Picking through a mountain of huge rocks with his tiny bare hands, the exhausted little boy makes a pitiful sight.

His name is Dorsen and he is one of an army of children, some just four years old, working in the vast polluted mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where toxic red dust burns their eyes, and they run the risk of skin disease and a deadly lung condition. Here, for a wage of just 8p a day, the children are made to check the rocks for the tell-tale chocolate-brown streaks of cobalt – the prized ingredient essential for the batteries that power electric cars.

And it’s feared that thousands more children could be about to be dragged into this hellish daily existence – after the historic pledge made by Britain to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 and switch to electric vehicles. It heralds a future of clean energy, free from pollution but – though there can be no doubting the good intentions behind Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s announcement last month – such ideals mean nothing for the children condemned to a life of hellish misery in the race to achieve his target.

Dorsen, just eight, is one of 40,000 children working daily in the mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The terrible price they will pay for our clean air is ruined health and a likely early death.

Almost every big motor manufacturer striving to produce millions of electric vehicles buys its cobalt from the impoverished central African state. It is the world’s biggest producer, with 60 per cent of the planet’s reserves.

The cobalt is mined by unregulated labour and transported to Asia where battery manufacturers use it to make their products lighter, longer-lasting and rechargeable. The planned switch to clean energy vehicles has led to an extraordinary surge in demand. While a smartphone battery uses no more than 10 grams of refined cobalt, an electric car needs 15kg (33lb). Goldman Sachs, the merchant bank, calls cobalt ‘the new gasoline’ but there are no signs of new wealth in the DRC, where the children haul the rocks brought up from tunnels dug by hand.

Adult miners dig up to 600ft below the surface using basic tools, without protective clothing or modern machinery. Sometimes the children are sent down into the narrow makeshift chambers where there is constant danger of collapse.

Cobalt is such a health hazard that it has a respiratory disease named after it – cobalt lung, a form of pneumonia which causes coughing and leads to permanent incapacity and even death.

Even simply eating vegetables grown in local soil can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, thyroid damage and fatal lung diseases, while birds and fish cannot survive in the area.

No one knows quite how many children have died mining cobalt in the Katanga region in the south-east of the country. The UN estimates 80 a year, but many more deaths go unregistered, with the bodies buried in the rubble of collapsed tunnels. Others survive but with chronic diseases which destroy their young lives. Girls as young as ten in the mines are subjected to sexual attacks and many become pregnant. When Sky News investigated the Katanga mines it found Dorsen, working near a little girl called Monica, who was four, on a day of relentless rainfall.

Dorsen was hauling heavy sacks of rocks from the mine surface to a growing stack 60ft away. A full sack was lifted on to Dorsen’s head and he staggered across to the stack. A brutish overseer stood over him, shouting and raising his hand to threaten a beating if he spilt any.

With his mother dead, Dorsen lives with his father in the bush and the two have to work daily in the cobalt mine to earn money for food.

Dorsen’s friend Richard, 11, said that at the end of a working day ‘everything hurts’.

The daughter of murdered Lord Mountbatten used the teachings of Gandhi to forgive her father’s IRA killers.

Lady Pamela Hicks, 88, met Gandhi when her father was serving as India’s last viceroy.

Lord Mountbatten was killed while on a wooden fishing boat in 1979 along with young boys and the dowager Lady Brabourne.

Irish republican Thomas McMahon was convicted for the killings after he slipped onto the unguarded boat at night to attach a 23kg bomb.

Asked if she had forgiven the IRA, Lady Pamela said ‘yes, that is essential’.

She told the BBC: ‘I mean, we loved the Irish. We’d lived there for so much of our lives. You absolutely have to go forward. Lady Pamela was a lady in waiting for the Queen as well as a bridesmaid at her wedding to Prince Philip.

Recalling identifying her father’s body when he died aged 79, she said: ‘I honestly thought “I am not going to be able to do this”, which is ridiculous because in fact every next of kin has to identify a murdered family member.

