Farrow Jailed For Life Over Double Murder

By Isabel Webster, Bristol Crown Court

An "extremely dangerous" psychopath has been jailed for life for the murders of a vicar and a retired teacher.

Stephen Farrow was told he would die behind bars by a judge at Bristol Crown Court.

He killed the Reverend John Suddards at his vicarage in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, between February 12 and 15 this year.

The 48-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted showing no mercy as the vicar cried "I'm dying", to which he replied "F****** die then, hurry up".

Judge Mr Justice Field told Farrow: "I am satisfied that in your case a whole life sentence is an appropriate sentence in each of these dreadful, horrific killings. In my judgement, you acted sadistically.

"To put a knife deep into the body of Betty Yates as she lay helpless on the floor, having arranged her head on the pillow, was an act of absolute sadism.

"You did that because you wanted to. She wasn't threatening you. You put that knife in her to have the pleasure of doing it.

"As for Rev Suddards, you killed him - having kicked him down, having told him to 'f****** hurry up and die' - with seven deep knife wounds.

"He was helpless. That conduct was clearly sadistic. Accordingly, there is no question in your case of the imposition of a minimum term."

Farrow had pleaded guilty to the clergyman's manslaughter, but denied it was murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He also denied the murder of grandmother Betty Yates at her home in Bewdley, Worcestershire, between January 1 and 5.

In between murders, Farrow burgled a house and left this note

A jury made up of four women and eight men spent almost two days considering the evidence before returning a guilty verdict for both murders.

The court heard that Rev Suddards, 59, was found in a pool of blood, carefully laid out in his hallway, with pornography, condoms and streamers on and around his body.

The jury were told these items were designed to "humiliate" the clergyman as Farrow had a grudge against the Church.

After the murder, Farrow spent the night at the vicarage, just metres from the body of his victim, watching DVDs and drinking beer.

It was not disputed by the drifter's defence team that he "passed the threshold of psychopathy".

His barrister, Peter Gower QC, argued that although Farrow was not mentally ill at the time of the killing, he was suffering an "abnormality of the mind" which diminished his responsibility for his actions.

But prosecutor Michael Fitton QC told the jury "we do not accept his mental disorder diminishes his responsibility for what he did to entitle him to that defence".

Mr Fitton also rejected Farrow's denial of Mrs Yates' murder, saying: "Our case is that he was there and that he killed her and that he intended to kill her."

Her body was found two days after she was attacked, at the bottom of her stairs, with her head on her pillow and a knife still in her neck.

The 77-year-old widow had been stabbed four times in the head and beaten with an ornate walking stick.

A swab taken from the back of her left hand represented a "one-in-a-billion match" as a mixture of DNA belonging to her and Farrow.

The defendant admitted a separate charge of burgling a cottage in Thornbury, between December 21 last year and January 3 this year.

A note was also found inside the house he burgled, pinned to the kitchen table with knives, that read: "Be thankful you did not come back or I would have killed you, you Christian scum. I f*****g hate God."

Farrow, wearing a blue sweatshirt and blue tracksuit bottoms, showed no emotion as the jury foreman returned the verdicts after eight-and-a-half hours' deliberation.

Hillary Bosworth, the sister of Rev Suddards, praised police involved in the investigation and said Farrow's sentence was "deserved".

"The deaths of John and Betty raise many questions," she said.

"What could have been done to avert these tragedies. Do we as a country do enough to ensure that psychopaths with a known history of violence and criminal offences are not left roaming around ... ready to attack someone?"

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British Holidaymaker Feared Drowned In Egypt

A British man is feared to have drowned after he failed to surface while scuba diving at a holiday resort in Egypt.

Steve Cracknell was having a routine lesson with his instructor off the coast of Sharm el-Sheikh when the pair went missing.

Mr Cracknell, 46, from Yeovil, Somerset, is thought to have been on holiday with his wife and their two daughters at the time.

He vanished while swimming at the White Knight dive site, a relatively shallow canyon.

Locals have reportedly been searching every day for the pharmaceuticals executive and his instructor, who were diving with a company located at the Savoy Hotel last Saturday.

A friend of Mr Cracknell, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Telegraph: "I am just holding out hope and don't want to think about the accident.

"I can't imagine how his wife and daughters are handling this. My heart goes out to them.

