![Image]( "Kane wins Fringe comedy award prize")
Comic Russell Kane has scooped the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award at the third time of asking.
The Englishman, who was shortlisted twice before, was finally rewarded with the £10,000 top prize for best show at the world-famous Fringe.
The result was announced by comedy star Al Murray, who won the award in 1999.
Other previous winners of the Foster's award, formerly known as the Perrier, include Steve Coogan, Frank Skinner and Harry Hill.
Awards organiser Nica Burns said: "Following in the footsteps of Al Murray with a hugely popular win on the third consecutive nomination, Russell Kane takes the audience by storm with his boundless energy and enthusiasm. An extremely funny show from a very talented comic."
Kane, whose show was called Smokescreens and Castles, was shortlisted along with Josie Long and Sarah Millican, who have both picked up Best Newcomer prizes in the past. Greg Davies and Bo Burnham were also in the running.
This year's £5,000 Best Newcomer award went to Roisin Conaty, for Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar.
Fellow nominees were An Audience with Imran Yusuf, Asher Treleavan: Secret Door, Gareth Richards: Stand Up Between Songs, Late Night Gimp Fight! and The Boy With The Tape On His Face.
Ms Burns said: "In a diverse and highly talented shortlist Roisin impressed the panel with her ability to make the audience laugh at her daily struggle to understand life. She is charming, charismatic and popular."
The Foster's Panel Prize, also worth £5,000, went to Bo Burnham for Words, Words, Words.
Members of a far-right group have begun gathering for a controversial demonstration that could see clashes with opponents.
Supporters of the English Defence League (EDL) and Unite Against Fascism started to assemble for static demonstrations in the centre of Bradford.
Police had erected a temporary barricade around the city's Urban Gardens, where the EDL are meeting.
There is only one entrance open to the Gardens and protesters have to pass through metal detectors to gain entry.
A heavy police presence was also on duty to ensure the demonstration passed off without any trouble.
As the EDL gathered in the Urban Gardens, Unite Against Fascism/We Are Bradford met about half a mile away at the Crown Court Plaza.
A community celebration event called Be Bradford - Peaceful Together was also taking place at Infirmary Fields.
Events were held on Friday to urge people in the city to unite.
Bradford Together organised a peace vigil which took place outside the council offices on Jacobs Well.
Bradford Women for Peace also held an event at Ivegate in a show of "peace, unity and solidarity".
Insurgents have launched pre-dawn attacks on a major Nato base in eastern Afghanistan and a nearby camp where seven CIA employees were killed last year in a suicide bombing.
Nato said there were no coalition casualties and the attacks were repelled.
It said 13 insurgents were killed - four of whom were wearing suicide vests - and five captured.
The assaults on the sprawling Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province and nearby Camp Chapman came just as area residents were rising for early morning prayers.
The area, about 60 miles south east of Kabul near the border with Pakistan, is a hotbed of activity by the Taliban and other insurgent groups, including the December attack on Chapman that killed four CIA officers and three contracted security guards.
Afghan police said about 50 insurgents attacked using rifles, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons, but had been repelled.
Khost provincial police Chief Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai said they found the bodies of 14 militants outside Salerno and five others had been captured alive. He said police believed the bodies of more insurgents would be found.
After being driven away from the bases, the insurgents approached the nearby offices of the governor and provincial police headquarters but were driven off, Ishaqzai said.
"Given the size of the enemy's force, this could have been a major catastrophe for Khost. Luckily we prevented it," he said.
The former chairman of Northern Rock has spoken of his remorse for his part in the Northern Rock crisis.
Matt Ridley, who was non-executive chairman of the Rock between 2004 and 2007, was blamed for "damaging the good name of British banking" when the lender almost collapsed and needed a £26 billion Government bail-out.
Mr Ridley, 52, followed his father Viscount Ridley in the role, who was chairman of the bank from 1987 to 1992.
At the height of the financial crisis Mr Ridley was hauled before the Treasury Select Committee along with senior executives at the bank and found himself criticised for his lack of banking knowledge.
"I enormously regret what happened at Northern Rock," he told The Journal newspaper.
"It's an incredibly painful memory for me and it's something that I will live with for the rest of my life.
"I have nothing but remorse for my role in what happened. I've apologised and explained as much as I can what happened before the Treasury Select Committee.
