Cyclone Phailin: Thousands Flee In East India

More than 250,000 villagers have fled their homes as a huge cyclone gathers strength and heads towards India's east coast.

Cyclone Phailin - which is already so large it has nearly filled the Bay of Bengal - is expected to be the fiercest storm to hit India since a devastating cyclone killed 10,000 people 14 years ago.

Large waves have already been pounding beaches in the state of Andhra Pradesh before the storm is due to hit.

Villagers along the coast were evacuated to schools in the north of the state and in neighbouring Odisha, while panic buying drove up food prices.

Authorities have been evacuating villagers along the coast to government-run shelters and schools in three districts of Andhra Pradesh state and five districts of Orissa state.

People in the coastal village of Podampata watch as waves gather force

But many villagers said they had not been told to evacuate, and others were refusing to leave their homes.

"Of course I'm scared, but where will I move with my family?" said Kuramayya, 38, a fisherman from the village of Bandharuvanipeta, while 12ft waves crashed behind him. "We can't leave our boats behind."

Satellite images showed Phailin some 310 miles (500km) off the coast and likely to make landfall tonight (3pm-6pm UK time), with widespread flooding expected.

Some forecasters likened its size and intensity to hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

The Indian Meteorological Department said Phailin would hit between Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and the port of Paradip in Odisha state and predicted storm surges 10ft above normal tides.

The storm is due to hit Andhra Pradesh and Odisha Pic: Tropical Storm Risk

It described it as a "very severe cyclonic storm" with winds of 130-135 mph but resisted upgrading it to a stronger "super cyclone".

However, London-based storm tracking experts Tropical Storm Risk said Phailin was a super cyclone and placed it in the most powerful Category 5 of storms.

That was the same strength of storm that battered Odisha in 1999, killing thousands.

"Phailin will be no less than the 1999 super cyclone," said Odisha state's Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra.

He said half a million people were expected to move to shelters in the state.

Indian authorities warned of extensive damage to crops and buildings, and disruption to power, water and rail services.

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Hammond Hits Back Over £2bn MoD Underspend

By Vincent McAviney, Sky News Political Producer

The Defence Secretary has hit back at criticism of a £2bn underspend by the Government department he oversees, saying the money will be spent on future kit for soldiers.

Philip Hammond reacted angrily to claims he had been "overzealous" in pursuit of an austerity drive that will see thousands of soldiers lose their jobs.

They were made in a Daily Telegraph article which suggested the underspend at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was partly down to cuts in military personnel and equipment.

Mr Hammond said: "These retired 'senior military figures' (quoted by the newspaper) are presumably the same people who presided over an out of control defence budget that led to the previous Government sending troops into battle without the proper equipment needed to protect them.

Mr Hammond is overseeing a major cost-cutting exercise at the MoD

"They clearly have no idea how the defence budget now works.

"Instead of having to delay and cancel programmes as in the past, we now budget prudently and then roll forward any underspend to future years, allowing us to place new equipment orders."

Mr Hammond's comments came as a Sky News investigation revealed Government departments have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on calls to directory inquiries numbers since the last election.

The MoD alone made 158,640 calls to 118 lines between May 1, 2010, and August 31, 2013 - the equivalent of 186 calls per day - at a cost of £271,000.

A spokesman said the number of calls made from fixed phone lines had fallen by more than three-quarters in the last four years.

However, the expenditure is equivalent to the annual salaries of 15 squaddies or nine junior officers, or around 270 sets of Osprey body armour.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) made 97,265 calls between May 2010 and August 2013 at a cost of £72,387.

This was despite the department barring staff from calling 118 numbers in March 2011 and Secretary of State Iain Duncan Smith pledging to cut costs to help fund police and the forces.

The MoD says it has cut the number of directory inquiry calls it makes

Robert Oxley, campaign director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, added: "It's astonishing that so much taxpayers' money has been wasted needlessly dialling these services, especially in the internet age.

"Sadly, a blase attitude over who is picking up the phone bill is all too common in some corners of the civil service."

It is the second time in as many months the MoD's spending on phone calls has been brought into question, and comes at a time when the military is undergoing a massive cost-reduction programme which includes thousands of redundancies.

In August, the department revealed it had run up a £40,000 bill on calls to the speaking clock.

The MoD has said this was partly down to a "technical error" in one of its systems which meant the number was being dialled automatically.

