The UK has one of the highest rates of death from heart disease in the world - one British adult dies from the disease every three minutes - and stroke is the country's third biggest killer, claiming 70,000 lives each year.
Heart attacks occur when blood flow is blocked, often by a blood clot, while strokes are caused either by blocked or burst blood vessels in the brain. A range of other conditions, including heart failure, when blood is not pumped properly around the body, and congenital heart defects can also cause long term problems, and even death, for sufferers.
Left atrium - The blood returns from the lungs to the upper left chamber of the heart where it is again briefly stored until the atrium fills, before flowing on to the left ventricle.Right atrium - “Impure” or “blue” blood returning from the atrium enters the heart here, where it is held until the atrium - or chamber - fills up.Left ventricle - This is the most powerful chamber of the heart. It pumps the newly oxygenated blood to the rest of the body through the aorta, or main artery.Right ventricle - This powerful pump propels blood into the pulmonary artery, the tube which carries blood to the lungs, where carbon dioxide in the blood is removed and oxygen added.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Former South Korea president leaps to death in ravine
South Korea was in a state of shock yesterday following the suicide of Roh Moo-hyun, its former president, who had been embroiled in a multi-million dollar corruption scandal.
Roh, 62, died from massive head injuries after leaping into a ravine while on a climbing trip near his home in Bongha village near the south-east coast, according to local media reports.
The former democracy activist, whose five-year term ended in February 2008, was said to have been under intense pressure amid allegations that he had accepted US$6m in bribes while in office.
Roh, who rose from an impoverished childhood to occupy the presidential Blue House, left a suicide note in which he hinted at ill health and talked of being unable to confront "countless agonies down the road".
The note, the text of which was released by the Yonhap news agency, said: "The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I can't do anything because I'm not healthy. I can't read books, nor can I write. Don't be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Don't be sorry. Don't blame anybody. It's fate. Please cremate me. And please leave a small tombstone near home. I've long thought about that."
Lee Myung-bak, the country's present leader, said Roh's death had left him "stricken with sorrow and deep sadness". He broke away from talks with Vaclav Claus, the Czech president, to instruct authorities to organise a state funeral.
Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, speculated that his "lifelong comrade in democracy" had been unable to bear the "intense pressure" caused by media reports about his family's alleged involvement in the scandal.
Roh had faced police questioning over allegations that he had taken the bribes from a wealthy shoemaker via his wife and other relatives. He admitted that his wife had accepted US$1m but insisted it was to settle a debt, not a bribe. He said that he believed that US$5m given to another relative was intended as a legitimate business investment.
Despite his denials, late last month Roh publicly apologised for the disruption caused by the reports. "I feel ashamed before my fellow citizens," he said, before being led away by prosecutors for questioning. "I am sorry for having disappointed you."
Local reports said that Roh had left home early yesterday to climb a nearby peak with a bodyguard and fell 20 to 30 metres after jumping from a cliff known as Owl Rock. He was taken to Busan University Hospital but pronounced dead at around 9.30am local time.
Despite the corruption charges, reports said Roh had been leading a quiet life and was often seen around the village, smoking cigarettes and drinking with locals.
Roh, a self-trained lawyer who defended students accused of sedition during South Korea's period of military rule, won a surprise victory in 2002 and took office the following year with promises to fight corruption and strengthen South Korea's fledgling democracy.
Critical of the Bush administration's foreign policy, Roh sought to improve ties with North Korea, and in 2007 signed a string of economic agreements with the secretive regime's leader, Kim Jong-il, at a rare inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang.
However, initial support for his "sunshine policy" of engagement - begun by his predecessor - and unconditional aid weakened towards the end of his presidency.
Roh, 62, died from massive head injuries after leaping into a ravine while on a climbing trip near his home in Bongha village near the south-east coast, according to local media reports.
The former democracy activist, whose five-year term ended in February 2008, was said to have been under intense pressure amid allegations that he had accepted US$6m in bribes while in office.
Roh, who rose from an impoverished childhood to occupy the presidential Blue House, left a suicide note in which he hinted at ill health and talked of being unable to confront "countless agonies down the road".
