Driving test examiners could be given body cameras following attacks by failed candidates.

Around 240 incidents of physical or verbal abuse were reported last year – up from approximately 180 in 2015, the Driver and Vehicle Standards agency (DVSA) said.

Attacks on all staff – including vehicle testers and roadside enforcement officers – rose by around 50 per cent to more than 300 over the same period. The DVSA has launched a crackdown as a result, including trialling body cameras for front-line staff. They will initially be given to roadside workers but could be rolled out to include driving test examiners if they prove effective, the agency said. Cameras are already used by many police forces to record their officers' interactions with the public.

The DVSA also pledged to make abusive learner drivers take their next test elsewhere and to refer all incidents of threats and physical assault to the police.

DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn said: 'We do not tolerate anyone abusing, threatening or assaulting them. Whatever has happened, don't take it out on our staff. If you do, we'll press for the strongest possible penalties.'

 'Our message is clear - whatever has happened, don't take it out on our staff. If you do, we'll press for the strongest possible penalties.  RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: 'Examiners at the DVSA play a vital role in ensuring the safety of drivers and vehicles on our roads on a daily basis.

'It's therefore disappointing to see such a marked increase in the level of verbal and physical abuse they are encountering from the very people they are trying to help.

'The majority of UK drivers and road users will wholeheartedly support a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour.'

The DVSA said there have also been cases of vehicle examiners and roadside enforcement staff being bullied.

A driver and operator from a Shropshire scaffolding firm made a false claim against a DVSA employee who discovered offences relating to the recording of drivers' hours.

Wales traffic commissioner Nick Jones rejected the firm's accusation and concluded that the 'appalling behaviour' of the driver had been condoned by his 'irresponsible' employer, resulting in a 'significantly disproportionate' complaint made against an experienced traffic examiner, the DVSA reported.

Mr Jones said: 'My fellow traffic commissioners and I welcome the agency's campaign to tackle the unacceptable abuse which staff may face whilst carrying out their professional duties.' 

Police are closing in on the jogger who pushed a woman in front of a bus on Putney Bridge as responses flood into a public appeal.

Officers are following a number of lines of inquiry in their hunt, after releasing shocking CCTV footage of the man barging into the 33-year-old pedestrian.

The woman was lucky to escape serious injury after a bus driver swerved to avoid her on the bridge in south west london 

Today, the Metropolitan Police said that officers had received a 'good response' after calling for information on the incident. Police are closing in on the jogger who pushed a woman in front of a bus on Putney Bridge as responses flood into a public appeal.

Officers are following a number of lines of inquiry in their hunt, after releasing shocking CCTV footage of the man barging into the 33-year-old pedestrian.

The woman was lucky to escape serious injury after a bus driver swerved to avoid her on the bridge in south west london 

Today, the Metropolitan Police said that officers had received a 'good response' after calling for information on the incident. Officers also claimed the jogger ran the other way across the bridge around 15 minutes later and the victim attempted to speak to him, but 'he did not acknowledge her'.

The jogger is described as a white man, aged early to mid 30s, with brown eyes and short brown hair. He was wearing a light grey t-shirt and dark blue shorts.

Speaking earlier this week, sergeant Mat Knowles said: 'After he pushed her he ran across the bridge and 15 minutes later came back. 'By this time the members of the public who had helped the woman were gone and she tried to talk to him as he ran past her but he just ignored her.

'We believe he is from the Fulham area and she is from Putney.' 

'We are keen to speak to the jogger in the CCTV about what happened that morning. We would urge him or anyone who recognises him to get in touch with us as soon as possible.' 

A senior source from the bus company Go Ahead London said it was only down to the slow speed of the vehicle that the accident did not result in serious injury. 'It is just shocking, the entire top half of this woman was in the road very close to the bus's front tyres and this man just ran off. 

A 15-year-old aspiring architect was murdered on his way home with a samurai sword by a gang of balaclava-clad youths. 

Jermaine Goupall suffered multiple stab wounds at around 11pm last night after he spent a day with friends at the cinema.

