US Child Killings: Police Search Nanny's Home

Police are searching the US home of a nanny suspected of murdering two children in her care.

Yoselyn Ortega remains in a critical condition in hospital after apparently slitting her own throat, moments after stabbing Leo Krim and his sister, six-year-old Lucia.

Police are investigating whether Ortega had sought psychiatric support in the weeks leading up to the tragedy.

Leo and Lucia were found by their distraught mother, Marina, dying of knife wounds in the bathtub of their luxurious Upper West Side apartment near Central Park.

Mrs Krim had returned to the flat with her three-year-old daughter Nessie, whom she had taken for a swimming lesson.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the investigation has yet to reveal anything amiss in the household before the slayings.

Detectives were searching Ortega's home in Washington Heights, a working-class neighbourhood north of where she worked and near Harlem.

It emerged that Ortega had worked for the Krims as a nanny for two years and there did not appear to be any problems.

A Web journal kept by the children's mother spoke lovingly about travelling to the Dominican Republic last February to stay at the home of Ortega's sister.

"We met Josie's amazing familia!!! And the Dominican Republic is a wonderful country!!" she wrote.

Pictures posted on the blog showed the two families posing together for a happy photo, with Ortega hugging Nessie, their cheeks pressed together.

Mrs Krim's husband, Kevin Krim, a CNBC digital media executive, wrote that Ortega's family had nicknamed Nessie "Rapida y Furiosa," (or Fast and Furious), for her energy.

There are tens of thousands of nannies working in New York City, but reports of serious violence by caregivers against children are exceedingly rare.

Across the street from the building where the Krims lived, several nannies with children in pushchairs stood as if stricken, watching police officers milling around the entrance.

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Smokers Who Quit 'Live Up To A Decade Longer'

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent

The largest ever study of the hazards of smoking amongst women has revealed that those who give up by middle age can extend their lives by more than a decade.

The research, published in the medical journal The Lancet today, shows that women who stop smoking before the age of 30 slash their chances of a smoke-related death by 97%.

In one of the biggest studies of its kind more than 1.3m women were recruited between 1996 and 2001.

Those who were still smokers after three years were nearly three times as likely as non-smokers to die over the next nine years, the study revealed.

Professor Sir Richard Peto from the University of Oxford, who co-wrote the report, said: "If women smoke like men, they die like men.

"But whether they are men or women, smokers who stop before reaching middle age will, on average, gain about an extra 10 years of life."

Leanne Dixon, 21, a customer service assistant from Manchester, started smoking when she was 13.

"These statistics really make me think," she told Sky News.

"I've thought about giving up for ages but never have. But it makes you think that you have to stop while you're young."

Alyson Aston and her friend Lyn Faulkner started smoking at the age of 15. Now in their 40s, they say giving up is not an option.

"It's not these statistics that make me want to give up, it's the cost," said Ms Aston.

Ms Faulkner added: "I think a lot about giving up but I don't have the willpower.

"But when you think about living an extra 10 years, it really is a long time."

Those who have had a brush with cancer have a cautionary tale to tell.

June Atherton, 66, used to smoke 60 cigarettes a day. She gave up at the age of 50 but was diagnosed with lung cancer 10 years later.

She said: "I stop young women in the street and tell them that they're killing themselves by smoking. They think I'm mad but it's an important message."

Paula Chadwick, chief executive of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, told Sky News: "This is important research and tells us that stopping as early as you can will prolong your life.

"More women are being diagnosed with lung cancer and we need to bring those figures down by supporting those who want to give up and making sure the young don't start."

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Trainee Teachers Face Tough New Tests

Prospective teachers will have to sit new tougher tests in English, maths and reasoning before they can start training.

The changes will see calculators banned from maths tests, and pass marks in English and maths raised.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said the "rigorous selection" of trainee teachers was key to raising school standards.

All trainee teachers currently have to pass basic skills tests in literacy and numeracy. However, until this September they were allowed unlimited resits.

Figures showed that around 98% of trainees passed the tests, potentially calling into question the level of challenge.

Candidates have already been limited to two resits for each test from this September, and the pass mark has been raised.

Now a panel of head teachers and education experts has recommended that the tests are toughened-up further.

