Today the well-respected political commentator John Kampfner launched the pamphlet, Lost labours, with Nick Clegg.He comments, "As somebody who has a long involvement with the Labour party, including editing the New Statesman magazine, I have been able to give a frank and honest appraisal of a decade and a half of New Labour. And in it I explain why I can no longer support them, and am instead turning to the Liberal Democrats. You can read a more condensed version in an article I wrote for the Guardian here."Alongside one million other voters, I deserted Labour in 2005 in protest at Iraq in favour of the Liberal Democrats, the only party to oppose the war. My decision to back the Lib Dems in 2010 is based in a more fundamental appraisal of Labour’s record together with a positive...

Here at Gaj-IT, we often talk about phones living up to their names, and being called Desire gives HTC’s latest Android release a lot to live up to. So does this big brother of the Google Nexus One get us hot under the collar? Let’s find out. … [visit site to read more] Gadget Gift Ideas If you like what you’re reading then learn more about joining our FREE newsletter here. Lucky readers will win some fantastic gadget prizes! Also, check out our recession busting gadgety money saving ideas. Get paid for your old phones – Top 5 mobile recycling sites compared Free phone calls to exclusive discounts at restaurants from phone networks – Free Sim cards from various networks and there benefits. Preview: HTC Desire. Does it Make You Long for an Android?...

Initially, Google Street View was fairly controversial with many people complaining about invasion of privacy and such issues. However, those concerns have not stopped Google from expanding the service, because as of tomorrow (11th March 2010), you lucky (or unlucky depending on which side of the fence you’re sat) people in the UK will have access to a total 96% of all roads, streets and avenues across the isles. The infamous camera cars have been out and about over the last year busily snapping up everything from busy city streets to little lanes in the middle of God knows where, there’s even been some Google Path View images captured using specially equipped trikes. In some parts, such as the village of Broughton, the journey of the car has been somewhat treacherous with...

BSkyB’s Martin Tyler was voted Premier League Commentator of the Decade. This summer, he will be the lead commentator for ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup in the United States. On this edition of the EPL Talk podcast, the broadcasting icon joined me to talk about his preparations for the World Cup, what story lines for summer have already caught his eye, the challenges of a long-duration event like the World Cup, his view of the race atop the Premier League, the importance of seeing a new Premier League club in the Champions League, his approach to covering John Terry and Wayne Bridge at Stamford Bridge, and the performance of Kingstonian in the Isthmian Premier Division, for whom he serves as assistant coach. Don’t forget that the EPL Talk Podcast is the only Premier...

Evaluation of Venables before his release in 2001 concluded the likelihood of the killer re-offending was minorA psychiatric evaluation of Jon Venables carried out before his release from prison concluded that he posed a "trivial" risk to the public and that the likelihood of him re-offending was "so negligible as to not amount to a serious consideration".The document, which was prepared by a leading psychiatrist in 2000 and is excerpted in today's Times, also noted that Venables had made "exceptional psychological progress" and come to terms with his part in the murder of James Bulger in 1993."The Jon Venables of today is a very different person to the Jon Venables aged 10," the report noted. "It has been a very important part of his rehabilitation so far that he has come to terms in a...

David Chaytor, Jim Devine, Elliot Morley and Lord Hanningfield say the workings of parliament should be dealt with by parliamentThree Labour MPs and a Conservative peer facing charges over their expenses appeared in court today to argue that their cases should be dealt with by parliament rather than the criminal justice system.Elliot Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine and Lord Hanningfield answered summonses at City of Westminster magistrates court to be charged with false accounting under the Theft Act.Their cases were referred to Southwark crown court after lawyers for the men said the case was of "high constitutional importance" and they would be arguing their right for it to be heard by parliament.Morley, Chaytor and Devine appeared together in the dock of court No 1 as their lawyer,...

Anyone switching on ITV on Sunday night could have been forgiven for thinking ‘this party political broadcast is dragging on a bit’. What they were actually watching was Trevor McDonald’s supposed interview of David Cameron, which was perhaps the most cringe-inducing piece of television since, er, Piers Morgan interviewed Gordon Brown. The journalism was so lacking that Trevor McDonald’s interview technique made Panorama look like a serious documentary strand once again. Though, under extreme pressure, Cameron’s wife Samantha did confess that he loved all three of the Godfather films and watched them again and again. This means that either the info was planted to make him look like cool man’s man or that he has no critical faculties whatsoever, as...

