UK news

Rail operator Virgin has been asked to continue running the troubled West Coast Main Line for another few months, the Government has said.

The temporary fix has been proposed by the Department for Transport after its embarrassing U-turn over the award of a new franchise earlier this month.

Virgin's current franchise is due to end on December 9 but talks are under way about it remaining as operator for between nine and 13 months while a competition is run for an interim franchise agreement. Three Department for Transport (DfT) civil servants were suspended after the West Coast bidding competition was halted on October 3 when "significant technical flaws" were found in the way the franchise process had been conducted.

Virgin has run the West Coast line since 1997 but in August the DfT announced that a new 13-year franchise for the London to Scotland line had been awarded not to Virgin but to rival transport company FirstGroup.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson launched a legal challenge to the decision, describing the bidding process as "insane".

It was while getting itself ready to fight the legal challenge that the DfT discovered the flaws in the bidding.

The DfT's original decision was made when Justine Greening was Transport Secretary.

Published: 15 October 2012

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Some NHS hospitals are failing to provide patients with high quality and healthy meals, the Health Secretary has warned.

Jeremy Hunt said that while some organisations are delivering decent food and drink for patients, others are "falling short".

In a move to crack down on inadequate hospital catering, Mr Hunt has introduced a set of standards to ensure that patients receive nutritious and appetising food throughout their hospital stay.

The set of standards come after an inquest revealed that neglect by medical staff led to the death of a hospital patient who called 999 because he was so thirsty.

Kane Gorny, 22, from Balham, south London, died of dehydration at St George's Hospital, in Tooting, in May 2009.

The new standards state that: "All patients should have access to fresh drinking water at all times, unless it contradicts clinical advice."

Mr Hunt also said that food and drink should be available at all times of the day - not just meal times.

Published: 14 October 2012

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Millions of families are facing another jump in household bills after it was reported that UK's largest energy supplier plans to hike its tariffs.

Centrica-owned British Gas, which serves about 12 million homes, is preparing to announce as early as Friday that it is increasing electricity and gas charges in the high single percentage digits, the London Evening Standard said.

The average British Gas annual dual-fuel bill for gas and electricity currently stands at £1,260 - meaning a 5% increase would add £63, while an 8% rise would put on £100.

A British Gas spokesman said: "We do not comment on future pricing movements. We do not comment on speculation about future pricing movements."

The report comes as rival SSE prepares to increase tariffs by 9% on average on Monday, hitting about five million electricity customers and 3.4 million gas customers.

Published: 11 October 2012

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An elderly couple innocently bought a shrub from a car boot sale - and ended up growing the biggest cannabis plant police had ever seen.

The pensioners, from Bedford, planted the drug in their garden, unaware that what they were growing was illegal.

Published: 09 October 2012

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Prime Minister David Cameron has called for allegations of sexual abuse against former DJ Sir Jimmy Savile to be fully investigated.

Mr Cameron said that the claims from a number of women which have emerged over recent weeks that they were abused by Savile as teenagers were "truly shocking".

And he said that the allegations should be looked into by the BBC - which employed Savile at the time - and, if necessary, by the police.

Mr Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "I think it is pretty shocking, the allegations that we are reading. They need to be properly looked at, properly investigated.

"It seems to me it is very important that the organisation, the BBC, does that itself.

Published: 07 October 2012

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Former chancellor Alistair Darling has heaped further pressure on the proposed mega-merger between defence giants BAE Systems and EADS as he said Britain should demand to retain a stake in the combined company.

Mr Darling told the Financial Times that Britain's interests would be damaged if French and German governments, which are current EADS shareholders, sought stakes while the UK did not.

He said the logic, to create a new European rival to compete with Boeing in America, was understandable but that all three governments should have share interests.

"We will be taken to the cleaners," he told the FT. "I don't see how you could have a large new company like this with the French and German governments having large direct and indirect stakes and we have none."

He added: "I would prefer that all three governments had minimal stakes. There is a danger that decisions in the defence and the commercial businesses could be taken on the basis of politics rather than what is best."