Thousands of soldiers are losing their jobs as the MoD cuts costs

However, Sky News now understands that between May 1, 2010, and August 31, 2013, 99,887 calls were in fact made by departmental staff to the speaking clock at a cost of £39,845.

The faulty automated system placed an additional 28,663 calls to the number but the £12,355 cost of these calls is being repaid by the company which installed it.

A spokesman for the MoD said: "Calls to directory inquiries from the majority of the 260,000 MoD fixed phone lines are banned but some staff working in isolated locations, who do not have access to a military phone network or the internet, are able to call directory enquiries to obtain contact details."

A spokesman for the DWP added: "118 numbers are banned, except where they are used by jobseekers or their advisers when looking for work.

"The costs of these calls have been cut by more than two-thirds since 2010, as more of the 1.4 million claimants we support move online for their job searches."

Freedom of Information Act requests were submitted to all government departments, although some departments including the Home Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs refused to provide the information.

Several other departments said they had barred 118 calls, instructing staff to use internet search engines to obtain contact details.

Labour shadow minister Jon Ashworth told Sky News: "This is yet another example of the Government's failure to tackle waste.

"David Cameron and his ministers need to act now to stop allowing thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money being squandered on these costly calls."

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Haringey 'Regret' Over New Child Abuse Case

Haringey Council has apologised for failing to prevent a toddler from suffering horrific abuse before he was finally taken into care.

The boy - named as Child T - was found to have 50 bruises on his body at one stage and spoke of being hit with a belt and stick.

Haringey Council has previously been heavily criticised over the deaths of Peter Connelly, also known as Baby P, and Victoria Climbie.

A serious case review now accuses it of "confusion" and "lacking focus" over the latest case.

Child T was the subject of two investigations in 2010 and 2011 after suffering "extensive injuries", according to the review.

His half-sister also told authorities she was sometimes abused.

But on both occasions Child T was returned from hospital back to his family, where the abuse continued.

The first injuries took place in summer 2010 when he was taken to London's North Middlesex Hospital with bruising around the eyes, forehead and nose.

Peter Connelly was also failed by child protection officials in Haringey

Mr C - his mother's partner - told authorities the child often ran around the house and "bangs and hits himself on the wall".

When police and social services later visited the child's home, the man claimed the boy bruised very easily.

Despite a paediatrician expressing "strong concern" he was being beaten, police found no cause for concern at the house and stopped investigating.

Two more sets of injuries were discovered in February 2011 when officers were called to the house over claims of domestic violence.

Child T was found badly bruised and his mother's partner - who also had a heroin problem - was arrested.

The child had more than 50 bruises on his body, and the little boy told a doctor he had been beaten with a belt and stick.

Victoria Climbie died in 2000 at the hands of her aunt and her boyfriend

Mr C denied beating the child, but his mother contradicted that story and said she had suspected her partner of abuse.

The child's half-sister also told police Mr C had "tried to drown her" during bath time and said she had once been hit with a rod.

Social services started taking steps to bring the children into care.

But because Mr C remained in police custody, there was no immediate attempt to remove them from the home.

More new bruising was discovered just days later during another hospital visit and Child T and his three siblings were finally taken into care.

Experts later said the injuries were likely to have been inflicted by the boy's mother or grandmother.

Haringey Council's involvement in the case was "misguided and lacked focus", said the serious case review.

It said the "evidence was highly suggestive of child abuse" and "there was evidence of organisational confusion" within both health and social services.

The abuse could have been prevented, said Haringey children's service

The chairman of Haringey's Safeguarding Children Board, Graham Badman, expressed his "sincere regret" for the children's suffering.

He said: "What is clear is that because of failings in the system this child suffered physical abuse that could have been prevented.

"It would be an oversimplification to describe this case as a series of missed opportunities - they existed but there is more seriously, compelling evidence of individual and systemic failure."

The board has announced changes, including ways to improve communication and information sharing.

However, Mr Badman added: "Arguably it is not more change that is needed, but action to ensure that agreed systems are used and their effectiveness monitored and evaluated."

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7/7 Widow 'Linked To Kenyan Mall Attack Group'

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, In Kenya

Sky News has obtained a Kenyan intelligence report which for the first time shows the reach of the Shabaab terror network - which carried out the Nairobi shopping mall attack - and the extent of British involvement within the group.

It suggests that Samantha Lewthwaite - the British woman known as the "White Widow" because she was married to one of the 7/7 London bombers - is an important figure in the terror outfit, plotting multiple bomb attacks across Kenya.

