Lollipop Lady Who Shielded Children Praised

The family of a lollipop lady have praised her bravery after she reportedly shielded children from an out-of-control car.

Karin Williams suffered several broken bones in the crash outside Rhws Primary School in the village of Rhoose, near Barry.

The 50-year-old is being treated at University Hospital of Wales (UHW), Cardiff, where a schoolgirl remains in intensive care and three other youngsters have been treated for their injuries.

Mrs Williams' husband Lyndon told WalesOnline: "We are so proud of her and what she did ... we love her so much.

"She cannot remember too much about the crash at the minute but all she keeps asking about is the children.

The crash happened on a crossing outside Rhws Primary School

"She suffered two broken patellas (kneecaps), a broken elbow, a broken shoulder and she has a badly swollen face but she is going to be OK."

The 61-year-old driver of the black Audi that overturned smashing into the crossing where a number of children were waiting told BBC Wales: "I haven't a clue what happened."

He was taking his grand-daughter to the school when the accident happened. Both of them suffered cuts and bruises.

Mr Bell told BBC Wales: "I was stationary and my grand-daughter said I coughed and the next thing I knew I'm coming round and I'd been unconscious and upside down."

The damaged car was lifted onto a recovery truck after the accident

Police are treating what happened as an accident and are due to interview Mr Bell.

Rhws Primary School, which was open to pupils on Friday, is offering counselling to pupils, parents and staff who were affected by the accident.

Headteacher Louise Lynn said: "Children in school are coping well.  We are maintaining a normal routine as much as possible and this is helping them to manage."

Of the other casualties, a second adult admitted to UHW has been discharged.

A woman remains in a "comfortable and satisfactory condition" at Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, where another adult and a child were allowed home after receiving treatment.

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Hunt: NHS 'Caused 3,000 Deaths' Last Year

Around 3,000 NHS patients died needlessly last year because of poor care, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

He also confirmed that nearly 500,000 people were harmed unnecessarily as he called on the NHS to end the "silent scandal of errors".

Mr Hunt's words came amid allegations that top bosses at the Care Quality Commission were involved in a cover-up of its failure to investigate a spate of baby deaths.

In a speech at University College London Hospitals, Mr Hunt revealed that 325 "never events" were recorded last year - incidents so unacceptable that they should never happen.

He said the UK has become "so numbed to the inevitability of patient harm that we accept the unacceptable" and called for a more open culture where errors are constantly revealed and reduced.

Mr Hunt said: "The facts are clear. Last year there were nearly half a million incidents that led to patients being harmed, and 3,000 people lost their lives while in the care of the NHS.

"It is time for a major rethink - a different kind of culture and leadership, where staff are supported to do what their instincts and commitment to patients tell them.

"We must make sure that patients know where the buck stops and who is ultimately responsible for their care.

The CQC failed to investigate deaths and injuries at Furness General

"And above all, we must listen more to NHS staff, so we can design systems that encourage them to act safely whatever pressures they face."

Concerns were first raised about the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust in 2008, but in 2010 the CQC gave it a clean bill of health.

Mr Hunt said the CQC's decision to reveal the names of three managers who were present when the deletion of a critical review of the watchdog's inspections there was discussed is a sign that the culture is changing.

In his speech, Mr Hunt added: "In the wake of Mid Staffs, Morecambe Bay and many other shocking lapses in care, we must ask ourselves whether we, along with other countries, have become so numbed to the inevitability of patient harm that we accept the unacceptable."

The Health Secretary called for the NHS to become the "world's safest health system" and a return to the days when the name of the responsible doctor and nurse were clearly written above every hospital bed.

Figures for 2011/12 show 70 patients as having received "wrong site" surgery, where the wrong part of the body or even the wrong patient was operated on, and 41 people were given incorrect implants or prostheses.

Despite such failings, health officials said the NHS tops a comparison on patient safety, beating France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the US.

It sees nearly three million people every week and around 0.4% of those appointments ended up with incidents of harm while 0.003% ended with a person's death.

