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A heavily pregnant woman has been jailed for four years after hatching ‘a wicked plot’ to frame an innocent ex-lover by trying to falsely portray him as a paedophile. Malicious Rebecca Tooze, 35, arranged for a vile photograph depicting a naked child in a bondage harness to be slipped into the car of a man [...]

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Scotland Yard’s review of the Madeleine McCann case is expected to cost nearly £2 million in its first year. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command are carrying out a re-examination of the original investigation into the girl’s disappearance in Portugal in May 2007. Since beginning work last May, the British officers [...]

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A babysitter who wiped party drug Meow Meow on the mouth of the six-year-old girl she was looking after was today warned she could face jail. Chelsea Taylor, 17, was supposed to be looking after the girl – but instead snorted the drug, also known as bubbles or mephedrone, with friends. She then wiped her [...]

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Parents should never smack their children because they risk ‘today’s smack will becoming tomorrow’s punch’, according to senior doctors. Using ‘physical assault’ to discipline youngsters is also a ‘very ineffective deterrent’ to bad behaviour, claim specialists from the Royal College of Paediatrics. They spoke out after David Lammy, a former education minister, said last summer’s [...]

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A 15-year-old boy charged with murdering both of his adoptive parents had been arguing with his mother about getting suspended at school when he strangled her, a court heard. Moses Kamin, 15, was charged as an adult when he appeared in Alameda County Superior Court yesterday but did not enter a plea deal to charges [...]

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A teenager has been stabbed in his school uniform in a suspected “postcode war”, as new figures show knife crime is surging. The 14-year-old was attacked by a gang armed with knives and baseball bats at Kenny’s Barber Shop in Lordship Lane, Wood Green, at about 2pm yesterday. His blood-soaked vest and school tie could [...]

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As MPs resume their debate on the Welfare Reform Bill – the government wants to cap benefits claimed by families to £26,000 a year – we look at one family that may be affected by the changes. Unemployed father-of-seven Raymond (not his real name) and his family rent a former council house on a social [...]

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Cassie McCord, the teenager killed by a driver who failed an eye test, gave away her corneas and scleras to help others see, her mother has revealed. Other organs the 16-year-old donated included a life-saving liver, pancreas and kidneys – and Jackie McCord has already received a letter from the recipient of some of the [...]

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As incriminating images go, the action shot posted on rock-climber Menna Pritchard’s blog is just about as incendiary as it gets. There she is, clinging to a limestone rockface, 30ft up, wearing a safety helmet, sensible girl, and beaming with pleasure. Nothing wrong with that. But look! Some mischievous trickster has photoshopped a bemused toddler [...]

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A popular high school student committed suicide after her cries for help to her hundreds of online friends were ignored. Ashley Duncan, 17, wrote ‘I finally got a gun’ and then posted a picture of a revolver which, soon after, it is believed she used to shoot herself dead. It followed a series of increasingly [...]

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In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, the specialists say the punishment is equivalent to “physical assault” and is a “very ineffective deterrent” to bad behaviour. prof Terence Stephenson, president of the college, suggests that parents instead adopt a “positive” approach and set stronger boundaries for their children. The college decided to intervene after Cristina [...]

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The work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, will give families affected by the government’s £26,000 welfare cap at least nine months to adapt to the loss of benefits, thereby allowing them more time to find a job or move house before the limit is imposed. It has been suggested that as many as 200,000 [...]

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The parents of two girls killed in a level crossing accident have pledged to continue their fight for improved safety after Network Rail (NR) admitted health and safety breaches. Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, were hit by a train in 2005 as they crossed the tracks at Elsenham station footpath crossing in Essex. [...]

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The Paris criminal court ordered Prince Sattam al-Saud from the kingdom’s founding royal family, to hand over custody of his daughter Aya to her French mother, Candice Cohen-Ahnine, and provide child support of €10,000 (£8,300) a month. For the past three-and-a-half years, the prince has kept Aya in a Riyadh palace despite efforts by the [...]

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The two-year-old died after making his way into the path of the Go-Gator ride at a fair at Ducketts Common in Wood Green, north London on May 12, 2009. Before the incident Erjon had been playing on the bouncy castle, known as the Fun Bag, where his father was watching him. Delivering a narrative verdict, [...]

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A 54-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the bodies of a missing teenager and a man were found in a pond in Canterbury yesterday. The first body was found in Reed Pond, near Tennyson Avenue, at about 12pm. The second body was recovered by police divers at about 9.40pm. One was [...]

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Parents who fail in basic duties such as cooking meals and putting children to bed were today blamed for creating the “underclass” who rioted last summer. Charlie Taylor, the Government’s behaviour czar, criticised families where children grow up “without boundaries and often without love”. The lack of basic parenting led children to fend for themselves [...]

