Struggling HMV Calls In Administrators

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

HMV has thrown in the towel after years of struggling to fend off nimbler rivals by calling in administrators in a move which puts more than 4,000 jobs in jeopardy.

As Sky News revealed exclusively earlier on Monday evening, the board of HMV has served notice of its intention to appoint Deloitte to oversee last-ditch efforts to rescue the high street entertainment retailer.

Following a board meeting that lasted several hours, HMV directors, led by the chairman, Philip Rowley, and chief executive Trevor Moore, decided the business could no longer trade without insolvency protection.

HMV had been in talks with its lenders until last week about a new financing package, the terms of which could not be agreed, according to insiders.

The company said on Monday:

"On 13 December 2012, the Company announced that as a result of current market trading conditions, the Company faced material uncertainties and that it was probable that the Group would not comply with its banking covenants at the end of January 2013. The Company also stated that it was in discussions with its banks.

"Since that date, the Company has continued the discussions with its banks and other key stakeholders to remedy the imminent covenant breach. However, the Board regrets to announce that it has been unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection, and in the circumstances therefore intends to file notice to appoint administrators to the Company and certain of its subsidiaries with immediate effect.  The Directors of the Company understand that it is the intention of the administrators, once appointed, to continue to trade whilst they seek a purchaser for the business."

Trading in HMV's shares, which are now expected to be worthless, will be suspended on Tuesday morning.

The appointment of Deloitte follows the accountancy firm's work on the collapse of Woolworths in 2008.

HMV has been caught between the encroachment onto its turf of supermarket chains such as Tesco and Asda, and the explosive growth of digital specialists like Amazon which are unencumbered by hefty real estate costs.

Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, said the news of HMV's potential demise was "deeply worrying":

"HMV is a national institution that has been a feature of our high streets for over 90 years, so this news is deeply worrying.  For the sake of HMV's employees, we hope a way can be found to keep the business going – the demise of this national institution would be a sad loss to British retail."

HMV traces its roots back to 1921, when Sir Edward Elgar, the renowned composer and conductor, opened its first store on London's Oxford Street.

Retail insiders said Deloitte is likely to be "inundated" with offers for parts of HMV's business, including its brand, but said it was unlikely that any buyer would emerge for the whole business.

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Breast Cancer: NHS Drugs For Women At Risk

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Women with a high risk of breast cancer could be prescribed drugs to prevent the disease.

New guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) recommend that post-menopausal women with a strong family history of breast cancer are given the option of taking medication to reduce their risk.

The move was hailed as "historic" by a leading breast cancer charity.

Between 3% and 5% of the 48,000 breast cancers each year are caused by genes that are passed down families. They raise the risk of the disease to around 80% - compared to 12% for the average woman.

Sharon Osbourne chose to have her breasts removed as a precaution

Currently women with one of the genes have regular mammograms to spot tumours early.

Some, including Sharon Osbourne, choose to have their breasts removed even though they are perfectly healthy, to reduce their risk to low levels.

But recent studies have shown that taking the drugs tamoxifen or raloxifene for five years can halve the risk of cancer. Nice says the evidence is strong enough to recommend so-called "chemoprevention".

The US Food and Drug Administration has already approved the drugs for preventing cancer.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "This draft guideline represents a historic step for the prevention of breast cancer.

"It is the first time drugs have ever been recommended for reducing breast cancer risk in the UK.

"This is exciting as, even though most women do not have a significant family history of the disease, it's crucial that those who do have an array of options to help them control their risk."

Neither of the drugs is currently licensed for preventing cancer and Nice warns that any doctor prescribing them would have to take "full responsibility for the decision".

The recommendation is part of new draft guidelines on familial breast cancer.

They also extend genetic testing to more women with relatives affected by the disease, as well as recommend regular MRI scans for younger women who carry high risk genes.

Professor Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at Nice, said: "It's wise for any person with a family history of cancer to receive appropriate investigations and screening that would otherwise be unnecessary if a family history did not exist."

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Imani Green: British Schoolgirl, 8, Shot Dead

A woman has told of the moment her young sister was gunned down and killed in a cafe in Jamaica.

Imani Green, eight, was visiting relatives on the island with her mother when she was shot in the northwestern village of Duncans, in Trelawny.