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Robber On The Run After Fleeing Court Dock

Police are searching for a teenage robber who fled a court dock as a judge was about to send him to jail.

Unemployed Ricky Kerry, 19, ran from the dock at Southend Crown Court after being sentenced to 28 months in prison for robbery, said Essex Police which has begun a manhunt.

A spokesman added: "He made off on foot at just after 12.45pm in the direction of Baxter Avenue. He was wearing a grey tracksuit and has brown eyes."

It is understood Kerry, of Southend, escaped through heavy double doors at the entrance to the court and down two flights of stairs.

Security guards chased him but could not catch him.

The force said Kerry was being sentenced for a robbery in Southend in April in which he punched a man and took his mobile phone.

Anyone with information should contact Essex Police on 101.

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CQC 'Cover-Up': Father's Anger Over Scandal

The father of a boy who died at a hospital where failings were allegedly covered up by Care Quality Commission chiefs is calling for a "forensic" new investigation into the scandal.

James Titcombe, whose son Joshua died in the Cumbria maternity unit, told Sky News he also wants police to look at a criminal probe into who knew what, saying: "The allegations couldn't be more serious."

He was speaking after the CQC named the three people it said were present during a discussion about deleting a critical report about the regulator's inspections of Morcambe Bay NHS Trust.

The names of chief executive Cynthia Bower, her deputy Jill Finney and media manager Anna Jefferson had initially been withheld by the CQC, but they were identified on Thursday following mounting pressure on the regulator.

The three women deny that they tried to hide the report.

Mr Titcombe, who campaigns on behalf of other grieving families, said he had been "absolutely appalled" to learn that a cover-up appeared to go to the top of the organisation.

Joshua Titcombe's family raised concerns after he died at Furness Hospital

He said: "What's absolutely essential now is that the facts are obtained.

"We've heard about discrepancies and still there's denial.

"I think the police should now consider a formal criminal investigation to establish the facts."

He continued: "I believe the issues could be wider. I'm very concerned about that and I think what's essential now is that there's a forensic examination."

Any fresh investigation should ask probing questions about anyone else in the Department of Health was aware of a cover-up, he said.

Since the three women's names were revealed, Ms Bower has resigned from her current post as a non-executive trustee of the Skills for Health lobbying body, while Ms Finney has been sacked as chief commercial officer of internet domain company Nominet.

More than 30 families have taken action against Furness General - run by Morecambe Bay NHS Trust - in relation to deaths and injuries to mothers and babies since 2008.

Anna Jefferson denies suggesting the CQC review should be suppressed

It is claimed Ms Jefferson, who still works for the CQC, said during the key meeting: "Are you kidding me? This can never be in the public domain nor subject to FoI (a Freedom of Information request)."

But Ms Jefferson has told Sky News she "felt sick" and wanted to waive her anonymity when she realised she was implicated in a review by City consultants Grant Thornton, which was published on Wednesday.

She said she does not remember any instruction to delete the review being given and denies suggesting it could never be made public.

She claimed she pushed for proper external scrutiny of the CQC's actions regarding Morecambe Bay "several times", the last time on July 17, 2012, during a meeting where the CQC's current chief executive David Behan was present.

Mr Titcombe called for police to interview Ms Bower and senior colleagues after it emerged the CQC's former head and two officials previously declined to speak to officers about the baby's death.

The CQC told Cumbria Police in an email that statements from the trio would "not add any value" as they had no "direct day-to-day" involvement in the case.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has suggested that current or former CQC staff found to have been involved in a cover-up could be stripped of their pensions.

He said the CQC must follow "due process" but he would back the regulator "absolutely to the hilt" if it chose to take action against individuals.

Asked what action should be taken against those responsible, Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "These are very, very serious allegations and they should have very, very serious consequences if they are proved.

The Health Secretary said those behind any cover-up could lose pensions

"I know the CQC are looking into disciplinary procedures and what can be done, what sanctions are available, whether you can have forfeiture of pensions, all those things."

Downing Street said Prime Minister David Cameron agreed that all sanctions should be on the table.