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A man has been fined £800 for allowing a five-year-old boy to open gates at a private railway crossing without checking it was safe. He should have used a designated phone to see if the line in Gwynedd was clear, Dolgellau magistrates heard. A train driver braked near Talybont with the boy on one side [...]

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Clearly aware of the risks involved in rock-climbing, Menna Pritchard has taken the precaution of kitting herself out with a safety helmet. Incredibly, however, not only has she decided to scale the cliff with her two-year-old daughter Ffion strapped to her back – but she has also left the toddler’s head unprotected. Clinging on as [...]

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Children are fascinated by animals, and books about animals are a great way to get youngsters interested in reading. ZSL London Zoo – and its partner ZLS Whipsnade – are involved with Bloomsbury in producing children’s books and there are some good additions to their collections in the 2012 list. Michael Terry’s Who Lives Here? [...]

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A Parliamentary answer by David Gauke, a Treasury minister, disclosed that HM Revenue & Customs was missing its target of dealing with child benefit claims within 23 days. Instead, it has taken an average of 29 days to process the claims, and will not hit its target until next financial year. Mr Gauke said the [...]

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The research, by Sheffield Hallam University, showed that a basket of frozen family groceries cost just £15.45, whereas the same items bought fresh would cost £23.25. By opting for frozen versions of family favourites – such as broccoli, salmon and sausages – families could save almost £8 per supermarket trip. Charlotte Harden, a nutrition and [...]

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The bodies of civil servants Robert Kamin, 55, and Susan Poff, 50, were found under blankets in a parked car outside their home in Oakland, California. They had been strangled. Police believe someone then tried to set light to the car which was charred. Friends and relatives said the couple had worked tirelessly for the [...]

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Charlie Taylor, the Coalition’s top expert on behaviour, said thousands of pupils were being consigned to the “scrapheap” after being kicked out of mainstream education. He insisted that the most unruly children lacked proper boundaries after being referred to specialist units and often drifted towards local gangs to find a “sense of belonging”. In a [...]

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Mohammad Shafia, the girls’ father and husband of the fourth victim, was secretly taped by police describing his daughters as a “disgrace” and complaining that they dated boys and wore inappropriate clothes. He was sentenced to life in prison along with his second wife, Tooba Yahya – who he was married to illegally – and [...]

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Parents who neglect basic duties such as preparing meals and enforcing bedtimes are breeding a feckless ‘underclass’ who cause mayhem on the nation’s streets, it was claimed yesterday. Charlie Taylor, the Government’s behaviour tsar, criticised homes with ‘little conversation’ where children as young as eight are left to fend for themselves at mealtimes and play [...]

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Inspections of child protection services in England are to be unannounced, more intensive and child-focused, the inspecting body, Ofsted has announced. Under the plans, inspectors will speak directly to children and their families for the first time. Inspectors will also look at how social work departments communicate with other bodies such as the police and [...]

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Dalisha Adams, 26, left her children aged three and five on a cold street in Brooklyn at around 3pm on Sunday afternoon. They were spotted by an elderly couple playing on the pavement as cars raced by them. Both girls were dressed warmly, in bright purple and pink winter jackets and fluffy boots, but appeared [...]

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A schoolgirl was listening to music on her headphones when she was killed by a train on a level crossing, police suspect. GP’s daughter Katie Littlewood, 15, was struck at high speed while using the pedestrian crossing. A pair of headphones were found near her body at Johnson’s Footpath in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, and British [...]

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A 10-year-old boy has undergone two major operations after a Staffordshire Bull Terrier ripped a large hole in his leg in Greater Manchester. Mohammed Ali Kamal has returned home after spending four nights in hospital since the dog attacked him in Miles Platting, Manchester, last Thursday. His parents heard his screams and ran to his [...]

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The death of the 13-year-old son of a US Air Force lieutenant colonel from gunshot wounds has been described as a “tragic accident” as police launched an investigation into the incident. The 13-year-old boy was shot in the head at a house in Souldern, near Bicester, Oxfordshire, on Sunday morning. He died at the John [...]

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Even if the arch feminist Germaine Greer did once dismiss Cherie Blair as a mere “concubine”, women’s rights have always been close to the heart of the former prime minister’s wife. Now, however, Mrs Blair, who runs a foundation for women, says it is a “myth” that members of her sex can ever have it [...]

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The body of Betty Yates, 77, was found at her remote property near Bewdley, Worcs, on Jan 4. She is believed to have been beaten with her walking stick and stabbed in the neck two days earlier. Police suspect her death may have been the result of a burglary gone wrong but Hazel Costello, Mrs [...]