"We are hoping for a good resolution, but we know that the longer they are missing the less likely it is that the result will be good."

Shinji Sato, a Japanese dive instructor living in Sharm el-Sheikh, told the paper: "They've still not found the bodies. This kind of thing is incredibly rare. It never happens.

"Everyone here is very upset. It's so sad."

Mr Cracknell's instructor is understood to be Costantino Di Maria, a veteran diver who has lived in Sharm el-Sheikh for years.

Reports say the plateau which Mr Cracknell was exploring suddenly sheers off into a plummeting mile-deep precipice.

Locals have speculated that one of the two men may have encountered problems during the diving session.

Mr Cracknell's family are thought to have returned to the UK.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a British national is currently missing in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

"We are liaising with the local authorities and we are providing consular assistance to the family."

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Car Insurance Cost Fall 'Will Not Last'

Car insurance premiums are said to have gone into reverse gear by £360 (13.6%) for young drivers - but there are concerns costs could rise dramatically after next month's EU gender ruling.

Insurance comparison site Confused.com has advised 17 to 20-year-old drivers to take advantage of "today's preferential rates" but warned them to avoid 2013's predicted price hikes by "shopping around".

Average comprehensive car insurance prices now stand at £757 as of this year's third quarter, compared to £843 for last year's third quarter - a significant year-on-year fall of £87 (10.3%).

Car insurance prices actually fell for all age groups, particularly young female drivers, but predictions from the Treasury indicate that young female drivers could see rises of up to 24% after the EU gender ruling becomes law on December 12.

After this date women and men cannot be priced differently for insurance meaning women will no longer directly benefit from being statistically less risky drivers as far as insurers are concerned.

This predicted insurance price rise could affect female drivers throughout various age groups, according to the Treasury data.

Sharon Flaherty, editor of Confused.com, told Sky News: "At the moment women pay less than men and statistically this is because on average they are less of a risk on the roads than young male drivers.

"However the bad news is that on December 21 the law change will mean that men and women have to be judged as exactly the same on the roads.

"Women will effectively be charged more because statistically they will no longer be allowed to be rated as safer on the roads."

Women aged 26-30 years are forecast an 18% price hike once the gender directive takes effect. Female drivers aged 31-35 are expected to suffer a 10% price rise.

Smaller price rises are expected for women aged 36-40 who are predicted to experience a 3% rise, and 41 to 45-year-old female drivers are only expected to receive a 1% price rise for their future car insurance policies.

Women on average saw their premiums shrink by 11.7% over all in the third quarter.

For spouses of either gender the average premium cost for a joint insurance policy is a lot less than average costs for solo drivers.

Male drivers insured plus spouse are quoted on average £432, compared to £907 as insured only driver, for women it costs an average of £787 for insured only driver cover, but just £418 for women who have a spouse on their policy.

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End-Of-Life Care: Plan For New Legal Rights

Families will have to be consulted before patients are put on a so-called "pathway to death", it has emerged.

Under reforms being put out for consultation on Monday, hospitals could also be sued and doctors struck off if they do not involve relatives in the decision to start end-of-life treatment.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will make the announcement as part of a raft of changes to the NHS constitution.

The move follows the emergence of cases where patients were placed on the Liverpool Care Pathway - which involves withdrawal of fluids and food - without relatives' knowledge.

Mr Hunt told the Daily Mail: "I want our country to be the best in Europe to grow old.

"End-of-life care decisions affect older, and more vulnerable, people. These patients and their families have a basic right to be involved in discussions and decisions affecting their end-of-life care.

"This new consultation will help to raise awareness of these rights and ensure that there are tough consequences in any cases where standards fall short.

"The NHS is one of this country's greatest achievements. At the same time as we are protecting its budget, we are building an NHS able to meet patients' needs and expectations now and in the future."

A Department of Health source added: "New changes to the NHS Constitution, to be unveiled on Monday, will set out a new legal right for patients to be consulted on end-of-life care decisions. The right will also include family and carers.

"NHS bodies, as well as private and voluntary providers supplying NHS services, are required by law to take account of it in their decisions and actions.

"End-of-life care, like the Liverpool Care Pathway, can give patients dignity and respect in their last days, but recent reports have suggested that there is more the NHS can do to ensure that patients, their family and carers are fully involved in all discussions and decisions."

