Mortgages 'Most Affordable For 14 Years'

By Nick Martin, News Correspondent

Mortgages are more affordable now than at any time in the past 14 years, according to the latest figures.

Monthly payments now account for 27% of a new borrower's income in the second quarter of 2013, well below the average for the past 30 years.

Lower house prices and reduced mortgage interest rates have been the main drivers behind the significant improvement in affordability, according to the Halifax.

Halifax mortgage director Craig McKinlay said: "Substantial mortgage rate reductions and lower house prices have led to a significant improvement in mortgage affordability since the peak of the housing market six years' ago.

"The Funding for Lending Scheme has helped lenders to cut mortgage rates causing a further modest improvement in affordability over the past year despite the modest rise in house prices nationally."

It is good news for first-time buyers.

James Almond from Bramhall near Stockport has just got on to the properly ladder.

The 38-year-old bar manager said he felt the right deals were available to take the plunge.

He said: "I used a mortgage broker to look at the best deals and in the end it was quite affordable.

"Many of my friends aren't so lucky and are still living with their parents because the deposits required are so large."

But there remains a clear north-south divide when it comes to mortgage affordability, according to the Halifax.

Mortgage payments are at their lowest in Northern Ireland where they are just 17% of incomes compared to 36% in Greater London.

Independent mortgage consultant Richard Ignatowicz said the market can change quickly.

 "We can't just say mortgages are now more affordable than ever. It doesn't mean much in isolation.

"Borrowers need to be cautious about changes on the horizon. Will they still be able to afford a mortgage when the rate reverts to 5%? Tthat's the real question."

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Archbishop Of Canterbury Snubs Animal Charity

The Archbishop of Canterbury has turned down an invitation to be a patron of the RSPCA.

A spokeswoman for Lambeth Palace said it was because The Most Rev Justin Welby has "reluctantly decided to restrict his patronage".

His predecessor, Dr Rowan Williams, was vice-patron of the animal charity, which was founded by an Anglican priest in 1824.

The spokeswoman said: "Since taking office in March this year, the Archbishop has received many kind invitations to patron a large variety of charities and good causes.

Dog rescued by the RSPCA

"Each invitation has been an honour, and in an ideal world he would like to accept them all.

"However, in light of the sheer volume of the requests the Archbishop receives ... he has reluctantly decided to restrict his patronage to a manageable number of organisations, based on where he feels his support could be most beneficial.

"Nevertheless, the Archbishop has enormous admiration for the RSPCA and hopes to see its work thrive long into the future."

Last year the RSPCA was heavily criticised after it spent £326,000 on legal action against a fox hunt.

Critics claimed the "staggering" expense of bringing the prosecution against the Heythrop Hunt in the Cotswolds was a waste of money donated by supporters.

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Lampard: Move 50C Qatar World Cup To England

By Kay Burley, Sky News Presenter

Any football fan would jump at the chance to chat to Frank Lampard, one of the gentlemen of the game. But where to start?

His lengthy Chelsea career, his illustrious England role, goal line technology that could have changed the course of the last World Cup?

Then there's The Special One; Wayne Rooney, or his gorgeous fiancee Christine Bleakley. Why not all of them?

I met the Chelsea and England star, now a celebrity author, in a swanky eatery owned by musician Liam Gallagher and showbiz journalist Gordon Smart.

He strolls in relaxed and smiling and makes an instant impression on the whole team.

"Ask me anything you want," he says.

We start with his Frankie's Magic Football children's novels and his work with a reading charity.

He is at pains to underline that his books shouldn't detract from other authors striving for success but does stress he has worked on his stories for many years to bring them to life.

He is more cautious when it comes to discussing his manager, Jose Mourinho, who has returned to Chelsea after years away from the club.

Kay meets comedian James Corden

Frank stops short - just - of accepting he would have left Chelsea for LA Galaxy if The Special One hadn't returned. Instead, he body swerves the question and says his focus is playing for Chelsea.