The note, the text of which was released by the Yonhap news agency, said: "The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I can't do anything because I'm not healthy. I can't read books, nor can I write. Don't be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Don't be sorry. Don't blame anybody. It's fate. Please cremate me. And please leave a small tombstone near home. I've long thought about that."
Lee Myung-bak, the country's present leader, said Roh's death had left him "stricken with sorrow and deep sadness". He broke away from talks with Vaclav Claus, the Czech president, to instruct authorities to organise a state funeral.
Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, speculated that his "lifelong comrade in democracy" had been unable to bear the "intense pressure" caused by media reports about his family's alleged involvement in the scandal.
Roh had faced police questioning over allegations that he had taken the bribes from a wealthy shoemaker via his wife and other relatives. He admitted that his wife had accepted US$1m but insisted it was to settle a debt, not a bribe. He said that he believed that US$5m given to another relative was intended as a legitimate business investment.
Despite his denials, late last month Roh publicly apologised for the disruption caused by the reports. "I feel ashamed before my fellow citizens," he said, before being led away by prosecutors for questioning. "I am sorry for having disappointed you."
Local reports said that Roh had left home early yesterday to climb a nearby peak with a bodyguard and fell 20 to 30 metres after jumping from a cliff known as Owl Rock. He was taken to Busan University Hospital but pronounced dead at around 9.30am local time.
Despite the corruption charges, reports said Roh had been leading a quiet life and was often seen around the village, smoking cigarettes and drinking with locals.
Roh, a self-trained lawyer who defended students accused of sedition during South Korea's period of military rule, won a surprise victory in 2002 and took office the following year with promises to fight corruption and strengthen South Korea's fledgling democracy.
Critical of the Bush administration's foreign policy, Roh sought to improve ties with North Korea, and in 2007 signed a string of economic agreements with the secretive regime's leader, Kim Jong-il, at a rare inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang.
However, initial support for his "sunshine policy" of engagement - begun by his predecessor - and unconditional aid weakened towards the end of his presidency.
New light on Down's cancer link
Scientists may have solved the mystery of why people with Down's syndrome seem to have a lower risk of some cancers.
The extra copy of chromosome 21 which causes Down's appears to contain a gene that protects from solid cancerous tumours, tests on mice suggest.
The gene seems to interfere with signals a tumour relies on to grow. The finding raises hope of new ways to prevent and treat cancer.
The study by the Children's Hospital of Boston appears in the journal Nature.
Humans usually have two copies of the 23 chromosomes that together contain all our genetic information, one from each parent.
Down's syndrome is a genetic disorder which results from the presence of an extra, third copy of chromosome 21.
It has been known for some time that individuals with Down's syndrome get certain types of cancer less often than those without the condition.
However, the reason why has been unclear.
The latest study showed that having an extra copy of one of the genes located on chromosome 21 - a gene called Dscr1 - is sufficient to slow cancer growth in mice.
The gene seems to work in combination with another gene also found on chromosome 21 to interfere with the signals a tumour relies upon to stimulate growth of its own blood vessels.
Without those vessels feeding the tumour with its own supply of blood it cannot thrive.
Inspiration
Writing in the journal, the researchers, led by Dr Sandra Ryeom, said: "It is, perhaps, inspiring that the Down's syndrome population provides us with new insight into mechanisms that regulate cancer growth and, by so doing, identifies potential targets for tumour prevention and therapy."
Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, a Cancer Research UK scientist at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "This finding raises several important questions about the roles of other chromosome 21 genes that might help regulate tumour growth.
"The next stage is to think about how we might be able to exploit this research to improve cancer treatments in the future."
Stuart Mills, of the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "We have known for some time that people with Down's syndrome have lower incidences of cancer, apart from leukaemia, than the rest of the population.
"This is one of the first studies to examine the reasons why, and we welcome its findings. We will be following further research with great interest."
The extra copy of chromosome 21 which causes Down's appears to contain a gene that protects from solid cancerous tumours, tests on mice suggest.
The gene seems to interfere with signals a tumour relies on to grow. The finding raises hope of new ways to prevent and treat cancer.
The study by the Children's Hospital of Boston appears in the journal Nature.
Humans usually have two copies of the 23 chromosomes that together contain all our genetic information, one from each parent.