Tory health select committee member Charlotte Leslie called for an inquiry into a "sinister, Mafia-like network at the centre of NHS".

Meanwhile, Mr Behan and current CQC chairman David Prior are to be summoned to appear before the Commons health select committee.

Its chairman, Tory former health secretary Stephen Dorrell, said he has asked for them to be given an "early opportunity" to give evidence.

Morecambe Bay NHS Trust was given a clean bill of health by the CQC in 2010, but an internal review was ordered by the hospital regulator in 2011 into how failings resulting in deaths had gone unnoticed.

Grant Thornton's investigation found that the report was not made public because it was decided it was too critical of the CQC.

The investigators concluded this "might well have constituted a deliberate cover-up" by the CQC employees who decided it should not be made public.

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GCHQ Spies 'Tap Fibre Optic Cables For Data'

British spies have secretly accessed fibre-optic cables carrying huge numbers of emails, Facebook messages and other communications, according to The Guardian.

Documents given to the newspaper by US whistleblower Edward Snowden suggest eavesdropping agency GCHQ can analyse data from the network of cables that carry global phone calls and internet traffic under an operation codenamed Tempora.

The newspaper said data had been shared with the organisation's US counterpart, the National Security Agency.

GCHQ, in Cheltenham, refuses to comment on intelligence matters but insisted it was "scrupulous" in complying with the law.

It is the latest in a string of leaks from Mr Snowden, who has told The Guardian he wants to expose "the largest programme of suspicionless surveillance in human history".

The newspaper said there were two principal components to the agency's surveillance programme, called Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation.

The paper claimed Operation Tempora had been running for 18 months.

GCHQ and the NSA can access communications including recordings of phone calls and a user's entire internet history, the documents suggest - and their scans apparently entirely innocent people as well as specific suspects.

Edward Snowden has been charged with espionage

Mr Snowden, who fled the US for Hong Kong after deciding to reveal the NSA's secrets, told the paper: "It's not just a US problem. The UK has a huge dog in this fight," he said.

"They (GCHQ) are worse than the US."

The Guardian reported that GCHQ lawyers told US counterparts there was a "light oversight regime" in Britain compared with America.

The newspaper said the documents revealed that by last year GCHQ was handling 600 million "telephone events" each day, had tapped more than 200 fibre-optic cables and was able to process data from at least 46 of them at a time.

The intelligence gathered is understood to have led to a number of high-profile arrests and convictions, including a terror cell in the Midlands. It is also claimed to have led to the arrest of London-based individuals planning attacks prior to last year's Olympic Games.

A source close to the intelligence agencies told Sky News' Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge that GCHQ scanned data for possible indications of a threat to national security, and that most of the information is not looked at in detail.

The work is legal and subject to ministerial scrutiny, the source said.

Ridge said: "At the same time this is of course going to reignite the big debate over the balance between protecting national security and making sure that people's personal details aren't compromised."

Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch's director Nick Pickes said: "If GCHQ have been intercepting huge numbers of innocent people's communications as part of a massive sweeping exercise, then I struggle to see how that squares with a process that requires a warrant for each individual intercept. This question must be urgently addressed in Parliament."

A GCHQ spokeswoman said: "Our intelligence agencies continue to adhere to a rigorous legal compliance regime."

US authorities have filed espionage charges against Mr Snowden, a former CIA technician who formerly worked for the NSA, and have asked Hong Kong to detain him.

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Jeremy Forrest: Child Sex Teacher Jailed

A teacher who fled to France with his pupil and spent a week on the run has been jailed after admitting five counts of sexual activity with a child.

Jeremy Forrest, who was convicted by a jury yesterday of abducting the schoolgirl, pleaded guilty to the additional charges and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.

During his trial, the prosecution labelled him a "paedophile" and said he "groomed" the vulnerable teenager.

The 30-year-old insists he still loves the youngster, who broke down in tears and told him she was "sorry" as he was found guilty of her abduction.

She did not attend court for his sentencing but in a victim statement her mother said she had been "robbed" of her childhood.

"I feel like the worst mother in the world," she said. "Someone has got my child and I never saw it coming."

