UKIP: We Could Hold The Balance Of Power

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has claimed his party could hold the balance of power after next year's General Election.

He warned David Cameron and Ed Miliband "we're after you" after his party claimed its first elected MP by winning 12,404 votes in the Clacton by-election.

In Greater Manchester, the party slashed Labour's majority in Heywood and Middleton to just 617 votes, which Mr Farage hailed an "absolutely astonishing" result.

Former Conservative MP Douglas Carswell won a landslide victory in Clacton, Essex, by securing 21,113 of the 35,386 votes cast.

UKIP also forced a recount in Heywood and Middleton, where Labour's Liz McInnes narrowly defeated UKIP's John Bickley.

Video: Questions Remain Over Ed Miliband

Mr Farage said the results showed UKIP was now "a truly national party - indeed we are the only party that can challenge in solid Tory and Labour areas".

He told the media scrum in Clacton his party could find itself in a hung parliament where it has "serious influence" in the Commons.

Mr Cameron said UKIP's success spoke to a "wider truth" that a vote for UKIP risked a Labour government.

Video: No Complacency From Labour

"If you vote UKIP you are in danger of getting a Labour government with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, Ed Balls as Chancellor, and you'll get no action on immigration, no European referendum, and most importantly you won't get a continuation of the plan that's delivering success for our economy and security for our people," the Prime Minister said.

Mr Miliband, who would not be drawn on the nail-biting recount at Heywood and Middleton, said: "There won't be a shred of complacency from us as we reach out to all of those voters who didn't vote Labour and those who didn't vote at all."

He said the 2015 election was a "fight against disillusionment and despair about politics" which he was determined to win.

Video: 'UKIP Vote Risks Labour Government'

Mr Carswell, who triggered the Clacton by-election when he defected from the Tories, said UKIP's success revealed a "profound change in British politics".

Ms McInnes, who gained 11,633 votes in Heywood and Middleton where voter turnout fell to just 36%, said the by-election result was a win for the NHS.

Analysts said Labour's vote was damaged by the low turnout. Voter turnout was higher in Clacton, where 51.2% of voters cast their ballot.

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1. Gallery: UKIP Surge In By-Election Results

   UKIP has its first elected MP after Douglas Carswell took almost 60% of the vote in the Clacton by-election.

2. Mr Carswell won the seat with a majority of 12,404 over the Tory candidate Giles Watling.

3. Liz McInnes won the seat for Labour in the Heywood and Middleton contest, but its majority of almost 6,000 in 2010 was slashed to just 617 votes.

4. On a turnout of just 36%, Ms McInnes won with 11,633 votes, defeating UKIP's John Bickley on 11,016.

5. Ed Miliband's party's majority had been almost 6,000 in 2010, but a UKIP surge saw a 17.65% swing to Nigel Farage's party.

6. A triumphant Mr Carswell said "there is nothing that we cannot achieve" after winning Clacton.

7. UKIP's first elected MP to Parliament forced the election after defecting from the Tories.

8. Mr Carswell was the favourite to win, but there were still nerves on the night.

9. Mr Carswell took almost 60% of the vote.

10. Mr Farage said: "Congratulations Douglas Carswell, a brave and honourable man who has a just reward."

11. Ms McInnes won with 11,633 votes in Heywood and Middleton, defeating Mr Bickley on 11,016.

12. Despite UKIP's loss in the Lancashire constituency, Mr Bickley told Sky News "the Labour vote had collapsed".

13. Mr Farage went on to tell Sky News: "We are ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England. The truth of what has happened in the North today is that if you are anywhere north of Birmingham, if you vote Conservative you get Labour."

14. He added: "And the reason we haven't won up there, despite a fantastic campaign, is that too many people have stuck with the Conservatives, not recognising that UKIP is now the challenger to Labour in every urban seat in the north of England."

15. Turnout in Clacton was 51.2%, while in Heywood and Middleton it was just 36%.

Sky's Chief Political Correspondent Jon Craig said the dramatic decline of Labour's majority in Heywood would trigger further debate about Ed Miliband's leadership.

Concerns over the result have been raised by some Labour MPs, with one branding the vote "awful" and "terrible" and a member of the shadow cabinet describing it as "very worrying".

UKIP's next target is Rochester and Strood, where Tory defector Mark Reckless is hoping to return to Parliament.

Video: What Does UKIP's Win Mean For 2015?

He told Sky News Tonight he believes he has a "fighting chance" in the by-election, which is expected to take place early next month.

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Clacton Win Raises UKIP Hopes For Rochester

In some influential Conservative circles there was a furious debate, sparked by Matthew Parris' article in The Times about whether Clacton was the sort of place they needed to abandon to get a majority.

No need. Today it abandoned them.

A political earthquake was the description of the result from UKIP leader Nigel Farage rumbling through Clacton town square, dreaming not of one MP but as many as a dozen, next May.

He told the media scrum that UKIP could find itself in a hung parliament where it has "serious influence" in the Commons.

Mark Reckless will be hoping to repeat Douglas Carwell's feat

Douglas Carswell made history, taking UKIP from 0 to 60% vote share - an extraordinary swing in the vote from someone called Douglas Carswell.

At UKIP's private victory party at 3.30am, gate-crashed by Sky News, he told supporters "we've waited 21 years for this".

Video: What Does UKIP's Win Mean For 2015?

The Carswell personal touch was evident in his victory lap in Clacton, as he high-fived Clacton's Earth Angel, a performance artist, and also evident in a 35% winning margin.

So just how replicable is this feat? The stunning margin has raised UKIP hopes for Mr Carswell's friend and fellow defector Mark Reckless in Rochester. A victory there really does threaten off-the-scale seismic activity.

