The pedestrian was struck on the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow at around 9.15pm on Sunday.

The westbound carriageway was closed as investigators attended the scene of the incident near Harthill services.

A Strathclyde Police spokesman said: “We received a report of a person having been knocked down on the M8 westbound near to Harthill service station.

“On arrival of the emergency services it was confirmed that a male had been struck by a passing heavy goods vehicle, resulting in his death.”

In a heated exchange, Ms Rice had to argue with the US President in Florida not to return to the White House because it was a potential terrorist target.

She told the Channel 4 documentary: “The President got on the phone and he said: ‘I’m coming back’.

“I said: ‘You cannot come back here. The United States of America is under attack, you have to go to safety. We don’t know what is going on here’. He said: ‘I’m coming back’. I said: ‘You can’t’.

“I said to him in a raised voice, and I had never raised my voice to the President before, I said: ‘You cannot come back here’. I hung up.

“The President was quite annoyed with me to say the least.

“I’ve known the President a long time and I knew that he wanted nothing more than to be there at the helm of the ship.”

Ms Rice also revealed that the bunker beneath the White House where she was sheltering with Vice President Dick Cheney began to run out of air.

She said: “There were so many people in the bunker that the oxygen levels started dropping and the secret service came in and said we’ve got to get some people out of here. They literally went around telling people that they weren’t essential and they had to leave.”

The documentary, 9/11: State of Emergency, which also features interviews with military leaders, air traffic controllers, and ordinary people caught up in the attacks, will be broadcast on Channel 4 on Saturday September 11 at 9pm.

A recent camera switch-off in the Thames Valley area has alarmed residents and there now appears to be a “road safety policy void”, the AA added.

The AA has written to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond about the matter and is due to meet ministers. The organisation said: “The AA is concerned that the views of motorists are not being reflected accurately in this debate and that ultimately lives are at risk.”

Oxfordshire County Council has reduced the funding provided to the Thames Valley safer roads partnership and this has resulted in the partnership announcing that camera operations will cease.

The AA said the effects of the switch-off in Oxfordshire are already being experienced by residents.

The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said a circular had been sent seeking volunteers during the main strike from 5pm on Sunday. The notice, signed by London Underground’s managing director Mike Brown, said no operational licence was needed if people volunteered to support staff turning up for work, and added that lapsed licences could be renewed.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “There do not appear to be any corners that London Underground are not prepared to cut in order to bulldoze through their lethal cocktail of job and safety cuts. Sending out a few volunteers without the necessary operational licences and training to try and run a few trains is a disaster waiting to happen.”

The disagreement has been caused by a bitter dispute over 800 job losses.

The walkout will disrupt Tube services as MPs return to Parliament after the recess and many people get back to work after the summer break.

Most students (62%) said a lack of money was damaging their studies while 61% said they worry frequently or all the time about money. Half of students have been forced to use credit cards, and other forms of commercial credit, to get by.

NUS Scotland president Liam Burns said: “The student support system is broken and student hardship is at crisis levels.

“Studying should be based on ability to learn, not the ability to pay. Without fundamental and urgent reform of student support, explicitly increasing the amount students receive, this will never be the case.”

The report entitled Still in the Red surveyed 7,400 students from across all backgrounds. It found that 68% of students are working more than the 10 hours per week recommended in the last major reform of student support, the Cubie report. Of these, 47% said that combining work with study was having a negative impact on their studies. More than a third (36%) considered dropping out due to financial worries.

More than 600,000 students will be starting the new academic year this week at colleges and universities in Scotland.

Mr Burns added: “Scottish students live with some of the lowest levels of financial help in the UK. They are being pushed into poverty simply because they want an education.

“Our report has exposed how our broken financial system for students hits the poorest hardest. Scottish university students receive the lowest support compared to the rest of the UK and college students can’t even be sure they’ll receive enough to pay the rent from month to month.”

The findings come despite the abolition of tuition fees for students in Scotland, unlike south of the border.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Even before the recession hit, the Scottish Government recognised the difficulties students face. We abolished back-door tuition fees, invested an additional £30 million in student support for the coming year and worked closely with NUS Scotland to ensure this money is targeted as effectively as possible.”

The research found 56% of companies were looking to boost their workforce in the next year, with the same number also stating they were confident their business will grow over the next 12 months.

The survey, by the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, found that 52% of firms in Scotland were planning to take on skilled workers, with 32% intending to take on staff at managerial level.

However, one in 10 firms still expect to see a reduction in business over the next year. A quarter of companies also anticipate the number of staff they have will fall in the next 12 months.

Despite that, Scott McKerracher, Clydesdale Bank’s regional director for Scotland, described the survey results as “encouraging”.

He said they suggested that “a growing number of businesses are starting to look to the future with more confidence and are looking to build the framework they need to develop their operations”.

A total of 39% of firms identified staff retention and recruitment as their key priority for the next year while training was the main priority of 33%.

Mr McKerracher said: “It continues to be a challenging time for businesses and many will have had to make tough decisions to protect their business. However, few will have lost sight of the fact that their staff are their most important asset.

“By investing in their workforce when the time is right, businesses are helping to pave the way for growth and future success. The research appears to indicate that recruitment and training are beginning to re-emerge as key priorities for UK businesses as they look to the future and plan if, and how, they will take advantage of any emerging opportunities.”

The survey found that, across the UK, 66% of firms in the sales, media and marketing sector were looking to take on more staff, with 65% of IT and telecoms firms planning to recruit as well as 63% of engineering and building companies.

Recruitment firm Reed said the total jobs market remained steady in August, although average salaries on offer fell slightly by around £200 to £31,700 for new posts.

New jobs on offer in leisure and tourism reached a record high last month and there was also strong growth in business service areas such as accountancy and banking, said the report.

Demand varied across the country, with new jobs falling in London but rising to record levels in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Reed’s job index showed.

Martin Warnes, managing director of reed.co.uk, said: “Traditionally, the UK job market is quiet in August. Against this background the fact that the Reed job index has held steady over the holiday season, even though public sector jobs continue to decline, is quietly encouraging news for the economy as a whole.

“While the seasonal tourist boom and an unexpected rise in consumer confidence may have helped fuel record demand for new staff in leisure, tourism and retail, demand has also risen across broader commercial and financial sectors.

Mr Warnes said demand for new staff in accountancy, customer services, strategy and consultancy rose to their highest levels since the job index began last year.

“It seems that overall confidence, particularly in the business services sector, has been slowly but steadily building over the summer break.”

Research by the charity Anchor found that 70% of the over-65s think they will suffer because of the expected austerity measures and some 45% believe they will have to sell their home to pay for care costs.

Anchor are calling for an “honest dialogue” ahead of the forthcoming spending review about how to protect services for some of the most vulnerable in society.

The study, conducted by ICM, comes as town halls expect to face big squeezes in their budgets. It found some 69% of pensioners think local councils will be forced to slash funding for personal and nursing care.

The research also revealed people in the north of England are most anxious, with 78% believing their local authority will cut funding for home care and 47% stating they are more concerned about how they will pay for care since the general election.

Anchor chief executive Jane Ashcroft said: “The forthcoming spending review in October will affect millions of over 65s and we need an honest dialogue about how the services for the most vulnerable people will be protected.

“It’s clear that older people have major concerns about our crumbling care system. Most significant is the sheer number of people worried about selling their home to pay for long-term care – the very problem the Government has pledged to address.”

ICM interviewed 849 adults aged over 65 between August 6 and 22.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) said one in eight people who contacted it for help during the first half of the year, a total of nearly 14,500 people, were claiming the benefit.

It said these people owed an average of £15,412 in unsecured debt each, with money owed to around five different creditors.

But it warned that these people had little hope of repaying the debt.

It said even if they spent the entire amount they received from Jobseeker’s Allowance on debt repayments each week, it would still take them more than four-and-a-half years to become debt free, and even then this would only be the case if interest on the debt was frozen.

The group said the proportion of people who were in debt who were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance was nearly three times higher than across the population as a whole. It said this was unsurprising as unemployment was one of the key reasons people were unable to keep up with their debts.

Nearly one in four people who contacted CCCS for help during the six months to the end of June for help with their debts blamed their problems on the fact that they had lost their job.

Malcolm Hurlston, chairman of the CCCS, said: “There is a causal link between unemployment and debt.

“Unemployment can devastate the finances of any family and our experience shows that once somebody with few financial options is forced to take out a loan to cover living costs they are often then trapped in debt for years to come.

“Thousands of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance are ensnared by unsecured debt and their needs demand specific study. Government must be mindful of how welfare cuts will affect those living off benefits and move to ensure they are not damning huge numbers of people to a lifetime of debt.”

Such a tax would also break the link between a student and their chosen university, giving institutions less incentive to improve quality, according to Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI.

The idea of a tax linked to graduate earnings was first floated by Business Secretary Vince Cable in July, who said he had asked Lord Browne’s independent review of student funding to look into it.

Under the plan, graduates would not take out loans to pay tuition fees, but would pay premiums depending on their earnings once they are working. Universities minister David Willetts later refused to be drawn on whether the Government favoured the proposal.

Mr Lambert said that there were four benchmarks that any funding scheme should meet: fairness and practicality; free at the point of delivery for students; support and strengthen quality; and retain the autonomy of institutions.

“We think that a graduate tax would fall short of most of those benchmarks,” he said. “The risks are that it would break the link between the student and their chosen university, and distance graduate contributions from the education they receive. That would weaken the incentives for universities to sharpen up their act.”

A graduate tax would undermine autonomy because students would pay contributions to the Treasury, who would hand it back to universities.

He added: “We worry that if you had a graduate tax, unless you were jolly brilliant in constructing it, UK students would have an incentive to work overseas especially at a time when the top rate of personal tax is 50%. I don’t know how you would get EU members to pay if they were not getting a job in the UK after they’d studied.”

There could also be scenarios in which two people sitting next to each other, working on the same job, could be paying different rates, Mr Lambert said. Research has also shown that graduates would pay more through a graduate tax over their working life than they would repaying loans, he added.

Mr Lambert said there is “plenty of scope for tweaking” the current system, such as changing the structure of the loans scheme to make it less costly to the tax payer. This could include the Government charging students a higher rate of interest on their loans.

The Engineering Employers Federation forecast that manufacturing will grow by 3.7% this year and 3.2% in 2011, driven by the strength of overseas markets.

Greater confidence was encouraging firms to hire staff, although mainly offering work to temporary or agency staff, said the report, based on a survey of over 500 companies for the three months to August.

The EEF cautioned there was still a risk to growth next year despite the level of short-term optimism because of the weaker outlook in the United States and economic cuts in the UK.

EEF Chief Economist, Ms Lee Hopley, said: “Manufacturers have continued to reap the rewards of growth in overseas markets with the upswing being felt across all sectors and regions.

“Not only has this continued to translate into better employment prospects but the recovery in investment has begun much earlier in the cycle than after previous recessions.

“However, we have to maintain perspective that the recovery is coming from a very low base and the risks to the economy in the medium term haven’t gone away. The rebound in exports and modest improvement in investment will need to become much more firmly entrenched if we are to see a much-needed rebalancing of the economy.”

Tom Lawton, head of manufacturing at BDO LLP, which helped with the research, added: “The sector has shown seen a significant upturn since the dark days of the recession and this quarter’s results show continued growth in output and orders and more expected for the next quarter, mostly driven by the restocking across most sectors of industry and exports.

“This quarter results show more optimism around two key indicators which have been lagging behind the general good news of the sector in recent surveys, being employment and investment.

“This is excellent news but much more will be needed to enable manufacturing to compete in the space where we have a competitive advantage – innovation, research and development, excellent customer service and fast response to emerging trends.”

The TUC said some of the most vulnerable people in the country will be hit by proposals for a 10% reduction in the benefit of adults who have been claiming jobseeker’s allowance for more than a year.

Disabled workers, lone parents and the recent homeless were among the groups most likely to be affected, said the TUC.

General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “This cut in housing benefit will make a real difference to some of the poorest and most vulnerable adults and families, who will find themselves out of pocket to the tune of nearly £500 a year.

“Long-term unemployment is not a lifestyle choice, it is a debilitating and stressful experience which puts unemployed people and their families at higher risk of poverty, poor health and relationship breakdown.

“The long-term unemployed need help and support to get them back into the labour market. They should not to be blamed for their predicament by having vital benefits cut. This is another example of the Government making struggling families bear the cost of the recession, while the rich have been let off.”

While Labour’s academies programme aimed to improve educational standards in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, Mr Gove’s scheme is biased towards high-performing schools in less deprived areas, the shadow education secretary said.

Branding the Government’s academy programme “elitist”, Mr Balls said: “The only similarity between Labour’s academies policy and Michael Gove’s is that they have the same name.”

At a Fabian Society event, Mr Balls will release research suggesting that the 32 schools which were fast-tracked to academy status by Mr Gove this term had fewer pupils with special needs or from disadvantaged backgrounds, compared to those approved by Labour ahead of the election.

Among the 64 schools reopening as academies this term under Labour’s programme, some 13.8% of pupils had special educational needs, compared to 6.9% in the 32 academies opened under Mr Gove’s scheme, he said.

The average child deprivation index for areas where the “Labour academies” are opening stood at 27%, compared to 17% for the areas served by the academies opening under the Tory scheme.

And exam results in the 32 academies opened under the coalition Government’s programme were well above the national average, with 72.6% of pupils getting five good GCSEs including English and maths last year. This compares to a national average of 50.7% and an average of 30.8% in the 64 academies approved by Labour.

Mr Balls said: “The Tory-Lib Dem government’s policies fail the fairness test. This analysis of academies opening this term highlights the stark contrast between a progressive education policy under Labour to tackle disadvantage and under-performance and Michael Gove’s elitist policy which is simply about rewarding schools that are already doing well.

“Through this new Tory academies policy, the Education Secretary is giving high-performing schools in less deprived areas and with fewer children with special educational needs more funding at the expense of schools which need it most. That cannot be fair by any definition of the word.

“Schools in more deprived areas with more children with special educational needs and lower results will be left with fewer resources than they need to tackle the barriers to learning their children face.”

In his first major speech since the coalition Government took office, Mr Green will acknowledge that the annual cap on economic migrants from outside the EU will not be enough on its own to deliver the target of reducing net immigration to the tens of thousands.

He will also promise to look at “all routes into the UK” and set new rules to ensure that only the “brightest and best” migrants enter the country to study and work.

He will give priority to improving controls over foreign students and their dependants, more than 300,000 of whom were granted visas last year.

Mr Green will say that the points-based system introduced by Labour is still not delivering proper control of numbers of migrants coming into the country.

He will promise to look into why those entering on a temporary basis are currently finding it easy to switch to a permanent basis.

Steady pressure will be applied to every route to long-term immigration to bring down numbers, he will say.

Home Office-commissioned research has looked into all of those who came into the UK in 2004 and tracked their immigration status for the following five years. All those granted settlement in 2009 were also studied to see how they entered the country in the first place.