Forrest is led onto a plane to be extradited from France last October

Passing sentence, the judge at Lewes Crown Court said Forrest "chose to ignore the cardinal rule of teaching" by starting a sexual relationship with the teenager shortly after her 15th birthday.

"Your behaviour in this period has been motivated by self-interest and has hurt and damaged many people - her family, your family, staff and pupils at the school and respect for teachers everywhere," Michael Lawson QC said.

"It has damaged you too but that was something you were prepared to risk. You now have to pay that price."

He added: "I have seen nothing in the evidence which shows that at any stage you tried to provide proper boundaries between yourself and her, to discourage her, or let other staff deal with the matter appropriately.

"Indeed all the evidence shows that you encouraged her infatuation and provided opportunities for her to communicate with you and be alone with you."

Forrest arrived back in the UK with his head covered

Rumours of Forrest's relationship with the teenager surfaced in February last year, when the pair were spotted holding hands during a flight on a school trip to Los Angeles.

The girl, now 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted having a crush on Forrest, who taught at Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

They exchanged flirty text messages, tweets and photographs but denied any wrongdoing when pressed by the school.

Fearing their relationship was about to be exposed when police were alerted last September, Forrest abducted the youngster and took her on a cross-Channel ferry to France, where they spent a week on the run.

The couple dyed their hair, assumed false names and dropped a mobile phone into the English Channel in an effort to avoid being caught, but were tracked down after a Europe-wide search.

The family of Jeremy Forrest give their reaction to the sentencing

In a statement read outside court, Forrest's family said he was "very sorry for his actions" during what they described as a "sorry episode for all concerned".

"Despite the verdict and today's sentence, there are many factors in this case which need to be examined and addressed, including the failure to properly act on early warnings," they said.

"We sincerely hope these are looked into and not simply swept under the carpet."

A spokesman for Bishop Bell School said the staff had only "very limited anecdotal hearsay and no evidence of relationship" when concerns were first raised.

He said that before Forrest fled the country, the school had intended to remove him from the classroom while an internal investigation into possible professional misconduct was carried out.

A jury took just two hours to find Forrest guilty of abduction

The spokesman said staff remained "deeply shocked by the actions of Mr Forrest and his betrayal of the trust that was placed in him".

"It is important that the strongest possible message is sent to all who work with children that they hold a position of responsibility and trust for the lives, and wellbeing, of those in their care," he said.

"We take our responsibility extremely seriously and our safeguarding policies and procedures are robust.

"However, we are determined to implement any learning from these events to ensure that all pupils at the school are as safe as they possibly could be."

Jeremy Forrest was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Ling, of Sussex Police, said Forrest was in a "position of responsibility, authority and trust over the children in his care, which included this young, vulnerable victim".

"He grossly abused the trust placed in him and his actions caused distress and anxiety amongst parents, family members and the school community," he said.

Nigel Pilkington, of the Crown Prosecution Service, added: "We're pleased that Forrest has been sentenced for the full extent of his criminality, sparing his victim and her family from having to go through another trial."

Forrest, of Petts Wood, London, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for each count of sexual activity. The sentences will run at the same time. A one-year sentence for abduction will run consecutively.

The judge also imposed a sexual offences prevention order on Forrest, banning him from working or volunteering with children and unsupervised contact with children forever.

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Motorway Speed Limit Plans Put In Slow Lane

Plans to raise the motorway speed limit to 80mph have been moved into the slow lane after it was decided the idea was "not a priority".

The policy change was proposed in 2011 by then Transport Secretary Philip Hammond but his successor, Patrick McLoughlin, is said not to share his enthusiasm.

Mr Hammond claimed the 70mph limit, introduced in 1965, had been "discredited" and a rise to 80mph would boost the economy.

But the idea has been condemned by road safety groups and Downing Street reportedly feared raising the speed limit would alienate women voters.

In an interview with The Times, Mr McLoughlin said the policy was not a priority: "You would have to do trials in certain areas so it's not something that's a high priority."