The Government has said it will accept the panel's recommendations in full.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has backed the overhaul

Following the changes, candidates will have to achieve separate passes in English, mathematics and reasoning in order to be able to start teacher training.

Mr Gove said: "The evidence from around the world is clear - rigorous selection of trainee teachers is key to raising the quality and standing of the teaching profession.

"These changes will mean that parents can be confident that we have the best teachers coming into our classrooms.

"Above all, it will help ensure we raise standards in our schools and close the attainment gap between the rich and poor."

The panel's chairman, Sally Coates, said: "We believe that the whole selection process needs to be sufficiently rigorous to ensure that anyone who gains a place on a course of initial teacher training would be highly likely to succeed in that training, and go on to make an excellent teacher."

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat education minister David Laws has criticised teachers for leaving children with "depressing low expectations" of what they can achieve in life.

He said too many children were led to believe that top exam grades, places at elite universities and professional careers were beyond them.

"Teachers, colleges, careers advisers have a role and a responsibility to aim for the stars and to encourage people to believe they can reach the top in education and employment," Mr Laws told The Daily Telegraph.

"That's not happening as much as it should do at the moment."

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British Oil Executive Gunned Down In Brussels

A British oil executive - named by Sky sources as Nicholas Mockford - has been shot dead in Brussels.

The killing took place on October 14 but Belgian investigators have only just revealed information about his death.

Mr Mockford, who worked for ExxonMobil,  was gunned down as he left a restaurant with his wife.

The Foreign Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Brussels on October 14 and we are providing consular assistance."

Police said the businessman was shot three times as he left an Italian restaurant in Neder-Over-Heembeek, a suburb of the Belgian capital.

The couple had just left the Da Marcello restaurant in Brussels

It happened at around 10pm as he walked with his wife Mary from the Da Marcello restaurant on Rue de Beyseghem to their car, which was parked nearby.

Mrs Mockford was violently attacked and struck several times on her face as one of the attackers tried to grab her handbag.

A second attacker opened fire on the 60-year-old oil executive, who later died of his injuries.

He was shot three times, once as he lay on the floor, and his wife Mary was left beaten and covered in blood, cradling her husband and shouting for help. He died on the way to hospital.

Witnesses say they saw the couple walk across the street to their Lexus 4x4 car before shots were fired.

The attack took place in the Neder-Over-Heembeek area of Brussels

It is understood that the two men were carrying motorcycle helmets and they initially fled on foot before taking a ring road on a "two-wheeled vehicle".

Shortly after the events, a white van passed Rue de Beyseghem and came across the victims.

Investigators have been questioning the driver of this vehicle.

The Daily Telegraph said police in Belgium were considering all possible motives for the shooting, including a carjacking, although Mr Mockford's car was not stolen.

The Belgian prosecutor's office said last night that there was a "judicial instruction" from Martine Quintin, the investigating judge, that meant they could give no "explanation" and no detail about the killing, which a spokesman said was "usual in such a serious murder investigation", the newspaper reported.

However, Chief Inspector Wim Van Leifferenge said the killing had been reported by media in the country since it happened.

Mr Van Leifferenge said no-one had been arrested and those responsible were still on the run.

Mr Mockford is understood to have worked for ExxonMobil since the 1970s and was head of marketing for interim technologies for ExxonMobil Chemicals, Europe, promoting new types of greener fuel.

Brought up in Leicestershire, he had moved abroad from Chichester some years ago, living in Belgium and Singapore.

He was married to his Belgian wife for 15 years and has three grown-up children living in Britain from his first marriage, according to the Telegraph.

A family member, who asked not to be named, told the newspaper they thought he had been killed in a professional hit.

The relation said: "We are all confused about what has happened. Nick was a genuinely lovely, clean-cut, mild-mannered, family man."

He added: "He was shot so calmly and so quickly, it smacks horribly of a professional hit, but we can't fathom why. He isn't the type to cave in to blackmail and it just doesn't compute."

A spokesman for ExxonMobil said: "We are shocked by the tragic death of one of our employees on Sunday, October 14 in Brussels.

"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues and we are supporting them as best we can at this very difficult time."

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GDP Boosted By Olympics But Outlook Gloomy

How GDP Is Compiled Really Matters

Updated: 8:11am UK, Thursday 25 October 2012

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

I've covered economics for a decade or so, but I confess that until very recently I didn't really know what GDP really is.