Sky has also been given access to a personal diary of hers which gives a fascinating insight into her mind, where she talks about her ambitions for her children and her love for her husband.

The intelligence report, which is 35 pages long, gives a detailed breakdown of how the terror network is operating throughout Africa with recruits and terror cells working in a huge range of countries including Somalia, Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, Tanzania, Mali and South Africa as well as further afield in Yemen and Pakistan.

The report says Lewthwaite is a 'logistician' in a six-person terror cell

But what seems clear is that the group's stronghold and focus is in Kenya with major operational bases in the capital Nairobi and Mombasa.

The report is highly damaging for the Kenyan authorities as it also shows there were clear warnings up to eight months ago that a "Mumbai-style attack" was being planned in Nairobi on the Westgate shopping mall.

It goes on to to identify 29-year-old Samantha Lewthwaite as a "logistician" within a six-person terror cell which the Kenyans believe was co-ordinated by Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, whose alias is Ikrima.

Ikrima is a Kenyan who the authorities believe has been elevated to Al Shabaab management.

He was the target of the US Navy Seal's mission last weekend which set out to "capture or kill" him from the Somalian port town of Barawe.

She is implicated in the Nairobi shopping centre attack in September

The mission was aborted when the Seals encountered tougher resistance than expected when they landed.

The other members of the terror cell Ikrima was co-ordinating include Fahmi Jamal Salim, who is apparently the cell leader and who the intelligence agencies believe is now married to Samantha Lewthwaite.

Other members are said to be Jermaine Grant, who is currently on trial in Mombasa on terror charges which he denies.

The report details how the group was plotting multiple attacks targeting the Kenyan parliament buildings, UN offices in Nairobi, restaurants and a string of assassinations focusing on senior politicians within Kenya.

Londoner Jermaine Grant is also believed to be part of the same group

Kenyan intelligence believes Samantha Lewthwaite was living in an exclusive villa in the Shanzu area of Mombasa when the attacks were being planned.

A police raid on a nearby apartment rented by Jermaine Grant - which led to his arrest - then prompted a subsequent raid on the upmarket villa where Lewthwaite was living with her children.

But the mother of four was not there. The police say they found a stash of ammunition there as well as a laptop and excerpts of a diary or journal which Lewthwaite had begun writing.

Lewthwaite's husaband Germaine Lindsay (L) on a dry run for the 7/7 attacks

The journal appears to be the start of a book which Lewthwaite was working on entitled "I want to be a Mujahid" (Islamic military fighter).

It outlines questions she was going to pose to interviewees as well as gives an insight into her love for her husband and reveals a little about how she is bringing up her children.

She writes with pride about how two of her children want to emulate their father - Jermaine Lindsay, who was one of the London 7/7 bombers in the tube and bus attacks in 2005 which killed more than 50 people.

She recounts how her husband had asked her children what they wanted to be when they got older. Samantha writes: "Both had many answers but both agreed to one of wanting to be a mujahid". She goes on to express her commitment and desire to be a good Muslim and how blessed she believes she is to have been married to a shaheed (martyr) in reference to her suicide-bomber partner.

We managed to persuade one of Kenya's most controversial religious scholars to sit down with us and talk about his views - which have led to him being accused by the UN of recruiting Shabaab fighters and raising funds for the outfit.

Extracts from Lewthwaite's diary recovered by police

Sheikh Abubakar Shariff, who is also known as Makaburi, told us the accusations against him were all "b******t". He accused the Kenyan Government of waging a religious war and allowing the persecution of Muslims who he believes are all being targeted and labelled as terrorists in the wake of the Westgate Mall attack.

"Because of the failings of our Government and our military and police in stopping the attack, we, as Muslims, are all being targeted now," he told me.

Makaburi who is also accused by the Kenyan authorities of inciting violence and of encouraging young men to take up jihad (or Holy war) in Somalia -  denied he was a member of al-Shabaab but said: "I am a Muslim. I speak truthfully. I might have association with al-Shabaab without me knowing they are from Al-shabaab.

Interpol recently issued a 'Red Notice' for Lewthwaite's arrest

"I cannot say no, I don't know al-shebaab. maybe one of my friends is a member of al-shebaab without me knowing. But do I have, what you call it, ties with al-Shabaab? No, I don't."