Down's syndrome is a genetic disorder which results from the presence of an extra, third copy of chromosome 21.
It has been known for some time that individuals with Down's syndrome get certain types of cancer less often than those without the condition.
However, the reason why has been unclear.
The latest study showed that having an extra copy of one of the genes located on chromosome 21 - a gene called Dscr1 - is sufficient to slow cancer growth in mice.
The gene seems to work in combination with another gene also found on chromosome 21 to interfere with the signals a tumour relies upon to stimulate growth of its own blood vessels.
Without those vessels feeding the tumour with its own supply of blood it cannot thrive.
Inspiration
Writing in the journal, the researchers, led by Dr Sandra Ryeom, said: "It is, perhaps, inspiring that the Down's syndrome population provides us with new insight into mechanisms that regulate cancer growth and, by so doing, identifies potential targets for tumour prevention and therapy."
Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, a Cancer Research UK scientist at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "This finding raises several important questions about the roles of other chromosome 21 genes that might help regulate tumour growth.
"The next stage is to think about how we might be able to exploit this research to improve cancer treatments in the future."
Stuart Mills, of the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "We have known for some time that people with Down's syndrome have lower incidences of cancer, apart from leukaemia, than the rest of the population.
"This is one of the first studies to examine the reasons why, and we welcome its findings. We will be following further research with great interest."
UN chief flies into Sri Lanka as Tamils' tales of terror emerge
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday visited a mass displacement camp packed with Tamil civilians as he appealed to Sri Lanka's triumphant government to "heal the wounds" after three decades of civil war. As he surveyed the beleaguered and shell-shocked refugees held there and as the army searched for Tamil Tiger fighters among them, he would not have found time to talk to Sopika, aged 10.
Sopika is one of at least 250,000 Tamil civilians being held in Menik Farm in the north of the country. Barbed-wire fences encircle the endless rows of white tents, preventing civilians from getting out and journalists from getting in, as the government continues to prevent the stories of Sopika and thousands like her from being told.
Yesterday, Sri Lanka's health ministry announced that it is investigating three doctors detained by the military accused of giving false information about war zone casualties to the media. The physicians were among the few sources of information on those wounded and killed in the fighting, since most journalists were banned from the area.
But slowly the stories of ordinary Tamils are emerging. And Sopika's harrowing account of her recent ordeal, related via intermediaries, helps explain why the authorities are so keen to restrict the flow of information.
Her story is testimony to the brutality of both the Tamil Tiger fighters and the government during the final stages of a 26-year conflict, during which each side accused the other of acts of unspeakable cruelty. Both, it seems, were telling the truth and it is the Tamil civilians who paid the price.
Sopika was born on the island of Kayts, off the northern tip of Jaffna. Until eight months ago, she and her older brother and younger sister lived with their parents in a village overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Then they left to visit the town of Madhu on the mainland. As the government unleashed its military offensive against the Tigers, their route home was shut off. Desperate to escape the shelling, they were driven ahead of the advancing government forces, further into LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) territory, moving from place to place, dodging air strikes and artillery.
Human rights groups and international officials have accused the government of heavily shelling areas densely populated with civilians in the last weeks of the war. The government has denied using heavy weapons. But by the time the family reached Mullaitivu, Sopika said she found the noise of the jets and artillery overwhelming. Her parents decided they had to make a break for it. It was 2am when they set off with several other families.
"As we were walking, the Tigers started to fire and the young boy walking in front of me got shot," she said. "My face and clothes were splattered with the blood of this boy. He died.
"We turned back because we were afraid of more death," she said.
Sopika said she remembered the moment when a sniper's bullet killed a relative sitting close by.
"I saw the bullets hit her head... half her face fell off," she said.
The family decided to try again to escape. This time they headed for the shore, again setting out at 2am, hoping that the darkness would provide them with cover from the guns of the Tamil Tigers and the government forces.
"We were walking in between the shooting from both sides, and we realised that we could be seen in the moonlight," she said.
In front of her, a 12-year-old boy and his mother were caught in the crossfire, collapsing dead on the ground. "We missed death by a few feet," she said. They turned back again.
The next day, there was no food, so the children went to bed hungry. They awoke again at 2am, and joined another family walking towards the shore.