But it's not about earthquakes. It's about tides, surges and coastal defences. The purple tide has swept through Clacton.

Video: Carswell High Fives 'Earth Angel'

Tory defences collapsed by the defection of one of their own. But despite doing almost as well in a Labour heartland, Ed Miliband's defences held just.

Now all eyes are across the waters to Rochester with the UKIP insurgents claiming if that falls they can sweep the whole of north Kent, and begin to dream of a dozen constituencies.

For his part, Mr Miliband was less than triumphalist in a narrow victory for his NHS-focused campaign in Heywood, saying to those who voted for UKIP or were considering backing UKIP: "I'm determined that we listen and deliver".

Video: 'UKIP Vote Risks Labour Government'

The Prime Minister laid out what will be a familiar binary choice at the election, saying: "If you vote UKIP you're in danger of getting a Labour government with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, Ed Balls as Chancellor and you'll get no action on immigration, no European referendum."

At UKIP's private victory party in a country pub I was left thinking: "Can this band really fight simultaneous national campaigns in a General Election? And do UKIP really not care which mainstream politicians they end up kippering?"

I asked Mr Farage: "Are you indifferent to David Cameron or Ed Miliband being Prime Minister?

Video: No Complacency From Labour

Farage replied: "Well, let's just work this out, shall we? Both of them want us to be in the EU, both of them support total open door immigration policy, both think the wind farms off Clacton here are pretty, I think they're vile.

"There are some little differences around the edges. Frankly we're not voting next year for change of government, we're voting for a change of management."

Vote UKIP get UKIP is their new mantra. And they proved it here for the first and not last time.

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Who Is Douglas Carswell? What You Need To Know

Douglas Carswell runs. He runs to keep fit, runs against Labour prime ministers, runs after shoplifters - and now runs for UKIP.

:: He's UKIP's first elected MP

Remember Bob Spink? Strictly speaking he was UKIP's first MP, but he wasn't elected - that's the difference. He defected from the Tories in 2008 and was redesignated as an independent but supporting UKIP. UKIP claimed him, but it is Douglas Carswell who gets to be the poster boy.

:: He ran against Tony Blair

Mr Carswell was Tory candidate for Sedgefield in 2001. He did pretty well and only lost by 17,000 votes… it was a 4.7% swing! He went on to oust Labour MP Ivan Henderson in Harwich in 2005 to claim his place in Parliament.

:: He has a £655 love seat in deep moss brushed cotton

It has extra fabric protection too - and it was paid for by taxpayers. Mr Carswell was revealed to be a second-home flipper during the expenses scandal in 2009. It also transpired he had claimed hundreds of pounds for John Lewis and The White Company bedding, as well as the love seat from Sofa.com.

:: He was slung out of a military parliamentary group after complaining about poor equipment

After a visit to Afghanistan with the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in 2008, Mr Carswell loudly criticised the poor equipment and lack of helicopters for British troops. He was booted out as a result of his concerns.

:: He was an anti-sleaze campaigner

The year before the expenses scandal Mr Carswell tabled an early day motion to throw out speaker Michael Martin - the first in 300 years. Why? Well, Mr Martin was refusing to make MPs' expenses public, and Mr Carswell felt the people had the right to know.

:: He's a Clacton superhero

In January, he chased down and caught a shoplifter. He saw the man running from a shop, chased him down and held him until the police arrived. As he collared the man he said: "You probably don't want to hear this, but I'm your local MP."

:: His father was the inspiration for James McAvoy's character in the Last King Of Scotland

Yes, really. Wilson Carswell was a doctor in Uganda and met the late president Idi Amin in hospital on a few of occasions. He was the inspiration for the character of Dr Nicolas Garrigan in Giles Foden's book, which was later turned into a film for which Forest Whitaker won an Oscar. Dr Carswell was also the first to diagnose AIDS in Ugandan patients and carried out influential work on the illness.

:: He didn't just quit the Tories over the European Union

Yes, that was part of it, but he also cited the party's failure on bringing down the country's debt, introducing banking reform and giving the public the power to recall MPs who have stepped out of line.

:: He is not anti-immigration

While he does think successive governments have failed on the issue of immigration, he is not against the idea of people coming to live in Britain. He says on his blog: "On the subject of immigration, let me make it absolutely clear; I'm not against immigration. The one thing more ugly than nativism is angry nativism."

:: He makes quince jelly

He gave a jar he made last year to UKIP to sell at the party conference in Doncaster. He boasted on his blog: "The label proudly says 'Made in Essex'."

:: He wrote a book

It's called The End Of Politics And The Birth Of Democracy. He co-authored another called The Plan, which he says he wished David Cameron would use as a guide.

:: He has interests outside politics

Mr Carswell is married with a daughter and likes running, swimming, riding and gardening. He has a degree in history from the University of East Anglia and a masters degree in British imperial history from King's College, London.

:: Watch full coverage of both by-elections in a special Sky News programme through the night – available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

UKIP Vote Soars As Party Claims First Elected MP

Douglas Carswell has become UKIP's first elected MP by claiming almost 60% of the vote in the Clacton by-election.

The former Conservative MP - who triggered the vote after defecting to UKIP - won 21,113 votes, compared to 8,709 for Conservative candidate Giles Watling.

In claiming victory in the landslide poll, Mr Carswell promised voters: "I will not let you down". He added that UKIP "must be a party for all Britain, and all Britons".

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "Congratulations Douglas Carswell, a brave and honourable man who has a just reward."

The result capped a dramatic few hours for UKIP, which pushed Labour right to the edge of defeat in the by-election at Heywood and Middleton.

