The News Matrix: Saturday 5th July 2014

Cameron ‘spin’ on A&E waiting probed

Claims about A&E waiting times made by David Cameron are being investigated by the UK Statistics Authority. The Prime Minister has been accused of employing spin in claims made to MPs about waiting times going down. Data shows they have remained unchanged.

BBC journalists told to ignore ‘cranks’

Senior BBC journalists will receive training to discourage them from inviting “cranks” on air. It follows the BBC Trust’s complaint that too many marginal views were aired, breaching impartiality rules, and two shows gave too much prominence to climate-change sceptics.

Modi’s Kashmir visit triggers shutdown

The new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was confronted by a massive security operation and near-empty streets as he visited the contested Kashmir region and vowed to boost development. Separatist groups had called for a one-day shutdown of shops, schools and business. MORE

Jihadist aims for Islamist rule in UK

A British man who claims he has been fighting alongside jihadi militants in Syria has told the BBC he will not return to the UK until he can raise “the black flag of Islam” over Downing Street. The man spoke on BBC Radio 5 live, calling himself Abu Osama.

Treat Moscow as an equal, Putin urges US

President Vladimir Putin called for an improvement in ties between Russia and the US yesterday in an Independence Day message to Barack Obama, urging Washington to treat Moscow as an equal partner, “despite difficulties”, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Statins may help cut risk of breast cancer

Lowering cholesterol with statin drugs could help prevent breast cancer, research suggests. A study of more than 600,000 British women found that risk was almost doubled in those with abnormally high levels of blood fats. The findings do not prove a causal link, however. MORE

Thirty Islamists killed in air strikes

Fighting continued as the military confirmed it had taken the village of Awja, south of the city of Tikrit. North of Tikrit, government air strikes targeted militants trying to capture the country’s largest oil refinery, at Baiji, reportedly killing 30 insurgents. MORE

Back-to-work legislation ‘illegal’

Government legislation introduced to shore up its back-to-work scheme, after it was ruled legally flawed, was yesterday itself judged illegal by the High Court. Mrs Justice Lang said the retrospective legislation was “incompatible” with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Google forced to reinstate web links

Google has been forced to reinstate web links recently deleted from the search engine after campaigners accused it of trying to undermine the “right to be forgotten” ruling. Google’s director of communications said: “We are learning as we go. I’m sure we will get better at it.” MORE

Women signing up Boko Haram recruits

Three women have been arrested for recruiting female members for the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The BBC reported that the women had targeted widows and young girls, promising them marriage to Boko Haram members. The militant group now had a female wing, the Nigerian military said.

British Gas agrees £1m compensation

British Gas has agreed a £1m compensation package after it was found to have exaggerated savings claims it made to prospective customers. The company admitted mis-selling to customers in Sainsbury’s stores between February 2011 and March last year.