It took the blogosphere just four days to raisethe near £10 000 to secure the release of Nick Hogan, imprisoned forsix months for flouting the smoking ban in his own premises and failingto act as the States unofficial Policeman.It took a further five days to convince Paypalthat the money collected was not part of some International MoneyLaundering, Drugs and Sex trafficking Ring, and for the cash to bereleased by a High Street Bank under the Money Laundering'Regulations', during which time Nick continued to languish in Jail.This in an age when Billions can be rocketed from London to Tokyo inseconds by our trusted and well beloved Banking industry.This was always a Libertarian issue, a civil rights issue rather than aPublic Health issue. The hypocrisy of taxing tobacco and punishing...

Yesterday, along with other city councillors, I attended a very informative briefing on human trafficking and steps that are being taken to combat this extremely concerning matter.After two surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and Harris Academy, I attended City Council committee meetings at which I asked a question about Dundee population projections contained within a report on main issues facing the TAYplan strategic development planning authority, commented on and asked a question about the HMIe interim follow through inspection report on child protection services in the city, and sought assurances that the outcomes of a proposal to introduce an e-book and e-audio book service by the Leisure and Communities Department would be reported back to committee after a period in order that...

• BA accepts partial repeal of staff cuts on flights• Union mulls counter-offer as 5pm deadline for talks loomsBritish Airways has tabled an 11th-hour counter-offer as peace talks over a looming cabin crew strike go to the wire.The airline has responded to the offer of a 2.6% pay-cut by the Unite trade union with its own demands. Unite is considering the proposals but sources close to the talks said the union and representatives from its cabin crew branch, Bassa, harboured serious concerns about the counter-move.It is understood that BA has accepted a partial repeal of cuts to staffing levels on flights but it wants fewer crew back onboard than Unite has proposed.The TUC, which is hosting the peace talks, has set a deadline of 5pm to achieve a deal but both sides have shown...

• 1,600 homes to be built in East Jerusalem settlement• Vice-president says the deal undermines trustJoe Biden, the US vice-president, condemned a plan by Israel to build 1,600 homes on occupied Palestinian land in an East Jerusalem settlement.The Israeli interior ministry's approval of the plan cast a cloud over a visit to the country by Biden just hours after he pledged strong support for the Israeli government.In an unusually strong statement issued after he arrived 90 minutes late for a dinner with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said: "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units."He said the blueprint for Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox settlement in an area of the West Bank annexed to Jerusalem, "undermines...

Party's revised constitution would require all applicants to submit to a two-hour home visit, court is toldThe British National party plans to send officials to vet all would-be members in their homes, a court heard today.A clause in the far right group's revised constitution would require all applicants to submit to a two-hour home visit by two party officials, Central London county court was told.That could operate as a form of indirect discrimination against non-whites, said Robin Allen QC, representing the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which is challenging the party's membership rules. "One way the provisions could operate would be to intimidate someone who wanted to join the party," he said, adding: "Of course, it could simply be a greeting."BNP members last month...

The Roman Catholic church is being plunged into a renewed crisis over how it has dealt with the sexual abuse of children by its clergy after it emerged that the brother of former Hitler Youth and Nazi anti-aircraft gunner Pope Benedict XVI, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger (pair pictured above), ran a renowned choir at the centre of child abuse claims.  Reports of systematic historical abuse by paedophile Roman Catholic clergy have surfaced at 3 schools in the Regensburg diocese in Bavaria. One of them is the much-heralded Regensburger Domspatzen, a 1000 year-old male choir and boarding school, whose choral master for 30 years was the Pope’s older brother, Georg Ratzinger. Monsignor Ratzinger has agreed to testify in any eventual prosecutions – but says that he knew of no abuse. The...

Imedi TV broadcaster provokes panic with report claiming Russian attack in progressSwitching on their TV sets at 8pm on Saturday, Georgians were greeted with incredible news – Russia had invaded. The pro-government Imedi TV station reported that Russian tanks were once more trundling into Georgia. Not only that, but the country's pro-western leader Mikheil Saakashvili had been murdered, the station said.For the next half an hour there were scenes of absolute panic, as the mobile network collapsed, Georgians spilled on to the streets, and friends and relatives desperately tried to reach each other and seek out information. In fact, they needn't have bothered.The report, it turned out, was a hoax. The Kremlin hadn't invaded and Saakashvili, it emerged, was very much alive. Not since Orson...

Thousands using gas flares will illuminate the whole course of Britain's biggest historic monumentInteractive: Lighting up Hadrian's wallAn army that would have astonished the emperor Hadrian is set to take over his Roman wall tomorrow night, lighting a chain of beacons from the Tyne to the Solway Firth.Thousands of people have been recruited for what will be an 84-mile variation on Antony Gormley's invitation to the people of the UK to occupy the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square – a brief but spectacular moment of public art.Designed to highlight Britain's biggest ancient monument and bring an early spring to the northern tourist economy, the event will feature scenes that would have earned an instant court martial in Hadrian's day.Durham university student Maxine Granger is inviting...

