Airport railway services resume

2 January 2014 Last updated at 02:23 ET

A major rail link between Gatwick Airport and London has reopened after a week of closures.

The Gatwick Express service, which links the West Sussex airport with London Victoria, closed on 26 December.

Maintenance on the line between Redhill in Surrey and Purley in south London was carried out during the shutdown.

Southern, First Capital Connect and First Great Western services to the airport were disrupted.

A new platform was also built at Gatwick Airport during the closure, with the associated changes to track and signalling. Platform seven is due to be open from February.

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Rail fare rise comes into effect

2 January 2014 Last updated at 01:41 ET

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David Sidebottom, Passenger Focus: "Cost of running the railway is too high"

An average 2.8% increase in rail fares comes into effect on Thursday, pushing the cost of some commuter travel to more than £5,000 a year.

The increase is the smallest rise in four years, according to the pan-industry Rail Delivery Group.

Chancellor George Osborne said in last month's Autumn Statement he would keep fares in line with July's Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation rate of 3.1%.

But campaigners say that fares are rising three times faster than incomes.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

At the moment, the government pays around 32% of the total railways bill. It's widely believed that ministers want to cut that to 25%. Add to that the billions of pounds being invested in electrifying lines, building new stations and so on, and it's a fair bet that prices will be going up for some years yet.

2014 will be the first year since 2004 that the average regulated train fare won't be going up by more than inflation. But ticket prices are still going up.

Ironically, the original idea behind the government controlling the price of around half of the fares on the network (regulation) was to protect passengers from big price hikes. Ministers set the fare rises where it was thought people didn't have much of a travelling alternative. Season tickets, for example.

But for the past decade, successive governments have used regulation to change who pays for the railways. They want more of the money to come from tickets and less from the government.

Some regulated tickets, including season tickets, anytime and off-peak tickets, have risen on average by 3.1%.

The increase pushes the cost of some annual season tickets to more than £5,000 a year.

Passengers travelling to London from Deal and Dover Priory will have to pay £5,012 annually, up from £4,864.

And the price of an annual season ticket from Basingstoke to London will now go up from £3,952 to £4,076.

Unregulated fares are not capped. But a number of these, typically off-peak leisure tickets - including some on the East Coast route - have gone up by much less than 3.1%.

In Wales, season tickets will go up by less than inflation in January.

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But the Welsh Transport Minister Edwina Hart said future average price rises would have to stay in line with the RPI inflation rate, instead of the earlier formula of RPI plus 1%.

The Scottish government says increases in regulated peak fares will be capped at RPI in January 2014 and January 2015. Meanwhile, regulated off-peak fares are frozen after 2013, provided that RPI remains below 3.5% per annum.

There are no planned rises in Northern Ireland.

'Poorly served' passengers

Rail campaigners will be at London King's Cross station on Thursday, alongside Aslef train drivers' union leader Mick Whelan and RMT transport union head Bob Crow, calling for public ownership of the railways.

More than 50 Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, Plaid Cymru and SNP MPs have signed a parliamentary motion calling for the renationalisation of the UK's railways.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Rail passengers and taxpayers are being poorly served by a privatised rail service that has failed to deliver any of the efficiency, investment and cost savings that privatisation cheerleaders promised.

"While the shareholders of the private train operating companies are doing well for themselves on the back of massive public subsidies, passengers are paying the highest share of their wages on rail fares in Europe.

Continue reading the main story

Examples of rail fare rises, comparing the price of a 12-month season ticket bought in January 2013 to one bought from 2 January 2014

