
Flight path shake-up promises quicker flights and fewer delays
Plans to fast-track the remodelling of the UK's flight paths could lead to quicker flights and fewer delays for passengers, the government says.Ministers are set to announce the creation of the UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS) later which will re-design the routes planes must take over UK airspace - many of which were decided around 70 years ago.The initial shake-up will focus on modernising the complex airspace in and around London.Cagne, a community aviation and environment group for Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, has warned the plans could mean there would be new flight paths over houses that are not currently affected.
Ministers say the plans could allow planes to climb quicker during take off and descend more smoothly.The plans are also aiming at helping reduce aviation's climate change impacts and pave the way for new technologies like flying taxis. "Modernising our airspace is also one of the simplest ways to help reduce pollution from flying and will set the industry up for a long-term, sustainable future," aviation minister, Mike Kane, said.The changes would allow the largest re-design of UK airspace since it was first formed in the 1950s.

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Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'If you were in a changing room in Harrods, there was a good chance Mohamed Al Fayed was watching': Explosive new book claims store was awash with spy cameras - even in women's staff toilets and locker rooms
Sexual predator Mohamed Al Fayed spied on customers using the changing rooms at Harrods for decades, according to claims made by his former bodyguard. Speaking in an explosive new book, the security man said there was a 'good chance' that shoppers using the facilities at the Knightsbridge store during his reign were being 'watched' by the serial rapist. In the Monster of Harrods due to be released on Thursday, the bodyguard known only as Biggie said the store was awash with cameras which also recorded inside the female staff toilets and locker rooms. 'People don't talk about this - there were cameras right up to the entrance and slightly inside the changing rooms used by Harrods customers, which meant if you were in a Harrods changing room during the Fayed era, there was a good chance that he was watching you,' Biggie revealed. The installation of cameras, as well as bugging telephones, was said to have been ordered by the head of security ex-detective John Macnamara so Al Fayed could keep tabs on and seek out potential victims. 'The guys looked at the screens as if their lives depended on it. But they also realised that many of the questions Macnamara asked were about females who had caught Fayed's eye, so there was also a lot of sniggering as they watched women in changing rooms and toilets,' said Biggie. Biggie, who was described as 6ft 4in and 20st, was employed as one of the very first 'generals' in Al Fayed's security detail after he purchased the iconic store in 1985. Harrods, which was owned by Al Fayed for 25 years before he sold it in 2010, said last night: 'Nothing in our records suggest cameras existed in any staff or customer areas where personal privacy would have been compromised.' Alison Kervin, author of the book who interviewed 60 witnesses, survivors and former employees, claimed that around forty screens transmitted information from every inch of the store 24/7. She said the cameras were 'everywhere' and meant that 'working at Harrods was like living in the Truman Show'. Another member of staff, known as 'the Engineer' because of his role in phone bugging, said there were 'recording devices everywhere' and everything that was transmitted was filed away. 'I'd have to make sure they were working and we were picking up everything was important that we did the recordings and kept everything properly filed,' he is quoted as saying. He said Al Fayed would sometimes demand to see a particular recording or listen in to what was said in a meeting room. The man said that no one was 'off limits' and that he bugged everyone from financial directors and board members to chauffeurs and body guards. Al Fayed, who died without facing justice aged 94 in 2023, was exposed as a prolific sex offender last year and more than 500 victims and witnesses have since come forward. Emma Jones, a human rights lawyer for Leigh Day which represents a number of the victims, said the latest revelations highlighted the need for a public inquiry into how his offending was allowed to continue undeterred for decades. 'The fact that there could be covert surveillance, CCTV or any kind of recording in areas such as toilets and changing rooms beggars' belief and is truly shocking. 'If true this would have serious and far-reaching ramifications in terms of breaching people's right to privacy,' she added. Last week survivors handed a letter to Downing Street calling for an inquiry to examine claims of a cover up and allegations that the serial rapist was enabled by the iconic store and the police. Scotland Yard previously revealed that it is investigating the role of at least five potential enablers who are alleged to have aided Al Fayed. Harrods, which was sold to wealth fund Qatar Holdings, has previously said it is 'appalled' by allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed and have been investigating whether any current members of staff were involved. The Monster of Harrods: Al-Fayed and the secret, shameful history of a British institution published by HarperCollins goes sale on Thursday here.


