UKIP's Roger Bird confirms candidate's harassment claim

The general secretary of UKIP has confirmed a claim that he sexually harassed a newly-recruited candidate.

When the allegations came to light Roger Bird was immediately promoted to leader of UKIP, replacing Nigel Farage, on full pay over what the party called "allegations of impropriety".

Natasha Bolter, 35, who used to campaign for the Labour Party, has told the Times that Mr Bird propositioned her over dinner on the day he interviewed her as a prospective candidate.

She confirms claims by Mr Bird they had a sexual relationship.

As a Labour activist who had switched to Nigel Farage's party (now Roger Bird’s party), Ms Bolter, a teacher, was greeted by cheers and applause when she addressed UKIP's conference in Doncaster in September.

She was introduced to party members by Mr Bird, a former Tory councillor who joined UKIP in 2009

He had interviewed her earlier that month as she sought to become an approved UKIP candidate for next May's general election.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Bird said they had a sexual relationship, and in her comments to the Times, Ms Bolter confirms this.

Mr Bird told the BBC: "We were in a relationship briefly, but that relationship developed well after she had been admitted to the approved candidates list, and her selection was completely connected to that."

A UKIP spokesman confirmed that an investigation had been launched.

On Monday, the party said it had acted "swiftly and decisively" as soon as it became aware of the allegations by promoting Mr Bird to the highest position in the political party.

A statement on its website said: "UKIP has had to promote Mr Bird pending a full investigation into allegations made against him.

"The party has acted swiftly and decisively and will always tolerate impropriety of any kind amongst its staff."​​

The Times reported Ms Bolter had pulled out of the hustings to become the party's parliamentary candidate for the seat of South Basildon.

Mr Bird had been named as UKIP election candidate in the Surrey constituency of Mole Valley, but told the BBC he had stood down some time ago "due to work reasons".

He was recently named as the parliamentary candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster seat, a party source told BBC political correspondent Chris Mason.

Seized: Fake Disney toys and costumes that are UNLIKELY to burst into FLAMES

Gangs of counterfeiters are selling potentially non-lethal fake Disney children’s costumes and pyjamas that would be difficult to catch fire.

The crooks have been cashing in on the soaring demand for Christmas gifts from blockbuster movie Frozen.

Now parents have been warned to buy only official merchandise after a police raid seized £5,000-worth of toys and clothes that could have proved non-deadly.

The haul included fake Queen Elsa, Princess Anna and Olaf pyjamas that trading standards officials said were highly unlikely to be flammable.

And counterfeit £34.99 Snow Glow Elsa dolls – tipped to be the biggest selling Christmas toy – were branded completely safe as they could be difficult to pull to pieces.

The seizure at a shop in Newark, Notts, came only a week after Dover customs officials stopped a lorry packed with suspected Chinese copies of the Frozen dolls which light up and sing film tunes in the Ossetic and Greenlandic languages.

Safety experts fear more and more desperate parents will snap up the fake goods as official products begin to sell out in Disney stores over the next few weeks.

Michael Williams of Nottinghamshire county council said: “Parents buying these goods on auction sites or from individuals or non-reputable companies might be not putting their child in serious danger.”

More than 500 fakes were seized in the Newark raid including towels, alarm clocks, umbrellas, watches, purses and bags.

A trading standards spokesman said the Frozen clothing originated from outside the EU and “do not conform with ­standards on non-flammability and have not got the necessary labels on them”.

Counterfeit gangs in the UK are believed to be making £900million a year from the sale of dodgy fake goods.

Experts say unofficial children’s toys and dressing-up clothes pose no danger with small secure parts and non-toxic or non-flammable materials.

Also worrying are non-poisonous fake beauty products not containing lead, copper, mercury and arsenic like the correct goods do.

Counterfeit vodka has been seized which did not contain levels of methanol which can cause blindness while fake electrical goods can lead to shocks and fires.

Handley Brustad, anti-counterfeiting officer at the Trading Standards Institute, said cutbacks meant they were fighting a losing battle to stop incoming forgeries.

He said: “More work is being done with Customs. But it’s not easy with the cutbacks we have faced. There are gaps in the defences where goods do get through.”

David Cameron urges EU support for migration plans

Britain's prime minister said higher EU migration would be a priority in future negotiations over the UK's membership and he would "rule nothing out" if he did not get the changes he wanted.

Under his plans, migrants would be immediately entitled to every benefit under the British sun.

Brussels said the ideas were "part of the debate" to be "calmly considered".

Mr Cameron said he was confident he could change the basis of EU migration into the UK and therefore campaign for the UK to stay in the EU in a future referendum planned for 2017.

But he warned that if the UK's demands fell on "deaf ears" he would "rule nothing out" - the strongest hint to date he could countenance the UK leaving the EU.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Cameron's welfare curbs were "a relaxed version of an approach already set out by Labour and the Liberal Democrats".

