Stuart Walker's death leaves town of Cumnock in shock

Simply mentioning Stuart Walker in the Royal hotel in Cumnock, where he used to work, reduces some staff to tears. It's the same at the bar next door: drop his name into conversation with the barmaid and her eyes fill, she ducks her head, mumbles an apology and runs into the back room. At the local hairdressers, all chatter ceases when the name of the young barman is brought up. In the chip shop across the cobbled square, people stop eating and silently push their food around their plates.

The small community of Cumnock, in East Ayrshire, is in shock after the horrific murder of 28-year-old Walker last Saturday. The details of the killing are, Strathclyde police say, too disturbing to describe in detail.

They cannot rule out that a weapon was used in the attack, that a gang was responsible, or that Walker was tortured before he was killed. It is enough, they say, to describe the murder as "horrific" and the attack "extremely violent and sustained".

Four days after the scorched, battered and half-naked body was found on an open patch of land 10 minutes' walk from the town centre, it is the only topic on people's minds. In queues at the supermarket, outside the kebab shop and in any of the half-dozen pubs in the town, small groups of people linger with heads bowed, talking only about the murder.

Slowly, however, as the shock recedes, other emotions are emerging. At the forefront is anger. Anger that, in a town that has had more than its fair share of difficulties and hardships – the pit closures of the last century leading to a high level of poverty and unemployment – anyone could do this on their doorstep, to one of their own.

It was early on Saturday, at 4.50am, that Walker's body was discovered by two members of the public on a grass verge overlooked by the Netherthird estate, where he is said to have attended at least one house party.

Lying between industrial units, a public car park and a local college, the area is dark and deserted at that time of night, notorious only as a favourite place for teenagers to race their cars. Now the grass is hidden beneath a confusion of bouquets, flags, soft toys and messages wrapped in plastic bags to protect them from the Scottish weather.

At night, someone comes out to light a dozen candles in vases. Dog walkers who pass kneel in the damp and darkness to relight the flames that have blown out.

One of the many aspects that haunt the community is the openness with which the murder was carried out. "OK, it happened late at night but that street corner is completely exposed. You can see it from half a mile away.

"Anyone out with their dog, like me tonight, could have walked by and seen what was going on," said one local resident, who asked not to be named. "What the hell is going on in this town? Why did this happen?"

The most prominent theory as to why Walker was murdered is that it was a homophobic crime. Police have been at pains to calm suspicions that Walker's open homosexuality was a motive for the attack with detectives emphasising that they are keeping an open mind. Walker's background is not, they say, "forming part of the police inquiry".

But, they add, "we do not believe that this was a random attack and do not anticipate a recurrence of this type of attack".

Nevertheless, the suggestion that the murder was linked to Walker's sexuality triggered a frenzy among the wider Scottish gay and lesbian community. "There was a real sense of panic across Scotland, it was quite frantic," said Colin Macfarlane, of Stonewall in Edinburgh. "Twitter and Facebook were blazing with people discussing their fears."

In Cumnock, however, the suggestion that Walker was killed because of his sexuality triggers fury. "It's disgusting. It's absolutely shocking to realise such a thing can happen here – and if it turns out to be linked to him being gay, then I'll go absolutely mad. We can't still be having that sort of thing happening, not here, not in Cumnock, not in this day and age," said Emma Smith, a friend of Walker.

One thing that is quickly obvious about Cumnock is its tolerance. The Glasgow-based Herald newspaper recently reported a fivefold rise in homophobic crime in Scotland in the past five years, but that didn't take into account legislation, enacted last year, requiring police to treat hate crimes against LGBT people in the same way as hate crimes against race and religion.

In fact, says Macfarlane, most research shows Scotland is making massive leaps towards tolerance. The most recent Scottish social attitudes survey showed 61% of Scots supported equal marriages.

"It was a landmark moment," he said. "Most people in Scotland want to live in a tolerant, forward-thinking country." But he added: "Stonewall is still here and we're still very busy, so it can't be denied there is still an awful lot of work still to do to bring that about."