The largest group of visas granted in 2004 were to 186,000 students, more than one-fifth of whom – over 37,000 people – were still in the UK five years later.

And the research found that numbers of visas issued to students and their dependants had risen to 307,000 by the year to June 2010.

Bread, bananas and salad top the list of items most regularly disposed by shoppers, the poll found.

Scots came off badly in the Waitrose survey, chucking away groceries worth £460 in the bin – higher than the average Brit who discards £400 of food.

Nearly nine out of 10 (86%) admitted throwing food away at least a couple of times a week.

Only one in three (34%) said they recycled food waste, with the majority blaming the lack of proper facilities.

Under half (45%) said they always recycled packaging – the lowest proportion in the UK – in the survey of 3004 people including 206 Scots.

Two out of three people said they packaged up leftovers for the next day however, and nine out of ten said they reuse shopping bags rather than throwing them away.

Quentin Clark, head of sustainability at Waitrose, said: “Food waste is bad news for the environment and for household budgets. In common with people right across the UK, many Scots feel guilty for wasting food and nearly three quarters (70%) have considered buying less food, so it’s clear that we all know that we need to act.

“Though food waste recycling facilities vary across the country, there are some really simple tips that can help reduce waste – and save on food bills.”

Waitrose announced the results of the survey to raise awareness of The Prince of Wales’ new START initiative to encourage people to live more sustainably.

Schoolboy Sam Houghton came up with his idea – a double-headed broom – at the age of three while watching his father sweep up garden leaves.

Experts have now termed the product, which was designed to collect large debris and fine dust simultaneously, one of the “most inspiring” inventions of the last 10 years.

The product forms part of an exhibition which opens on Sunday at The British Library.

Steve van Dulken, Patent Expert and Curator of “Inventing the 21st Century”, said he had been particularly impressed by the youngster’s “neat solution” to a problem.

“I think it is a tremendously inspiring invention,” he said.

“I was willing to lie down in a ditch to defend it – I was adamant that it would be in there.

“The fact that someone less than four-years-old could come up with such a neat solution is very impressive.”

Sam, from Buxton, Derbyshire, hit upon his idea while watching his father swap between two brushes as he tried to clear up larger leaves and twigs as well as finer debris.

Using a large rubber band to strap the two brooms together, he created the “Improved Broom” which could be flipped around for different jobs.

Caffeine is a well-known stimulant but very little research has been carried out into the physical and psychological effects of people thinking they have taken it.

Now an expert from Coventry University has shown the powerful ways the mind can force the body to work harder.

Twelve cyclists were asked to perform a series of trials to test the effects, with each trial containing four teams:

Team one – told they would be receiving caffeine and given caffeine; Team two – told they would receive a placebo and given placebo; Team three – told they would receive caffeine and given placebo; Team four – told they would receive placebo and given caffeine.

Each of the cyclists drank 250ml of fluid containing artificial sweetener and then either caffeine or a placebo before the 30-second trial. Every person took part in all the trials, resulting in 48 sets of data.

Tests were carried out to measure power, heart rate and the build-up of lactic acid in the body, which is created during intense exercise.

The results showed that team one’s sprint power was the highest out of all the groups. Team two’s sprint power was by far the lowest but the scores for teams three and four were exactly the same and were in the mid-range.

The research was presented by Michael Duncan, a senior lecturer in applied sports science, at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences Conference in London.

He said: “We found there’s a psychological mechanism whereby the person will react depending on what they think they’ve ingested, rather than what they’ve actually had. The highest power output was when we told them they were having caffeine and we gave it to them. Then, at the other end of the scale, their performance dropped quite low when we gave them nothing and told them they had ingested nothing.”

A trial found a 91% drop in mistakes over the course of four months when a pharmacist was given full responsibility for medicine management in a care home.

Elderly people living in homes are more vulnerable to medication errors than those in other settings, such as hospitals.

A range of staff can look after medicines and oversee their distribution to patients in care homes, including doctors, nurses and care home staff.

Research carried out in a 69-bed care home found that improving communication and training between staff – including doctors, nurses, the head of the nursing home and pharmacists – helped cut down errors.

Pharmacy records were placed under continuous review and weekly visits were carried out at the care home. The results showed putting a pharmacist in charge led to far fewer errors in areas such as medication type, dosage and records not being kept up-to-date.

The total number of errors in these areas fell from 138 to 12.

The study comes after research last November showed people living in care homes are being put at risk because of sub-standard systems for handing out medicine.

University of London experts found seven in 10 residents were victims of drug errors, having carried out snapshot inspections of 55 homes. They blamed inadequate information, over-worked staff, poor teamwork and often complex courses of medication.

The latest study was presented by postgraduate researcher Majghan Saeed at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s annual conference in London.

The link between bacteria that cause dental plaque and heart disease and strokes is well known. Scientists have now discovered just why it is that the microbes pose a far bigger risk than receding gums.

Once let loose in the bloodstream they deploy a protein that forces platelets to bind together and shield the bugs with clots.

Study leader Professor Howard Jenkinson, from the University of Bristol, said: “When the platelets clump together they completely encase the bacteria. This provides a protective cover not only from the immune system, but also from antibiotics that might be used to treat infection.

“Unfortunately, as well as helping out the bacteria, platelet clumping can cause small blood clots, growths on the heart valves, or inflammation of blood vessels that can block the blood supply to the heart and brain.”

Speaking at the Society for General Microbiology’s autumn meeting in Nottingham, Prof Jenkinson said oral bacteria can “wreak havoc” if not kept in check by regular brushing and flossing.

“Poor dental hygiene can lead to bleeding gums, providing bacteria with an escape route into the bloodstream, where they can initiate blood clots leading to heart disease,” he said.

The Streptococcus bacteria normally live in confined communities in the mouth called biofilms. It is these that are responsible for dental plaque and gum disease.

The bugs become far more potentially harmful once they break free of the mouth and enter the blood circulation.

“People need to be aware that as well as keeping a check on their diet, blood pressure, cholesterol and fitness levels, they also need to maintain good dental hygiene to minimise their risk of heart problems,” said Prof Jenkinson.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) called for the immediate withdrawal of rosiglitazone, marketed as Avandia, saying the top-selling drug should never have been licensed.

An investigation found the Commission on Human Medicines advised an expert committee of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in July to withdraw the drug as the “risks of rosiglitazone outweigh its benefits”. They said it “no longer has a place on the UK market”.

Rosiglitazone, which is manufactured by Glaxo SmithKline (GSK), was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2000 to help lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.

GSK said their “extensive research” showed the drug was “safe and effective when it is prescribed appropriately”.

But since its approval several studies have suggested the drug may lead to a small overall increase in the risk of heart attacks and the BMJ’s investigations editor, Dr Deborah Cohen, said the European approval process was not rigorous enough.

She also raised concerns about the quality of the data used by GSK, the lack of publicly available trial results for independent scientific scrutiny, and failures to act swiftly on emerging safety fears.

The journal said doctors were advising that no new patients should start taking the drug and patients already using rosiglitazone should review their options. Those at higher risk of heart disease should be advised to stop taking it.

Professor Nick Freemantle at the University of Birmingham called for an overhaul in the standards of regulatory trials, saying: “In order to learn from our mistakes, we must improve the quality of safety data from clinical trials on all new health care interventions, not just antidiabetic drugs.”

And Professor John Yudkin of University College London said: “Ten years after the release of rosiglitazone, we still cannot accurately quantify the harm to which we were exposing our patients. We need to be absolutely certain that our long term treatments for type 2 diabetes are not causing the very harm they are meant to prevent.”

The former Baywatch star became infamous for the notorious naughty tape she filmed with her then husband Tommy Lee in the 1990s.

And now she is to film a new bedroom scene with a complete stranger – the winner of a contest being organised by phone firm Nokia.

The short film, called The Commuter, is being shot in HD on the company’s soon-to-launch N8 handset.

A further cameo role is available to win opposite Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwick in a scene set in a lift.

Details will be available at www.starwithpam.com and www.starwithed.com.

The film will be given a London premiere next month, to which winners will be invited.

John Nichols, head of marketing at Nokia UK, said: “We wanted to create something very special for the launch of the Nokia N8 that showcases the Hollywood quality of its camera.”

The rocker also described reports that he ended his marriage to his second wife by fax as “a load of rubbish”.

He told Hello! magazine of his close relationship with third wife, Orianne Cevey, who he divorced in 2006 after a seven-year marriage that produced sons Nicholas, 10, and Matthew, six.

The 59-year-old said: “To be very honest, Orianne and I still love each other and I don’t actually know why we got divorced.

“We are still friends. Orianne has a new boyfriend, actually she’s married.

“But it’s still the case that when Orianne has problems, she calls me. Or when she has an argument with her husband, she calls me. Really, she does that. A shared life doesn’t have to be over just because you split up.”

At the time of the divorce from Ms Cevey it was reported it cost Collins, who made his name as the drummer in Genesis before embarking on a lucrative solo career, about £25 million.

The London-born star, who lives in Switzerland, had two children by his first wife and another daughter with his second wife and admitted he didn’t want to get married again but added: “I get on well with all three of my ex-wives.”

The full interview appears in Hello! which is on sale now.

She said she tried to keep her relationship with the musician quiet at first but was happy to “set the record straight now”.

She told Hello! magazine: “Jack and I definitely want a family of our own eventually.

“Jack would do it sooner than me if he had his way.”

The actress said the pair wanted to concentrate on their careers for a few years first but added: “Then again, if not and it happens sooner – well, I’d be over the moon.”

The 34-year-old said she was shocked when she first found out MacManus was eight years her junior but the age gap did not bother her now.

She said: “My mum’s with someone 11 years younger than her and she said ‘Look, sometimes you’ve just got to go with what’s right in your heart and what’s on paper often doesn’t end up adding up anyway’.”

The full interview appears in Hello! which is on sale now.

Gen Dannatt, who was Chief of General Staff from 2006-09, described the MoD as a “Byzantine” department which operates in a “cocooned environment” and puts vested interests ahead of the needs of troops, meaning “the man on the ground has been short-changed”.

He claimed the Whitehall department did not even take the decision to make its primary focus “strategic success” in Afghanistan and Iraq “in the context of countering global terrorism” until an away-day in 2006 – years after the conflicts began.

Gen Dannatt’s book, Leading From The Front, is being serialised in the Daily Telegraph. In the first excerpts, he branded Gordon Brown a “malign” influence for failing to fund the armed forces adequately and condemned Tony Blair’s lack of “moral courage” for failing to force his chancellor to do so.

In new extracts, he turned his fire on officials, claiming that it “defied logic” that they were unable to clarify MoD priorities in Iraq and Afghanistan until the 2006 away day. Even then “much of the MoD, in its Byzantine way, was conducting business as usual, in a cocooned environment far distant from the harsh reality experienced by our soldiers”, he said.

Gen Dannatt described how a plan for troops to be supplied with new armoured vehicles collapsed nine years after being agreed, and how it “nearly broke my heart” to see American forces operating with exactly the kind of equipment that was needed.

He said he pleaded with then defence secretary Des Browne in 2006 for helicopters and patrol vehicles. And he suggested that much-needed equipment of this type was delayed because of the MoD’s focus on expensive long-term projects like fighter jets.

“The protection of vested interests” in industry and politics “seemed to rank higher than the need to succeed in the field”, wrote the general.

And he suggested that the MoD lacked political leadership because defence secretaries like Mr Browne and Geoff Hoon were lawyers who did not understand the military.

Gen Dannatt argued that the Government should “replace the idea of a ‘balanced force’ with something more akin to a ‘relevant force’,” which would require some expensive items to be scrapped.

Mr Blair – who famously promised to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime” – said he “profoundly disagrees” with the approach of Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke, who has rejected the “prison works” mantra of previous administrations.

The former PM’s comments, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, amount to his first direct policy assault on the coalition since David Cameron won power from Labour in May.

They came as Mr Blair was preparing for his first live TV interview in the UK following the publication of his memoir A Journey. He will appear on the launch edition of ITV1′s Daybreak.

Mr Clarke has challenged the trend towards larger prison populations and questioned the need for short sentences, suggesting the Government could save money by locking up fewer offenders and focusing more on rehabilitation.

But Mr Blair told the Telegraph: “You’ve got to put in prison those who deserve to be there.”

He said “dysfunctional families who produce 14-year-old kids stabbing one another to death” are “making people’s lives hell” and suggested Britain could learn from developing countries which “just don’t accept” criminality.

In a speech in June, Mr Clarke said that he would have regarded it as “impossible and ridiculous” when he was Home Secretary in the 1990s if someone had told him that by 2010 the prison population would have doubled to more than 80,000. Mr Clarke said prison was too often “a costly and ineffectual approach that fails to turn criminals into law-abiding citizens”.

Meanwhile Mr Blair confirmed that he had considered breaking the Treasury into two in order to reduce Gordon Brown’s power base.

Under the plan, which Lord Mandelson said was code-named Operation Teddy Bear, Mr Brown would have been left in charge of a finance ministry, with power over spending handed to a new budget office. But Mr Blair said he held back because he was not sure it was the right thing to do and did not want to do it “simply because of the Gordon issue”.

Cellist Mike Edwards died after the 94 stone bale careered down the side of a steep Devonshire field before it smashed through a hedge and onto the road.

The 62-year-old died instantly in the accident on Friday afternoon.

Police are now investigating whether the bale may have fallen from a tractor working on farmland next to the A381 in Halwell, near Totnes. They believe the musician was killed after the loose bale gathered momentum as it rolled down the hill before landing on the front cab of his white van.

He is understood to have swerved into a similar vehicle as he was struck, at around 12.30pm. The second driver was unhurt in the collision.

Sergeant Steve Walker of the Devon and Cornwall police traffic unit, said: “This was a tragic accident and we have now identified the victim as Michael Edwards, a founder member of ELO.

“We have used photographs and YouTube footage to identify him but we now need help contacting his family for formal identification. We don’t believe he was ever married and we have identified an ex-girlfriend but she is currently abroad.”

Officers were hoping to contact a man named David in the Yorkshire area who is believed to be Mr Edward’s brother.

The musician is understood to have no immediate family but may have taught cello in Devon.

Police, who are liaising with the Heath and Safety Executive, have asked his students to contact them if they have any further information about his relations.

Despite a tightening of purse strings, the average person still bins £400 worth a perishables from one year to the next.

And where previous generations would have saved every last morsel, more than half of those polled (56%) admitted discarding bread every week.

Meanwhile, more than a third said they threw out bananas on a regular basis or disposed of bagged salads which go uneaten.

However the study of more than 3,000 adults identified something of a gender divide – only 1% of women said they binned chocolate compared with 3% of men.

Despite a wasteful mentality, the study found most people (73%) felt guilty for allowing food to go off. And some 60% said they would pack up their leftovers for lunch, while 92% said they reused shopping bags.

On a regional level, those who claim to be the least wasteful were found to live in Essex where only 2% of people admitted throwing out items every day.

The worst offenders for this were in Brighton where 16% of people put their hands up to binning uneaten food while this figure was slightly lower in London, at 13%.