I throw in a question about Wayne Rooney. He laughs - nervously, I suggest.

He says it's up to the manager what happens - he is a player and is not privy to managerial decisions.

Another deft swerve by the veteran player.

We move on to goal line technology, the first time it's being used in the Premier League is this season.

What a difference it could have made in the World Cup when his goal against Germany was disallowed.

He says he's tried to move on from that disappointment but Hawkeye in the English League is a no-brainer.

What about future World Cups? Should the 2022 tournament go ahead in Qatar?

James Corden (L) with Frank Lampard (C) and Gordon Smart

Super Frank wonders how it could be played in 50C heat and hopes Fifa will perhaps see sense and move the cup - maybe even to England.

"Practically, to move the World Cup to the winter, I find it quite hard," he told me.

"We all moan about how many games we've got and trying to fit games in and I don't know how you can do that in the middle of one of our seasons, let alone other countries that will have to reshuffle their diaries for it.

"If you want to see a high-level World Cup of the top quality … going to different continents and playing in different conditions is part of it.

"Brazil is going to be different for us but I don't think anyone wants to see it in 50C heat.

"I don't know what the answer is and whether it's possible.

"I wish the World Cup would come to England at that stage and be done with it. We'll see. You never know."

Finally, on a personal note, I asked when he will marry his TV presenter fiancee Christine.

He won't offer a date but says it will be a quiet gathering with just family and friends.

In a surreal twist as we're packing up to leave, comedian James Corden pops into the brasserie.

He laughs and jokes with the football star along with the owner of the Red House, Gordon Smart, and all agree to pose for a quick picture which they agreed I could share with you.

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GPs Warn Patients Could Face Long Waits

The majority of GPs fear patients could face longer waiting times because they are struggling to cope with "spiralling workloads and dwindling resources".

A survey of 206 family doctors by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) found that four in five had "insufficient resources" to provide high quality patient care, while 47% admitted they had cut back on the range of services they provide.

More than four in five GPs are worried that it will become increasingly difficult to deliver continuity of care to at-risk elderly people.

The RCGP said general practice was at "breaking point" and called for an emergency package of investment like the £500m bailout given to A&E departments last week.

Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the RCGP, warned that if general practice "starts to crumble" there could be "disastrous" consequences for patients.

She told Sky News: "Around about 90% of all NHS activity is carried out in general practice for only 9% of the budget.

"GPs are what makes the NHS cost effective. A year of care by a GP is about the same as a hospital might get for one attendance in the emergency department.

"Yet what we're finding is that the investment is being put into hospitals but it's general practice that needs the help because if it folds then the rest of the NHS will be unsustainable.

"Last week the English Government announced an additional £500m for A&E departments. What we need is our fair share of funding so that GPs can do more for our patients in their communities."

Ben Dyson, director of commissioning policy and primary care at NHS England, said: "We fully recognise that demands and patterns of healthcare are changing, and that this is increasing pressure on parts of the NHS.

"That's why we have recently published a 'call to action' about the future of general practice to help stimulate new, innovative approaches to providing services and ensuring every patient gets the care they need.

"Our key aim is to enable GP practices both to provide more coordinated care for people with more complex needs and to provide more accessible and responsive service, in conjunction with partners in community and social care."

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Top Officials Get Tax On Perks Paid By State

Some of Britain's top civil servants are having part of their tax bills paid out of public funds - leaving them tens of thousands of pounds better off, it has been reported.

Government departments have been paying the taxes on perks such as official cars, first class rail travel and rent-free accommodation.

One senior Conservative MP expressed surprise at the arrangements, saying they were out of line with what could be expected in the private sector.

However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) insisted that it was a frequently seen practice for employers to pay the tax bills on benefits for some employees.

According to the Daily Telegraph, officials who have benefited from the system include the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the head of NHS England, Sir David Nicholson, and the former head of the Serious Fraud Office, Phillippa Williamson.

It said that the effect of the deal was to increase the value of their pay packages by up to £30,000 a year.

