Hillsborough Slurs Probe: Andy Burnham's Vow

Labour MP Andy Burnham has promised to hold to account those responsible for using government computers to post what he called "sickening" insults about the disaster.

The Liverpool-born politician said he would not accept "fudges" in the investigation into claims of inflammatory and offensive changes made to the Wikipedia page about the 1989 tragedy.

A total of 96 Liverpool fans were killed in a crush before an FA Cup semi-final at the stadium in Sheffield.

The Liverpool Echo has claimed computers on a secure government network were used to make the amendments.

Among the reported changes was an insertion saying "Blame Liverpool fans", and two years ago the phrase "You'll never walk alone" was changed to "You'll never walk again".

The Cabinet Office has warned it might not be possible to identify those responsible, saying the passage of time and the number of people using the Whitehall intranet would make finding them "challenging".

A total of 96 Liverpool fans were killed in the disaster

But Mr Burnham told the Echo he would not accept "second best".

He said: "We need these individuals named and they need to be held to account. It's unacceptable for a civil servant, a rogue civil servant probably, to have behaved in this way, if that's what the inquiry finds.

"The Government offered for me to be involved and I'm willing to take part. As ever, my main concern will be the families, their welfare and having right done by them.

"I'm not going to let anything stand in the way of that."

The Cabinet Office said the matter was being treated with "utmost seriousness".

A spokeswoman said: "The amendments made to Wikipedia are sickening. The behaviour is in complete contravention of the Civil Service Code. It is entirely unacceptable."

Liverpool were playing an FA Cup semi-final when the crush happened

Further alleged changes included altering the description of a statue of former manager Bill Shankly on the Anfield page from "He made the people happy" to "He made a wonderful lemon drizzle cake".

A description of the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield was also changed to include "nothing for the victims of the Heysel stadium disaster", a reference to the 39 deaths at a European Cup final in 1985 against Juventus.

Jon Davies, chief executive of Wikimedia UK, said the company was "appalled by such vandalism".

He said: "But our community have systems in place to deal with such incidents.

"In this case none of the offensive comments were up for more than a couple of hours, and most were removed within minutes."

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Stephen Sutton's Teen Cancer Appeal Tops £2.5m

A terminally-ill teenager has smashed all records on fundraising website JustGiving, as donations to his charity appeal surged past £2.6m.

Stephen Sutton originally set out to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust but soon upped his target to £1m, as celebrities including Jason Manford, Stephen Fry and Russell Brand gave their support.

By Saturday afternoon the 19-year-old had raised £2.6m, with more than 106,000 people pledging their support.

Writing on his Facebook page, on which he published a bucket list of things he wants to do before he dies, Stephen said: "I've always been a firm believer that people are 'good' and to see people come together in the way they have is incredibly touching and heart-warming.

Donations to Stephen's JustGiving page have soared past £2.4m

"Thank you from me and thank you from every young cancer patient who will benefit invaluably from the money raised."

Stephen, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, said he was "feeling well" and was in a "stable" condition after his health worsened last weekend.

"The tumours in my body are still rife and dangerous, but I feel so lucky to just still be here," he added.

"In fact, I feel completely privileged to be in a position where I can help make such a difference to other people's lives."

Stephen, who was diagnosed with incurable colorectal cancer at the age of 15, has also released a 10-minute YouTube video called When Life Gives You Cancer, featuring interviews with his mum, his school teachers and his best friend.

Stephen (C) with friends and celebrities at a Teenage Cancer Trust event

His head teacher, Stewart Jones, said: "Stephen is the most amazing person I've ever met, let alone the most amazing student."

Tim Dowling, who runs the sixth form college at Stephen's school, added: "He's very special because he refuses to let his illness beat him or govern the rest of his life."

As donations continued to flood in, JustGiving itself donated £50,000 to Stephen's appeal.

The website stands to make more than £62,000 from the 5% fee it charges charities for online donations.

In a message posted alongside its donation, it wrote: "Stephen, we think you're amazing. It's been a privilege supporting your fundraising. You've now broken all records on JustGiving, so here's a special donation from us."

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Saturday's National Newspaper Front Pages

The end of the Royal tour Down Under is one of the stories that dominates the front pages of Saturday's national newspapers.