The study was carried out by OnePoll for Waitrose earlier this month.

The items most frequently binned each week are: Bread; Bananas; Bagged Salads; Lettuce; Cold Meats; Apples; Milk; Yoghurt; Cucumber; Potatoes.

The crash occurred at the Lillinghof airfield about 20 miles north-east of the city of Nuremberg, where up to 5,000 people attended the flight show.

Five people were seriously injured, while 33 others were slightly injured, of whom 22 were taken to a hospital, a police spokesman said at a news conference. Among those injured was a seven-year-old child.

Police said it was still unknown why the pilot of the 70-year-old biplane lost control of the aircraft and sped into a crowd of spectators.

The 68-year-old pilot was not hurt in the incident, but a 46-year-old woman died from her injuries at the airfield.

The flight show was to include stunts by small aircraft and sky divers, helicopter tours and tours with a Russian-built Antonov An-2 biplane.

In a clear sign of the shift in atmosphere within Labour, the hopefuls were happy to describe themselves as “socialist” when they appeared in the Sky News debate.

They were also ready to acknowledge failings in the Labour administrations of the past 13 years.

David Miliband said it was “too top-down, too much about one man – first of all Tony, then Gordon”, while his brother Ed said that New Labour had become “stuck in the past” on issues such as low pay, civil liberties and the special relationship with the US.

Ed Balls said New Labour had “lost its way in the second term, because we got into an argument that said ‘private good, public bad’”, while Andy Burnham said the party had pursued a “top-down, controlling, elitist, London-centric” style of politics which he wanted to end.

Diane Abbott said mistakes like the Iraq War had overshadowed Labour’s positive achievements, including investment in schools and hospitals.

Asked what would be the defining idea behind their leadership, David Miliband cited the training of activists to become community leaders, Ed Miliband said the replacement of university tuition fees with a graduate tax, Ms Abbott suggested a new programme of council house building, Mr Balls offered the construction of 100,000 affordable homes and Mr Burnham pointed to the introduction of a Land Value Tax to replace stamp duty and council tax.

Voting slips in the postal ballot were sent out to MPs, MEPs, party activists and union members on Wednesday, and the identity of the new leader will be announced in Manchester on September 25 ahead of the annual conference.

Mr Blair himself has declined to endorse any of the contenders and promised to support whoever is elected “100%”.

But commentators who suspect him of favouring front-runner David Miliband will note that he praised him as “a quite remarkable guy”.

The former call centre worker’s song Please Don’t Let Me Go has been much anticipated by fans who have waited for the release since he came second in the popular talent show last year.

The 2009 X Factor winner Joe McElderry did not enjoy immediate number one success with his debut song – he was beaten to the top spot by rap metal act Rage Against The Machine.

Their 1992 hit Killing In The Name was crowned Christmas number one after a internet campaign to keep another of Simon Cowell’s acts off the festive top spot.

However, McElderry’s single The Climb did reach the top of the charts for the New Year number one a week later.

Taio Cruz’s single Dynamite, which was number one last week, dropped to third position as Katy Perry scooped second place with her new single Teenage Dream.

Eminem’s hit Love the Way You Lie, featuring Rihanna, was in fourth spot while Flo Rida’s Club Can’t Handle Me came in fifth.

Perry won’t be too disappointed for missing out on the top spot because her new album, which has the same title, reached number one in the album charts.

Eminem’s record Recovery, which was the number one album last week, dropped to second position.

Michelle Bass, “nasty” Nick Bateman and Vanessa Feltz all face the boot after being nominated by their fellow housemates.

After the eviction there will be seven contestants left to battle each other for the Ultimate Big Brother crown, which will be awarded during Friday’s grand finale.

On Saturday, housemate Brian Dowling had to plunge his hands into a pile of nettles in a bid to win contestants a party for the evening.

During the task,s housemates had to complete a series of uncomfortable challenges without making a sound.

When Brian entered the task room he was ordered by Big Brother to find a “needle in a nettle stack” in three minutes.

The former cabin crew supervisor for Ryanair pulled off his hat in frustration and screamed when the three minutes was up.

The 32-year-old, who won the show in 2001, is the bookies favourite to win the series. Bookmakers William Hill have him priced at 2/5. Chantelle Houghton is in the running to come second at 9/4 while Nikki Grahame is third at 12/1.

During other silent tasks, Bass was tickled by Big Brother 4 housemate Jon Tickle, Feltz and Houghton played catch with a cactus and Bateman crawled across 300 upturned hairbrushes.

After all housemates successfully kept their mouths closed during the challenges they were rewarded with a rock party. The contestants were given costumes, blow-up guitars, food and alcohol as a reward.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, which is based at Stirling University, beat hundreds of teams to win the UK`s best environment project title.

The Trust was set up four years ago with Lottery cash to raise awareness about the decline of bumblebees and the impact on the countryside and food production.

Its members work with the public, farmers and land managers to protect the bumblebee population for future generations.

Director Ben Darvill received the award at a ceremony hosted by John Barrowman in London on Saturday night.

Dr Darvill said: “It is an absolute honour to have won this award and a real boost for everyone involved in the charity to receive national recognition for their hard work and dedication.

“It’s great to be able to show anyone who has ever played the Lottery what a real difference their money can make.”

Lanarkshire-based youth project Sportworx also picked up a runners-up trophy in the best sports project category.

The programme helps young people in deprived areas achieve sport and coaching qualifications.

The event at the Roundhouse was attended by Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, Strictly Come Dancing`s Tess Daly and boxer Amir Khan.

In the village of Nahuala, rescue crews searched through mud and rocks for bodies after two landslides in the same spot killed at least 20 people along a road leading north-west of the capital toward Mexico.

A slide on Saturday had trapped vehicles on the Inter-American highway, and some of the people who came to rescue them were themselves caught by a second slide, officials reported.

“Under the earth there is a bus that carried we don’t know how many people, and there are those who tried to help the victims of the first slide,” said regional fire department Major Otto Mazariegos.

Rescue workers have recovered 20 bodies from that site, said fire department spokesman Jose Rodriguez. He said at least 60 people are missing.

A few hours earlier, a landslide on the same road partially buried a bus, killing 12 people.

That led President Alvaro Colom to declare a national emergency. He said four children and two adults were buried in other slides elsewhere.

“It is a tragic day. Today alone 18 people have died, 12 buried by a hill when the travelled in a bus,” Colom told a news conference.

The president told officials to close the road for fear of more slides.

Heavy rains from Tropical Depression 11-E have pelted Guatemala for days, unleashing deadly mudslides in several areas, cutting highways and forcing officials to evacuate thousands of people.

The attack took place at the base in the city of Buinaksk, said Vyacheslav Gasanov, a spokesman for the republic’s Interior Ministry.

The driver of the explosives-laden small Zhiguli automobile smashed through a gate of the base and headed for an area where soldiers are quartered in tents, Mr Gasanov said.

But soldiers opened fire on him before he reached the centre of the base. Mr Gasanov said, the driver rammed the car into a military truck where it exploded.

After the blast, a roadside bomb hit a car taking investigators to the scene, but there were no injuries reported in that explosion.

Dagestan’s president, Magomedsalam Magomedov, visited the scene of the attack and the wounded soldiers in the hospitals where they’re being treated.

“Today’s terrorist attack indicates that militants in the republic still have the power to conduct such treacherous attacks,” Mr Magomedov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

Despite “several successful” operations against the militants in the region, the country’s security services have to step up their efforts fully to stamp out the militants, he said.

Dagestan is gripped by near-daily violence between police and soldiers and insurgents believed to be inspired by separatists in neighbouring Chechnya.

The attack came almost exactly 11 years after a car bomb outside an apartment building in Buinaksk housing the families of military officers killed 64 people.

Lower speed limits and workplace parking levies are also among the changes set out in a discussion paper detailing “proposals and policies” which could help deliver an ambitious target for a 42% cut in emissions by 2020.

A Government spokeswoman said the document sets out a range of options, but doesn’t reflect official policy

The measures being considered include a nation-wide road pricing scheme that would make motorists pay for every trip linked to the emissions their cars make – averaging out at 5p per kilometre – variable speed limits, major investment in bus and rail infrastructure and a drive to bring facilities for cyclists up to mainland European standards.

A £300-a-year workplace parking levy is also suggested, along with a 50% increase in on-street parking charges.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are engaging constructively with a broad range of environmental groups, companies, trade unions and business organisations as well as all parties in Parliament.

“The papers do not reflect Government policy.”

Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland, said the report shows that meeting Scotland’s climate targets is “perfectly possible”.

He added: “Action on speed limits will save lives and make traffic flow more freely, good for business, for people and for the environment.

“Workplace parking charges will help to get people out of their cars and into public transport, and in the long run it will save businesses money by reducing the space they need to waste providing parking.”

The YouGov survey for the Scottish Mail on Sunday suggested a drop in support for the SNP ahead of next year`s Holyrood elections.

In the poll of 1,000 people, Labour received the backing of 39% of Scots in the constituency vote, with the SNP trailing on 29%.

Results for the regional list put Labour on 36% and the SNP on 26%.

A poll commissioned by the Nationalists last month had put them just one point behind their closest rivals.

John Curtice, a professor of politics at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, calculated an eight-seat gain for Labour and a 12 seat loss for the SNP based on the figures.

The survey put the Conservatives on 19% and the Liberal Democrats on 11% in the constituency vote.

Results for the regional list put the Conservatives on 15% and the Lib Dems on 12%.

Mr Curtice said: “This is a deeply disappointing poll for the SNP. It suggests Alex Salmond faces an uphill struggle in his battle to remain in power next year.”

YouGov questioned more than 1000 people between August 31 and September 3.

Tim Waterstone – who opened the first shop in 1982 – is understood to be poised to take the business private if its current owner HMV bows to shareholder pressure to offload the group, according to The Observer newspaper.

Waterstone’s has performed poorly in recent years, with its latest annual operating profits collapsing from £10 million to £2.8 million after poor sales during autumn and Christmas. Like-for-like sales sank 6.2% in the year to April 28, prompting the group to draft in new management in January.

Parent firm HMV will update on trading across the group on Thursday, but rebel shareholders have reportedly pushed for a sale of Waterstone’s in recent weeks.

Mr Waterstone is believed to be keen to step in should HMV decide to dispose of the book shops and is said to have already lined up funding from backers.

He opened the first Waterstone’s in Old Brompton Road, London, 28 years ago. There are now more than 300 outlets across the UK.

He sold the group to WH Smith in the early 1990s, with the firm sold again to HMV in 1998 for £300 million.

Mr Waterstone has attempted to buy back the chain before – for £280 million in 2006 – but could not agree terms of a takeover.

He was not immediately available for comment.

Analysts at Nomura expect HMV to reveal ongoing sales pressure at Waterstone’s in this week’s trading update, although they believe the decline eased to 4% in the first quarter from 4.8% in the previous three months.

The utility giant – which has a significant supply business in America – confirmed it has withdrawn four million dollars (£2.6 million) from its latest US price hike plans relating to non-essential staff expenses.

But New York and Massachusetts regulators claim National Grid is wrongly charging as much as 26 million dollars (£16.8 million) in employee expense costs as part of its latest submission, under which the group is hoping to push through multi-million dollar rate rises.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, the Attorney General of Massachusetts claims to have found expense costs filed including 1,200 dollars (£778) for shipping a wine collection, 1,200 dollars for cat transportation, 546.57 dollars (£354) for face cream and nearly 15,000 dollars for Christmas parties (£9,700).

The regulators are said to be concerned over the company’s accounting practices and attempts to see US consumers pay for expenses through their rates.

National Grid said some of the expenses flagged up related largely to relocation costs for British expatriate staff working in America.

A spokesman said: “The exchange of staff between the UK and US is an important part of our National Grid operating model.

“We decided to withdraw that portion of our request in the interests of moving ahead with our proposal.”

He added such costs were not included in the current rates being paid by US consumers.

The group is now set to hire a firm to conduct an independent review of how it handles expense costs in its future accounts.

Redman, known for her role as Sandra Pullman in the crime drama, tied the knot with Damian Schnabel in the grounds of 13th Century Maunsel House in Somerset yesterday.

Redman, who wore a dress by British designer Ritva Westenius, was joined by friends from her BBC1 series such as Dennis Waterman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam.

Film hardman Ray Winstone gave a reading at the ceremony, while other friends at the event included Lynda Bellingham, Sheila Hancock and Celebrity Masterchef winner Lisa Faulkner.

Redman’s daughter Emily Glenister – from her first marriage to actor Robert Glenister – was among the bridesmaids and also sang during the ceremony, as well as to accompany the couple’s first dance.

A new series of New Tricks starts on Friday on BBC1 at 9pm.

After drawing 0-0 in their opening 2012 Euro qualifying Group I game against Lithuania in Kaunas on Friday, Craig Levein’s side are expected to easily pick up three points against the section minnows, who lost 4-0 at home to Spain in their first match.

While most of the Tartan Army who make their way to the national stadium will be looking for goals, Houston insists victory is the priority and said: “It would be nice to go out and score a lot of goals and if it is comfortable then great. We will be delighted with getting three points.”

He added: “You never get an easy game at international level. What we will come up against is a team who will be as well organised as they possibly can be.

“We know what we are up against, we know it will be difficult.

“If you put 11 players behind the ball, sitting on their 18-yard line, you still have to create and score goals.

“On some occasions it will be difficult.

“You see it with big clubs against little clubs – teams can make it difficult for you. The best that can happen is maybe that we score an early goal.

“But we can’t put too much pressure on trying to score early goals, we just have to make sure we win the match and whether the goals come in the first half or the second half, it doesn’t really matter.

“We are fully focused, the players’ heads are up and we are looking forward to it.”

In the past teachers have been able to avoid disciplinary action by moving to a job in another area before their employer has set a date for a disciplinary hearing.

Proposed powers, being laid before the Scottish Parliament on Monday, will give the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) the right to examine competence cases even if a teacher has already resigned from their post.

Education secretary Mike Russell said: “This will close the loophole that enables incompetent teachers to move jobs without the GTCS being alerted and being able to act.”

Currently employers must refer an incompetent teacher to the GTCS if they dismiss the teacher or if the teacher has resigned and a disciplinary hearing date has been set. If a hearing date has not been set, however, teachers are able to resign and take up employment elsewhere without the GTCS being informed.

The change is among a raft of changes in the Public Services Reform (GTCS) Order, that will also make the GTCS an independent body and introduce a system of re-accreditation for teachers in Scotland.

Mr Russell added: “The vast majority of our teachers are of a high quality and these changes are all about maintaining those very high standards and reinforcing the standing and professionalism of Scotland’s teachers.

“The GTCS was the world’s first professional teaching body and is now set to become the world’s first fully independent professional teaching body, helping to raise the already high standards we have in Scotland.”

The move has also been welcomed Tony Finn, chief executive of GTCS.

“This is a highly significant step in the creation the world’s first independent professional body for teaching,” he said.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely predicted to deliver yet another decision on Thursday to hold Bank Base Rate at 0.5% – and keep it there for many months to come.

