Police chief's M4 patrols threat

South Wales Police warned of an effect on routine traffic policing and major events

A chief constable has warned her force will stop responding to accidents on the M4 from April - unless dedicated traffic officers are introduced.

Barbara Wilding said South Wales Police faced a

A New Labour 'golden couple'

The couple met while councillors in Camden, north London

Tessa Jowell and David Mills were often portrayed as the epitome of a successful New Labour couple.

A high-flying minister and a wealthy international lawyer, they shared successful careers and contacts at the highest levels, both in politics and business.

But following weeks of unwelcome media interest in Mr Mills' business links to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2006, the couple separated.

Now Mr Mills has been found guilty of accepting money to give false testimony in two court cases involving Mr Berlusconi dating back to the late 1990s.

Mr Mills - who denies the allegations - has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.

Stark contrast

His current difficulties are in stark contrast to what went before.

Mr Mills was running a highly profitable business, whose clients included Mr Berlusconi's Fininvest company, when Ms Jowell, then a social worker, became a Labour MP in 1992.

Mr Mills - described by acquaintances as "exceptionally clever" - is accomplished in several areas outside law.

He is a well-regarded cook, an expert on art, a clarinettist who plays in various amateur orchestras and can speak four languages.

He is also the brother-in-law of Dame Barbara Mills, the former Director of Public Prosecutions.

Soon after graduating from Oxford, he became a Labour councillor in Camden.

It was here that he met fellow councillor Ms Jowell, a trained social worker who was then assistant director of the charity Mind.

They were both already married, but a relationship developed and they married in 1979.

Before their wedding, Mr Mills - a barrister - retrained as a solicitor to pursue a career in international commercial law.

He set up his own company, Mackenzie Mills, and took on work with a leading Italian law firm.

Olympic focus

The couple, who own houses in Kentish Town in north London and in Warwickshire, have a son and daughter together.

As MP for the south London constituency of Dulwich - and later Dulwich and West Norwood - Ms Jowell rose swiftly through the Labour ranks, becoming a close ally of Tony Blair.

She was appointed public health minister after the 1997 election, was promoted to employment minister and minister for women in 1999, later joining the cabinet as Culture Secretary in 2001.

In that role, she faced political controversy over casinos and pub licensing hours but scored a massive triumph as a key figure in clinching the 2012 Olympics for London.

Seen as a close ally of Tony Blair, she lost her job as culture secretary in Gordon Brown's first reshuffle in 2007 and her political profile has dropped slightly since then.

But she retains responsibility for the Olympics, attending cabinet meetings when the controversial issues of the 2012 budget and its hoped-for legacy are discussed.

Miliband meets troops in Helmand

Mr Miliband met Helmand governor Gulab Mangal

Foreign Secretary David Miliband is visiting British troops in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

His trip comes days after new US envoy Richard Holbrooke visited the country and discussed the worsening security situation with senior Afghan officials.

Mr Miliband was expected to tour bases in Lashkar Gah, where a British soldier was killed on foot patrol on Monday.

After visiting Helmand he is expected to meet officials for talks in the capital Kabul.

Earlier the Ministry of Defence confirmed the soldier, from the 1st Battalion The Rifles, had died of wounds while on foot patrol south of Lashkar Gah - bringing the total of UK deaths in the country to 145 since 2001.

Mr Miliband met British military and civilian staff in Helmand, as well as governor Gulab Mangal, to discuss development and agricultural issues, the security situation, and efforts to tackle the threat from the Taleban.

Police chief's M4 crashes threat

South Wales Police say they have been warning for two years they were facing cuts without more funding

A senior police officer has said her force will stop responding to accidents on the M4 from April - unless dedicated traffic officers are introduced.

South Wales Police chief constable Barbara Wilding said the force could no longer afford to direct traffic or clear debris after routine crashes.

Ms Wilding also said that without more funds she would have to charge major event promoters full policing costs.

These would include pop concerts, football and rugby matches.

Speaking to BBC Wales, Ms Wilding said she had been telling senior assembly government ministers for two years that the force would be facing cuts in the services it delivers without more money, but to no avail.

The work of dealing with accidents, directing traffic and clearing debris should either be done by new traffic officers from the Highways Agency, or be funded through extra money for policing, she said.

"We will be building a business case to the Welsh Assembly Government to say if you want us to carry on policing the motorway, responding to those issues, then you must pay for it," said Ms Wilding.

"If you don't pay for it, we will no longer be doing it.

"We will be on the motorway to keep crime...off the roads, and deny criminals the use of the roads, of course we will, but not for accidents or debris - they must find another way of dealing with that unless they pay for it."

Chief constable Barbara Wilding says South Wales Police will have to stop doing certain things

Ms Wilding also said that without funding increases, she would be forced to charge promoters of major events in Cardiff, such as rugby matches and pop concerts, the full policing costs.

