Man found stabbed to death in west London named by police

Crime reporter(wp/es):::

A man found stabbed to death in west London last week has been named by police as Polish national Kamil Malysz.

The body of Mr Malysz was found in a shared house in Alfred Road, Acton, on the morning of January 27.

Police were called after concerns were raised for Mr Malysz's welfare. The 34-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be haemorrhaging due to a stab wound. It is believed he may have been dead for several days before his body was found.

The murder was the seventh in the capital so far this year.

A 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on January 27 and has been bailed until February 20, Scotland Yard said.

Investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said: "I would like to appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the vicinity of Alfred Road from the early hours of Wednesday January 23 until Sunday January 27 to contact the team.

"We believe Mr Malysz's death could have taken place as early as the Wednesday prior to him being found."

Last week neighbours reported being woken in the early hours by screming from the four-storey house in Alfred Road.

Olah Hakim, 30, a PhD student, said: “I heard a really loud scream. It woke me up, and my baby son. It was a young woman’s scream and it went on for about 10 seconds.”

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact police or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Dozens brave Bristol snow to see Meghan and Harry

Pic--Meghan and Harry were taken on a guided tour of the revamped theatre in central Bristol/wp/bbc
Royal correspondent(wp/bbc):::

Dozens of people braved snow and freezing temperature to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on a visit to Bristol.

Meghan and Harry toured the Bristol Old Vic theatre, which is undergoing a £26m restoration.

Heavy snow had settled overnight which also saw most arrivals and departures cancelled at the city's airport.

A planned walkabout was curtailed, with slush on the cobbled street outside the theatre making walking difficult.

The theatre was built in 1766 and has nurtured the talents of countless famous actors from Daniel Day-Lewis and Greta Scacchi to Peter O'Toole and Jeremy Irons.

The theatre's redesign includes a full-height timber and glass-fronted foyer that reveals the original auditorium facade to the street for the first time.

Judge's Twitter plea to missing mum

Pic--Ellie Yarrow-Sanders disappeared with her son Olly Sheridan in July/wp-bbc
Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

A High Court judge has used Twitter to urge a mother who vanished with her three-year-old son to return home.

Ellie Yarrow-Sanders, 26, disappeared with Olly Sheridan in July after becoming involved in family court litigation with her ex-partner Patrick Sheridan.

Mr Justice Williams, who sent the tweet, is overseeing the case in the Family Division of the High Court.

It is thought to be the first time a judge has used Twitter in this way.

The judge's plea was delivered in a tweet posted on the Judicial Office Twitter account using the hashtag #comehomeolly.

Miss Yarrow-Sanders's mother and sister from Basildon, Essex have also urged her to return.

Her mother Donna, 47, and sister Maddie, 22, on Friday made a joint plea with Mr Sheridan, who is in his mid-40s, and said Olly needed to "come home to his normal life".

The tweet was issued after Mr Justice Williams analysed the latest stage of the litigation at a hearing on Friday.

He oversaw a hearing in private, but authorised lawyers to release a statement detailing his message to Miss Yarrow-Sanders.

The tweet said: "High Court Judge, Mr Justice Williams, and Ellie Yarrow-Sanders' mother and sister have made a direct appeal to Ellie to bring missing toddler Olly Sheridan home, with reassurances as to how she will be treated and given a voice in court."

The attached statement outlined the judge's concern and included a promise that he would deal with Miss Yarrow-Sanders's case fairly.

It said a senior social worker had been appointed to "promote Olly's welfare".

Lawyers said the judge had made it clear that such a move did not mean there was any chance of Olly being placed in foster care.

The statement also said Mr Sheridan only wanted Olly to be returned and would not make any attempt to have Miss Yarrow-Sanders, her mother or sister "punished".

Miss Yarrow-Sanders's mother and sister issued a joint statement with Mr Sheridan, which said: "We just want to know that Olly is safe and we plead for Ellie to return home as soon as possible.

"We all agree that Olly needs to come home to his normal life surrounded by family and friends."

Essex Police is also searching and has urged anyone with information to get in touch.

Snow and ice still causing disruption

Staff reporter(wp/bbc):::

Freezing temperatures are continuing into the weekend after snow once again left many motorists stuck in their vehicles overnight.

Highways England said police had worked until 02:00 GMT on Saturday to free vehicles from the M3 near Basingstoke.

And Kent Police tweeted it had had an "incredibly busy night" with "numerous" collisions and stranded cars.

The Met Office said temperatures could reach -16C (3F) in Scotland on Saturday night but that Sunday should be milder.

Services on South Western Railway - which runs trains from London as far west as Exeter - could face disruption until midday on Saturday after "a band of heavy snow", National Rail warned.

Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are expected to remain in place across the UK until noon on Saturday.

The weather has also affected this weekend's football programme, with Saturday's match between Port Vale and Tranmere Rovers postponed because of a frozen pitch.

London City Airport cancelled or diverted several flights on Friday evening because of heavy snowfall but said it expected the runway to be "open as normal" on Saturday.

The airport said any concerned passengers should "check their flight status in advance" with their airline.

Bristol Airport also closed its runway due to snow on Friday. Services are expected to return to normal on Saturday, but the airport said there may be some further delays due to the de-icing of runways.

Southern England bore the brunt of Friday's fresh snowfall, with the Met Office recording snow at a depth of 19cm (7.5in) at RAF Odiham near Basingstoke on Friday evening.

Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital made an appeal for nursing staffwithin walking distance to help, as it faced staffing issues when the town's roads becoming gridlocked on Friday.