According a range of gay people living in Cumnock, there is no sense of a dark, homophobic underbelly in the once prosperous mining town.

Although reluctant to be named, not one gay person interviewed for this piece could remember having been bullied or targeted because of their sexuality.

One openly gay man talked of walking into a working man's pub recently on his own, and being accepted without hesitation by the community of drinkers inside. Others talked of how there had never been any need to form any sort of "gay community" or favour certain pubs or areas of town, because there had never been a feeling they were considered different or singled out.

They fear that will now change. "Cumnock has always been a place where people accept life and accept each other," said one lesbian woman, who preferred to remain anonymous. "It's not necessarily a positive thing: they don't sit around and moan about deprivation or the fact their children are unemployed, they just accept it. It's the same with accepting each other: there's really no racism or homophobia here. People don't seem to judge each other: they just get on with life."

There is a dignity to those living in the town. Refusing to gossip about Walker or his death, they also refuse to speculate about the murder – or murderers.

"Obviously we want the murderer – or murderers to be found – and I think there's so much anger in town that if anyone knew who it was, they'd either tell the police or tell someone who would go to the police – but a witch-hunt of local people? That's not right," said a local hairdresser.

Adam Ingram, the local MSP, is also sceptical that the murder is linked to homophobia.

"We're all Jock Tamson's bairns," he said, using a well-known Scottish phrase meaning "we're all the same". "In an old mining town there is an ingrained sense that you look out for each other, no matter what your differences – because every family has its differences. I've been struck by how tolerant Cumnock is but don't forget: this is Keir Hardie's stamping ground. We're socialist and working-class. We stick together."

One of the many reasons Walker's murder has hit the community so badly is because, said Ingram, it was beginning to hope its fortunes had finally turned.

Cumnock is a poor area: 23% of the population are officially judged to be "deprived", compared to a Scottish national average of 14%. Almost 12% of 16- to 24-year-olds claim jobseeker's allowance, compared to the Scottish average of almost 6%. The overall proportion claiming key benefits is 21.8%, against a national average of 13%.

Thanks to Prince Charles, however, Cumnock has recently become a byword for regeneration and a wellspring of employment. Known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, the prince recently saved the Scottish stately home of Dumfries House, near Cumnock, in a deal worth ￡45m. In doing so, he created more than 100 jobs in the town, which has a population of just 13,000.

Now that the prince's charitable foundation has restored the house's furniture, textiles and paintwork, attention has turned to creating a sustainable working farm to secure income. There are plans to open a training centre for traditional craft and hospitality skills. The foundation stone for a 77-acre model village, Knockroon – effectively an extension to Cumnock – was laid this summer.

Stately home or not, Emma Smith will defend Cumnock to the last: "I like living here. Everyone knows each other and their business. There are good people here. Great people, actually."

Walker, who had recently moved away to start a new job in Kilmarnock, was still fond enough of his home town – where his large family still live – to come back frequently to visit friends and, as on the night he died, to go to parties.

A memorial gathering on Sunday attracted at least 200 people, with Chinese lanterns floating up into the sky. Smith said this was typical of the area. "Everyone feels the same. The sense of utter revulsion we all feel over Stuart's murder has bought us together, even tighter than we were before."

Police spy tricked lover with activist 'cover story'

A former police spymaster who spent years living deep undercover in the protest movement has confessed he tricked an innocent woman into having a long-term relationship with him, as part of an elaborate attempt to lend "credibility" to his alter ego.

Bob Lambert, who adopted a false identity to infiltrate leftwing and animal rights groups, said he had the 18-month relationship with the woman, who was not herself involved in political activism, as part of his cover story.

The Guardian has detailed the cases of seven undercover police officers known to have infiltrated protest movements, mostly in the past decade. Of those, five have had sexual relationships with women who were oblivious to their real identities.

Lambert, who became an academic after a 26-year career in the special branch of the Metropolitan police, made the admission after the Guardian contacted him about their relationship.

