EU TO CONSIDER RUSSIA SANCTIONS
European Union foreign ministers will meet today to consider sanctions against Moscow as the West bitterly denounced Crimea’s vote to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.
The United States and the EU last night said they would not recognise the result of a referendum which they regard as “illegitimate” and a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.
Following the overwhelming vote in favour of joining Russia, Crimea’s pro-Russian prime minister Sergey Aksyonov said the peninsula’s parliament would formally apply to Moscow to be annexed.
HS2 SPEED-UP FOR NORTH PROPOSED
The boss of HS2 today proposed a speeding up of the building of the northern, phase two, section of the £50 billion project.
HS2 Ltd chairman Sir David Higgins also called for a larger development at Euston - the project’s southern terminus. In a report entitled HS2 Plus, Sir David said reducing the contingencies which have pushed the total cost of the project up would be “irresponsible”.
But he said cost cuts might be possible later and he laid down the gauntlet to politicians by saying the speedier the HS2 legislation the better for cost reductions.
COURT RULES IN LEGAL AID CUTS CASE
The High Court rules today on a challenge by charities working with prisoners to the legality of legal aid cuts introduced by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.
The Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prisoners’ Advice Service (PAS) say vulnerable people in the prison system, including inmates with mental health problems and mothers with young babies, will suffer injustice.
New regulations, introduced in December by Mr Grayling, who is also the Lord Chancellor, remove the right to criminal legal aid in many prison law cases.
FIVE WORTH MORE THAN POOREST 20%
The country’s five richest families are more wealthy than the poorest 20% of the population, a leading charity has revealed.
A report by Oxfam showed that at £28.2 billion, the combined wealth of the top five billionaires and their families is more than the £28.1 billion of the 12.6 million people who are society’s poorest, the Guardian said.
The most affluent family in Britain, the Grosvenors, headed by the Duke of Westminster, has a fortune of around £7.9 billion, largely derived from owning 190 acres of real estate in London’s Belgravia, near Buckingham Palace, according to the Forbes rich list.
KATE TO PRESENT SHAMROCKS TO TROOPS
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be the guests of honour at the Irish Guards’ St Patrick’s Day Parade today.
William will attend as colonel of the regiment and Kate will present traditional sprigs of shamrock to officers and guardsmen at their base in Aldershot, Hampshire.
The royal couple will watch as the Band of the Irish Guards marches on to the parade square at Mons Barracks followed by 300 soldiers.
SEX CHARGES TEACHER DUE IN COURT
A teacher will appear in court today charged with four sexual offences against a teenager.
Kelly Ann-Marie Burgess, 26, of Newport, Gwent, faces four counts of adult abuse of a position of trust - sexual activity with a boy aged 13 to 17.
The incidents are alleged to have happened between January 1 and August 28 last year.
BEREAVED ’FIND IPCC INSENSITIVE’
A major review by the police watchdog into how it investigates deaths in custody has found strong criticism of how it engages with bereaved families, with many saying that they felt like they were under investigation.
The wide-ranging report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said families complained of a lack of “empathy, sensitivity and compassion”, while some “felt that they and those who had died were wrongly characterised or unfairly judged”.
Concerns about the watchdog’s approach in identifying whether discriminatory behaviour might have been a contributing factor in a death were also raised, with respondents identifying a need for better training for IPCC staff on diversity issues, particularly in relation to race and ethnicity, mental health, and learning disabilities.
FUNERAL OF STAB DEATH HAIRDRESSER
The funeral will take place today of a hairdresser who was stabbed to death while working at a salon.
Hundreds of people are expected to gather at Gloucester Cathedral to pay their respects to 20-year-old Hollie Gazzard.
Miss Gazzard died on February 18 after allegedly being stabbed by her ex-boyfriend Asher Maslin, 22, at the Fringe Benefits and La Bella Beauty salon in Gloucester city centre.
PATIENT DELAYS ’COST NHS £100m’
Delays in discharging patients from hospital while they are waiting for social care to be arranged are costing the NHS in England about £100 million each year, a documentary has revealed.
Professor Keith Willett, NHS England’s director for acute care, tells Panorama that services need to be joined up, and that cuts in local authority budgets are making things worse.
Tonight’s programme also looks at how the strain of working in accident and emergency departments are driving staff away, with one former consultant describing A&E as a “sinking ship”.
MINISTERS RAPPED OVER DATABASE SALE
Ministers have been strongly criticised for including a valuable database containing millions of postcodes and postal addresses in the sale of the Royal Mail to boost the share price.
The Commons Public Administration Committee said the Postcode Address File (PAF) should have been retained as a “national asset” freely available to all for the widest benefit of the economy.
It said the PAF’s disposal to the private sector for “short-term gain” in last year’s Royal Mail flotation was an “unacceptable and unnecessary consequence of privatisation” which could hold back economic innovation and growth.