It has so far opted to prioritise the need to support the economy over efforts to rein in stubbornly high inflation and economists believe the threat of a stalling recovery will continue to outweigh price concerns.

The UK economy may have risen by a far-better-than-expected 1.2% in the second quarter, but the signs point to faltering growth since then.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the MPC will vote to protect “what is still overall muted recovery from very deep recession”.

“Although UK GDP spiked up by 1.2% in the second quarter, the Bank is very well aware that this substantially exaggerates the strength of the economy and that the recovery is still at risk from serious headwinds,” he added.

The powerhouse services sector saw its slowest growth in more than a year during August, according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s (CIPS) closely-watched industry survey.

Recent CIPS data from manufacturers was also worrying, with growth in August hitting a nine-month low, while the latest official construction figures showed orders plunging 14% in the second quarter, suggesting a rocky road ahead.

The impact of the Government’s austerity drive is hitting confidence across the economy, with firms fearing the fall-out will spread far and wide.

With spending cuts looming large and tax hikes just months away, consumers are also feeling the pinch.

The blast came two weeks after an attack on the same site pointed to the failure of Iraqi forces to plug even the most obvious holes in their security.

Baghdad has been on high alert as the US declared the official end to its combat operations in Iraq last week, yet the militants still managed to hit an obvious target in the centre of the city that has been struck very recently.

On August 17, an al Qaida-linked suicide bomber blew himself up at the same east Baghdad military headquarters and killed 61 army recruits in the deadliest act of violence in Baghdad in months.

Iraqi military spokesman Major General Qassim al Moussawi said 12 people had been killed in the attack and 36 were injured. Five soldiers were among the dead.

A car bomb hit the building and exploded, and then gunmen assaulted the headquarters, battling with the building’s guards in a 15-minute firefight in the middle of Baghdad, according to police officials, who said at least three militants were wearing explosives belts.

The bombers were heading to the building’s entrance on foot but were shot by the guards before they could trigger their devices. One was only wounded and has been taken into custody.

Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al Askari confirmed that some of the gunmen were wearing explosives belts. He said they were planning a second blast.

The latest attack is an embarrassment for officials in the capital where security has been high in recent days as insurgents intensify their strikes on Iraqi police and soldiers to mark the change in the US mission.

The building attacked is the headquarters for the Iraqi Army’s 11th Division and an army recruitment centre.

Mr Osborne is rethinking proposals put forward by Sir David Walker last year to clamp down on the excessive pay culture seen in the run-up to the financial crisis, according to The Sunday Times.

Sir David’s reforms would have ensured banks revealed how many employees were paid more than £1 million and provide a breakdown of their multi-million pound earners into “pay bands”.

But it is thought that heavy lobbying from the banking sector has prompted the Chancellor to consider scrapping the plans in favour of less onerous regulations.

The news comes amid concerns over an exodus of banks from the UK, with recent reports suggesting HSBC is threatening to leave Britain if the Government moves to break up banks.

Banks have been pushing for less stringent disclosure rules as they claim the current plans would make it possible to identify traders and those earning the most, while also encouraging wage inflation as traders see how much peers are earning.

There is also believed to be wiggle room in the reforms, with only part of the Financial Services Act passed in the last Parliament and no specific detail on pay disclosure included.

But any decision to soften Sir David’s reforms would lead to accusations the banking sector is being allowed to revert to its pre-crisis ways.

Fears have already been raised by news last week that Credit Suisse handed out mammoth mid-year bonuses.

The Treasury was not immediately available for comment.

One of the men, from The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was killed in a blast in the Nad-e Ali District of Helmand Province.

A separate soldier, from the 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham, after being injured in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj area the province last month.

Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: “It is with deep sorrow I must inform you that a soldier died of his wounds in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

“He was from the 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, serving as part of the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles Battle Group, and had been seriously wounded in an explosion in southern Nahr-e Saraj on 24 August 2010.

“The soldier was part of a patrol that was preventing insurgents from disrupting the building of an important road that will allow local Afghans to travel more freely.

“His loss is a bitter blow but his bravery and selfless commitment to his men and the mission will never be forgotten. We will remember him.”

Earlier he paid tribute to the soldier from The Royal Scots Borderers, who was serving as part of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force when he was killed by a blast.

He said: “The soldier, serving with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force, was part of an operation that was disrupting insurgents in northern Nad-e Ali when he was killed by a rocket propelled grenade. Selfless in the course of his duty, he will be missed by his many friends. He was an inspirational soldier. We will remember him.”

This has been a bloody year for British troops in Afghanistan, with 89 dying so far in 2010, bringing the total UK deaths since the start of operations in 2001 to 334.

The Wolves striker will have a foot injury assessed on Sunday by the Hampden medical team but is a major doubt.

Defender Steven Whittaker is carrying a calf knock and will also be assessed but striker Chris Iwelumo is again out with a hamstring injury which caused him to miss the draw against Lithuania in Kaunas on Friday night.

Defenders Lee Wallace and Kevin McNaughton are back in the squad after missing the Lithuania match with foot and groin injuries respectively.

Goalkeeper Iain Turner has been drafted in as a precaution after David Marshall hurt his elbow.

Scotland assistant boss Peter Houston said: “Whittaker might not train Sunday but should be okay.

“Fletcher will be assessed later on Sunday and the physios and doctors will let us know.

“Iwelumo is out, he didn’t turn up, he was struggling.

“But Lee Wallace has turned up and he will do some work with the physios and Kevin McNaughton will join us.”

The “English Bac” would not replace GCSEs, but would be awarded to pupils who pass at least five of the exams, including English, maths, one science, one foreign language and one humanity, Mr Gove said.

He also revealed plans to “declutter” A-level courses, slimming down the number of modules and exams faced by students in order to allow them more time for extra-curricular pursuits such as art, music and sport, as well as “deep study” in their chosen subjects.

Mr Gove will publish a White Paper in the autumn which he said would “transform the accountability systems, the league tables, the whole qualification system in this country”.

He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show he was “worried” by the decline in the number of students taking GCSE sciences and languages under the current system, which he said did not do enough to encourage breadth of study.

“That really concerns me not just because it is bad for our economic position in the future,” said Mr Gove, adding: “It is depriving young people of the things they should get from education, which is a rounded sense of how to understand this world in all its complexity and richness.

“If you don’t understand science and you don’t understand other cultures, you are deliberately cutting yourself off from the best that is going on in our world.”

Mr Gove said he was “very attracted” by the baccalaureate systems operated by many European and Asian countries which deliver a broader educational curriculum than the current system in England.

He said: “I would like to explore setting up a sort of English Baccalaureate. What that would involve is saying to students, ‘You should be thinking about studying GCSE English, maths, a science, a modern or ancient foreign language and a humanity like history, geography, art or music’. If you get five GCSE passes in those areas, I think you should be entitled to special recognition.”

An English Bac would be the equivalent of the old School Leaving Certificate, showing that pupils have achieved the “broad, rounded education… which equips you for the modern world”, Mr Gove said.

Keir Rafferty, 15, was riding pillion with his father Colin, 51, in the Borders on Friday when their bike left the A72 near Galashiels and crashed into trees.

Father-of-three Mr Rafferty was a youth coach at Gala Fairydean football club and Keir played for the youth side.

His wife Brenda and sons Craig and Neil said they had lost a wonderful father, husband and best friend.

In a statement issued through Lothian and Borders Police, the family said: “Colin was always there for everybody, nothing was ever too much. He was passionate about life and lived it to the full.

“He will be remembered by friends, colleagues and the wider community from his role as a community psychiatric nurse and as a football coach for Gala Fairydean Youths.

“Keir was the youngest son and the centre of all our lives. He brightened up any room he walked into with his cheeky grin and being a young man who said a lot in a few words.

“He loved his football and was a natural pillion passenger. He and his dad loved the bike, travelling in UK and Europe together. This tragic loss will forever leave a huge hole in our family life. However the memories of their lives will keep us smiling and laughing at the many antics the two would get up to.”

The pair were travelling on the BMW motorcycle towards Galashiels when it crashed outside the town at 5.30pm.

No other vehicles were involved.

Officers stepped up efforts to trace witnesses after the violent assault, which is being treated as attempted murder, in Glasgow a week ago.

Police are returning to the scene on Maryhill Road outside Kelvin Campus on Sunday night at about 11pm – around the time of last week’s assault – to interview drivers.

The victim, named in newspaper reports as 26-year-old Bryan Hanlon, was forced off the road and assaulted by six or seven men last Sunday night.

Detective Superintendent Alan Buchanan of Strathclyde Police’s Major Investigation Team said: “As part of the ongoing investigation we will be back at the scene one week on, to interview drivers and passers by.

“I am appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time of the attack to come forward.

“I understand that some members of the public may be nervous about contacting us, but I can assure them that any information we receive will be treated in strict confidence.

“As a result of our investigation, I am now looking for information on a Silver BMW 5 Series and a black or dark coloured Range Rover both of which were seen driving at high speed on Maryhill Road around the time of the attack.”

Mr Hanlon was making his way along Maryhill Road at around 11.30pm when his silver Audi S4 was forced off the road and hit a wall. Armed men then got out of the vehicles and attacked him.

Police would not comment on reports a chisel was used in the assault

The issue will come under discussion at next week’s meeting of Alex Salmond’s cabinet, but the First Minister accepts the proposed vote is likely to be voted down by opposition parties at Holyrood.

Instead, he wants to make it a central issue in next May’s Scottish Parliament Holyrood election campaign.

The SNP had pledged to hold a referendum before entering the 2007 election with a preferred date for the vote of St Andrew’s Day on November 30 this year.

But a spokesman for Mr Salmond said: “Tactically, we are deciding whether to introduce a Bill to allow the unionist parties to vote it down or rather to publish the Bill and concentrate on canvassing public support.

“A new re-elected SNP government will be in a powerful position to secure passage of the referendum, having successfully mobilised the people over the blocking tactics of the unionist parties.”

It follows a meeting of party MSPs in Perth last week where opinion on the issue was canvassed.

Mr Salmond published details of the two-question referendum in February, which would cost about £9.5 million, in a draft Bill.

The first question would see voters asked if they backed increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

The second question would then ask people if they agreed that “the Parliament’s powers should also be extended to enable independence to be achieved”.

The mutual is understood to be considering axing its network of agencies based with firms such as solicitors and estate agents in a move that could impact hundreds of workers.

Nationwide’s agency network trades under the Nationwide banner, as well as the Cheshire, Derbyshire and Dunfermline brands, although staff that man the counters are not directly employed by Nationwide.

The counters operate within firms such as estate agencies, solicitor offices and financial advisory companies, providing basic banking services to local communities that often do not have a dedicated bank branch.

A statement on agency closures could come as soon as Tuesday, according to the Mail on Sunday report.

The decision would come just two months after Lloyds Banking Group said it was closing its 265-strong network of Halifax-branded agencies as part of ongoing cost cutting.

Lloyds said the agency business had already been in decline, almost halving since 2005. It will begin closing the counters from October 4.

Nationwide remained tight-lipped on plans for its agencies, but said on releasing full-year results in May that it was reviewing its distribution network.

Its 850 branches are not expected to be affected by the agency decision, although Nationwide chief executive Graham Beale has warned some branches will shut as he trims the business following a raft of recent takeovers.

Nationwide said: “Like any well run organisation we continually review all our operations to ensure they are delivering best value for our membership, in as efficient a way as possible. If we decide to make any changes to our distribution arrangements, we will, of course, let employees and key stakeholders know first.”

The morning rush hour is expected to bring the worst delays and lengthy traffic jams.

And the hold-ups are set to continue into the afternoon on what is predicted to be one of the busiest days on the roads.

Data gathered by road information service TomTom HD Traffic showed there were 1,087 miles of delays across the country between 6am and 9am on last year’s “back to school” Monday.

This compares with just 385 miles of congestion on a typical Monday morning in August.

The group is under pressure from political allies to renounce violence and has been repeatedly hit by the arrests of its leaders.

But the Basque regional government immediately dismissed the announcement as meaningless because ETA failed to renounce violence or announce its dissolution.

“It’s absolutely insufficient because it does not take into account what the vast majority of Basque society demands and requires from ETA, which is that it definitively abandon terrorist activity,” Basque regional interior minister Rodolfo Ares said.

The new pledge from ETA, which has been fighting for an independent homeland in parts of northern Spain and south-western France since the late 1960s, left several key questions unanswered. Besides silence on whether it will surrender its weapons, it did not say if the truce was open-ended and permanent, such as the one declared in 2006, or whether it would halt other activities such as extorting money from business leaders or recruiting members.

Nor was there any mention of whether the ceasefire could be monitored by international observers as called for on Friday by two Basque parties that back independence – ETA’s outlawed political wing Batasuna and a more moderate pro-independence party called Eusko Alkartasuna.

ETA’s announcement was not a surprise in Spain – in recent months, many people in the Basque region had been expecting a ceasefire. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba had said as recently as Friday he was expecting a ceasefire statement from ETA.

ETA’s last fatal attack was in July 2009 on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca with a car bomb that killed two police officers. But the group is suspected of having shot and killed a French police officer near Paris in March in a botched car robbery.

The new announcement came in a video sent to the BBC and a statement published by the newspaper Gara – a pro-independence daily that often serves as a mouthpiece for ETA.

The video showed three masked militants sitting at a table with a sign bearing the ETA insignia behind them – a snake curled around an axe. It was not immediately clear what steps it is seeking or if it is specifically seeking peace talks.

Assistant Commissioner John Yates said the Met has asked the New York Times to provide any new material it has relating to the case, including an interview with former reporter Sean Hoare, who has claimed that Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson knew about News of the World staff eavesdropping on private messages when he was editor of the paper.

Mr Yates also repeated the Met’s assurance that there was “no evidence” that former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott’s phone was hacked.

Lord Prescott has threatened to take legal action to force police to release any documents relating to him which were seized during an investigation which in 2007 led to journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire being jailed.

But Mr Yates said the Met has already provided Lord Prescott with all the information relevant to him, and by law cannot supply the actual documents unless ordered to do so by a court.

Mr Yates’ statement, released by Scotland Yard, is the first indication that police may be ready to reopen their inquiries into unconfirmed claims that reporters listened in to the voicemail messages of a long list of prominent figures, including politicians and celebrities.

The News of the World has always insisted that Goodman and Mulcaire were acting alone. The paper has rejected claims in the NYT that there was a wider culture of phone-hacking at the paper of which its editor was aware – something which Mr Coulson himself also denies.

All five candidates in the Labour leadership contest called for a fresh inquiry into the case. But Cabinet minister Michael Gove accused Labour of “recycling” old allegations in the hope of embarrassing Prime Minister David Cameron.

In his statement, Mr Yates said: “Since further allegations in relation to phone hacking first emerged in the Guardian in July 2009, the Metropolitan Police has been very clear about its position and made this public on a number of occasions.