Devastated family said the teenager was 'adored by his friends and relatives' and was popular in the community.

Witnesses claim the gang of thugs attacked Jermaine and a friend, repeatedly stabbing the teenager while the other boy hid beneath a car.  

It came just hours after another teenager, 19, was stabbed to death in Peckham with police launching murder investigations into both incidents. At the family home Jermaine's father Stanley, an electrical engineer, 50, said: 'Jermaine was a lovely person and adored by the community and his friends and family.

'Nobody had nothing bad to say about him, he had a good heart and was such a lovely boy. 'Jermaine would put everyone before himself and would help anyone.

'He was into badminton and was a great at swimming, he enjoyed sports and loved his cat Happy.

'He was very good at maths and wanted to be a gas engineer and had talked about being an architect, he was very talented.

'He was very kind hearted and liked to share. He was a sociable boy who was loved by everyone and could talk to everyone regardless of whether it was children or adults.

I'm doing this because I want the perpetrators to know what a lovely boy my son was.'

Tilisha Goupall, 25, Jermaine's sister said: 'Last night the police rang the door bell and before I had messaged him on Snapchat and he did not respond, usually he will respond and say where he is and usually we pick him up. 'The police came shortly after 11pm, he had been out with friends all day and had gone to the cinema and then went out for dinner at a restaurant, he was catching up with his friends and was on his way home when it happened.

'He had nothing to do with them and was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was an innocent boy.'

Jermaine's friend Malachi, 14, added: 'He was a good person, into football and he was a good friend and cared for other people and was loved by many.

Police have shot dead three people in Kenya after riots erupted in response to opposition leader Raila Odinga's claim the country's election was stolen.

He said the electronic voting system had been hacked using the identity of a murdered IT official, with protests breaking out straight after his speech. 

Two people were killed in Nairobi as they took advantage of the protests to steal, Nairobi police chief Japheth Koome said, with one being shot in the head. 

Kenyan police opened fire on people protesting election results earlier in another opposition stronghold - South Mugirango constituency - killing one person.   

President Uhuru Kenyatta appears headed for re-election but his rival Odinga has insisted that the results have been manipulated, ratcheting up tensions. Kenyatta was leading with 54.35 percent and Odinga had 44.77 percent after votes at more than 39,320 of the 40,883 polling stations were counted, according to the election commission. But Odinga has also published what he deems to be the true vote tally on Twitter, with himself on 8.1 million votes and Kenyatta on 7.2 million.  

Riot police engaged in running battles with protesters in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu in western Kenya.

Police fired teargas as several hundred protesters in the neighbourhood of Kondele - an epicentre of violence after disputed 2007 polls - set fire to barricades and tyres and placed rocks in the streets.

'These results are fake, it is a sham. They cannot be credible,' Odinga told a press conference in the early hours of the morning as partial results fell quickly via an electronic tallying system aimed at preventing fraud. 

He later detailed accusations of how hackers had gained entry to the system using the identity of top IT official Chris Msando, who was found murdered and tortured late last month. 'This is an attack on our democracy. The 2017 general election was a fraud,' said Odinga, claiming detailed evidence of the hacker's movements. He would not say how he got the information, as he wanted to 'protect his source'.  

The chairman of Kenya's election commission said the allegations will be investigated.

Chairman Wafula Chebukati said an audit will probably be ordered to address concerns about the system used for yesterday's elections. 

 The silencing of legitimate opinion continues.

The latest victim of their self-styled ‘purge’ is Google engineer James Damore, the guy behind ‘Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,’ a paper outlining his thoughts on Diversity and Inclusion in Silicon Valley.

In his 3,300 word, ten page manifesto he highlights the reasons for the gender gap in tech, current discriminatory practises used to correct that gap and Google’s left-leaning political bias.

'The google engineer who wrote a memo that argued women aren't biologically fit for tech jobs is out at the company'. He argued no such thing.