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1. Gallery: Highs And Lows Of The By-Elections

   Douglas Carswell has said "there is nothing that we cannot achieve" after winning the Clacton by-election with a staggering 12,404 majority.

2. UKIP's first elected MP to Parliament forced the election after defecting from the Tories.

3. Mr Carswell was the favourite to win, but there were still nerves on the night.

4. Mr Carswell took almost 60% of the vote.

5. Party leader Nigel Farage said: "Congratulations Douglas Carswell, a brave and honourable man who has a just reward."

6. In the Heywood and Middleton by-election triggered by the death of Labour MP Jim Dobbin, Liz McInnes retained the seat for Labour in a closely fought contest.

7. Ms McInnes won with 11,633 votes, defeating UKIP's John Bickley on 11,016. Ed Miliband's party's majority had been almost 6,000 in 2010, but a UKIP surge saw a 17.65% swing to Mr Farage's party.

8. Despite UKIP's loss in the Lancashire constituency, Mr Bickley told Sky News "the Labour vote had collapsed".

9. Mr Farage went on to tell Sky News: "We are ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England. The truth of what has happened in the North today is that if you are anywhere north of Birmingham, if you vote Conservative you get Labour."

10. He added: "And the reason we haven't won up there, despite a fantastic campaign, is that too many people have stuck with the Conservatives, not recognising that UKIP is now the challenger to Labour in every urban seat in the north of England."

11. Turnout in Clacton was 51.2%, while in Heywood and Middleton it was just 36%.

Turnout was lower than expected in Greater Manchester, where just 36% of voters went to the polls.

Labour's Liz McInnes gained 11,633 votes in Heywood and Middleton, with UKIP's John Bickley finishing second with 11,016 votes.

The result was far closer than anticipated. UKIP requested a recount before Labour was confirmed as the winner.

Video: Speech: Douglas Carswell MP

The Conservatives scored 3,496 votes and the Liberal Democrats 1,457.

In her victory speech, Ms McInnes claimed the by-election result was a win for the NHS.

"The people gave their backing to Ed Miliband's plans for an NHS with the time to care," she said.

Video: UKIP MP In One Minute

"They have rejected a Tory government that is only standing up for the privileged few."

But Sky's Jon Craig said the dramatic decline of Labour's majority in Heywood would trigger renewed debate about Mr Miliband's leadership.

"UKIP have done better here than even they thought they would," he said.

Video: Results: Heywood & Middleton

"They've come within a whisker of pulling off a sensational by-election victory."

The polls closed in Heywood and Middleton, and in Clacton, at 10pm on Thursday.

Voters in Heywood cast their ballot for a new MP following the death of Labour's Jim Dobbin last month.

Video: Who's Winning? Labour or UKIP

Mr Dobbin held the seat from 1997 and was returned in 2010 with a significant majority.

The vote in Clacton was triggered in August by Mr Carswell's defection to UKIP.

Mr Carswell won the seat in 2010 with a majority of more than 12,000, having previously served as Conservative MP for Harwich until the constituency was abolished by boundary changes.

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1. Gallery: The UKIP History In Pictures

   1993: UKIP is founded by Alan Sked in response to the Maastricht Treaty, which set out the modern day EU and paved the way for the Euro. He left the party in 1997 saying it had become a "racist party for the far-right". He is now the leader of New Deal, which has been called UKIP of the Left.

2. 1999: The party takes its first three seats in the European Parliament, under the leadership of the millionaire businessman Michael Holmes. Nigel Farage is one of those MEPs.

3. 2000: Michael Holmes resigns and Jeffrey Titford takes over as leader of UKIP. He leads the party to field 420 candidates at the 2001 General Election and secure 1.5% of the vote.

4. 2002: Former Conservative Roger Knapman takes over at the helm.

5. 2004: The party wins 12 seats at the European Elections, among the UKIP MEPs is the chat show host Robert Kilroy Silk.

6. 2005: Growing speculation Robert Kilroy Silk will take on the leadership comes to nothing and he announces he is leaving the party, calling it a "joke", setting up his own party, Veritas.

7. 2006: In a radio interview David Cameron calls UKIP members "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly". It's the same year Nigel Farage is elected leader with 45% of the votes. Mr Farage drives an armoured vehicle to the Conservative Party Conference demanding an apology.

8. 2009: UKIP wins 13 seats at the European Elections but Mr Farage steps down as leader so he can concentrate on preparing for the General Election.

9. 2010: Nigel Farage decides to oppose House of Commons Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham - not the done thing. He fails to win the seat and goes on to reject the party's manifesto as "486 pages of drivel".

10. 2011: Ed Miliband hits the campaign trail at the Barnsley by-election (pictured) but UKIP candidate comes second to Labour, indicating the party presents a challenge to both Left and Right.

11. February 2013: Diane James wins UKIP's highest by-election showing with 27.8% of the vote at Eastleigh. The Liberal Democrats hold the seat.

12. September 2013: MEP Godfrey Bloom quits the party after provoking a row when he called women party activists, who didn't clean behind their fridges, "sluts". It came shortly after he made a reference to "bongo-bongo land".

13. May 2014: UKIP becomes the first party other than Labour or the Conservatives in more than a century to win the majority share of the vote in a UK election at the local and European elections. Mr Farage claims he delivered the "earthquake" he promised.

14. August 2014: Conservative MP Douglas Carswell announces he is defecting to UKIP triggering a by-election in Clacton.

15. September 2014: Conservative MP Mark Reckless follows Mr Carswell and defects to UKIP on the eve of the Tory party conference, triggering a by-election in Rochester and Strood.

16. October 2014: Nigel Farage announces he has parked his tanks on Labour's lawns as he joins the campaign trail in Heywood and Middleton, where a by-election is triggered by the death of the Labour MP Jim Dobbin, on the same day as the Clacton vote.

