UK considering tough response to Iran embassy attack

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Common on November 30, 2011

Britain is considering taking “very tough action” after protesters stormed the country’s embassy in Iran, Prime Minister David Cameron said today.

Cameron said his main concern was ensuring the safety of British embassy staff.

“After that we will consider taking some very tough action in response to this completely appalling and disgraceful behaviour by the Iranians,” he told parliament.

Cameron, Sarkozy hailed in Libya, offer help

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy (left), National Transitional Council (NTC) head Mustafa Abdul Jalil (centre) and Prime Minister David Cameron (right) join hands in Benghazi on September 15, 2011.

Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron landed in Libya to a heroes’ welcome yesterday, promising help for the new rulers that French and British air power helped to install and being told the favour may be repaid in business contracts.

Just three weeks after rebels backed by Nato bombers overran the capital, French President Sarkozy and the British prime minister promised in Tripoli to help hunt down Muammar Gaddafi and to hand his frozen assets to his successors.

The forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) later said they had stormed Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte, one of three main urban areas still beyond the interim government’s control.

NTC fighters were facing strong resistance from loyalist fighters, especially snipers, a military spokesman said.

In Benghazi, seat of the uprising which early intervention by French and British jets helped to save from Gaddafi’s army in March, Sarkozy and Cameron were treated to a rowdy welcome on “Freedom Square,” shouting to be heard over a cheering crowd of hundreds — many in the city were unaware of their arrival.



“It’s great to be here in free Benghazi and in free Libya,” said Cameron as he strained, rock-star hoarse, above the chants in televised scenes both men will hope play well back home.

The French president, struggling for re-election next year, beamed at grateful chants of “One, two, three; Merci Sarkozy!” while the two leaders, flanking NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, held his arms aloft like a victorious boxer.

“France, Great Britain, Europe, will always stand by the side of the Libyan people,” said Sarkozy, whom many Libyans credit with making a decisive gamble, pulling in a hesitant United States and securing UN backing for Nato air strikes to halt Gaddafi’s tanks as they closed in to crush Benghazi.

“Your city was an inspiration to the world as you threw off a dictator and chose freedom,” Cameron said, clearly enjoying the relative security to speak outdoors in Benghazi after a tight lockdown in tense Tripoli. “Colonel Gaddafi said he would hunt you down like rats but you showed the courage of lions.”

Hajja, a 70-year-old swathed in the rebel tricolour, watched the two leaders with a rapture they rarely experience at home: “If we could give them anything, we would — our lives, our souls ... But for them, we would be history.”

Support offered

In Tripoli, Libyan interim premier Mahmoud Jibril spoke at a news conference of “our thanks for this historic stance” taken by France and Britain to launch the West into a war that did not always look set to end well for the rebels.

Both countries offered continued military support against Gaddafi loyalists holding substantial parts of Libya as well as in hunting the former strongman and others wanted for crimes against humanity. Sarkozy said he would raise the issue with neighbouring Niger, a former French colony where some of Gaddafi’s senior aides and one of his sons have sought refuge.

“This is not over,” Cameron said. “There are still parts of Libya that are under Gaddafi’s control. Gaddafi is still at large and we must make sure that this work is completed.”

In a sign of progress for the NTC, a spokesman said its forces had entered Sirte, Gaddafi’s sprawling home town between Tripoli and Benghazi. But like in other loyalist cities, Libyan fighters were met with strong resistance.

“They have now entered the city. There was a coordinated push from the south, east and west and from along the coast,” NTC military spokesman Abdulrahman Busin told Reuters.

“They are coming under heavy fire. There is a particular problem with snipers.”

Inland, at Bani Walid, residents were still trying to leave the besieged loyalist stronghold, and reported that others were trapped by gunmen. Deep in the desert, the southern city of Sabha is also still controlled by forces loyal to Gaddafi.

Cameron said a Franco-British move at the United Nations today could mean London alone unfreezing US$19 billon (RM57 billion) of assets, while help with healthcare and disarmament was also ready.

With an eye on public opinion at home, he drew attention to the case of a boy wounded by a grenade at his school who would be treated by British specialists, while Sarkozy rebuffed suggestions of self-interest in the war, declaring: “We did what we did because we thought it was just.”

Remembering “friends”

Although Sarkozy hotly denied talk among Arabs of “under the table deals for Libya’s riches,” interim Libyan leader Abdel Jalil said key allies could expect preferential treatment in return for their help in ending 42 years of Gaddafi’s rule.

