Youth Charged Over Marine Stab Attack

A 17-year-old has been charged after a Royal Marine and his father were stabbed in south London. Matthew Stevenson-Webber, 24, was stabbed in the back in Mitcham on Tuesday night. His father Craig Joseph-Webber, 45, was stabbed in the head and is in a critical but stable condition. The boy, from Birmingham, is to appear in court on Thursday charged with causing grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon while the victim, Mr Stevenson-Webber is in a stable condition.

Fate Sealed?

An aquatic mammal almost had its fate sealed when strong currents dragged it into a power station. The adult male seal ended up being trapped in a large watery chamber with no means of escape at Wylfa power station near Cemaes Bay on Anglesey. The seal was rescued by the RSPCA after being spotted by staff at the plant and was later reintroduced to the sea at nearby Cemlyn Bay. The RSPCA said the seal was swept into the building by the strong currents created by the power station.

CAA Flies Into Roof Tile Row

The specialist aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority is to investigate the most recent incident of alleged damage to private houses by low-flying aircraft bound for the George Best Belfast City Airport. It happened around 10pm last Tuesday, with the investigation confirmed to both the relevant householders by the CAA after they both requested a probe. The CAA says it will specifically examine whether or not the aircraft in question was flying too low.

Low Carbon Vehicles Initiative Announced

A £4.3 million initiative to encourage the use of low carbon vehicles by Scotland's public services was unveiled by First Minister Alex Salmond today. Mr Salmond also told the Holyrood 'Delivering on 2020' conference in Edinburgh that £3.4 million would be invested in a green bus scheme to help towards Scotland's target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2020. Local authorities will receive 'bridging' funding this year to cover the difference in cost between purchasing conventionally-powered cars or vans and low carbon alternatives such as electric vehicles, while funding will be available for other public bodies and to develop charging facilities. The green bus scheme will similarly incentivise operators to buy eco-friendly models.

Robinson Seeks Justice

Atrocities in Northern Ireland and those who caused them should all be open to probe and the perpetrators should put their wrongdoing on public record, First Minister Peter Robinson said last night. While he accepted the Saville report findings into Bloody Sunday and said it was time for closure for victims, he also commented that 'everybody needed to come clean'. Speaking to the Belfast News Letter he said: "We can't expect the truth to be told and then not be prepared to tell it yourself. There's a requirement from all the paramilitary organisations to 'fess up' and indicate the roles they played." Mr Robinson accepted Lord Saville's findings that the 14 killed and 13 wounded on Bloody Sunday were innocent but said that such a legal bill - of nearly £200m - could not be spent investigating every incident.

Advice On Prosecutions

Legal advice about how to respond to the findings of the Saville Report is being sought by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland with the PPS consulting the Crown Prosecution Service to establish where jurisdiction lay in such cases. The PPS said that was because some evidence was given to the inquiry sitting in London.

(BMcC/GK)