Personally, I don't agreed with every word of it but I consider it to be about as inflammatory as the cucumber in my Pimms. 'When it comes to diversity and inclusion, Google’s left bias has created a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence. This silence removed any checks against encroaching extremist and authoritarian policies’ he wrote.

But whether or not we agree with every one of his sentiments, many of us will identify with the above that James been brave enough to say.

Too many no longer have a voice because the list of things we cannot say is longer than the list of things we can. And too often it is voices from the right that are presented as wrong. In his detailed analysis entitled ‘Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber’, he argues it is biological differences which play a role in the shortage of women in tech. And that Conservatives voices are silenced.

And, as if to underline his point, James Damore has just been fired.

Google CEO Sunder Pichai cut short his family holiday to deal with the fall out, making it sound like he just lost his father and mother in some kind of horrible accident. ‘This has been a very difficult time’ Sunder began, in a memo to all staff, many of whom were left frothing at the mouth at James’ cautious memo which dared to point out women are a bit different than men.

‘Firstly, let me say that we strongly support the right of Googlers to express themselves, and much of what was in that memo is fair to debate, regardless of whether a majority of Googlers disagree with it,’

You see what he did there? He already rallied the mob behind him, and announced that his army was bigger than your army, a ‘vast majority think you are wrong’ and therefore you must be.

This is the same mentality as those who click on petitions, imagining numbers of clicks equate to some kind of moral barometer on life.

And by a cunning sleight of hand Pichai asserts Goggle supports the right of his staff to express ideas. (Despite firing them if ‘the majority’ believe they are wrong). He continues:

‘To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them biologically less suited to our work is offensive and not OK. It is contrary to our basic values and our Code of Conduct which expects each googler to do their utmost to create a workplace culture that is free of harassment, intimidation, bias and unlawful discrimination.’

I appreciate I am barely a woman and have my own bias, but no matter what angry women with armpit hair say, there are basic biological differences between men and women.

I am offering to stand naked in front of a mirror with Sundar to point these out in intimate detail if he will accept. My own testicular fortitude may be a barrier to his acceptance. 

A man who was so overweight he was unable to wear shoes has lost more than 12st, ditching his slippers and even finding himself a job.

At his heaviest Robin Dixon, 38, from Essex, weighed more than 35st and as a result suffered from lymphedema and leg ulcers - meaning his legs and feet swelled up so much he was unable to find shoes to fit, despite being an average size ten.

Confined to a pair of slippers, Robin, was unable to get a job and gorged on a diet of Lucozade, crisps, popcorn and McDonalds. He piled on the weight between 2000 and 2007 when he worked in an office and happened to sit opposite a vending machine.

He said: 'I'd never been stick thin but that was when the real trouble started.

'I'd get bored and the vending machine was right in front of me so I'd just grab a chocolate bar and a packet of crisps here and there to pass the time.

'It was all about convenience food and the damage was done before I realised what I was doing. Following a trial with Bodychef - during which he ate fresh, calorie-counted food hampers - he managed to shed a whopping 12 and a half stone in just 18 months and Robin was finally able to fit into shoes again and line up some job interviews.

He recently bagged himself a job as a discharge facilitator working for the NHS and started his new role just a few weeks ago.

Robin, who still lives with his parents, said: 'My health is still an ongoing issue but at least I'm on the right track now.

'I just couldn't see a way out before. I would try and get out but the only thing that would fit my feet were slippers and people would stare.

'I couldn't exactly go to job interviews in a pair of slippers so I felt stuck.

'Now I have a new pair of trainers and some work shoes.

'I'm really enjoying my job and when finances allow I hope to get my own place and gain even more independence.

A father was killed instantly when an uninsured student driver crashed into him as he walked along a motorway in the rain trying to find his girlfriend after they had rowed at his best friend’s wedding.

Peter Ridyard, 33, was ‘in good spirits’ and looking forward to starting a new job as an energy broker hours before he was hit by Mehren Chaudry, 21, an Audi driver who admitted having smoked cannabis the morning before the crash. 

