Sion Jenkins, a former deputy headteacher, went on trial yesterday for the second time this year, accused of murdering his 13-year-old foster daughter. Mr Jenkins, 48, denies killing Billie-Jo, who was found dead at the family's home in Hastings, East Sussex, in February 1997. Billie-Jo Jenkins was battered around the head five times with an iron bar and died within minutes, an Old Bailey jury was told. They will stand at lecterns for the duration of the presidential-style debate.. Politicians shouldn't treat them with kid gloves just because police officers do such a brave job in protecting us,'' he said. The "Two Davids" are due to go head-to-head on the BBC's Question Time tomorrow, and Mr Cameron's remarks suggest their debate may live up to its billing as a showdown. The claims were dismissed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as "pure fantasy".

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It accused the LGA of "crying wolf" before the annual local government settlement, expected to be declared next month..

David Cameron has challenged his rival for the Tory leadership David Davis on his home turf by signalling that politicians should not be afraid of getting tough with the police. Mr Cameron, increasingly seen as the favourite to win, took a swipe at Mr Davis's responsibility as home affairs spokesman when he ventured on to his rival's specialist subject "The police are the last great unreformed public service. The Tory-led Local Government Association said the demands being made on councils for action across a range of policy areas were outstripping the resources available to pay for them. Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, the Conservative chairman of the LGA, said town halls would be forced to increase their tax demands unless they received a "substantial" injection of government cash. Council tax bills in England will rise by at least a £100 a year unless the Government plugs a £2.2bn "black hole" in local government finances, council leaders have warned. Although Downing Street insisted he enjoyed Mr Blair's "full support" and could still do his job, a growing number of ministers believe he will be forced out by a "drip, drip effect" if the controversy continues to overshadow his work.. The embattled Work and Pensions Secretary looked increasingly isolated as Labour MPs went public last night with calls for him to resign.

David Blunkett's hopes of retaining his cabinet post have dipped as pressure mounts on Tony Blair to force him to resign for the second time in less than a year. Mr Blunkett's critics claim he quoted selectively from a letter from Lord Mayhew of Twysden, the committee's chairman, who told him in March: "The system under which former ministers can seek our advice is a voluntary and advisory one." The rest of the sentence read: "although the ministerial code does state they should do this.". Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, has cleared up the confusion, telling Mr Blunkett the provision in the code is not voluntary. Why did David Blunkett not ask the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments whether it was right for him to take up three outside posts after he quit as Home Secretary? He insists he believed consulting the committee was a voluntary matter - even though the code of conduct for ministers makes clear they "should" approach it. It called them "ill-conceived and dangerous", amounting to an attack on "the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law".. This, they said, was the minimum required to break up the complex terrorist networks which were threatening Britain's security..