Hector Sants: Ex-FSA Chief Awarded Knighthood

The man tasked with regulating the City in the run-up to the near-collapse of the UK banking system has been knighted in the Queen's New Year Honours.

Former Financial Services Authority (FSA) chief executive Hector Sants has been recognised for services to financial regulation after overseeing sweeping reforms following the nationalisation of Northern Rock and the bailout of major banks.

The knighthood may be seen as a controversial decision, as it was Sir Hector who led the organisation accused by MPs of being "asleep at the wheel" in the run up to the collapse of Northern Rock.

While he was criticised for the FSA's failure to spot and prevent the credit crunch and subsequent banking meltdown, he has since won praise for cleaning up the regulator and for his role in forcing banks to beef up their balance sheets.

Sir Hector said the award was a "testament to the hard work of everyone at the FSA during the crisis, their willingness to learn lessons and to bring about the changes that were necessary".

The 56-year-old had planned to leave his role in February 2010, but was convinced by Chancellor George Osborne to stay on to see through the coalition's break-up of the FSA.

It was thought he would become a deputy governor of the Bank of England and head the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) - one of two new regulatory bodies that will replace the FSA as part of an overhaul in the wake of the financial crisis.

But Sir Hector unexpectedly resigned earlier this year and has courted more controversy, joining scandal-hit Barclays, where he will become the bank's first point of contact for regulators.

He is believed to be in line for a £3m pay package.

The FSA received a mauling from MPs in the wake of the banking crisis and collapse of Northern Rock.

Northern Rock had to be nationalised in 2008, with the Government also having to bail out Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

In the aftermath of the crisis, Sir Hector warned the City to "be frightened" as he pledged an era of more intrusive and direct regulation.

He also laid the blame at the door of the US and UK governments for their part in the crisis, saying authorities worldwide sought to "encourage a significant credit boom particularly for the benefit of consumers who wished to purchase housing".

Sir Hector joined the FSA wholesale markets arm from Credit Suisse in 2004. He became chief executive in 2007 - just two months before the run on Northern Rock.

It had been widely expected that Sir Hector would return to the private sector when he resigned from the FSA.

Barclays, which has had its reputation battered following this summer's rate-rigging revelations, has appointed Sir Hector to the newly-created role of head of compliance. He is due to start on January 21.

It is believed he will also play a central role in rewriting the bank's pay and bonus strategy.

Sir Hector is married with three children.

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Bradley Wiggins Knighted In New Year Honours

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

Britain's gold rush during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games has led to 78 athletes and coaches being named in the New Year Honours List.

Among the top honours are knighthoods for cyclist Bradley Wiggins and yachtsman Ben Ainslie, while Paralympic cyclist Sarah Storey becomes a Dame.

Dave Brailsford and David Tanner, the Performance Directors who have ensured that Britain now leads the world in cycling and rowing are also rewarded with knighthoods.

Every British athlete who won a gold medal in the Olympics or Paralympics is included in the list unless they have already been honoured in the past.

Heptathlete and face of London 2012 Jessica Ennis is awarded a CBE

So Sir Chris Hoy, who was knighted after the Beijing Games, is omitted from the list despite adding two more gold medals to his career tally of six.

Somali-born middle-distance runner Mo Farah becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his stunning double gold medal performances in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

He joins four other competitors who become CBEs having previously collected the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) - rower Katherine Grainger, cyclist Victoria Pendleton, heptathlete Jessica Ennis and wheelchair athlete David Weir.

David Weir was also given a CBE after winning four gold medals in London

Sir Bradley admitted to having mixed feelings about receiving a knighthood. Born in Kilburn, he is now almost as famous for his sideburns and Mod image as his cycling exploits.

This was the year he became the first Briton to win the Tour De France, and he also won the Olympic Time Trial title and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

He told Sky News: "It's an incredible honour and it's an incredible thing to have. It's still not something that sits incredibly easily with me, I don't think it's something I'm going to use in daily life.

