The News Matrix: Thursday 26 December 2013

Lib Dem attacks law on fox hunting

A leading Liberal Democrat has said the law that bans fox-hunting is “an ass” because it is regularly ignored. Sir Nick Harvey, a former defence minister, said the law could only be implemented if there was a “ridiculous distortion of policing priorities”. He said he wanted the law to be revisited, but was not campaigning for it to be scrapped.

Home town honours for VC recipients

The new year will see the start of four years of events across Britain to mark 100 years since the First World War. Among other events, all 430 Victoria Cross winners will be honoured in their home towns on the anniversary of the action for which each medal was issued.

Muslim Brotherhood declared terrorists

The military-backed interim government in Cairo has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, criminalising all its activities, its financing and even membership of the group to which the country’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi belongs. MORE

Call for greater devolved powers

Major new powers should be given to the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland, no matter what the result of the Scottish independence referendum, the First Minister of Wales has said. Carwyn Jones said the current constitutional arrangements were no longer functioning.

Fear over increased tribal-based fighting

President Salva Kiir called for an end to tribal-based atrocities yesterday as government troops clashed with rebels loyal to his former deputy. Western powers fear the violence could spiral out of control and lead to a civil war split along ethnic lines. MORE

‘Britain has moral duty to refugees’

The Government is adopting a “no room at the inn” policy after the UK rejected a UN appeal to allow Syrian refugees to live in Britain, critics said. Yvette Cooper, the shadow Home Secretary, told i: “It is our moral duty.” MORE

Pope’s first Yuletide message is of peace

In his first Christmas mass and message since his election, Pope Francis reached out to non-believers, the poor and the marginalised and pleaded for what he called a “home-made” peace. Pope Francis stressed a message of humility and inclusiveness that has characterised his papacy so far. MORE

High Street loses out to the superhighway

More people were thought to have gone online to shop yesterday than are expected to visit the high street today, according to a survey. A Barclaycard spokesman said: “The relentless growth in online shopping, and ever-earlier sales, means that more and more of us took to the web.”