The tax is due on benefits - like free travel or accommodation - which is regarded by the tax department as extra income.

Anyone who receives these benefits, which are in addition to their salary, is supposed to pay extra tax. In the case of these individuals, the government is picking up that part of the tax bill.

According to the newspaper, Sir Jeremy has the use of a chauffeur-driven Toyota Prius which, it said, had cost taxpayers £172,100 over the past two years.

The tax bill on the car for which Sir Jeremy was liable has been estimated at more than £49,000.

Sir David Nicholson is head of NHS England

Sir David Nicholson was said have received benefits worth £320,303 over the last six years, including the cost of a rented flat in London, the use of a chauffeured car and first-class train journeys.

Phillippa Williamson has been accused of claiming expenses of more than £98,000 over three years to commute between London and her home in the Lake District.

Her tax bill on that figure was about £40,000, which, the Telegraph says, was picked up by the SFO.

Richard Bacon, a Conservative member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, expressed concern at the arrangements.

"Most taxpayers would be surprised to find that this sort of thing is tax-free. These are out of line with what one would expect from the way people in the private sector are treated," he told the Telegraph.

"Taxpayers are already paying a lot for these people, I don't think they would be expecting to dig into their pocket to pay for the tax on the benefit as well."

HMRC said it is the choice of the employer whether it wishes to pay an employee's tax bill for any benefits they receive.

"Employers may choose to pay the tax due on the benefit. If so any such payment will constitute an additional benefit - which will also be taxable on the employee.

"This is quite a common practice by employers and is a matter between employer and employee. HMRC makes sure all the tax due is paid."

It cited 20,000 cases over the last year when employers had paid the tax bill due on employees' benefits.

A spokesman for the Department of Health, which pays the tax on benefits received by Sir David Nicholson, told the Telegraph: "Benefits in kind payments are paid to recognise [senior civil servants'] need to travel to carry out their roles."

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A £350m Donation To Nation That Can't Be Used

An unspent donation made to the Government 85 years ago, which is now worth £350m, cannot be touched because it won't fulfil conditions of its use - paying off the national debt.

The anonymous donation of £500,000 was made in 1928 and established a fund which was designed to help the Government pay off the UK's debt.

It was made with a strict request that it should not be touched until it was able to reduce the national debt to zero.

Although it has grown 700-fold since the 1920s, it is unlikely to achieve its target - the national debt currently stands at £1.3trillion.

While the fund is growing at a rate of £5m to £10m a year, Britain's national debt rocketed by an estimated £121bn in 2011/12.

In the meantime, the fund, called The National Fund, is now managed by Barclays and is likely to keep on growing.

The anonymous donor who set it up at its outset is believed to have done so in response by a call from Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who wrote to the Financial Times in 1919.

He suggested it would be patriotic for British citizens to contribute towards paying off the national debt, which at that point had reached 140% of the total amount of money earned in one year by the UK (GDP).

Barclays Wealth and Investment Management is the fund's trustee

By 1927, the national debt had reached 160% of GDP and it is thought that the donor was prompted to set up the fund with the belief that it would grow sufficiently to pay it off.

The National Fund has now grown to become one of the largest charities in the UK by net assets.

But unlike most charities, it takes in no donations and provides no handouts to needy causes.

Papers lodged with the Charities Commission in 2012 said: "The aim of the charity is to create a fund, that either on its own or combined with other funds, is sufficient to discharge the National Debt.

"The ultimate beneficiary of the National Fund is the National Debt Commissioners."

The papers say the fund increased in value by £12m in 2012 which all came from dividends on investments. Last year it spent £570,000 on managing the fund and £430,000 on other activities.

Barclays has been trying for four years to get permission to use the money to make charitable grants or to turn it over to the Treasury, but any change would have to be approved by a court.

A spokesman for Barclays said: "We've been working ever since we became the trustee to change the original objects, which say the funds can be used only to pay off the entire national debt.