I mean, like most of you I knew it was the broadest and most widely-used measure of our economy's health - that it determines whether we're officially in recession or not (two or more quarters of shrinking GDP equals a recession).

I knew it was the sum of everything spent, earned or made in Britain.

What I didn't know was how it's actually put together.

I guess I vaguely assumed - and I don't think I'm entirely alone - that the Office for National Statistics had some kind of electronic hotline into British business, some privileged access to their numbers, which in turn became the Gross Domestic Product number.

Turns out I was monumentally wrong.

For it transpires that GDP - that big number we're all so focused on, the figure that tells us whether we're in a recession or booming, that can end a political career and swing an election - is actually a big, big survey.

I know this because earlier this month I spent some time in the ONS headquarters in Newport with the team who put together this most significant of all numbers.

For the first time, they allowed cameras into their offices to show how GDP really comes into being - and the genesis might well surprise you.

At this point it might be worth explaining why this matters so much: there is arguably no other number out there that can swing the financial markets quite so much, that can influence Britain's feelgood factor, that dominates the headlines and strikes fear into politicians.

And yet there are many people who question whether we can really rely on the numbers.

Some economists argue that the GDP figures in recent months have painted a far more negative picture of the UK economy than is actually the case.

Some argue that Britain never really experienced a double-dip recession - but that this reality will only ever be confirmed many years into the future when the ONS revises those initial estimates.

So how GDP is put together really matters. And it all starts with the pounds in your pockets.

For the first estimate of GDP - the one today - is created from data collected in surveys of tens of thousands of surveys from businesses around the country - whether they're manufacturers, construction firms, retailers or others.

Each month a large sample of them is asked by the ONS to tell them their turnover (how much money is going through the till), along with a few other industry-specific questions which form part of the retail sales, manufacturing output and other releases.

The turnover number is what matters from the perspective of GDP. They fill the relevant questionnaire in and post it to the ONS (they can also submit the data through an automated telephone system).

When those envelopes arrive there the questionnaires are scanned and the numbers go into the ONS' systems.

The problem is that by the time that first estimate needs to be produced, the ONS only has 44% of the relevant data (the rest arrives in dribs and drabs over the following months, hence the revisions). In particular, the ONS only has early responses for the final month of the quarter.

So there are some pretty big gaps to be filled, and the ONS has to make some estimates about what the other data will eventually say when it comes in.

It relies for this on computer models, backed up by assumptions and calculations from the ONS staff themselves. After they make these calls they meet and discuss them in so-called "balancing meetings": the statisticians ask each other whether the data are reliable and their assumptions have foundation.

During this entire period, those GDP assumptions and the ultimate figure are kept locked up (quite literally - there are safes into which they are put) such that only a dozen or so statisticians actually know the number before it comes out.

So far as anyone knows, there has never been a leak of a number as sensitive as this from the ONS. But 24 hours before the figures are published, selected ministers and officials also get a look.

The figures are revised again a month after that initial release, and then again a month later. During that period, more information has come in from quarterly surveys which measure families' and businesses' incomes, and other spending data.

As I said, GDP can be measured in terms of what we spend, what we earn and what we make - they should all add up to the same number, since what one person buys another person sells. And the extra data furnishes that initial estimate and, occasionally, contradicts it.

The ONS maintains that its record of revisions is acceptable by international standards. It points out that its surveys have far more respondents than those put together by independent competitors.

But some, most notably Kevin Daly of Goldman Sachs, argue that it has a tendency to revise the more distant history so substantially that often periods we thought at the time were slumps were actually booms.

A case in point is the early 1990s: at the time, the ONS said the UK was suffering a double-dip recession.

But by the end of the millennium it had revised its assessment: far from slumping, the UK was actually bouncing back forcefully at that point. When Norman Lamont referred to "green shoots", it turns out he was absolutely right.

Today, the GDP figures have been telling an altogether different story to the unemployment figures, which seem to suggest there never was a double-dip. Based on precedent, we are unlikely to know the definitive story for years to come.

Which implies that the ONS, and the way it puts together this most important of all numbers, will remain in the spotlight for the foreseeable future.