"We started to walk a long way... no, really we started to run, we were scared we would get caught by the LTTE, we would get beaten," she said.
Dodging the bullets, they pushed on through shrubs and thorn bushes. "There was no road or path, there was a lot of mud and ditches," she said. "Once I fell over a dead body."
Nearing the shore of the lagoon, they started to crawl on their bellies across the sand, terrified of being caught by the Tigers. Entering the water, Sopaki found the waves crashing down on her head. She could not swim; she had never learnt.
"I was terrified because the water was up to my neck," she said. "I could barely stand as the current kept pulling me down. The navy's searchlights kept beaming into the water. I cried out 'Appa Appa' [father, father] when I fell into a trough. I nearly drowned. During the entire journey, we just wanted to run, but we couldn't."
Finally emerging from the water, they could see the army ahead of them. "We were told to lie down. They wanted to search us," she said. The soldiers gave them biscuits, dates and water and put them on a bus. "People were shouting and crying because many of them had lost their relative during the search operation," she said. Sopaki was also crying because her father and brother were missing, but the next day they were reunited.
The family arrived at Menik Farm eight days ago, just as the fighting reached a climax. Two days later, the government announced that the war was over. But their ordeal is not.
Conditions inside the camps are squalid: food and water are in desperately short supply and even the government admits the toilets are inadequate.
Others imprisoned behind the wire have their own tales of hardship and horror. According to private UN documents, at least 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of fighting in the war. The Red Cross says it evacuated 13,769 sick and wounded people and their relatives from the war zone.
"It is a great relief that the war is over, but peace has come at a very high price, with thousands of civilians killed, including large numbers of children," said James Elder, the Unicef spokesman in Sri Lanka. "There is no end to the gut-wrenching stories of death and destruction that scar these children."
Sopika is one of at least 250,000 Tamil civilians being held in Menik Farm in the north of the country. Barbed-wire fences encircle the endless rows of white tents, preventing civilians from getting out and journalists from getting in, as the government continues to prevent the stories of Sopika and thousands like her from being told.
Yesterday, Sri Lanka's health ministry announced that it is investigating three doctors detained by the military accused of giving false information about war zone casualties to the media. The physicians were among the few sources of information on those wounded and killed in the fighting, since most journalists were banned from the area.
But slowly the stories of ordinary Tamils are emerging. And Sopika's harrowing account of her recent ordeal, related via intermediaries, helps explain why the authorities are so keen to restrict the flow of information.
Her story is testimony to the brutality of both the Tamil Tiger fighters and the government during the final stages of a 26-year conflict, during which each side accused the other of acts of unspeakable cruelty. Both, it seems, were telling the truth and it is the Tamil civilians who paid the price.
Sopika was born on the island of Kayts, off the northern tip of Jaffna. Until eight months ago, she and her older brother and younger sister lived with their parents in a village overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Then they left to visit the town of Madhu on the mainland. As the government unleashed its military offensive against the Tigers, their route home was shut off. Desperate to escape the shelling, they were driven ahead of the advancing government forces, further into LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) territory, moving from place to place, dodging air strikes and artillery.
Human rights groups and international officials have accused the government of heavily shelling areas densely populated with civilians in the last weeks of the war. The government has denied using heavy weapons. But by the time the family reached Mullaitivu, Sopika said she found the noise of the jets and artillery overwhelming. Her parents decided they had to make a break for it. It was 2am when they set off with several other families.
"As we were walking, the Tigers started to fire and the young boy walking in front of me got shot," she said. "My face and clothes were splattered with the blood of this boy. He died.
"We turned back because we were afraid of more death," she said.
Sopika said she remembered the moment when a sniper's bullet killed a relative sitting close by.
"I saw the bullets hit her head... half her face fell off," she said.
The family decided to try again to escape. This time they headed for the shore, again setting out at 2am, hoping that the darkness would provide them with cover from the guns of the Tamil Tigers and the government forces.
"We were walking in between the shooting from both sides, and we realised that we could be seen in the moonlight," she said.
In front of her, a 12-year-old boy and his mother were caught in the crossfire, collapsing dead on the ground. "We missed death by a few feet," she said. They turned back again.
The next day, there was no food, so the children went to bed hungry. They awoke again at 2am, and joined another family walking towards the shore.