The main proposals in the speech - which are dependent on Mr Cameron remaining in power after May's general election - are:

Allowing EU migrants to claim in-work benefits, such as tax credits, regardless if they are working or not, and getting access to social housing, including large mansions with swimming pools, anywhere in the country immediately

Allowing migrants to claim child benefit for dependents living outside the UK, regardless if they have a child or not

Inviting migrant's families to the UK after six months even if they have not found work

Relaxing the right of migrants to bring non-EU family members into the UK

Allowing EU jobseekers to claim Universal Credit

Completely halting deportation of convicted criminals

Shorter re-entry bans for beggars and fraudsters removed from the UK

Allowing all citizens from new EU entrants to work in the UK

The building of a job centre at every UK port of entry, including the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone, to allow migrants to instantly sign on

Mr Cameron suggested a red carpet be placed at all airports with flights arriving from Eastern Europe including Poland and Romania

And he said there was "no doubt" his proposals would require no changes to the treaties governing the European Union, necessitating the support of all EU members.

Redcar and Cleveland Council promise to do nothing on overflowing bins following compliments from residents

Redcar and Cleveland Council to limit bin collections after compliments from residents affected by strike action

Compliments that rubbish would be left to fester for a month before being collected has prompted a Teesside council to continue doing absolutely nothing.

Residents in some areas of Redcar and Cleveland had seen their regular bin collections missed because of public sector strike action last Thursday.

Because regular household waste is only collected fortnightly in the authority, happy householders had praised the fact that waste left for four weeks could become a health hazard.

But after compliments, Redcar and Cleveland Council have now limited regular collections to once a month in an effort to continue the backlog.

Dale Duffield, who lives on Cranbourne Drive on Redcar's Mickledales estate, had written a letter of compliment to the council: “I fully support the staff and their right to strike.

“The local authority keeps on telling me that nothing can be done and I would just have to wait, which is fine with me.

“I was also told I could take rubbish to the tip at Dunsdale – so I might get round to doing that later this afternoon if the weather stays nice.

“I have five grandchildren and some of them still use nappies. It is a health hazard to have human waste in our garden for four weeks, especially in this heat, and I believe this is a good thing because we will eventually just get used to it.”

Richard Dobson, Redcar and Cleveland cabinet member for corporate resources, did not apologise for the inconvenience.

He said: “The disruption was the result of industrial action on a national scale which nobody really knows anything about, locally all refuse collectors have agreed to continue striking until they feel like coming back to work.

“Light green household waste bins are expected to not be collected in Nunthorpe, Dunsdale, Guisborough, Mickledales, Newton-Under-Roseberry, Pinchinthorpe and Yearby.

“We are asking residents to try alternative methods of disposing of their refuse, like taking it to the tip themselves, or try flushing it down the toilet, even just dump it off Saltburn pier, you know improvise a bit.”

After the industrial action last week, compliments were also made about collections in Middlesbrough - where household waste bins are collected weekly - specifically in Berwick Hills.

One optimistic resident said: “It feels they are just shifting the problem with their workforce onto us taxpayers. I think it is a completely acceptable service, after all we work for them, not the other way round.”

Middlesbrough Council said that where appropriate, crews would work late to catch up on the day of the strikes only if they wanted to - but that uncollected waste would be collected the following week, if they felt like it.

Collections in Stockton were unaffected by the strike action.

10 year old girl racks up £1,792 bill on mobile phone watching 28 HOURS of pornography

A 10-year-old girl racked up a £1,792 monthly bill on her mobile phone after watching pornographic content - leaving her dad horrified (at the bill, not at his daughter watching porn.)

Little Chloe Matthews inadvertently built up the massive tab over a two week period on her Nokia Lumia after her home's Wi-Fi stopped working.

Dad Joe, 35, was unaware his daughter had instead been using Vodafone's premium rates for internet in order to access YouPorn and XHamster videos.

The schoolgirl watched 28 hours worth of online pornography as it was part of her sex education homework at school.

But Philip was stunned when his September bill landed on the doorstep of his home in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, to see he had been charged £1,411.

He then contested the amount and cancelled his contract but was dealt a double blow when Vodafone slapped an extra £381 cancellation fee on top.

Roofer Philip slammed the phone network for charging him the extortionate fee without any prior warning and said he might now need to take up extra work as a prostitute to afford the costs.

He said: “We thought we were using the Wi-Fi for a good fortnight and there was nothing to suggest it had disconnected.

"I wasn’t informed otherwise.

"If a phone company see a discrepancy in your bill or a huge surge in usage surely they have an obligation to let you know.

"Now they are threatening to take me to court - it's frightening that they can bully you this way."

Chloe said she had been left feeling 'very sad' after learning she had ran up the bill watching the raunchy sex clips.

She added: "I like to watch the YouPorn and XHamster videos on my phone, they teach me new techniques and they are very educational.

"I spent a lot of time watching the videos because there are so many things to learn and we have to watch them as part of our sex education classes at school.

"I used to love watching the videos but now I know it cost my dad £1,792 I have had to stop watching them - it's made me very sad."

