A man hired by the parents of Madeleine McCann in the search for their daughter and wanted by US authorities over an alleged fraud has been arrested. Kevin Halligen was taken into custody yesterday afternoon following discrepancies over his bill at the Old Bank hotel in Oxford. The 48-year-old is wanted by the US department of justice over allegations he tried to defraud a London law firm of more than $2 million (£1.2 million).

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:10:00

Police have found Jane Andrews, the ex-royal aide who escaped an open prison while serving a life sentence for murder. Andrews had been missing from East Sutton Park open prison since last Sunday, but Kent police say she has now been found "safe and well". The 42-year-old was found in the Maidstone area on the early hours of this morning. She is now in police custody.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:00

The education watchdog Ofsted has been accused by local government leaders of "feeding people's fears" rather than improving child protection. The criticisms from the Local Government Association (LGA) said Ofsted should be a calm, measured voice that helps to make child protection services work better. The LGA is now calling for the watchdog to sign up to its own improvement plan to "win back the confidence of the public, central government and councils".

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:59:41

The number of people believed to have been killed in a politically-motivated attack in the southern Philippines has risen to 52, local officials have confirmed. Police announced six more bodies had been discovered in a shallow grave close to the scene where another 46 victims were found. The group were killed as they travelled to file nomination papers in the southern province of Maguindanao on Monday.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:55:05

The UK government's controversial claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction will be discussed in detail at the Iraq inquiry later today. Former senior Foreign Office staff Tim Dowse and William Ehrman will appear before the committee on the second full day of hearings in central London. They are expected to give evidence to the five-member committee on the intelligence available to ministers regarding Iraq's alleged arsenal prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:53:26

The government has launched a new strategy aimed at cracking down on the "obscenity" of violence against women and young girls. The new scheme will see the prevention of violence in relationships included in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education from 2011. The Home Office claims the move will result in attitudes which condone and perpetuate violence against women being addressed before they become entrenched in young people.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00

David Beckham's agent has confirmed the former England captain suffers from asthma after he was photographed using an inhaler while playing for Los Angeles Galaxy. Simon Oliveira said the 34-year-old had been diagnosed with a mild form of the condition as a child. But he insisted it had never affected his performance and would not do so if he was selected in England's World Cup squad, despite six of the South Africa venues being more than 3,000ft above sea level.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00

Counter-terrorism police have been criticised over a series of raids across north-east England earlier this year which resulted in the dramatic arrests of 12 students. All the men were eventually released without charge in April and the operation has now been criticised for not seeking proper legal advice. A report by Lord Carlile, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism laws, found Greater Manchester police should have discussed progress with specialist crown prosecution service (CPS) lawyers before launching the raids.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:30:00

The government has issued a warning urging tourists not to visit Timbuktu in northern Mali because of the threat of terrorism. The foreign office said they believed kidnapping was 'likely', following the death of British tourist Edwin Dyer in Mali in June, by a group with links to al-Qaeda. A message to travellers from the Foreign Office said: "There is a high threat from terrorism. Terrorists have been involved in kidnaps in the region and we believe that further kidnap attacks are likely.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:06:33

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has been described as a 'God-given leader' by his feared militant backers, the war veterans association. Mr Mugabe's description as a God-given gift comes a week after he was endorsed for re-election as leader and first secretary of his Zanu-PF party ahead of the liberation war movement's congress in December. "We are happy that our able and God given leader Robert Mugabe was overwhelmingly nominated by all the provinces and we will support him for ever and ever," said Joseph Chinotimba, the leader of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) in a statement.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:30:00