Scottish independence: Alex Salmond, the break-up of the UK is a matter for all of us | Daily Mail Online
First there are what the politicians like to call "process" matters - the rules of the game, so to speak.
The insufferably self-satisfied Alex Salmond (what would Ed Miliband give for some of that chutzpah?) wants the referendum in autumn 2014 so he can play Braveheart to the English invaders.
Challenge: Mr Salmond has unveiled plans to hold a referendum in 2014 ¿ setting the scene for a stand-off between Westminster and Holyrood over the future of the UK
Salmond calculates that the 700th anniversary of the Scottish victory at Bannockburn, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will rouse the Scots to such fits of patriotic fervour that they rally to his foolhardy campaign.
The trouble is Salmond does not have the legal power to call a binding referendum - that lies with the Westminster Parliament.
So we can expect much posturing and whingeing from the Scottish leader as he tries to outflank David Cameron's move to bring the issue to a head in 2013.
Then there is the question of the question on the ballot paper. Cameron and leading figures in the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties want a straight yes/no to the matter of an independent Scotland.
Concern: David Cameron's row with Alex Salmond over Scottish independence is threatening to escalate into a constitutional crisis
Salmond wants to hedge his bets. He knows that with the latest polling from Mori giving the No side a 57/38 lead, it is unlikely that the Scots will vote to go it alone - whenever a ballot is called.
So wily old Alex wants another question on the ballot paper - so called "Devo-Max" - which would amount to a beefed up form of devolution under which the Scots get all the goodies and the English get to pay for them - and which, surprise, surprise, is backed by 68 per cent of Scots.
With the three main parties all firmly in the unionist camp, Salmond faces an uphill fight to get his way.
Next is who gets to vote? Presumably, those people on the electoral roll in Scotland at the time of the referendum.
Independence: With the three main parties firmly supporting the union, Salmond faces an uphill struggle
But what about Scots living in England or even further afield? Some of them will want to have their say in a ballot that threatens to reverse a 300-year-old constitutional arrangement. Perhaps we will see some of them seeking to register to vote in Scotland.
Then we have the English, Welsh and Northern Irish. They are being denied any say on the potential break-up of their country - the United Kingdom, a cause for resentment in some quarters, you might expect.
Our national security would be gravely compromised if we were forced to withdraw our armed forces from north of the border and leave it to a tartan army (and navy and air force?) to defend hundreds of miles of largely deserted coastline.
What would happen to that if Scotland went independent and, presumably, nuclear free? None of our naval ports are suitable homes for our Trident submarines.
We might get some of our money back (the £11 billion a year taxpayer subsidy to Scotland). But equally we might find it far harder to defend ourselves from potential aggressors. And we can expect endless rows about who should benefit from the remaining North Sea oil and gas fields.
The principle has already been agreed across the political parties that only Scotland will vote on Scottish independence. But I suppose there is nothing to stop a few million English taking a long vacation around referendum time and putting their names on Scottish electoral registers? Expect a big turn-out for the Ryder Cup.
So much for the process questions. There are plenty of others - though ones mainly for the Scots. Do they want to join the EU in their own right and be bossed around by the big boys such as France and Germany? Would they like to join the euro and be bossed around even more? They may find themselves pining for the days when they were only bossed around by the English.
Perhaps Mr Salmond intends to volunteer once he has done his stint as Scotland's first prime minister. An alternative would be to revive the Scottish monarchy (a little cobwebbed at present) or alternatively they could elect one of those ghastly balsa-wood presidents to be found presiding over the less prominent bits of Europe.
How will they set up their own army, navy and airforce? These things don't come cheap. Or, to borrow a line from Monty Python, have they found somewhere where they can hire bombers by the hour?
Process and policy. They both matter a lot when it comes to ending a marriage dating back to the 18th Century.
The scale of the questions raised by the simple-minded call for an independent Scotland suggest that Mr Salmond's hopes of a Braveheart remake in 2014 may be disappointed.
John Major was right about one thing in the 1997 election campaign when he denounced Tony Blair's plans for Scottish devolution as a first step on the road to the break-up of the UK.
Carlo Ancelotti is on his way to take charge of Chelsea with a lucrative contract in his pocket - and a complicated past that raises echoes of Sven-Goran Eriksson's spell as England manager.
Eriksson's fiery relationship with Nancy Dell'Olio, which was punctuated with affairs with TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson and FA secretary Faria Alam, kept even the non-football loving public interested.
In contrast Ancelotti, it seems, will be footloose and fancy free when he hits London next month - having been left by the wife he cheated on and dumped by his younger mistress.
As he pondered his three-year contract worth £18million plus bonuses last night, the Italian might also have been wondering who might help him spend the fantastic salary.
Ancelotti, who will be 50 next week, has had to get used to featuring in Italy's celebrity magazines because of his private life.
His wife Luisa left him last October after 25 years of marriage and two children, claiming she was fed up with his hectic lifestyle which saw him shuttling every week between the family home in Reggiolo and Milan, the base of his former club, AC Milan.
However it later emerged that Ancelotti had been having a four-year affair with Romanian-born public relations girl Marina Cretu, 31, after meeting her in 2004 while she was working as a hostess for Modena football club.
Bucharest-born Marina said it was love at first sight as Ancelotti told her of his unhappy home life. She was soon telling friends that she had 'found the one' as she made plans to move to Milan and be closer to him.
Yesterday a former colleague at a TV station in Modena where she worked said: 'Marina could not stop talking about Carlo and was telling everyone how in love they were.
'She was really infatuated with him and she said that she was a shoulder for him to cry on as his domestic situation wasn't going very well.
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She got a job in the AC Milan press office, but Ancelotti asked her to hand in her notice because he didn't think it was a good idea to mix private and professional lives.
Ladies man: Ancelotti (left) is on his way to take charge of Chelsea with a lucrative contract in his pocket - and a complicated past that raises echoes of Sven-Goran Eriksson's spell as England manager
Eight months ago Ancelotti told an Italian magazine how he had been 'relegated to the subs' bench' by his wife.
Luisa claimed she left him because of his hectic lifestyle, rather than specifying another woman was involved. He said in the interview: 'Luisa has been the only real love of my life.'
Within three months, Marina dumped him too, claiming Ancelotti had lied to her that he was going out with his children when he had actually been with his wife.
Insiders say Ancelotti is keen on a reconciliation with Marina, who is now back in Bucharest, but is still torn at the idea of losing his childhood sweetheart, Luisa.
This stunning cocktail is sure to bring the New Year in with a sparkle! It's so decadent, but uses easy to-find ingredients and is quick to make.