"We are working with the Charity Commission and the attorney general's office to look at how best to take the fund forward."

This week it emerged Joan Edwards left £520K to the Government

A spokesman for the attorney general's office said: "There has been correspondence between the Charity Commission, the trustees and ourselves over the National Fund.

"We are looking at a number of options for the future of the Fund, consistent with its object of extinguishing or reducing the national debt.

"It would not be right to comment further whilst this process continues."

A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said is it continuing dialogue with the trustee and the attorney general's office regarding the charity.

This week, the Tories and Liberal Democrats gave up a £520,000 bequest from former nurse Joan Edwards amid confusion over whether she actually meant the money to go to the state or to the political parties in power.

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Egypt Travel Warning To 40,000 British Tourists

Thousands of British holidaymakers are being told to stay in their hotels in Egypt because of the continuing violence across the country.

Holiday firms are continuing to run flights to popular Egyptian resorts despite the ongoing unrest in the country, although companies in Germany and France are avoiding the area.

Some of those arriving back from Cairo witnessed the violence, which has led to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to warn against all but essential travel to much of Egypt, except for the Red Sea resorts where it said enhanced security measures were in place to protect tourists.

British tourists in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, where violent clashes led to the death of one person earlier this week, have been advised to remain in the grounds of their hotels.

Speaking to Sky News from her hotel, holidaymaker Sally Asling said that at the moment she felt safe.

She said: "The hotel is high security and the airport is high security. It is quicker for me to get back to London than drive to Cairo. You have to keep perspective on it.

"There was a demonstration a mile down the road two days ago. It is unsettling hearing how quickly things become volatile and kick off. It is safe, but how safe?"

The FCO guidance also warns of "a serious risk of violence and sexual assault at demonstrations", but the advice stops short of that issued by the French and German governments, which have told nationals not to travel to Egypt.

Sharm el Sheikh and the Red Sea resorts are still considered safe

One British woman returning from Cairo at Manchester Airport told Sky News: "It was frightening, just because we were unable to go outside ... we stayed indoors most of the time with family, but we weren't able to go into the streets or anything like that.

"We travelled to Hurghada on bus and then we came back to Cairo and the bus had to turn around on a bridge because there was a fire at the other end."

UK travel organisation Abta estimates there are around 40,000 Britons in Egypt at the moment.

Tour operators Thomson and First Choice have 11,769 British holidaymakers in the country, many of them in Sharm el Sheikh.

A spokeswoman for the two companies said: "We are working with the FCO and monitoring the situation closely in Egypt.

"The majority of our customers are in Sharm el Sheikh which is a considerable distance - indeed, an eight-hour drive - from Cairo.

"There have been no related incidents in Sharm el Sheikh or any of the other popular Red Sea tourist areas."

Thomson and First Choice operate to four Egyptian resorts - Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada, Taba and Marsa Alam.

Thomson Airways had three return flights to Sharm el Sheikh on Friday and two to Hurghada. On Saturday, it has four return flights to Sharm el Sheikh, and five return flights to on Sunday.

In light of the FCO travel advice, Thomson Cruises has changed its itinerary for an Egypt & the Holy Land voyage on the Thomson Celebration vessel starting next Monday.

Luxury holiday company Kuoni has cancelled all its Egypt excursions for the next 30 days over the security concerns.

The company said it was now contacting clients with bookings to restricted areas of Egypt within the next 21 days to offer them alternative holiday destinations.

Thomas Cook also has several thousand UK tourists in Red Sea resorts and is continuing to operate flights to the area, but has cancelled excursions to Cairo, Luxor, Moses Mountain and St Catherine's Monastery.

The FCO advice reads: "If you are already in a part of Egypt where the FCO advise against all but essential travel, you should consider whether you have a pressing need to remain.

"If you decide to remain in Egypt, you should stay at or close to home or a place of safety (eg your hotel), keep a low profile and pay close attention to your personal safety, particularly in the larger cities. You should avoid crowds.