In a statement, he offered an "unreserved apology" to the woman, who does not want her identity to be revealed, and said he was also sorry for deceiving "law-abiding members of London Greenpeace," a peaceful protest group.

His former partner, who recently discovered the long-haired political activist she had the relationship with in the 1980s was actually an undercover police officer, said she felt "violated" by the experience.

"I was cruelly tricked and it has made me very angry," the woman said. "I am actually quite damaged by the whole thing. I am still not over it."

Police chiefs have claimed that officers who spy on protesters are not permitted "under any circumstances" to sleep with activists. But police spies are known to have been having relationships with activists as recently as last year, as part of a secret police operation to monitor political activists that has been in place since the late 1960s.

In most cases, the police officers developed long-term relationships and their subsequent disappearance left women feeling traumatised and angry.

They include Mark Kennedy, who spent seven years living undercover in Nottingham as environmental campaigner "Mark Stone".

Another undercover police officer, Peter Black, said sex was a widely used "tool" to gain the trust of activists when he was deployed in the 1990s.

The woman duped by Lambert said their relationship came to an end more than 20 years ago after the man she knew as "Bob Robinson" vanished from her life, claiming to be in hiding from special branch. Lambert was, in fact, a special branch detective and would go on to rise through the ranks of the covert unit to a position in which he managed the deployments of several other spies.

Lambert is currently subject to a Metropolitan police review into whether he was prosecuted in a court using his false identity. The force is considering whether to refer his case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

On Friday, the Met referred the case of another undercover officer, Jim Boyling, to the IPCC, after evidence emerged that he posed as a defendant using his false identity in another court case.

After living undercover himself, Lambert went on to manage Boyling, who infiltrated environmental campaign groups and ended up marrying an activist he was sent to spy on and fathering two children with her.

Lambert and Boyling later worked for the Met's Muslim contact unit, which was created to improve relations with Muslims after the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Now an outspoken critic of the government's counter-terrorism strategy, Lambert has strongly denied the suggestion that the unit he set up was involved in surveillance of the Muslim community.

Lambert said his undercover role in the 1980s was part of a secret infiltration of the Animal Liberation Front, which was involved in a fire-bombing campaign at the time.

"As part of my cover story, so as to gain the necessary credibility to become involved in serious crime, I first built a reputation as a committed member of London Greenpeace, a peaceful campaigning group," he said in a statement to fellow anti-Islamophobia campaigners at the Spinwatch transparency campaign.

"I apologise unreservedly for the deception I therefore practiced on law abiding members of London Greenpeace.

"I also apologise unreservedly for forming false friendships with law abiding citizens and in particular forming a long-term relationship with [the woman] who had every reason to think I was a committed animal rights activist and a genuine London Greenpeace campaigner."

It is not clear why Lambert chose the woman as part of his cover story.

He added: "I should point out here that the vast majority of Met special branch undercover officers never made the mistakes I made, have no need to apologise for anything, and I deeply regret having tarnished their illustrious, professional reputation."

Lambert could be questioned by officials from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, which is conducting a review into undercover policing of protest.

The review – one of nine disciplinary and judicial inquiries into the controversy in undercover policing – was initially conducted by Bernard Hogan-Howe before he took his post as Met commissioner.

The planned publication of his report, which had been expected to reject calls for more robust oversight of the use of undercover police officers, was abandoned on Wednesday, hours after the Guardian and BBC Newsnight revealed evidence undercover officers may have been lying in court.

The 'Battle of Basildon' begins: Riot police arrive at travellers' site as bailiffs prepare to begin Dale Farm eviction

Police in full riot gear arrived at Dale Farm travellers' site in Essex today to evict dozens of families living there illegally.
Wearing helmets and clutching shields, the officers turned up at the site as dawn broke, ready to tackle the travellers who last night said 'this time it's war - bring it on'.
As the officers arrived a warning klaxon was sounded three times to notify travellers and their supporters on the site that the authorities had arrived.