"(It's) an amazing thing to have in the drawer for my wife my kids and my family. It's topped the year off really."

Dame Sarah Storey first won Paralympic gold as a swimmer, and achieved even greater success when she switched to cycling.

A birth defect means she does not have a left hand, but she also competes against able-bodied cyclists and was pushing for a place in the Olympic squad.

Ben Ainslie was also knighted after winning four gold medals

"I really hope that everybody who's been connected to what I've done feels a part of what has happened," she told Sky News.

"To be honoured in this way - the top gong as you might say - you never even imagine or dream of it. It's just beyond your wildest dreams."

Her boss, Dave Brailsford, becomes Sir Dave after overseeing not just the Olympic triumphs, but the rise of Team Sky as a professional road racing team. Like Sir Bradley he is struggling to adjust to the adulation.

He said: "[It feels] very strange. On the one hand you feel proud and honoured, on the other hand it feels quite humbling really.

Swimmer Ellie Simmonds gets an OBE, while Sarah Storey becomes a dame

"It's a recognition for everything that's happened in cycling over a period of time. I'm the lucky one who gets recognised."

Jessica Ennis CBE told Sky News: "It sounds very surreal. It's such an honour.

"When you get involved in sport, and when I started, it certainly wasn't something that I ever thought of, so to now be in this position at 26 and be receiving a CBE is such an honour."

Cyclists Jason Kenny and his girlfriend Laura Trott end 2012 sharing four gold medals and two OBEs (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).

Andy Murray gets one not just for his Olympic victory, but also for winning the US Open.

Andy Murray caps his Olympic gold and US Open title with an OBE

Olympic rower Katherine Grainger, double equestrian gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin and paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and paralympic horsewoman Sophie Christiansen add OBEs to the MBEs they collected following winning performances in the 2008 Beijing Games.

Christiansen told Sky News: "As athletes we work towards getting gold medals but this is the icing on the cake to be recognised."

Lord Coe, the mastermind of the Games, becomes a companion of honour, but one notable absentee from the list is film director Danny Boyle, the creator of the opening ceremony.

He appears to be one of the minority who for various reasons decline to be honoured.

London 2012 mastermind Lord Coe becomes a companion of honour

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Jimmy Savile's 'Love' For Margaret Thatcher

A note written by Jimmy Savile declaring his love for Margaret Thatcher shows how he tried to enlist support for a hospital where he is known to have abused vulnerable people.

In what now appear to be chilling references, Savile refers in the letter to the excitement of his "girl patients" and "paralyzed (sic) lads" at Stoke Mandeville Hospital following a lunch with Thatcher in 1980.

The letter is among a series of previously secret files released to the National Archives in Kew, south west London and show the former Top Of The Pops presenter's communications with the PM as he tried to enlist support for his work to renovate Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

The DJ, awarded a knighthood in 1990 for charitable services, received widespread praise for his work with the hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

But it has since emerged to be one of a series of places where Savile preyed on vulnerable people, abusing them over decades.

An ITV documentary aired on October 4 prompted hundreds of people across the country to come forward about the abuse they say they suffered at Savile's hands.

In his letter to Mrs Thatcher the star spoke of the reaction of his "girl patients" and "paralyzed lads" to his lunch date with her.

Hand-written on "Jim's 'Daily Dozen' paper", it bears the address Flat 84, 22 Park Crescent, W1.

It reads: "Dear Prime Minister. I waited a week before writing to thank you for my lunch invitation because I had such a superb time I didn't want to be too effusive.

"My girl patients pretended to be madly jealous + wanted to know what you wore + what you ate. All the paralyzed lads called me 'Sir James' all week. They all love you. Me too!!

"Jimmy Savile OBE xxx."

The previously unseen documents reveal Savile's regular communications with Mrs Thatcher and Number 10, including his request for a Government contribution to Stoke Mandeville.