A source close to the Transport Secretary told the newspaper: "This is not going to happen with Patrick McLoughlin as Transport Secretary.

"Safety is paramount to him and his view of how to run the roads and he would not be confident about how you would do it."

A Department for Transport spokesman confirmed that Mr McLoughlin's reported remarks were correct.

The plans have not been completely abandoned, but are no longer a priority, said the spokesman.

Mr Hammond announced the plan at the 2011 Tory party conference, saying the 70mph limit had resulted in millions of motorists routinely breaking the law.

The 70mph speed limit was first introduced in the 1960s

He said: "The limit was introduced way back in 1965 - when the typical family car was a Ford Anglia."

He claimed a rise to 80mph would "restore the legitimacy" of the system and benefit the economy by "hundreds of millions of pounds".

But last year campaign groups estimated that raising the motorway speed limit to 80mph would cost society an extra £1bn a year, including £766m in fuel bills and more than £62m in health costs.

The groups, which include road safety charity Brake, the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) and Greenpeace, also estimated that the higher limit would lead to 25 extra deaths and 100 serious injuries a year, as well as 2.2 million more tonnes of carbon emissions.

However, Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "Once again we are getting confused messages from the Department for Transport on this issue.

"With a little imagination and some investment the Dutch have shown that you can have a safe 80mph limit on the best parts of the motorway network.

"What Patrick McLoughlin has learned from Holland, however, is that the policy was not as popular as the politicians thought it would be and they promptly lost the next election."

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "The real stumbling block is likely to have been enforcement.

"Police already tend to give speeding drivers some leeway, so it was quite feasible that an 80 mph limit would have actually meant 90 mph in practice and that proved a step too far for ministers."

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Lansley Was Warned Of Baby Deaths In 2010

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

A former Health Secretary was warned about a cover up over baby deaths at a hospital in Cumbria three years ago.

Andrew Lansley received a letter from James Titcombe whose son Joshua died aged just nine days at Furness General Hospital.

In the letter, written on June 4, 2010, Mr Titcombe raises concerns about regulatory bodies, including the hospitals watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

He writes: "Despite all of these regulatory bodies, Joshua's death was preceded by the preventable deaths of other babies, yet no action was taken in time to make a different (sic) to our son."

He continues, "...there seems to be a gap in that the CQC can not investigate individual events and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman do not assess complaints to their office against principles of patient safety".

"In order to save lives in the NHS and react more quickly when things go wrong it is clear to me that the system in place at the moment needs to change," said Mr Titcombe.

Current Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (L) with Andrew Lansley

He received a response from a Department of Health official on June 15, 2011, stating that "the Department of Health is unable to comment on individual cases and therefore the Secretary of State is not able to intervene personally on your behalf".

Hospital watchdog officials have been accused of a cover-up for allegedly deleting a report which showed they had failed to investigate properly a series of baby deaths.

James Titcombe and other families who lost babies at the hospital are now calling for a police investigation and an independent inquiry to establish who knew about the alleged cover-up.

Mr Titcombe told Sky News he believes the CQC may have been under pressure from senior health officials not to uncover another big hospital scandal.

He added: "What's important now is that there is really a forensic examination of possibly the Department of Health's involvement, what ministers knew at the time, what David Nicolson (head NHS England) knew at the time ... these are really important questions."

He said that there was evidence, for example, that people who worked in the CQC at the time believed that the organisation was "dancing to the tune of the Department of Health".

An extract from James Titcombe's letter to Andrew Lansley

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Concerns about the capability of the CQC were raised with the Department on a number of occasions by different sources, including Mr Titcombe.

"The Department of Health launched a Performance and Capability Review into the CQC which commenced in October 2011. In February 2012, the review concluded and the Chief Executive of the CQC resigned.

"We apologise to Mr Titcombe for not keeping him updated on this process."

Meanwhile the Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, David Morris, has written to Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary.

Andy Burnham was Health Secretary under Labour until May 2010

Mr Burnham was Health Secretary until Labour lost the General Election in May 2010.