The youngster, from Balham, south London, is reported to have been shot twice, first in the head and then the shoulder. She was taken to hospital but later died. Three others were injured in the shooting.

The girl's sister, Janella Parmer, said: "We heard gunshots. We ran outside and shouted 'Imani, Imani, Imani'.

The shooting happened in Duncans in Trelawny

"I picked her up off the ground and realised she was still breathing. I flagged down a car and they drove us to hospital. The rest is history."

Imani's brother Dean Palmer, who is in his 20s, told Sky News he was completely devastated by the death of his sister, who he described as "an extremely brave girl".

Speaking before he left the UK for Jamaica, he said Imani suffered from sickle-cell anaemia and visits relatives there twice a year to get away from cold weather that worsens her condition.

He said the family had been in two minds about whether to take her this time but the trip went ahead.

Pinky's Bar in Duncans, where eight-year-old Imani Green was shot dead

Imani's cousin, Marco Dane, 17, who also lives in London, told Sky News: "She was a sweet, innocent girl. She always had a smile on her face."

Neighbours have described their sorrow following the girl's death.

One friend of the family, who asked not to be named, said: "This is a close-knit community, so this is going to hurt us."

Another added: "Nobody wants to speak, she was just a little girl. This is all so sad. We're distraught."

"We do not know the motive. What we can confirm is that Imani was not the target of this shooting," he said.

Imani's head teacher at Fircroft Primary School, in Tooting, said: "Imani was a happy, playful child who was popular with staff and pupils alike.

"She dealt with her illness very bravely and coped well with the special arrangements we had to have in place to support her.

"We are now in the process of contacting all the families of children in the same year group to break this terrible news to them and we will be taking steps to offer support and counselling."

Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan, MP for Tooting, said: "(I am) devastated to hear the news of eight-year-old schoolgirl Imani Green, a pupil at a Tooting primary school. This is terrible news."

Imani's killer is understood to have entered the premises - owned by a family member - on Friday evening and argued with another man shortly before the shooting.

Jamaica's security minister, Peter Bunting, condemned the killing.

He told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper: "The senseless killing of a young, innocent child must outrage all well-thinking  Jamaicans, and cause us to join our security forces in an intensified effort to rid our communities of criminals."

Mr Bunting said he thought the little girl might have been caught up in a lottery scam reprisal attack.

He told Channel 4 News: "The initial report that I received from the police seems to suggest that this was a reprisal attack for a shooting late last year that was related to a lottery scam."

The minister said more than 500 murders over the past five years were connected to lottery scams.

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Snow Falls Across Parts Of Britain Overnight

Snow fell over parts of Britain overnight but the wintry weather has not caused any significant disruption yet.

Snow was reported across the Midlands, South East England and parts of Scotland, but did not accumulate.

The Highways Agency reported no major problems overnight, but are still braced for potential adverse weather conditions to come.

Staff at Heathrow Airport monitored the weather closely but no flights were cancelled due to the weather.

The Met Office still has three amber snow warnings in place in the East Midlands, North East England and Yorkshire.

That is due to a band of sleet and snow which is expected to move eastwards across the country this morning, bringing up to 10cm of snow on higher ground.

Rain and sleet will continue to spread east in the afternoon, turning to snow across Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

However snow will turn to wintry showers by Monday night.

Most of the country is covered by a Met Office warning of dangerous icy conditions on roads, as snow and rainfall freezes on surfaces.

:: Send us your photos or videos of the snow where you are.

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Britain Sends Planes To Help French Fight In Mali

Britain will provide transport planes to assist the French military operation in Mali, Downing Street has confirmed.

David Cameron spoke with Francois Hollande on Saturday evening as France attempted to contain al Qaeda-linked rebels in the north of the West African country.

French military strikes on the country have already claimed the lives of at least 100 rebels in a fight over the strategic town of Konna.

Eleven Malian soldiers are reported to have been killed and a further 60 wounded in the recent fighting.

Mr Hollande has raised his country's terror threat level amid fears of retaliatory attacks in France.

He said that France "has to take all necessary precautions" in the face of a terrorist threat, including "surveillance of our public buildings and our transport network".