‘But I found that a horrible idea. Luckily James (Duke of) Abercorn arrived at that moment and I said “James, I can’t do this. Will you identify him?” I felt slightly wimpish doing it.’

The bomb killed Lord Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, 14, a young crew member Paul Maxwell, 15, and the dowager Lady Brabourne, 83.

Also on board was his eldest daughter Patricia, her husband John and their other son Timothy Knatchbull.

The IRA claimed responsibility for the killings. 

A 34-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting last night 'by a person known to him' police have said as they launched a murder probe. 

John Pordage, an electrician and bodybuilder with a 'heart of gold' died after a driver in a blue Ford Fiesta pulled into a BP garage in Chelmsford, Essex and fired a single shot at 2.10am this morning.

Mr Pordage, who was standing with his friend, was struck in the chest and was rushed to hospital where he died. Close friend Reece Haines, 33, said: 'John and I went to school with one another and have been the best of friends since.

'John was a joker, a real character, someone that would do anything for his friends and family, he had a heart of gold, he couldn't do enough for you, he was not only a gentleman but a loyal friend and family man.

'He was a hard worker and an extremely strong bodybuilder he had a passion for fitness and also loved to draw. 'He will be sadly missed but never ever forgotten, anyone that met John would know what a positive impact he'd have on your life, and it's hard to believe that my best friend is gone.

'It will be a massive funeral, he was extremely well liked and no one can understand why this has happened.'

He added in a direct message to John: 'Rest in peace my brother and I know you'll have everyone up there in hysterics just like you did down here.

'Make sure you have a JD and coke waiting for me mate, can't wait to see you again, all my love Reece x' The senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Jennings, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said: 'Several members of the public went to the aid of the victim and his friend, and I want to thank them for their assistance in what clearly would have been harrowing circumstances.

'We have spoken to a number of witnesses but I am keen to speak to anyone who saw what happened and has yet to come forward. Any information you have, however small you think it may be, could be vital in assisting our investigation.

'I also want to speak to anyone who saw a car matching the description of the suspect vehicle in the area before and after the incident and anyone who took mobile phone or dash cam footage of the incident.'

District commander Chief Inspector Ronnie Egan said: 'Incidents such as this are extremely rare and we believe this involved people known to each other.

'Although we believe there is no wider risk to the community, I know residents will be very concerned.'

Patrols in the area had been increased, he said.  

Two teenage boys are being hunted by police after a woman was left with head and hand injuries in an attack in Legoland, Windsor. 

Police said that the two boys, both aged about 14 years, were believed to have been involved in the attack which left the woman with head and hand injuries on Friday afternoon. 

She was taken to hospital for treatment. Detectives said that the incident happened on Friday afternoon while the woman, aged in her late 50s, was in the Heartlake Shopping Mall at the Legoland Resort in Windsor, Berks.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that officers were seeking help from the public who may have been at Legoland yesterday and may have seen something suspicious.

'Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following an assault of a woman at Legoland Windsor,' said the spokesman.

'At around 4.30pm on Friday a woman in her late 50s was at the Heartlake Mall at Legoland when she was assaulted, leaving with her injuries to her head and hands.

'She was taken to hospital for treatment and has since been discharged. We are appealing for any witnesses who may have seen the attack and in particular information about two teenage boys who were involved. 'The boys are described as white and around 14 years old. We are following a number of lines of inquiry and would ask anyone who might have witnessed this assault to please contact us at Thames Valley Police.'

The Heartlake Shopping Mall stocks Lego materials and also caters for what its website describes as 'all the essentials you need for your day such as ponchos, umbrellas, sun cream and batteries.

Police are investigating reports that a chef was doused in acid in a horrific attack at a seaside fish and chip shop this morning.

Officers rushed to the restaurant in Whitstable, Kent just after 9am. Pictures show police investigating at the scene after the victim was rushed to hospital. 