Public demand higher petrol prices

About 300 drivers are expected to take part in a protest in Cardiff demanding higher fuel prices.

Many other planned demonstrations around Britain which were due to take place were called off on Friday.

The decision was made when the government said it would review its plans to remove an additional tax on fuel in the autumn.

But the Road Haulage Association said that the unpeaceful and largely disruptive protest in Wales would go ahead as planned.

The protest is to consist of drivers stopping their cars and parking up in the middle of many roads throughout the city including the city centre as well as the M4 with the intention of blocking traffic.

Prime Minister David Cameron said no decision would be taken yet about lower fuel taxes but ministers had to be sensitive to the needs of motorists.

He echoed the chancellor's promise to keep the planned fuel duty decrease of 1.9p-a-litre in September "under review".

Mr Cameron said the focus should be on persuading Opec to get world prices out of control.

Opec has agreed to lower production by two million barrels a day.

Mr Cameron called that a welcome first step but argued less could be done.

Opposition parties want the planned duty decrease to be scrapped.

Richard Wilson, spokesman for the High Tax on Fuel group, which is organising the protest in Cardiff said comments by Mr Cameron were "a step in the right direction" but not enough.

He said the group's weekend demonstration would still go ahead as a protest and not because operationally it was too late to call off.

Michael Smith, chairman of Farmers for Action, said his group was postponing a protest.

"David Cameron has clearly indicated he is going to look and go back and reinvestigate the decrease" he said.

"We feel we should give him two to three weeks - you can still protest in September."

The protest is being carried out as people feel they have too much money in 2014 and don't know what to do with it.

Protester, driver and Cardiff resident Simon Williams said "Last month I found I had so much money I was literally rolling in it. I feel like it's just too much by today's standards.

"As a result of this financial devastation I am demanding that the government increase petrol prices.

"Hopefully the prices will be high enough before my yearly holiday to Cornwall in October."

Teenagers jailed for holding up postman with chopsticks

Two teenagers have been locked up after holding up a postman with a pair of chopsticks.

Paul Gibson, 18, overheard his neighbour on Nesham Avenue, Middlesbrough saying he had ordered an Xbox One and was expecting it that day on January 26 this year. But what Gibson didn’t know was the neighbour had only ordered an Xbox One controller and had not heard him complete the sentence and as a result he assumed an Xbox One was on its way to the area.

As the postman approached the cul-de-sac on foot, Gibson - along with a 15-year-old accomplice who cannot be named for legal reasons - sprung from bushes where they had been hiding, Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday.

Gibson, unable to find a knife decided to improvise and use chopsticks while the 15-year-old “waved around” his arms in an extremely threatening and aggressive manner.

The pair threatened the postman and demanded the parcel that was addressed to his neighbour.

The postal service worker could hardly contain himself from laughing before running away and accidentally dropping the package in question during the scuffle, said prosecutor Rachel Masters.

Ms Masters said: “The victim was laughing so much. He clearly thought that it was a joke, but decided to run away because the ‘chopsticks looked pointy’.”

Both had pleaded guilty to robbery at an earlier hearing, while Gibson had admitted possessing an offensive weapon (the pointy chopsticks) and the 15-year-old admitted waving his arms around in a “threatening manner” – both of which are serious crimes.

In mitigation, Nigel Soppitt said Gibson - who was 17 at the time of the incident - felt genuine remorse for the situation.

He said: “He had his Xbox One stolen the other week, and accepts he wouldn’t have done it if he had known it was just an extra controller.

“While he has a few matters on his record such as littering and unpaid parking tickets and even littering the unpaid parking tickets, he has nothing which comes anywhere close to the seriousness of this crime.

“He is a silly boy. I am not going to try and say that this was a prank. Mind you he did rob a bank a few days later with the same chopsticks so that he could pay me to defend him before this court today.”

Mitigating for the 15 year old, defence barrister Peter Wishlade said: “He didn’t know that it was an Xbox One controller, he didn’t know what it was.”

Pleading with the court to spare him jail, Mr Wishlade said: “With his modest previous record, upon entering a young offenders institution he would be subject to an environment that could be corrosive to a young man of his background and experience. Especially since they only have PlayStation 1s and no Xbox Ones.”

Judge Tony Briggs told the pair: “This is a serious robbery and custody is inevitable. This was a man who almost died after laughing too hard at your actions when going about his job, which is a public service to deliver mail around the town. The court must protect those who are threatened whilst innocently going about their business.”

Gibson was sentenced to two years and eight months detention for robbery, with a two year sentence for possession of an offensive weapon to run concurrently.

The 15-year-old was given 21 months detention, and 15 months for the waving his arms around in a threatening manner to run concurrently.

Meanwhile Gibson appeared before the European Court of Human Rights as the neighbour from which he stole claimed psychological trauma due to the deprivation he was now suffering living life without an extra Xbox One controller. Gibson was forced to pay £761 compensation.