Shooting suspect besieged by police

FRENCH police officers have exchanged gunfire and are negotiating with a man who claims connections to al Qaida and is suspected of killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers in three attacks.

French interior minister Claude Gueant said three police officers have been injured in the raid on a house in the southern city of Toulouse.

Mr Gueant said the man is 24, of French nationality and says that “he belongs to al Qaida”.

Osborne to hail overall cut in tax

GEORGE Osborne will hail an overall cut in taxes when he delivers his third Budget today.

The Chancellor is expected to say that lower Government spending means he can put some money back in people’s pockets.

The centrepiece of the package will be speeding up progress towards the coalition’s promised £10,000 tax-free allowance – with the level potentially hitting £9,205 next year.

NHS reforms approved by parliament

THE passage of the coalition’s controversial NHS reforms would be a “cause of significant regret”, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

The bitter 14-month parliamentary battle finally came to an end last night after the Government comfortably fended off a desperate attempt by Labour to delay the legislation.

MPs then approved the last amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill – leaving the way clear for Royal Assent to be granted before Parliament starts its Easter recess next week.