The UN's Sahel envoy Romano Prodi, left, and President Dioncounda Traore

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister spoke to President Hollande this evening to discuss the deteriorating situation in Mali and how the UK can support French military assistance provided to the Malian government to contain rebel and extremist groups in the north of the country.

"The Prime Minister has agreed that the UK will provide logistical military assistance to help transport foreign troops and equipment quickly to Mali.

"We will not be deploying any British personnel in a combat role.

"Both leaders agreed that the situation in Mali poses a real threat to international security given terrorist activity there.

Hundreds of French troops have been deployed in Mali

"They discussed the need to work with the Malian government, regional neighbours and international partners to prevent a new terrorist haven developing on Europe's doorstep and to reinvigorate the UN led political process once the rebel advance has been halted.

"The National Security Council, which was already due to meet on Tuesday, will now consider the situation in Mali and and discuss what needs to be done to secure a lasting political settlement in Mali."

One French pilot has died in the military action after hundreds of French soldiers were deployed in the country.

Mr Hollande took action in Mali  at the request of interim President Dioncounda Traore, who has declared a state of emergency.

Western governments expressed alarm on Thursday after an al Qaeda-linked rebel alliance captured Konna, a gateway towards the capital Bamako 600km (375 miles) south.

The Malian army has said it was attacking the "last pockets of resistance" by insurgents in Konna after they recaptured it with the help of the French.

Islamist rebels seized a swathe of northern Mali last spring

Mr Hollande said the "terrorist groups, drug traffickers and extremists" in northern Mali "show a brutality that threatens us all." He vowed that the operation would last "as long as necessary".

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has now authorised the immediate deployment of troops to Mali.

The bloc's commission president Kadre Desire Ouedraogo said it made the decision "in light of the urgency of the situation".

For the past nine months, the Islamic militants have controlled a large swathe of northern Mali, a lawless desert region where kidnapping has flourished.

Mr Hollande said the operation was aimed in part at protecting 6,000 French citizens in Mali, including seven who are being held captive.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Senegal and Nigeria also responded to an appeal from Mali's president for help to counter the militants.

The Malian army is getting international support

Late last year, the 15 nations in West Africa, including Mali, agreed on a proposal for the military to take back the north, and sought backing from the UN.

The Security Council authorised the intervention but imposed certain conditions, including the training of Mali's military, which has been accused of serious human rights abuses since a military coup last year sent the nation into disarray.

Al Qaeda's affiliate in Africa has been a shadowy presence for years in the forests and deserts of poverty-stricken Mali.

Most Malians adhere to a moderate form of Islam, but in recent months the terrorist group and its allies have taken advantage of political instability, taking territory they use to stock weapons and train forces.

The Islamists have insisted they want to impose Sharia only in northern Mali, though there long have been fears they could push further south.

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Jamaica: Eight-Year-Old British Girl Shot Dead

An eight-year-old British girl has died after a gunman opened fire on a shop in Jamaica, according to reports.

Local media on the Caribbean island said three other people were injured in the shooting which happened in the north-western town of Duncans, in Trelawny.

It is understood the girl is from Balham, south London, and was visiting relatives in the country with her mother.

The Sun names the victim as Imani Green and reports that she was shot twice, first in the head and then the shoulder.

She was taken to hospital but died later.

The newspaper claims the attack may be linked to an argument the owner of the shop was involved in.

The British Foreign Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national on 11th January in Jamaica. We are providing consular assistance and liaising with local authorities."

More to follow ...

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Two Stabbed To Death In Birmingham City Centre

A man is being questioned on suspicion of stabbing two men to death in Birmingham city centre last night.

The men, who are believed to be in their 40s, were attacked just before 6pm.

One victim is thought to have been stabbed outside a Sainsbury's store in Martineau Place, while the other was found slumped near a Boots store in Union Street with fatal injuries.

Officers administered first aid on both men, but both were pronounced dead at the scene.

A man was arrested in New Street near the Odeon Cinema minutes after the stabbings.

Inspector David Keen said: "Two men have suffered fatal injuries - these have been inflicted in the heart of the city at a busy time when workers and shoppers would be heading home.

"There are potentially hundreds of witnesses, either people who saw the stabbings or the offender leaving the scene, and I'd urge people to get in touch immediately - they could have vital information.