“The newspaper produced no new evidence for us to consider reopening the case – a position endorsed separately by the Director of Public Prosecutions and leading counsel. We have always said that this position could change if new evidence was produced.”

Activists are demanding more representatives from the heartlands of Labour support on the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) in elections later this month.

As well as the leadership race, Labour Party members throughout the UK are about to also elect six members to represent local constituency parties onto the 30 plus NEC body which decides on policy and strategy.

The NEC is made up of three groups: MPs, trade unionists and representatives from the constituency parties, the rank and file of the membership.

But currently of the six representatives from the constituency parties, none are from Scotland and Wales and five of the six are from London or the Home Counties.

The sixth NEC party representative, Peter Wheeler, comes from Salford and is leading the campaign.

“The current arrangements just don’t provide enough representation for the different parts of the UK,” Mr Wheeler said.

“It’s important that members in strong Labour areas like Scotland and Wales are directly represented when decisions are made about our Party’s future.

“Labour can sometimes be seen as being too dominated by London.”

The party did much better in Scotland and Wales compared to the whole of the UK at the last election.

The morning tete-a-tete has become increasingly popular among those who have to meet the rigorous demands of busy schedules and tight company expense accounts.

According to the survey, morning get-togethers are believed to have more positive outcomes than those later in the day and many workers (67%) claim they are more likely to pay attention at this time.

Meanwhile, two thirds of people said early meetings were becoming more common as bosses try to make the most of staff productivity levels and budgets.

Breakfast is now widely accepted to be an important part of a healthy routine and most people (79%) claimed it made them more efficient.

And more than half of workers said they were more likely to arrange an early morning meeting for this reason while a quarter admitted to cancelling an afternoon arrangement because they were struggling to concentrate.

Kevin Hydes, of Costa Coffee, said there had been a rise in the number of morning business get-togethers at the cafe chain.

“The study has proved what we have been noticing in our own stores, that breakfast business meetings are becoming more and more popular,” he said.

“People tend to be much more alert after they’ve had a good night’s sleep, a good breakfast and a great cup of coffee, so not only are people more likely to pay attention, but they are likely to be more enthusiastic about what is being discussed.

“To add to that, the moment you get into the office, it’s easy to get bogged down with phones calls and emails, so breaking to go into a meeting in the middle of the day can be a nightmare. It’s much better than meeting later on in the day when all you are thinking about is going home.”

Mr Gove rushed through legislation shortly after the election to pave the way for parents, charities and businesses to set up independent schools within the state system, and trumpeted the fact that 700 groups had expressed an interest in the idea.

He insisted that he was “excited by the extent of interest” in the scheme, and said that the approval of 16 free schools to open next year was “well in excess” of his expectations.

But opponents are likely to seize on the figure as a sign of limited enthusiasm for the coalition Government’s flagship education reforms.

Mr Gove told BBC1′s Andrew Marr Show: “I expect that there will probably be 16 schools in the very first wave. We have had over 700 groups that have been in contact with a charity called the New Schools Network that has been operational over the last few months.

“Of those 700, about 100 or so have actually put applications in to the Department for Education and of those, there are 16 that are mustard-keen to open in September 2011.

“I have been excited by the extent of interest and by the enthusiasm shown by these inspirational people. Many of them are teachers currently in the state system who want to transform the education of children, often in the very poorest areas.”

Mr Gove rejected suggestions that the number of applications to set up free schools and the number of approvals for the 2011 school year was lower than he had been anticipating.

“It is actually well in excess of my hopes,” he said. “Before the General Election, people said `You will never get a bill through to facilitate this in the first few weeks of the new Government’. People also said the idea of new schools opening in September 2011 couldn’t happen.

“They said it takes three to five years for schools to open, but actually we are making the difference.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, pointed out that the Pope had met victims of clerical sex abuse during recent visits to other countries.

But he stressed this was always done confidentially and in private and that was the “right and proper” way to approach such a sensitive issue.

It has been reported that Vatican officials are concerned the Pope’s visit to England and Scotland could be overshadowed by demonstrations.

Cardinal Nichols appeared to play down such suggestions, saying he would not put the “real tragedy” of child abuse “in the category of something that will overshadow everything else about this visit”.

And responding to a poll that more than three quarters of Britons think the taxpayer should not contribute to the cost of the four-day visit, the cardinal said it would be a “very sad day” when a country said it could not afford it.

He added: “It would be a real gesture of isolationism. We should remember that the Pope comes as the spiritual leader of one in five of all people on this planet so this is not a minor figure as it were.”

He also stressed the “important agenda” of the visit in developing relationships between the Government and the worldwide Catholic Church.

Asked on BBC1′s Andrew Marr Show if the Pope would meet with abuse victims during his state visit the cardinal said: “The pattern of his last five or six visits has been that he has met victims of abuse.

“But the rules are very clear, that is done without any pre-announcement, it is done in private and it is done confidentially, which is quite right and proper so I think we have to wait and see.”

Cardinal Keith O’Brien believes that mainstream Christian views have been marginalised by the corporation.

He also voiced concern over a forthcoming documentary about the Pope’s visit, as well as the general level of religious programming.

Cardinal O’Brien told the Sunday Times: “(Our) detailed research into BBC news coverage of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular, together with a systematic analysis of output by the Catholic church, has revealed a consistent anti-Christian institutional bias.

“This week the BBC’s director-general admitted that the corporation had displayed massive bias’ in its political coverage throughout the 1980s, acknowledging the existence of an institutional political bias.

“Senior news managers have admitted to the Catholic church that a radically secular mindset and socially liberal mindset pervades their newsrooms.

“This is utterly at odds with wider public attitudes and sadly taints BBC news and current affairs coverage of religious issues, particularly matters of Christian belief.”

A BBC spokeswoman rejected the Cardinal’s claims of institutional bias.

She said: “The BBC’s news and current affairs coverage of any subject is approached in an objective and impartial way reflecting the different sides of the debate.

“BBC news and current affairs has a dedicated religion correspondent, and works closely with BBC Religion, ensuring topical religious and ethical affairs stories are featured across all BBC networks.”

At least 500 buildings, including 90 downtown properties, have been designated as destroyed in the quake that struck near the South Island city of 400,000 people. But most other buildings sustained only minor damage.

Only two serious injuries were reported from the quake as chimneys and walls of older buildings were reduced to rubble and crumbled to the ground. The prime minister said it was a miracle no one was killed.

Power was cut across the region, roads were blocked by debris, and gas and water supplies were disrupted, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said. He warned continuing aftershocks could cause masonry to fall from damaged buildings, as could gale force winds due to buffet the region on Sunday.

Canterbury University geology professor Mark Quigley said what “looks to us that it could be a new fault” had ripped across the earth and pushed some surface areas up about three feet. The quake was caused by the ongoing collision between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, he said.

“One side of the earth has lurched to the right … up to 11 feet and in some places been thrust up,” Quigley told National Radio.

“The long linear fracture on the earth’s surface does things like break apart houses, break apart roads. We went and saw two houses that were completely snapped in half by the earthquake,” he said.

Roger Bates, whose dairy farm at Darfield was close to the quake’s epicentre, said the new fault line had ripped up the surface across his land.

“The whole dairy farm is like the sea now, with real (soil) waves right across the dairy farm. We don’t have physical holes (but) where the fault goes through it’s been raised a metre or metre and a half,” he told National Radio. “Trouble is, I’ve lost two metres of land off my boundary,” he added.

Experts said the low number of injuries in the powerful quake reflects the country’s strict building codes.

Two more Palestinians are missing following the airstrikes late on Saturday, which the Israeli military said was retaliation for Hamas shooting attacks.

The officials identified all five men as smugglers working in one of the many tunnels used to ferry goods under the Gaza-Egypt border.

The Israeli military said aircraft attacked two smuggling tunnels and a third that was intended to allow militants to infiltrate into Israel. The military said the strikes were retaliation for attacks against Israelis over the last week.

Last week, two Hamas attacks targeting Israeli cars on West Bank roads killed four residents of West Bank settlements and wounded two others.

Sgt Mark Andrews is shown dragging Pamela Somerville, 59, across the floor of the police station in Wiltshire before shoving her into a cell.

CCTV footage captured her lying on the floor for a minute before struggling to get up with blood pouring from a head wound.

Former soldier Sgt Andrews, 37, was eventually convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm after a trial at Oxford Magistrates’ Court earlier this summer. He will be sentenced on Tuesday and is expected to lose his job.

The case was brought after another officer at Melksham station reported his behaviour to a supervisor.

It happened in July 2008, when Ms Somerville was arrested after being found asleep in her car. She was detained for failing to provide a sample for a breath test.

Then aged 57, she was thrown in the cell at Melksham police station after being grabbed in the station lobby by custody sergeant Andrews.

CCTV footage shows Andrews coming back into the cell after she gets to her feet and calls for help before another person comes to check her and paramedics are called.

She was taken to Royal United Hospital in Bath and needed stitches in a gash above her eye.

Ms Somerville told the Mail on Sunday: “I still find it hard to watch the images of me staggering to my feet with blood pouring from a head wound because I can remember how terrified I was.”

Including those who pay for holidays with credit cards, 28% used borrowed money for their breaks, the poll by travel agent www.sunshine.co.uk found.

Of these borrowers, more than half paid with credit cards, while around a quarter took out a bank loan and a fifth borrowed money from family or friends.

Around 20% of the holiday borrowers said they would rather be in debt than go without their trip away.

The poll of 1,891 holidaymakers also revealed that half the borrowers took 12 months or more to complete repayments, with 22% taking six months and only 7% clearing their debt within one month.

As many as 23% of people admitted to having had sex with a stranger on holiday, the poll for price comparison website Travelspec.com found.

Of these, 3% thought they had slept with someone but could not really remember because they were too drunk.

The survey, based on responses from 6,000 people, also showed that 10% of men, but only 4% of women, had sex on a plane.

A total of 35% got drunk every night when away, with 40% of men and 32% of women admitting to having had sex on the beach.

Travelspec.com managing director Rafi Neumann said: “We go on holiday to let our hair down and perhaps do things that we’d never consider at home.

“It would appear that some holidaymakers are taking this a little too far and coming back with souvenirs they didn’t bargain for.”

Despite the lurid headlines in two Sunday newspapers, Rooney is set to travel to Switzerlandon Monday for England’s Euro qualifier.

Team-mate James Milner said he expects the striker to continue performing for the national side and Mr Clifford said as long as he keeps scoring goals the fans will not care.

Mr Clifford said: “The only thing Wayne Rooney has to worry about is his wife, whether she like all the others, is prepared to accept her husband’s alleged infidelities. Nobody in football gives a monkey’s as long as he’s winning on the pitch.

“Man United fans love him. He could be a mass murderer as long as he’s scoring goals.

“(England manager Fabio) Capello can’t demote him because that would mean he couldn’t play and the team needs him. Rival fans will have something else to shout about, but so what?”

Earlier, a spokesman for electronic game firm EA Sports, one of Rooney’s sponsors, said: “This is a personal matter and we respect Wayne and his family’s privacy. We have worked together for six years and Wayne continues to represent EA Sports. We will be making no further comment at this time.”

A press conference ahead of England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland was dominated by questions about the allegations.

The News of the World said Rooney paid more than a thousand pounds a time to have sex with a prostitute while his wife Coleen was pregnant with their first child.

Manchester City midfielder Milner said it was business as usual for the squad and Rooney took part in the full training session.

The 19-year-old woman was driving a Ford Ka which was involved in a collision with a Renault Megane on the A981 Memsie to Strichen Road, just after midnight.

The Ka was travelling north on the road and the Megane in the opposite direction, about 1.5 miles outside Memsie, when the crash happened.

Four of the passengers were taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary by ambulance suffering from serious injuries.

The road was closed to allow accident investigators to carry out a detailed examination of the scene and local diversions were put in place.

It is expected to re-open later on Sunday morning.

Despite being one of Hollywood’s hottest stars with roles in Prince Of Persia and Quantum Of Solace under her belt, the former Bond girl describes herself as being “a loser” in her teenage years.

“I was very bookish, very much into amateur dramatics, and I wasn’t really a hit with the guys, either – I was a bit sad and a bit desperate; I still feel like that inside, it’s funny,” she said.

“That’s how I started, which is the geekiest thing ever,” she added.

The change in confidence came when Gemma – who next appears in Tamara Drewe alongside Dominic Cooper – worked as a karaoke hostess in what she describes as a ‘gangster pub’ in London.

“I had to become really very self-assured very quickly to survive,” she revealed.

“Someone tried to whack me over the head with a crowbar one night because I wouldn’t serve him. I was 18 and I remember saying, ‘Calm down and get out’. That was really when I grew up.”

:: Tamara Drewe opens in cinemas on September 10.

From November 1 this year, the amount of Air Passenger Duty (APD) Britons travelling to the Caribbean pay will have risen by up to 94% in two years.

This will mean a family of four travelling to the Caribbean in premium economy class will pay £600 in APD alone.

The delegation, which includes six Caribbean tourism ministers, will argue that it is wrong that those travelling to the Caribbean should pay more than those going as far as Hawaii.

The West Indies regularly welcomes large numbers of British visitors, with tourism representing as much as 70% of the gross domestic product on some islands.

More than 20,000 people have signed up for the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run in Glasgow.

The annual 10K and half marathon race is the largest mass participation sporting event in the country and raises millions for charity.

Ms Sturgeon will be running with members of community radio station Awaz FM to raise cash for flood victims in Pakistan.

Pop Idol winner and The Hour co-host McManus is taking part in support of the Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust.

Tsegai Tewelde won the 10K last year, completing the race in 29 minutes and 56 seconds.

Jason Mbote finished the half marathon in one hour, one minute and 19 seconds.

The group said its research revealed for the first time the “huge” amounts unions have received in direct grants and paid staff time from public sector organisations, departments, quangos, councils, NHS Trusts and fire authorities in the last two financial years.

The report said that unions received £85.8 million from public sector organisations in 2009-10, including £18.3 million in direct payments from public sector organisations and an estimated £67.5 million in paid staff time. The total is up 14% from 2008-09, when trade unions received £76.1 million from public sector organisations, said the report.

Direct payments included £13 million in 2008-09 and £14.9 million in 2009-10 paid by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills through the Union Learning Fund and the Union Modernisation Fund, according to the Alliance.

Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Trade unions are lining up to fight vital cuts in public spending and threatening strikes that could cause massive disruption for ordinary families. By financing their other work, like representing and recruiting members, taxpayers’ money frees up union funds for political contributions and expensive campaigns.

“If big, rich, public sector unions are going to take an active political role, there is no way they should be getting taxpayers’ money.”

Jennifer Dunn, policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: “Taxpayers expect their money to be spent providing services, not propping up unions fighting for their own interests. Public sector employees should be working for the public and not representing trade unions, whose agenda threatens to jeopardise public services. The unions should not be given special treatment and should pay for their own representatives and programmes.”

Brian Strutton, national officer of the GMB union said the report was “right wing axe grinding”, adding: “It is an attack on workplace reps who provide a valuable service for workers and employers in workplaces across the land.