Mr Ridyard was drinking at the wedding at a hotel in Bury, Greater Manchester, and posted a final picture of himself on Facebook with the caption ‘And I'm ready, boom’ before he had a row with partner, Carmel Mitchell, 40, on August 12 last year. The couple had a disagreement between 11pm and midnight and Miss Mitchell left the hotel to sleep in her car, despite Mr Ridyard begging her not to go. 

The next day she refused to believe he was dead when police notified her of the crash, which also saw Chaudry smash into three other cars.

He was banned from driving for 15 months and fined £140 after admitting to driving without insurance and with excess cannabis last year. 

Mr Ridyard was hit by Chaudry, 21, as he walked along the dark and wet southbound carriageway at 1am with his belongings in a pillowcase.

Chaudry had hired the car for the evening, and was driving his friends home to Blackburn from a burger bar in Manchester. Admitting that he had smoked cannabis on the morning of the crash, Chaudry said: 'We headed home to Blackburn. I had not been drinking alcohol. I had not taken any medication, illegal or legal.

'I do not drink. I had taken some cannabis earlier on in the morning. I use cannabis once in a blue moon not very regularly.

'I was on the M66 south going towards Blackburn. It is a road that is very familiar to me. At the time it was raining and it was quite foggy an there were no lights on the motorway just car headlights. There are lights on that stretch of road but they just weren't on.

'The speed was down to 50mph because of the weather. I was driving at 50 to 55mph. 'At the time it was raining heavily and the wipers were on full and it was a bit misty as well because of the rain. The visibility was very reduced. I was in the right outside lane. 

'I was not distracted. My eyes were on the road. My friends were having a conversation in the back but I wasn't paying attention.

Chaudry said he heard 'a massive slam under the car' and just saw 'a white t-shirt' when he hit M Ridyard.

'There was a lot of blood outside and inside the car including on myself. I remember smelling alcohol or beer,' he said. 

'My driver's window was open. There was the smell of alcohol and it wasn't from me because I hadn't been drinking that night. It was too quick to see anything.

The brother of the male Google engineer fired after a memo saying women are biologically less likely to get to the top of the tech world has hit back, telling critics: 'Read the whole thing.'

James Damore, 28, was terminated by the internet giant on Monday for a violation of the company's code of conduct after the memo became a viral phenomenon.

It also said Google was censoring conservative members of staff, and Damore is now considering his legal options, with some lawyers saying he has a case under the First Amendment for suing Google. He has already filed a labor complaint over his treatment.

On Tuesday his younger brother Josh, 23, defended James and said that his critics have been selectively quoting from the text.

He said: 'It's a 10-page work so you can pull a lot of words out of that and manipulate what he wrote. It's important to read the whole thing. Damore was brought up with Joshua and their older brother John Damore Jr, 30, in Romeville, Illinois, by parents John and Deborah. 

He studied at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, graduated with a degree in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, then was a postgraduate student at MIT.

His mother is a computer science graduate who is now an executive at a logistics company.

He is now at the center of one of the biggest storms to hit Google, whose parents company Alphabet is worth $649 billion. 

Damore had posted on Facebook when he joined Google in 2013 about his excitement - but four years later his career was terminated with a scathing email from the company's most senior staff to all employees.

On Monday Google CEO Sundar Pichai said: 'portions of the memo violate our code of conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace.' 

Pichai said he was cutting his family vacation short in order to return to Google headquarters and deal with the aftermath of Damore's essay on gender.

In a note emailed to Google employees on Monday, Pichai said employees have a right to express themselves but 'to suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK.'

Damore, who had worked at the tech company since 2013, confirmed to both Reuters and Bloomberg via emails that he had been fired.

Damore later told Reuters he was exploring all possible legal remedies and that before being fired he had submitted a charge to the US National Labor Relations Board accusing Google upper management of trying to shame him into silence.

'It's illegal to retaliate against an NLRB charge,' he wrote in the email.

A fitness blogger is on a mission to re-educate people about what calories actually look like by comparing so-called 'healthy' snacks to 'naughty' treats.