"A large police presence was quickly on the scene and a man was arrested swiftly."

Forensics and search experts cordoned off several scenes in and around Union Street to preserve evidence.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "Crews arrived to find two men who had been stabbed and were being given excellent first aid by police officers and passers-by.

"Both men went into cardiac arrest. Crews and the team of medics administered advanced life support to both men but sadly, despite the best efforts, nothing could be done to save them and they were confirmed dead on scene."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.

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Northern Ireland Clashes: Four Officers Injured

Four police officers have been injured after more than 30 petrol bombs as well as other missiles were hurled at them in another night of Union flag demonstrations in Northern Ireland.

The most serious disorder was witnessed in Carrickfergus and the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey, both on the northern outskirts of Belfast.

A bus was also set on fire during the disorder. Police deployed water cannon in an attempt to restore calm.

Two people were arrested, police said.

A small viable pipe bomb device was found on the Westlink dual carriageway in Belfast but it was unclear whether it was linked to the loyalist disorder.

There were widespread demonstrations across Northern Ireland on Friday night in co-ordinated action dubbed Operation Standstill by organisers. Police said most of the protests were peaceful.

Many roads were blocked off between 6pm and 8pm as loyalist protesters again took to the streets to voice their opposition to Belfast City Council's decision to limit the number of days the Union flag flies at City Hall.

Rugby fans travelling to Ravenhill in east Belfast for Ulster's crunch Heineken Cup game against Glasgow faced major disruption due to the pickets.

Protesters carry the Union flag in Newtownabbey

But the city centre was not as empty as might have been expected after an online campaign urged people to defy the protests.

They were urged instead to stage an "Operation sit-in" in cafes, pubs and restaurants to give businesses hit by the six-week campaign of street action a much-needed boost to trade.

Restaurateur Michael Deane told Sky News that the crisis has cost his business dearly but refused to give up.

"I think Belfast is a fabulous city. I've invested everything I have in this city," he said.

"Whether I would come to visit Belfast, looking from outside what you see on the television, no I probably wouldn't but let's hope this all goes away very quickly and people can see the Belfast that we saw last year because it's a fabulous city."

And while loyalists called people onto the streets to protest, young church leaders called them to prayer instead.

Andrew Masters, from the Christian organisation called What Now? told Sky News: "We're asking people to pray at 11:11 every day and for two real simple prayers, that peace would come and hope would come and that things that have been lost - the finance, the business, the hope - would be returned."

Around 70 police officers have been injured and more than 100 people arrested in six weeks of trouble since Belfast City Council limited the number of days the Union flag flies over Belfast City Hall.

More than 100 people have been arrested during weeks of trouble

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said: "Police will continue to pursue a vigorous evidence gathering operation to bring those involved in the violence to justice."

The Democratic Unionist Party and Progressive Unionist Party have both submitted challenges in Belfast council over the decision to restrict the flying of the flag.

They claim the move contravened its equality policy.

A Belfast City Council spokeswoman said: "The decision to introduce the policy of flying the Union flag at City Hall was taken democratically by elected members at the monthly meeting of Belfast City Council on December 3.

"The council has taken legal advice throughout this process and the decision is in keeping with the outcome of the equality impact assessment that was undertaken in line with the advice of the Equality Commission.

"The designated days agreed are in keeping with those notified by the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport."

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Jimmy Savile 'Abused Dying Hospice Patients'

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

Jimmy Savile sexually abused dying hospice patients, detectives are expected to reveal.

The late TV star also used the cover of his charity work to attack victims at many hospitals around the country, according to a dossier to be published by Scotland Yard.

It marks the end of the police investigation into allegations against Savile alone.

Prosecutors are also expected to offer an explanation over why Savile was never charged after some complaints were investigated during his life.

In the 10-week inquiry launched in October, after a TV documentary exposed Savile as predatory and prolific paedophile, 450 people claimed they were his victims.

Detectives had already revealed that they have formally recorded 31 rape allegations and a total of 199 crimes, mostly of sex abuse, across 17 police force areas.

Peter Saunders, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said: "Savile is one of the worst offenders in history.

"I'd put him alongside killers such ad Fred West, Harold Shipman and the Moors Murderers, because he killed his victims' spirit and soul.