“Trade unions do not get taxpayer funding. Workplace reps are allowed paid time off by law for duties that benefit employers as well as workers in negotiations and consultations, in dealing with complaints and representing workers in disciplinary matters. Reports have shown that union reps save employers money by improving the workplace and encouraging workers to improve skills.”

Dave Prentis, leader of Unison, said: “The TaxPayers’ Alliance is digging up another tired old chestnut. Taxpayers expect their money to be spent providing services, not answering spurious questions from the Alliance to prop up their own political interests. Attacking trade unions who work with employers to create an efficient, more motivated workplace is just plain daft. The reality is they are Conservative funded and are costing taxpayers millions of pounds, and tying up valuable management time, for their own ends.”

Transport Scotland officials also took international flights to South Korea, Peru, Venezuela and South Africa, as well as 33 flights to Dusseldorf and 17 to Amsterdam in the last year.

The figures were obtained through Freedom of Information by the Liberal Democrats.

Party transport spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: “The number of flights within mainland Britain taken by Transport Scotland is sky high.

“Given that Transport Scotland only employ 280 people, I wonder how they can take so many flights. This is Scotland’s transport agency – the body supposed to be helping us reduce our emissions. They have produced more than 100 tonnes of CO2 by flying, both at home and abroad.”

Transport Scotland took 661 short-haul domestic flights in the last 12 months on the British mainland. Taking in Ireland and the islands, this rises to 731.

These flights pumped more than 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, according to the Lib Dems. All flights taken by the body, including international, produced 116 tonnes of CO2.

Transport Scotland set a target of reducing annual emissions from air journeys, particularly between Scotland and London, by 20,000 kg of CO2 between 2010 and 2013, a 20% reduction, according to its travel plan for the period.

A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said its travel plan was the first in the UK to set targets for both business travel and staff travel commuting to and from work.

She said: “We continue to lead the field in this regard, however we know there is more to do and that is why we are doubling our efforts. Our recently-published revised plan focuses on business travel and sets challenging targets for reducing emissions by 15% overall by 2013 and 20% for air travel. But that is just the start as we are aiming for an overall 25% reduction by 2020.”

Scottish Development International (SDI) has also helped create or secure the future of 5,500 planned jobs, according to its results for the last financial year.

SDI is a joint venture between Scottish Enterprise (SE), Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Scottish Government, and is responsible for attracting foreign investment into Scotland as well as helping Scottish businesses flourish overseas.

Anne MacColl, interim chief executive of SDI, said: “As a nation, Scotland has always punched above its weight in attracting inward investment, although winning this type of investment has become more challenging as global markets suffered during the recession.

“Despite this, we have hit our targets and are encouraged by the range of new investment projects we’ve helped to secure during the last year, such as those by Skykon, Glaxo SmithKline, Ryanair, Tesco Personal Finance and Stena.

“This type of investment has secured over 5,500 planned jobs for Scotland and shows that Scotland remains attractive to investors across a wide range of sectors.”

The results also indicate that SDI helped more than 900 Scottish companies to internationalise, up 100 more than last year.

Scottish companies will generate a projected £220 million in sales from participation in exhibitions, trade missions and learning journeys facilitated by SDI.

Enterprise Minister Jim Mather said the results underline the significance of the body’s work in promoting Scotland on the international stage.

He said: “Securing continued inward investment at a time of global economic uncertainty is a commendable achievement, and the challenge now with a fragile recovery under way is to sustain this level of performance and steer Scotland towards long-term economic success.”

Mr Swinney is beginning a series of meetings about his budget for 2011-12 later this week.

But he warned Scotland was facing a drop of £3.7 billion in the amount of cash it had to spend over the next four years – blaming “Westminster cuts” by both Labour and the coalition Government.

Mr Swinney said: “In dealing with these Westminster spending cuts, we have already said our budget priorities are economic recovery, protecting front line services and developing a low carbon Scotland as part of our efforts to drive forward the country’s massive renewable energy potential.”

The budget talks come after the Independent Budget Review group warned up to 50,000 jobs in the public sector could be axed while no area of public services should be spared from the prospect of cuts.

The group’s report, published in July, said cutting the “huge” cost of public sector pay and the range of universal benefits enjoyed by Scots like free personal care, concessionary travel and eye tests needed to be looked at.

It also argued the Scottish Government’s council tax freeze did not appear to be “sustainable” in the long term.

Mr Swinney said the report had “focused minds on the challenges we currently have to deal with in a period of reduced UK public spending”.

Ahead of a meeting with councils, NHS workers and businesses, community and voluntary groups, Mr Swinney said: “I now want to hear first hand what people think of the challenges we face.”

The Finance Secretary and Crawford Beveridge, who chaired the Independent Budget Review, are meeting public, private and voluntary sector representatives in Livingston, West Lothian, on Tuesday night. Similar meetings are also planned for Aberdeen, Galashiels, Glasgow, Kirkintilloch and Kirkcudbright.

Every month more than six million patients who phone a doctor between 8am and 10am are unable to get through, research suggested.

And it found 93% of calls to surgeries which use normal landlines go unanswered because the number is busy.

Meanwhile, those which used a system to treat calls increased the number of patients getting through first time to more than 98%. These callers found it more than twice as easy to get hold of a doctor and three times as easy to get test results on the phone.

Network Europe Group (NEG), a telephone service provider which conducted the study, is now calling on the Government to adopt a standardised system so people are able to make appointments or pick up test results when they need to.

Dean Rayment, managing director of NEG, said: “We were genuinely shocked by the findings of our research. We think the Government will be equally shocked.”

But he said doctors should remain free to decide on the system that works best for their patients.

Questions have been raised over the use of automated systems which previously saw customers charged over the odds to contact their local health service. But recent legislation means patients only pay for the cost of a local call.

The Department of Health stressed GPs should have the freedom to provide services as they see fit.

A spokesman said: “The NHS White Paper published earlier this summer set out plans to give everyone the right to choose the GP that best meets their needs and we are removing ineffective top-down political targets that get in the way of GPs responding to people’s needs. Instead of the Government telling GPs what patients want, we want patients to tell their GP themselves what they want and then give GPs the freedom to provide services and be accountable for the results they achieve. We also intend to roll out one single number 111 for all urgent care needs by 2013.”

The firm issued a profits warning in May and said its chief executive Mike Davies would retire in favour of a successor with “specific retail expertise”.

Its woes were compounded by the hot early summer weather, which made the traditionally quieter period even tougher on the firm.

Thorntons, which has 377 stores across the UK, revealed in July this caused sales declines to deepen, down 6% in the 10 weeks to June 26, worse than the 4.6% drop seen in the previous quarter.

The retailer said it was cutting 35 staff from its head office in Alfreton, Derbyshire, to cut costs as it looks to combat tougher trading.

Analysts are expecting the weak sales performance to have left underlying annual pre-tax profits down to £6.2 million from £6.3 million a year earlier.

Numis Securities flagged up concerns that Thorntons is suffering a general loss of market share to supermarkets, which they said may hit profits further going forward. However, there were some bright spots in Thorntons trading over the past year, with its Thorntons Direct website boosted by recovering sales of corporate customers in the second half of the year. Franchise sales have also recovered after the impact of the Birthdays greeting card chain administration a year earlier, up 29% in the fourth quarter.

Separately, online retailer Ocado’s first trading update as a listed company comes amid yet more fears over its controversial stock market valuation. The group, which has a delivery partnership with Waitrose, has seen shares driven down since July’s flotation. It was forced to slash the offer price to 180p after early hopes for between 200p and 275p as investors baulked at the initial £1.2 billion value put on the firm.

Shares slumped further on the first day of trading and the stock has languished around 20% lower since then, falling as low as 139p at one stage.

Ocado’s trading update on Tuesday is expected to show sales growth momentum in the third quarter, after a 29% leap in the first half.

“They will be out soon,” said Jose Inciarte, one of the four crash survivors visiting the San Jose copper and gold mine in northern Chile.

“The whole world is with them.”

The men communicated with miners by video, urging them to appreciate the relative good fortune that nobody died in the partial tunnel collapse on August 5. They said that they were moved by the miners’ bravery.

“There is little similar between our story and theirs,” Inciarte said. “Theirs is more beautiful because they are all alive.”

Fellow survivor Gustavo Servino said to the extent possible the miners should “enjoy themselves.”

“Nobody died,” he said.

After speaking with the miners, the men presented a Uruguayan flag, which they said they would leave at the camp as a symbol of Latin American solidarity. “Viva, Chile!” they yelled.

Inciarte and Servino were among 16 Uruguayans who survived a plane crash in the snow-covered Andes in 1972. They waited 72 days to be rescued, and some were forced to eat the flesh of friends killed in the crash to stay alive. Their story inspired the book and film “Alive”.

Just a handful of miners’ relatives received the Uruguayans; many have started to come and go as rescuers pursue what could be a months-long process of digging a tunnel big enough to extract the miners.

The Sunday Times quoted a leaked Ministry of Defence document as saying that 5% of the Army’s 102,000 personnel were no longer fit to be deployed in action.

The newspaper suggested that the worst affected 1,500 troops were in line to be discharged first, with 750 following in each of the next few years. While “only a proportion of those discharged are likely to have been injured on operations… this number is likely to grow as operations in Afghanistan continue”, the document said.

The MoD refused to comment on the leaked document, but a spokesman played down suggestions that a mass cull of injured troops was in the offing and insisted there was no quota for numbers to leave the Army.

“The number of soldiers medically discharged is done on a case by case basis and it is inappropriate to speculate on future numbers,” said the spokesman.

Earlier this year, the MoD unveiled a £70 million project to help injured troops to either remain in the forces or make a transition to civilian life.

The Army Recovery Capability scheme envisaged 12 “personnel recovery units” around the UK providing programmes aimed at either getting them fit to return to a military post or preparing them for life outside the Armed Forces.

Launching the programme in February, General Sir David Richards, the head of the Army, said: “I confidently expect that no soldier who thinks it is in his interest to stay will be forced out.”

But the new document, drawn up by a civil servant at UK Land Forces HQ in Wiltshire and circulated to ministers, senior MoD officials and Army top brass, suggested that the discharge of injured troops was likely to prove controversial.

Entitled Management of Army Personnel who are Medically Unfit for Service, it conceded that discharges of injured troops may be seen as the “MoD discarding those who have sacrificed much on our behalf”, said the Sunday Times. And it added: “Difficult decisions will inevitably need to be made about individuals who already have a significant media profile. These will require careful handling.”

Mr Baker said he had ordered officials to draw up plans to introduce the cards – based on London’s Oyster card scheme – “within a few years”, in order to encourage use of public transport.

Ultimately, the goal would be to allow seamless travel on one ticket throughout the country, although Mr Baker accepted that including long-distance rail journeys in the scheme may be complicated.

It is intended that the cards would be topped up in shops, online or by phone, with fares automatically deducted by card-reading technology on buses and trains. The cost of the scheme would be met by private bus and rail operators.

Mr Baker told the Sunday Express: “The aim is that you get one smartcard ticket which enables you to use it whether you are in Bristol on the bus, on the Tube in London or in Newcastle on the Metro.”

The spokesman for the UNAMID mission, Chris Cycmanick, said the fighting took place in the Hamidia refugee camp in West Darfur late on Friday night and continued intermittently through to Saturday morning.

According to witnesses in the camp, the clashes between different groups in the camp left six people dead, Cycmanick said. Thirty-three people were wounded. It was not immediately clear what sparked the violence.

Ibrahim al-Helw, a spokesman for a Darfur rebel group in the area, blamed government-allied gunmen for the fighting. He said 10 people were killed and 29 wounded.

The clashes come less than two weeks after the UN Security Council called for the demilitarisation of the camps in Darfur, which serve as a temporary home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The UN appeal was spurred by similar violence in another refugee camp between that left five people dead. Humanitarian workers were barred from the camps for two weeks after the clashes.

Fighting in Darfur began with a 2003 rebellion by groups who accused the government of neglecting the vast desert region. The conflict has left up to 300,000 people dead and forced 2.7 million to flee their homes – many to camps in Sudan’s vast western region, according to UN figures.

UN officials remain concerned about the presence of weapons and armed groups inside the camps.

While violence has tapered off in recent years, there have been growing signs of unrest in Darfur since President Omar al-Bashir won another five-year term in April elections. The international criminal court in The Hague has charged al-Bashir with war crimes and genocide for the conflict in Darfur.

Fighting between the government and disparate rebel groups has at times been fuelled by attempts to revive peace talks, although negotiations have stalled because of a lack of trust.

The YouGov survey for the Scottish Mail on Sunday suggests a drop in support for the SNP ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections.

In the poll of 1,000 people, Labour received the backing of 39% of Scots in the constituency vote, with the SNP trailing on 29%.

Results for the regional list put Labour on 36% and the SNP on 26%.

A poll commissioned by the Nationalists last month had put them just one point behind their closest rivals.

John Curtice, a professor of politics at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, calculated an eight-seat gain for Labour and a 12 seat loss for the SNP based on the figures.

The survey put the Conservatives on 19% and the Liberal Democrats on 11% in the constituency vote.

Results for the regional list put the Conservatives on 15% and the Lib Dems on 12%.

Mr Curtice told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: “This is a deeply disappointing poll for the SNP. It suggests Alex Salmond faces an uphill struggle in his battle to remain in power next year.”

YouGov questioned more than 1000 people between July 28 and August 3.

During today’s tasks housemates had to complete a series of uncomfortable challenges without making a sound.

When Brian entered the task room he was ordered by Big Brother to find a “needle in a nettle stack” in three minutes.

The former cabin crew supervisor for Ryanair pulled off his hat in frustration and screamed when the three minutes was up.

The 32-year-old, who won the show in 2001, is the bookies favourite to win the series. Bookmakers William Hill have him priced at 2/5.

During other silent tasks, Michelle Bass was tickled by Big Brother 4 housemate Jon Tickle, Vanessa Feltz and Chantelle Houghton played catch with a cactus and “nasty” Nick Bateman crawled across 300 upturned hairbrushes.

After all housemates successfully kept their mouths closed during the challenges they were rewarded with a rock party.

The contestants were given costumes, blow-up guitars, food and alcohol as a reward.

After the “factionalism and backbiting” of the last Labour administration, exposed in memoirs by Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson, the coalition is delivering “modern, responsible politics”, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister claimed in a joint article for the Sunday Telegraph.

And they accused Labour of “opposition for opposition’s sake”, citing the party’s plan to vote against a bill to introduce the Alternative Vote for Westminster elections on Monday, despite the reform having been in its manifesto.

The strength of the coalition has begun to be tested in recent weeks by rumbles of discontent from Liberal Democrat ranks over public spending cuts and backbench Conservative opposition to a referendum on AV.

But Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg insisted that the unprecedented Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition will be able to deliver “stable and strong Government”.

They said: “We have no doubt that our Government, like any Government, will face exceptional pressures. But we are turning a page on the poisonous culture of infighting which drained the previous Government of purpose.