Melt the marmalade in a pan, then whisk in the vodka. Add the crushed pods. Don't boil the mix, simply warm it for a few minutes.
Serve in glasses with a little more marmalade in the bottom, ice and a cardamom pod floating on top.
The noise heard in the ear can be a high-pitched whistling or buzzing, ringing, or hissing sound which may be there all the time, or comes and goes.
One theory is that the tinnitus sound is present in many people, but that their filtering system ignores it.
Some research suggests that when sufferers become anxious or annoyed at the sounds, the filtering system homes in even more on them and the perceived volume increases.
Although there have been many treatments suggested and tried for the condition, including masking noise, magnets, antidepressants and behaviour therapy, a cure remains elusive.
In the new clinical trial using rTMS, an electromagnet is placed on the scalp to generate mild magnetic field pulses which pass through the skull and stimulate the cerebral cortex - the outer portion of the brain where thought processes take place.
Sessions last between five and 30 minutes. During rTMS, the brain is stimulated for a few minutes using either a hand-held magnetic coil encased in plastic, or with a device that sits over the head.
The procedure is painless and does not require anaesthesia, and the patient has little or no sensation.
When rTMS is applied to areas of the brain which display increased activity and blood flow, it can reduce or suppress symptoms for a short time.
Researchers at the University of Tuebingen in Germany and at the University of Arkansas have shown it can be highly effective.
In the American study, all the patients responded to the treatment. For some, symptoms were suppressed for up to four weeks after the treatment.
"It is a promising treatment that can transiently diminish tinnitus in some individuals," the researchers say.
Similar results were obtained by the team in Germany, but it also found that the longer and the more intensive the therapy, the longer the relief from symptoms lasted.
Commenting on the research, Dr Ralph Holme, head of biomedical research at the RNID, said: "Tinnitus can be a debilitating condition. It affects seven million people in the UK, according to RNID estimates, yet there is no known cure.
"Though the research into new treatments is at a very early stage, RNID welcomes any advancement in our understanding of tinnitus."
Supreme Court slams Centre for failing to help nurses 'exploited and harassed' by hospitals | Daily Mail Online
The Supreme Court has slammed the Centre for doing nothing to ameliorate the working conditions of lakhs of nurses across the country, who are being “harassed and exploited” in various ways by private and government hospitals and nursing homes despite an apex court order three years ago.
The nurses had knocked on the door of the apex court through a PIL in 2011, saying they were being treated like bonded labourers and even paid less than the minimum wage prescribed by the law.
Narrating the kind of harassment, they said hospital authorities often withheld their original educational certificates to prevent them from quitting when they get better offers.
A large number of affected nurses hail from Kerala, and have done short stints in various hospitals across the country till they get lucrative offers in some foreign country, mostly in the Gulf.
“All their certificates, including B.Sc nursing certificates and nursing council registration certificate submitted earlier, are not returned when they want and some hospitals give them back after charging up to Rs 50,000 as penalty. This is happening in most hospitals. An opportunity to excel in life is denied. There is no law for withholding original certificates,” said Romy Chacko, the counsel for Indian Professional Nurses’ Association, the petitioner.
As per the November 2011 order, the court had asked the Centre and state governments to crack down on hospitals indulging in harassment of nurses and also frame guidelines.
The court has made it clear that such behaviour from hospitals will not be tolerated any further and authorities have to act immediately.
Minister orders major review of law on children at risk in the wake of the Baby P tragedy | Daily Mail Online
A sweeping review into the legal barriers preventing children from being taken into care was launched today in the wake of the Baby P case.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls announced that he was asking child safety expert Lord Laming to look into how the law could be changed to better protect children at risk of abuse.
Unveiling the terms of the nationwide inquiry, Mr Balls said he wanted to see whether the correct balance was being struck between following procedure and the needs of a child.
He also ordered Lord Laming, who was in charge of the inquiry into Victoria Climbie, to look at whether it was proper for social services chiefs to be allowed to sit on "safeguarding" boards scrutinising council conduct.
Mr Balls' announcement came as a fellow minister whose constituency covers Haringey today warned that heads could roll at the council over the death of 17-month-old Baby P. Enlarge
The last picture of Baby P, left, taken days before he was found dead. And an image of the innocent youngster taken weeks before
Tottenham MP and Skills Minister David Lammy told Radio 4's World at One programme: "Once the inquiry is complete, if there are systematic failures then heads will have to roll."
"The whole nation has been deeply shocked, appalled and angered by the tragic death of 17-month old Baby P," he added.
In a letter to Lord Laming, Mr Balls said he wanted to know "the key barriers, including in the legal process, that may impede efficient and effective work with children". He also signalled staff could be fired at the council. "I will not hestitate to act on the findings of what went wrong," he said.
Haringey has also come under fire because its children's services director Sharon Shoesmith sat on the local children's safeguarding board which was meant to monitor
He was placed with a family friend for five weeks, against police advice, and then returned to his mother.
Child safety campaigners condemned the decision in January last year, calling it effectively a 'death sentence'. The fair haired, blue-eyed toddler was found dead in August last year.
He had suffered months of horrific abuse at the hands of his mother, her sadistic boyfriend and their lodger - agony which would have been prevented if warnings from police and social workers had been heeded.
Baby P's grandmother, who last saw him days before he died, told how she had also alerted social services that he was being abused.
Speaking out for the first time, she said: 'They didn't want to know. I will never forgive social workers for what's happened.'
Her daughter, 27, even lied that the defenceless toddler's injuries had been caused by the grandmother, who was subsequently arrested.
Fighting back tears, she told the Sun: 'I was exonerated the day before he died. If I had realised things were so bad I would have done more to stop it. I blame myself.'
The BBC programme Panorama will tonight claim that the decision to return Baby P to his mother was taken by Clive Preece, head of Haringey's Children in Need and Safeguarding Service.
But the council has issued a statement categorically denying that he had taken the decision. It insisted Baby P's fate was decided by 'a multi-agency meeting' which drew up a plan for his return home.
Mor Dioum, director of the Victoria Climbie Foundation, said: 'This boy was given a death sentence and Haringey cannot be allowed to get away with it.
'There needs to be a public inquiry into the failings which let this boy down. We have all failed him.'
Teenager reveals full horror of shocking ordeal suffered by Baby P at the hands of his tormentors Baby P's social worker was overloaded with 18 child protection cases
MELANIE PHILLIPS: The liberals who did so much to destroy the family must share the blame for Baby P Haringey Council harassed me for raising the alarm, claims child protection whistleblower
The battle over the baby's care began when he was first admitted to hospital in December 2006, with a blood clot on his face and bruises across his chest.