"We were all taken by surprise by that. There was almost nobody who saw it coming. Those who did were not in the right place to warn everyone else.
"Northern Rock ended up suffering a fate no different from any other mortgage bank. They all disappeared as a result of the crisis, and I learnt a lot from it."
Mr Ridley, who is a respected science writer, was criticised by the Treasury Select Committee in 2007 for overseeing the bank's risky business strategy.
The love between father and baby daughter is there for all to see in the first images of David and Samantha Cameron's four-day-old daughter.
The pictures feature Florence Rose Endellion Cameron wrapped in a white blanket and being cradled and kissed by the Prime Minister.
Mrs Cameron and the baby, both said to be doing well, left hospital on Friday and the family are continuing their holiday in Cornwall. It is not clear when they will return to London.
Before Tuesday's surprise early birth Mr Cameron had been expected to return to work after the weekend, but he is now thought to be planning some additional time off as paternity leave.
The Camerons evaded waiting photographers as they left the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro on Friday, exiting its maternity wing by a back door before being driven away in a people carrier with blacked-out windows.
The baby, born weighing 6lb 1oz, was due next month, but caught the family by surprise while they were on holiday in Cornwall.
Speaking outside the hospital on Tuesday, Mr Cameron described her as an "unbelievably beautiful girl".
Her middle name, Endellion, refers to the village of St Endellion on the north Cornish coast, near where the Camerons were staying.
Christine Rashleigh, director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professions at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, said the length of Mrs Cameron's stay - three nights - was "perfectly normal" after a Caesarean section.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Friday that that he would "just carry on holding the fort" until Mr Cameron returned to work.
Skirmishes have broken out at a controversial demonstration by far-right group the English Defence League.
EDL supporters threw bottles, cans, stones and a smoke bomb at opponents gathered in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Police moved the public away for their own safety as missiles sailed over a temporary 8ft high barricade separating the two groups congregating at the Urban Gardens.
Opponents of the EDL, Unite Against Fascism/We Are Bradford, met about half a mile away at the Crown Court Plaza to hold an alternative static demonstration.
At lunchtime, buses began bringing EDL supporters from areas including Hull, Merseyside, Manchester, Stoke, Southport, Dudley, Wigan and Stockport.
Police erected the barricade around the Urban Gardens to ensure EDL members and their opponents were kept apart. Only one entrance to the gardens was open and protesters had to pass through metal detectors to gain entry.
Beyond the heavy police guard, opponents gathered to hold their own demonstration and the two groups traded insults with each other.
Several hundred people gathered in the Urban Gardens, many wearing black EDL hooded tops with the name of their home town or city printed on the back.
When trouble started, police pushed the EDL members away from the edge of the barricade towards the centre of the gardens, while their opponents were moved into neighbouring streets.
Then the far-right group held a rally as police in riot gear held their line across the gardens. Skirmishes broke out between EDL supporters and their own stewards, who stood in front of the police.
Comic Russell Kane has scooped the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award at the third time of asking.
The Englishman, who was shortlisted twice before, was finally rewarded with the £10,000 top prize for best show at the world-famous Fringe.
The result was announced by comedy star Al Murray, who won the award in 1999.
Other previous winners of the Foster's award, formerly known as the Perrier, include Steve Coogan, Frank Skinner and Harry Hill.
Awards organiser Nica Burns said: "Following in the footsteps of Al Murray with a hugely popular win on the third consecutive nomination, Russell Kane takes the audience by storm with his boundless energy and enthusiasm. An extremely funny show from a very talented comic."
Kane, whose show was called Smokescreens and Castles, was shortlisted along with Josie Long and Sarah Millican, who have both picked up Best Newcomer prizes in the past. Greg Davies and Bo Burnham were also in the running.
This year's £5,000 Best Newcomer award went to Roisin Conaty, for Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar.
Fellow nominees were An Audience with Imran Yusuf, Asher Treleavan: Secret Door, Gareth Richards: Stand Up Between Songs, Late Night Gimp Fight! and The Boy With The Tape On His Face.
Ms Burns said: "In a diverse and highly talented shortlist Roisin impressed the panel with her ability to make the audience laugh at her daily struggle to understand life. She is charming, charismatic and popular."
The Foster's Panel Prize, also worth £5,000, went to Bo Burnham for Words, Words, Words.