One activist, who was preparing to lock herself to a wrecked car forming part of the barricade inside Dale Farm, said this morning that she expected police and bailiffs to enter the site 'any way they can'.
'The fact that police and bailiffs are being paid millions of pounds to tear families out of their homes is a disgrace,' she said.
The campsite was in lockdown today as hundreds of bailiffs finally prepared to clear the site after they lost their battle to stay on the site.
Last minute work to reinforce the barricades behind the main gate at the site in Essex was carried out yesterday.
Yesterday two cars and a former Russian military vehicle were parked behind the gate. Piles of wood and bricks were piled up at key points as the complex was secured.
Despite the potential for ugly confrontations, sources at Basildon Council were quietly confident their ￡8 million operation - ￡18 million if the police presence is included – was better placed to succeed than on September 19 when the emergency injunction was approved.
Dozens of activists have returned to the site in the hope of taking part in the 'Battle of Basildon'. One shouted: 'This time it’s war - bring it on.'
Protesters have sent out emails and text messages to sympathetic friends in an attempt to increase their numbers.
But the number of supporters inside the site has fallen from more than 100 a month ago, when the council was first expected to begin the clearance, to less than 50 now. A similar number of travellers remain in their homes.
Residents on the site are expecting bailiffs to arrive sometime after 8am today after a final farcical attempt in the Court of Appeal to stop them moving in failed.
Dozens of bailiffs arrived at a compound neighbouring the site for last minute preparations. Two diggers and a crane were on standby.
At a nearby police compound, van loads of officers had been arriving throughout the day.

At the earlier meeting, the council said it had only intended to discuss health and safety, not to negotiate.
Campaigner Gratton Puxon said: 'We raised health concerns about a number of residents, including one who needed medical attention last night.
'We also tried to discuss how elderly travellers will be able to access legal homes, which will stay, if roads and hard standings are destroyed. As things stand the council will not budge and can move in at any time and there is no hope of a resolution."
Tony Ball, leader of Basildon Council, said: 'We now believe that those who want to leave peacefully have already done so and those who are left have made it clear that they have no intention of co-operating with the council.
'Resistance and violence as some are now suggesting will be in nobody's interest - especially not the travellers or their families. We now must get on with the difficult job of clearing Dale Farm in as safe and dignified a manner as possible - and that is what we will now do.'
The clearance of 54 unauthorised plots, home to about 80 families, follows a decade-long row over the development of the green belt site.
Last week the travellers lost a High Court bid to stop the eviction and on Monday they were refused the chance to appeal against the ruling.

Len Gridley, 52, who has spent a decade fighting for the travellers to be evicted from land at the bottom of his garden, said he was cautiously optimistic that the clearance would start soon. ‘I think they might actually have reached a point where it could happen but until I have waved goodbye to that last caravan I will never be sure,’ he said.
‘We have been at this point already before and then the travellers have another trick up their sleeve so we shall see.’
Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy added: 'The lawyers say this is the end. We'll have to fight the bailiffs off. We're already in lockdown.'

Hundreds of bailiffs plan to start bulldozing Dale Farm tomorrow, after the travellers finally lost their court battle to stay on the illegal site.
A Court of Appeal judge yesterday put an end to their farcical attempts to stop their eviction, following years of protracted legal wrangling.
Bailiffs and police officers will begin moving into key positions next to Europe's largest illegal traveller site today.
A source close to the ￡22million operation said officials will attempt to gauge the strength

of the opposition on Tuesday before forcing their way through the barricades on Wednesday.
Last night menacing anarchists living on the site in Crays Hill, Essex, went into 'lockdown' to stop bailiffs entering.
The huge metal gates at the front of the site were locked and every other entry point was heavily fortified with high  metal fencing, barbed wire, gas cylinders, car tyres and old washing machines.
Dozens of activists returned to the site yesterday in the hope of taking part in the 'Battle of Basildon'. One shouted: 'This time it’s war - bring it on.'
Protesters have sent out emails and text messages to sympathetic friends in an attempt to increase their numbers.
A month ago Basildon Council, which is responsible for clearing the greenbelt site, sent hundreds of bailiffs to Dale Farm to start the eviction.