He went onto to say under his interpretation of the Koran, the Westgate attack was justified because of all the wrongs being meted out to Muslims by the West, the Kenyan Defence Force (who are fighting al-shebaab in Somalia), Ethiopians and other military in "Somalia, Guantannamo Bay, Iraq and all over the world every day".

There is little chance the woman being hunted by Interpol is still in Mombasa, but what the intelligence report indicates is it is now a major hub as well as gateway to terrorism for those bent on violence.

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Libya PM Ali Zeidan Kidnapped At Gunpoint

Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan is reportedly in "good health and being treated well" after he was kidnapped by gunmen at a luxury Tripoli hotel where he lives.

Mr Zeidan is being held at the interior ministry's anti-crime department, said an official there, after being seized by a large number of armed men at the Corinthia Hotel. 

Two of his guards were also taken. The security pair were beaten up but later released, another official said.

The government had said the PM was taken to an unknown location after being kidnapped by former rebels.

Mr Zeidan's abduction reflected the weakness of the government, which is virtually held hostage by powerful militias, many of which are made up of Islamic militants.

A group of ex-rebels said it had 'arrested' Mr Zeidan after US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed Libya's role in the US capture of alleged al Qaeda leader Abu Anas al Libi.

A spokesman for the group, known as the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, said: "His arrest comes after ... (Kerry) said the Libyan government was aware of the operation."

The group, which in principle reports to the defence and interior ministries, said it had seized Mr Zeidan "on the prosecutor's orders".

Mr Zeidan pictured with Prime Minister David Cameron

The premier "was arrested under the Libyan penal code... on the instructions of the public prosecutor", it said, adding he was detained for "crimes and offences prejudicial to the state" and its security.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "If this claim is true, it would appear that the prime minister of Libya has been detained by a faction that answers nominally to part of his own government."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said he condemned the abduction of the PM and called for his immediate release.

Two years after a revolution toppled Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, the fragile central government has been struggling to contain tribal militias and groups of former rebels who spearheaded the uprising.

Marshall said: "The prime minister of Libya's jurisdiction runs about to the end of his hotel corridor and then stops because there is no real government, certainly in the sense that we understand it.

"It is a lawless place that is falling apart into different factions, tribes, regions, areas and groups.

"The fact this man has been detained does not alter the trajectory of Libya's spiral into chaos.

"What is very important about the fact that the PM can be taken from his hotel by armed men is symbolic of how bad things have got."

Al Qaeda suspect Abu Anas al Libi was seized by the US last Saturday

There has been anger among militant groups over the US special forces operation on Saturday that seized al Libi.

Several groups accused the government of colluding in or allowing Saturday's raid, though the government denied having any prior knowledge of the operation.

Hours before the PM's abduction, Mr Zeidan met al Libi's family late on Wednesday.

Guards at the Corinthia Hotel said no shots were fired and there were no clashes during the kidnapping.

One guard described it as an "arrest" while another told Reuters the men were militants.

Al Libi is suspected of being involved in the twin bombings of US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1998.

At the weekend, he was taken off the street in Tripoli and whisked away to a US warship in the Mediterranean.

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Energy Bills: SSE To Raise Tariffs By 8.2%

SSE has become the first of the so-called 'big six' energy firms to confirm it is to raise its prices ahead of the winter months.

The company said household gas and electricity tariffs would rise by an average 8.2% from November 15 affecting 4.4 million electricity and 2.9 million gas customers.

It is understood several of its competitors also plan to announce increases to bills later on Thursday.

SSE blamed its decision on rising costs outside its control which it said it had absorbed for months at its retail division.

It said the move would equate to a typical dual fuel customer paying £2 a week more but pledged not to increase bills again until August 2014.

SSE says its home energy business has run at a loss during 2013

Will Morris, group managing director of SSE's retail business said: "We're sorry we have to do this. We've done as much as we could to keep prices down, but the reality is that buying wholesale energy in global markets, delivering it to customers' homes, and government-imposed levies collected through bills - endorsed by all the major parties - all cost more than they did last year.

"85% of a typical energy bill is made up of costs outside our direct control and these costs have increased.

"So far this year we have made a loss from supplying energy as a result of the higher costs we have been facing and continue to face.

"We understand and regret that this will add to the pressures on household budgets, but there's a lot we can do to help.

"Rising unit prices do not have to mean rising bills and there remains huge potential for customers to save money by improving further their energy efficiency," he concluded.

The increases to household bills are announced at a politically sensitive time, given the debate prompted by Labour leader Ed Miliband's pledge to freeze tariffs for 20 months should his party win the next election.