Skirmishes have broken out at a controversial city centre demonstration by far-right group the English Defence League.
EDL supporters threw bottles, cans, stones and three smoke bombs at opponents gathered in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Nearly 100 supporters of the far-right group then climbed over a temporary 8ft barricade - aimed at keeping them inside the city's Urban Gardens - to get on to neighbouring waste ground from where they threw missiles at police.
As the skirmishes were breaking out in the gardens, nearly 300 people gathered for an alternative event hosted by Unite Against Fascism/We Are Bradford about half a mile away at the Crown Court Plaza.
West Yorkshire Police said five people were arrested. One person was taken to hospital for treatment to a leg injury.
The EDL supporters met in Halifax before travelling to Bradford on buses under police escort for the static demonstration. Members had travelled from many areas across England, including Hull, Merseyside, Manchester, Stoke, Southport, Dudley, Wigan and Stockport.
Only one entrance to the gardens was open and protesters had to pass through metal detectors to gain entry.
Police said around 700 people had gathered in and around the venue, as a heavy police presence ensured trouble would be kept to a minimum.
Beyond the heavy police guard, opponents of the EDL gathered to hold their own demonstration and the two groups traded insults with each other.
When trouble flared, police pushed the EDL members away from the edge of the barricade towards the centre of the gardens, while their opponents were moved into neighbouring streets. Then the far-right group held a rally as police in riot gear held their line.
The Government is facing a backlash over plans to scrap medical helpline NHS Direct.
The Department of Health has disclosed that the service, providing advice to 27,000 people a day, is to be replaced by the new non-emergency number, 111. Many of NHS Direct's roles are to be taken over by the new phone line, which is currently being trialled in the North East.
But critics voiced concern that members of the public would no longer be able to speak to nurses with degrees but only call-handlers who have "passed a 60-hour medical course".
The Royal College of Nursing said it would be "short-sighted" of ministers to axe expert nurses who had helped save the NHS more than £200 million by dispensing advice over the phone.
RCN chief executive and general secretary Dr Peter Carter said: "NHS Direct has developed over recent years into a service that many patients really value. Nurses have led the way in making this a service which can offer reassurance and advice as well as identifying when people are in need of urgent care.
"The evidence suggests that the expert advice of nurses has kept one and a half million people out of A&E, and saved the NHS £213 million a year. It would be short-sighted to cut back on the experts who deliver these long-term savings. We would be extremely concerned if the expertise it offers is indeed under threat.
"We urge the Government to consult fully and look at all the evidence before enacting changes which could leave people without expert advice from trained nurses."
Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott moved to rally opposition to the move, attracting more than 3,200 signatures in less than 24 hours to an online petition at www.savenhsdirect.co.uk.
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham accused Health Secretary Andrew Lansley of being on "a vindictive mission to break up the NHS, ruthlessly dismantling services before alternatives are in place".
The Department of Health said "many" of the services offered by NHS Direct "may be subsumed" by the 111 service, which provides health advice and information about out-of-hours GPs, walk-in centres, emergency dentists and 24-hour chemists.
One of the country's most prestigious museums has been evacuated after visitors complained of suffering from sore throats.
People were escorted from the British Museum in central London shortly after 1pm on Saturday and investigators are currently inside trying to determine the cause of the scare.
The move came after a number of visitors complained of throat and eye irritation.
It is not believed anybody required hospital treatment as a result.
A Met police spokesman said: "The museum has been evacuated as a precaution.
"A few people reported a funny smell on the premises and had mild irritation to the throat and eyes.
"No treatment from paramedics was necessary and we do not know at this stage the course of it.
"Officers are currently in the process of finding out what it is."
The British Museum is one of the capital's most popular tourist attractions.
The sprawling building boasts a collection of more than seven million objects representing the history of human culture.
The world of cricket has been left reeling by allegations of a betting scam focused on the current England and Pakistan Test match.
A 35-year-old man was arrested and members of the Pakistani team were talked to by police at their north London hotel over claims about the Lord's Test.
The arrest came after the News of the World said it was able to buy its way into a match-fixing ring by posing as Far Eastern businessmen.
Despite the police probe, the fourth Test match in the series - in which England have a commanding lead - will resume on Sunday, the sport's governing board said.
In a joint statement, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said: "No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth npower Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday."
The statement added that all three bodies were assisting police with their inquiries and would make no further comment.