Doctors referred him to social services. Social workers held a crisis meeting and wanted to take him into care immediately. Senior social worker Sylvia Henry found a potential foster family.
Two passers-by read a sign, concerning the Baby P murder case, stuck on the window of the Hornsey and Wood Green Labour Party office
Miss Henry's witness statement to police investigating the toddler's death, leaked to Panorama, said she was 'very reluctant' to allow this.
But the law says social workers must consider placing children with relatives or friends before they go to strangers.
Miss Henry warned that she believed Miss Godfrey was too trusting of Baby P's mother and appeared to believe her account that his injuries were accidental.
His mother was arrested on suspicion of assaulting him but she told police the injuries could have happened while he was with her own mother.
Police duly arrested Baby P's grandmother as well and the child was put on Haringey's Child Protection Register as a possible abuse victim.
Miss Henry delayed his return and kept the foster family ready, but a social services investigation into the abuse allegations was inconclusive and she was forced to obey Mr Preece's instruction.
She was told Baby P's mother would be supervised and supported and on January 26 2007 he was returned home.
Social services arranged for his jobless mother to attend a parenting class and allocated the family a social worker, Maria Ward.
But Miss Ward was already overloaded. She was the allocated social worker for 18 children, despite a Haringey recommendation that social workers should be responsible for a maximum of 12 cases.
She was one of a string of social workers, health visitors and doctors who saw the toddler 60 times in the months before his death. They all failed to intervene.
He was given a child protection check-up two months later and doctors found 12 areas of bruising. But again he was returned to his mother, despite police saying he should go into care.
The corporation made the Six O'Clock News presenter resign from the Fairtrade Foundation, which helps farmers in the developing world, because it said there could be a conflict of interest.
Yesterday, as Alagiah expressed his astonishment at the move, critics accused the BBC of double standards.
Frustrated: Six O'Clock News presenter George Alagiah has been forced to step down by BBC bosses as patron of the Fairtrade Foundation
The corporation has refused to take any action over BBC1 controller Jay Hunt, even though her media coaching firm makes money from training the broadcaster's staff.
Miss Hunt, who earns up to £280,000 a year, is company secretary of BrightsparkTV, owned by her husband Ian Blandford.
BrightsparkTV has a contract with the BBC to coach staff and uses the broadcaster's studios - but the corporation has insisted this is not a conflict of interest.
Bizarrely, the BBC has only just made the ruling about Alagiah despite the fact he has had the charity role for seven years.
In a letter announcing he was stepping down published in the summer edition of the Fairtrade Foundation's magazine, Alagiah wrote: 'My senior colleagues at the BBC have come to the conclusion that being the official patron of the Fairtrade Foundation is no longer compatible with being a high-profile journalist in BBC News.
Conflict of interest: The BBC has refused to take action over Jay Hunt whose media training company makes money from the corporation
'They believe that Fairtrade represents a potential conflict of interest which could undermine my impartiality.
'In the many years that I have been your patron there has not been a single complaint (that I am aware of) to the BBC, so you can imagine how taken aback I was by the decision.'
Insiders said the decision was made in part because the 53-year-old is presenting a series on food for BBC2 later this year.
'Jay Hunt is an unpaid company secretary at Brightspark TV and has absolutely no involvement in whether or not it is used by the BBC nor is she involved in any other commercial aspect of the company.
'There is absolutely no conflict of interest. The George Alagiah issue relates to the fact that he is a news journalist and the Fairtrade Foundation is a charity which takes a position on food and trade and promotes those views to the public.
But Tory MP Philip Davies, who sits on the influential media select committee, said: 'I think the corporation must accept that issues like that surrounding Miss Hunt and her husband's company are also of huge concern to the public.'
Bizarrely, the corporation has only just made the ruling about Alagiah despite the fact that he has had the role for seven years.
Mr Alagiah’s wife Frances is a senior fundraiser with the Fairtrade Foundation. He said today he was particularly surprised as he went through all the correct procedures when he first took up the position.
The star added: 'I did what I had to do. I told the BBC authorities and they signed it off. (Now) the reason being given is Fairtrade is somehow controversial and represents a conflict of interests.'
Insiders admitted the decision was in part because the 53-year-old is presenting a new series on food for BBC2 later this year.
The Fairtrade Foundation, which works to improve the lives of farmers and workers in developing countries through trade and buying produce at fair prices, said the loss of such a high profile figure was a major blow.
As patron, Mr Alagiah would chair major events such as the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight and travel around the UK supporting local events such as business breakfasts and conferences.
A spokeswoman said the broadcaster had tightened guidelines in the past few years and was continually assessing whether rules were being met.
She said: 'This is not a judgment on Fairtrade but is about ensuring the impartiality of the BBC. George is a news journalist and this is a charity which takes a position on food and trade and promotes those views to the public.
'We fully understand that the decision is a very disappointing one for the Fairtrade Foundation and for George, but the BBC has a duty to protect its reputation for impartiality".
Justin King the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, the first major supermarket to stock Fairtrade produce, said he was perplexed by the BBC’s decision.
Stuart Etherington of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations said: ‘We would be very concerned if those in the public eye were not allowed to involve themselves in the valuable work of charities.’
Earlier this year more than 22,000 people complained after the broadcaster refused to air a campaign from the Disasters Emergency Committee raising money for the aid effort in Gaza.
Director general Mark Thompson said showing the advert, which detailed the extent of suffering and poverty caused by the conflict in the Middle East, could have compromised the broadcaster's impartiality.
The day 'General' Dizaei met the Iranian president (and guess who paid for the trip) | Daily Mail Online
This is the moment disgraced police chief Ali Dizaei addressed a pre-election 'rally' for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while suspended on full pay.
Ahmadinejad has previously caused outrage by questioning whether the Holocaust happened and calling for Israel to be 'wiped off the face of the earth'.
Anti-racist campaigner Dizaei was treated like a VIP at the event for Iranian ex-pats last April - even though he was under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission for fitting up an Iraqi website designer.
Mac on... Met Commander Ali Dizaei facing the sack Shamed police chief Ali Dizaei faces sack within weeks after being jailed for framing an innocent man
The Iranian-born Met commander - who on Monday was jailed for four years for corruption - was called 'General Dizaei' by fellow delegates and Ahmadinejad bowed when he was introduced to him.
The revelation that he was in cahoots with Ahmadinejad's appalling regime raises new questions about the threat he posed to national security in Britain.
When Dizaei, 47, was acquitted of corruption in 2003, it emerged that MI 5 had been ' extremely concerned' about his links to a security attache at the Iranian Embassy in London.