In March, the House of Commons voted in favour of reforming the House of Lords making it either wholly or 80% elected. In March too, Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced the a draft bill to reform the Lords would be published within weeks. Only one problem. The first March was in 2007 and the second 2010. Three wasted years when that terribly modern and cutting edge idea of electing the people who sit in our Parliament could have been introduced. But instead we’re left with this political cynicism: Although the plan is unlikely to become law before parliament is dissolved, Labour strategists hope it will open up a dividing line with the Conservatives, who will be reluctant to back any Labour reforms. Do something about reforming the Lords when you can make it happen? No. Do...

Alan Johnson and Hilary Benn have produced a report which proposes that all dogs in this country should be micro-chipped and that dog-owners should have compulsory third-party insurance. Story Dog owners face a new pet “tax” in a government initiative to tackle the menace of dangerous dogs. Compulsory microchipping of every dog — which would cost owners an average £30 — is included in a consultation report published today. It also suggests that the six million dog owners in Britain should be covered by third-party insurance to cover injuries to victims of dog attacks. In an attempt to give greater protection from “weapon” or status dogs, owners of unruly dogs would be subject to new antisocial behaviour orders, already dubbed “Dogbos”. These dog control orders...

Social networking site fears reputation permanently damaged by false claim that it let older men pressure teenage girls for sexFacebook has threatened to sue the Daily Mail for damages after the paper wrongly claimed in a piece published on Wednesday that 14-year-old girls who create a profile on the social networking site could be approached "within seconds" by older men who "wanted to perform a sex act" in front of them.The paper apologised in print today and online yesterday for the error, which the author of the piece, Mark Williams-Thomas, insisted had been introduced by editors at the paper despite being told it was wrong. In fact, Williams-Thomas – a retired policeman who now works as a criminologist – had been using another, unspecified social network.But the giant social...

MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland was 53 and not thought to have any serious health problemsLabour MP Ashok Kumar was found dead today at his home in his Middlesbrough constituency, it was announced today.Aides called the emergency services when he failed to arrive at his office in the House of Commons this morning. Kumar, 53, was not thought to be suffering from any serious health problem and his death was described as "sudden".A former scientist, Kumar had been MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland since 1997. At the last election he had a majority of 8,000.He was parliamentary private secretary to Hilary Benn, the environment secretary.Kumar also briefed served as MP for Langbaurgh from 1991, when he won a byelection, until 1992, when he was defeated at the general...

There are several things I try to do with this blog. In bringing you a diet of posts each day, one of my aims is to avoid being derivative. My preference is to bring genuine, new or little-known information to the table, or to add fresh thinking or analysis to current topics.Despite that, there is value in repeating existing material, and spreading the word – and it is done exceedingly well by a large number of blogs. But, in many areas where there is a narrative up and running, it is either wrong or heavily distorted, either by act or omission. In this case, mere repetition or commentary which takes the baseline facts as read simply perpetuates the errors and the distortions, helping to lock in the narrative to the point where it achieves the aura of truth, irrespective of the...

Jo Nova makes a good point in her recent piece about the hideously complex task of tracing funds spent on climate change research. It's a PhD size project, she writes, and there are no grants available to fund this kind of PhD.Actually, as I've hinted before, I'm not sure it's even doable. The tortuous flows of money, the multiple agencies involved, the extremely slack accounting in some instances, and the lack of any clear definition of "climate change", all conspire to make any calculations extremely tenuous.There may even be an element of exaggeration – not only for the reasons Jo suggests, that some agencies and governments want to be seen as "green" but also, many projects are deliberately falsely categorised, just to get the money. Knowing which way the wind is blowing, many...

Melting sea ice in the Arctic will kill thousands of bears in coming years, the US says, and continued commercial trade must not be allowed to make the situation worseIt is a familiar story in the climate change debate. The US government is at odds with the rest of the world and, despite criticism, wants other countries to change their minds and fall in line behind Uncle Sam.This time, the tale comes with an unexpected twist. This weekend, the US will warn that the threat from climate change to the future survival of the polar bear is so great that the world must grant the animal the highest possible protection.At the annual meeting of the international body that regulates trade in animals, the US will push for a total ban on the sale and movement of polar bear products that are used for...

