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Professor Richard Dawkins has claimed that forcing a religion on children without questioning its merits is as bad as 'child abuse'. In typically incendiary style, the leading atheist said he was against the 'indoctrination of religion' and teaching it as fact. The evolutionary scientist, speaking at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival yesterday, was repeating claims he made last year which were roundly condemned by charities and politicians. Incendiary claims: Prof Dawkins said that teaching a child that they are Catholic or Muslim is as bad as 'child abuse' Professor Dawkins said at the festival that children should be taught religion but scorn should be poured on its claims. 'What a child should be taught is that religion exists; that some people believe this and some people believe that,' the Daily Telegraph reported he had said. More... Anglican school where 75% of the pupils are Muslim drops Christian hymns from assemblies 'What a chil

David Cameron has been warned 'Big Brother' plans to spy on emails and visits to websites are dangerous and must be abandoned. IT experts have written to the Prime Minister saying the proposals 'will be expensive, will hinder innovation and will undermine the privacy of citizens'. The proposals are undergoing major revisions after opposition from Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. GCHQ, in Cheltenham, where plans being brought in by the Government - along with secret courts - would allow an electronic 'listening' agency to see who a person is communicating with and when The plan to force internet service providers and phone companies to store communications data has sparked a row which threatens to split the Coalition. Both Tory and Liberal Democrat backbenchers are opposed to the idea, which was first suggested by Labour in 2006. Some Lib Dems have been threatening to revolt if the Government presses ahead with the £2billion scheme, which would allow GCHQ,

Pressure was growing on George Osborne’s policies yesterday as the UK’s economic recovery was dismissed as ‘almost non-existent’ raising fears that Britain is on the brink of a triple-dip recession. On Friday, Fitch became the second credit ratings agency to strip Britain of its AAA rating, citing concerns about a ‘weaker economic and fiscal outlook’. And while most economists believe the latest GDP figures, released on Thursday, will show that the economy grew by 0.1pc in the first three months of this year – narrowly escaping a ‘triple-dip’ recession – some City experts predict the figure will be negative. They will come as Mr Osborne announces plans to extend an £80billion scheme to make cheap lending available for small businesses and homebuyers in his latest attempt to boost the recovery. But yesterday David Riley, managing director of Fitch, criticised the Chancellor’s economic strategy. He said: ‘It’s not just about the austerity, the bottom line is the private sector borrowed

The ongoing row over John Sweeney’s undercover documentary on North Korea has been blown out of all proportion. I was one of the students who travelled to Pyongyang with the BBC Panorama reporter and I was fully aware of the risks. Did the BBC exploit us as students? I don’t think so. The ramifications of what Mr Sweeney was doing and what might happen to us were outlined to me – and I believe to us as a group – as soon as we signed up to the trip. I was aware that a journalist was coming, and I was aware our organiser worked for the BBC. We knew the dangers – potential detention, arrest, or deportation and blacklisting. And I believe that I, as a 21-year-old student in international relations, am in a position to give my informed consent, even though the London School of Economics (LSE) says otherwise. Backing: LSE student Mila Akimova says the BBC was right to infiltrate the trip to North Korea and insists students knew undercover reporter John Sweeney was with them In truth, th

Nearly 8,000 NHS staff were paid a six-figure salary last year – with one in three earning more than the Prime Minister. The generous payments show that the NHS's £20billion efficiency programme has done little to dent the inflated pay of many hospital managers and consultants. Around 7,800 of health service bosses were paid more than £100,000 last year, of which around 2,600 earned more than David Cameron's £142,500 salary. The highest-paid executive took home £340,000 - almost 16 times the pay of ward nurses who often get just £21,388 a year. Meanwhile, 11 other high-flyers were paid in excess of £250,000 each and the true figure is likely to be far higher as dozens of hospitals trusts failed to respond to a Daily Telegraph survey. Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said the six-figure salaries sent the 'wrong message' to front-line staff struggling to manage with the 'deep cuts'. The numbers earning more than £100,000 has gone

Online well-wishers have overwhelmed the victims of Monday's Boston marathon bombing with the outpouring of donations made to charities set up to help them. Less than one week after the twin blasts ripped through the city, more than $2 million donated through 23,000 pledges have been registered online by members of the public shocked by terror attack. That includes almost $500,000 for Celeste and Sydney Corcoran of Lowell, Massachusetts, a mother and daughter who were both seriously injured at the finish line and more than $560,000 for Boston newlyweds Jessica Kensky Downes and Patrick Downes, who lost a leg each in the blasts. Victims: Jessica Kensky Downes, right, and Patrick Downes, left, were both injured in the attack but well-wishers have donated more than $560,000 towards their recovery 'All of us were like, ‘How can we help?’ said Leslie Kelly, 56, of Pebble Beach, California to NBC News - whose two daughters grew up with Jessica Downes, 32. 'We felt so helpless