"We started to walk a long way... no, really we started to run, we were scared we would get caught by the LTTE, we would get beaten," she said.
Dodging the bullets, they pushed on through shrubs and thorn bushes. "There was no road or path, there was a lot of mud and ditches," she said. "Once I fell over a dead body."
Nearing the shore of the lagoon, they started to crawl on their bellies across the sand, terrified of being caught by the Tigers. Entering the water, Sopaki found the waves crashing down on her head. She could not swim; she had never learnt.
"I was terrified because the water was up to my neck," she said. "I could barely stand as the current kept pulling me down. The navy's searchlights kept beaming into the water. I cried out 'Appa Appa' [father, father] when I fell into a trough. I nearly drowned. During the entire journey, we just wanted to run, but we couldn't."
Finally emerging from the water, they could see the army ahead of them. "We were told to lie down. They wanted to search us," she said. The soldiers gave them biscuits, dates and water and put them on a bus. "People were shouting and crying because many of them had lost their relative during the search operation," she said. Sopaki was also crying because her father and brother were missing, but the next day they were reunited.
The family arrived at Menik Farm eight days ago, just as the fighting reached a climax. Two days later, the government announced that the war was over. But their ordeal is not.
Conditions inside the camps are squalid: food and water are in desperately short supply and even the government admits the toilets are inadequate.
Others imprisoned behind the wire have their own tales of hardship and horror. According to private UN documents, at least 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of fighting in the war. The Red Cross says it evacuated 13,769 sick and wounded people and their relatives from the war zone.
"It is a great relief that the war is over, but peace has come at a very high price, with thousands of civilians killed, including large numbers of children," said James Elder, the Unicef spokesman in Sri Lanka. "There is no end to the gut-wrenching stories of death and destruction that scar these children."
Iran 'blocks access to Facebook'
Iran's government has blocked access to social networking site Facebook ahead of June's presidential elections, according to Iran's ILNA news agency.
ILNA suggested the move was aimed at stopping supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi from using the site for his campaign.
Facebook, which claims to have 175m users worldwide, expressed its disappointment over the reported ban.
So far there has been no comment from the authorities in Tehran.
'Access not possible'
"Access to the Facebook site was prohibited several days ahead of the presidential elections," ILNA reported
It said that "according to certain Internet surfers, the site was banned because supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi were using Facebook to better disseminate the candidate's positions".
CNN staff in Tehran reported that people attempting to visit the site received a message in Farsi that said: "Access to this site is not possible."
Facebook expressed disappointment that its site was apparently blocked in Iran "at a time when voters are turning to the Internet as a source of information about election candidates and their positions".
Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, is seen as one of the leading challengers to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 12 June elections.
His page on Facebook has more than 5,000 supporters
ILNA suggested the move was aimed at stopping supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi from using the site for his campaign.
Facebook, which claims to have 175m users worldwide, expressed its disappointment over the reported ban.
So far there has been no comment from the authorities in Tehran.
'Access not possible'
"Access to the Facebook site was prohibited several days ahead of the presidential elections," ILNA reported
It said that "according to certain Internet surfers, the site was banned because supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi were using Facebook to better disseminate the candidate's positions".
CNN staff in Tehran reported that people attempting to visit the site received a message in Farsi that said: "Access to this site is not possible."
Facebook expressed disappointment that its site was apparently blocked in Iran "at a time when voters are turning to the Internet as a source of information about election candidates and their positions".
Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, is seen as one of the leading challengers to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 12 June elections.
His page on Facebook has more than 5,000 supporters
David Cameron forces MP out as grassroots anger mounts
David Cameron displayed his ruthless streak yesterday when Andrew MacKay, his former adviser who has been heavily criticised over his expenses, announced that he was to stand down as an MP at the general election.
The end of MacKay's 26-year parliamentary career followed a private conversation with Cameron. His decision to go was seen as evidence of the Tory leader's "zero tolerance" approach to misdemeanours within the party.
The announcement from MacKay - who bowed to intense public anger in his Bracknell constituency - stoked a sense of crisis and nervousness at Westminster ahead of the 4 June local and European elections. The three main parties fear they could be severely punished as voters desert to smaller parties untainted by the expenses scandal.