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Good News For Retailers As Economy 'Revives'

Both Debenhams and Asos buck the trend of struggling retailers, reporting strong financial results.

The department store group said it plans to open another 17 stores over the next five years as it reports a 4.2% rise in pre-tax profit to £158.3m.

The move will create 1,700 jobs and boost sales by over £150m, according to Debenhams.

Chief executive Michael Sharp said the group had made good progress in 2012, despite difficult economic conditions.  

"I believe the strong sales momentum we achieved in the second half of 2012 is clear evidence that our strategy to build a leading international, multi-channel brand is working," he said.

"This has prompted us to be more ambitious with our medium-term targets for the growth of our online and international operations."

He added that customers are becoming acclimatised to the new economic reality. 

"Whilst we don't anticipate a significant change in the economic environment in 2013, we expect to make further progress during the year," he said.

The new stores will be opened in towns including Cheshire Oaks, Beverley, Wandsworth, Scunthorpe, and Newport, South Wales.

Online retailer Asos also reported good results after strong trading overseas - especially in the US and Australia - more than offset slower growth in the UK.

Total sales rose 38% to £538m - with international sales up 64%, compared to a 10% rise in the UK.

The company's profit before tax and exceptional items rose 42% to £13.2m for the five months to the end of August.

Chief executive Nick Robertson said the website now has five million customers across the world.

"During the period we improved our product offer in terms of range, quality and price, invested in our customer proposition, made progress in developing the ASOS platform and continued to drive efficiencies from the business to fuel our future growth," he said.

"We remain positive in our outlook for 2012/13 as we continue our journey to becoming the number one online fashion destination for twenty-somethings, globally. Our International roll out continues and our 1:5:5 ambitions for the Group are unchanged."

The results come ahead of official GDP figures which are expected to show the UK economy has grown.

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Obesity: New Food Labelling System Planned

A new food labelling system to help people check the healthiness of products is set to be introduced across all supermarkets.

Labels will include information on guideline daily amounts (GDAs), be colour coded with a traffic light system and use the words "high", "medium" or "low" to inform people about how much fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories are inside.

Food nutritionist Nicole Berberian told Sky News: "The main thing that you notice at the moment is that labels are different for each different supplier.

"They could be on the front, they could be on the side, they could be colour coded, they could be randomly colour coded, so it's very difficult to know what to look for.

"What we are trying to do is get a uniformed system, so consumers know where to look, what to look for and when they are looking they will know straight away at a glance what it means."

Health minister Anna Soubry said: "By having a consistent system we will all be able to see at a glance what is in our food. This will help us all choose healthier options and control our calorie intake.

"Obesity and poor diet cost the NHS billions of pounds every year. Making small changes to our diet can have a big impact on our health and could stop us getting serious illnesses, such as heart disease, later in life."

Obesity has more than tripled in the last 25 years and more than 60% of adults are now either obese or overweight. About 30% of children are also considered overweight or obese.

Obesity, which is a major risk factor for diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, costs the NHS an estimated £5bn each year, and costs the wider economy billions more, according to the Department of Health.

Peter Hollins, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation, said the announcement was a "quantum leap" forward for public health.

"It's now down to each and every retailer and manufacturer to step up and introduce these consistent front of pack food labels, including traffic light colours, so shoppers can make healthy food choices at a glance," he said.

The new label is expected to be in use by next summer, but the exact design is still to be decided.

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Woman 'Set Herself On Fire In Staged KKK Attack'

A woman who told police she had been subjected to a racist attack in which three men set her alight and scrawled KKK on her car was lying, according to US investigators.

"The wounds were self-inflicted," said Kyle Hanrahan, a spokesman for the FBI's Louisiana bureau.

Sharmeka Moffitt, 20, was seriously burned in the fire and remains in a critical condition.

She called police from a park in the town of Winnsboro on Sunday night and told them three men in white hoodies had doused her with a flammable liquid and ignited it.

The letters KKK, for the white supremacist organisation Ku Klux Klan, and a racial slur were scrawled on her car in what appeared to be toothpaste.

According to local media, investigators decided the burns were self-inflicted after finding Ms Moffitt's fingerprints on a cigarette lighter and lighter fluid.