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An adventurous, fit teenager died of meningitis within hours of complaining of a headache. Fit and healthy Welsh student Hannah Gwilliam, 19, was her ‘usual bubbly self’ in college but became ill just hours after arriving home. Health chiefs today confirmed Hannah died of the meningococcal group B strain of the deadly brain virus. Hannah’s [...]

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For millions of young people, the Bank of Mum and Dad was the only way to get on to the property ladder. But even that has hit upon hard times – and granny and grandpa have stepped into the breach, a report reveals. It said rising numbers of young people struggling to buy their first [...]

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The Mayor of London said the current system left families feeling “anxious” that they would face prosecution if they attempted to impose authority over their children. Mr Johnson spoke after the Tottenham MP David Lammy claimed Labour’s 2004 decision to tighten up the smacking law was partly to blame for last summer’s riots, which erupted [...]

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After scandals such as Baby P, many social workers feel criticised from all sides. The difficult nature of their job is revealed as the BBC is given unprecedented access to the Bristol child protection team. It was newly qualified social worker Susanne’s first case. Three-year-old Toby could not speak and still had to use a [...]

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Parents are being warned to monitor their children’s use of smartphones as new research suggests vast numbers of youngsters have used them to access illicit pictures and videos. Only 13 per cent of children have security settings installed on their smartphones, said a new report released today. This compares with 44 per cent having parental [...]

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A woman in north-eastern Afghanistan has been arrested for allegedly strangling her daughter-in-law for giving birth to a third daughter. The murdered woman’s husband, a member of a local militia, is also suspected of involvement but he has since fled. The murder took place two days ago in Kunduz province. The baby girl, who is [...]

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They were a loving family whose lives were ripped apart when a migrant worker’s car smashed into theirs – killing the fiance of the pregnant driver who gave birth just three days later. But then traumatised Kirsty Barden had to go through a ‘deeply upsetting and stressful’ six-month battle to prove that her dead partner [...]

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For almost five years, Kate and Gerry McCann have suffered the anguish of not knowing what happened to their daughter Madeleine. Through it all, they have also had to contend with a sustained campaign of harassment conducted by a small band of fanatics convinced they had a hand in their daughter’s disappearance. Now, one of [...]

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Questions surround the death of a 17-year-old Colorado girl who jumped out of a moving car and was struck dead by oncoming traffic on a major highway. Catrina Fox was sitting in the passenger seat as her mother drove on a Colorado highway when she suddenly opened the door and jumped out in the very [...]

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Legislation surrounding the smacking of children needs to be relaxed so working-class parents can instil discipline in their homes without fearing prosecution, according to a senior Labour politician. MP for Tottenham David Lammy claimed Labour’s 2004 decision to tighten up the smacking law was partly to blame for last summer’s riots, which erupted in his [...]

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Pseudomonas bacteria like those which killed four babies have been found in a third Northern Irish hospital. It was detected in water outlets in the neo-natal intensive care unit of the Ulster Hospital near Belfast. None of the babies in the unit has tested positive for the infection but screening is ongoing. Separate outbreaks of [...]

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The cost of raising a child has soared to a record high of more than £10,000 a year. Parents now spend £218,000 for each of their offspring  from the moment they are born to the time they leave home at the age of 21, the Cost Of A Child study for insurer LV has found. [...]

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Raising the controversial issue of smacking children is “necessary and right”, a senior Labour MP has said, after he was criticised for suggesting working-class parents needed to be able to discipline their children without fear of prosecution. David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, said the government should not impose how parents disciplined their children and [...]

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A 15-year-old girl was knocked down and killed by a train in what police called a ‘tragic accident’ at a level crossing. Katie Littlewood did not hear the train or notice the lights and alarms at Johnson’s Footpath Crossing in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the teenager was listening to [...]

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Tottenham’s MP, David Lammy, has rejoined the debate on last summer’s riots with what some may think is a surprising contribution. He’s suggested that confusion over what constitutes physical chastisement when disciplining children has left parents unable to teach their youngsters right from wrong. This, he suggests, may have been a factor in the disorder [...]

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Legislation surrounding the smacking of children needs to be relaxed so working-class parents can instil discipline in their homes without fearing prosecution, according to a senior Labour politician. MP for Tottenham David Lammy claimed Labour’s 2004 decision to tighten up the smacking law was partly to blame for last summer’s riots, which erupted in his [...]

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It’s not every day that a news story makes the Comment desk doff its cap in respect. But the news that two Canadian teenagers have sent a Lego man into space, using nothing but a bit of ingenuity, some equipment bought off Craigslist, and a few video cameras, had many of us held in awe. [...]

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