The Daily Mail can also reveal that before Dizaei was suspended over the latest corruption offences, he used a pay-as-you-go mobile phone to contact a very senior official in the Iranian Embassy.
Dizaei's 24-year police career is in ruins after he was jailed for assaulting and falsely arresting Iraqi businessman Waad al-Baghdadi, 24, who had asked for £600 he was owed for a website showcasing Dizaei's controversial career.
Metropolitan Police Commander Ali Dizaei arrives at Southwark Crown Court with his wife Shy on Monday
For Dizaei to visit the country of his birth is understandable. But he attended the conference not only as a senior London police officer, but as a guest of a repressive regime which is perhaps the most hostile in the world to British interests.
The Congress for Iranian Affairs Abroad was hosted by Ahmadinejad, whose office picked the delegates. A source said: 'Although it was meant to be a conference it was clearly presented as a rally for intellectuals supporting Ahmadinejad.'
The conference began on April 14, weeks before Ahmadinejad retained the Iranian presidency in elections widely condemned as rigged and which provoked deadly demonstrations on the streets.
A foreign-based delegate, who knows Dizaei, confirmed his attendance at the gathering and said: 'Anyone who was anyone, provided they weren't too harsh a critic of the regime, was there.
'Clearly, there was an agenda which was to encourage anti-Western feeling to show Iran was right and the rest of the world wrong.'
He added: 'Dizaei was met by the president and vice-president and to my amusement everyone kept referring to him as General Dizaei.
'Members of the Revolutionary Guard seemed honoured to get an opportunity to speak with him and were bowing in his honour.'
At the time he was still its president - he stepped down after he was charged with corruption last May. Iranian news agencies said he called for a closer working relationship between British and Iranian police.
The academic said Dizaei presented himself as a victim of racist or anti-Iranian sentiment - 'the suggestion he had encountered prejudice which led to his persecution in UK was certainly emphasised'.
Last night Scotland Yard said of its £590 payment towards the cost of Dizaei's trip: 'Ali Dizaei travelled in his capacity as a member of the National Black Police Association.
'In line with long-standing staff association agreements, funding may be provided in part by the Met to support their activity. At the time of suspension, the Metropolitan Police Authority as his disciplinary authority agreed to Ali Dizaei continuing his work with the NBPA.'
Dai Davies, former head of the Met's Royalty Protection Squad said: 'It beggars belief that those in command of the Met aided and abetted this now proven criminal to go to a country which by any definition is suspect.
El Ponchis, the sadistic executioner who is terrorising Mexico.... at the age of 12 | Daily Mail Online
But unlike most of the brutal players in the country's horrific drug wars, El Ponchis (The Cloak) is just 12 years old.
The diminutive hitman, whose real name is not known, is in the pay of a Mexican cartel battling for control of the cocaine trade.
Deadly: El Ponchis poses with a gun. He is just 12 but is believed to have killed dozens of people in his role as executioner for one of Mexico's drug cartels
He works alongside a posse of women dubbed the Chavelas, who are responsible for dumping the bodies of his victims.
A Mexican Army spokesman said: 'We understand El Ponchis works under the command of Julio Jesus Radilla.
His favoured technique is to slit the throats of his victims using a cutting technique which leaves the head hanging by a thread.
El Ponchis works for the South Pacific Cartel (SPC) which operates in Morelos, Mexico, and is headed by Radilla.
Most of its members are between 12 and 23. They are behind a number of brutal massacres and Radilla and El Ponchis reportedly escaped when the Mexican army raided an SPC base in the town of Tejalpa last month.
Latest figures suggest more than 50 people are killed by drug cartels every day. The death toll for the year is set to exceed 18,000.
The drug war has fuelled violence across the country. Here, Mexican Army soldiers guard the area after a group of armed men opened fire on a family, leaving three dead and three wounded
FORMER immigration minister Phil Woolas will make a last-ditch attempt to save his political career next week – after supporters raised £30,000 in 24 hours for his legal fighting fund.
Mr Woolas was booted out of Parliament and the Labour Party last week after two High Court judges ruled that he had spread lies about his Liberal Democrat opponent and stirred up racial tensions as he fought to save his seat at the General Election.
Some legal experts say the election law concerned does not give Mr Woolas any right to appeal. But yesterday the High Court agreed to hear an unprecedented application for a judicial review of the election court’s decision. It begins on Tuesday.
If the application is thrown out – as an earlier one was this week – it will effectively end Mr Woolas’s career. If it is accepted, he will need to raise about £200,000 to bring a full judicial review.
After last week’s ruling Labour said it would not fund an appeal by Mr Woolas, but friends, including Labour MPs, launched a fighting fund, which has already raised more than £30,000.
Meanwhile, Commons Speaker John Bercow yesterday issued a ‘clarification’ to say that the political parties could call a by-election in Mr Woolas’s former constituency, even though legal action is continuing.
Principles: Harriet Harman is under attack for saying Phil Woolas would not be readmitted into the labour party
Many are furious at deputy leader Harriet Harman for ruling that there was no way back for him in Labour politics even if he wins an unlikely appeal.
But others are uneasy about the image of Labour rallying round a man who has been kicked out of Parliament for spreading lies.
Former leadership contender Diane Abbott said today that Mr Woolas was not a martyr and had ‘certainly enjoyed due process’.
Writing on the Guardian website she said: ‘The loyalty of Phil Woolas’s friends does them credit. But they need to try and see this how the public does.
'The Labour Party should never get involved in the politics of racial division. And although lying about your opponents (both inside and outside the party) may be commonplace… it is a way of doing politics that the public loathes and the party should be moving away from.’
Backbencher Graham Stringer said fellow Labour MPs were ‘unanimously’ of the view that the comments made about Mr Woolas went too far.
Mr Woolas was last Friday stripped of his seat and barred from elected office for three years, in the first ruling of its kind for 99 years. He faces the prospect of a criminal inquiry.
More stores are expected to go bust following a Christmas that saw families tightening their belts and spending less money on the high street.
The warning comes from the British Retail Consortium against the background of the longest cost of living squeeze in a century.
With families cutting back over Christmas, the value of sales through bricks and mortar outlets in December dropped compared with last year.
Foreign factor: Experts said stores were boosted by customers from China and the Middle East. Shoppers are pictured on Boxing Day at Selfridges in London
The figure would have been even worse but for a last minute rush on the weekend before Christmas, with shoppers taking advantage of savage price cuts on gifts and clothes.
The total value of retail sales in the crucial month of December rose by an ‘underwhelming’ 1.5 per cent.
But the experts said it was only the increase in online shopping – where sales rose 17.8 per cent on a year ago – that ensured total retail sales did not fall into the red.