Louisiana's KATC News reported her family had issued a statement saying: "Our family is devastated to learn the circumstances surrounding our daughter's injuries.

"While this was not the resolution we had expected, it is a resolution, and we appreciate the thorough investigation by the local and state police as well as federal agencies.

"We are sincerely sorry for any problems this may have caused and wish to express our appreciation for the outpouring of love, prayers and support we have received from friends, acquaintances, church organisations and government officials."

The FBI was called in to assist local authorities because the apparent attack was initially considered a possible hate crime.

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Hacking: Mirror Papers Face Legal Claims

By David Bowden, Senior Correspondent

Newspapers belonging to Trinity Mirror are to face legal claims over phone hacking allegations for the first time, Sky News has learned.

Until now the only company to be sued for illegally snooping on voicemail messages was News Group Newspapers, publishers of the now-defunct News Of The World.

The latest claims allege that the mobile phone messages of the former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, Abbie Gibson, former nanny to the Beckham children, ex-Manchester City star Garry Flitcroft and actress Shobna Gulati were all listened to by Mirror group journalists.

Lawyer Mark Lewis: 'We will show there is a smoking bullet'

There have been allegations that hacking was going on at the Mirror titles before, but the publisher of papers including the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People has always strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

But now solicitor Mark Lewis has lodged claims on behalf of his clients.

Piers Morgan: 'No reason to believe (hacking) was going on'

He said that unlike the News Of The World hacking cases, where police found a list of alleged victims in a notebook belonging to private investigator Glen Mulcaire, there is no paper trail this time round.

"There might not be a documentary smoking gun, but we will show there is a smoking bullet, the consequence of the actions," said Mr Lewis.

The former editor of the Daily Mirror, Piers Morgan, wrote a number of articles alleging phone hacking was prevalent in Fleet Street, but told the Leveson Inquiry he had never sanctioned it when he was an editor.

"My own evidence is I had no reason or knowledge to believe it was going on," he told the inquiry earlier this year.

In the summer, Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, in charge of investigating any criminal aspects of the cases, told MPs she believed there were more than 1,000 victims of phone hacking.

Scores of claims have been made against the News Of The World and many of the cases have been settled already with payouts totalling millions of pounds.

The most high-profile case involved the hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone and cost the paper £3m.

Actress Sienna Miller reportedly received £100,000 and her former boyfriend Jude Law is also among the many celebrities to have won a substantial payout from News Group.

Politicians including former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott and Respect MP George Galloway have also been paid compensation.

This latest revelation that hacking was allegedly going on at a rival newspaper group will, temporarily at least, take the spotlight off the wrongdoing at the News Of The World.

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Jimmy Savile: BBC Boss Faces MPs Over Scandal

BBC boss George Entwistle will later be questioned by MPs about the organisation's handling of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims.

The director-general faces the Culture, Media and Select Committee hours after the BBC broadcast a Panorama investigation looking at why a Newsnight programme about the allegations was dropped.

The corporation is battling what has been called its "biggest crisis in 50 years" after claims about decades of alleged child abuse by Savile, who died in October last year.

The allegations about the Jim'll Fix It star only fully emerged when ITV broadcast a documentary at the start of this month.

It sparked immediate questions about how the BBC lost their scoop and accusations of a cover-up - as well as major concerns about why the claims were never properly looked into when Savile was alive.

Mr Entwistle will be asked why the Newsnight investigation was axed shortly before tribute programmes to the presenter were shown over the Christmas period.

And he will also face questions about the culture at the BBC at the time of the allegations, its vetting procedures and the existing policies on sexual harassment.

Police have called Savile a sexual predator

The broadcaster has already admitted that the account given by Newsnight editor Peter Rippon was "inaccurate or incomplete" and he has stepped aside to focus on preparing for the inquiry.

Panorama's own investigation into the affair highlighted the different explanations given by BBC bosses about the nature of the original Newsnight investigation and why it was dropped.

Once the claims emerged, Mr Entwistle wrote to all staff to insist that the show had been about "Surrey Police's inquiry into Jimmy Savile towards the end of 2011".

But Newsnight producer Meirion Jones insisted it had been looking into whether the star was a paedophile.

"We didn't know that Surrey Police had investigated Jimmy Savile - no-one did - that was what we found when we investigated and interviewed his victims," he said.