• Leeds-Wakefield 2013: £964; 2014: £992. Rise of 2.9%
• Basingstoke-London 2013: £3,952; 2014: £4,076. Rise of 3.13%
• Ramsgate-London 2013: £4,864; 2014: £5,012. Rise of 3.04%
• Folkestone Central-London 2013: £4,836; 2014: £4,984. Rise of 3.06%
• Bedford-London 2013: £4,172; 2014: £4,300. Rise of 3.07%
• Sevenoaks-London 2013: £3,112; 2014: £3,208. Rise of 3.08%
• Cheltenham Spa-London 2013: £9,184; 2014: £9,468. Rise of 3.09%
• Deal-London 2013: £4,864; 2014: £5,012. Rise of 3.04%
• Woking-London 2013: £2,896; 2014: £2,980. Rise of 2.9%
• West Malling-London 2013: £3,876; 2014: £3,996. Rise of 3.1%
• Guildford-London 2013: £3,224; 2014: £3,320. Rise of 2.98%
• Dover Priory-London 2013: £4,864; 2014: £5,012. Rise of 3.04%
• Ludlow-Hereford 2013: £1,992; 2014: £2,032. Rise of 2%
• Morpeth-Newcastle 2013: £1,008; 2014: £1,040. Rise of 3.17%
• Milton Keynes-London 2013: £4,620; 2014: £4,772. Rise of 3.29%
• Tunbridge Wells- London 2013: £4,132; 2014: £4,260. Rise of 3.1%
• Aylesbury-London 2013: £3,632; 2014: £3,732. Rise of 2.75%
• Hastings-London 2013: £4,304; 2014: £4,432. Rise of 2.97%

"Rail passengers must wonder why they can't have the same cheap and more efficiently run state rail services that exist elsewhere in Europe."

But a Department for Transport spokesman said: "As a result of the economic policies that this government has put in place, the most recent forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility are that by around 2015, fares will be rising in line with wages and salaries."

'Prohibitively expensive'

The chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement in early December that the regulated fare price cap of RPI inflation plus 1% was being changed to RPI plus 0%.

Jason Torrance, policy director of sustainable transport organisation Sustrans, said commuters would still feel the effects of the rise.

"The chancellor's move to bring an end to the inflation-busting fare rises we've seen over the last decade shows a recognition that rising transport costs are a barrier to economic recovery," he said.

"But commuters will still feel the pinch this new year because salaries aren't increasing by anywhere near the level of inflation.

"If transport remains so prohibitively expensive, we will continue to restrict travel choices and opportunities to access essential services and employment."

The Rail Delivery Group - which represents train operators and infrastructure owner Network Rail - had previously said it would be spending £24bn over the next five years improving the rail network.

The group said it "strongly supported" the real-term price freeze announced by Mr Osborne in his Autumn Statement on 5 December.

"Nobody likes paying more to travel by train, particularly to go to work, but billions are being spent to serve passengers better," the group's statement said.

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Robbed Canada runner's bag found

1 January 2014 Last updated at 20:40 ET

A British fundraiser who was attacked and robbed while he was in Canada for a charity running challenge has got his belongings back.

Jamie McDonald, 27, from Gloucester, began running unaided from Canada's east to the west coast - the equivalent of about 200 marathons - in March.

He said he was attacked during New Year's Eve celebrations in Banff, Alberta, in an unprovoked mugging.

Mr McDonald said his bag was found close to the scene of the attack.

The runner, who suffered blows to the head in the incident, said the bag contained film footage of his journey as well as cash and credit cards.

He had appealed on social networking sites for the items to be returned and said his plea on Facebook and Twitter got an immediate response from both sides of the Atlantic, with well-wishers pledging donations to the children's charities he is supporting.

Writing on his blog, he said: "Having spent a crazy day speaking to the police, I wanted to update everybody who's been kind enough to read, share and care.

"My bag, including my possessions, priceless hours of footage of my journey across Canada and my wallet, amongst other things, has been found.

"Some of you may know that I was attacked in the early hours of New Year's Day in Banff and that I left quickly after the unprovoked attack, leaving my bag. I was told it had been taken."

But he said whoever took his bag appeared to have had a "change of mind" as it was found nearby.

Continue reading the main story

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining"

End Quote Jamie McDonald Fundraiser

Mr McDonald is carrying out the fundraising challenge to show gratitude for the care he received as a child when he suffered from a debilitating immune deficiency and a rare spinal condition called syringomyelia.

The fundraiser, who is running most of the 5,000 miles dressed as comic book superhero The Flash, had hoped to finish in time for Christmas but injuries and bad weather have caused delays, and he has the final quarter from Banff through the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver left to run.