As he made his way to the Clacton count, Mr Carswell said he still had some "good friends" on the Tory benches, adding "friendship means a lot to me".

Asked by Sky News whether he could look them in the eye, he said: "I can certainly look myself in the mirror every morning."

He dismissed Tory claims that votes for UKIP would be a boost to Mr Miliband, claiming that he had "good data" that around half of his supporters had previously backed Labour.

Video: Interview: Nigel Farage MEP

More follows...

:: Watch full coverage of both by-elections in a special Sky News programme through the night - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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1. Gallery: UKIP Leader Nigel Farage: A Profile

   Nigel Farage has been married twice and has four children, two sons from his first marriage and two daughters from his second. He continues to live in Kent and cites fishing, country sports, traditional English pubs and getting Britain out of the EU as his interests.

2. MP Farage was born on April 3, 1964, in Herne, Kent, to stockbroker Guy Oscar Justus Farage and Barbara Stevens. His father was, reportedly, an alcoholic and left the family home when Mr Farage was just five years old. (Pic: Wikimedia Commons)

3. Despite professing himself the head of the "people's army" and enemy of the "establishment", the young Nigel Farage was actually educated at public school Dulwich College.

4. He decided not to go to university but opted instead for a career in the City as a commodities trader where he worked for two decades.

5. Mr Farage started out as a Conservative but left the party in 1992 in protest at John Major's signing of the Maastricht Treaty. In 1993 he became a founder member of UKIP with the sole aim of getting Britain out of the European Union. Since taking over as leader in 2006 he has tried to claim the party as the only "real voice of opposition". There is, he says, "a cigarette paper between" the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.

6. He was elected to the European Parliament as MEP for the South East of England in 1999 and held on to his seat in the elections of 2004 and 2009. In 2009 it was reported he claimed he had received a total of £2m of taxpayers money for staff, travel and other expenses. He has subsequently denied this but in an interview with Sky's Dermot Murnaghan in April 2014 said he was given £3,580 a month like all MEPs to spend how he wished.

7. The UKIP leader has cemented an image of a man of the people and has been described as the politician with whom most people would like to share a pint. This is possibly because wherever he goes he is, in fact, pictured having a pint.

9. ... here he is pictured toasting with a landlord in the pub the night before ruling out running for the Newark by-election in April 2014.

10. And here he is sharing a pint in February 2014 with volunteers helping during the flooding on the Somerset Levels.

11. He also likes a cigarette.

12. Mr Farage's campaign trail hat of choice is the Fedora, however, he is often seen out and about in a flat cap. He has run unsuccessfully for a seat in parliament a number of times, however, did deliver a resounding victory in the 2009 European elections capturing 16.5% of the vote - second only to the Tories.

13. His most recent attempt at a seat in the Commons came at the 2010 General Election when he challenged the Tory MP and House of Commons Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham. He came third. In the same year he released his memoirs of founding UKIP and his fight against "establishment" political parties called Fighting Bull. He ruled out running for a seat in the Newark by-election on April 30, 2014.

14. On May 6, 2010 - the morning of the General Election - Mr Farage was injured when a two-seater plane he was in crashed. He broke his sternum and ribs, and punctured his lung. An inquiry found that a banner the plane had been towing got caught in the tailplane, causing it to ditch. It was his second health scare - he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in his 20s but made a full recovery.

15. Mr Farage has never been short of a headline - largely owing to a tasty choice of phrase and his strong views. In April 2014 he was sharply criticised for naming Vladmir Putin as the leader he admired the most and for praising the Russian President for being "brilliant" in his political manoeuvering over the Syrian crisis.

16. He and his members have continually courted controversy, with one candidate telling the actor and comedian Lenny Henry to go and live in a "black country" and a councillor saying flooding was God's payback for David Cameron's gay marriage legislation. Mr Farage has also been criticised for employing his second wife, German-born Kirsten Mehr, as his European Parliamentary Secretary. He has said no one else would want the job. He was also branded "racist" for a UKIP European election campaign poster unveiled in April 2014.

17. His views have made him unpopular with some. In May 2013 the UKIP leader had to be rescued by police in Edinburgh after being mobbed by protesters after a news conference ahead of an Aberdeen by-election.

18. However, in the run-up to the May 2014 local and European elections Mr Farage's popularity surged. He triumphed in two televised debates with the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg on Britain's membership of the EU.

19. Mr Farage led the party to victory in the May vote. UKIP became the first party other than the Tories or Labour in more than a century to top a UK election with a 27.49% share of the vote. Significantly the party performed well in northern Labour heartlands.

20. By September Mr Farage had pulled off a significant coup by securing the defection of two Conservative MPs, Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless, and a £1m donation from the former Tory donor Arron Banks.

Video: Are those tremors from a UKIP vote?

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK Soldiers Deployed To Ebola Epicentre

British troops are to be deployed to Sierra Leone on a mission to help fight the spiralling ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Up to 700 soldiers from the Royal Scots Borders 1st Battalion, based in Holywood, Northern Ireland, will eventually be stationed near the capital Freetown.

Around 40 troops have already arrived in the country, said the Ministry of Defence, and more are flying out soon.

Confirmation of the deployment came as newly released figures from the World Health Organisation said the total number of people killed in the current outbreak had risen to 3,879 as of October 5.

The WHO said Sierra Leone and Liberia, the two worst-hit countries, only had a fraction of bed spaces they needed.

Video: Ebola: School Blocks Charity Mum

Both the British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, and his US counterpart John Kerry are urging countries to play a role in tackling the crisis.

Speaking about the British Army's response, commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Matt Munro said: "This is a challenge unlike any, but the point is that we are very well prepared."