The allegations centre on the timing of no balls delivered during the Lord's Test match.
Undercover reporters from the paper allegedly paid a middleman £150,000 and in return were told exact details relating to play during the following day.
The manager of Pakistan's cricket team confirmed that British police were questioning players over the allegations. Yawar Saeed told The Associated Press: "I can confirm that we are aware of the allegations and Scotland Yard police are with us now at the hotel and we are helping them with their inquiries."
Scotland Yard said it arrested a man in relation to the newspaper's investigation.
Another England footballer won an injunction banning the reporting of allegations about his private life.
He became the third England international player in recent weeks to be granted a similar order preventing the media from publishing claims about their personal lives.
The gagging order was granted on Saturday by on-duty High Court judge Mr Justice Kenneth Parker.
None of the footballers can be named under the terms of the legal orders.
Concern has mounted about the use of injunctions to stop reporting of potentially embarrassing revelations.
There was outrage last year after an injunction granted to the Swiss multinational Trafigura appeared to restrict what MPs could say in Parliament.
Chelsea football captain John Terry was awarded an injunction - later repealed - preventing reporting of information about his alleged affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former partner of his England team-mate Wayne Bridge.
The final episode of the world's longest running sitcom, Last Of The Summer Wine, will air on Sunday night.
The show, charting the exploits of pensioners growing old disgracefully, first aired in 1973 and has been a perennial favourite ever since.
Spawning much-loved characters such as Compo and Nora Batty, the affectionate series catapulted the picturesque West Yorkshire town of Holmfirth, where it is filmed, firmly into the spotlight.
Peter Sallis OBE, who appeared in the first episode, formed the backbone of the series as the ever-sensible Norman Clegg.
He was joined by a string of co-stars throughout the show's tenure but perhaps it is the late Bill Owen, who played the scruffy yet indomitable Compo, who is the most associated with the programme.
Other favourites were the reliably bad-tempered Nora Batty, played by Kathy Staff, and the equally fearsome Edie Pegden, played by Dame Thora Hird.
But on Sunday night the curtain will finally fall on the programme, which has boasted 295 episodes, and 31 series spanning 37 years.
Greg Christofi, who represents Holmfirth Central for Holme Valley Parish Council, said the town would miss the series but was more than prepared to cope in its absence.
Mr Christofi, whose favourite character is Compo, said: "The programme has been really good for us, it's brought a lot of attention to Holmfirth. We are proud of it.
"It has showcased our town and has been good for the local economy."
David and Ed Miliband today dismissed suggestions that their rivalry for the Labour leadership would damage their family.
The two frontrunners in the race to succeed Gordon Brown each insisted that their brotherly bond would outlast the contest - despite heightened tensions between the pair in recent days.
David Miliband again refused to say, however, whether he would be prepared to serve under Ed Miliband if the younger brother were to be crowned leader at the start of next month's Labour conference. Asked whether he would, shadow foreign secretary David Miliband told the Sunday Mirror: "I've committed myself to serve my constituents in South Shields and I have committed myself to British politics."
Ed Miliband, by contrast, said he would "definitely" serve under his elder brother in a separate interview with the same paper. The shadow energy secretary added: "Our family is solid and our family will still be sitting down for the Sunday roast whatever the outcome."
David Miliband said: "Family is more important than politics. We're both absolutely clear about that. Nothing is going to break up our family. We're a really tight-knit group."
Meanwhile, fellow leadership contenders Ed Balls and Andy Burnham expressed frustration that the contest was being portrayed in its final stages as a duel between the two brothers.
Mr Balls insisted in a letter to party members that the election was not a "two-horse race" between the Miliband brothers. The shadow education secretary said Labour should not be forced to choose between "going with our hearts or our heads" - as the choice between Ed and David Miliband has been described.
Mr Balls claimed he was capable of not only standing up for Labour members but also winning over the wider electorate to get the party back into power.
His missive comes days before voting finally begins. After months of debate and hustings, ballot papers will be sent out next week.
Mr Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said: "There is a real danger for Labour that the frontrunners are beginning to make this race look like a battle between old and new Labour. That suits the media, but not the Labour Party. Party members want us to move beyond all that stale old debate."
Relief efforts to help millions of people caught up in Pakistan's flood crisis are being stepped up amid calls for immediate reconstruction work to begin.
