Palace mulls Harry photos complaint

St James's Palace said it is still considering whether to make a formal complaint about The Sun's publication of nude photos of Prince Harry.

The palace confirmed its stance after the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) announced that it would be "inappropriate" to open an investigation into the matter.

The press watchdog revealed officials are in dialogue with Harry's representatives, but said any inquiry without consent could "pose an intrusion" in itself.

The Sun was the only British newspaper to defy a PCC advisory note not to publish the photos of Harry frolicking in the nude with an unnamed woman in Las Vegas. It came after the PCC warned that publication could breach the editor's code of practice on privacy grounds.

Asked whether they would, or would not, make a formal complaint to the PCC, a palace spokesman said: "We are still considering matters and will make a decision in our own time."

Commenting on their general position on the issue he said it had not changed since the pictures emerged and it was "down to editors to make a decision about what they chose to publish".

The PCC said in a statement it had received around 3,800 complaints about the publication of the photos. The statement continued: "The Commission is in continuing dialogue with Prince Harry's representatives but as yet has not received a formal complaint.

"The Commission would be best placed to understand these issues - including the circumstances in which the photographs were taken - with the formal involvement of Prince Harry's representatives. In addition, an investigation by the Commission, without consent, would have the potential itself to pose an intrusion."

The images led to global headlines after emerging on a celebrity gossip website last month. The Sun's front page image showed Harry holding his genitals and another inside showed him with his bottom exposed while apparently playing strip billiards with an unknown blonde.

A spokeswoman for News International, The Sun's publisher, did not issue a new statement, instead referring to the paper's editorial on the day it published the photos. The editorial read: "The photos have potential implications for the Prince's image representing Britain around the world. There are questions over his security during the Las Vegas holiday. Questions as to whether his position in the Army might be affected. Further, we believe Harry has compromised his own privacy."

Hero Dog Theo Honoured With 'Victoria Cross'

An Army explosives sniffer dog who died hours after his handler was killed in Afghanistan is to be given a posthumous award.

Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, 26, from The Royal Army Veterinary Corps, 1st Military Working Dog Regiment, was shot by insurgents on March 1 last year while on patrol in Helmand Province with his dog Theo, who died of a seizure shortly afterwards.

The pair, who were said to have been inseparable, detected a record 14 Taliban roadside bombs and weapons caches in five months and are believed to have saved countless lives.

Their role was to provide search and clearance support, uncovering hidden weapons, improvised explosive devices and bomb-making equipment.

Springer spaniel Theo is to be awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal, known as the animals' Victoria Cross, for his "heroic actions".

The award is said to be the highest accolade any animal can receive in recognition of devotion to duty in saving human life while serving in military conflict.

It was first instituted by the veterinary charity's founder, Maria Dickin, in 1943.

L/Cpl Tasker, from Tayport in Fife, was posthumously honoured with an MBE in September last year.

Theo made the most confirmed operational finds by any arms and explosives search dog in Afghanistan to date.

On one occasion, he is said to have discovered an underground tunnel leading to a room in which insurgents were suspected of making bombs and hiding from coalition forces.

Speaking after an inquest in Trowbridge, Wiltshire last year, L/Cpl Tasker's mother, Jane Duffy, said the fact her son and Theo had "worked together and died together" brought her some comfort from knowing they were "somewhere together now".

PDSA director general Jan McLoughlin said: "We are very proud to posthumously award Theo the PDSA Dickin Medal, the highest award any animal can receive for life-saving bravery in conflict.

"Theo's exceptional devotion to duty as a military working dog in Afghanistan saved countless human lives.

"The award of this medal, recognised worldwide as the animals' Victoria Cross, honours his service in life and his sacrifice in death.

"It serves as a very poignant reminder of the loyal companionship and dedication of man's best friend."

Schools alliance demands GCSE probe

Schools, academies and teaching unions have announced they have formed an alliance to demand an independent inquiry into the GCSE English grading fiasco.

The group said it has "lost confidence" in Ofqual and does not feel the exams regulator should lead an investigation into itself. It has also launched a petition calling for the issue to be debated in Parliament.

The action comes amid continuing concern that thousands of pupils were unfairly penalised by the altering of grade boundaries in GCSE English between January and June.

As the unprecedented alliance was announced, a survey found that many parents believe the Government should order an independent investigation.

The poll of 1,000 parents, commissioned by the Times Educational Supplement, found that almost half (48.9%) believed ministers should sanction an investigation immediately, while 26.2% were against it. The rest were unsure. Almost a third of parents (31%) were unhappy about the GCSE grading crisis, while 22.7% were happy. The remainder were not aware of the situation or neither unhappy or happy.

