Liberal Democrats have been urged to spread the message that their Conservative coalition partners "can't be trusted" to look after normal people rather than the super-rich.

A leaked script of the party's lines to take in the media urges MPs, candidates and councillors to say that only the Lib Dems are committed to building "a fair society". It was distributed by the Lib Dem director of communications, Tim Snowball, who appealed for recipients to "communicate from this script at every opportunity".

The document will be seen as evidence of the Lib Dems' efforts to carve out a distinctive identity for themselves ahead of the 2015 general election.

It builds on Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's own message in recent months that only the Lib Dems can deliver both a strong economy and a fair society. Mr Clegg has used his New Year message this week to say he would "anchor" the coalition in the centre-ground in 2013.

The script says Labour "can't be trusted to manage the economy", having "nearly bankrupted Britain", but it is the strident tone on the Tories that is most notable given the potential for inflaming coalition tensions.

"The Conservatives can't be trusted to build a fair society. Until the Lib Dems got into government, no one could stop the Tories from looking after the super rich who fund their party, while ignoring the needs of normal people who struggle to make ends meet."

It goes on to list Tory plans that the Lib Dems have blocked, including relaxing the law on hiring and firing employees, cutting inheritance tax and allowing schools to be "run for profit". "Let's never go back to the way things were, because Labour can't be trusted with your money, and the Tories can't be trusted to build a fair society," it says. "Only the Lib Dems can be trusted to build a stronger economy and a fairer society, enabling every person to get on in life."

The lines, obtained and published by the Liberator blog, was attached to a message from Mr Snowball saying that Mr Clegg's New Year message was "the first full external use of our new Party message script". It is based on research on the Lib Dems' "electoral market" by Ryan Coetzee, an adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister, and consultation with "many party stakeholders".

Published: 29 December 2012

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A white Christmas dream has turned into a wet Christmas nightmare for millions of travellers.

Continued heavy rain played havoc with road and rail journeys, while a series of accidents on major highways added to the travel chaos. Travellers faced reduced services on some rail lines in any case, due to planned engineering work.

And although many motorways and major route roadworks were lifted for Christmas, a number were still in place on busy roads.

The planned engineering work on the railways included disruption on the West Coast line run by Virgin Trains. Among other companies affected by the flooding were CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, First Great Western (FGW) and First TransPennine Express.

The South West was particularly badly hit by the floods, as it was a few weeks ago, No trains ran between Bristol Parkway and Swindon, while services between Paddington in London and Swansea were being diverted, with journey times extended up to 45 minutes.

Among services unable to run on Monday were Exeter St Davids to Tiverton Parkway and the Cornish route between Looe and Liskeard. On both routes services were not expected to operate until Friday at the earliest.

FGW said poor road conditions meant that buses would not be able to travel on many routes, and advised passengers not to travel if possible. A shortage of train crew on London Midland - a problem that has plagued its passengers for months - meant buses had to replace trains on some routes.

Published: 24 December 2012

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The Queen missed a Sunday church service at her Sandringham estate after suffering from a cold, Buckingham Palace said.

The monarch usually visits St Mary Magdalene Church every Sunday while staying at her Norfolk home. But she did not attend church to the disappointment of dozens of well wishers who gathered to get a glimpse of her.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen was getting over the tail end of a cold. We are expecting business as usual next week."

The Duke of Edinburgh, 91, walked the few hundred yards from the house to the church accompanied by the Duke of York, the Earl and the Countess of Wessex and their daughter Lady Louise and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Royal watcher Mary Relph, 78, said that she has waited outside the church to spot the Queen every time the monarch has attended a service since 1988.

"I don't remember her ever missing it," she said. "I remember her going around the back once. I am disappointed but I hope she is OK."

Speaking before news of the Queen's cold emerged, Michelle Dickinson, 44, from Norwich, added: "I am very disappointed but hope she is all right, I wonder whether she is poorly? This is our first time here but we'll come again another time so we can see her."

Published: 23 December 2012

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A suicide bomber killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally in Pakistan held by a party which has opposed the Taliban, officials say.

The rally in Peshawar, the capital of north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban.

Among the dead was Bashir Bilour, the second most senior member of the provincial Cabinet, said Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, the politician's brother and federal railways minister.

More than 20 other people were injured in the blast, said local police officer Sabir Khan.

Mr Bilour was leaving the rally after delivering the keynote speech when the attack happened, said Nazir Khan, a local Awami National Party leader.

"There was smoke and dust all around, and dead and wounded people were lying on the ground," he said.

The suicide bomber was on foot, said another police officer, Imtiaz Khan.

Mohammed Afridi, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to reporters.

Published: 22 December 2012

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An independent review has been ordered by the body representing rank-and-file police officers into "issues" raised by its handling of the "Plebgate" row.

Police Federation chairman Paul McKeever has acknowledged concerns that it "stoked up" the Downing Street incident which led to Andrew Mitchell quitting the Cabinet.

He said this week that he would apologise to the MP if it was shown he had been wrongly accused of calling officers "plebs" in a bust-up over their refusal to let him ride his bike through the gates.

Mr McKeever has handed control to his successor-elect Steve Williams just over a month before he is officially due to leave the role, due to "pre-existing leave arrangements", the Federation said. And one of Mr Williams' first acts was to announce plans for the review.

"Recent events have shown that there are issues around the way the Police Federation nationally is able to lead and co-ordinate at a national, regional and local level," he said in a statement.