BAE and EADS face a number of hurdles if the deal is to go through, with France and Germany said to be keen to keep significant equity stakes in the merged group. It is thought Germany is insisting on taking a 9% stake to match France's holding, which some believe could scupper the deal.

Britain holds a "golden share" in BAE, meaning it can veto deals that are seen to put the public interest at risk, but is not thought to have made any demands for a direct equity holding in the enlarged company.

EADS chief executive Tom Enders - understood to be a long-term critic of EADS's state shareholdings - reportedly said he would consider guaranteeing jobs as he seeks to win Germany's support for the deal without it insisting on a stake. He told German newspaper Bild: "I am so convinced about our project that I am ready to talk about attractive job and site guarantees, which I could not consider for EADS."

Published: 05 October 2012

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Whitehall blunders over the now-scrapped West Coast Main Line rail franchise has led to the suspension of three Department for Transport (DfT) officials.

They were suspended by Permanent Secretary Philip Rutnam after Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin laid the blame for the fiasco "wholly and squarely" on the DfT.

A DfT spokesman said: "Three officials involved in the West Coast franchise competition were today suspended by the Permanent Secretary while the full facts are established. No further details will be issued at this time about the suspensions."

There will be a £40 million cost to taxpayers of the scrapping of the process which would have meant Sir Richard Branson's company, Virgin Rail, losing its West Coast contract to rival transport company FirstGroup.

Mr McLoughlin pulled the plug on the whole process early on Wednesday, saying "unacceptable mistakes" were made by the DfT in the way it managed the franchise bids from FirstGroup, Virgin and two other companies.

Describing the bidding process as "flawed" and "insane", Sir Richard had launched a legal challenge to the FirstGroup decision. Having intended to contest the challenge, Mr McLoughlin is now dropping his opposition, cancelling the West Coast franchise competition and ordering two independent inquiries into what went wrong with the West Coast process.

Published: 03 October 2012

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The Government should re-think its plans to set one national benefits cap, shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne has said.

He said it would make "much more sense to have a different cap in different parts of the country".

Speaking ahead of Labour leader Ed Miliband's party conference speech in Manchester, the shadow minister called for an independent panel of experts to examine the issue to ensure "no matter where you live, you are better off in work".

Mr Byrne told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there should be a cap on benefits, but added: "They've, in a clumsy and pretty politicised way, tried to set one national cap for the country whereas everybody knows that one cap for the whole of Britain would be pumped up a bit by the very, very high levels of rent and housing benefit that you see in London.

"We've said 'Look come on, think about this carefully, it would make much more sense to have a different cap in different parts of the country and let's try and take the politics out of that a bit'.

"Let's get an independent panel of wise experts who can look at this and say what is the right level in different parts of the country, so that no matter where you live, you are better off in work."

Mr Byrne also called for "fast and fundamental reform" of the test to see if individuals are eligible for Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

Published: 02 October 2012

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Seven British tourists were among 19 people who have died in a plane crash in Nepal.

The British victims were identified by local travel company Sherpa Adventures as Raymond Eagle, 58, Christopher Davey, 51, Vincent Kelly, 50, Darren Kelly, 45, Timothy Oakes, 57, Stephen Holding, 60, and Benjamin Ogden, 27.

The group, which arrived in Nepal on Wednesday and was due to begin trekking later on Friday, was travelling with Hampshire-based travel company Explore Worldwide.

Managing director Ashley Toft said: "We are devastated by this news. Our thoughts are very much with the families of those affected, both in the UK and in Nepal."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the families of the victims have all been informed.

Mr Toft said the plane belonged to Nepal's domestic airline Sita Air, which is approved by airline authorities, adding: "The weather was good. The plane was departing for Lukla and our passengers were heading for Everest Base Camp at the start of their trek. We have no more information at present."

The twin-engine propeller Dornier plane crashed shortly after take-off at about 6.15am local time near Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. Five Chinese people and three passengers and four crew members from the Himalayan country were also killed, with reports suggesting the accident was caused by a bird strike.

The British ambassador to Nepal, John Tucknott, told Sky News: "Regretfully all those on board perished. Our thoughts at the moment are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives."

Published: 28 September 2012

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