How Labour cash in on ambulance chasers: Party makes thousands from links to 'no win, no fee' solicitors

Labour is raking in hundreds of thousands of pounds in commission from ambulance-chasing lawyers who force up the cost of car insurance.
The party’s coffers are swollen by ‘￡250 plus VAT’ every time it refers a supporter who is seeking accident compensation to a friendly firm of solicitors.
Officials have also received more than ￡350,000 in direct donations from controversial personal injury lawyers who pursue ‘no win, no fee claims’, the Mail can reveal.
Last night ministers accused Labour of running a ‘referral fees racket’.
The fees have been blamed for the spiralling cost of motor insurance premiums, which have rocketed by 40 per cent in the last year.
It is estimated that banning them could save motorists up to ￡150 on their policies.
The taxpayer also suffers when people make claims against councils for falling over in the street or having accidents in public places.
Yet while the public are losing out and people are encouraged to file spurious compensation claims, Labour is lining its pockets with huge tip fees from solicitors.
The Tories say this explains why Labour has not backed recently-announced plans to abolish referral fees.
The ‘racket’ centres on an official Labour Party website, Labour Legal Services, which touts for business on the internet.
The site has a ‘personal injury section’ guaranteeing claimants ‘100 per cent’ of any damages they receive.
In the style of adverts used by ambulance-chasing law firms, it says: ‘If you’ve suffered an injury in a road accident, work accident, serious injury that was somebody else’s fault or a situation of medical negligence, we can help you claim compensation.’
Claims are also invited for ‘slips, trips and falls in public places’ and ‘pedestrian accidents or injuries’.
A note at the bottom of the web page says claims will be passed on to a firm of solicitors, Derby-based Flint Bishop, rather than being dealt with by Labour Legal Services.
It says: ‘If Flint Bishop Solicitors accepts a personal injury instruction from a client via Labour Legal Services, Flint Bishop will pay the Labour party a referral fee of ￡250 plus VAT for each instruction’.
Elsewhere on the Labour site, visitors can get an ‘instant conveyancing quote’, which they are told will attract a referral fee of ￡100 plus VAT to the party from Flint Bishop.
Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly said: ‘Hard-working people are paying the price for Labour’s shameful insurance racket.
‘It is no wonder that Labour won’t fully back our proposals to abolish referral fees when they are exploiting the current system to fill their own party coffers at everyone else’s expense.
‘By banning referral fees, this Government is starting to tackle the problem – claimants will think harder about whether to sue and savings should be passed on to customers through lower prices.’
The Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke, says that since their introduction in 2004, referral fees ‘have contributed to an explosion of personal injury cases in our courts, as individuals are encouraged to bring claims, often regardless of the merits of the case.’
There was widespread public support for the decision to scrap referral fees, and Labour former Justice Secretary Jack Straw backed it.
But the Labour front bench, which is also fighting plans to tackle the abuse of ‘no win, no fee’ claims, refused to support the idea.
Andy Slaughter, Labour’s justice spokesman, described the proposed ban as ‘strange’.
He said: ‘It is not clear how organisations such as those campaigning for people with spinal injuries and asbestos-related illnesses, who refer people to experienced lawyers in return for help with funding their activities, will be able to continue their important work if all referral fees are simply outlawed.’
More than 40 per cent of lawyers pay referral fees ranging from ￡200 to ￡1,000 to receive work from claims management firms or insurers.
Research reveals that the Labour Party has received over ￡200,000 in donations from one personal injury law firm alone – Thompsons Solicitors, which is closely linked to, and frequently represents, the trade unions.
A total of ￡355,629.43 has been received from a range of solicitors providing similar services since 2001.
Flint Bishop had a turnover of ￡10.5million in 2009. It was described by The Lawyer magazine as the fastest-growing UK law firm in 2007.
Its website boasts: ‘Over the years, we have dealt with tens of thousands of personal injury cases, from simple whiplash incidents to multi-million pound catastrophic injury claims.’
The average price for comprehensive car insurance cover rose by 40 per cent in the year to March, from ￡636 a year to ￡892. By the end of June, it had reached ￡923.90 and is fast heading for four figures.
A Labour spokesman said: ‘In common with many voluntary organisations, the Labour Party offers a number of benefits to members. Any arrangements would be reviewed in the light of changes in legislation.’