As we enter a new era, my first act as chairman is to establish this independent panel to ensure that we as the Federation continue to represent the interests of our members in the most effective and efficient way."

Local branches organised protests by members wearing "PC Pleb" T-shirts and some demanded Mr Mitchell's sacking.

Published: 22 December 2012

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Fears that consumers are reining in their spending ahead of Christmas have been fuelled after it emerged that sales volumes failed to rebound last month.

A predicted return to growth did not materialise, with official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing flat sales volumes between October and November.

It comes after a much worse than expected drop in October when retail sales volumes fell 0.8% month-on-month.

The CBI said on Wednesday that sales for the Christmas season had been "below par" as families try to make their budgets stretch as far as possible.

Excluding fuel, the ONS figures showed the total value of sales was up 2.5% in November compared with a year ago, below inflation of 2.7% in the same period.

The ONS said new models of tablet computers drove a 3.8% boost for household goods stores, but this failed to offset a 0.1% drop in food sales. Clothes and shoes sales were also down by 0.1%, with department stores also seeing sales volumes fall.

But the ONS estimated that the proportion of retail sales online increased by 1.4% between October and November, with the average weekly spend in November at £711 million.

Published: 20 December 2012

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Lloyd's of London has estimated it is facing claims of up to 2.5 billion US dollars (£1.5 billion) for damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in October.

The specialist insurance market, which is made up of 88 underwriting syndicates, said the bill was "well within" the worst case scenarios that it prepares for.

Chief executive Richard Ward said: "As always, our priority is to pay valid claims as quickly as possible and help the communities in North America and the Caribbean affected by Sandy get back on their feet."

Lloyd's said its estimate of between 2 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion) and 2.5 billion US dollars was consistent with wider industry losses of between 20 billion US dollars (£12.3 billion) and 25 billion US dollars (£15 billion).

Sandy, which ravaged America's North East coast, is expected to be the country's second costliest storm after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That storm left Lloyd's facing claims worth 4.3 billion US dollars (£2.4 billion).

The market has shown in recent years that it is more than able to cope with major catastrophes and met its own claims in 2011 without any call on its central fund - its fund of last resort.

Published: 19 December 2012

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Heavy showers have continued overnight, bringing fear of continued flooding problems for parts of the UK.

The Environment Agency (EA) has eight flood warnings in place this morning, its second highest alert, which means flooding is expected. Eighty-nine areas across England and Wales were on flood alert, the EA's lowest warning.

Despite a drop in the intensity of the downpours and strong winds overnight, the risk remains following days of heavy rain which yesterday brought flash floods to coastal towns in England and Scotland. The heavy rain is expected to briefly subside on Monday, before returning on Wednesday, experts said.

Chris Burton, a meteorologist for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "Heavy rain still continues in the west of England, as well as the south coast, but it is not as persistent as the last few days, although it may still cause localised flooding.

"In Scotland the strong tides and high winds which caused the flooding in coastal towns have died down. Later today there will be sunshine and showers along with bursts of heavy rain. The next few days will also see similar sunshine and showers and slightly above averages temperatures, of about 10 degrees in England and seven in Scotland, until Wednesday, when the heavy rain is likely to return."

In Scotland the severe weather on Saturday is thought to have led to the death of a crewman after stormy seas overcame a vessel in the North Sea. Eleven people had to be rescued when Vos Sailor, an emergency response and rescue vessel, suffered damage and started taking on water 120 miles off Aberdeen on Scotland's north-east coast.

The coastguard launched a rescue mission after a mayday call at 4.30am but police said one man was fatally injured. His body has not yet been recovered.

Published: 16 December 2012

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A British student who suffered a horrific snowboarding accident in the French Alps has died, her family has said.

Emily Watts, known as Mimi, fell headfirst into a snowdrift and was stuck for about 45 minutes following the incident in Chamonix on Saturday.

By the time emergency crews arrived, the 26-year-old, from Lavenham in Suffolk, had suffered a cardiac arrest, prompting fears of brain damage.

Her parents, Nicky McAllister and Dominic Watts, along with her 27-year-old brother Rory, flew to France to be by her bedside.

But after a number of days on a life support machine, she died, Miss Watts' aunt Shona Pollock said.

In a statement issued before Miss Watts' death, her family said the outlook was "very bleak" but the support they had received from friends and family had been "heart-warming".

They met with rescuers this week to establish a better picture of what had happened and discovered a British man had raised the alarm.

Published: 13 December 2012

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The editor of The Times newspaper is to stand down at the end of the month.

James Harding, 43, one of the youngest journalists ever to take charge of the paper, informed the national independent directors of The Times this morning, News International and Times Newspapers Ltd said.

Mr Harding, who has been in charge of the paper for five years, said: "For any journalist, it is an extraordinary privilege and a point of pride to see your work appear beneath the masthead of The Times, the greatest name in newspapers in the world.

"I feel hugely honoured to have been given the opportunity to edit the paper and deeply grateful for the experience of working among the finest journalists in the world.

"This paper has an unrivalled history and, I am extremely confident, a long and impressive future ahead of it."

Mr Harding began his journalistic career at the Financial Times after studying at Cambridge University.

He opened its Shanghai bureau and served as bureau chief in Washington before joining The Times as business editor.

The national independent directors of The Times will now be consulted on a replacement, a company spokesman said.

Published: 12 December 2012

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