In his letter Mr Morris asks Mr Burnham: "How much 'pressure' did you put on the CQC to 'tone down' its criticism of hospitals? You were the Labour Secretary of State for Health, when the first whitewash inspection of the Morecambe Bay NHS trust occurred in the spring of 2010. This was a crucial pre-election season for you.

"The Chair of the CQC at the time, Baroness Young, later said that Health Ministers - including you, who she specifically named when giving evidence on MidStaffs – had put the regulator under 'pressure' to 'tone down' criticism of hospitals around that period.

"What was she referring to? What is your recollection of these events? Do you now regret your role in suppressing NHS whistleblowers on early 2010?"

He has also requested that Mr Burnham make public any emails, texts and letters in which the CQC was discussed and detail conversations he had with Cynthia Bower, the former head of the CQC, before the hospital was given a clean bill of health.

A Labour spokesperson said: "This is a shocking cover-up on this Government's watch and they're clearly more interested in blaming others.

"David Morris will have a full answer later today and he'll be told in no uncertain terms that he should stop peddling these baseless and groundless allegations.

"People will see it for what it is - a political smokescreen to divert attention from Government and Andrew Lansley.

"Both this week's report and the three-year Mid Staffs inquiry found no evidence of Ministerial pressure."

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Football Streaming Website Faces Legal Action

Internet service providers in the UK could be forced to block a Swedish-based website which streams live football matches.

The Premier League is in the process of requesting a court order that would make ISPs effectively ban their customers from accessing www.FirstRow1.eu.

The planned legal action by the football governing body follows moves made by the music and film industries.

They have successfully blocked websites which offer the opportunity to download copyrighted material, such as Pirate Bay, under Section 97 of the 1988 Copyright, Design and Patent Act.

The Premier League has agreed a new worldwide television deal worth around £5.5bn over three years, starting with the new season.

BT has paid £246m to the Premier League for three years and BSkyB, the parent company of Sky News, has invested £760m in its football coverage for the next three seasons.

The Premier League has written to the major UK ISPs, which also include Virgin Media and TalkTalk, to outline its plans to apply for a court order to block www.FirstRow1.eu.

The proposals are expected to be put forward by the end of the month.

Should the court order be granted, the ISPs would then have to contest the application, or comply and restrict access.

It is understood that indications are the ISPs have no plans to go against any such application.

The Premier League has for many years monitored various websites during live matches and enforced the removal of any streaming content which breaches copyright.

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Harwich Ferry Crash: 500 Stuck For Three Hours

Almost 500 passengers were stuck on board a ferry for three hours after it hit a quay in Essex and started to let in water.

The Sirena Seaways ferry struck the quay at Parkeston near Harwich just after midday, but the water it was taking on was "quickly stopped", said Thames Coastguard.

None of the 489 passengers on board were injured, and no pollution has been reported.

A helicopter hovers above the ferry (Pic: Alex Dace)

The passengers started to leave the ferry at 3pm, and are now all off.

A spokeswoman for Thames Coastguard said: "We got contacted just after midday today.

"We were told that the Sirena Seaways had struck the quay at Parkeston and was taking on water but that was quickly stopped."

The ferry was pictured tilted to one side after the crash (Pic: Kevin Dace)

The master of the ferry sorted the water issue, the spokeswoman said.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said: "Firefighters were sent to assist at the scene while the ship's own crew plugged the hole from inside and built a compartment with water tight doors to stem the leak as part of regular safety precautions."

Terry Jewell, station officer, said: "This is one of the regular ferries that comes into Harwich and as it docked it hit the side of the quay making a hole under the water line."

Almost 500 passengers are on board the ferry (Pic: Kevin Dace)

Sirena Seaways is part of the ferry operator DFDS Seaways which travels to France, Holland and Denmark.

In a statement, DFDS said: "We can confirm that Sirena Seaways sustained some damage on entering the port at Harwich during today's scheduled arrival at 12pm.

"The situation is currently being assessed and we should have further details shortly on the timings of when the Harwich to Esbjerg service will resume. We would like to apologise to passengers for any inconvenience caused to their travel plans."

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