An independent review is set to be carried out into the Food Standards Agency's response to the horse meat scandal. The review board, headed by Professor Pat Troop will have unrestricted access to all relevant documents held by the body. The move follows criticism of the FSA's handling of the horse meat scandal with Labour's shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh branding the FSA 'unfit for purpose'. Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh branded the Food Safety Authority 'unfit for purpose' following the scandal The findings of the review will be submitted to the Food Standards Agency in June for publication. The project will feed into a larger Government review of the scandal which forced supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Waitrose to clear their shelves. The news comes just days after Dutch authorities announced they would recall 50,000 tons of meat sold as beef across Europe that may contain horse meat. The FSA later confirmed that the mea

Speculation is growing that one of the Boston bombers met a known Jihadist terrorist in 2011 - as it emerged the FBI failed to follow up on a Russian tip that he was seen with an Islamic militant six times. On a YouTube account widely believed to belong to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, there are two videos on a playlist called 'terrorists' created five months ago that since have been deleted. Both videos appear under the name, 'Amir Abu Dujana rabbanikaly' which is also the name used by Gadzhimurad Dolgatov, a notorious Dagestani terrorist. Investigators are pouring over the YouTube account to see if they can confirm whether Tsarnaev had any links with Dolgatov, who was killed by Russian security forces in Makhachkala in December 2012, after a fierce gun battle. These latest revelations question the adequacy of the U.S intelligence community, who failed to spot the national security threat posed by suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar, despite the repeat

Circuses will be banned from using wild animals under a proposed change in the law. Ministers will today unveil a draft bill that will ban using exotic beasts in big tops. Only domesticated animals, such as rabbits, dogs and horses, will be allowed to perform. The move comes after the Daily Mail exposed the cruelty inflicted on Anne the elephant, who was kept in chains. Owner Bobby Roberts was convicted of animal cruelty after an undercover film showed Anne being kicked and hit with a pitchfork. Scroll down for video Banned: The Government wants to stop circuses using wild animals and plan to unveil a draft bill. Pictured is an elephant performing at a German circus The Government's decision comes after an undercover film showed Anne the elephant being attacked with a pitchfork and being repeatedly kicked while at Bobby Roberts' circus The appalling treatment provoked widespread revulsion and in June 2011, MPs decided without a vote to direct ministers to introduce a ban

Syrian forces and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed at least 85 people, including women and children, when they stormed a Damascus suburb after five days of fighting. Opposition activists today described the attack in Jdeidet al-Fadel as a 'massacre', although there has been no official confirmation of the assault. Syrian authorities have banned most independent media from the country since the uprising began two years ago. Horror: Countless civilians have been caught up in the fighting, which has resulted in at least 70,000 deaths Conflict: Syrian rebel fighters inside a ruined mosque in Aleppo this week, the scene of fierce fighting Jamal al-Golani, a member of the Revolution Leadership Council opposition group, said the number of dead may be higher than 250. More... Was Boston bomber inspired by Russia's Bin Laden? Mother claims FBI tracked older brother 'for FIVE YEARS' after being told by Moscow of links to Chechen terrorists Britai

A dangerous arsonist left a mental institution in Latvia and travelled to Britain where he carried out a sex attack on a student. Rolands Brize, 25, dragged his terrified victim under a bridge where he tried to rape her as she walked home from a nightclub, a court heard. Police responding to a 999 call from the 23-year-old found Brize still trying to attack her. Myton Bridge in Hull, where a 23-year-old student was attacked by Latvian national Rolands Brize, 25 Hull Crown Court heard Brize had been a long-term patient in a mental health institute in the Baltic state after burning down his family home. He came to England but re-entered the institute after returning to Latvia. On his release, he again travelled to the UK and settled in Hull. More... Teenager accused of snatching girl, 11, from the street and raping her claims he is ‘incapable of doing anything so despicable and heartless’ Max Factor heir convicted of drugging and raping three women to get new sentence after 124-

At least three people have died in flooding that is causing havoc across the Midwest. In all three deaths - two at the same spot in Indiana and one in Missouri - vehicles were swept off the road in flash floods. The flooding was started by torrential rain last week which caused the Mississippi and many other rivers to surge in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. And the misery is not over as forecasters say more rain is expected tonight and tomorrow in many places. Scroll down for video Submerged: Joe Biggerstaff wades away from his mother's home north of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. The rising Grand River has driven hundreds of people from their homes Floods: Homes in Robinson Michigan are completely engulfed by flood waters from the Grand River Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell has declared a state of emergency as the city, like so many others across the Midwest, deals with rising waters Depth: Traffic clogs the Pearl Street bridge as cro