A spokesperson for Kent Police said: 'Police were called to a report that a man was assaulted at a premises off the Thanet Way in Whitstable at 8.49am this morning. 'It was reported that a substance was thrown at him.

'A man has been taken to hospital. So far no arrests have been made but we have started to make enquiries.'

'It is believed the alleged victim is a chef at the fish and chip venue.'

In a new crackdown announced yesterday, thugs carrying acid face four years in jail while those who throw it could get life behind bars. The Crown Prosecution Service has today unveiled plans to charge offenders caught with dangerous materials with possession of an offensive weapon, which carries a four-year prison term.

A spokesman told MailOnline they hoped it would act as a deterrent after the Government and CPS noticed a worrying trend in attacks.

He said: 'From our side there is certainly a trend of these attacks becoming more prevalent and hopefully by publishing this information it is a useful exercise in show how the Crown will be dealing with offenders.'

This means judges and magistrates will be able to deliver tougher sentences when attackers end up in court.  

The retired judge leading the Grenfell Tower inquiry must be helped by local residents so he can 'understand our experience of life', the area's bishop has said. 

The Bishop of Kensington, the Rt Rev Dr Graham Tomlin said having local people at the heart of the inquiry would aid Sir Martin Moore-Bick in appreciating the 'dynamics' of the area. 

At least 80 people died when a blaze devastated the 24-storey West London block in June, while hundreds more were left destitute.

The bishop said there were concerns that retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin would not understand the 'experience of life' on the Grenfell estate. 

Bishop Tomlin said: 'I want to see local people at the heart of the inquiry - not just on the outside but on the inside of it. The bishop said he hoped Sir Martin's inquiry would provide 'significant answers' within a year and would go further than just address the events of the fire to also examine 'a wider range of issues - the decisions that were made by the council, by the tenant management organisation leading up to that night'.

He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that if Sir Martin's inquiry did not have the confidence of local people, any recommendations it made were unlikely to win support.

The bishop said: 'People locally would want to see, at the heart of the inquiry, other people who understand our experience of life. 'I'm not saying that he won't understand that, but I think that it's harder if you haven't got people around you who actually do understand that, which is why I'm suggesting that he will be helped in his work - his very important work - by having close involvement with people who do represent the local community.'

Some in the community were still 'very angry' about what happened and the response, he said.

Bishop Tomlin added: 'I feel a lot of frustration on behalf of many people, because I feel that there is a lot of people who are still struggling, still trying to work out answers.

'I have seen extraordinary dignity and wisdom and restraint from many people, others are very angry.

'There's a mixture of emotions which is why we need to continue to apply every bit of imagination and effort to that job.'

More than 400 submissions were made to a consultation on the scope of Sir Martin's inquiry which closed on Friday.

Survivors, bereaved families and other involved parties have spent the past few weeks making their case about what the remit of the forthcoming probe should be.

Sir Martin is now tasked with writing to the Prime Minister with recommendations for the inquiry's terms of reference.

It is understood he may use his correspondence to recommend the Government consider broader questions about social housing separately.

It will then be up to Theresa May to decide what questions the inquiry should seek to answer, which she is expected to do thereafter. 

There are Some of the country's biggest charities have been branded an 'utter disgrace' after a new report claimed one in five spend less than half of their income on good causes.

The report, alleges that 1,020 voluntary organisations - with a combined annual income of £6billion - spend half or less of their cash on good work, including the British Heart Foundation and Age UK.

Nearly 300 spend just 10 per cent - and The Lloyd's Register Foundation uses only one per cent of the money, according to the explosive document.

Many charities disputed the figures in the report released today by the True and Fair Foundation - deeming them 'totally misleading. But Gina Miller, founder of the True and Fair Foundation said in a statement, 'It is an utter disgrace that so much of the money people generously give is going to feed large charity machines, which are often characterised by obscene overheads and salaries, aggressive fundraising, and bloated marketing and publicity departments; resulting in questionable levels of charitable spending. The report claims that Cancer Research UK and The Guide Dogs For The Blind Association - two of the UK's biggest charities - spend 64 per cent of their respective incomes on charitable activities.