The following year there were discussions about Savile's suggestion of a Government contribution to Stoke Mandeville.

The matter is debated in further letters as where the money should come from is discussed.

In December 1981 it was decided the Government would give £500,000 to the Stoke Mandeville Appeal.

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Reagan's Last-Ditch Falklands Plea Revealed

Ronald Reagan issued a last-ditch appeal to Margaret Thatcher to abandon her campaign to retake the Falklands and to hand over the islands to international peacekeepers, according to official documents made public today.

Files released by the National Archives at Kew, South West London, under the 30-year rule show that as British troops closed in on final victory, the US president made a late-night phone call to Mrs Thatcher urging her not to completely humiliate the Argentines.

However, his request fell on deaf ears as a defiant Prime Minister insisted that she had not sent a British task force across the globe just "to hand over the Queen's islands to a contact group".

Mr Reagan made his call to Mrs Thatcher in Downing Street at 11.30pm London time on May 31, 1982, as British forces were beginning the battle for Port Stanley, the Falklands capital.

British forces regained control of the islands

The Americans had already proposed sending a joint US-Brazilian peacekeeping mission, and the president suggested that the time had come to show magnanimity.

"The best chance for peace was before complete Argentine humiliation," he told her. "As the UK now had the upper hand militarily, it should strike a deal now."

But Mrs Thatcher said she could not contemplate a ceasefire without Argentinian withdrawal.

According to the official No 10 note, she told him: "Britain had not lost precious lives in battle and sent an enormous task force to hand over the Queen's islands to a contact group.

"As Britain had had to go into the islands alone, with no outside help, she could not now let the invader gain from his aggression. The Prime Minister asked the president to put himself in her position.

"She had lost valuable British ships and invaluable British lives. She was sure that the president would act in the same way if Alaska had been similarly threatened."

The Prime Minister said "the most sensible thing" would be for the Argentinians to withdraw, before ending the conversation with a familiar refrain: "There was no alternative."

As the battle reached its climax she even drafted a telegram to the Argentinian leader General Galtieri - although it was never sent - demanding for a final time that he withdraw his forces.

"In a few days the British flag will be flying over Port Stanley. In a few days also your eyes and mine will be reading the casualty lists," she wrote.

"On my side, grief will be tempered by the knowledge that these men died for freedom, justice and the rule of law. And on your side? Only you can answer that question."

The files also include Mrs Thatcher's hitherto unpublished testimony to the Franks Inquiry into the conflict.

In it, she described her horror when, at the end of March 1982, she became aware that the Argentinians were about to invade.

"I just say it was the worst, I think, moment of my life," she told the inquiry.

"I never, never expected the Argentines to invade the Falklands head-on. It was such a stupid thing to do, as events happened, such a stupid thing even to contemplate doing."

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Knife Crime: Funding To Tackle Youth Violence

By Niall Paterson, Sky News Correspondent

The government has announced extra cash to help tackle youth violence and gun crime.

Half a million pounds will be given to the voluntary sector, charities and other organisations working directly with young people at risk of becoming violent offenders and those already involved in knife and gun crime.

In addition, the Home Office intends to expand the "priority areas" in which its Ending Gang and Youth Violence frontline team works from 29 to 33.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Serious youth violence has a devastating impact on communities and needs to be stopped.

"We need to change the life-stories of the young people who too often end up dead or seriously injured on our streets or are sucked into a life of violence and crime.

"This package of support will help police protect communities as well as boost the innovative work being done at a local level by charities and voluntary groups to provide vulnerable youngsters with a way out."

The Home Office has already committed £18m to help police, local agencies and the voluntary sector tackle gangs and youth crime in 2013.

Gang involvement and knife crime are commonly linked to social deprivation and poor upbringing.

Figures from the Metropolitan Police show that as many as 60% of knife crime attacks are gang-related.

Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne told Sky News: "The consequences of knife crime are often devastating and when knife crime does take place it rightly worries people a huge amount. There is a clear link between knife crime and gang membership."

