacious advice from someone with a profound understanding of policing it is now".

Paul McKeever, the federation's chairman, said: "We warned the Home Secretary there would be riots, crime would rise and that 20% cuts would have a detrimental effect on the policing front line, putting public safety at risk, and we were called scaremongers. We look forward to hearing from the Home Secretary how the appointment of Tom Winsor provides the profound understanding of policing that is so important for public safety." The Police Federation's inspecting ranks central committee said the decision "simply beggars belief".

Mrs May was heckled, booed and jeered at the federation's annual conference in Bournemouth last month, just a week after some 30,000 officers marched through central London in protest over Mr Winsor's proposed reforms, most of which have been accepted.

He called for the current police pay system, based on a 1920s model of rewarding years of service, to be overhauled and replaced with one that recognised hard work and merit instead. Among the more controversial proposals in his two reports, Mr Winsor recommended that police constables' starting salaries should be cut by up to £4,500 and that the retirement age should be raised to 60. He also proposed scrapping a series of allowances and special payments intended to save £60 million a year in overtime.

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Regiments Face Axe As 20,000 Soldiers Cut

Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, will signal the most revolutionary change to the structure of the British army in decades with a speech to the Royal United Services Institute.

He is expected to tell delegates gathered for the annual Land Warfare Conference that Britain's reserves and allies will provide more of the "tail" in terms of logistics and other support while the regular British forces concentrate on being the "teeth".

The army, which will soon be scaled back to 82,000 from 102,000, will "rethink the way we deliver every aspect of military effect in order to maximise capability at the front-line".

Mr Hammond will tell the generals and academics attending the conference that they will have to be "thinking innovatively".

That will include "using more systematically the skills available in the Reserve and from our contractors".

It will also mean "working closely with partners to operate logistics more rationally through Alliance structures" and "looking to others to provide the tail, where Britain is concentrating on providing the teeth".

The speech comes a few weeks before the publication of the Army 2020 report by General Sir Nick Carter into the shape of the army in the decades to come.

Britain's army barely qualifies for the name. At 82,000 it is a large corps, three of which would normally make up a full blown army.

Changes expected from General Carter will mean that some regiments will face amalgamation or vanish.

Scottish regiments have been especially vulnerable as they are failing to meet recruitment targets in their native areas and rely heavily on soldiers from the commonwealth to bulk up their ranks.

The Guards regiments are understood to have been spared the axe as it would have fallen in the Diamond Jubilee year when they were on parade in London, and in action in Helmand.

The Royal Marines, Parachute Regiment and Brigade of Gurkhas are also likely to avoid the cuts.

But line regiments like the Mercians, Yorkshire Regiment, The Royal Irish, Welsh and others may find that they have to give up some cap badges in favour of what Mr Hammond sees as a more efficient army.

Logistics units, intelligence specialists, mechanical engineering support and other "force enablers" are likely to be concentrated in the Army Reserves, or opened up to private contractors.

And he warned that some units "inevitably will be lost or will merge".

He will add: "There is no question, of abandoning the regimental system. But that does not mean that we can avoid difficult decisions as the Army gets smaller.

"And in making those decisions, the military voice must prevail; ensuring that the Army remains the capable and agile force envisaged."

He will announce a £1.8bn spending package for the reserves spread over the next ten years.

They will be expected to concentrate on cyber warfare, intelligence and medical support.

"The integrated Army concept means that light infantry battalions will be reinforced on deployment through a permanent partnership with reserve battalions."

His speech should be seen as part of the political road building that must be done to prepare for the inevitable backlash which will follow the Carter report's announcements of cuts to regiments.

Much of this will be generated by old guard traditionalists who cling to the tribal traditions of regiments which have carried men at war through vicious fighting over many hundreds of years.

But younger soldiers with combat experience of Iraq and Afghanistan are less sentimental.

As they face heavy cuts their priority is in maintaining units which are effective and making sure that they have the resources that they will need to operate in the future.