While sources insisted it was purely MacKay's decision, he quit only after a phone call from the leader during which they discussed a stormy meeting between the 59-year-old MP and his constituents on Friday night at which the politician was accused of committing fraud and letting down his constituents.
The spotlight will now inevitably turn on MacKay's wife, 48-year-old Julie Kirkbride, the Tory MP for Bromsgrove. Shoppers queued in Bromsgrove town centre yesterday to sign a petition calling for her to resign. In a statement yesterday, her husband insisted his decision was not taken as a result of Friday night's meeting, but added: "I believe I could be a distraction at a time when [David Cameron] is working to get elected as prime minister with the good working majority necessary to take the tough decisions to turn this country around.
"I would never forgive myself if my candidature distracted voters from the key issues, particularly David's rousing call for change. I understand why people are angry. I hope my decision to step down goes some way to showing my constituents how sorry I am."
The departure, marking Cameron's
first loss from his inner circle, came after two weeks in which Labour had appeared more damaged than the Conservatives by the stream of revelations in the Daily Telegraph. The MP for Bracknell had pledged to put himself up for reselection in an attempt to appease constituents and had insisted that he "owed it" to people to continue.
Local party members said they were not satisfied with his explanations, with one describing him as a "dead duck".
MacKay's expenses claims came to light as a result of checks by Tory officials ahead of publication in the Daily Telegraph. Paperwork showed that while he claimed the couple's London home, for which both were named on the mortgage, as his second home, he did not appear to have a main home of his own since he did not have a house in Bracknell. MPs with only one home are not entitled to a second home allowance.
Tory officials have defended Kirkbride on the grounds that she did have homes in both London and Bromsgrove and was therefore entitled to allowances. But she has also faced an angry response from constituents, with a brick being thrown through the windows of her constituency office.
Last night, as cabinet ministers, including the health secretary, Alan Johnson, made clear that sweeping constitutional reform, encompassing a switch to a new proportional representation voting system for Westminster, might be the only way to restore faith in politicians, Kirkbride came under further pressure as the News of the World reported that her brother, Ian Kirkbride, had lived at the couple's Worcestershire home since 2004.
Kirkbride rushed out a statement saying that her brother spent time at both of their homes but insisted she had nothing to apologise for. "My brother Ian stays in my Bromsgrove apartment and in my London home from time to time to help look after my son," she said. "I claim no expenses for my brother and neither do I pay him or claim for his help. He also acts as a volunteer in helping me with office work and administration."
Claims that he had been living there "rent-free" at taxpayers' expense were a "total distortion," she said.
With dozens of MPs across all parties now said to be considering stepping down, former cabinet minister Ian McCartney announced he would quit at the next election. Colleagues said although he was not regarded as having been a particularly excessive claimant, he had suffered a furious backlash from constituents in Makerfield over his published expenses. He had already offered to pay back around £15,000 after purchasing items including champagne flutes and an 18-piece dinner set.
McCartney, who has undergone heart surgery, said he was quitting because of ill health, adding that he had been urged to retire by his family. McCartney, who is close to former deputy leader John Prescott, was for many years regarded as an invaluable and trusted bridge between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Another former cabinet minister said there was likely to be a wave of retirements among MPs too depressed by the expenses scandal to stay: "Emotions are running very high and there are a lot of surprising people saying, 'I've had enough, I'm getting out'."
Last night the Sunday Telegraph placed senior Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce in the spotlight, saying he claimed for thousands of pounds towards the running of both his London flat and his constituency home, where his wife worked for him. Normally MPs can only claim expenses for their second homes.
He was one of 200 MPs, the newspaper said, who had been able to claim money for a main home, in addition to their second home, because their spouses worked there on parliamentary business.
The paper said that Derek Conway, the MP expelled last year from the Tory party over payments to his two sons, was able to claim for office expenses at a family home in Morpeth, Northumberland, as well as mortgage interest on his designated second home in London, although the Morpeth house is more than 300 miles from his Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency.
Labour minister Quentin Davies is said to have claimed more than £10,000 to repair window frames at an 18th-century mansion in Lincolnshire designated as his second home.