Severely disabled woman drowns in sea after electric wheelchair plunged off harbour

A severely disabled woman has died after apparently losing control of her electric wheelchair and falling into the sea.
The 20-year-old, who has not yet been named, is believed to have fallen 10ft into the sea from a historic harbour wall while her horrified  parents looked on.
The family had been waiting for a charter boat cruise at The Cobb in Lyme Regis, Dorset, which featured in the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
It is believed that the woman, from Solihull, West Midlands, was strapped into the bulky wheelchair, which had oxygen canisters attached, when she fell.
Boatman Harry May, 65, jumped in to try to save the woman after she fell from the Victoria Pier, which has no safety barriers.
He said: ‘I heard a splash and a woman started screaming. I realised there was a woman in the water. I stripped off and jumped in.
‘A fisherman produced a rope with the idea of tying it around the wheelchair and pulling it out but the chair was huge, it was so heavy.
‘The poor girl was very disabled and it wasn’t an ordinary wheelchair. I got down and got hold of something and started lifting it up but while I was struggling to get to the surface it came away.
‘It must have been a coat or a cover or something. It took eight men with grappling hooks and ropes to pull the wheelchair up. No-one could have done anything more to help.’
Police, paramedics and life boatmen fought for 30 minutes to free the woman following the fall on Friday afternoon.
Rescuers from the lifeboat secured a network of pulleys using ropes to haul her out of the water.
Mr May added: ‘The rescuers were trying all sorts of things to lift her out. Eventually they succeeded and put her in the lifeboat.
‘Then they took her to shore where a helicopter was waiting to take her to hospital. It was a terrible tragedy. Her mother couldn’t stop screaming.’
Lifeboat crewman Colin Jones said the woman had been under the water for more than 30 minutes.
‘The difficulty was the depth of the water and the fact that it was not clear,’ he told the Mail on Sunday.
‘The rescuers were diving to their limits but could not see the person on the bottom.
'When they got a line to the wheelchair, it took five to six people to pull it up with the woman on board.’
The woman was airlifted to hospital but died after attempts to revive her failed. Her parents are being comforted and it is expected that she will be named shortly.
Dorset police are investigating and are appealing for witnesses.
An hour before the tragedy, the woman had met Irish popstar twins John and Edward Grimes, known as Jedward, as they filmed scenes for a BBC children’s programme.
A spokesman for Jedward said: ‘It was a terrible accident and our hearts are with the poor girl’s family. John and Edward met her only an hour before.’

JASON DONOVAN: ‘STRICTLY SMUTTY? DAYTIME MUSIC VIDEOS ARE SEXIER’

STRICTLY front runner Jason Donovan says it is up to parents to decide whether children watch raunchier dance routines on the BBC1 tea-time show.
The former Neighbours star, who is pictured with partner Kristina Rihanoff last night, said far worse things than Strictly Come Dancing could be found on other channels during the day, including sexy music videos.
His comments follow reports that Ofcom, the television watchdog, has warned BBC bosses about unsuitable pre-watershed content on Strictly, including sexy costumes and suggestive choreography.
The watchdog is taking a stricter line with broadcasters after the final of The X Factor last year which featured raunchy dancing by singer Rihanna.
Donovan, who has two children aged 10 and 11, is relaxed about them watching Strictly. He said: “This issue belongs in a politics’ debate, not on an entertainment show. I have absolutely no concern about it. I have heard absolutely nothing about sexing anything down. There is nothing that would offend my children watching Strictly.
“This is a democracy. You can turn the channel over.
“These questions are really down to parents and how you discipline your kids and how your kids are brought up,” he said. Asked if Ofcom should lay off Strictly, he said: “With the internet and videos shown on other channels, I ask, where do you draw the line? I’m sure Lady Gaga’s latest music video was shown on television in the morning.”
Whether Gaga would have been as friendly as The One Show presenter and Strictly contestant Alex Jones, however, is questionable.
The star hopped on guest Lord Prescott’s lap last night and left him with a lipstick kiss on his cheek while his wife Pauline laughed and clapped.