He said soldiers were at a very low risk of contracting the virus.

Video: UK Responds To Global Ebola Crisis

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus will also sail and moor off the country's coast and could be used to evacuate any British casualties if needed.

Three Merlin helicopters will be onboard to fly doctors and personnel to hard-to-reach areas.

Mr Hammond told Sky News: "We have really a matter of weeks to get on top of this, to get ahead of the curve of disease replication, by putting new and appropriate assets into Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea so that we can contain it and get on top of the outbreak.

Video: World Must 'Step Up' Ebola Efforts

"The challenge is there is a need to move at speed, and it is not just about money, it's about providing the necessary qualified personnel to staff the beds that we're building, for example, in Sierra Leone."

Four major hospitals in the UK - London's Royal Free Hospital and three others in Sheffield, Newcastle and Liverpool, are on standby to deal with any outbreak in the UK.

The hospitals already have infectious disease units and have been lined up to provide "surge capacity" if the virus spreads to Britain.

Video: UK 'Lacks Ebola Experience'

Experts have said the UK is the third most likely country outside Africa to report an ebola case, with the WHO warning that sporadic cases in Europe are "unavoidable".

Texas ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan - the first to be diagnosed with the disease in the US - died at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, officials said.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

First Ebola Patient Diagnosed In US Dies

By Sky News US Team

The first man diagnosed with ebola in the US has died and a second patient linked to the case is being tested for the disease.

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Thomas Eric Duncan was treated, said he had "succumbed to an insidious disease, ebola. He fought courageously in this battle."

The Liberian national picked up the virus in his country before flying last month to Texas, where he fell ill and was admitted to the Dallas hospital.

Later on Wednesday a patient in the Dallas suburb of Frisco was taken to hospital to be tested for ebola, though officials said he was a "very minimal risk".

Thomas Eric Duncan's mother (C) with Reverend Jesse Jackson in Dallas

Local media named him as a sheriff's deputy who had gone into Mr Duncan's apartment and had contact with members of his family.

The current ebola outbreak in West Africa, the deadliest in history, has now killed 3,879 people out of 8,033 cases, said the World Health Organization.

Video: US To Take Passengers' Temperatures

The White House meanwhile confirmed passengers from West Africa would have their temperatures taken upon arrival at five major US airports.

The screening will start at JFK in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Washington Dulles, Chicago's O'Hare and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

As news of Mr Duncan's death emerged, Secretary of State John Kerry was appealing for nations to "step up" their response to the outbreak.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

Speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, he said more money, equipment and personnel were urgently needed.

He said it was essential for airlines to keep flying to West Africa and for borders to remain open to allow for the movement of assistance and medical staff.

Mr Duncan's fiancee, Louise Troh, paid tribute to him as a "wonderful man" in a statement.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

"His suffering is over," she said. "My family is in deep sadness and grief, but we leave him in the hands of God."

His family said they had visited him on Tuesday at the hospital, but declined to view him via video link because his condition was too "disturbing".

Mr Duncan's nephew, Josephus Weeks, said he and his mother had been unable to sleep after seeing Mr Duncan's face during a previous visit.

Video: 56 Being Checked For Ebola In Spain

He was being treated with an experimental drug and had been on a breathing machine while receiving kidney dialysis.

US authorities were monitoring nearly 50 people who came into contact with him.

Mr Duncan arrived in Texas on 20 September and went to the Dallas hospital on 24 September after falling ill, but was sent home with antibiotics.

Video: Online Appeal To Save Ebola Dog

By 27 September, his condition had worsened and an ambulance took him back to the hospital, where he was placed in isolation.

Meanwhile, US doctor Kent Brantly, who survived ebola, has donated blood to an NBC cameraman who is fighting the disease at a Nebraska hospital, the broadcaster said.

In Spain, a nurse is in quarantine after she apparently touched her face with a glove tainted with the virus while treating a missionary who had contracted the disease. She is the first person to contract the disease outside Africa.

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Protesters Killed In Anti-IS Turkey Clashes

At least 12 people have been killed during pro-Kurdish demonstrations in Turkey amid claims the country was not doing enough in the fight against Islamic State jihadists.

According to reports, five people have been killed in Diyarbakir, the largest town in Turkey's majority-Kurdish southeast region.

Several other deaths were recorded in other southeastern towns, including three in Mardin, two in Siirt, one in Batman and another in Mus.

Police have also used tear gas and water cannon to disperse angry protests in Istanbul and Ankara.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala accused the pro-Kurdish protesters of "betraying their own country".

"Violence will be met with violence ... This irrational attitude should immediately be abandoned and (the protesters) should withdraw from the streets," he warned.

Reports say five people were killed in Diyarbakir

The demonstrations called by the main pro-Kurdish party, the People's Democratic Party (HDP), stem from claims that Ankara is failing to intervene militarily against IS jihadists fighting for the Syrian border town of Kobani.

Fresh coalition airstrikes have targeted fighters around the town where around 400 people are believed to have been killed, and thousands displaced, during weeks of fighting.

Video: IS Footage Shows Kobani Onslaught

Plumes of smoke billowed into the air over Kobani after US, Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates jets launched five attacks against targets south of the city.

In a statement, US Central Command said four armed vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery, a tank and a militant unit were hit during the strikes.

Reports suggest the fighting has become less intense following the coalition attacks.

Video: Turkey Turns Water Cannon On Kurds

Reporter Jenan Moussa, positioned just 500m over the border in Turkey, told Sky News: "I can still hear shooting and shelling but nothing compared to Monday.

"I heard and I saw three airstrikes. One on the western side and two on the eastern."