“As a faithful Muslim people,” he told reporters in Tripoli, “we will appreciate these efforts and they will have priority within a framework of transparency.”

Other states which did business with Gaddafi, notably China and Russia, have been concerned that their lukewarm attitude to the NTC may cost them economically. While Abdel Jalil stressed a desire to allocate contracts on the best terms for Libya, and to honour existing contracts, he said some could be reviewed.

Those deals signed by Gaddafi which were skewed by personal corruption could be cancelled, he said, noting that he had served as a minister under the old regime and knew its secrets.

Cameron appeared keen to avoid public triumphalism. “I’m proud of our role,” he said. “But this was your revolution, not our revolution.” And with an eye on events in Syria and elsewhere, he said Libyans could inspire others: “This is a moment when the Arab Spring could become a summer and we see democracy advance in other countries too.”

The need for Sarkozy and Cameron to visit Benghazi as well as Tripoli is a sign of the obstacles Libya still faces in transforming itself into a peaceful, unified democracy. The NTC has not yet been able to establish a government safely in a capital still bristling with militiamen from disparate groups.

Cameron offered Jibril and Abdel Jalil a personal vote of confidence, saying they “continually proved the sceptics wrong.” But the country is deeply divided. Many of its new rulers hail from Benghazi in the east, while the fighters who won the battle for Tripoli mostly come the west.

Sarkozy got a big cheer in Benghazi when he called for a “united Libya” and “a new courage, that of forgiveness.”

'Sex gang groomed girls of 13': Asian men accused of luring teens and turning them into prostitutes

A gang of Asian men went on trial yesterday accused of a sickening catalogue of child prostitution offences against vulnerable teenage girls as young as 13.

The nine – six are married and one is a grandfather – face 55 charges, including inciting child prostitution, grooming and rape between 2007 and 2009.

The girls – who cannot be named for legal reasons – were said to have received cash, alcohol, drugs, meals and mobile phone credit in exchange for sex with some of the defendants.

Three of the men – Ahdel Ali, 23, his brother Mubarek Ali, 28, and Tanveer Ahmed, 39 – allegedly acted as ‘pimps’, passing two of the young girls among their friends and using them as sexual commodities.

Mubarek Ali is also accused of trafficking one of the girls, while Abdul Rouf, 34, and Mohammed Younis, 59, are accused of using their homes as brothels for child prostitution.

Deborah Gould, prosecuting, said: ‘The Crown say that the men in the dock variously trafficked, raped or sexually abused girls both over and under the age of 16 years over a considerable period of time.

‘These men ensnared these girls. They had cars, jobs and money which gave them both freedom and power. They enticed the girls, groomed the girls and then exploited them either for their own sexual gratification or for money.’

 Accused: Mohammed Islam Choudhrey (L) and Noshad Hussain are among the defendants facing trial at Stafford Crown Court

 Also accused: Mohammed Ali Sultan, left, and Marhoof Khan are on trial for sex offences

 Brothels: Defendants Mohammed Yunis, left, and Abdul Rouf are accused of using their homes for child prostitution

'Pimp': Tanveer Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed, 39, allegedly passed two of the young girls among his friends

Miss Gould told Stafford Crown Court that the case was ‘not about race, religion, colour or creed’.

She said some of the seven alleged victims came from troubled backgrounds and their low self-esteem made them ‘highly vulnerable’ to the attentions of the men.

She added: ‘They do not value themselves and therefore have no expectation that they will be valued by others.

'Accordingly when they receive attention from others, particularly what they perhaps perceive to be somewhat exotic older males with money and cars, they soak it up, believing themselves to be the objects of genuine emotions and affections.

‘They believed themselves, and may still believe themselves, to be loved by and in love with some of these men.’

She said the alleged abusers would contact their victims by computer and mobile telephones ‘out of sight, sounds and control of even the most wary parent’.

Some of the girls first met the men in a churchyard in Telford, Shropshire, which had become a gathering place for ‘young Asian males’ who would smoke and drink there.

The court heard the Ali brothers would regularly present one of the girls for other men to have sex with. She was 16 at the time and didn’t realise at first that she was being sold for sex, Miss Gould added.

Men would pay between £20 and £40 and would either hand the money to her ‘pimps’ or pay her. She would then hand the money to them in exchange for mobile phone top-ups.

At one stage, she was 14 weeks pregnant but Mubarek Ali continued to sell her for sex, the jury heard. It is not known what happened to the baby.

