New Phone Line To Pay Tax For Faster Internet

A tax on telephone lines will help pay for ambitious plans to rewire Britain so that super-fast broadband is available to all, it has been revealed.

The newly-released Digital Britain report proposes charging households with landlines an extra 50p a month to subsidise broadband provision in rural areas.

It aims to ensure every home in Britain has access to 2MB-per-second broadband by 2012 - a speed fast enough to use online shopping services and social networks.

Commenting on the levy, Sky's Ursual Errington said: "It is a form of tax and will have to go through legislative processes and a consultation period.

"This shows how seriously the Government is taking this idea of a broadband roll-out to as many people as possible."

Meanwhile, those who misuse broadband will be targeted by new measures outlined in the report.

They would give communications regulator Ofcom new powers to clamp down on people who persistently download music and films illegally.

Introducing the report, Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw told MPs that the Government intended to upgrade all national radio stations from analogue to digital by 2015.

He also spoke about changes to the licence fee spending, which could see part of the cash ring-fenced to pay for public service programmes on non-BBC channels.

This could amount to £130m a year from 2013 for ITV local news, shows for children and other important but less profitable programming.

The cash will come from the pot that had been put aside to pay for the switchover to digital - which is expected to come in under budget.

In an article written for the Times newspaper before the Digital Britain report release, the Prime Minister said he he believed there was an urgent need to invest in internet and telecoms networks.

"Just as the bridges, roads and railways built in the 19th century were the foundations of an Industrial Revolution that helped Britain to become the workshop of the world, so investment now in the information and communications industries can underpin our emergence from recession," he wrote.

Iran Tensions Mount Like Vote Recount

Iran's supreme leader has ordered a partial recount of presidential election votes if required as thousands of protesters rallied for another day in Tehran.

In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the biggest street demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the election supervisory body to probe the vote-rigging claims.

"I am asking the Guardians Council and the interior ministry to examine the said issues so there is no doubt left," he said, state television reported.

"If the examination of the problems require recounting of some ballot boxes, it should be definitely done in the presence of the representatives of candiates so that everybody is assured."

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner after Friday's vote.

His opponent Mirhossein Mousavi then called for an annulment, claiming irregularities in the count.

But the powerful council rejected the plea, sparking political turmoil.

Mr Mousavi's supporters are outraged at what they see as a victory that has been stolen from them by fraud.

Some have used the internet messaging service Twitter to express their frustration, and Sky News Online has been following their updates to find out about the changing situation on the ground.

When asked by Sky News' US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua whether the White House was also monitoring Twitter for information, press secretary Robert Gibbs said he would check - both with the White House and the National Security Council.

Supporters of Mr Mousavi said they planned to rally on Tuesday despite the deaths of seven people a day earlier on the fringes of a huge march through the streets of the capital, Tehran.

Video images have since been released of a man, believed to be a member of a pro-government militia, firing a machine gun from the window of a compound as crowds surround the building.

Dramatic footage showing Iran shooting


Corroboration of the claims has been prevented by an official ban on foreign media from covering such events.

Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall, in Tehran, said: "Most of the demonstrators have been peaceful, but it is clear there are some among them ready to make a fight of it.

"The crisis in this country is not just about the election. Behind the anger of the alleged vote theft lies something much deeper - frustration at living in a theocracy."

Iranian state television said on Tuesday the "main agents" in the post-election unrest had been arrested with explosives and guns.

Further protests would be a direct challenge to the authorities who have kept a tight grip on political dissent since the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed Shah after months of demonstrations.

Despite protests and upheaval in Iran, Mr Ahmadinejad has gone to Russia for talks on his first foreign trip since official results showed he secured a second four-year term.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes Russia and China, congratulated him on his win.

US President Barack Obama said the protests reflected the fact that many people in Iran were unhappy with their government's "antagonistic postures" towards other countries.

"There are people who want to see greater openness, greater debate, greater democracy," he said.

"I stand strongly with the universal principle that people's voices should be heard."

Knife Murder Jail Terms Increases

The minimum sentence for murder using a knife could be increased after the family of Ben Kinsella called for an overhaul of the "complacent" rules.The minimum sentence for murder using a knife could be increased after the family of Ben Kinsella called for an overhaul of the "complacent" rules.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has announced a review of the 15-year jail term, half the minimum sentence for murder with a gun.

Mr Straw told MPs: "There has been concern about the starting point for the minimum term for murder involving the use of a firearm.

"It is 30 years, compared with the 15 years for murder with the use of a knife.

"I intend to review this with a view to deciding whether or not to amend this.

"I will, of course, be consulting the judiciary and Sentencing Guidelines Council and will be happy to receive wider representations, including from honourable members on all sides of the House."

Juress Kika, 19, Michael Alleyne, 18, and Jade Braithwaite, 20, were each jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years last week after being found guilty of Ben's murder at the Old Bailey.

His parents, Deborah and George Kinsella, and their daughter Brooke, the former EastEnders actress, attacked the guidelines.

"To us both are lethal weapons so I don't see the difference," said Mrs Kinsella.


"We have got to stop being so complacent, in a nutshell the sentencing isn't long enough, they don't see it as any deterrent."

Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve described the review as a "public relations exercise".

"The Government cannot expect to be taken seriously when it is releasing thousands of violent offenders from prison early, because of chronic overcrowding," he said.

Expenses Scandal Creates Another Victim

A Scottish Labour MP accused of trying to claim dubious electrical costs on expenses has been barred from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election.

Livingston MP Jim Devine, who was alleged to have submitted an improper invoice for a £2,157 rewiring bill, appeared before Labour's "star chamber" endorsements panel to defend his claim.

A party spokesman said: "After considering in detail the case of Jim Devine and speaking to him, the Labour Party's special NEC (national executive committee) endorsements panel today unanimously recommended rescinding his endorsement as a Labour candidate."

He continued: "As both Gordon Brown and the national executive committee have made clear, the Labour Party demands the very highest standard of its MPs."

The expenses scandal claimed its latest victim after it was revealed that full details of every MP's expenses are to be published on the Parliament website on Thursday.

Earlier, Harriet Harman's announced that she did not think MPs could continue to employ family members.

Commons Leader Ms Harman gave evidence to an inquiry by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

She told Sir Christopher Kelly that although spouses and relatives often worked harder than other people, "I think it is almost impossible to convince the public that actually there is fair employment opportunity.

"I think my own view is that it is just too difficult to sustain public confidence."

Ms Harman also said "barracks-style" accommodation for MPs to use during the week, funded by taxpayers, would not be feasible for members with families who did not want to be separated from them between Monday and Thursday.

"It does have to be recognised that we do not want a parliament that is exclusively made up of people who are prepared to set their family life entirely on one side," she said.

The investigation by the Committee on Standards in Public Life was set up in April after details of claims started appearing in The Daily Telegraph.

Chairman Sir Christopher Kelly said the system of MPs' expenses appeared to have been "exploited for personal gain".

He has said he intends to deliver "a comprehensive set of recommendations" to clean it up.

However, he insisted the inquiry could not be rushed, and would not report before the autumn - despite Gordon Brown's suggestion it may be earlier.

All the main parties have indicated they will accept the committee's proposals for reform.

Emergency measures to prevent the most notorious expenses practices - such as "flipping" second home designation to maximise claims - have already been introduced.