The figures were revealed as the UK’s fourth largest supermarket, Morrisons, announced its Christmas sales were down by 2.5 per cent.
Customers switched to budget rivals, such as Aldi and Lidl, and internet shopping, which Morrisons does not offer.
The high street is facing an unprecedented squeeze as struggling families cut back on their spending and switch to shopping online.
Families battered by rising food and energy prices, which have outpaced increases in pay and pensions for four years, are making major lifestyle changes and are spending less and less on the high street.
Retail chains closed stores at a rate of 32 a day during last year in a dramatic escalation of the crisis turning many urban centres into ghost towns.
Falling: The UK's fourth largest supermarket, Morrisons, said its Christmas sales were down by 2.5 per cent
A number of household names – Comet, Peacocks, La Senza, Blacks, Game, Clinton Cards, and JJB Sports – all went into administration.
It said half of all squeezed families – 51 per cent – intend to cut back on food spending over the next six months.
Sales of traditional toys fell this Christmas as youngsters switched to technology such as tablets and smartphones.
Money spent on toys that involve handling, building or the imagination were down by two per cent during 2012, according to the BRC.
It said: ‘Toys didn’t have the best Christmas ever. Some items like Lego were particularly trendy, but retailers reported a shift in the Christmas shopping pattern seeing interest for traditional toys and gifts replaced by more electronic items, tablets in particular.’
Traditionalists will rue the change in culture, for many technology based games involve solitary play, rather than groups, and leave little room for imagination.
Apart from tablets, such as the Apple iPads, Amazon Kindle series and Google Nexus, the BRC said there were strong sales for trendy earmuff style headphones.
It said department stores had a good Christmas and highlighted the huge influx of foreign tourists for the January sales, who were chasing designer handbags and shoes.
The BRC said: ‘A significant portion of the growth came from ‘export’ sales to customers from China, the Middle East and Nigeria.’
The figure rises to 67 per cent for parents with teenagers, who are finding it particularly tough to put food on the table while paying for other essentials.
It suggests Government pledges to tackle high street decline and the decision to hire ‘Queen of Shops’ Mary Portas to devise a rescue plan have little chance of success.
Miss Portas published an action plan last year calling for measures to make it easier to change shops to other uses, more free parking in towns and cuts in business rates.
Following her proposals, the Government announced that 15 towns would be given £100,000 each to resurrect their fortunes as part of a project that Miss Portas will feature in a new TV series.
Even Miss Portas has admitted that a number of high streets are beyond saving and town centres need to be switched to other uses such as housing, schools, gyms and community facilities.
BRC director general Helen Dickinson warned of tough times, saying: ‘During 2012, the number of shop failures went up by about 6 per cent on the previous year.
‘Looking into 2013, with a tough environment there is a risk that we are going to see more of the same.
‘If you are operating in a low growth environment with costs you need to manage, that becomes more and more difficult.’
She said families do not have the cash to spend, which means there is little hope of any improvement.
'Queen of shops': Mary Portas published an action plan last year calling for measures to make it easier to change shops to other uses, more free parking in towns and cuts in business rates
‘If you look at the amount of money people have got in their pockets that is expected to continue to be under pressure. Consumers can’t create money out of nowhere,’ she said.
The BRC’s Retail Sales Monitor is compiled in partnership with accountants KPMG, whose head of retail, David McCorquodale, said: ‘While consumer confidence remains low, shoppers will tighten their belts and rein in their spending, making life difficult for the average retailer.
Morrisons’ disappointing Christmas figures were driven by a shift in shopping habits towards budget stores.
The company also lost out because it does not have as many small convenience stores as rivals and is not selling groceries via the internet.
It is expected to make a move into online food sales later this year, while it has signed up Ant and Dec to front its advertising.
Empty shelves across Venezuela due to tumbling oil prices create a new industry: People queuing up for goods that have probably run out earn more than professors
Krisbell Villarroel is one of many people who make a living by waiting in line to buy everything from milk and sugar to diapers and shampoo
Shortages of basic goods in crisis-hit Venezuela has created a lucrative new profession... queuing to buy things for other people.
The country is experiencing a recession triggered in part by a scarcity of hard currency - which limits imports of essential goods.
As a result, there are shortages of nearly a third of all basic goods and as well as tumbling oil prices, inflation ballooned to 64% last year.
Krisbell Villarroel is one of many people who make a living by waiting in line to buy everything from milk and sugar to diapers and shampoo.
Falling oil prices and shortages of goods in crisis-hit Venezuela has created a lucrative new profession. Pictured, nearly empty shelves at a supermarket in Caracas
Many people now make a living queuing to buy basics for those who can afford to hire someone to wait in line. Pictured, lines outside a supermarket due to a long term shortage in Caracas, Venezuela
The 22-year-old single mother of two small children in Caracas, told AFP: 'Every day, I have to get up at two in the morning and call my friends to find out where things are for sale or what is for sale.
'That is how I spend my day. I get out of the first line at 10:00 am and then perhaps go to another to see what they are selling.
'In one store, I might get milk, sugar or coffee, but in another - flour, rice, diapers or shampoo.'
Rumours of Fidel Castro's death are dismissed... by... Pictured: The woman who claims she is the daughter of the...
She said her customers are families who do not have the time or really the need to wait in line, such as business people who can afford to pay someone else to do it for them.
Each day, she makes between 600 and 1,200 bolivars per shopping assignment (which is 3.6 to 7.1 dollars at the black market exchange rate).
She earns at least 13,200 bolivars a month (about $80) by reselling items to her customers - more than some university professors make.
The country's economic woes have triggered severe shortages of some staple products, with government-controlled supermarkets now limiting the amount of certain products customers can purchase
There are shortages of nearly a third of all basic goods in Venezuela and inflation ballooned to 64% last year
But she adds it is hard to juggle this kind of work with raising small kids and she is sometimes forced to take with her to the stores.
'No one lets me cut in front of them. I have to be there and it's hard because the kids are restless and get tired,' she said.
She pays them for their spot and sells them part of her loot because, as she says, 'everything has a price.'
But waiting in line at night is risky in a crime-ridden nation with the second highest murder rate in the world, at 58 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the World Health Organization.
'If this problem of the lines is resolved I would have to find another job in order to look after my daughters. I am raising them alone, and that is why I do it. There are many women like me,' she added.
Ms Villarroel says she is paid to buy everything from milk and sugar to flour, rice, diapers or shampoo
Some restaurant owners have employees whose only job is to wait in line to buy food to put on the menu
'If I want 10 packages of cornmeal, why can I only have four? It should not be that way,' she said, referring to rationing imposed by stores.