Lucy Mountain, aka The Fashion Fitness Foodie, posts Instagram pictures of crisps next to the same snack made from root vegetables, and vitamin-enriched breakfast biscuits next to a packet of McVitie's to show how these treats often contain a very similar number of calories.

The stunning blonde 25-year-old, from London has built up a following of 65,000 people with her self-dubbed 'no BS' approach which aims to prove that no food in of itself will help you to lose or make you put on weight.

Her aim is to teach people that they can eat what they want - whether it's a handful of Fruit Pastilles or a handful of almonds - and still get the body they desire if they put their food choices into the context of a mostly healthy lifestyle and pay attention to portion sizes.  Lucy, whose Instagram feed is littered with comparison photos and pictures of her enviable figure in fitness clothes, says she wants to teach people that they don't need to cut out any foods from their diet if they really love them.

Unlike many other Instagram fitness role models, she refreshingly admits to preferring a handful of Fruit Pastilles as a snack instead of almonds, and confesses to the occasional boozy night out. 'We're bombarded with these kind of accounts that you almost become numb to it all. 

'Right from the beginning I have wanted my account to actually add value to other people's lives - and I hope my food comparisons have been a great way to do this.'

Lucy's honest approach to fitness, food and healthy eating has won her legions of followers and inspired her to create a second Instagram account dedicated to her food comparisons.

Her photos bust the myth that some foods are fattening and some foods are best for fat loss. Instead, she says the same meal could help you to lose weight or to gain weight depending on your portion sizes, and on how many calories you are expending through exercise in a day compared to how many you are consuming. 

Her posts receive thousands of likes each, due to this honest and inspiring approach. 

She explained: 'No matter what I post, I'm 100 per cent myself and I think people appreciate that.

A married mother-of-two from Michigan has been sentenced to up to 15 years prison for having sex with two teenage boys after luring them with naked photos on social media last summer.

Brooke Lajiness, 38, of Lima Township, learned her fate on Monday in a Washtenaw County courtroom, a little over a month after she pleaded guilty to two counts of having intercourse with a 14-year-old and one for having oral sex with a 15-year-old.

As part of the plea deal, Lajiness also admitted to one count each of accosting a child for immoral purposes and furnishing obscenity to children by sending nude photographs of herself to a minor.  In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss 10 other charges against the beauty salon worker, who will spend a minimum of four years and nine months behind bars, and up to 15 years, according to News. 

When given a chance to speak before her sentencing, an emotional Lajiness read from a statement, calling what happened ’the biggest regret of my life.’ She also said she caused her family ‘great pain’ and was tormented by the thought that she will not be able to provide for her children while serving her sentence. 'I fear the toll this will take on my family in my absence,' Lajiness stated, according to reporting by Fox 2 Detroit, 'These last few months have been excruciating to watch the emotional affects this had on everyone around me.'

The court also heard from the mother of the younger teen, who wrote in her victim impact statement that was read aloud on her behalf that her son is currently in therapy after suffering emotional and psychological damage as a result of Lajiness' conduct.

‘Your actions will affect my son and his relationships with others for the rest of his life,’ she said.

Prosecutors asked the judge to hand Lajiness the harshest punishment available under the state sentencing guidelines, calling her a 'predator.'

Assistant County Prosecutor John Vella said Lajiness' husband of 16 years, David, had written a letter to the judge suggesting that his wife's insomnia was to blame for her actions. ‘Nobody's putting the blame on where it deserves, which it was this defendant's actions that brought her here. It's this defendant that chose to have sex with minors,’ Vella said.

David Lajiness appeared in the courtroom to support his spouse during her sentencing on Monday.

Lajiness’ defense attorney told the judge that his client has been struggling with mental health problems, but an expert has found that she was not a sexual predator and if she receives help, she is unlikely to re-offend in the future.

Instead of the stiffer sentence of 98 months to 15 years requested by the prosecution, the judge decided to hand down the more lenient prison term of 57 months to 15 years, citing her psychological problems and lack of past criminal record.