She also suggested the number of events during royal visits to south Wales may have to be scaled back due to pressures on her budget.

"We will start charging for the major events, we will have to, because at the moment, our policing levels are going down to 1974 figures," she said.

Ms Wilding gave an example of the recent Cardiff versus Swansea football match, which she said cost

Cancer waiting times 'best yet'

Ministers want all cancer patients treated within 31 days by 2011

The NHS is getting closer to meeting a target of treating all urgent cancer cases within two months, according to new figures.

The target, set in 2000, requires that 95% of patients begin treatment within 62 days of being urgently referred.

In the three months to September last year 94.6% of patients were treated within the 62 days limit.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said it was the health service's best performance yet.

However, the 95% target was supposed to have been met three years ago in 2005.

Nine out of the 14 NHS boards across Scotland met the target between July and September 2008.

NHS Lothian recorded the best results with 98.1% of patients beginning treatment within the two months target period.

The target needs to be met consistently, in full, in every board across Scotland Nicola Sturgeon Health Secretary

Of the five boards which failed to meet the target, NHS Dumfries and Galloway fared worst, with just 84.1% of patients being treated within 62 days.

Ms Sturgeon said: "It is very welcome to see that the majority of patients diagnosed with cancer, who were urgently referred, are rightly starting their treatment within two months.

"We know how important it is for cancer patients, and for their families, to be treated quickly.

"Boards are tackling the challenge head on and their efforts, supported by Scottish Government's cancer performance support team, have resulted in, substantial progress since 2007.

"In many areas, boards are performing over and above the 95% target and I am hopeful that the advances made to meet the target for breast, lung, ovarian and urology cancers will be extended to all cancers before long.

Tougher target

She added: "The target needs to be met consistently, in full, in every board across Scotland.

"Ensuring that the majority of cancer patients are treated within 62 days of referral is crucial to speeding up the time taken in delivering care and treatment to patients, an essential ambition of Scotland's action plan, Better Cancer Care."

The Scottish Government has announced a new tougher cancer waiting times target.

By 2011 all patients diagnosed with cancer, however they come to be referred, should receive treatment within 31 days from the decision to treat.

Tories propose more city mayors

The Tories say they would free councils from central government

The Conservatives say 12 of England's biggest cities outside London will get a vote on bringing in directly elected mayors if they win power.

Referendums would be held on a single day in cities including Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sheffield and Liverpool.

The party would also allowing voters to veto big council tax rises, it said.

But Labour said cities could already choose to have elected mayors and there was "little new" in the plans.

Elected mayors were a key plank of Labour's plans to shake-up local democracy but take-up proved patchy.

'One to blame'

For a town or city to hold a referendum on having an elected mayor, it needs a petition signed by 5% of voters - and the majority of areas which held a vote rejected the idea.

Instead the Tory proposals would see a series of referendums held across 12 cities on a single day.

Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield could get mayors with similar executive powers to London's Boris Johnson.

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Conservative leader David Cameron said former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine, who carried out a policy review on inner-city regeneration for the party, would help "define the powers of these city mayors".

Mr Cameron told the BBC he was a "big fan" of elected mayors, adding: "I think it helps accountability. People then know there is one person that they can praise when they get it right, that they can blame when they get it wrong."

Funding 'cuts'

Under the Tory plans, caps on council tax rises would be scrapped. Instead, if increases broke a certain threshold, 5% of council tax payers could trigger a local referendum.

The Conservatives also propose making councils publish detailed information on expenditure, including senior staff's pay and perks and guidance to stop "rewards for failure" for sacked workers.

Regional Development Agencies would lose their planning and housing powers to councils and the party says it would scrap the controversial Infrastructure Planning Commission - set up by the government to take decisions on major projects like airports to streamline the planning process.

Mr Cameron says ministers have taken too many powers from local authorities over decades.

But local government minister John Healey said: "Labour has devolved power to councils and the public, reversing the centralisation of the Thatcher years.

"The Tory proposals offer little new - our major cities can already choose to have a mayor.

"The Tories say they back councils but are set to cut cash for local authorities, meaning increases to council tax bills or cuts to local services, at a time when people need real help the most."

And the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations in England, said it would be a mistake to scrap all house-building targets.

Chief executive David Orr said: "Targets ensure there's a clear link between priorities and government spending. They also ensure that, as a nation, we have a clear assessment of the scale of need, and they help to concentrate the minds of central and local government and house-builders alike."

Obama must hold nerve - Mandelson

Lord Mandelson says recovery will involve a complex process

The US and UK economies are in an "uncomfortable place" and both nations must hold a "steady nerve", Lord Mandelson is expected to say.

The business secretary will warn an audience in New York that recovery will take a long time, and urge opposition politicians not to create a "frenzy".

Lord Mandelson will say governments should not make "hurried judgements".

Congress has approved US President Barack Obama's $787bn (