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Expenses: MacShane Letters Protected By Rules

Letters in which a former Labour minister admitted expenses abuses cannot be used to prosecute him because they are protected by parliamentary privilege, an official has said.

Denis MacShane stepped down as an MP after a damning report from the Commons expenses watchdog found he had wrongly claimed thousands of pounds.

The report said he submitted 19 false invoices "plainly intended to deceive" Parliament's expenses authority - which said the case was the "gravest" it had dealt with.

There are now calls for a police investigation into Mr MacShane's expense claims, which was dropped in July, to be reopened.

The Metropolitan Police said: "We are aware of the report and will be assessing its content in due course."

The letters, which were never shown to the original inquiry because of parliamentary privilege, are likely to be examined by the police, but are still protected from being used in court.

Clerk of the Journals Liam Laurence Smyth, who is responsible for parliamentary privilege issues, admitted that many people would find the situation "surprising", but said privilege was necessary for Parliament to function effectively.

Even if Mr MacShane had openly admitted criminal behaviour in his evidence, the police would not be able to rely on the comments in court, he said.

However, he suggested the police might now be able to use the letters as a "map" to further their own enquiries.

Conservative MP Philip Davies, who urged the Met to reopen its investigation, said it was a "sad state of affairs" that Mr MacShane was protected by parliamentary privilege.

"All it will do is further undermine the reputation of Parliament," he said.

"There will be millions of people out there who think that MPs are above the law and that is what the perception will be."

Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon found the MP had entered 19 "misleading" expenses claims for research and translation services from a body called the European Policy Institute (EPI), signed by its supposed general manager.

However, the institute did not exist "in this form" by the time in question and the general manager's signature was provided by Mr MacShane himself or someone else "under his authority".

One letter from the MP to Mr Lyon in October 2009 described how he drew funds from the EPI so he could serve on a book-judging panel in Paris.

"I appreciate the committee's ruling that I made no personal gain and I regret my foolishness in the manner I chose to be reimbursed for work including working as the Prime Minister's personal envoy in Europe," he said.

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Status Quo Restored With Original Line-Up

Status Quo are to appear in their original line-up for the first time in 30 years for a series of shows in 2013.

Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt will be joined by Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan to play a five-date tour.

The four musicians were playing together when they adopted their name in 1967 and featured on their breakthrough top 10 hit Pictures Of Matchstick Men.

Rossi and Parfitt have carried on under the Status Quo name, but the others parted company from the line-up - nicknamed the Frantic Four - in the 1980s.

Status Quo became known for hits such as Rocking All Over The World, Down Down and Caroline.

Quo manager Simon Porter said: "People have wanted this announcement to be made for years, and here it is.

"This is a real moment in the chequered history of Status Quo and it comes after almost 30 years of acrimony, and 10 years of lawsuits and court battles.

"Just two years ago the thought of the Frantic Four performing again was unthinkable.

"Now, 50 years on from when Francis and Alan first performed together as schoolboys, it is fitting that everything has come full circle for these unique one-off shows."

Tickets for the shows, which are taking place in Glasgow, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London during March, will go on sale on November 16.

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Man, 20, Stabbed To Death In Washington

A murder investigation has been launched after a 20-year-old man died from multiple stab wounds in northeast England.

The victim was found with a number of injuries in Warkworth Close, Washington, at around 3.40am after reports of someone being stabbed in the area, Northumbria Police said.

A spokesman for the force said: "The man was taken to hospital but was declared dead."

Patrols have been stepped up in the area following the stabbing and police are appealing for witnesses.

Anyone with information should call police on 101.

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Comet Collapse: Gift Vouchers Suspended

Gift vouchers for stricken electrical retailer Comet have been suspended, the chain's administrator said.

Deloitte, which was appointed on Friday, has launched an "urgent" search for a buyer to protect some 6,600 jobs at the 236-outlet chain.

But, as a consequence, a Deloitte spokesman said: "Gift vouchers have been suspended temporarily while they assess the situation."

However, all Comet stores will remain open and the group's staff will continue to be paid in the meantime, according to Deloitte.

The collapse of Comet marks one of the biggest high street casualties since the demise of Woolworths in 2008 and comes a month after the failure of JJB Sports.