Yet critics of the government's approach suggest that until the London riots of 2011 too much emphasis had been placed on criminal justice, and how courts would deal with offenders after crimes had been committed.

The government's Ending Gang and Youth Violence report, published in November 2011, suggested far greater emphasis on utilising the experience of the voluntary sector.

But one youth worker and former gang member, Sheldon Thomas, told Sky that the sums of money being discussed were too small to have any real effect.

He said: "There are many deprived communities up and down this country that are in need of sufficient resources.

"Those resources are being shipped out into foreign wars... to the normal Joe Public I don't think they matter. I think what matters is what's happening next door."

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Child Abuse: New Database Of Medical Visits

By Liz Lane, Sky News Reporter

A national database is being introduced in hospitals to flag up potential vulnerable children to nurses and doctors.

It is in order to prevent cases similar to that of Baby Peter Connelly in which health and social service workers repeatedly failed to pick up on signs that the toddler was being abused.

Social services failed to detect signs that Baby P was being abused

He died of multiple injuries in August 2007.

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter is behind the system and said: "For many years there's been a problem of getting joined-up and co-ordinated information to front-line healthcare professionals about children that may be potentially at risk from abuse."

Under the system, a flag will appear on the child's medical record at any hospital they attend if they have already been identified by a local authority as being at risk, or if they have frequently been taken to accident and emergency departments.

Currently, this sort of information is not shared between hospitals up and down the country.

Dr Simon Eccles, of Homerton Hospital in east London, believes it will help doctors make better judgements.

"Spotting those characteristic injury patterns that tell you a child has been abused is one thing," he said, "but what's much harder is the child whose injuries are completely understandable but actually have just been happening too often."

Lauren Matthews, whose nine-year-old son Leo has been in hospital recently, told Sky News she has her concerns: "Two weeks ago we had to take him to hospital because his friend closed his hand in the door. And then yesterday we had to come into hospital again because he had an asthma attack, so in certain situations it could be taken out of context."

Doctors say the system will only deal in facts and they will objectively assess each case.

Work will begin on it in early 2013 and it will start to be introduced to NHS hospitals in 2015.

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M6 Car Crash Killed Two Young Brothers

Two victims of the three people killed after a car flipped over on the M6 motorway on Christmas Day were brothers, aged four and 10.

The third victim of the accident on a busy stretch of the motorway in Staffordshire was a 32-year-old woman.

The boys' mother, who was believed to have been driving the car, and another female passenger remain in a stable condition at University Hospital North Staffordshire.

Staffordshire Police said the crash happened on the northbound carriageway of the M6 near junction 15 at around 11.25am.

Chief Superintendent Martin Evans said: "Colleagues from the emergency services have worked seamlessly throughout the day in these very sad and exceptionally difficult circumstances.

"Unfortunately the outcome is extremely tragic and our thoughts are with the family of those who have died."

The motorway was closed in both directions following the accident but reopened after several hours.

The accident occurred on the M6 between junctions 14 and 15

A West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) spokesman said: "Crews arrived to find a single vehicle that had crashed and overturned.

"Two children and an adult that were travelling in the vehicle suffered serious injuries.

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of ambulance crews, nothing could be done to save the two boys and one woman, and they were confirmed dead at the scene.

In a separate accident on the M6, four adults and three young children were injured on the southbound carriageway, near Corley Services, at around 7pm on Christmas Day.

A WMAS spokesman said two cars were substantially damaged and it was fortunate nobody was more seriously injured.

Earlier on Christmas Day, Ann Mary Goodrich, 57, and her husband Paul John Goodrich, 56, from Hampshire, died following the collision on the B3349 Odiham Road at Heckfield Heath, near Basingstoke.

A 29-year-old man from Farnborough, believed to be the driver of the other vehicle involved, received medical attention at the scene before being taken to hospital with serious injuries.

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