Mr Jones and reporter Liz MacKean both appeared in the Panorama documentary and said they had interviewed at least four alleged victims of Savile.

They confirmed with Surrey Police that they had investigated sex abuse complaints against the presenter and DJ in 2007.

Panorama reported that Newsnight bosses had wanted its reporters to stand up a suggestion that Savile was not prosecuted because the CPS thought he was too old and frail.

Once they told bosses the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had not charged Savile due to a lack of evidence, they were told to end the investigation and the show was withdrawn, they said.

Mr Entwistle, then the director of vision, also apparently had a brief conversation with BBC director of news Helen Boaden on December 2 about the Newsnight programme.

She told him he might have to change the Christmas schedules if it went ahead, because of the planned tributes.

It has now emerged that Surrey police found evidence of "three further potential offences" during its investigation but did not do more because "evidence showed none of the alleged victims would support a prosecution".

Newsnight editor Peter Rippon

Ms MacKean said: "Ever since the decision was taken to shelve our story, I've not been happy with public statements made by the BBC. I think they're very misleading about the nature of the investigation we were doing."

She added: "I was very unhappy the story didn't run because I felt we'd spoken to people who collectively deserved to be heard and they weren't heard and I thought that was a failing... I felt very much that I'd let them down."

She said she had been left with the impression that Mr Rippon was feeling under pressure, writing to a friend: "PR (Peter Rippon) says if the bosses aren't happy... (he) can't go to the wall on this one."

Mr Jones warned Mr Rippon what would happen if the investigation was dropped and insisted it stood up as it was.

"I was sure the story would come out one way or another and that, if it did, the BBC would be accused of a cover-up," he told Panorama.

"In fact, I wrote an email to Peter saying 'the story is strong enough' and the danger of not running it is 'substantial damage to BBC reputation'."

A Panorama statement said: "Peter Rippon has always maintained the story was pulled for 'editorial reasons' and not because of a potentially embarrassing clash with planned BBC tributes to Savile over Christmas.

"Panorama has found no evidence to contradict that view."

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BBC 'In Crisis' Over Jimmy Savile Scandal

The BBC is said to be facing "its worst crisis for 50 years", as a documentary lifts the lid on the extent to which senior managers of the corporation were aware of the Sir Jimmy Savile abuse claims.

A special edition of Panorama reveals fresh evidence about what the BBC knew of Savile's decades of child abuse and its investigation into why Newsnight spiked its probe into the scandal, sparking allegations of a cover-up.

The BBC flagship programme, which airs tonight, examines why corporation chiefs - including the director-general - gave different explanations why Newsnight was dropped and what it was about.

Newsnight editor Peter Rippon maintains the piece - which was due to run last December - was pulled for editorial reasons, and not because the potentially damaging revelations coincided with a planned tribute to the star.

But the hour-long documentary will hear from Newsnight producer Meirion Jones and reporter Liz MacKean, who both claim they had interviewed at least four alleged victims of Savile - and confirmed with Surrey Police that officers had investigated sex abuse complaints against the Jim'll Fix It star in 2007.

The journalists say that, when they told bosses the Crown Prosecution Service did not charge Savile because of insufficient evidence, they were told to end the investigation - and the show was withdrawn.

BBC director-general George Entwistle said it would be "inappropriate" for him to comment ahead of the broadcast, as he has not yet seen the programme. He added: "There will be a BBC statement later this morning touching upon some of the issues raised".

Questions over how director-general George Entwistle has handled the crisis

The programme also calls into question Mr Entwistle's handling of the crisis in the days after it broke.

On October 5, Mr Entwistle wrote an email to all staff about the crisis the corporation found itself engulfed in, saying "the BBC Newsnight programme investigated Surrey Police's enquiry into Jimmy Savile towards the end of 2011".

But Meirion Jones sent an email reply to Mr Entwistle on the same day taking issue with his account.

He wrote: "George - one note - the investigation was into whether Jimmy Savile was a paedophile - I know because it was my investigation. We didn't know that Surrey Police had investigated Jimmy Savile - no-one did - that was what we found when we investigated and interviewed his victims."