DAVID CAMERON: BULLDOG SPIRIT WILL HELP BRITAIN BATTLE BACK

he Prime Minister used his speech to the Conservative conference to deliver a rallying cry for the nation. “Let’s pull together, work together and together lead Britain to better days,” he said.
He made a plea for the country to rediscover its bulldog spirit, despite faltering economic growth and global financial uncertainty. “Britain never had the biggest population, the largest land mass, the richest resources, but we had the spirit,” he said. “Remember: it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
“Overcoming challenge, confounding the sceptics, reinventing ourselves, this is what we do. It’s called leadership. There’s too much ‘can’t do’ sogginess around. We need to be a sharp, focused, can-do country.”
He earned a huge cheer from the Tories gathered in Manchester by invoking the name of Margaret Thatcher.
n a deliberate swipe at the jeering of Tony Blair during last week’s Labour conference, he said: “We don’t boo our leaders. We’re proud of our past and what those people did for our country.”
The 50-minute speech struck a sober tone to reflect concerns over the squeeze on families’ budgets. But overall Mr Cameron delivered a call for “energy and optimism” and a promise to use his leadership to unleash Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Hope
Britain has always been a small country, but is “one of the most incredible success stories in the history of the world,” the Prime Minister said. He argued that the “people of Britain, the spirit of Britain” was the source of that success, saying: “I will never pretend there are short cuts to -success. But success will come with the right ideas, the right approach, the right leadership.” He added: “You hear that our best days are behind us, that we’re on a path of certain decline. Well, I’m here to tell you that it isn’t true.”
Economy
The country was facing rising inflation and faltering economic growth, Mr Cameron admitted.
“When the economy goes into recession, times get tough,” he said. “But normally, after a while, things pick up, strong growth returns, people get back into work. This time, it’s not like that. And people want to know why the good times are so long coming.”
His aides were forced into a hasty rewrite on the morning of the speech after extracts released in advance included a call for households to clear their credit card debts. Business leaders feared the plea could hit retail sales.
Leadership
Mr Cameron promised the right leadership could take Britain on to better times. “Right now we need to be energised, not paralysed by gloom and fear,” he warned. He said local communities had shown leadership after the rioting in the summer. “People picked up their brooms and reclaimed their streets,” he added.
Welfare and immigration
Ministers were getting a grip on the culture of welfare dependency left by the Labour government, the Prime Minister told the conference.
“Welfare began as a lifeline; for too many it’s become a way of life,” he said. “Generation after generation is in the cycle of dependency and we are determined to break it.” - Controlling immigration was essential for ensuring British-born workers did not waste their lives on benefits. “We’ve got to get British people back into work,” he said. “If they are prepared to work, we’re going to help them – and I mean really help them.”
He vowed to tighten immigration controls and curb criminals’ use of the Human Rights Act to beat deportation.
Law and order
The August riots proved something was wrong with the criminal justice system, Mr Cameron said, adding: “If the system keeps fudging the difference between right and wrong, we’ll never improve behaviour.”
“Those responsible were put straight in the courts and tough sentences were quickly handed out.” He said he had made it clear to the authorities that “if we could do that then, let’s make sure we do it all the time”.
Education
The Prime Minister was cheered for vowing to tear down the “apartheid” between private and state schools. He claimed much of the comprehensive school system had been infected by “an ideology that instead of insisting on every child’s success, has too often made excuses for failure”.
Home ownership
Mr Cameron warned that the percentage of people who owned their property was falling, blocking aspirations for a decent home “with a proper front door and room for the kids to play”. He said: “We’re sorting this out, bringing back the Right To Buy and using the money to build new homes.”
Unions and pensions
The Prime Minister had strong words for public sector unions threatening strikes over moves to trim their taxpayer-funded pensions.
He said the only way to “do right by the taxpayer”, was for public servants to “work a little longer and contribute a little more”. He added: “That is fair. What is not fair is going on strikes that will hurt the very people who help pay for your pensions.”
Families
Mr Cameron renewed his vow to give married couples a tax break, saying: “Marriage is not just a piece of paper, it pulls couples together through the ebb and flow of life, it gives children stability. So yes, we will recognise marriage in the tax system.”
He also promised to press ahead with plans to make gay marriage recognised in law. “I don’t support gay marriage despite being a Conservative; I support gay marriage because I’m a Conservative,” he said.
Europe
Mr Cameron vowed: “As long as I’m Prime Minister, we will never join the euro. And I won’t let us be sucked into endless bail-outs of countries that are in the euro either.”
Labour
The Labour Party was attacked as “self-righteous”. He mocked the party for going on a “national apology tour” for various blunders but not uttering “a peep” about “wasting billions and billions of pounds.” Accusing Labour of excessive spending of ￡428billion, he said: “We must never let these Labour politicians anywhere near our economy again.”
COMMENTARY
Patrick O'Flynn, Chief Political Commentator
THE Prime Minister is known for his mastery of presentation in a television age and the build-up to his speech was full of slick videos and cutting-edge communication techniques.
But when he came to speak he delivered an oration straight out of the 1950s school of political leadership.
With no money to pay for fancy new policies and no good economic news on the horizon, David Cameron attempted something truly audacious: to create a belief in Britain that the good times will soon be in sight again through the sheer force of his personality and argument.
When Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan – Mr Cameron’s particular political hero – were running the show simple injunctions from the man at the top often proved effective.
In Britain’s darkest hour, Churchill offered nothing but blood, toil, tears and sweat and the British people proved ready to give all of those things. When Macmillan spoke of the “winds of change” in Africa most people trusted that he knew what he was doing.
But in an era when faith in the entire political class is at a low and cynicism is widespread it takes a very confident Prime Minister to argue that his leadership is the key to turning a troubled nation around.
During the speech Mr Cameron repeatedly sought to summon up the British bulldog spirit to confront the present economic crisis.
At one point he recalled how last week Labour left-wingers had booed the very mention of Tony Blair.
One day in the future he must hope people will cheer his name when it is invoked by a successor. This was his “not for turning” moment. We must all hope he has set the correct course.