And several restaurant owners in the Venezuelan capital say they have employees whose only job is to wait in line at supermarkets and stores to buy food to put on the menu.
In recent days, as long, slow moving lines formed at stores and some fights broke out, the government has ordered security forces to guard state-owned and private supermarkets.
Some pro-government state governments have even banned people from lining up at night outside stores.
Venezuela gets 96% of its foreign currency from oil and 2015 has already seen a sharp fall in oil prices.
The government of Nicolas Maduro says the country is at 'economic war' triggered by the opposition and by business people bent on destabilizing his administration.
But many economists say the model Maduro inherited from his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, of currency and price controls has been a failure and accentuated the country's dependency on oil as a main source of revenue.
2015 has already seen a sharp fall in oil prices which could make shortages and rationing at stores even worse in the coming months
So now we know. The real damage to our education system is not being done by a Government that has presided over the dumbing down of exams or teachers' unions which have lost public respect, but by parents.
According to David Hart, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, too many homes lack good parental role models, keep their children on an atrocious diet, use television as a babysitter and collude with truancy.
Of course, some parents are irresponsible - and Mr Hart is right to say that "inadequate parenting" exists in every social class.
But most do a good job in difficult circumstances, where they are criticised if they take a stand and damned if they do not.
Doesn't real responsibility lie with a Government that has encouraged the collapse in respect for traditional family values and shamefully failed to keep its promise to improve education standards?
And what about the unions? How can teachers command respect from their pupils when they barrack politicians and so regularly consider strike action at their annual conferences that you could set your clock by them.
Surely nothing has done more to undermine order than the enthusiasm - supported by many teachers - for the progressive liberal belief that structure and discipline in the classroom are oppressive.
How typical of New Labour's dishonest approach to the European Union that Tony Blair is to ban ministers from campaigning for a No vote in the referendum on the proposed constitution.
Surely the only peculiar thing would be to have a referendum without a debate in which everyone, of whatever party, can express their views honestly.
That happened in 1975 when Harold Wilson freed his cabinet from collective responsibility in the campaign on whether Britain should remain in the EU.
But we should not be surprised that Mr Blair, having been forced to let the public have their say, should try to manipulate every aspect of the referendum.
First he allows his decision to be leaked to minimise the impact of his humiliating climbdown. Then he tries to smear the constitution's opponents as extremists who want to take Britain out of the EU.
referendum - though you can bet we won't be asked simply if we are in favour of the constitution - and Mr Blair has ducked and dived when challenged to say whether there would be a second poll if the first produced a No vote.
Britain has never had a serious debate on Europe as the free-trade bloc has changed into a federalist juggernaut.
The public has a right to insist that the Prime Minister does not destroy this opportunity by more mendacity and spin.
It's kick the motorist time again. Not content with seeing them fined and clamped for minor technical offences, Kim Howells wants to tax them off the road and on to public transport.
The Transport Minister scarcely helps his case with the hapless remark that drivers can be taxed out of their habit, just like smokers - many have to drive cars, no one needs a cigarette.
But the real reason that so many people drive is that there is little decent public transport. If Mr Howells really wants to cut car use, he should ensure bus and train services that work.
Student 'missing for a day-and-a-half after she failed to turn up for Christmas lunch' has still not been in touch her family or police... (but she has been very active online) | Daily Mail Online
Student 'missing for three days after she failed to turn up for Christmas lunch' has still not been in touch with her family or police (but has found time to talk about her new fame)
Ms Gayther has suffered backlash after complaining that her parents' concern made her 'look like a c***'
Facebook posts claiming that a student reported missing on Christmas Day is actually safe and well may have been posted by someone else, police have said.
Isabel Gayther was reported missing by her mother, Elizabeth, after failing to arrive at her family's £500,000 home in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, for Christmas lunch.
Since then, she appears to have written a number of posts alluding to a family feud, claiming that she did not go due to a dispute with her mother.
Isabel Gayther was reported missing by her mother Elizabeth (pictured together) on Christmas Day and police are still investigating the case
The student (pictured) was last seen in London on a night out with friends on Christmas Eve, but she appears to claim she is safe and well on Facebook
The King's College student posted to say that she was safe well on Facebook after news of her Christmas Day 'disappearance' hit the national headlines
The 21-year-old shared a link with the caption 'should you divorce your mother?' after, suggesting that she did not visit her family for Christmas due to a disagreement
Ms Gayther's posts led to backlash on social media, and she hit back at those who called her 'selfish', but police say they cannot be sure that she is the person behind the posts
However, she has still not been in touch with police or her family and officers told MailOnline they are investigating the possibility someone else is using her social media account.
A spokesman for the Met Police told MailOnline: 'The investigation is still ongoing and we are still appealing for her or anyone who has seen her to get in touch with us.
'We are aware of the social media posts but cannot confirm if it was her who wrote them or someone else.'
Desperate search for missing father and his young daughter,... Home for Christmas: Mother and her two young children who...
The 21-year-old had last been seen on Christmas Eve at her Unite Students halls of residence in New Cross, south east London, and her disappearance was described as 'extremely out of character'.
But after police issued an appeal to try and track down the King's College student, a series of comments posts appeared on Ms Gayther's Facebook page, suggesting she was safe and complaining that her parents' concern made her 'look like a c***'.
The post read: 'A day and half I'm out of contact and this is what happens??? I AM NOT MISSING peace.
'This is the second time my mum has filed a missing persons report, for a missing person I just keep coming back. Now I look like a c***.'
The comments later appeared to hint at a family argument, with one status saying: 'One word Enmeshment mother enmeshment...'
Enmeshment was a term coined by Argentine family therapist Salvador Minuchin in the 70s to describe a situation where 'over-concern' by family members stops a person 'developing'.
A Met police spokesman admitted the situation looked like a 'misunderstanding' but said officers still do not know her current location.
Ms Gayther's posts led to backlash on social media, with several people criticising her for failing to get in touch with her parents.
When one person called her 'selfish', she replied 'why the f*** do you care' before adding: 'Haven't u got better things to do? Like go to sales or or buy a new tracksuit [sic]'.
Police are keen to speak with Isabel and have not yet made contact with her. She has also not yet been in touch with her family
Wearing a dressing gown as he opened the door, he told: 'There is no comment and please be aware that there is an [police] investigation so we would appreciate some privacy.'
Neighbours said they had never met the Gaythers. The family had only moved into the Victorian semi-detached house a few weeks ago, after moving from their three-bed £350,000 home less than a mile away.
Scotland Yard detectives have still not been able to confirm she was safe and establish whether she had sent the Facebook posts.
A spokesman said: ‘We are aware that on Tuesday 27 December messages have been sent via Isabel’s Facebook account.