The abuse stories about Savile only fully emerged after ITV broadcast a documentary at the start of this month - sparking controversy at the BBC over losing its scoop and leading to the cover-up allegations.

Panorama said it has failed to find evidence of a "BBC cover-up" over the Newsnight decision.

In a statement, the programme said: "Peter Rippon has always maintained the story was pulled for 'editorial reasons' and not because of a potentially embarrassing clash with planned BBC tributes to Savile over Christmas.

"Panorama has found no evidence to contradict that view."

But the BBC's veteran foreign affairs editor John Simpson said of the fallout: "This is the worst crisis that I can remember in my nearly 50 years at the BBC. I don't think the BBC has handled it terribly well.

"I mean I think it's better to just come out right at the start and say we're going to open everything up and then we're going to show everybody everything.

"All we have as an organisation is the trust of the people the people that watch us and listen to us and, if we don't have that, if we start to lose that, that's very dangerous I think for the BBC."

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Cardiff Hit-And-Runs: Man Charged With Murder

A man is due to appear in court charged with the murder of a mother-of-three who died in an apparent hit-and-run attack in Cardiff.

The 31-year-old, who police have not named, has also been charged with 13 counts of attempted murder and four counts of assault, as well as dangerous driving.

The charges were announced just hours after hundreds of people grieved for Karina Menzies, 31, at a church service in the city.

She was killed on Friday when she was hit by a white van outside Ely Fire Station.

Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Paul Hurley said: "South Wales Police has been overwhelmed by the support we have received from the community.

"We wish to express our sincere thanks to the many people who have come forward to give information, provide witness accounts, and offer both CCTV and mobile phone footage of Friday's traumatic and tragic events.

"While a man has been charged, the investigation is still very much ongoing and we still appeal for anyone with information to contact the incident room at Cardiff Central Police Station."

The man will appear at Cardiff Magistrates' Court.

Candles were lit for the victims at a Cardiff church

Hundreds of people gathered to share their grief at the church and prayer service on Sunday.

The raw emotion in the Welsh capital was evident as 200 people held a minute's silence for Ms Menzies.

Reverend Jan Gould led a special service at the Church of the Resurrection in Ely, breaking down before the packed congregation.

She said from the pulpit: "Whether we've personally known one or more of the victims of Friday's terrible events, or whether we are here as a member of this community simply wanting to show solidarity, there can be no one who has not been profoundly affected by what has happened here this week.

"This must surely be perhaps the deepest grief we have shared as a community.

"This grief, of Karina's tragic death ... has broken the heart of our community, and the healing work that is now to be done will take a very, very long time.

"We will never be the same again as a community - for how can we not be changed after such a tragedy."

In her service, Ms Gould pleaded with her 600-strong congregation to respond to the events with love.

"The only way that we can move forward into the future with hope is by responding to this suffering the same way Jesus did - with love," she said.

"Not malice, not hatred, not revenge. Not taking the law into our own hands - that's what our justice system is for."

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Tebbit: 'PM Incompetent Over Mitchell Row'

David Cameron has been criticised by Conservative grandee Lord Tebbit following Andrew Mitchell's resignation as chief whip.

He said the Prime Minister had allowed "this dog of a coalition Government" to look incompetent.

Accused of calling police officers "plebs" when they would not let him leave Downing Street on his bicycle through the main gates, Mr Mitchell finally quit his Cabinet post on Friday.

Despite the unequivocal support of Mr Cameron, Mr Mitchell admitted that the ongoing row had made his position untenable.

Writing in The Observer, Lord Tebbit said: "This dog of a coalition Government has let itself be given a bad name and now anybody can beat it.

"It has let itself be called a Government of unfeeling toffs. Past governments have had far more real Tory toffs: prime ministers Alec Douglas-Home and Harold Macmillan, or even in Thatcher's day, Whitelaw, Soames, Hailsham, Carrington, Gowrie, Joseph, Avon, Trenchard and plenty more, without incurring similar abuse."

He added: "The abiding sin of the Government is not that some ministers are rich, but that it seems unable to manage its affairs competently."

Andrew Mitchell resigned on Friday

A Cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher's government, Lord Tebbit said Mr Cameron needed to impose "some managerial discipline not just on his colleagues but on himself".