The alliance, which includes private and state school groups, said the decision to band together showed the "strength of feeling against a transparently unjust procedure that grades students inconsistently for the same exam".

They argue that the grading changes will have "massive implications" for schools and pupils, with students left in limbo over sixth form places, or at risk of losing out on apprenticeships. It could also damage students' university chances as many institutions ask for a C in GCSE English, regardless of A-level results.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "The row is essentially about fairness. It is wrong for pupils to be graded differently for the same exam. Schools have not complained about the results in science - which dropped nationally by an even larger amount than English - because that process was seen as fair and transparent."

The organisations joining the alliance are ASCL, the National Association of Head Teachers, the Headmasters' and Headmistresses Conference, the National Union of Teachers, the Girls' Schools Association, the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the Association of Directors of Children's Services, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the Academies Enterprise Trust, the Independent Academies Association, the National Association for the Teaching of English, and the Bradford Partnership.

An Ofqual spokeswoman said: "We want to fully understand the concerns being raised by teachers, head teachers and their organisations about GCSE English. That is why we have been working hard over the past few days to meet many of them, listen to their views and share evidence. Their views and evidence will inform our thinking and investigations as we continue our work."

Cut in nurses’ bursaries is a disaster for students

Cut in nurses’ bursaries is a disaster for students

NUS-USI President Adrianne Peltz has expressed disgust at the Health Minister’s announcement today that nursing and midwifery bursaries will be significantly cut for students starting courses in the coming days. The Minister announced that annual bursaries will be cut by almost 15% from £6055 to £5165 and the book and uniform allowances will be scrapped for students commencing study from 2012 and beyond.

President of NUS-USI, Adrianne Peltz said: “This announcement is absolutely catastrophic, and so is the timing of it. People are about to commence their courses in the coming days, and they now face this financial bodyblow. This announcement is a disaster for nursing and midwifery students.

“Imagine a wage cut of almost 15% and the impact that this would have on people’s ability to make ends meet. This is what is happening as regards every new nursing student here. They will contribute so much to our heath service through the massive number of hours they will work in our hospitals during their work placements. This is essentially a massive wage cut for them.

“Also, the fact that the Minister is abolishing the much valued book and uniform allowance brings into even sharper focus the massive financial pressure that new nursing and midwifery students will now face.

“This announcement will have thrown into turmoil the plans of students who are starting nursing and midwifery courses in the next few days and weeks, and now face this devastating cut in their bursary.

“It appears that the massive concerns of students have not been taken in to account during the consultation process, as this cut and the abolition of these allowances have been implement in full, as stated in the consultation document.” 

Methadone toddler: Agencies rapped

A toddler died from a methadone overdose after social workers failed to take him into care, a damning report has revealed.

Jayden Lee Green, who was just a month short of his second birthday, was found dead in his parents' bed after overdosing on the heroin substitute in August last year.

The toddler lived with his crack cocaine and heroin-addicted parents Jamie Green and Sonia Britton in a filthy flat in the St Georges area of Bristol.

A serious case review, commissioned by Bristol Safeguarding Children Board, found there was a lack of co-operation from Jayden Lee's parents with all involved in dealing with them. This included drug agencies, midwifery, housing, health visitors, social workers and there were also regular failures to keep appointments or be at home when visits were made.

The report stated: "What was lacking was the authoritative challenge to this lack of co-operation, there was a lack of enforcement of consequences. There was a lack of challenge by practitioners across the range of agencies."

The report, which referred to Jayden Lee as "Child K" throughout, continued: "The only way that Child K's death would definitely have been prevented was if he had been placed away from his parents. The opportunity to do this was lost due to the failure to follow through on the initiation of care proceedings. However, a better-planned and authoritative approach to the family may also have prevented his death."

Britton, 35, and Green, 33, were accused of killing their son by giving him the drug that they were both prescribed by doctors.

After a three-week trial at Bristol Crown Court, Green was convicted of manslaughter and causing cruelty to a child and jailed for nine years. The jury cleared Britton of manslaughter but convicted her of child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child. She was jailed for four years.

The serious case review said there were a number of "missed opportunities" for health and welfare professionals to "fully understand the circumstances" of Jayden Lee's home environment. During a press conference at the Council House in Bristol, some of the agencies involved with Jayden Lee expressed their regret at his death and said that lessons had been learnt.

