Benefits cheat gets suspended prison sentence

A WOMAN who dishonestly claimed £27,773 worth of benefits was given a suspended prison sentence on Monday October 3.

Carole Chennells, 58, of 49 Primrose Close in Luton was sentenced at Luton Magistrates Court for benefits fraud.

Robbery at mid Wales building society

DETECTIVES in mid Wales are hunting robbers who stole cash from a building society late on Monday evening.

Police at Newtown were alerted to the robbery at the Nationwide Building Society in the High Street, Newtown shortly after 10pm.

A Dyfed Powys Police spokeswoman said: “Shortly after 10pm two men wearing reflective jackets attacked security staff making a delivery to the premises and smashed the front door with a sledge hammer.Š

“Access was gained to the ATM machine and a large amount of cash was taken.Š

Ex-MPs' expenses decision explained

Supreme Court justices have announced their reasons for ruling that three former Labour MPs accused of fiddling their expenses were not protected by parliamentary privilege.

In a unanimous decision they rejected appeals brought by David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine, who deny theft by false accounting and are facing separate trials.

In their challenge before the nine justices they all raised a common point of law - that criminal proceedings cannot be brought because they would infringe parliamentary privilege.

Their claim to privilege had two bases. The first related to Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689, which provides that the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament "ought not to be impeached or questioned" in any court or place out of Parliament.

Lib Dems told to bite fees bullet

Liberal Democrat MPs should be told to "bite the bullet" and rally behind tuition fee rises, the party's former higher education spokesman said in an appeal for stronger leadership.

Lord Willis called on Business Secretary Vince Cable to abandon his offer to abstain on his own policy in a Commons vote in an attempt to prevent a party split.

Some Lib Dems are determined to vote against the proposals - raising the cap on fees from £3,375 to £9,000 - in keeping with a pledge signed during the general election to oppose any increase.

Leak 'won't hit US-UK relationship'

Britain has assured the US that the leak of 250,000 secret documents to whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks will not affect the "uniquely strong relationship" between the countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg gave the assurance to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the pair met at a summit of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Kazakhstan.

The disclosure of the US State Department documents has caused embarrassment in both London and Washington, exposing candid - and sometimes unflattering - assessments of British politicians passed on by US diplomats.