Some have even joined a small but growing number of analysts and military theorists who have argued that the army, navy and air force should be wrapped into one defence force, with one structure, modelled on the US Marine Corps.

BBC boss defends jubilee coverage

BBC boss Mark Thompson has insisted he is proud of the corporation's Diamond Jubilee coverage despite it receiving more than 2,000 complaints from the public.

It drew stinging criticism during the river pageant broadcast, with viewers attacking its "inane" commentary, camera angles and sound quality.

The corporation also came under fire for its coverage of Tuesday's events, with one section where Fearne Cotton and Paloma Faith discussed a Jubilee-themed sickbag being singled out for criticism.

But audience figures were high and director general Mr Thompson told staff 68.5% of the public had watched the coverage at some point - which he described as "a stunning figure".

An average audience of 10.3 million people watching the pageant broadcast. The audience for the Diamond Jubilee Concert peaked at 17 million, making it the most-watched programme of the year, and Tuesday's carriage procession was seen by a peak of 7.4 million.

In an email to staff, he wrote: "Our output has been impressive not only in its scale, but in its ambition, quality and outstanding journalism.

"By capturing the spectacle of the Thames pageant and yesterday's ceremonies alongside smaller local celebrations, we reflected reaction from up and down the country."

A BBC spokesman said it had received 2,425 complaints about the coverage while a former executive said it "tried too hard" to make its coverage of the river pageant "informal" and "inclusive".

Former Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer told the Today programme the BBC was "worried and nervous" about appearing too formal.

He said: "I don't think this is going to be the BBC's Bafta award-winning entry next year but all that went wrong was a very conscious attempt, I think, to make the whole event informal and, to use the modern idiom, inclusive and warm, and the BBC just probably tried too hard to do it."

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Cameron: 'Thousands of jobs' to be created in Norway energy deal

Thousands of jobs will be created and billions of pounds invested into the UK energy sector thanks to an agreement on closer co-operation with Norway, David Cameron said.

David Cameron has met Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Credit: Sang Tan/PA Wire

Mr Cameron was speaking as he arrived in Oslo for talks with his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg on a two-day visit which will also take in discussions with energy companies from both sides of the North Sea.

A new UK-Norway energy partnership will deliver closer co-operation between the two countries on affordable long-term gas supply, as well as two-way investment in oil and gas exploration and the development of renewable technologies, said Mr Cameron.

David Cameron said "Affordable, secure energy from trusted and reliable partners is critical to this and there is no stronger energy partnership than between Britain and Norway.

Tomorrow we will take this vital relationship to the next level with a new UK-Norway energy partnership.

This will mean more collaboration on affordable long-term gas supply, more reciprocal investment in oil and gas and renewables, and - underpinning all of this - a set of major new business deals creating thousands of new jobs and adding billions to our economies"

Anger at victims' forum appointment

A republican once described as one of the IRA's most wanted suspects in Britain has been chosen to sit on a new forum representing terrorist victims in Northern Ireland.

Ulster Unionists expressed outrage at the appointment of Eibhlin (Evelyn) Glenholmes.

In the mid-1980s Ms Glenholmes was at the centre of extradition proceedings and was eventually freed by the authorities in Dublin after a court ruled the warrants defective.

She eventually returned to Belfast at the time of the developing peace process and at one stage sat on Sinn Fein's ruling executive. She now works with a republican ex-prisoners project.

Ms Glenholmes was never convicted of any terrorist charges, but some unionists said that they oppose her appointment to the Victims and Survivors Commission - an advisory body - which is due to hold its first formal meeting in Belfast later this month. It has already held a two-day workshop in Co Donegal.

Other members of the commission are believed to include former members of the security forces, a woman who lost her legs in a 1972 IRA bombing and a Presbyterian minister.

Jim Allister, a hardline unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, said: "I'm utterly disgusted. It's a monstrous appointment. It is a gross insult to the innocent victims."

Tom Elliott, a former Ulster Unionist Party leader, said: "Clearly someone with this sort of chequered past, who does not seem to have any remorse for what she has done, is symptomatic of the difficulties we have here. It is a retrograde step."