Good luck tearing your eyes away from these incredible Jodie Marsh pictures

Wow. Just... wow. Jodie Marsh has been through many extreme looks over the years, but even the infamous belt/boobs incident didn't hold our attention as much as this.

This isn't the scene after an ill-fated spraytan - Jodie has, in fact, been training to enter a bodybuilding competition for the past eight weeks, and these are the staggering results.

"This is the best I’ve ever felt, and the best my body has ever felt too," she says, and we're not going to argue, because we're bloody terrified of her now. "In just 50 days I have gone from 25% body fat to 10% body fat, gained 8 pounds of muscle, and lost 20 pounds of fat. In 8 weeks I have achieved what normally takes 6 to 9 months."

She's also chuffed that she placed fifth in the Ladies Physique category at the competition she entered, saying "I’m really happy I’m going home with a trophy. If I can do this in eight weeks, competing against the best of the best in the UK, then what else can I achieve with more training time? I’m 100% confident that if I had more time to train I could have placed in the top three and go through to finals. We’ll have to see what happens next year!"

Obviously there's a reality show to go with all this - she's Jodie Marsh, she wouldn't just do it for the fun of it - Jodie Marsh: Bodybuilder will be shown on the DMAX channel in January. You know, January, when we'll all be really fat and might be forced to see Jodie as some sort of fitness role model.