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1. Gallery: Assad's Forces Seize Area From Islamists

   Forces of Syria's President Bashar al Assad carry a Syrian flag as they head towards a spot where a flag of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front is positioned on a hillside in Zor al-Mahruqa village

2. Assad's forces said they had regained control of the area and its surrounding hills, in the Hama countryside

3. The flag of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front is burnt on the hill

5. The Syrian national flag is erected

6. Assad forces inspect military equipment, which they said were left behind by rebel fighters in Zor al-Mahruqa village

7. An abandoned base where caves were dug by rebel fighters in Zor al-Mahruqa village

10. Assad forces inspect an underground base where caves were dug by rebel fighters in the nearby al-Hareeqa village

12. A Polish army member hods the German flag in front of an Eurofighter aircraft during a visit of new NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway (not pictured) at Lask air base

13. NATO will stand by member state Turkey if it comes under attack as a result of the fighting in neighboring Syria, alliance Secretary-General Stoltenberg said

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1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

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FBI Asks For Help With Tracking IS Fighters

The FBI has appealed for public help with tracking potential Islamic State recruits or fighters returning from Iraq and Syria.

Investigators also highlighted the case of an English-speaking IS militant with a "North American" accent, who appears in a propaganda video for the terrorist group.

In a statement on the agency's website, the FBI's counter-terrorism division assistant director Michael Steinbach said: "We need the public's assistance in identifying US persons going to fight overseas with terrorist groups or who are returning home from fighting overseas.

"No piece of information is too small." 

The FBI is hunting a man with a 'North American' accent in an IS video

In the IS propaganda video the masked man, wearing camouflage and waving a gun, stands in front of captives as they dig their own graves before presiding over their killing.

The FBI said the man appeared to have a US accent.

Video: FBI: IS Hostage Killer Identified

The agency believes around a dozen Americans are fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria.

The appeal came after US authorities arrested a 19-year-old-man who was allegedly heading to the Middle East to join the jihadists at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

The Justice Department said Mohammed Hamzah Khan was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation.

Video: Digitally Unmasking Jihadi John

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Obama Signals Tougher Airport Ebola Screening

By Sky News US Team

Barack Obama has said his administration is working on tougher airport screening measures to help identify people who might have ebola.

The President made the announcement after meeting health and security officials who are involved in attempting to prevent an outbreak of the disease in the US.

He told reporters the chance of an outbreak in the US was "extraordinarily low", but that there was not a large margin for error.

He said: "We're also going to be working on protocols to do additional passenger screening, both at the source and here in the United States."

Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan is in a critical condition in Texas

The White House is not currently proposing a travel ban for West Africa, epicentre of the outbreak.

But Mr Obama said he would step up pressure on wealthy countries to contribute aid to those countries struggling to contain the spread of the disease.

Video: Spanish Nurse Contracts Ebola

In a reminder of the risks facing medical professionals, a nurse who treated an ebola patient in Madrid, Spain, became the first person to contract ebola outside of West Africa.

Earlier on Monday, an NBC News cameraman who contracted ebola in Liberia became the fifth American to return to the US after contracting the disease.

Ashoka Mukpo, 33, who began feeling unwell last week, was flown out of the country and admitted to a hospital isolation unit in Omaha, Nebraska.

Video: NBC Cameraman With Ebola Back In US

Meanwhile, the first patient diagnosed with ebola in the US, a Liberian national, remains in a critical condition at a hospital in Dallas.

Thomas Eric Duncan became ill after arriving in Texas from Liberia two weeks ago.

He is receiving an experimental drug, brincidofovir, which was developed by a North Carolina-based pharmaceutical company.

Video: Body Retrieval Worker Mark Korvoyan

Health officials said they were closely monitoring 10 people who had direct contact with him and another 38 people who potentially had contact with him.

So far none has shown any symptoms, according to the officials.

Dr Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said earlier that officials were looking at all options "to see what we can do to increase safety of all Americans". 

Video: Liberia Gripped By Ebola Virus Fear

He said extra screening might include checking travellers to see if they have a fever, then evaluating them further if they do.

Ebola symptoms, which include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding, generally appear between two and 21 days after infection.

The outbreak is believed to have killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa and has taken the biggest toll in Liberia.

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Deputy PM's Wife: 'I Just Want What Men Have'

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

High-flying lawyer Miriam Gonzalez Durantez has told Sky News that she does not want to "have it all" - she simply wants "what men have".

In an exclusive interview, she also admitted that the "most important decision" of her life was who she chose to have children with - which happens to be the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

"What I would take issue with is the have it all. I never understand what people mean when they say have it all. I personally have never wanted to have it all like a general aim. I just want to have what men have," she said.

"Lots of men have a successful professional life or what looks like success to them and they have put that together with a family."

"I think that it was Sheryl Sandberg (chief operating officer at Facebook) who said that the most important decision in your life is who you decide to have children with," she added.

She was making the comments at a career "speed-dating" event, run by the charity Inspiring the Future, in which schoolgirls were given the opportunity to meet a range of successful career women.

Ms Gonzalez Durantez spoke to dozens of girls as part of the session that she hosted at a college 10 miles from the Glasgow conference centre where her husband was leading his party's conference.

She insisted, despite her husband's job, the couple share home responsibilities.

"We make the point of one of us being at home most evenings and I think that on the whole we manage."

:: Watch the rest of the interview on skynews.com and on the Sky News iPad app from 6am, and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

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F1 Driver In Intensive Care After GP Crash

Formula One driver Jules Bianchi has undergone surgery after suffering a severe head injury in a crash at a wet Japanese Grand Prix.

Frenchman Bianchi, 25, will be monitored in intensive care following the operation, said the sport's governing body.