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Corporal Stephen Thompson from 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 RIFLES), serving as part of the 3 RIFLES Battle Group, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 7 March 2010.Corporal Thompson died as a result of an explosion in an area 3km south of Sangin district centre, Helmand provinceCorporal Stephen ThompsonCorporal Stephen Thompson, from Bovey Tracey, in Devon was born in Cleveland on 11 August 1978.He enlisted in the Army in January 1997 and was sent to be trained at the Army Training Regiment in Lichfield, completing his course in October that year. He joined the 1st Battalion The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment where he successfully completed a Junior Non Commissioned Officers' Cadre earning him promotion to Lance...

Foreign Office officials believe elements of Taliban ready to talk but fears grow of long Afghan conflict, and growing casualtiesBritain will today urge the Afghan government to put more effort into the pursuit of peace talks amid fears that the war could be prolonged – and more British lives lost – as a result of incompetence and lack of political will in Kabul.A speech to be delivered in the US by the foreign secretary, David Miliband, will reflect growing anxiety in London that President Hamid Karzai's professed desire for a political solution has not been backed up by any serious planning or concrete proposals.Unless more pressure is put on the Afghan government, some British officials predict that Karzai's proposed loya jirga, or grand peace council, due at the end of next month,...

Special rapporteur on human rights details 'pattern of gross abuses' as junta unveils restrictive electoral lawsA senior UN official has called for Burma's military rulers to be investigated over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated against Burmese civilians, in a move that will sharply increase pressure on the isolated regime ahead of controversial national elections due later this year.In a draft report to the UN Human Rights Council [pdf] in Geneva, Tomás Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, described "a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights" which he said has been in place for many years and still continued."There is an indication that those human rights violations are the result of a state policy that involves...

Rollers left cheesed off as event stopped due to overcrowding, but organisers are trying to find a solutionIt has long been regarded as one of the most curious – and hazardous – of English springtime pastimes. Competitors chase a large round of cheese down a steep hill in Gloucestershire, risking ridicule and broken limbs.But it emerged today that the annual cheese-rolling event at Cooper's Hill above Brockworth has become the latest victim of health and safety concerns.This year's event has been cancelled, not because organisers fear that those taking part will hurt themselves, but because the competition has become too popular and is attracting unmanageable crowds.The organisers said: "The attendance at the event has far outgrown the location where it has traditionally been held for...

JOS, Nigeria (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Washington led calls for restraint on Monday after the slaughter of more than 500 Christians in Nigeria, as survivors told how the killers chopped down their victims.Funerals took place for victims of the three-hour orgy of violence on Sunday in three Christian villages close to the northern city of Jos, blamed on members of the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group.While troops were deployed to the villages to prevent new attacks, security forces detained 95 suspects but faced bitter criticism over how the killers were able to go on the rampage at a time when a curfew was meant to be in force.Media reported that Muslim residents of the villages in Plateau state had been warned by phone text message, two days prior to the attack, so they could...

Thames tunnel, created by Marc Brunel and son Isambard in 1843, reopened to walkers for first time in 145 years"How they got the performing horses down here God only knows", says Robert Hulse, as he leads visitors into the gloom under the Thames for the temporary public reopening of one of the truly astonishing wonders of the Victorian age.The Thames tunnel was today reopened to walkers for the first time in 145 years, giving punters a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see close up a remarkable feat of engineering – and a top tourist attraction visited by millions."The eighth wonder of the world awaits," Hulse, director of the nearby Brunel Museum, told visitors today. That description may surprise those who know it better as the Tube tunnel between Wapping and Rotherhithe – but it...

When it comes to crime, David Cameron is more concerned with headlines than policies. That’s why he talks Britain down by deliberately misleading the public about crime figures even though his party has been censured by the Statistics Authority for doing this. The reality is the Conservatives have voted against Labour’s measures to fight crime including opposing changes to the retention of DNA evidence – making it harder for the police to catch criminals. And they have campaigned against the use of CCTV which reduces the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour. Alan Johnson MP, Labour’s Home Secretary said: “Labour wants to see a future fair for all and today I am setting out the tough action we are taking to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour....

Dr Liam Fox is the Shadow Defence Secretary.On a different day with a favourable wind, he might have been the Leader of his Party.He still might be, of course.Politics is a game of snakes and ladders: there is frequently no rhyme or reason to one’s ascent or descent, who’s in or who’s out, who loses or who wins. And rarely is it a matter of justice.But on a day in which the polls all point again to a hung parliament, with the nation paralysed by indecision – rejecting the clunking opacity of Gordon Brown in direct proportion to the extent to which they are unattracted by suave imprecision of David Cameron – a message of clarity emerges from Liam Fox.And it is utter common sense and really quite simple.As are all effective political messages.With a sideswipe at the pathologically...