Meanwhile, Marie Carie was found to give just one per cent more of its donations - at 65 per cent.

Below the 50 per cent mark, the British Heart Foundation was said to spend an average of just 46 per cent of its cash on good work - while Age UK apparently gives a slightly higher 48 per cent. 

Sir Stephen Bubb, Chief Executive of ACEVO, said: 'It is bizarre that people who worked in the sophisticated world of finance have overlooked the lesson of the Kids Company collapse. 

'Namely, that to spend every penny on the frontline and neglect other essential spending leads inevitably to the collapse of the frontline with tragic consequences. 

'Kids Company taught us that it is vital that charities invest money in resilience, professionalism and for the long term.

'This flawed and simplistic analysis arbitrarily defines ‘charitable activity’ to exclude campaigning and other fund raising activity. 

'Yet these are the lifeblood of the great British charitable tradition. We work to alleviate the symptoms of disease and poverty and to tackle the causes of such. Donors give money for both.'

The Charity Commission agreed that the analysis was 'flawed'. 

It added that the report had not 'considered basic information in the charities’ accounts'.

In a blog, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations referred to the report as 'neither true nor fair', explaining how charities add public donations to their trading to boost the amount of money they have to spend on good causes. It described the study as 'misleading in its analysis'.

The True and Fair Foundation concludes its 'A Hornets' Nest' report by declaring that trust in the charity sector 'is being eroded as light is shone on negative practices', and that charities have to ' evolve and be transparent so donors can be confident that they have a right to be supported. 

A British hacker is set to appear in a Las Vegas court today accused of creating malicious software used to raid bank accounts - but family, friends and supporters claim it is a set up.

Marcus Hutchins, 23, was arrested by the FBI in a first class airport lounge and now faces a maximum of 40 years in jail if convicted.

He is the hero who saved the NHS after finding the 'kill switch' that paralysed the WannaCry 'ransomware' that hit more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries in May.

Hutchins is now charged with six counts of making a 'Trojan' program that captures computer users' passwords and personal information and was sold online for £1,500 - but many believe federal officers have the wrong man.

His mother Janet Hutchins said it was 'hugely unlikely' that her son was involved because he has spent 'enormous amounts of time' combating such attacks. 

Jake Williams, a respected US cybersecurity researcher, said they have worked on various projects, including training material, and the Briton always refused payment.

He said: 'He's a stand-up guy. I can't reconcile the charges with what I know about him. I don't doubt that some of his code found it's way into malware. He might have even helped criminals posing as researchers'.

Friend Andrew Mabbitt, a British digital security specialist who had been staying in a £5million rented Las Vegas mansion with Hutchins, said: 'I refuse to believe the charges. He spent his career stopping malware, not writing it'.  Marcus Hutchins now faces months battling the American courts and could be jailed for 40 years if found guilty of taking part in a hacking conspiracy to steal bank details.

The Devon-born computer expert, who lives with his mum and dad, was held as he tried to leave the US on a first class Virgin Atlantic flight two days ago. 

Federal agents took him into custody and he appeared in the Las Vegas court on Thursday but the hearing was adjourned to be continued today.

An indictment was issued by a grand jury impanelled by the US Attorney in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Gregory Haanstad. 

The federal prosecutor in Nevada is likely to ask federal judge Nancy Koppe to have Hutchins extradited to Milwaukee to be arraigned. 

He faces six hacking charges that each carry a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence meaning he could face decades in a US jail if convicted. 

Mr Hutchins is likely to have to pay a huge bail to be released and will not be able to leave America.

His friends and supporters say that he has been set up. 

They have found tweets where he asks for samples of the malware he is accused of creating.

