UK news: Activist admits he may have inspired bomber

A FORMER English Defence League activist has admitted he may have inspired the Norway massacre suspect Anders Behring Breivik.

Paul Ray said his anti-Muslim blog, Richard The Lionhearted, could have informed Breivik's 1500 page manifesto in which he justifies the atrocities but condemned his acts.

New 'megaphone' site

DOWNING Street's defunct online petition page has been replaced with a website giving the public a "megaphone" to make themselves heard, it was announced today.

Any campaign on the site which is backed by 100,000 signatures will trigger consideration for debate in Parliament.

MoD set to cut a further 7000 civilian posts

THE Ministry of Defence is to cut a further 7000 civilian posts, it was reported today.

Staff are due to be sent a letter signed by the department's permanent secretary, Ursula Brennan, explaining the move.

It follows October's Strategic Defence and Security Review outlining measures to slash thousands of personnel, scrap the Harrier fleet and Nimrod spy planes and retire the HMS Ark Royal aircraft carrier. The MoD is to cut its civilian personnel by 25,000 by 2015.

Flu vaccine a step closer

A UNIVERSAL flu vaccine that neutralises all strains of the virus has come a step closer with the discovery of a "super antibody" in the blood. In tests the antibody disarmed both the main groups of influenza A viruses, which cause a large proportion of seasonal flu outbreaks.

Flu is difficult to control because it becomes a shifting "target" to vaccines by mutating.

BSkyB backs James Murdoch

BSKYB today gave its backing to chairman James Murdoch after his role at the satellite broadcaster came under pressure in the wake of the News International phone-hacking scandal.

The company also revealed a 23 per cent hike in annual profits to 1.1bn.

Ipswich: An investigation was launched after thieves stole a valuable rhino horn from a museum exhibition. The burglars broke into Ipswich Museum in an early hours raid and made off with the horn and a separate rhino skull, Suffolk Police said.

Manchester: A memory stick containing sensitive information about ongoing police operations has been stolen, a force said. It was taken during a burglary at the home of a serving officer for Greater Manchester Police. The force said a dedicated team of officers is working to identify the burglars and recover the storage device.