Ukraine also features prominently, on a day when the war of words between Russia and the West continued to intensify.

The heavyweights carry stories about Royal Bank of Scotland employees being refused bonuses of more than 100% of their salaries and the teacher who assaulted pupils at an international school in London.

The tabloids run stories about Susanna Reid, saying her relationship breakdown was not down to the Strictly Come Dancing curse.

They also feature the fattest woman in the world and a rumoured reunion of Oasis.

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Anti-Depressants Use Rising At Record Rate

By Emma Birchley, East of England Correspondent

The use of anti-depressants is rising at a record rate as struggling patients seek help from their doctors.

In the past three years, the number of prescriptions has risen by close to 25%.

But there is growing concern that drugs are being handed over too readily to those who would be better helped with counselling.

Writer Julia Llewellyn Smith found life tough after the birth of her first child but was shocked to be instantly offered medication by a doctor.

"I said to her: 'I am not depressed, I'm just exhausted and having a bad time with a new baby'.

"She said: 'No you are depressed, I want to give you Prozac ... you will feel very better very soon,' and it really was a struggle to convince her that I didn't want, or in my opinion, need, anti-depressants."

Prescriptions have risen by nearly 25% in the last three years

Instead she went to group counselling and once the nights improved so did her mood.

But the former chair of the Royal College of GPs, Dr Clare Gerada, does not believe that everyday sadness is being unnecessarily medicalised.

Dr Gerada said: "I don't think my profession are giving out anti-depressants when they are not needed.

"But I think if there is a long waiting list for talking therapies, and there certainly is in the areas that I work, it may be that rather than see the patient get worse depression and risk their life, it may be the GP appropriately gives anti-depressants as a bridge."

Statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre reveal that 53 million prescriptions for anti-depressants were handed out in England last year.

Julia Llewellyn Smith was offered anti-depressants by her doctor

And twice as many people take the drugs than a decade ago.

Caroline Ashrafi first sought help for depression when she was in her late teens.

For 30 years she has taken different tablets and has now been told she will need to take them for the rest of her life to stabilise her mood.

She said: "There is a stigma but I think when anti-depressants are prescribed in the right situation and with proper medical care, for me they have literally been a lifesaver."

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Paedophile Teacher 'One Of The Worst Predators'

Child Predator: Husband And 'Popular Teacher'

Updated: 11:44am UK, Thursday 24 April 2014

The serial child predator at the centre of an FBI investigation had a wife and two adult children and was a popular teacher among his students, officials have said.

William James Vahey travelled the world for four decades before his suicide in a Minnesota motel last March.

While teaching, he also served as coach on various school sports teams.

The FBI said he was a "popular and highly respected teacher".

"He had access to children because of his position of trust," said FBI special agent Patrick Fransen.

"He created a system that gave him the opportunity and the means to molest children."

The FBI says he may have carried out child molestation on an unprecedented scale, often drugging his victims.

Vahey told investigators he suffered molestation as a child and went on to prey on boys.

The New York native graduated from California State University, Long Beach, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, according to a resume cited by the FBI.

He received a master's degree in curriculum development from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.

At the time of his death, he was 64, approximately 6ft (182cm) tall, and weighed about 190 pounds (86kg).

He was teaching ninth-grade world history and geography at the American Nicaraguan School in Managua.

Vahey maintained two residences, one in London, where he had taught at an elite school, and another on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, the FBI said.

In 1969, Vahey was arrested in California on six counts of child molestation.

He pled guilty to one count of child molestation and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, followed by five years' probation.

The conviction required Vahey to register with California's sex offender registry for the rest of his life.

However, Vahey eluded that requirement.

Officials said he had not renewed his registration as a sex offender since 1970. He went on to pursue his teaching career in Nicaragua, the UK, Venezuela, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Iran, Spain, and Lebanon.

His victims are believed to be multinational as many of those schools were attended by the children of American diplomats or military personnel stationed overseas.

Vahey coached boys on middle school, varsity boys' basketball, softball, flag football, and soccer, among other things.

He also served as activities director, student council adviser, cooking club adviser and forensics adviser. 

He often accompanied students on cultural studies or sports trips, the FBI said.

Vahey killed himself two days after agents in Houston sought a warrant to search a computer thumb drive belonging to him.

