Brown faces disaster in Crewe by-election as poll shows 10% swing to Tories
The Tories are poised to achieve their first parliamentary by-election gain since the heyday of Margaret Thatcher, dealing a hammer blow to Gordon Brown's hopes of survival. That is the remarkable finding of the first opinion poll conducted in the Labour stronghold of Crewe, where a by-election in 11 days' time could seal the PM's fate

Murdered teenage altar boy killed in 'unprovoked attack' after refusing to take part in fight, say police
A teenager murdered the day after his 16th birthday was killed in an unprovoked attack after he refused to take part in a fight, police said tonight. A manhunt was under way to track the killer responsible for cutting 'gentle giant' Jimmy Mizen's neck with glass following a row as he went to buy a Lottery ticket with his brother. Jimmy was near his home in the Three Cooks bakery in Lee, south east London, when a youth challenged him to a fight at around 11.50am yesterday