“We remain united in the view that two parties, coming together in a sincere attempt to provide stable and strong Government at a time when the country is facing huge challenges, can be more than the sum of their parts.”

Far from being a recipe for a “fragile” administration and “soggy compromise”, as some predicted, the blend of Tory and Lib Dem policies had “produced more, not less radicalism”, they said.

They defended plans for a swift reduction in the deficit, which will see the bulk of Whitehall departments ordered to deliver cuts averaging 33% over four years in next month’s spending review.

“The times ahead will be incredibly difficult for our country, but the prize is this: interest rates lower for longer, confidence restored in our economy, and a recovery locked in,” said Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg.

A new valve known as a blow-out preventer was placed over the well on Friday after crews replaced a damaged device.

This will now be examined by investigators looking into the causes of the disaster.

Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen said: “Under the direction of the federal science team and US government engineers, BP used the Development Driller II to successfully install a fully functioning and tested Blow Out Preventer (BOP) on the cemented Macondo 252 well.”

He said there was no observable release of hydrocarbons during the operation.

“This is an important milestone as we move toward completing the relief well and permanently killing the Macondo 252 well. I will continue to provide updates as necessary,” he added.

The ruptured well has been shut since July 15 after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded killing 11 workers and causing the worst environmental disaster ever to hit the region.

Since the accident on April 20, BP has come under prolonged attack in the US for perceived safety failings and its attitude towards the investigation.

Besides causing catastrophic pollution, the oil spill also led to the departure of BP chief executive Tony Hayward.

The oil giant has estimated the cost of tackling the disaster to eight billion US dollars (£5.2 billion) so far.

Test batsman Yasir Hameed said he believed he was speaking to a potential sponsor and did not know the conversation was being recorded. He said was naive to be caught out but the conversation detailed in the News of the World was “largely inaccurately reported”.

Meanwhile, limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi described Hameed as an unreliable character with the mental age of an adolescent.

Businessman Mazhar Majeed is accused of accepting £150,000 to arrange for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer to deliberately bowl no-balls during the fourth Test at Lord’s.

A statement was read out on Hameed’s behalf by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi outside the High Commission.

The day after the newspaper published the allegations Hameed said he was approached by a man at the Holiday Inn in Nottingham who introduced himself as Abid Khan and offered to arrange a £50,000 sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways.

Hameed said it was only later that he discovered the man was the News of the World’s “fake sheikh” Mazher Mahmood.

“Naturally, I was interested in what he had to say and we began a conversation,” he said, adding that he gave him the names of four other players who might be interested in a similar deal.

“Then Abid Khan started asking about the current match fixing allegations and as I saw him as a friend and a potential agent I naively started to answer his questions.

“He asked me about the match fixing allegations and if I had any further knowledge. As far as I recall, I only told him whatever I had already read in the newspapers about the matter.”

A four-seater touring aircraft is believed to have broken up and plummeted into remote woodland after crashing with a sports aircraft at Havenstreet on the Isle of Wight.

The sports aircraft, also carrying two men, suffered damage but limped safely back to Bembridge airport with both its occupants escaping serious injury.

Investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) launched an inquiry into what caused the collision just after 5pm on Saturday evening.

The planes were among 19 aircraft taking part in Saturday’s Merlin Trophy races, the precursor for Sunday’s main annual Schneider Trophy, which has now been cancelled.

A Hampshire Police spokesman said: “Police received the call from a member of the public this evening at 5.08pm to report two light aircraft in collision over the island. One of these aircraft, containing two people, suffered damage and made its way safely to Bembridge airport.

“The other aircraft, also containing two people, came down in a remote wooded area in the Havenstreet area. Both occupants of this second aircraft have now been confirmed dead.”

The Schneider Trophy race includes light and vintage aircraft and has been held on the island for a number of years.

Tim Wassell, chairman of the Royal Aero Club Racing and Rally Association, organisers of the Schneider Trophy, said: “There was a mid-air collision just before the finish of the race. Two planes were in collision and both had two men on board. One was a four-seater touring aircraft which, it would appear from witness reports, appears to have broken up mid-air and come down in woodland at Rowlands Woods. The second plane, a sports aircraft, was badly damaged by the collision but limped back to Bembridge Airport. The two occupants from there are safe.”

Police were making the area safe and working to formally identify the two victims, a force spokeswoman said.

Up to 200 Tube maintenance workers at depots on London Underground’s Jubilee and Northern lines will go on strike for 24 hours from 7pm in a row over pay and conditions.

The Alstom-Metro employees will also walk out for the same time on October 2, November 1 and November 27 after rejecting an “insulting” sub-inflation pay offer.

An indefinite overtime ban will also begin at a minute after midnight.

Thousands of members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association will strike for 24 hours from 5pm on Monday in a major dispute over 800 job losses.

Scottish eventer Nicola Malcolm had been competing in the cross-country phase of the four-star event aboard her grey gelding McFly on Saturday when she took a tumble at the 19th fence.

Competition stopped for around an hour when the 22-year-old, from Renfrewshire, was unseated at the Birch Hedge.

Her mount is understood to have struck the fence with his back legs.

Course designer Mark Phillips said: “My information is that the horse stood off a little too far, hit the fence with its hind legs and the impact catapulted Nicola into the air.”

Malcolm, who was treated at the scene in Lincolnshire, was later airlifted to hospital in Coventry where she has undergone head scans. Her condition was described as stable.

British star William Fox-Pitt, who lies in third place ahead of Sunday’s showjumping finale, said: “The information we were getting back was that they were getting Nicola away safely. It’s when you know nothing about what is going on that it is horrific.”

Olympian Fox-Pitt is chasing a record sixth victory in the event which could see him scoop the £50,000 top prize with his horse, Seacookie.

Two riders – Frenchman Eddy Sans and Ireland’s Louise Lyons – were held on the course behind Malcolm following her fall but the competition resumed around an hour later. Her horse was not injured.

Burghley and Badminton are the showpieces of British eventing’s season and are two of only five annual four-star competitions worldwide.

A statement issued by Karzai’s office in Kabul described the new High Peace Council as a “significant step toward peace talks”.

The council will consist of former members of the Taliban, jihadi leaders, top figures and women. Its members are to be announced next week.

A Foreign Office spokesman in London said: “We warmly welcome today’s (Saturday’s) announcement.

“We will not bring about a more secure Afghanistan by military means alone.

“President Karzai’s decision builds on the successes of the Consultative Peace Jirga and Kabul Conference, and is rooted in the Afghan people’s desire for peace through negotiation.

“We have always said that a political process is needed to bring the conflict in Afghanistan to an end.”

The creation of a forum for talks with insurgents willing to renounce violence, sever links with terror networks and honour the constitution was a key decision of the peace conference hosted by Mr Karzai in the Afghan capital in June.

Members of the public discovered the corpse at the Dyke Golf Club in Devil’s Dyke Road, Brighton, East Sussex, just before noon on Saturday.

Police said the body was so badly burnt it has so far not been possible to establish gender or estimate an age for the person.

Sussex Police’s major crime branch has launched an investigation and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles, the senior investigating officer, said: “The body was found between the 17th and 18th holes and has been badly burnt, so it has not yet been possible to establish gender or estimate age.

“Detectives and scenes of crime officers are currently at the scene. We are searching the nearby area for evidence and have spoken to the members of the public who found the body and people working at the course.

“We are at a very early stage of the investigation and I would ask anyone who may be able to help us piece together a picture of what has happened to get in touch.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Sussex Police on 0845 6070 999 quoting Operation Trewin or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

It was later disclosed by police that the body had also been mutilated. Mr Bowles said “at least one foot” was missing below the shin.

Mr Bowles said: “The body has been badly burnt and at this stage we are unable to confirm the gender or estimate the age. However, it is clear that at least one foot is missing below the shin. We will try to determine at post-mortem whether this was before or after death occurred, but the body will remain in situ for the immediate future while our investigations at the scene continue.”

Mr Balls took time out from the leadership campaign to tell an open day of the British Stammering Association in London about his own experience of overcoming the affliction to become a prominent politician who regularly speaks in public.

As Children, Schools and Families Secretary, Mr Balls committed Government money towards an appeal – whose patron is the Prince of Wales – to open a northern centre for stammering children in the Leeds/Bradford area.

He said the new coalition Government had confirmed the spending and he was “very keen to keep the momentum up to ensure that we get that centre”.

The shadow education secretary said: “I’ve always had a stammer and it’s something that never goes away, you have to deal with it.

“But my message is that you can be a top comedian or a novelist or a politician making speeches all the time with a stammer, as long as you get the right support.

“It’s important to talk about it and to be relaxed and calm about what you are. If you deal with it and are open about it, it doesn’t get in the way of working as a politician at all.

“If by talking about it I can help other people – children and adults as well – to deal with it, then that is a good thing. That’s why I’m very pleased to be a patron of the BSA.”

Afridi also confirmed that the businessman at the heart of the allegations, Mazhar Majeed, and his brother Azhar, were managing the players involved.

Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have maintained their innocence after last weekend’s News of the World claimed it had uncovered a plot to bowl no-balls to order.

But speaking in Cardiff, Afridi said: “On behalf of these boys – I know they’re not in this series – I want to say sorry to all cricket lovers and all the cricketing nations.”

He said Mazhar and Azhar Majeed were representing several Pakistan players, adding: “These guys Azhar and Mazhar, they are their manager(s).

“He (Mazhar) has been travelling with some of the team guys, in Australia and the West Indies. I saw him on the tours but didn’t know anything about it.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has charged the trio of players under their anti-corruption code and provisionally banned them from playing in any match.

The three men were released without charge on Friday after being questioned under caution by detectives at Kilburn police station in north-west London. Mr Majeed has also been arrested and released without charge.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former cricket captain Imran Khan said the ICC was right to suspend the players.

Khan told the BBC: “Whenever someone comes under a huge allegation like that, a devastating allegation like that, I think it’s only right they should pull out until their name is cleared.”

Mr O’Leary claims the second pilot serves no purpose and could be replaced by a stewardesses trained to land planes in an emergency.

His provocative comments were immediately dismissed by the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) as “unwise and unsafe”.

One senior pilot predicted that such a move would also prove to be a “recipe for business disaster.”

Mr O’Leary, 49, who has headed the no-frills carrier for 17 years, made his comments in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek magazine.

Reports of bailiffs forcing their way into homes and intimidating children have raised serious concerns among campaigners.

They are now calling on the Government to step up public protection and introduce more robust regulation of the industry.

A study by mental health charity Mind found 80% of those visited by enforcement agents had experienced threatening behaviour.

According to the survey, 50% of people who received an unwelcome knock on the door said it left them feeling suicidal.

Meanwhile 96% reported increased levels of anxiety and 87% reported increased depression.

The poll, of 453 adults, found one in 10 was being pursued for debts of under £100 while 70% were charged excessive fees.

Sian Meredith, who bought a new house and was then chased for the previous owner’s unpaid parking fines, said she was called a liar when she tried to reason with bailiffs.

The 50-year-old accountant told The Times: “It’s so scary – they threaten to burgle your house, to clamp your car, and it is horrible knowing they could just turn up at any time.

“They rely on bullying, intimidation and people not understanding the law… I received a demand for final payment within 48 hours, sent second-class, so I didn’t even receive it in time.”

The proposed change would save the Royal Mint as much as £8m a year as the “silver” coins would be made from steel instead of cupronickel – an alloy of copper and nickel.

As the price of copper has risen greatly in recent years and the alloy-making process is itself expensive, the change has been considered but not officially announced.

But the new coins would require changes to vending machines and parking meters, including their software, which one expert told the Daily Telegraph could cost the nation as much as £100 million.

Jonathan Hilder, chief executive of the Automatic Vending Machine Association, told the newspaper: “We’ve told the Treasury and the Royal Mint that this is going to be a disaster, but they haven’t taken notice.

“It’s meant to be a money saving exercise, but this will cost the vending industry £42 million and the coin machine industry as a whole possibly as much as £100 million.”

The humble vending machine is more sophisticated than it would first appear, as they have to be able to check each coin’s shape, weight and magnetism to prevent fakes being used.

They will need to be recalibrated to accept the new coins as well as the old ones which will remain legal tender.

A spokesman for the Treasury said: “The proposal to make new 5p and 10p coins out of nickel-plated steel rather than a cupro-nickel alloy is one of many measures being considered by the Government with a view to reducing the fiscal deficit.”

A murder inquiry has been launched into the death of 35-year-old John Brennan at his flat in the Shettleston area of Glasgow on Thursday.

His body was found at the flat in the city’s Cockenzie Street after a neighbour raised concerns.

Detective Inspector Graham Cordner, of Shettleston CID, said: “We do not know exactly when Mr Brennan died but suffice to say, it was as a result of a violent attack.

“There were signs of a disturbance in the house so it is possible that people heard something that may pinpoint when this attack took place.

“Mr Brennan, who lived alone, had stayed in Shettleston all his life. He was well known in the area.”

Mr Brennan was a regular at the Palaceum Bar in Shettleston’s Edrom Street.

Officers have been speaking to local residents and checking available CCTV from in and around the area. They have also carried out forensic examinations at Mr Brennan’s flat.

“We are keen to trace his movements prior to Thursday 2 September, so that we can find out where he was, who he was with and what happened,” Mr Cordner added. “Mr Brennan died as a result of a sustained attack and we are determined to catch whoever did this. Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, can be passed to officers.”

An incident caravan has been set up in Cockenzie Street, and anyone with information can call in and speak to officers.

The two-year-old colt became trapped after forcing its way out of the rear section while being transported on the northbound carriageway of the A23 at Bolney, West Sussex.

The startled driver and groom stopped immediately and dialled 999. The groom stayed in the cab but had to be pulled free by firefighters after being struck in the head by the horse.

The A23 was temporarily closed over fears the horse could break free and bolt across the busy road just after 4.15pm on Friday, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said.

A spokesman said the animal was sedated by a vet and eventually freed two hours later by fire crews who cut away the rear of the transporter.

The groom, believed to be in his 30s, was taken to hospital with a suspected head injury.

The horse suffered no apparent serious injury, the fire service added.

Keir Rafferty, 15, was riding pillion with his father Colin, 51, in the Borders on Friday when their bike left the A72 near Galashiels and crashed into trees.

Father-of-three Mr Rafferty was a youth coach at Gala Fairydean football club and Keir played for the youth side.

His wife Brenda and sons Craig and Neil said they had lost a wonderful father, husband and best friend.

In a statement issued through Lothian and Borders Police, the family said: “Colin was always there for everybody, nothing was ever too much. He was passionate about life and lived it to the full.

“He will be remembered by friends, colleagues and the wider community from his role as a community psychiatric nurse and as a football coach for Gala Fairydean Youths.

“Keir was the youngest son and the centre of all our lives. He brightened up any room he walked into with his cheeky grin and being a young man who said a lot in a few words.

“He loved his football and was a natural pillion passenger. He and his dad loved the bike, travelling in UK and Europe together. This tragic loss will forever leave a huge hole in our family life. However the memories of their lives will keep us smiling and laughing at the many antics the two would get up to.”