Diageo planning £1bn investment

Drinks business Diageo plans to invest more than £1 billion inScotch whisky production over the next five years, creating hundreds of jobs.

The company intends to build a major new malt distillery as part of the investment, alongside a programme of major expansion at a number of its existing distilleries.

It also plans to invest in substantial new warehousing capacity to house the millions of additional litres of Scotch whisky which the distillation boost will produce. The firm said that the plans will create more than 100 new Diageo jobs across Scotland, mainly in rural areas.

It also intends to take on around 100 apprentices and graduate trainees over the term of the investment, as well as encouraging its suppliers and construction contractors to focus on youth job creation and apprenticeships.

In addition it is expected that an average of 250 construction jobs will be created for each year of the investment period.

Diageo chief executive Paul Walsh said: "This is a pivotal moment in the development of the Scotch whisky category for Diageo. Over recent years our brands have achieved remarkable, sustained global growth. Scotch whisky is Scotland's most celebrated manufactured export, led by brands like Johnnie Walker, resonating with consumers from Boston to Beijing.

"We expect that success to continue, particularly in the high growth markets around the world, which is why we are announcing this major investment in Scotch whisky production, committing over £1 billion in the next five years, to seize that opportunity for global growth."

Diageo said that detailed plans will also be developed for a second new distillery which will be built if global demand for Scotch is sustained at expected levels. The location of the new distillery has not yet been decided.

Diageo also plans to commit £5 million over five years towards community initiatives as part of its sustainability and responsibility programme in Scotland.

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said the announcement was a "huge boost for the industry". He said: "This investment is a sign of the commercial success of the whisky industry and I welcome the fact it will create hundreds of jobs in Scotland."

Deadly Legionnaires' Outbreak Hits Scotland

Health authorities are urgently trying to find the source of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak that has left one man dead and 15 other people critically ill in hospital in Scotland.

The health board of NHS Lothian said the patient who died at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh was in his 50s and had been suffering from underlying health problems.

Another 13 men and two women aged between 33 and 74 remain in a critical condition in hospitals in the Lothian area. One man has been discharged after recovering.

A further 10 men and five women are also being treated in hospital - but their illnesses have yet to be confirmed.

The majority of the confirmed cases are linked geographically to the Dalry, Gorgie and Saughton areas in the south west of the Scottish capital.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Health Secretary in Scotland, is set to chair a meeting of the Scottish government's resilience committee - and she will be updated on the situation and on efforts to identify the source.

Dr Duncan McCormick, consultant in public health medicine and chairman of the incident management team at NHS Lothian, said: "I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of the patient that died.

"Investigations into the possible source of this outbreak are ongoing. Meanwhile, medical staff have been actively identifying possible cases to allow us to ascertain the full extent of this outbreak."

The health board has said Legionella bacteria is commonly found in sources of water, such as rivers and lakes.

The bacteria can end up in artificial water supply systems, including air conditioning systems, water services and cooling towers.

An investigation by officials from the City of Edinburgh Council's Environmental Health Department and the Health and Safety Executive is under way.

Samples have been taken from cooling towers in the south west of the city, though it may be up to 10 days before results are available as Legionella is a difficult bacteria to culture.

Those responsible for maintenance at the cooling towers have been advised to carry out additional chemical treatment to the water in the cooling systems as a precautionary measure.

The health board said other possible sources were not being ruled out.

Dr McCormick added: "I would like to reassure the public that household water supplies are safe and that Legionnaires' disease cannot be contracted by drinking water.

But he warned: "Older people, particularly men, heavy smokers and those with other health conditions, are at greater risk of contracting the disease. I would urge anyone who develops symptoms of Legionnaires' disease to contact NHS 24 or their GP."

Legionnaires' disease is contracted by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water.

Symptoms include mild headaches, muscle pain, fever, a persistent cough and sometimes vomiting and diarrhoea, and can begin any time between two and 14 days after exposure to the bacteria.

The first case was identified on May 28.