British entrepreneur Rob Williams dies on skiing holiday in tragedy played out on Twitter

The 29-year-old died after he and business partner, Jason Tavaria, who together run a multi-million pound music firm, became separated from their party during a blizzard at the Swiss resort of Verbier, while on a trip with Michelle Dewberry, the winner of BBC television reality show the Apprentice.

Urgent appeals were posted by her on the Twitter website and Mr Tavaria, also 29, sent his friends and rescue teams a GPS satellite navigation signal from his iPhone, which pinpointed his location. He was rescued six hours later.

Mr Williams, however, had fallen 66ft down a cliff on to rocks below and due to the "white-out" conditions, a rescue helicopter could not be scrambled. Search teams on foot found him seven hours after he had gone missing, by which time the businessman had died in the freezing conditions.

After the initial posts left on Twitter, there was a long period of silence as the tragic death of Mr Williams became known.

The business partners had met at Liverpool University and launched the music equipment and instrument firm Dolphin Music. They are one of the leading providers of musical equipment on the internet and have also opened a flagship Guitar Shop in Liverpool city centre. They employ 54 staff and have achieved sales in excess of £9.2 million in 2007, when it was ranked Britain's 11th fastest-growing company.

Looking for work? Debt collectors are in demand in the UK

An opportunity may have arisen for the estate agents and luxury car salemen put out of work by the recession.

Provident Financial, which lends to low-income households in Britain, plans to hire more debt collectors this year as an increasing number of consumers turn to the company as banks shun riskier customers.

The business may not be widely known in more affluent parts of the country, but Provident's agents already visit one in twenty British households. Customers of the doorstep lender borrow smaller amounts, on average around £400, which is paid back in weekly installments, with a sizeable "fixed charge" attached.

For every £100 borrowed, Provident's customers on average pay back £3 a week for 57 weeks. That amounts to £171 paid back on a £100 loan.

Provident aims to hire between 200 and 250 people this year, around 80 of whom will go door-to-door to retrieve outstanding debts. Collection accounts for "99pc of the man hours," according to chief executive Peter Crook.

Unlike its rival Cattles, Provident has been able to keep its level of loan arrears and impairments steady over the course of 2008, despite the worsening economy, by tightening up its lending criteria and turning away more applicants. The business has continued to grow despite this because of the increase in people approaching Provident for loans.

Banks, credit card companies and non-secured lenders have retreated from serving lower-income households since the summer of 2007, leaving an "increasingly under-served" market for Provident.

Britain under attack from 20 foreign spy agencies including France and Germany

Spies from 20 foreign intelligence agencies, including Nato allies such as France and Germany, are attempting to steal Britain's most sensitive secrets.  Russia and China have been identified as having the most active spy networks operating in the UK but it is understood that some European countries are also involved in espionage attacks against Britain.

Details of the spy plots were revealed in a government security document obtained by The Sunday Telegraph which states that Britain is "high priority espionage target" for 20 foreign intelligence agencies.

Security sources have revealed that the list of foreign agencies operating within the UK includes Iran, Syria, North Korea and Serbia, as well as some members of the European Union, such as France and Germany, who have traditionally been regarded as allies.

The document, marked "restricted", warns that foreign spies are trying to steal secrets related to the military, optics, communications, genetics and aviation industries.

The report, which was drawn up by an Army intelligence cell inside Whitehall, warns that it is too easy to "lose sight" of the threat from traditional espionage and become solely focused on attacks by al Qaeda.

CIA warns Barack Obama that British terrorists are the biggest threat to the US

Barack Obama has been warned by the CIA that British Islamist extremists are the greatest threat to US homeland security. American spy chiefs have told the President that the CIA has launched a vast spying operation in the UK to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks being launched from Britain.

They believe that a British-born Pakistani extremist entering the US under the visa waiver programme is the most likely source of another terrorist spectacular on American soil.

Intelligence briefings for Mr Obama have detailed a dramatic escalation in American espionage in Britain, where the CIA has recruited record numbers of informants in the Pakistani community to monitor the 2,000 terrorist suspects identified by MI5, the British security service.

A British intelligence source revealed that a staggering four out of 10 CIA operations designed to thwart direct attacks on the US are now conducted against targets in Britain.

Heavy snow sees more than 200 rescued after drivers stranded in Devon

More than 200 people had to be rescued from their cars after they became trapped by heavy snow in Devon.

They were stranded in parts of the county overnight, where snow fell thickest.

The police and army were drafted in to help and used 4x4s to battle through the difficult conditions to reach the stranded motorists and their passengers.

More intrepid drivers abandoned their cars and walked to safety on their own.

In North Tawton, Devon, a woman in labour with twins was taken to hospital in a fire engine at 11.30pm after an ambulance and a Sea King helicopter could not get through the snow.

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