Oxfam has warned of devastating long-term consequences if billions of pounds were not diverted towards rebuilding schools, hospitals, roads and bridged in badly hit areas.
The aid organisation said that Pakistan did not have the "luxury" of waiting for the emergency phase to be over before concentrating on reconstruction.
British efforts in the region are being increased as public money continues to pour in, charities have said.
The British Red Cross said that one month into the crisis, the organisation had managed to reached more than than 400,000 people with desperately needed aid as a result of donations.
Sir Nicholas Young, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: "The delivery of aid to those in need is increasing all the time. The Red Cross Red Crescent movement alone has reached hundreds of thousands of people with desperately needed help - including food, water, shelter and medical care - and those numbers are going up by the thousand each and every day."
Government relief operations are likewise continuing.
On Saturday, the Royal Air Force announced it was flying in aid for more than 3,000 families left stranded by the devastating floods in Pakistan.
The British Government has now committed £64 million to help people in Pakistan affected by the floods.
It comes as Oxfam urged that the international community and the Pakistan authorities begin to focus on rebuilding the country.
The silence around counter-terrorism activities increases mistrust in the Government and helps fuel conspiracy theories which can tip people into extremism, a think-tank has said.
The Secret Services should become more transparent and the Government should even consider infiltrating online sites to cast doubt upon conspiracy theories, Demos said.
The warning comes after Michael Clarke, of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think-tank, said the UK had more to fear than any other western country from home-grown terrorists and the conditions were all there for a series of attacks to begin at any time.
Jamie Bartlett, who wrote the report for Demos, said: "Less-secret services could make Britain safer. The more open the Government is, the harder it is for extremist groups to make stories out of silence.
"Clearly, there are occasions when more transparency is not possible for reasons of national security, the safety of certain individuals, or resource constraints. But the degree to which conspiracy theories make up part of the extremist mind-set and world-view suggests it needs to be confronted.
"They destroy the trust that exists between the government and communities, which is the basis of effective counter-terrorism work. Careful moves to greater openness can reduce the traction these ideas have."
His report, the Power of Unreason, found the frequency of conspiracy theories within a wide variety of extremist groups "suggests that they play an important social and functional role within extremism itself".
"They hold extremist groups together and push them in a more extreme and sometimes violent direction," he said.
Demos recommended that "Government agents or their allies should openly infiltrate the internet sites or spaces to plant doubts about conspiracy theories, introducing alternative information".
But it added that there was a limit to what the Government could do and "civil society must play a more proactive role in confronting conspiracy theories".
A paraglider died after falling 150ft near cliffs, the Coastguard said.
Emergency services were alerted just after 5pm on Saturday when a leisure boat user witnessed the paraglider crash close to a golf course at Staddon Heights, near Plymouth, Devon.
Brixham Coastguard, plus Plymouth and Yealm Coastguard rescue teams responded alongside a land and air ambulance.
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: "When the individual was finally located it was discovered that he was beyond assistance and was pronounced dead on arrival."
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said officers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.
The overall tax burden will have to remain at its current level for five years, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has suggested.
In an interview with The Observer, the Liberal Democrat appeared to dismiss the prospect of net tax cuts before the next general election, planned for 2015.
"I think the tax burden is necessary as a significant contribution to getting the country's finances in order," he said.
"So it will have to stay at that level for quite some time."
Asked whether a reduction in the overall tax burden was possible once the country's books were in order, he added: "You are asking me to take decisions for five years down the line now and I am not going to do that."
Mr Alexander, Chancellor George Osborne's deputy, said he wanted to "rebalance" the tax system, however, so that people on lower incomes pay less tax as an incentive for them to find and stay in work.
That suggests that higher earners would have little respite from tax to look forward to until 2015.
"The plan we set out is to rebalance the tax system," Mr Alexander said.
"We need the tax revenues from the taxes we are putting up to help us reduce the deficit."
His comments will disappoint those hoping that massive cuts across Whitehall to deal with the £155 billion deficit will create the conditions for tax cuts within a few years.
Hundreds of thousands of revellers will descend on the capital over the next two days for Europe's biggest street festival - the Notting Hill Carnival.
Dancers wearing vibrant costumes will parade along the packed three-and-a-half-mile route in west London from 9am on Sunday to the sounds of traditional steel drums.
