Cameron in pre-summit budget talks

DAVID Cameron begins marathon EU budget negotiations today with a series of private talks in Brussels before joining a summit which could last into the weekend.

The Prime Minister is the first in line this morning for a meeting with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council president – and summit chairman – Herman Van Rompuy.

Other EU leaders will be ushered in throughout the day to see the two presidents as part of an unusual pre-summit effort to avoid deadlock when the summit gets under way tonight over dinner.

Damning report on UK Border Agency

THOUSANDS of immigrants were allowed to stay in the UK without undergoing proper checks because of a mountainous backlog of cases, a report said today.

UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff dealt with immigration cases so inefficiently that at one point 100,000 pieces of post were unopened.

Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine found that security checks were not properly carried out on old cases and that workers had failed to check the records of other Government departments.

‘New towns’ bid to end homes crisis

NICK Clegg is calling for the creation of a new generation of new towns and garden cities to address Britain’s growing housing crisis.

The Deputy Prime Minister warns that unless radical action is taken to boost housebuilding, for many young people their dreams of a home of their own will be no more than a “pipe dream”.

In a speech to the National House-Building Council today, he will say the Government is making available £225 million in funding to “unblock” a series of major local housing projects which have “hit a wall”.

Britain braced for more flood chaos

THE UK is braced for another day of deluges and flooding as heavy rain sweeps across the country.

Homes were flooded and roads left underwater yesterday as downpours caused widespread disruption, and forecasters warned more misery is on its way.

Vehicles were abandoned and there were reports of entire villages being cut off as floodwater surged through lanes and streets and into homes.

Blaze deaths were murder say police

DETECTIVES investigating a house fire which killed six members of the same family are treating the deaths as murder, police have said.

Sabah Usmani, 44, her sons Muneeb, nine, and Rayyan, six, and daughter Hira, 12, died in the blaze in the early hours of October 15 at their home in Barn Mead, Harlow, Essex.

A third son, Sohaib, 11, and daughter Maheen, three, died later in hospital.