The criticism comes amid reports that Mr Mitchell decided to step down after younger Tory MPs from the 2010 intake made clear their hostility when Parliament returned this week.

Many were dismayed that the row dragged on for so long and that Mr Mitchell - who did not attend the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham earlier this month - had not been sacked by the PM.

It has been a disastrous week for Mr Cameron following Mr Mitchell's decision to quit and reports George Osborne tried to sit in a first class train carriage with only a standard ticket - claims which have been firmly rejected by the Chancellor.

He will attempt to shore up his authority and move on from recent events in a speech next week in which he will call for a new "tough but intelligent" approach to law and order.

A ComRes opinion poll, carried out for The Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Mirror, revealed Labour are now eight percentage points ahead of the Tories.

The Lib Dems were in a distant third with just 10% of those polled opting for the party.

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Prayers For Hit-And-Run Dead And Injured

A special church service will be held today for the 14 victims of a series of hit-and-run attacks in Cardiff, which left a mother of three dead and 13 others injured.

Karina Menzies, 32, was killed after she was knocked down during one of the collisions involving a white van outside a fire station in the Ely area of the city on Friday.

Thirteen others were injured in the crashes on the streets of the Welsh capital. Two of the injured adults are in a critical condition and five children are also receiving treatment.

The service, at Church of the Resurrection on Grand Avenue, will take place from 5pm.

Adam and Annie Lewis were walking with their daughter when they were hit

Meanwhile, detectives were last night granted a further 36 hours to question a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder.

Officers are also appealing for information about a mystery car seen driving on the wrong side of the road shortly before the crashes.

The black Renault Clio was seen on Western Avenue, not far from Cowbridge Road West, where one crash happened. There were no full registration details for the Clio but officers said it carried an 05 plate.

CCTV images show the moment a white van swerved across four lanes of traffic, mounted the kerb and crashed into Adam and Annie Lewis and their two-year-old daughter, Amelia-May.

Ms Menzies, 32, was killed on Friday after being knocked down

Amelia-May's grandmother, Maureen Lewis, said the toddler was catapulted from her pushchair into the air and suffered injuries to her face. She said Annie suffered a broken leg.

Detective Superintendent Paul Hurley confirmed reports that the suspect left his vehicle and physically assaulted people between the crashes and also carried a weapon.

It is believed the weapon was a steering wheel lock.

The officer said: "We are aware the suspect assaulted people outside his vehicle," and he added police were "looking to identify and recover" the weapon.

Father Adam Lewis (top), mother Annie (right) and two-year-old Amelia-May

He said no firearm was involved and there was no suggestion anyone had been stabbed.

According to unconfirmed reports, police are also investigating whether the driver was involved in a domestic incident before the rampage.

The horrific events began when police received calls about an incident in Crossways Road in Ely at 3.30pm.

This was soon followed by other 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.

Police were called to five locations in Cardiff

Seventy officers are working on the investigation.

Floral tributes were laid at the scene where Ms Menzies was killed.

Among those paying their respects was local Labour MP Kevin Brennan.

He said: "Karina was a well-liked mother who had three children. One of her children is disabled and is currently on a dream holiday in Florida."

The white van pictured after being stopped by police

Ely sub-postmaster Shady Taha, 29, had just served two girls aged about 10 and a woman in her mid-20s moments before one of the hit-and-runs in Grand Avenue, immediately outside a row of shops.

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

Lynda Paterson, who lives in Cowbridge Road West, described the scene outside her house as chaotic.

"I was going to pick my children up from school and I could see there were police and someone was lying on the floor, on the pavement."

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

The crime scenes included Ely fire station, an area near the Merrie Harrier pub in Llandough on the outskirts of Cardiff, where the suspect was arrested, and Leckwith Retail Park - next to the Cardiff City Stadium.

Ms Menzies' brother, Craig Menzies, told Radio 5 Live that she died trying to save the lives of her children.

Describing the moment the van careered towards them, he said: "He went through the traffic, aimed for them and then just hit them head on.

"She just screamed and threw them out of the way as much as she could. He still clipped them but she took it head-on. She saved their lives."

He told the programme it was "a waste of a life".

He added: "She was the world to me. She was my best friend. She was a lively, bubbly person. There's just so many good things you could say about her.

"We'll all be lost without her."

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