He lost control of his Marussia, travelled across the run-off area and hit the back of a tractor that was removing Adrian Sutil's stricken Sauber, the FIA added.

Jules Bianchi was unconscious as he was taken to hospital

Sutil's car had "aquaplaned" off the track at the same spot - turn seven - a lap earlier and skidded into a tyre barrier.

Bianchi was unconscious as he was transferred to hospital.

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1. Gallery: F1 Driver Badly Hurt In Japan Crash

   Formula One's Jules Bianchi is treated by emergency services after crashing during the Japanese Grand Prix

2. The 25-year-old Marussia driver suffered a severe head injury after he came off the circuit during wet conditions in Suzuka

3. The Frenchman pictured before the race. He is seen as an up-and-coming talent in F1 after scoring Marussia's first ever points when he finished ninth at this year's Monaco GP

4. In Japan, Bianchi crashed at the same turn where Adrian Sutil (pictured touching his head) came off a lap earlier

5. Bianchi lost control of his car, travelled across the run-off area and hit the back of a tractor that was removing Sutil's Sauber

6. The race began behind a Safety Car amid wet conditions due to rain from Typhoon Phanfone

7. Bianchi's Marussia during the race

8. Sutil was uninjured in his crash on lap 42

9. Bianchi came off the track a lap later

10. He was taken to hospital by road in an ambulance because the medical helicopter could not fly due to heavy rain

11. Bianchi was due to be moved to intensive care after surgery

He was taken in an ambulance rather than the medical helicopter, which could not fly due to bad weather from Typhoon Phanfone.

Later, there were reports he was out of surgery and breathing on his own.

The grand prix began behind the Safety Car with drivers complaining over team radios they were unable to see through the spray. They were called back to the pits minutes later.

Following Sutil's crash on lap 42, yellow flags were waved before the corner to warn drivers of the incident.

The Safety Car was sent out after Bianchi's crash a lap later and the race was brought to an early end within minutes, with the rain getting heavier and the light rapidly deteriorating at Suzuka.

Video: F1's Sutil: Rain Got More And More

Williams driver Felipe Massa, who suffered life-threatening head injuries in Hungary in 2009, said of the Japanese circuit: "It was not driveable at the beginning and they finished the race too late."

He added: "I was screaming on the radio five laps before the Safety Car that there was too much water on the track.

"But then they just took a bit too long and it was dangerous."

Sutil, who was not hurt in his accident, told Sky Sports F1: "The yellow flags were out after I aquaplaned at the corner as the rain got more and more.

"And one lap later with waved yellow flags Jules came around and had the same spin there. It was more or less the same crash, but just the outcome was a bit different."

1/9

1. Gallery: Profile Of Racer Jules Bianchi

   Frenchman Jules Bianchi is the grandson of three-time GT World Champion Mauro Bianchi

2. The 25-year-old graduated from karting in 2007 and performed in senior Formula Three races

3. He drove in the GP2 Series for ART, taking two pole positions

4. In 2010 he suffered a back injury after spinning off the track and being struck head-on by another car

5. He began his F1 career as a test and reserve driver at Ferrari in 2011

6. Bianchi's Marussia debut was in 2013 when he finished 15th in the opening race in Australia

7. His best result in the 2013 season was 13th at the Malaysian GP, beating teammate Max Chilton

8. In 2014 he overcame the odds to score both his, and his team's first points in F1, in Monaco

9. In Japan, Bianchi's car collided with a crane which was removing Adrian Sutil's car

Sutil said he felt the Safety Car should have been deployed as soon as he crashed due to the risk of another driver going off at the corner.

"With respect to this corner I think everyone knows this is one of the most tricky corners and when it is getting late and the rain increases...

"Let's say when you have an accident there you should probably think about a Safety Car."

There are questions over whether the race should have begun earlier than 3pm (local time) to beat deteriorating weather conditions.

Retired triple world champion and Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said: "They could have started earlier, there's no question about it. It was foreseeable. They could have started the race at one."

Video: F1 Driver In Hospital After Crash

The GP was won by Britain's Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, with German team-mate Nico Rosberg second.

Marussia is an Anglo-Russian team based in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

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Ebola: Deaths Hidden As Fear Grips Liberia

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, Monrovia

Liberia's few ebola treatment centres are overwhelmed with the sick and dying - with patients sharing beds and the dead laying near the desperately ill.

The country has accounted for more than half of the world's deaths from the latest ebola outbreak in West Africa and despite assurances from the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that it is under control, evidence on the ground seen by Sky News appears to suggest otherwise.

Whole communities are gripped with fear about the virus - and terrified citizens prefer to die alone, unaided because of the stigma attached to admitting to the disease.

Dozens of ebola victims are dying in their homes in Monrovia, increasing the chances of the virus spreading.

And official numbers of victims are almost certainly unrepresentative of the real death count because of the lack of coordination and nationwide spread of the disease.

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1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with Ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught Ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

Small teams of about half a dozen workers set out daily to retrieve the ebola dead - most of whom have died after suffering in secret.

Their relatives are reluctant to admit ebola has caused the death, as this invariably invites ostracisation from their communities and targets them as potential virus carriers.

The body recovery squads - still called "burial teams" despite government orders that all ebola victims be cremated - are doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

They take extreme precautions, wearing multiple protective clothing layers along with goggles, boots, gloves and head coverings to try to stay safe.

Head of Team Three, Mark Vayowan, told Sky: "There's no day comes that people don't die in their house. Every day, every blessing day."

There's simply too much work for the recovery teams to do, not enough hours in the day for them to track down the dead.

Even as they were picking up the latest corpses from the Elwa Treatment Centre, a young man was sobbing outside.