After teachers and parents raised fears that the girls were being sexually abused, a police investigation named Operation Chalice began.

In December 2009, officers arrested most of the defendants and charged them with various offences related to child prostitution.

The men on trial – who all used Western nicknames – are Ahdel Ali, Mubarek Ali, Mohammed Ali Sultan, 24, Tanveer Ahmed, Mahroof Khan, 33, Noshad Hussain, 21, Mohammed Islam Choudhrey, 52, Mohammed Younis and Abdul Rouf.

They deny all charges. The trial continues.

Extensive operation: The trial, which is expected to last for several months, is taking place at Stafford Crown Court

HMS Invincible, pride of the Falklands, is broken up in knacker's yard

As senior Naval officers back First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope's criticisms of the ability of the Navy to fight in Libya, Commander John Muxworthy, who sailed to the Falklands with the Royal Navy Task Force, looks at the ignominious end of a symbol of the once-mighty British fleet.

The image is a poignant symbol of Britain’s rapid decline as a maritime power. With her metallic carcass exposed, the once mighty aircraft carrier HMS Invincible languishes in a Turkish port, being broken up for scrap.

The ship was once the pride of the Royal Navy, a hero of the Falklands War and a veteran of other conflicts from Iraq to Yugoslavia.

But now, as Britain’s naval heritage is obliterated by an irresponsible Coalition Government, she faces an utterly degrading end.

HMS Invincible sits in the Port of Aliaga, Turkey, earlier this year, waiting to be scrapped and recycled

Unseemly death of a courageous veteran: Like a tired but noble beast brought down by jackals, HMS Invincible's carcass is picked clean in a Turkish scrapyard

What makes the image all the more shaming is how it reflects the profound concerns of First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, who said this week that Britain’s defences will be at risk if the war in Libya drags on, because our naval fleet can operate there for only another 90 days before it has to make serious cuts in firepower elsewhere.

Once Invincible’s 22,000-ton hull has been stripped of all valuable material, she will be melted down by the Turkish firm of Leyal into thousands of one-metre long blocks of steel, which will be recycled and used for building reinforcement, bridge cables, and more mundane objects such as office furniture.

HMS Invincible, launched in 1977, may have been coming to the end of her life, though with a refit she could have stayed in service for years to come.

But her demise is part of a wider pattern of brutal defence cuts that have left Britain dangerously vulnerable.

When I joined the Navy in 1960, we had 12 aircraft carriers, along with 30 cruisers and 150 frigates and destroyers.

Today, we have just 19 frigates, no major warships, and a single aircraft carrier, Illustrious, which can carry only helicopters and has no deck for fixed wing-aircraft

Moreover, all 60 Harriers have been withdrawn from naval service, which means that Britain, once the greatest sea power in the world and a pioneer of naval aviation — and still an island nation needing a navy to keep its food and fuel coming in times of conflict — has little real capability in its Fleet Air Arm.

The Government boasts it has ordered two new aircraft carriers, but neither will come into service before 2020, and it is almost certain that one will immediately be mothballed to save money. So, for almost a decade, Britain will be without an effective carrier, just at a time when other powers such as China, Brazil and Russia are launching a new generation of such vessels.

David Cameron is fond of claiming that a government’s first duty is national self-defence but the Coalition has hardly lived up to that rhetoric. In the Navy alone, 5,000 jobs are to go — meaning that personnel will fall below 30,000 for the first time in centuries.

Never in our history has there been a British government with less understanding of our defence needs.

Part of the problem is none of today’s senior politicians has served in the forces — unlike, for example, the Labour government in the Seventies with Jim Callaghan, Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins, who served in World War II.

The result is the chasm between the lofty pretensions of Britain’s foreign policy and the reality of the disastrous impact of defence cuts, as exemplified by the overstretch in Libya and Afghanistan.

Given the ongoing destruction of the Navy, it is simply not credible that we could mount a Falklands campaign today, as pointed out by Task Force commander Admiral Sandy Woodward in the Mail yesterday.

Our operation in 1982 involved about 100 vessels, two-thirds of them naval craft, the rest support vessels like the liner Canberra, converted into a troopship, in which I served as a liaison officer. We have nothing like those resources today.

Aboard Canberra I remember feeling a tremendous sense of comfort from the knowledge that Invincible was at the head of the Task Force.

Weighing 22,000 tons, with a runway 560ft long, a top speed of 28 knots and carrying nine Hawker Harriers and 12 Sea King helicopters — one of them flown by Prince Andrew — the Invincible was a formidable asset.