The end of MacKay's 26-year parliamentary career followed a private conversation with Cameron. His decision to go was seen as evidence of the Tory leader's "zero tolerance" approach to misdemeanours within the party.
The announcement from MacKay - who bowed to intense public anger in his Bracknell constituency - stoked a sense of crisis and nervousness at Westminster ahead of the 4 June local and European elections. The three main parties fear they could be severely punished as voters desert to smaller parties untainted by the expenses scandal.
While sources insisted it was purely MacKay's decision, he quit only after a phone call from the leader during which they discussed a stormy meeting between the 59-year-old MP and his constituents on Friday night at which the politician was accused of committing fraud and letting down his constituents.
The spotlight will now inevitably turn on MacKay's wife, 48-year-old Julie Kirkbride, the Tory MP for Bromsgrove. Shoppers queued in Bromsgrove town centre yesterday to sign a petition calling for her to resign. In a statement yesterday, her husband insisted his decision was not taken as a result of Friday night's meeting, but added: "I believe I could be a distraction at a time when [David Cameron] is working to get elected as prime minister with the good working majority necessary to take the tough decisions to turn this country around.
"I would never forgive myself if my candidature distracted voters from the key issues, particularly David's rousing call for change. I understand why people are angry. I hope my decision to step down goes some way to showing my constituents how sorry I am."
The departure, marking Cameron's
first loss from his inner circle, came after two weeks in which Labour had appeared more damaged than the Conservatives by the stream of revelations in the Daily Telegraph. The MP for Bracknell had pledged to put himself up for reselection in an attempt to appease constituents and had insisted that he "owed it" to people to continue.
Local party members said they were not satisfied with his explanations, with one describing him as a "dead duck".
MacKay's expenses claims came to light as a result of checks by Tory officials ahead of publication in the Daily Telegraph. Paperwork showed that while he claimed the couple's London home, for which both were named on the mortgage, as his second home, he did not appear to have a main home of his own since he did not have a house in Bracknell. MPs with only one home are not entitled to a second home allowance.
Tory officials have defended Kirkbride on the grounds that she did have homes in both London and Bromsgrove and was therefore entitled to allowances. But she has also faced an angry response from constituents, with a brick being thrown through the windows of her constituency office.
Last night, as cabinet ministers, including the health secretary, Alan Johnson, made clear that sweeping constitutional reform, encompassing a switch to a new proportional representation voting system for Westminster, might be the only way to restore faith in politicians, Kirkbride came under further pressure as the News of the World reported that her brother, Ian Kirkbride, had lived at the couple's Worcestershire home since 2004.
Kirkbride rushed out a statement saying that her brother spent time at both of their homes but insisted she had nothing to apologise for. "My brother Ian stays in my Bromsgrove apartment and in my London home from time to time to help look after my son," she said. "I claim no expenses for my brother and neither do I pay him or claim for his help. He also acts as a volunteer in helping me with office work and administration."
Claims that he had been living there "rent-free" at taxpayers' expense were a "total distortion," she said.
With dozens of MPs across all parties now said to be considering stepping down, former cabinet minister Ian McCartney announced he would quit at the next election. Colleagues said although he was not regarded as having been a particularly excessive claimant, he had suffered a furious backlash from constituents in Makerfield over his published expenses. He had already offered to pay back around £15,000 after purchasing items including champagne flutes and an 18-piece dinner set.
McCartney, who has undergone heart surgery, said he was quitting because of ill health, adding that he had been urged to retire by his family. McCartney, who is close to former deputy leader John Prescott, was for many years regarded as an invaluable and trusted bridge between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Another former cabinet minister said there was likely to be a wave of retirements among MPs too depressed by the expenses scandal to stay: "Emotions are running very high and there are a lot of surprising people saying, 'I've had enough, I'm getting out'."
Last night the Sunday Telegraph placed senior Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce in the spotlight, saying he claimed for thousands of pounds towards the running of both his London flat and his constituency home, where his wife worked for him. Normally MPs can only claim expenses for their second homes.
He was one of 200 MPs, the newspaper said, who had been able to claim money for a main home, in addition to their second home, because their spouses worked there on parliamentary business.