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James Attfield Murder: Appeal For CCTV Pair

Police investigating the murder of a man stabbed more than 100 times have said they want to speak to two people seen on CCTV.

James Attfield, 33, died in a park in Colchester, Essex, in what has been described as a "senseless and frenzied" attack.

Detectives are keen to trace a woman who was seen in an image on March 29 at 12.36am, and again with a man on another image at 2.19am.

Officers are trying to piece together Mr Attfield's movements between the evening of March 28 and when he was found the following morning just before 6am.

Mr Attfield was treated at the scene by paramedics in Castle Park, but died from his injuries.

The victim, known as Jim to his family, had 102 separate wounds on his arms, hands, back, neck and head, police revealed.

Police want to trace this woman seen on CCTV on March 29 at 12.36am

The father-of-five suffered a severe brain injury after he was hit by a car four years ago, and had not been in contact with his children since.

His mother, Julie Finch, has described her son as a "bit of a loner" who was "in the process of rebuilding his life" when he died.

Releasing the CCTV images, Detective Chief Inspector Simon Werrett, of Essex Police, said: "I would urge these two people to come forward or if anyone recognises them I would ask them to get in touch with the inquiry team."

The man is described as white, of stocky build and appears tall with long legs.

The only description given of the woman is that she is white.

Police say they were sitting at opposite ends of a bench and it is not certain if they know each other, although they may have been a couple who had a row earlier in the evening and were sitting apart not talking to each other.

About 10 metres away from where this couple sat, there was a man sitting on the grass who was white, aged in his 30s and wearing a dark jacket and possibly jeans.

This may, or may not, have been Mr Attfield, a police spokesman said.

Three other people who were also spotted in the area on CCTV and came forward voluntarily have been ruled out the probe by police - as have a total of six people caught on CCTV walking through the park.

A further 17 people have yet to come forward.

A man and a woman from Colchester, both aged 27, have been bailed until May 9.

Anyone with information is asked to call Essex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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British Teenager Dies After Tribal Drug Ritual

By Alex Watts, Online Producer

A British backpacker has died after taking a hallucinogenic drug during a tribal ritual in Colombia.

Henry Miller, 19, was in a remote rainforest area, near the town of Mocoa, with other tourists when he drank yage with a local tribe.

The psychedelic drink, also known as ayahuasca, is made from leaves and is used by native people in South America for healing and spiritual purposes.

Mr Miller took the drug on Sunday without any effects. He took it again on Tuesday and was found dead later.

Mr Miller took the drug in a rainforest outside Mocoa, southwest Colombia

Filip Goematre, owner of Casa del Rio hostel, where the teenager was staying, told Sky News: "Lots of people come to this area to take the yage drug, which is part of an indigenous ritual.

"But I am not a fan of it. I prefer people come here to enjoy the Amazon and look at the animals and nature.

"Henry came here last week and heard about the drug from other tourists and got motivated to do it.

"I'm not involved in the drug and do not promote it in anyway. But it's an indigenous ritual and involves drinking juice from a medicinal plant. One of the effects of it is to hallucinate.

"Henry stayed at the hostel for seven days. He did it (the drug) once on Sunday night, and on the Tuesday he was travelling on.

Yage brings on vivid hallucinations and supposedly spiritual experiences

"But he changed his mind at the last minute and decided to do the ritual. There is a police investigation going on and an autopsy is being carried out on his body, but it looks like the drink.

"It's an intoxicant, and hundreds of people do it and a couple of times people die. It's not considered dangerous, but it can happen."

Mr Miller, from Bristol, travelled with a group of eight people to land belonging to a local shaman, according to the Daily Mail.

After taking the drug, he reportedly started "lashing out with his hands and feet" and then "made weird animal noises, pig sounds and at one point he tried to fly".

The shaman's family told the other tourists they would look after him, but when they woke up in the morning Mr Miller was not there, the paper quoted one of the group as saying.

Police arrived and showed them a picture of Mr Miller's body, which was said to have been found by a dirt road.

The teenager had stayed at Casa del Rio hostel for seven days

A spokesman for the Foreign Office told Sky News: "We are aware of the death of a British national on April 23 in Colombia. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this very difficult time."