"Everywhere he went was an opportunity to commit his vile crimes against the most vulnerable victims in the most inappropriate places, hospitals, hospices, schools and children's homes."

The inquiry in Savile's crimes was launched in October

He added: "Although Savile will never face justice, the police investigation has allowed people to speak up where they didn't before and free themselves of their burden."

It is thought that a Department of Health investigation into Savile's abuse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor - where he was a volunteer worker and allowed unprecedented access - will be expanded because of allegations from many other health establishments.

Broadmoor patient Steven George said: "For those who had gone while he was still living to the police they must be absolutely furious and there were I understand quite a few, I experienced the same almost cynical laughter when I tried to report him when he was alive and I hated that.

"But I would keep on reporting and I think victims need to come forward."

Scotland Yard has closed the part of  Operation Yewtree that investigated claims of crimes committed by Savile alone, but continues to examine allegations of Savile offending with others, and suspects with no connection with him.

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California School Gunman 'Planned Attack'

A 16-year-old who walked into a rural California high school and shot one student and fired at others had planned the attack, officials have said.

The victim is in a critical but stable condition, and the suspect, whose pockets were stuffed with ammunition, is still being interrogated following the shooting on Thursday at Taft Union High School.

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said that the suspect, a pupil at the school, had used a shotgun which belonged to his brother and went to bed on Wednesday night with a plan to shoot two fellow students.

Surveillance video shows the alleged shooter trying to conceal the gun as he nervously entered the school, about 120 miles north of Los Angeles, through a side entrance.

He shot one teenager and tried to shoot a second student but missed. A teacher also suffered a minor pellet wound to the head.

When the shots were fired, teacher Ryan Heber tried to get the more than two dozen students out a back door and engaged the shooter in conversation to distract him.

Campus supervisor Kim Lee Fields responded to a call of shots fired and also began talking to the teen.

Sheriff Youngblood said: "They talked him into putting that shotgun down. He in fact told the teacher, 'I don't want to shoot you,' and named the person that he wanted to shoot.

"The heroics of these two people goes without saying: to stand there and face someone who has a shotgun, who's already discharged it and shot a student, that speaks volumes for these two young men, and what they may have prevented.

"They could have just as easily ...tried to get out of the classroom and left students, and they didn't.

"They knew not to let him leave the classroom with that shotgun."

The suspect was arrested about 20 minutes after the shooting and the victim with serious injuries was airlifted to hospital in nearby Bakersfield.

Local news media reported receiving phone calls from people who were hidden in closets inside the school.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords with husband Mark Kelly

The attack prompted US Vice President Joe Biden to pledge that he would make recommendations on gun control to President Barack Obama in the next five days.

Mr Biden has been meeting groups ranging from victims of gun violence to members of America's powerful gun lobby as the country considers its response to the Newtown school massacre, which left 26 people dead.

"I have committed to him I will have his recommendations to him by Tuesday," Mr Biden said on Thursday, ahead of a meeting with sportsman and hunting organisations.

Mr Biden said the recommendations would be ideas gleaned from the various groups he has been meeting with in recent weeks. 

He hinted that his ideas could include new restrictions on high capacity ammunition magazines and more comprehensive background checks for gun buyers.

The Vice President also talked with representatives from the National Rifle Association, which opposes reforms like the reinstatement of an assault weapons ban - and has called for armed guards in all US schools.

Adam Lanza and his mother, Nancy Lanza

After the meeting, NRA officials said the discussion was more about demonising the Second Amendment than about keeping students safe and that they "will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen".

Mr Biden and other White House officials have also met mental health advocates to try to figure out how to make it harder for disturbed people to get firearms.

On Wednesday Mr Biden said Mr Obama may take executive action intended to prevent gun attacks.

Mr Biden's involvement in this task force comes in response to the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, where 20 children and six staff members were killed by a 20-year-old gunman. 

Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 after killing his mother, Nancy Lanza, at her home. He later killed himself.

He had taken his mother's guns, including a rifle which fires 20 to 30 rounds at a fast pace.

The AR-15 style rifle Lanza used is America's most popular rifle. It is also the weapon most commonly used in mass shootings in the US and is the same as the one used by the gunman in the cinema shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

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