Without her, the Task Force would have struggled to provide an effective response to the Argentine invasion, not least because our troops would have been deprived of air cover.

Built by the famous engineering giant of Vickers at its Barrow-on-Furness yards, she could cope with any conditions, no matter how wild the seas or how aggressive the Argentine attacks.

The great irony of Invincible’s triumph in the South Atlantic was that, shortly before the Argentine invasion, the government had been negotiating to sell her to Australia for about £175  million, regarding her as surplus to naval requirements.

But that idea was immediately put on hold once the plans for the Task Force were put together, and she went on to play her pivotal role in the recapture of the islands.

After the war, she gave another two decades of magnificent service — helping to enforce the no-fly zone in southern Iraq during the late Nineties and serving in Nato’s operations in the Balkans in 1999.

Based in the Adriatic, she enabled Harriers to carry out air strikes against Serbia, as well as rescuing Kosovan refugees. It was not until 2005 that she was decommissioned.

With her demise, we have lost another part of Britain’s glorious naval tradition. Our greatest naval hero, Lord Nelson, would be weeping at what has happened to his beloved Royal Navy, with centuries of excellence being ripped apart in a Turkish scrapyard.

 An ignominious end: Workers take a break amid debris from the broken-down HMS Invincible in the Port of Aliaga in Turkey

 Battle: Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, Chief of the Naval Staff and First Sea Lord, said cuts to naval forces has left British defences at risk

End of the journey: HMS Invincible enters the naval dockyard in Plymouth for the last time in 2005

President Obama and PM Cameron dish up burgers at honouring American and British veterans in UK Visit.

* Taliban must make 'decisive split' with al Qaida, says Cameron in joint press conference with Obama after garden party

Forget table tennis - this is the ultimate photo opportunity for Barack Obama and David Cameron.

The UK and U.S. leaders forged a special culinary relationship today as they manned the grill at a barbecue in honour of servicemen in the garden at No. 10.

It was a moment of fun after this morning's in-depth talks on issues ranging from military campaigns in Libya and Afghanistan to global economic reform.

 Obama and Cameron diligently serve a burger to a soldier wounded in service during the garden party

 U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron, wife of the Prime Minister, serve food at the barbecue for British and American service members and veterans

 Michelle Obama, the wife of the U.S. President, and Samantha Cameron, wife of the Prime Minister, pose with their husbands on the steps of 10 Downing Street yesterday

 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton walks with British Foreign Secretary William Hague to join Obama at 10 Downing Street

 Mr Obama made the short journey in Cadillac One - his bombproof limousine known as 'The Beast' - from Buckingham Palace

Mr Obama's motorcade travels along the Mall as it leaves Buckingham Palace to go to Downing Street this morning

Barack Obama and David Cameron serve food from a barbecue as they entertain British and American service members and veterans at 10 Downing Street today

 Obama and Cameron wave to members of the media outside the Prime Minister's official residence, prior to their meeting

Mr Obama speaks during a joint press conference with David Cameron at Lancaster House today. The Prime Minister said the next 12 months represented a 'vital year' in Afghanistan

The pair gamely served the cooked meat at the lunch party while their wives, Samantha and Michelle, spooned side dishes onto the plates of 150 American and British service members.

The Prime Minister and the President appeared at ease as they performed their catering duties in shirt sleeves, chatting and laughing while they worked.

Even the menu appeared to reflect the strong transatlantic bond the two countries have insisted upon so firmly, featuring both British and American dishes.

British sausages, Kentish rosemary lamb chops and hot Jersey Royal potatoes were served with American staples such as hamburgers, corn on the cob and coleslaw.

There was also a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad and Caesar salad, followed by a dessert of summer berries and vanilla ice-cream.

The bilateral partnership was further symbolised by the interspersed Union flag and Stars and Stripes bunting draped overhead.

Both leaders worked together to pile food on to one wounded soldier's plate, as other guests queued at the food-laden tables.

Following the barbecue, Obama and Cameron gave a joint press conference in which the Prime Minister said Taliban must make a 'decisive split' with al Qaida if a political settlement in Afghanistan is to be brokered.

Speaking outside Lancaster House in London, Mr Cameron said the U.S. operation against Osama bin Laden represented a 'strike right at the heart of international terrorism'.

Mr Cameron said the next 12 months represented a 'vital year' in Afghanistan, while British and American troops had 'broken the momentum of the insurgency' in the country.