The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
Al Qaida terrorists tried to poison UK water supply, says ex-security minister
An al Qaida militant cell sought to poison London's water supplies but were thwarted by the security services, a former counter-terrorism minister has revealed. Details of the foiled 2008 extremist plot were given by Lord West of Spithead, who was in office at the time, as the Government was tackled at Westminster over steps to protect the Britain's reservoirs against attack by hostile forces. It follows the publication of comprehensive military plans to safeguard the UK in the face of threats from Vladimir Putin's Russia and China. Sir Keir Starmer said the strategic defence review (SDR), published earlier this week, would create a 'battle-ready, armour-clad' nation. The move comes against the backdrop of ongoing concerns about the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure to attack. Pressed in Parliament over whether there had ever been an attempt or a plan uncovered to contaminate the UK's water supply, environment minister Baroness Hayman of Ullock said: 'My understanding is that there has not been such an incident, but that does not mean that we should be complacent. 'We know that our water and energy infrastructure are both potentially vulnerable to hostile attacks.' But moving to correct his frontbench colleague, Lord West, who served as Home Office minister for security and counter-terrorism from 2007 to 2010, said: 'In 2008 there was an attempt by eight al Qaida operatives to poison north London water supplies. 'I am pleased to say that our agencies worked brilliantly to stop it happening.' The former Navy chief, who sits on Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, added: 'As a result, in the Home Office we put in hand a whole series of work on police response times, indicators of where the outflows from reservoirs went and new barriers. 'Where has all that work gone? These things somehow seem to disappear. There should be some reports, and hopefully someone did something about it.' Responding, Lady Hayman said: 'That is extremely interesting and very helpful of my noble friend. I will certainly look into it, because it is an important point.' Earlier, the minister told peers: 'The Government's first duty is to protect our national security and keep our country safe. 'Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) recognises that the drinking water supply is a potential target for hostile actors. 'It works with water companies and partners across Government to understand and monitor threats to water supply and to consider responses as appropriate to protect the security of our water system.' But Labour peer Lord Harris of Haringey, who is chairman of the National Preparedness Commission, said: 'I wonder whether her department is being a tad complacent in talking simply about monitoring the threat rather than looking at what practical arrangements can be made. 'For example, how do we deal with a drone which is flown over a reservoir and deposits something in there? 'The panic effects of that being known to have happened and not necessarily knowing what the substance is would be enormous.' Lady Hayman said: 'Tackling the diverse range of state threats – not just drones but many other threats – requires a cross-government and cross-society response. 'We need to draw on the skills, the resources and the remits of different departments and operational partners. 'In Defra, we work closely to look at the threats and the appropriate levels of response, specifically drawing on expert advice from the National Protective Security Authority, the National Cyber Security Centre and the Home Office, as well as carrying out threat assessment with policing partners.' Former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Hogan-Howe, who led the UK's largest force from 2011 to 2017, said: 'For about 15 years, I have been worried about the water supply – the large and small reservoirs, the pipes that connect them and, of course, the water treatment plants. 'I worry that there is sometimes confusion between the Home Office, Defra and others about who is looking after security.' The independent crossbencher added: 'It needs to be higher in the priorities than it presently appears.' In reply, the minister said: 'I can assure him that we discuss these matters with the Home Office. 'One thing that we have been trying hard to do in Defra and other departments since we came into government is to work better across Government.'


The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
RAF chief set to be new head of armed forces
The head of the RAF is set to be appointed as the new chief of the British armed forces, according to reports. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton is thought to be in line to be the next Chief of Defence Staff. The position is currently held by Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, who has been in the role since 2021. According to his biography on the Government website, Sir Richard joined the RAF in 1989 as a university cadet, and served as deputy chief of the defence staff from 2019 to 2022. The appointment comes as the Government has pledged to increase defence spending in the UK to 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament, a timetable which could stretch to 2034. The Ministry of Defence said: 'This is speculation. The appointment process is ongoing and any announcement will be made in the usual way.'