UK News: Fake death canoeist set free from prison

BACK-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin has been released from jail, sources said today.

The former prison officer was sentenced to six years and three months in July 2008 after faking his own death in a canoeing accident to allow his wife Anne to make fraudulent insurance and pension claims.

Miliband 'goes after' PM

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband has warned his MPs that Nick Clegg is taking too much of the flak for the coalition government.

He urged the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) last night to "go after" David Cameron and ensure the Prime Minister was held to account for his "broken promises".

Labour 'slowing' talks over voting reform bill

LABOUR was continuing today with efforts to derail the government's plan for a referendum on changing Westminster's voting system.

Peers were prepared to sleep in the Palace of Westminster as the opposition was accused of a "deliberately slow" approach to the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which must become law by February 16 in order for the promised referendum on adopting the Alternative Vote (AV) to take place on May 5.

Consumer optimism rises

CONSUMER confidence rose for the first time in four months during December as people felt slightly less pessimistic about the future of the economy and the jobs market, research indicated today.

The Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index stood at 53 at the end of December, up from just 45 in November, but still 24 points lower than it started the year.

Elton in orphan aid vow

SIR Elton John has vowed to continue to provide emotional and financial support for two Ukrainian orphans even though he now has his own child.

The music legend told a magazine he and civil partner David Furnish would never give up on two-year-old Lev and his brother, Artyom, four.

Bristol: Murdered landscape architect Jo Yeates probably knew her killer, her heartbroken parents said today as they made a desperate plea for help. David and Theresa Yeates urged anybody who knew somebody who had reacted strangely to the murder to come forward.

Kent: Two teenagers have been arrested after an 18-year-old man was shot yesterday near a girls' grammar school in Dover. The man was taken to hospital after the incident near Dover Grammar School for Girls, in which he suffered a single gunshot wound. He was in a serious condition this morning, police said.