The paper said that Derek Conway, the MP expelled last year from the Tory party over payments to his two sons, was able to claim for office expenses at a family home in Morpeth, Northumberland, as well as mortgage interest on his designated second home in London, although the Morpeth house is more than 300 miles from his Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency.
Labour minister Quentin Davies is said to have claimed more than £10,000 to repair window frames at an 18th-century mansion in Lincolnshire designated as his second home.
Pakistan army 'in Taliban city'
Fierce fighting is taking place between Pakistani troops and Taliban militants in Mingora, the main city in the militant-controlled Swat valley.
At least 17 militants have been killed in the clashes, the army says. The Taliban deny the deaths.
The push into Mingora is seen as a key phase of an offensive aimed at crushing the militants, whose influence extends across a wide area of the north-west.
The fighting began after a peace deal broke down earlier this month.
"Street fights have begun," Maj Gen Athar Abbas told reporters
He said soldiers had cleared parts of the city, but added that the pace of the offensive was "painfully slow".
"This is an extremely difficult, extremely dangerous operation, because clearance has to be done street by street, house by house."
The military says the city is surrounded, most of the militants' ammunition dumps are destroyed and their supply routes cut off.
The BBC's Shoaib Hassan, in Islamabad, says it is the most important battle yet in the army's offensive against the Taliban in Swat.
A swift victory would bolster public support for a greater fight against the militants, our correspondent adds.
Exodus
A Taliban spokesman confirmed that the military had entered Mingora, but denied that any militants had been killed.
The spokesman also said the Taliban would fight the security forces to their last breath.
Residents say the militants are still in control of the city.
Nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced by this month's fighting in the north-western region, and about two million since last August, the United Nations refugee agency says.
One resident who fled the Mingora area told the BBC that he was among many who had lost everything.
"Our homes were destroyed - we left behind our cattle and our properties," he said. "We walked all the way and had to walk for two days on the mountains."
On Friday, the UN appealed for $543m in humanitarian aid to help those displaced by the conflict.
Pakistan's army began an offensive against the Taliban on 2 May after the peace deal broke down and the militants began expanding their area of influence.
A recent investigation by the BBC suggested that less than half of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which contains Swat Valley, and the neighbouring Federally Administered Tribal Areas is under full government control.
In Swat, the army says that about 15,000 members of the security forces are fighting between 4,000 and 5,000 militants.
It says more than 1,000 militants and more than 50 soldiers have been killed since the offensive began.
At least 17 militants have been killed in the clashes, the army says. The Taliban deny the deaths.
The push into Mingora is seen as a key phase of an offensive aimed at crushing the militants, whose influence extends across a wide area of the north-west.
The fighting began after a peace deal broke down earlier this month.
"Street fights have begun," Maj Gen Athar Abbas told reporters
He said soldiers had cleared parts of the city, but added that the pace of the offensive was "painfully slow".
"This is an extremely difficult, extremely dangerous operation, because clearance has to be done street by street, house by house."
The military says the city is surrounded, most of the militants' ammunition dumps are destroyed and their supply routes cut off.
The BBC's Shoaib Hassan, in Islamabad, says it is the most important battle yet in the army's offensive against the Taliban in Swat.
A swift victory would bolster public support for a greater fight against the militants, our correspondent adds.
Exodus
A Taliban spokesman confirmed that the military had entered Mingora, but denied that any militants had been killed.
The spokesman also said the Taliban would fight the security forces to their last breath.
Residents say the militants are still in control of the city.
Nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced by this month's fighting in the north-western region, and about two million since last August, the United Nations refugee agency says.
One resident who fled the Mingora area told the BBC that he was among many who had lost everything.
"Our homes were destroyed - we left behind our cattle and our properties," he said. "We walked all the way and had to walk for two days on the mountains."
On Friday, the UN appealed for $543m in humanitarian aid to help those displaced by the conflict.
Pakistan's army began an offensive against the Taliban on 2 May after the peace deal broke down and the militants began expanding their area of influence.
A recent investigation by the BBC suggested that less than half of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which contains Swat Valley, and the neighbouring Federally Administered Tribal Areas is under full government control.
In Swat, the army says that about 15,000 members of the security forces are fighting between 4,000 and 5,000 militants.
It says more than 1,000 militants and more than 50 soldiers have been killed since the offensive began.
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