Tory plan for new border police force

The Conservatives will promise today to create a dedicated border police force with its own chief constable, to counter illegal immigration, human trafficking and gun and drug smuggling. David Cameron’s proposals come as the former Metropolitan Police Chief Constable, Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, issues a report calling for a clear border strategy. His report says the lack of such a strategy has resulted in key duties not being carried out, resources not being properly allocated and agencies not working together.

Rhys Jones trial ruling

The trial of a 17-year-old accused of murdering the schoolboy Rhys Jones and six others accused of assisting him will be heard in Liverpool. It will start on October 2 after a judge at Liverpool Crown Court dismissed an application from the defence team to move the trial outside the city. Rhys, 11, was shot dead last August as he walked home from football training.

Rape girl’s abortion

An 11-year-old girl from Romania, who became pregnant after an alleged raped by an uncle, has travelled to Britain for an abortion despite receiving a last-minute sanction to undergo the procedure in her native country where she had passed the normal 14-week limit. Her family wanted to travel to Britain where a Romanian had offered to finance the costs. (AFP)

Arts exams ‘a grade easier than science’

Students could boost their A-level results by a full grade by choosing easier subjects, a study of the difficulty of different courses has found (Alexandra Frean writes).

It is far harder for candidates studying science and technology to achieve A grades than for those of similar ability studying subjects such as media studies and psychology, according to Robert Coe, of Durham University, author of the report, commissioned by the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society. He argued that the tariff system used by universities admissions officers should be reformed.

A separate report by two University of Buckingham academics found the teaching of physics to be under threat because of the lack of specialists.

Security man’s suicide

The head of security at the Duchess of Cornwall’s private home in Wiltshire shot himself after sending a text message to his estranged wife saying that he could not live without her. An inquest in Trowbridge was told that Sergeant Richard Fuller, 55, and his wife, Jill, had separated after a series of violent rows. Verdict: suicide.

NHS laptop stolen

A laptop containing unencrypted medical records of about 21,000 patients and the operations that they were due to undergo has been stolen from a car belonging to a senior manager with the Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust. Peter Murphy, the chief executive of the trust, has written to the patients involved.

Back with a bang

A man who tried to gas himself but then changed his mind and lit a cigarette, causing an explosion, has been convicted of arson. Ian Noll, 39, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was given a 12-month community service order at Newport Crown Court and ordered to take an enhanced thinking skills course.

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