Professor Ray Jones, chairman of Bristol Safeguarding Children Board, said: "The board accepts all of the recommendations in the report and we are giving particular attention to how we ensure all workers and agencies in contact with drug-misusing parents keep the safety and welfare of children as a major focus and seek to challenge parents about the potential implications of their drug misuse on their parenting."

©Press Association

Mayor: Government To 'Ditch' Heathrow Promise

London Mayor Boris Johnson has attacked the removal of Justine Greening as Transport Secretary, saying it meant the Government wanted to "ditch its promises" not to build a third runway at Heathrow.

Ms Greening lost her Transport brief in David Cameron's reshuffle . She will become the new International Development Secretary, taking over from Andrew Mitchell.

Her replacement in the role will be Patrick McLoughlin.

Ms Greening, whose Putney constituency lies under Heathrow flightpaths, has been a vociferous opponent of a third runway.

Mr Johnson was quick to criticise Ms Greening's demotion, claiming it showed that the Goverment was intent on the "simply mad" expansion at Heathrow.

He said he would fight any moves to build a new runway at the busy London terminal "all the way" and accused ministers of failing to be straight with Londoners.

"There can be only one reason to move her - and that is to expand Heathrow airport," Mr Johnson said in a statement.

"It is simply mad to build a new runway in the middle of west London. Nearly a third of the victims of aircraft noise in the whole of Europe live in the vicinity of Heathrow.

"Now it is clear that the Government wants to ditch its promises and send yet more planes over central London."

Downing Street insists the Government's position is unchanged since the coalition agreement of 2010, which committed ministers to scrapping extra runway plans drawn up under Labour.

But it has launched a consultation process on future airport capacity and Chancellor George Osborne sparked speculation over a possible U-turn by saying he believed more runway capacity was needed in the south-east of England and all options should be examined.

Mr Johnson urged Ms Greening's replacement to "look at all the options" available to address the growing need to expand the UK's aviation capacity.

"It is time for Patrick McLoughlin to look at all the options, including bolder solutions that would deliver massive benefits in jobs and growth," he said.

"And it is time for the Government to level with Londoners: are they in favour of a third runway at Heathrow or not?"

©Sky News

Britons take workplace religion fight to Europe rights court

British employers trample on religious freedoms by barring staff from wearing crosses at work, requiring them to provide sex advice to gays, or to preside at same-sex civil partnership ceremonies, four Christians told Europe's top rights court on Tuesday.

The cases provide a further test for the European court, which has in the past allowed member states considerable leeway concerning workplace tolerance of religious beliefs and symbols.

The plaintiffs, aged 51 to 61, told the European Court of Human Rights, based in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, that British law discriminated against them and failed to protect their religious freedom at the workplace.

A decision from the court, a body under the aegis of the Council of Europe, could take several months.

One plaintiff, Nadia Eweida, was sent home without pay from British Airways in 2006 for wearing a small silver cross around her neck that violated the company's dress code.

"Considering that we spend 80 percent of our time at work, what would be the value of a right that stops the minute one enters the workplace?" Eweida's lawyer, James Dingemans, argued.

Dingemans told the rights court his client worked alongside colleagues who were allowed to wear religious symbols such as the Sikh turban, the Muslim headscarf or the Jewish skullcap.

In a similar incident, nurse Shirley Chaplin was told by her employers to remove a crucifix around her neck as it could cause injury if a patient pulled at it.

Both of their cases were dismissed by British labour courts.

The European court was also asked to rule on two other cases focusing on the tasks employees were asked to carry out at work. Those claims had also been rejected by Britain's labour courts.

One plaintiff, Gary McFarlane, was dismissed from a national counselling service when his employers judged him unwilling to offer sex advice to homosexual couples. Another, Lilian Ladele, refused to officiate at civil partnership ceremonies for gay couples as part of her duties as a registrar.

A lawyer for the British government made a distinction between religious practices protected by the state and the display of personal convictions that can be regulated.

"The petitioners had the possibility of expressing their religious convictions outside of the professional sphere," lawyer James Eadie told the court.

The human rights court has in the past given considerable leeway to member states to regulate the wearing of religious dress and display religious symbols in public, especially in cases involving Islamic dress.

In one previous case, the court ruled that a French school could make its Muslim students remove their headscarves during sports classes for safety reasons. In another, it found that an Italian state school did not violate the rights to religious freedom or education by displaying crucifixes in classrooms.

Rulings by the human rights court cannot be appealed and signatories must comply or risk exclusion from the Council of Europe.

(Writing by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Jon Hemming)

©Reuters