In the Taliban heartland of Kandahar and central Helmand, the insurgents were 'on the back foot', the Prime Minister said.

Calling for a political settlement, he told the press conference: 'Now is the moment to step up our efforts to reach a political settlement.

Obama arrived at Downing Street before 10am this morning for discussions with Cameron as he got down to the real political business of his state visit.

During the talks, the U.S. President insisted the alliance between America and the UK is key to providing global security after a 'difficult decade'.

Nick Clegg proved that three isn't always a crowd as he joined the leaders and was seen sharing a joke with the President.

Mr Obama was smiling broadly after making the short journey in Cadillac One - his bombproof limousine known as 'The Beast' - from Buckingham Palace.

The leaders greeted each other with a handshake before Mr Obama patted the Prime Minister on the shoulder.

They then shook hands again on the steps of No. 10 but they were not joined by Mr Cameron's wife Samantha and Michelle Obama.

Both men waved to the army of press photographers gathered on the opposite pavement before walking inside, Mr Obama placing his hand on Mr Cameron's back as they did so.

Helicopters whirred overhead, taking part in the major security operation to protect the President during his visit.

Mr Obama and Mr Cameron are to spend the morning holding talks before a joint press conference in Downing Street which is bound to be studied intently for clues to the strength of their 'special relationship'.

The highlight of the day is lik

He is expected to tell MPs and peers that even though the world has changed significantly since the Second World War, the UK-US relationship and the broader transatlantic alliance is still the 'cornerstone of global security'.

The 'Arab Spring' in the Middle East and North Africa reinforce that the allies' shared beliefs are 'not just relevant but essential', he is to say.

The president will also strike an optimistic note by claiming that the world is 'turning a corner' following a 'difficult decade'.

As well as operations winding down in Iraq, the shift to Afghanistan taking control of its own security has begun, and al Qaida has been 'weakened' by successes such as the recent killing of Osama bin Laden.

Yesterday, large parts of central London were brought to a standstill as crowds gathered to welcome the president for his first state visit.

After being greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace, the president and first lady met newlyweds the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge before Mr Obama laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

Mr Obama and Mr Cameron then dropped in on a south London school where they took off their jackets to play two schoolboys at table tennis.

But the Anglo-American team took a sound beating at the hands of 16-year-olds Jason Do and Jamiyu Mojaji at the Globe Academy in Southwark.

Mr and Mrs Obama then attended a star-studded state banquet in the president's honour at Buckingham Palace last night as the Queen hailed the US as Britain's 'most important ally'.

She insisted the relationship was 'tried, tested and, yes, special' and the two nations together contributed to security and prosperity of the world.

'I firmly believe that the strength of our links and many shared interests will continue to ensure that when the United States and the United Kingdom stand together, our people and other people of goodwill around the world will be more secure and more prosperous,' the Queen said.

Responding with his own toast, Mr Obama spoke of the 'rock-solid foundation' between the two countries.

'From that day to this, you have been our closest partner in the struggle to protect our people from terrorism attacks and violent extremism from around the world despite very heavy sacrifices here,' the president said.

'As we confront the challenges of the 21st century together we have can confidence in the partnership our two countries share, based on a rock-solid foundation built during Queen Elizabeth's lifetime of extraordinary service to her nation and to the world.'

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama sat down for talks in the White Room of No 10 shortly before 10am this morning.

As about a dozen photographers took pictures at the start of the meeting, the president joked: 'All right guys, one of those must have worked.'

Foreign Secretary William Hague and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton followed the two leaders into Number 10 half an hour later.

Mrs Clinton waved briefly and smiled as she entered.

Earlier, the smartly dressed driver of the president's vehicle brushed down its shiny exterior as she waited for him outside the Prime Minister's residence.

Mr Obama and Mr Cameron were joined by Nick Clegg at about 10.15am.

Shaking hands with the Deputy Prime Minister, the US leader said: 'Wonderful to see you.'

Mr Clegg, gesturing to the sunlit windows, said: 'You've brought the sun today.'

At about 10.40am, the President, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister moved to the Cabinet Room for talks on security with other ministers, advisers and officials.

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama sat opposite each other in the centre of the coffin-shaped Cabinet table, the Prime Minister flanked by Mr Clegg and Mr Hague, and the President by Mrs Clinton and the U.S. Ambassador to London, Louis Susman.

Other British ministers attending included Chancellor George Osborne and Home Secretary Theresa May.