‘At this stage, officers are yet to speak with Isabel. As such, a police investigation continues with the aim of establishing that she is indeed safe and well.’
They said: ‘This is extremely out of character for her and officers and her family are extremely concerned for her safety and wellbeing.’
Ms Gayther is described as white, with olive skin and long dark hair, a slim build and was last seen wearing a dark coloured dress.
Student 'missing for a day-and-a-half after she failed to turn up for Christmas lunch' has still not been in touch her family or police... (but she has been very active online)
Pastry Week completed the Channel 4 transformation of The Great British Bake Off, by JIM SHELLEY | Daily Mail Online
The Great British Bake Off has already completed the process of re-inventing itself after the show's supposedly golden days at the BBC - its Channel4nification if you like.
A mere fourteen months after the launch of GBBO: Version 4, Pastry Week proved the ghost of Mary Berry had been fully exorcised as there was not a single 'soggy bottom' to be seen (or tasted).
Episode 6 of the programme's most enjoyable, unconventional, series yet demonstrated the new station's determination to embrace the concept of Diversity.
Dramatic: Not one 'soggy bottom' but 'vegetarian mermaids', 'sea transsexuals', Slipknot, and 'scandalous' French tarts... Pastry Week completed the Channel 4 transformation of The Great British Bake Off, by JIM SHELLEY
The three Challenges spanned India to Tudor England via France as traditional 'delicacies' such as Spotted Dick, Cornish pasties, and Mary's legendary Bakewell were replaced with samosas, a Banquet Pie, and Puit D'Amour tartlets.
Bake Off winner Candice Brown's co-stars post sweet snaps as... GBBO winner Candice Brown reveals she has secretly MARRIED... Noel Fielding shows off his new blonde hair after Great... GBBO's Prue Leith reveals 'disgusting' habit as she...
'I didn't know I had a Well Of Love to be honest!' cried Briony. (Let's not go there, don't put yourself down etc.)
250 years ago, we heard, these tarts were considered 'scandalous' due to the 'erotic connotations of its look and name.'
RIP: A mere 14 months after the launch of GBBO: Version 4, Pastry Week proved the ghost of Mary Berry had been fully exorcised as there was not a single 'soggy bottom' to be seen
Switch: The three Challenges spanned India to Tudor England via France as traditional 'delicacies' were replaced with samosas, a Banquet Pie, and Puit D'Amour tartlets
Pastry Week was littered with evidence of GBBO's Channel4nification with references to a 'vegetarian mermaid' (by Kim-Joy), a merman – basically a sea transsexual' (Noel Fielding), and Ruby authoritatively informing Sandi Toksvig that 'size doesn't matter.'
The good old days of Mary Berry and her 'soggy bottom' suddenly seemed very quaint and from another era, not December 2016.
'What would Mary Say?' you wondered when Jon began Pastry Week by declaring: 'Pastry is possessed by the devil. Turn your back on it and it will eat you alive!'
Cheeky! Pastry Week was littered with evidence of GBBO's Channel4nification with references to a 'vegetarian mermaid' and a 'sea transsexual'
Dan's Signature Challenge (pear, stilton, and chopped walnut samosas) started badly when he discovered his dough had become 'over-worked.'
But it was hard to feel much sympathy given that Dan had come up with the brainwave of feeding his mixture into 'a pasta roller' - rather than just laboriously kneading/ pounding it like the other Bakers and every mere mortal down the ages.
When he lamented: 'I let the machine go on too long!' the phrase 'D'oh !' had never been more fitting.
In the end the way Paul Hollywood had to saw them open with a carving knife they looked more like rock cakes.
Oops! In the end the way Paul Hollywood had to saw his samosas open with a carving knife they looked more like rock cakes
'It was just such a terrible day,' he sighed. 'I just feel embarrassed because...it looks like I can't bake. I'm going to go and have a drink!'
Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith confirmed Dan needed to deliver in the Showstopper, unless Manon really messed hers up.
It didn't bode well when Dan explained the concept for his Banquet Pie saying: 'I had this interesting idea, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea...'
Scary: It didn't bode well when Dan explained the concept for his Banquet Pie saying: 'I had this interesting idea, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea...'
Strange: We suspected he was right when he explained this was for a 'fish-shaped' Salmon Coulibac that he would spray 'to create a fish scale effect'
We suspected he was right when he explained this was for a 'fish-shaped' Salmon Coulibac that he would spray 'to create a fish scale effect.'
'I want to ask Dan if he needs help but I know it will probably stress him out,' said Ruby compassionately.
'It looks more like a monkfish than a salmon doesn't it?!' cheered Paul Hollywood, not really improving Dan's mood.
'I don't want to eat it!' chipped in Prue, kicking a man when he was down. 'It looks like a great raw fish sitting there!'
Odd: 'I don't want to eat it!' chipped in Prue, kicking a man when he was down. 'It looks like a great raw fish sitting there!'
Prue Leith offered the consolation: 'the salmon itself has lovely flavour' but this only inflamed Hollywood to thunder: 'this Challenge is about a celebration of pastry. And that is NOT a celebration of pastry!'
Gone: Dan's 'terrible' pastry had been 'particularly disappointing', he said later, 'because he has been so good until now' - a Star Baker in fact
Dan's 'terrible' pastry had been 'particularly disappointing', he said later, 'because he has been so good until now' - a Star Baker in fact.
Thrilled: Briony's Star Baker triumph was almost as surprising as Dan's disaster. 'You are a dark horse!' commented Prue, admiringly
Briony's beetroot, spinach, and port-soaked cranberry-flavoured samosas sounded revolting but Paul described them as 'the best-looking samosas I have ever seen.'
Prue Leith said Briony's Puit D'Amours were 'elegant, uniform, and utterly delicious' so unsurprisingly won the Technical Challenge.
Briony probably won the Showstopper too with a banquet pie that had a Mad Hatter's Tea Party-theme - 'hence the dress' she smiled referring to her yellow number adorned with cups, saucers, and playing cards etc as if dressing up like the Showstopper you were making was standard on the Bake Off.
Delighted: Briony probably won the Showstopper too with a banquet pie that had a Mad Hatter's Tea Party-theme
'The steam hole of my Banquet Pie is going to have Alice's legs and her skirt sticking out as she goes down the rabbit hole,' Briony explained about her huge (Mad) hat-shaped, venison-flavoured, pie. Naturally...
The surface came equipped with 'playable croquet' - as Prue Leith demonstrated by knocking a ball through the hoop: a hedgehog through a curled up flamingo. (Not real ones. Not yet anyway.)