After the announcement, he took to Twitter to declare that the rise demonstrated "the need to freeze bills."

Labour leader Ed Miliband took to Twitter to condemn bill rises

His shadow energy and climate change secretary Caroline Flint added: "Hard-pressed consumers are now paying the price for David Cameron's failure to stand up to the energy companies.

"When times are tough energy companies should be helping their customers not hitting them with more price rises to boost their profits.

"That's why a Labour Government would freeze energy prices and reset Britain's energy market to stop people being ripped off."

SSE insists its home supply business is run at a loss and has called on politicians to help cut bills by transferring environmental and social obligations imposed on energy firms to central government - saving consumers £110 annually in 2013 alone.

It accused policymakers over many years of failing "to highlight adequately the cost to consumers of the policies they have pursued."

Energy Minister Michael Fallon said he was "disappointed" by the price rise but insisted the Government was making it easier for people to switch and find the cheapest tariffs available.

The reaction from consumer groups was one of horror.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch, said: "This is a crippling blow for consumers, who are still reeling from last winter's price hike.

"Adding a further £111 to an already sky-high energy bill will leave consumers buckling under the pressure. This will be seen by many as the final nail in the coffin for affordable energy."

"Of course the danger now is that the other big six suppliers will follow suit. This raises the spectre of yet more households forced to cut back on their heating.

"Last winter almost seven in ten households (69%) went without heating at some point to keep their energy costs down, while over a third (35%) said that cutting back on energy usage was affecting their quality of life or health."

She concluded: "This is the grim reality we face as the cost of energy spirals ever higher."

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MI5 Boss Warns Of Growing UK Terror Threat

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

Britain will face at least one attempted major terror attack every year for the next few years, the head of MI5 has warned.

In his first speech since taking over the Security Service in April, Andrew Parker told a private audience at the Royal United Services Institute: "Since 2000, we have seen serious attempts at major acts of terrorism in this country typically once or twice a year.

"That feels to me, for the moment, unlikely to change."

Among the reasons for this are the increasing numbers of Britons going to Syria to try to become jihadists.

In his off-camera speech, Mr Parker said: "A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria, mostly concerning individuals from the UK who have travelled to fight there or who aspire to do so.

"Al Nusrah and other extremist Sunni groups there aligned with al Qaeda aspire to attack Western countries."

Hundreds of Britons are thought to have joined fighting in Syria

More than any recent conflict, Syria has attracted would-be fighters from the UK.

Sky News understands that the number of individuals involved over the last three years is in the low hundreds.

The fear is some could return to the UK even more radicalised.

Mr Parker repeated a warning made by his predecessor, Jonathan Evans, saying: "It remains the case that there are several thousand Islamist extremists here who see the British people as a legitimate target."

He also mentioned the growing fears about terrorism in Northern Ireland after several incidents and the threat of more.

"Rejecting the political process in Northern Ireland, these ragged remnants of a bygone age are in a cul-de-sac of pointless violence and crime with little community support," he said.

"We will continue to work with the police to put these thugs and killers in front of the courts."

He then turned to the subject of how to combat these threats and the use of technology.

Mr Parker alluded to information leaked by Edward Snowden

When former CIA contractor Edward Snowden leaked details about surveillance tactics, it is thought he inflicted massive damage on several spy agencies, including Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

One source said some of the things leaked by Snowden amounted to "an instruction booklet on how to evade surveillance".

This explains why Mr Parker appears to have entered the debate about The Guardian newspaper's publication of some of Snowden's material.

The Guardian was not mentioned by name, but in his speech Mr Parker said: "It causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limits of GCHQ techniques.

"Such information hands the advantage to the terrorists. It is the gift they need to evade us and strike at will."

There are also passages explaining the thinking of MI5.

He accepts there are choices to be made about how and whether communications data is retained, but concludes: "We cannot work without tools."

The language used is temperate, but behind it you sense a passionate argument by a man who understands that there are sections of public opinion which deeply mistrust the security services. 

He asks if it should be accepted "that terrorists should have means of communication that they can be confident are beyond the sight of MI5 or GCHQ acting with proper legal warrant. Does anyone actually believe that?"

It is for Parliament to decide the powers that MI5, MI6, and GCHQ should have, including access to the email of people they suspect of wrongdoing.

That is an ongoing debate which will be revisited when the heads of the three services give evidence to the Intelligence Select Committee next month.

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