In Bath, the Corridor shopping centre was closed after two separate roof collapses due to snow.

However, the poor weather meant few shoppers were around at the time and no-one was hurt.

What warnings are in place?

There are yellow warnings for snow and ice covering northern Scotland, most of Northern Ireland, the eastern coast of England and the west coast of Wales until 12:00 GMT on Saturday.

They warn of some snow showers, with heavier accumulations of up to 5cm (2in) possible in northern Scotland and up to 10cm (4in) over higher ground.

A separate warning for ice is in place for southern England until late morning.

Yellow warnings are issued for low level impacts, including some disruption to travel. People should check the latest forecast to see how they might be impacted.

Rush to stockpile sweeps UK factories ahead of Brexit: PMI

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::
British factories stockpiled goods in January at the fastest rate since records began in the early 1990s as they braced for a potentially chaotic Brexit in less than two months’ time, a business survey showed on Friday.

The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) also showed deepening pessimism across the sector which saw output grow by the smallest amount since July 2016.

Sterling slipped against the dollar after the PMI fell to 52.8 from 54.2 in December, a three-month low and below the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists for 53.5.

While better than the similar readings of manufacturing in France and Germany, survey compiler IHS Markit said the out-performance of British factories was driven by a surge in demand for stockpiling materials ahead of Brexit.

The stocks of purchases index rose to the highest level ever seen in a Group of Seven country, a record that spans more than 1,500 data points.

(GRAPHIC-UK factories stockpile at fastest rate in G7 history of PMIs link: tmsnrt.rs/2t1btEA).

“The fact that there is still at least some positive growth is almost certainly down to the biggest reading for inventory building in the survey’s 27-year history,” ING economist James Smith said.

“After all, we are so close to Brexit day and an economically disruptive ‘hard’ Brexit remains firmly on the table.”

Prime Minister Theresa May, under pressure from her own Conservative Party, wants to reopen a Brexit treaty with the European Union to replace a contested Irish border arrangement, something Brussels has rejected.

Investors have urged the government to ensure an orderly exit from the club it joined in 1973.

Almost one-in-three British companies are thinking of shifting some operations abroad because of Brexit, a survey from the Institute of Directors industry body showed earlier on Friday.

And on Thursday, figures showed investment in Britain’s car industry halved last year.

“The underlying trends in output and new orders remained lacklustre at best,” Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, said.

IHS Markit said there was a “clear risk” that the manufacturing sector — accounting for 10 percent of British economic output — will go into recession.

Export orders were flat, the PMI showed, reflecting a slowdown in the global economy.

British factories cut jobs slightly as backlogs of work contracted at a faster pace in January and the survey’s gauge of optimism hit a 30-month low, again reflecting Brexit worries and weakening growth in continental Europe.

Easing price pressures marked a rare plus point for British manufacturers. Input costs increased at the slowest pace since May 2016, the survey showed.

EU irks Britain by calling Gibraltar a 'colony'

Diplomatic correspondent(wp/reuters):::
Britain complained about the European Union calling Gibraltar a “colony” in a piece of draft legislation on Friday, highlighting how the EU is lining up behind Spain in its territorial dispute as Britain quits the bloc.

The 27 remaining member states agreed to offer Britons visa-free travel to the EU after Brexit in March, even if talks on a broader withdrawal treaty collapse, on condition that Britain offers the same terms to EU citizens visiting for up to 90 days.

But diplomats said Britain’s ambassador to the EU had objected to the wording of the text; it placed the 33,000 people of Gibraltar in a different category from UK citizens — with the same travel rights — and it also spelled out Spain’s claim to sovereignty over “The Rock” at the United Nations.

In particular, it stated: “Gibraltar is a colony of the British Crown. There is a controversy between Spain and the United Kingdom concerning the sovereignty over Gibraltar.”

Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman insisted Gibraltar was not a “colony”. The port at the mouth of the Mediterranean, ceded to Britain by Spain in 1713 after a war, was a “crown colony” when Britain joined the European bloc in 1973 but London reclassified it as a “British overseas territory” in 2002.

“Gibraltar is not a colony and it is completely inappropriate to describe in this way,” a British spokeswoman said. “Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family.”

 things, limit the weight given to the preferences of people living in a territory; Gibraltarians favour remaining British, despite having voted overwhelmingly against Brexit in the 2016 referendum.

Spain had sought a more sweeping reference to UN resolutions on colonies, diplomats said, but France objected to protect its interests in some of its own overseas territories.

The text agreed by the 27 governments will be discussed by the European Parliament and the EU executive in order to finalise a regulation giving Britons visa-free access.

Recalling how EU policy on Gibraltar had so far largely favoured Britain, which joined the bloc before Spain, a senior EU official told Reuters recently: “Now the table has turned.”

“The Union position ... was the British position ... But with Brexit, the Union position is now the Spanish position. We will always take the side of a member against a non-member,” the official said.

Spain has already secured a right of veto over whether future Brexit arrangements can apply to Gibraltar. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held up an agreement on the current withdrawal treaty in November over the issue and said Spain would seek joint sovereignty after Britain leaves the EU.

Spanish sources said this week that Madrid would insist on excluding Gibraltar from all agreements between Britain and the EU once Britain has left.

But there is concern among other EU countries that Madrid’s hard line could disrupt efforts to ease Britain out of the bloc. EU diplomats point to the territorial issue as one of those that could fray the unity the 27 have shown in negotiations so far.