Briony's pie allowed Leith to complete the very English hat-trick of venison, croquet, and port. 'That is pure Prue!' cheered Noel Fielding.
New thing: The way Prue grabbed Rahul's wrists with both hands and shook them/him was alarming but better than the smug 'honour' Paul bestows so often now
The way Prue grabbed Rahul's wrists with both hands and shook them/him was alarming but better than the smug 'honour' Paul bestows so often now - and more to make himself look good than the recipients.
Noel Fielding had given Rahul the nickname 'Mr Handshake' and he duly got another one for his samosas after Prue hissed: 'if Paul doesn't put his hand out I'm going to kill him', sounding as if she meant it too.
Quirky: Kim-Joy's Showstopper was called 'Silke the vegetarian mermaid' she said and, unlike Dan, 'she was not afraid to use glitter,' commented Toksvig
Kim-Joy's Showstopper was called 'Silke the vegetarian mermaid' she said and, unlike Dan, 'she was not afraid to use glitter,' commented Toksvig. 'That is so Kim-Joy!' gasped Prue. Quite.
Kim-Joy's samosa was also 'so Kim-Joy' – a Kashmiri chilli, paneer, and onion-flavoured samosa decorated with the breakdown of the pythagorus theorem. (She never said why and no-one asked.)
'I have never had a Samosa with the pythagorus theorem on!' gasped Prue, as if anyone else might have.
New: Noel Fielding had given Rahul the nickname 'Mr Handshake' and he duly got another one for his samosas after Prue hissed: 'if Paul doesn't put his hand out I'm going to kill him'
'I'm trying to get my head round Tarte Tatin in a Samosa!' moaned Paul Hollywood when he heard Manon's recipe. Other flavours for the sweet Samosas included: banana and caramelised hazelnut (Dan), orange & vanilla crème pat (Jon), and a mascarpone peanut butter Samosa by Briony (yuck).
Jon's mention of his favourite band was the first time the nihilistic thrash metal band has been mentioned on The Great British Bake Off. And hopefully the last...
Manon's Showstopper, like Kim-Joy's vegetarian mermaid (Silke) had a name: Poppy, although it sounded like 'Puppy' with Manon's French accent. Her pie was supposed to depict Poppy the octopus 'eating some scallops, salmon, and whiting fish' but went wrong when lamented: 'Poppy has exploded!'
Ruby's Showstopper was inspired by the Kohinoor crown India surrendered to England during the British Raj. 'The jewels are absolutely amazing!' she gushed – something which, to be frank, wasn't really recreated in her chicken curry flavoured banquet pie.
WHAT? Manon said she had never heard of Puits D'Amour tarts because she 'had been in England so long'
'You tried?! Wow!' gasped Noel, on behalf of viewers also finding it difficult to credit. 'I think you're going to get letters!'
It made you realise on the new Channel 4 version of The Great British Bake Off surely a Brexit-themed Showstopper can't be far away.
What's next? It made you realise on the new Channel 4 version of The Great British Bake Off surely a Brexit-themed Showstopper can't be far away
Jo Whiley admitted that there's 'no funnier person' than Sarah Cox to host BBC Radio 2 Drivetime, as she congratulated her on becoming her successor.
Proud: Jo Whiley congratulated Sara Cox on landing BBC Radio 2 Drivetime show on Monday, as she gushed that there's 'no funnier person' to take over the role
Simon was the voice of Drivetime for eight years but recently announced he would be leaving to focus on writing, after just a few months co-presenting with Jo.
Jo had been brought in as a co-host which sparked a backlash amongst listeners, but Simon defended her when he announced his departure as he admitted that she was his 'first and only choice'.
Sarah, who presents a 10pm to midnight show on Radio 2, was the favourite to become the new presenter of Drivetime and had also been heavily tipped to take over Chris Evans' Breakfast Show, but Zoe Ball landed that role.
Top choice: Sarah, who presents a 10pm to midnight show on Radio 2, was the favourite to become the new presenter of Drivetime
Discussing the announcement before she takes the position in 2019, Sarah said: 'I've been proud to be part of the Radio 2 family for a few years now and the opportunity to present such a big show as Drivetime - playing fantastic music and hopefully making people smile as they cook tea or head home after a day's graft - is the icing on what is already a very brilliant cake.
'I'm beyond chuffed to be given this role and to directly quote my mum on hearing the good news, it is indeed "fandabbyruddydozy".'
She joined BBC Radio 1 in 1999 and took over from her friend Zoe Ball to host the station's breakfast show for more than three years from 2000.
Sarah first appeared on Radio 2 in 2011 and has most recently stepped in to host the Radio 2 Breakfast Show when Chris Evans has been away.
In another shake-up to the radio schedule, Trevor Nelson will be moved from his 8pm to 10pm Saturday night slot, to present from 10pm to midnight from Monday to Thursday. Nelson will also continue to present on BBC Radio 1 Xtra.
Moving on: Simon was the voice of Drivetime for eight years but recently announced he would be leaving to focus on writing, after just a few months co-presenting with Jo
Sarah is the second female DJ to be catapulted into a top broadcasting job, after her friend Zoe Ball took over from Chris Evans as host of the Radio 2 Breakfast show.
Cox currently presents the weekday 10pm-midnight show, but will now host the weekday Drivetime from 5-7pm.
The original fallout from the row, when it emerged two-thirds of top earners were men, led to him sharing his primetime slot with Jo Whiley.
The move in May was criticised by listeners as a 'failed gender equality experiment' while others said Whiley had been given the co-hosting job out of 'political correctness' and 'tokenism'.
It is not known what Miss Cox will be paid but Mayo, 60, reportedly earned about £350,000 last year.
Sara Cox presented The Radio 1 Breakfast Show between 2000 and 2003 and currently hosts on BBC Radio 2.
From 2000 to 2003, she co-hosted the Saturday lunchtime show but was then replaced by Chris Moyles and changed to a drivetime slot.
After a year of maternity leave in 2004, Sara returned the following year to host the afternoon show on BBC Radio 1.
In June 2011, Sara began hosting the fourth series of the comedy programme Hot Gossip on BBC Radio 2.
Sara joined BBC Radio 2 for her first regular show each Saturday night in 2013 presenting a 1980s show
She was replaced as host of Sounds of the 80s by Gary Davies; Cox presented her final edition of the show on May 11, 2018.
She has continued to stand in for Chris Evans on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show when he is unavailable, and was heavily linked with replacing him permanently when he leaves the BBC at the end of 2018 but lost out to Zoë Ball.
Naomi Campbell flaunts her tight tummy while putting in work at the gym. Naomi does lunges while holding a large weight in her arms. She follows that up with some pull up crunches.