Henry Miller's parents Elizabeth and David, and brother Freddie issued a statement to the Bristol Post, saying: "In the last 48 hours we received the exceptionally sad news that our son Henry has died whilst travelling in Colombia.

"We are being informed of the circumstances through the Foreign Office. He was in the remote Putumayo region.

"We understand that he took part in a local tribal ritual recommended by the hostel that he was staying at.

"The ritual involves a drink made from local plant infusions. We are awaiting further information from the foreign office but it is likely that a reaction to this drink was the cause."

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Roehampton Murder: Teenager Appears In Court

A boy has appeared in court charged with the murder of a man stabbed during a break-in.

The 15-year-old appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court and was remanded in custody.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, Scotland Yard said.

Although the victim has yet to be formally identified, police believe the dead man to be Martin Thomas.

The 39-year-old, of Huntingfield Road, Roehampton, southwest London, was found seriously injured by police and paramedics on Tuesday evening.

An air ambulance crew attended, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem revealed he died from a stab wound that punctured his lung.

A second teenager has also been arrested in connection with the murder, and is being questioned at a south London police station.

Detectives have been keen to trace three men seen loitering in the area before the man was killed.

Anyone with information should call police on 0208 721 4205 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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'Last' Titanic Letter Fetches Record Price

The only surviving letter thought to have been written on the Titanic has been sold at auction for £119,000.

The price tag eclipses the previous record for a Titanic-related letter, which stood at £94,000. 

The letter was written by second class passenger Esther Hart on Sunday April 14, 1912, and was meant to be delivered to her mother in Essex.

It went under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son Auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, along with other Titanic collectibles.

The letter was sold with an envelope embossed with the White Star Line flag.

A total of 1,500 passengers and crew died when the New York-bound liner sank, including Mrs Hart's husband Benjamin.

Mrs Hart, who was travelling with her daughter and well-known survivor Eva Hart, writes about being ill on board.

A total of 1,500 passengers and crew died when the Titanic sank

"My Dear ones all. As you see it is Sunday afternoon and we are resting in the library after luncheon," she writes.

"I was very bad all day yesterday could not eat or drink and sick all the while, but today I have got over it."

Mrs Hart describes how she had been to a church service with Eva and goes on to talk about the trip so far.

"Tho they say this Ship does not roll on account of its size. Any how it rolls enough for me, I shall never forget it. It is very nice weather but awfully windy and cold.

"They say we may get into New York Tuesday night but we are really due early Wednesday morning, shall write as soon as we get there", she writes.

Mrs Hart and Eva were rescued by HMS Carpathia.

Andrew Aldridge, from Henry Aldridge and Son Auctioneers, said: "The importance of this legendary item cannot be overstated, being the only known surviving example of its type to have been written on that fateful day, surviving the sinking, and having belonged to such a well-known survivor."

A second class breakfast menu was also sold at the auction for £87,000, beating the previous record of £74,000 for a Titanic menu.

An extremely rare VIP ticket for the launch of Titanic in Belfast on May 31st 1911 also sold for £40,000.

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Five Die As UK Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan

Five people have died after a British helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, with all those on board thought to be members of UK armed forces.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the victims of the suspected accident in the south of the country were military service personnel.

An investigation has been launched into the circumstances of the incident but the MoD said it could not confirm the nationality of the troops who died.

A spokesman for the ministry said: "We can confirm that a UK helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan today.

"The incident is under investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further until families have been notified."

Kandahar provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani said the helicopter went down in the Takhta Pul district, around 30 miles from the Pakistan border.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known but it was not believed to have involved any enemy action.

If the victims are confirmed to be British, it would be the worst UK air crash in Afghanistan since September 2006, when a Nimrod surveillance aircraft exploded in mid-air while supporting Nato ground operations near Kandahar.

All 14 servicemen on board that aircraft were killed.

Saturday's incident was the bloodiest day for international troops in Afghanistan this year.

It brings the number of foreign troops killed in the war-hit country in April to seven. A total of 23 have died in 2014.

Nato is preparing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan at the end of this year, 13 years after the US-led invasion to topple the Taliban for sheltering al Qaeda leaders.

Concerned family members of military service personnel can contact the MoD on 08457 800 900.

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