The lines of colourful floats will be accompanied by more than 40 static sound systems and scores of Caribbean food stalls.
For many, the bank holiday celebrations will be the climax of months of rehearsals, planning and preparation, with children's day taking place today ahead of the adults' parade.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "This weekend London will be filled with visitors from across the world eager to have some fun at the ultimate free street party.
"Our legendary Notting Hill Carnival highlights the richness of Caribbean culture and is the perfect summer celebration. As a former Ladbroke Grove resident, I feel a particular affinity to the pulsating steel pans and colourful floats as simply nothing rivals the spirit and energy of carnival. The event showcases the immense contribution that Caribbean Londoners have made and continue to make to life in the capital."
A massive £6 million policing operation will swing into gear during the two days to protect up to a million expected carnival visitors.
All entrances will have search points in a bid to prevent weapons being carried on to the streets, while specialist spotters watch out for known criminals. British Transport Police officers will patrol the Tube and rail system, with mobile metal detection arches being used at some stations.
Teams of officers will target pickpockets who have blighted previous carnivals and dog owners have been told to leave animals at home.
More than 350 medical staff from the London Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance will be on duty on both days.
More than a dozen men are in custody after a controversial city centre demonstration by far-right group the English Defence League.
The 13 were arrested by police for offences of public order and violence during Saturday's protest in Bradford, West Yorkshire, which was attended by fewer than 1,000 EDL supporters.
Some threw bottles, cans, stones and three smoke bombs at opponents gathered nearby. Nearly 100 supporters of the far-right group climbed over a temporary 8ft barricade - aimed at keeping them inside the city's Urban Gardens - to get on to neighbouring waste ground from where they threw missiles at police.
As the skirmishes were breaking out, nearly 300 people gathered for an alternative event hosted by Unite Against Fascism/We Are Bradford about half a mile away at the Crown Court Plaza.
A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said of the 13 arrests, eight were from Bradford and the others from Wakefield, Leeds, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham.
In the days before the rally, Bradford community leaders called for calm fearing demonstrations could provoke a violent reaction to rival the 2001 Bradford riots, where 191 people were given sentences totalling more than 510 years.
Initially the EDL intended to march in Bradford with a planned protest by Unite Against Fascism on the same day. A high-profile campaign was started to stop the EDL march and a 10,000-signature petition opposing it was handed to the Home Office. Home Secretary Theresa May was asked to authorise the ban by Bradford Council.
It came after West Yorkshire Police's Chief Constable, Sir Norman Bettison, wrote to the council requesting an order to prohibit any public processions over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
In a joint statement police and the Bradford Council praised local people for remaining calm during a difficult day when tensions could have risen.
Ch Supt Alison Rose, Bradford South divisional commander, and council leader Ian Greenwood said: "Although there has been some disruption to the city centre, we are returning to normality and people of Bradford are now able to continue their lives. The police has worked effectively to handle the situation and to respond quickly to the events as they unfolded. The mood of the city in general has been one of calm and local people have co-operated and supported the police by behaving sensibly or staying away. We have done a lot of work with the local community in the build-up to these events and we would like to thank those who helped to plan for and managed the protests. The numbers of English Defence League supporters in Bradford were less than they claimed. Unite Against Fascism has also had a similar presence in the city."
The BBC is too big and "almost unmanageable", its former chairman, Michael Grade has said.
He told an audience at the Edinburgh International Television Festival the BBC should also share some of the licence fee with Channel 4.
Mr Grade said: "The real issue in the modern world is how big should the BBC be?
"Does it need all those digital channels, does it need all those radio stations, does it need to occupy all the territory that it does?".
He said it was up to licence fee payers, through the mechanism of the BBC Trust, to decide what services it stopped providing adding: "The BBC has to contract. It's just too big. It's almost unmanageable."
Mr Grade, who has served as BBC chairman, BBC1 controller and boss of Channel 4, said both channels should compete for a share of the licence fee.
He said: "That would sharpen up the BBC's value for money instincts and secure Channel 4 and would create a measure of competition in the public service broadcasting sector."
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned the BBC needed more "discipline" and its director-general has warned of massive job cuts to come.
Mr Hunt said he could not rule out a reduction in the licence fee and warned that the BBC has to "live on the same planet as everyone else".
The corporation has come under fire in recent years for the large sums of licence fee money paid to its stars and top managers.