The pair were travelling on the BMW motorcycle towards Galashiels when it crashed outside the town at 5.30pm.

No other vehicles were involved.

Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said the advent of rolling 24-hour news has had a “profound effect” on policing, with commanding officers often spending over half their time dealing with the media on high-profile cases.

He argued it “cannot be right” when an officer commanding an incident like the Moat stand-off had to consider how the police’s actions may look as if they were a movie director. Writing on his blog on the force’s website, he said such saturation coverage was “more of an issue” than the controversy focused on the Facebook tribute page to Moat.

Moat, 37, is thought to have shot himself following a six-hour stand-off in the Northumberland town of Rothbury in July.

Moat went on the run when he shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart in Birtley, Gateshead, after killing her new lover Chris Brown. The day after he blinded unarmed Pc David Rathband by shooting him in the face on the outskirts of Newcastle. He then declared war on police and went into hiding for a week before he was cornered at the River Coquet in Rothbury.

On the incident, Mr Fahy wrote: “The case involving Raoul Moat in Northumbria was the top news story for a number of days and the publicity then went on to Facebook.

“The advent of 24-hour news has had a profound effect on policing. Particular cases grab the public imagination and are then played out in the media in detail round the clock. In such a case well over 50% of the time of the officer commanding the incident will probably be spent handling the media.

“This includes monitoring and reacting to what the media are saying about the case and things like the statements being made by witnesses in front of the cameras. The murder of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Cambridgeshire was such a case.”

He added: “The media have a legitimate interest in police operations. It cannot be right however that the last hours of a man’s life are broadcast on live television with members of his family looking on.

“It cannot be right that an officer commanding such an incident has to consider how it might look on television as if he/she was a film director. I think this is more of an issue than the controversy about the Facebook page.”

Shoes and eggs were pelted at the former prime minister as he arrived at a Dublin book store to promote his controversial memoir, A Journey.

The missiles did not hit Mr Blair, who was heckled and jeered as he emerged from his car.

Angry activists then clashed with gardai as they tried to push down a security barrier outside the Eason store on Dublin’s main thoroughfare O’Connell Street.

One activist managed to confront Mr Blair and attempted to make a citizen’s arrest over alleged war crimes. A small number of arrests were made.

Richard Boyd-Barrett, of the Anti-War Movement, accused Mr Blair of making blood money from the memoirs.

“It really is shameful that somebody can be responsible for the death and destruction that he was responsible for in Iraq and Afghanistan and walk away without any accounting for that and become a very wealthy man off the back of it,” he said.

Security was tight as up to 300 campaigners carrying flags and banners chanted “arrest the butcher Blair”, “hey hey Tony hey, how many kids have you killed today?” and “Tony Blair war criminal”.

Hundreds more queued quietly in the rain by a side door to meet Mr Blair, who arrived at about 10.30am – some abused by protesters as they left the store.

Kate O’Sullivan, who attempted to make a citizen’s arrest on Mr Blair, said: “Immediately five security people grabbed me, started dragging me off. I cried out ‘there was half a million people dead in Iraq, how can you live with yourself, you’ve committed war crimes’.”

Crowds gathered at Kabul Bank branches around the capital on Saturday to withdraw funds, saying they had lost faith in the bank’s solvency following a change in leadership amid reports that tens of millions of pounds were lent to members of the political elite for risky property investments.

The bank run that began earlier in the week undermines efforts by the central government to build an efficient modern political and financial system to drag Afghanistan out of its dire poverty and political instability.

Along with handling personal accounts, the bank handles the payment of salaries to tens of thousands of public servants, police officers and soldiers.

“Kabul Bank has lost the trust of the people. Even the chairman resigned so all the people are concerned,” said Mohammad Nawaz, head of an Afghan aid group who had been trying for three hours to withdraw the £9,700 in his account.

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Kabul Bank’s losses could exceed £194 million – more than the bank’s assets. In addition, The Washington Post said Afghanistan’s central bank had ordered Kabul Bank’s newly resigned chairman to hand over £104 million in Dubai real estate holdings.

On Thursday, president Hamid Karzai reassured anxious bank customers, saying every penny of their deposits would be guaranteed by the government.

“The Kabul Bank is safe,” Mr Karzai said in comments echoed by the country’s central bank governor and independent banking association.

Despite the growing scepticism, Kabul Bank could still be the best option for Afghans with cash holdings, with its nationwide network of branches and cashpoint machines and ability to provide financial services such as loans, bill paying, and money transfers.

The cutbacks at North Lanarkshire Council are part of a drive to save £70 million in the next two years.

The council aims to shed most of the posts by not replacing staff who leave, along with early retirements and voluntary redundancies.

But compulsory redundancies may also have to be considered.

Council leader Jim McCabe said: “North Lanarkshire Council did not put itself in this position, but we have to deal with it. Over the years we have invested heavily in North Lanarkshire but we are now faced with making extremely difficult decisions.”

But the Labour leader said he was “determined” to protect key services.

The council’s policy and resources committee will consider a raft of measures next week which would deliver £70 million of savings in the next two years. The council must save at least £55 million over this period.

If all the measures are backed it will lead to the loss of 1,153 full time equivalent posts. But many jobs are part time and the head count of staff numbers being cut would be about 1,400, a council spokesman said on Saturday.

A further 500-plus vacancies will be left unfilled.

Council chief executive Gavin Whitefield said: “We have been working towards identifying areas of potential savings for several months. It has been a very fine balancing act between identifying real savings and preserving the services our residents value most.”

About 150 people were wounded and some remain in a critical condition after the bombing on Friday in the south-western city of Quetta, police official Mohammed Sultan said.

The attack was the second in a week against Shiites for which the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. A triple suicide bombing on Wednesday night killed 35 people at a Shiite ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore.

“Our war is against American and Pakistani security forces, but Shiites are also our target because they, too, are our enemies,” Pakistani Taliban commander Qari Hussain Mehsud said.

Shiite leaders blamed the government for failing to protect them and called a general strike in Quetta, where all schools were closed for a day of mourning.

Shiites make up an estimated 20% of the population in the mostly Sunni Muslim country, although figures are imprecise and disputed.

Long-standing sectarian violence in Pakistan, particularly against Shiites, has been exacerbated by the rise of the Sunni extremist Taliban and al Qaida movements.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the Taliban, al Qaida and the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group were working together to destabilise Pakistan.

Pakistan’s civilian government is struggling to deal with massive flooding and the incessant militant violence aimed at overthrowing the Western-backed administration.

The flooding began with unusually heavy rains in the country’s northern mountains and killed more than 1,600 people. Millions have been driven from their homes and the waters are still swamping rich agricultural land in the southern provinces of Sindh and Punjab.

Eric Pashley and Winnie Pettinger’s love blossomed during the Second World War.

And now more than 60 years, five children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandsons later, the couple rediscovered the letters they wrote at the start of their courtship.

Mr Pashley, who was a gardener at Nottinghamshire stately home Thoresby Hall, exchanged the notes with Miss Pettinger, who worked there as a parlour maid. He kept them in an old mustard tin but left them behind in a tool shed when he was sent to Germany on national service.

When he came back, he took a gardening job on a different estate and the box lay undiscovered for nearly seven decades until Andy Mallam, head gardener at what is now the Thoresby Hall Hotel and Spa, found it in a garden shed around a month ago.

The hotel eventually traced the couple, who now live in the Vale of Belvoir, Lincolnshire, and they returned to enjoy a luxury break and be presented with the box and letters.

Mr Pashley, now 82, said: “As a gardener I wasn’t allowed to enter the house as it wasn’t my position. So if anyone was coming out of the house, they would bring a note from Winnie for me.”

The letters from his then future wife, addressed to “My dearest darling Eric”, talk about snatching moments together for walks or trips to the pictures.

John Long, 73, who lives near Taunton, Somerset, has converted the phone cubicle, once a familiar sight on Britain’s streets, into a privy.

The retired salesman said: “I’ve done lots of projects, but this is one of the biggest. It’s worked out extremely well – better than expected.”

He added: “I’ve wanted a red telephone box for years and I didn’t have an outside toilet, so I thought I could combine the two.

“To be honest, I probably use it more often than the internal toilet now. It’s just so convenient.”

Mr Long spent months transforming the telephone box and even crept out at night to measure another box down the road to check everything would fit.

“I took a pan to a red telephone kiosk down the road, sat on it, hoping and praying no-one would come along and take me off to a nut house,” he said.

Mr Long found a box in a reclamation yard in Carhampton.

It is now fully equipped with a porcelain lavatory pan, hand basin, high-level cistern, frosted glass panes, a heater and even a red tennis ball on the end of the toilet chain, to match the box.

Mr Long joked: “Because of the high-level cistern, the water comes down like an avalanche.”

Chris Maguire’s second-half penalty kept Scotland in second place in their group ahead of Belarus and behind Austria. All three teams have 14 points ahead of the final fixtures for each, but Scotland will finish above Belarus if they beat the Austrians in Aberdeen on Tuesday, courtesy of their 1-0 home win against them in Paisley last year.

Stark said: “It’s a good result for us. We had prepared well for the game and we knew the Belarusian team is very strong. We have great respect for them and so we worked hard and got what I think is a good result. I think that Belarus will win their next match so it was important not to lose this match.”

The boy, identified by his stepmother as Jack Lister, had been invited by zookeepers to meet the eight-year-old female sea lion during the Taronga Zoo’s seal and sea lion show on Friday.

After feeding the animal, Jack mistakenly followed it off the stage, which frightened it, zoo officials said.

The sea lion bit the boy and left several puncture wounds on his stomach. Jack had abdominal surgery Friday night and was in stable condition in hospital.

Jack’s stepmother, Dalitta Wright, told Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph the attack was sudden.

“I can only assume he was going for the smell of the fish. Jack pulled himself away and it then lunged for his back,” said Ms Wright, whose family was visiting Sydney from the north-east city of Cairns. “It all happened so quickly. … It was quite traumatic.”

Zoo officials said the sea lion had never shown aggressive behaviour before, and they were investigating the attack.

The show was scheduled to continue on Saturday, without the “encounter” part, and without the sea lion involved in the attack.

Scotland failed to emulate their previous European Championship start, when they won 2-1 in Kaunas, but were superior in every department other than finishing.

“It’s not the end of the world – we were the better side and just lacked a goal,” Levein said.

“The biggest plus factor was the effort the players put in. It was important we showed everyone over here and back home that we really are proud to be involved in the Scottish national team.

“I was happy with the amount of times we won the ball and pressed up the pitch.”

Levein would no doubt have been content had someone told him before his first competitive match in charge that his side would create a handful of decent opportunities.

The best arguably came four minutes after the interval when Kenny Miller headed straight at the goalkeeper from 12 yards following a cross from Barry Robson, who forced several saves from long range.

The only time Allan McGregor was forced to prove his quality came after veteran Rangers stopper David Weir was hacked down by Saulius Mikoliunas without punishment from Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakira, whose leniency with the Lithuanians exasperated Levein.

“I think Allan McGregor made one save in the match and that was after a blatant free-kick that we should have had,” Levein said.

“We had opportunities to win the game. Coming away from home in this competition is always difficult and all we lacked for our effort was a goal.”

Brad Coker, 24, from Farnborough, Hampshire, was among nine people who died when the light aircraft crashed at the end of the runway at Fox Glacier Airport on South Island, New Zealand Police said.

The other dead included the pilot and four skydiving instructors, all from New Zealand, and tourists from Germany and Australia. The ninth fatality, an Irishman from County Wexford, was confirmed as 26-year-old Patrick Byrne.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We have been offering consular assistance to his family to help them get through this extremely difficult time.”

The aircraft was almost destroyed in the accident which took place at 1.15pm local time on Friday.

One resident told the New Zealand Herald: “It was like a fireball and then there was big puffs of smoke going up… (The plane) was engulfed in flames immediately. No-one could have survived that.”

It is believed the plane was taking the foreigners up to take part in a tandem skydive.

Police said the aircraft was a Fletcher fixed-wing plane, which is popular for skydiving and scenic flights over the well-known adventure sports area.

Fox Glacier is a popular tourist spot in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, about 90 miles from Christchurch. The fatal crash was the third in the region in the past 17 years.

In 1994 seven people were killed in a helicopter crash in the mountains near the glacier. And the year before nine people died in a plane crash at nearby Franz Josef Glacier.

The owner of Argos and Homebase chains Home Retail Group will reveal whether consumer sentiment is waning in its first update since the Government’s deficit-busting budget was announced.

The group, which has 747 Argos stores and 347 Homebase stores, reported a bigger-than-expected slump in sales in the 13 weeks to May 29, due to weak demand for video games and televisions.

The firm will be hoping for a bounce back from a dismal first quarter, which saw like-for-like sales down at Argos and Homebase, 8.1% and 1.4% respectively.

The Thursday update is likely to reveal the impact on sales of the World Cup in June and July – although it did not appear to make a difference to sales in late May.

Numis analyst Andrew Wade said: “We expect the second quarter to have seen an improvement in the Argos run-rate with around 5% of the first quarter decline a result of weakness in video games and TVs, both of which should have seen some improvement through the second quarter.

“Homebase, however, is likely to have seen a slowing trend, mirroring the tougher trading at B&Q and Wickes.”

Last month, official figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested the high street had avoided a World Cup hangover in July as retail sales volumes jumped 1.1% – but the month was flat for department stores and household goods sales.

Home Retail previously said it was hopeful it will maintain profits on last year, which came in at £230 million, in the year ending February.

Leadership candidates Ed Balls and Ed Miliband said the allegations threw the judgment of Prime Minister David Cameron into question.

Mr Balls urged the PM to order Home Secretary Theresa May to make a statement to MPs when the House of Commons returns from its summer break on Monday.

But Government minister Alan Duncan came to the defence of Mr Coulson, who he said had been “utterly exonerated” by a series of investigations into the phone-hacking affair. Mr Duncan accused Labour of seizing on a story in the New York Times to stir up political trouble for the Government.

A News of the World journalist and a private investigator were jailed in 2007 for hacking into voicemail messages. But Mr Coulson has always strenuously denied being aware of their activities and the News International publication insists it was an isolated case.

But the NYT this week quoted former reporters at the paper claiming that the practice was more widespread, and that the then editor knew about it. The report also raised questions about the thoroughness of the Metropolitan Police’s investigation of later claims that a list of prominent individuals were targeted for eavesdropping.

The Met on Friday night defended its handling of the allegations, after former home secretary Alan Johnson suggested that an independent investigation by the Chief Inspector of Constabulary might be needed.

An investigation last year, whose conclusions were endorsed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, found “no new evidence”, said a Scotland Yard spokesman.

Mr Duncan dismissed the NYT story, which he suggested was motivated by the paper’s rivalry with the News Corporation-owned Wall Street Journal.

In a series of media appearances, Mr Duncan said that Labour was resorting to “specious games and gimmicks” to try to embarrass the Government.