Neville Kahn, joint administrator and restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said on appointment: "Our immediate priorities are to stabilise the business, fully assess its financial position, and begin an urgent process to seek a suitable buyer which would also preserve jobs.

"In the meantime, all stores will continue to trade and all employees will continue to be paid.

"We appreciate the co-operation and support from the management, staff, customers, landlords and suppliers at what is clearly a very difficult time."

Deloitte said Comet had been hit by weak high street trading conditions, competition from online rivals and being unable to secure the trade credit insurance needed to safeguard suppliers.

"The inability to obtain supplier credit for the peak Christmas trading period means that the company had no realistic prospect of raising further capital to build up sufficient stock to allow it to continue trading," added Deloitte.

In particular, it was knocked by the lack of first-time home buyers, which had been key customers for Comet.

Its administration comes just months after Comet was taken over by investment firm OpCapita, which bought the chain in February.

The high street electricals market in the UK has come under huge pressure as cash-strapped shoppers put off purchases of big-ticket items such as TVs and large appliances and online rivals take a bigger slice of the sector.

The spokesman said no other changes have been made since Friday, which means that trade is continuing as normal for consumers with outstanding orders and that the group intends to fulfil deliveries of goods which have been paid for.

Extended warranties previously purchased remain unaffected by the administration and remain valid.

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Wiggins Withdraws From Tax Avoidance Scheme

Olympic and Tour de France cycling hero Bradley Wiggins has withdrawn from a controversial tax avoidance scheme.

The 32-year-old was criticised last week for investing in a scheme named Twofold First Services, reportedly owned by a company based in the Cayman Islands.

He told The Guardian: "I had a small investment in Twofold, following guidance from my professional advisers.

"I had, however, claimed no tax relief of any amount in regard to this investment. Given the concerns raised about it, I have now instructed my advisers to withdraw me from the scheme with immediate effect."

The tax partnership reportedly took advantage of farming tax credits to create tax relief described as "abusive" and "artificial" by the Treasury.

In an interview with the newspaper, Wiggins went on to describe his frustration over accusations that his performance was fuelled by drug use – in light of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

He said: "The anger is more: I've got to pick up the pieces. He's still a multimillionaire, and he's not here to answer the questions. I can't not answer them because I've got to go and race next year, and I hate talking about it."

The cyclist, who is the strong favourite to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, said there were a number of drawbacks to his success.

He said: "I wouldn't say I wish I hadn't won the Tour, but sometimes, especially with recent events, the Lance Armstrong stuff, I find it hard being the winner of the Tour and everything that goes with it.

"I wanted to be the winner for the challenge of what the sporting event is about and how hard you can train to do that, and I never wanted all the stuff that went with it."

Wiggins also revealed he finds it difficult to cope with being recognised by fans when he is out with his family.

He said: "They ask your wife to take the photo, which is a bit rude. And after a while that becomes tiresome, especially when you're having a pizza with your children, or you have to have a photo with somebody else's kids while yours stand to the side."

He added: "There comes a point when I've got to start getting on with my life. It would be hard to live my life as it is forever."

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Funeral Date Set For Murdered Prison Officer

The funeral for murdered Northern Ireland prison officer David Black will take place on Tuesday.

Mr Black was shot on Thursday during a high-speed ambush on a motorway, as he drove to work at Maghaberry high-security prison near Lisburn.

His funeral will take place at Molesworth Presbyterian Church in Cookstown, a church which Mr Black had attended regularly.

Prominent dissident republican Colin Duffy, was detained in County Armagh, in connection with the killing.

He was arrested with another man on Friday morning and later a 29-year-old suspect was detained in the Irish Republic.

All three remain in custody for questioning.

Mr Black's killing has been condemned across Britain and Ireland, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced it as a "outrageous and cowardly act".

Detectives investigating the crime want people with information to come forward.

"Condemnation, however strident, is not enough. It needs to be translated into information if our investigation is to make maximum progress," said Superintendent Keith Agnew

The 52-year-old prison officer was killed when a car with Dublin licence plates pulled up alongside his on the M1 motorway in Northern Ireland and opened fire.

His car veered into a deep ditch and he died at the scene.

The father-of-two had been planning to take early retirement next year.

Mr Black's widow, Yvonne, has made repeated calls for there to be no retaliation for her husband's death.

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