Some have said that the way he killed off the WannaCry 'ransomware' that swept across the globe embarrassed America's own security services.

NSA security researchers initially developed the tool to hack into the computers of suspected terrorists and spies,  but it was taken on by criminals who then used it to take over computers and extort cash from victims if they wanted control back. 

A South Australian doctor has performed a historic operation on a Cambodian man who's entire mouth had been closed over with a huge growth emanating from his lip.

Eng Kheng, a resident in a remote village in the country's Kampong Cham province, has been living with the condition for 30 years and had never received dental treatment.

Dr Andrew Cheng, an Adelaide-based doctor, heard about Mr Kheng's incredible case through a charity he works with in Cambodia, and wanted to help.

'I've never see anything like this before. I don't think anyone around the world has seen anything that big,' Dr Cheng told Daily Mail Australia. Mr Kheng was originally being looked at by doctors for cataracts, before shocked doctors noticed the growth in his mouth.

They alerted Dr Cheng, who flew with his mentor to Mr Kheng's village after being sent medical information from Cambodian clinicians. 'The local doctors and surgeons organised CT scans to make sure it wasn't a malignancy. We managed to utilise all the CT scans in the photos to plan the surgery in Australia.'

The size of the growth from his gums was the result of a rare condition called Gingival Hyperplasia. There is a one in 750,000 chance of being diagnosed with the condition according to Dr Cheng. 

Mr Kheng was forced to adapt his eating and swallowing, only being able to consume certain foods.

'He usually only had fluids, cooked rice, noodles and soup. And lemonade, he loves lemonade,' Dr Cheng told Daily Mail Australia.

'He was able to swallow but the way he swallowed was different to you or I. He kinks his neck back and swallows, a bit like a bird.'

His airwaves have experienced a degree of narrowing but fortunately Mr Kheng never had any issues breathing, despite dealing with the condition for 30 years.

A former young star of EastEnders who went on to become a youth worker faces jail for child sex abuse.

Joseph Shade played Peter Beale, the son of long-running character Ian Beale, in the BBC soap from 1998 to 2004 before working at a project for 'vulnerable' young people in Norfolk.

He had denied claims he abused his position of trust to incite teenage girls to engage in sexual activity.

But on what should have been the third day of his trial today, he dramatically changed his plea and admitted six offences.

A judge told him he could be jailed when he returns to court for sentencing.

Shade, 24, admitted five counts of causing or inciting a child under 18 to engage in sexual activity while in a position of trust.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.

Prosecutor Chris Paxton told Norwich Crown Court that Shade was a youth worker at a project in Norfolk when he sent sexual text messages to girls and touched one on the bottom. The offences were against three girls aged between 14 and 17, and happened between 2012 and 2015.

'He himself attended that youth project as a young person and got help from them,' said Mr Paxton. 

'As he reached the age of 18 he became formally employed as a youth worker and in this capacity as a youth worker he then engaged with many young people who came from similar backgrounds and vulnerabilities as he had. The prosecutor added: 'During the course of his employment he accepts by his pleas that his relationships became too close to a number of attendees and he would engage with them by texting them messages asking them to have sex or to send sexual pictures of breasts and the like.

'On one occasion and only one occasion he touched one of them.'

Mr Paxton said Shade had no previous convictions and was 'tearful and expressed a degree of remorse' when he was interviewed by police.

Shade, of Sheringham, Norfolk, appeared unshaven in a blue shirt, dark blue tie and suit trousers and spoke only to enter his pleas.

The trial had been due to start on Monday and Shade denied 11 sexual offences against four girls, but on the fourth day of trial he admitted six sexual offences against three girls and the prosecution ordered that the remaining five counts lie on file.

Mr Paxton said: 'The Crown accepts those guilty pleas to deal in a satisfactory way with the entirety of the indictment, therefore we would not need to engage the services of the jury in relation to the other counts.