He cried: "Oh my god, I was just bringing a phone for my sister. Now they say she's died. What am I going to do? She has children ..."

George Nyumah, like so many of Liberia's citizens, is frantically worried about catching the virus.

So the five children his sister cares for are left alone to fend for themselves in their one-room, corrugated iron shack home.

The eldest is 16, the youngest just two and they are all sleep on the dirty mattress which their sick mother lay on in the days before she was taken into the ebola centre.

Their chances of catching or carrying the virus must be very high.

For that reason, their uncle George - and the rest of the extended family - will keep well away for 21 days, just to see if they develop signs of the killer disease.

Even if they survive the virus, they'll have to fight poverty and the community's suspicions in the weeks and months ahead.

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Alan Henning's Family 'Numb With Grief'

The family of Alan Henning have paid tribute to a "decent, caring human being" after he was murdered by Islamic State (IS), saying they are devastated.

In a statement they thanked those who campaigned for his release, saying they had comfort "knowing how many people stood beside us in hoping for the best".

"There are few words to describe how we feel at this moment. Myself, Lucy and Adam, and all of Alan's family and friends are numb with grief," the statement said.

Support from the Government, Foreign Office and Greater Manchester Police "meant that we were able to get through the most awful of times", the family said.

The statement went on to add: "His interest was in the welfare of others.

Video: Friend Describes Henning Kidnapping

"He will be remembered for this and we as a family are extremely proud of him and what he achieved and the people he helped."

David Cameron earlier vowed to do "everything we can" to "hunt down" Mr Henning's killers.

The PM also paid tribute to Mr Henning, the second Briton to be beheaded by IS, for his "kindness, peacefulness and gentleness".

Video: 'Tactics Will Change' In IS Battle

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We will do everything we can to support the efforts of the Government to bring those guilty of this terrible act to justice."

A video lasting one minute and 11 seconds and titled Another Message To America And Its Allies, was posted on YouTube on Friday.

It shows Mr Henning, a taxi-driver who was captured on an aid mission in Syria in December 2013, kneeling in front of a knife-wielding militant in a desert setting before being beheaded in front of the camera.

Video: British Jihadi's Message To Cameron

Mr Henning, who is dressed in red, says: "I am Alan Henning. Because of our Parliament's decision to attack the Islamic State, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision."

The masked killer, who speaks with a British accent and is believed to be the man responsible for previous beheadings, makes a direct statement to Mr Cameron: "The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British Parliament."

Last week MPs voted to join the US-led coalition and take part in airstrikes against IS fighters in Iraq.

Video: Henning 'Handed Death Sentence'

At the end of the video another hostage, a former US soldier turned charity worker believed to be Peter Edward Kassig, is paraded in front of the cameras. The militant in the video says Mr Kassig will be the next victim.

The UK Muslim community condemned Mr Henning's murder, which came on the eve of the Islamic festival Eid Al-Adha.

A second video emerged on Friday which purports to show a British IS fighter - thought to be 27-year-old Omar Hussein, a former supermarket security guard from High Wycombe - calling on Western governments to send ground troops to fight IS militants.

Video: Imam Condemns Alan Henning's Murder

Downing Street has said it is examining the video.

:: Full coverage now on Sky News – watch Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

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Alice Gross: Body Found In Hunt For Suspect

Police say a body found in west London may be that of Arnis Zalkalns, the main suspect in the murder of schoolgirl Alice Gross.

The "early indications" are that the badly decomposed body could be that of Zalkalns, who has been missing since the start of September, the Metropolitan Police said.

According to unconfirmed reports, the dead man was found hanged.

Zalkalns was named the prime suspect after Alice went missing

The convicted killer is the prime suspect in the disappearance of the 14-year-old, who was found dead in the River Brent on Tuesday following an extensive search.

An area of Boston Manor Park in west London has been cordoned off - a mile from where Alice's body was recovered.

Video: CCTV Footage Shows Alice Suspect

In a statement the Met said: "Although no formal identification has been made early indications suggest the body may be that of Arnis Zalkalns. We have updated his partner and a Family Liaison Officer (FLO) is supporting her.

"Due to the nature of the surrounding area specialist resources will be required to assist with the recovery of the body."

Some people living near the park have voiced their alarm at the discovery.

Ingrid Zalalis, 46, who was with her daughter, said: "This is our park, we come here for walks. We also go on our bicycles near the canal, and spent a lot of time looking there after Alice went missing.

"There are areas in these woods where people don't go.

"The police searched the park a while ago and I don't think they found anything then."

Video: Alice Gross Police Statement

A 57-year-old called Zahra said: "I used to like this park, but now I feel it's not a safe place.

"I have been very upset about Alice Gross, I couldn't sleep when the body was found."

Police say they are still working to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crime, and have repeated their appeal to members of the public for any information that could help their investigation.

Zalkalns was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice on the day she failed to return to her home in Hanwell on 28 August.

He was reported as missing just days later.

The 41-year-old worked at a building site in Isleworth, west London, and is thought to have come to the UK in 2007.

Video: Alice Gross Suspect's Home Searched

Authorities faced criticism for apparently holding no record of his conviction for bludgeoning and stabbing his wife Rudite to death in Latvia.

It also emerged Zalkalns was arrested in London on suspicion of indecent assault on a 14-year-old girl in 2009, but was never charged.

Alice was last seen on CCTV walking along the Grand Union Canal towards Hanwell at 4.26pm on August 28.

A post-mortem examination on the schoolgirl was inconclusive and further tests are to be carried out to find out how she died.

Police said "significant efforts" were taken to conceal her body in the water.

Zalkalns had not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone since September 3, nor had he returned home to his partner and young child in Ealing. He also left behind his passport.

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