News

The last Ebola patient in Liberia is to be discharged from hospital today.

If the West African country reports no new cases of the deadly disease within the next 42 days they will officially be declared Ebola-free.

Liberia has the highest number of Ebola deaths, with over 4,000 since the outbreak began.

The Bank of England left interest rates on hold at 0.5% today.

The Bank of England also announced it would continue with its the same level of quantitative easing - currently at £375 billion.

David Cameron has not changed his approach to the TV leaders' debates, his spokesman said as he denied the Prime Minister was "running scared."

Asked at a regular Westminster press briefing what Cameron's view was on Nick Clegg taking his place in the proposed head-to-head debate, his spokesman replied, "I will stick to setting out the Prime Minister's position. You can ask the DPM about his views."

He said Cameron had not shifted from his "long-standing position" first set out at a Westminster lunch in December 2012, when he said despite favouring TV debates he was concerned that they "took all the life out" of the 2010 election campaign.

"The PM hasn't changed his approach, I think it's the broadcasters who have certainly been changing theirs relatively often," he added.

Three people have been charged with slavery offences after allegedly trafficking people into the UK and forcing them to work in vegetable and meat factories.

Konstantin Sasmurin, 32, and Linus Ratautas, 29, were charged with holding a person in slavery or servitude, trafficking people for exploitation and money laundering.

While Evelina Perekriostovai, 22, was charged with money laundering.

Two further people were also arrested but face no further police action.

The father of a teacher jailed for planning to travel to Syria to fight for Islamic State says his son is not a "violent extremist" who poses a danger to the UK.

Jamshed Javeed was today jailed for six years after admitting Syria-related terror offences.

"I believe Jamshed is definitely not a violent extremist who was or is a danger to the UK," his father, Mohammad Akram Javeed, said.

"I believe that he tghought it was the right thing to do to help the Syrian people by travelling to Syria.

"I did what I could to stop him from involving himself in a complicated sectarian civil war, which has become much worse since his arrest."

Ed Miliband has said the Prime Minister should "stop ducking and weaving" the head-to-head TV debate.

"It is now clear that David Cameron is ducking the debate with me - he's cowering from the pubic," the Labour leader said.

Miliband continued: "The British people deserve this debate. I'll debate him any time, any place, anywhere.

"He should stop ducking and weaving and he should name the date."

Jamshed Javeed, the chemistry teacher who wanted to travel to Syria to fight for Islamic State, has been jailed for six years.

Javeed, from Manchester, was planning to travel in late 2013 after helping his younger brother make the trip.

The 30-year-old's family hid his passport in a desperate bid to stop him travelling, but he refused to change his plans even after his wife told him she was pregnant.

Javeed, who taught at Sharples School in Bolton, was arrested in December 2013 hours before he was set to leave the UK.

He admitted two terror offences, but insisted he was only travelling to support the ordinary Syrian people, not to join the terror group.

But Judge Michael Topolski said he was "not satisfied" that Javeed had rejected "Isis's ultimate aims" and handed him a six-year custodial term and an extended licence period of three years.