You should follow the regulations set by the local authorities and obey curfews. Make sure you keep valid photographic identification with you at all times."

It adds: "You are strongly advised to avoid all demonstrations and large gatherings. If you become aware of any nearby protests, leave the area immediately. Don't attempt to cross road blocks erected by the security forces or protestors.

"There is a serious risk of violence and sexual assault at demonstrations. NGOs report more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults against women in demonstrations since 30 June. Foreign and Egyptian women have been attacked."

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Briton Drowns 'In Front Of Family' In Lanzarote

A British woman died swimming in the sea off Lanzarote while her husband and three children were on the beach, it has been reported.

The woman is understood to have got into difficulty off the shore of the Spanish holiday island, according to local newspapers.

The website for the publication Diario de Lanzarote said the woman, aged 49, drowned off Famara Beach, on the north side of the Island.

The website said the Emergency and Security Co-ordination Centre received a 112 call at 3.39pm on Thursday reporting that a woman had been brought out of the water with "signs of drowning".

The report said there were fears she could have suffered a heart attack.

Emergency services were sent to the scene and attempted to resuscitate the woman but she could not be revived.

According to eyewitnesses, she was on the beach with her husband and three children, the website said.

Responsibility for the death was handed over to court officials. The victim has yet to be named.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said:  "We are aware of the death of a British national in Lanzarote on 15 August. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."

If confirmed, the death would be the second involving a British national to occur on Famara Beach in a few months.

A map showing the location of Lanzarote, in the Spanish Canary Islands

In April, a British man died on the beach after getting into difficulties in the sea.

Steve Potter was spotted face down in the water after leaving friends on the beach to go for a swim.

The 43-year-old was dragged out of the water unconscious, according to reports, but he was pronounced dead after efforts to revive him failed.

Meanwhile, a body found in Lanzarote in May was confirmed as that of a British pensioner who went missing on the island in 2011.

Margaret Holt, 65, from the Wirral, Merseyside, was seen leaving her hotel in the resort of Costa Teguise, on the south side of the island, on the morning of December 23, 2011.

The experienced walker, who was feared to have fallen, was spotted later in the afternoon in the northerly Orzola region of the island - but then disappeared.

Mrs Holt, who was described as extremely fit, was reported missing after her worried family contacted the Spanish Civil Guard to raise the alarm when she failed to make contact with them over Christmas.

A search and rescue operation was launched by authorities on the island, but was stood down after 72 hours. Local expatriates and other residents organised their own searches for her.

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Four Arrested Over Cornwall Murder

Four people including a 16-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a man in Cornwall.

The 57-year-old victim was found unconscious in St Marys Road, Biscovey, near the Eden Project, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Devon and Cornwall Police said he was taken to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, where he later died.

Three men - aged 21, 19, and 18 as well as the 16-year-old - have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The victim was found just after 2am and police have appealed for witnesses.

The area around St Marys Road and Robbins Close has been cordoned off while forensic officers examine the scene.

A force spokesman said: "Following police inquiries, at 4.05am three local men aged 21, 19 and 18 and a local youth aged 16 were arrested at a property in the area on suspicion of murder.

"They remain in custody at Launceston and Newquay custody centres.

"Police are appealing for witnesses who were in the vicinity of St Marys Road and Robbins Close between midnight and 2am or anyone who has any information regarding this incident to contact them."

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Diana's Death: Police Passed New Information

Scotland Yard is assessing new information on the death Princess Diana to determine whether it is credible.

The assessment will be carried out by Metropolitan Police officers from the Specialist Crime and Operations Command.

The deaths of the Princess of Wales and Dodi al Fayed in Paris in 1997 were investigated and examined by an inquest led by Lord Justice Scott Baker at the Royal Court of Justice in 2007-8.

On April 7, 2008, the jury concluded their verdict as "unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes".

The Metropolitan Police added the assessment was not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget - the inquiry led by Lord Stevens into conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed's deaths.

More follows...

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