He has so far raised almost £70,000 for children's charities including Great Ormond Street Hospital and Gloucestershire's Pied Piper Appeal.

Commenting on the extra donations after the attack, he said: "I wish the story didn't have to have an unfortunate incident in order to reach people, but I'm glad in a way because the more people that know about my journey, the more children it might be able to help.

"As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining, and the additional donations as a result of people hearing about this are hugely appreciated."

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Bill changes to 'simplify' energy

2 January 2014 Last updated at 02:11 ET

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Mike O'Connor, Consumer Futures "the companies will be banned from doing some rather complex, dodgy deals"

Changes to energy tariffs designed to create a simpler and clearer market are coming into force.

Regulator Ofgem claims its banning of confusing and complex tariffs will help to rebuild consumer trust.

Other changes include limiting suppliers to just four tariffs per customer for both electricity and gas and simplifying how prices are charged.

Energy UK, which represents suppliers, said the changes would "help people get the best deal" on their energy.

The moves are the result of a Retail Market Review which began in 2010.

'Restore consumer confidence'

Further reforms will be introduced by April, including forcing suppliers to tell consumers which of their tariffs are the cheapest.

Continue reading the main story

From 1 January:

• Suppliers limited to offering customers a choice of only eight tariffs: Four for gas, four for electricity.
• Suppliers must inform customers through bills and other forms of communication on what they have done and what changes are planned in a "Treating Customers Fairly" statement.
• Simpler structure for tariffs: A unit rate and, if suppliers choose, a standing charge.

From 31 March:

• Suppliers must inform customers of the cheapest available tariff and how much money it could save them.
• Introduction of a Tariff Comparison Rate (TCR), likened to APR for interest rates, enabling customers to compare tariffs at a glance. The TCR will be measured in pence per kilowatt hour (p/kWh) and based on consumption of an average user.
• Bills and tariff quotes to include a "Personal Projection", forecasting what a customer will pay based on their own usage or supplier's best estimate.
• Every tariff will contain a "Tariff Information Label" allowing customers easier understanding and a simpler opportunity to compare it.

Source: Energy UK

Ofgem chief executive Andrew Wright said the changes would ultimately drive down prices.

"Profits are not an entitlement, they should be earned by companies competing keenly to offer consumers the lowest prices and the best service.

"Now it is up to suppliers to build on our reforms to restore consumer confidence in the energy market."

He added: "There are good signs that they are taking up this challenge."

Ofgem will produce an annual report to consumers on the health of competition in the market.

It has said it "will not hesitate to take further action" if it sees "evidence of further barriers to competition".

Angela Knight, chief executive of Energy UK, which represents more than 80 energy providers and suppliers, said: "If you look at the market now, the deals are fewer in number and much easier to compare.

"Customers will see improvements to the information they get as a result of energy companies bringing in the changes set out in the Retail Market Review.

"This should help people get the best deal."

The latest reforms follow the introduction in October of new rules for fixed-term tariffs.

Suppliers are no longer allowed to increase prices during the course of a fixed term and must not automatically roll customers on to another fixed-term offer when their current one ends.

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John Lewis reports healthy sales

2 January 2014 Last updated at 03:23 ET

John Lewis has reported strong trading over Christmas, with like-for-like sales up 6.9% from a year earlier.

Sales at its stores rose 1.2% in the five weeks to 28 December with online sales soaring almost 23%.

John Lewis' performance looks even better when compared with Debenhams, which announced the resignation of its chief financial officer, Simon Herrick.

His departure has come just two days after the retailer warned of a disappointing Christmas season.

As a result, Debenhams will have to discount further and the department store chain warned that profits for the six months to April 2014 would be £85m, down from £115m in the same period a year earlier.

'Hand in glove'

John Lewis reported that for the five weeks to 28 December sales totalled £734m.

The company said the growing popularity of its click-and-collect service, which allows customers to buy online and then pick up in a store, played an important part in its strong Christmas performance.

Sales from click-and-collect jumped 60% compared with 2012.

"Our shops and our online channel, bricks and clicks, came together and it's a story of the two being hand in glove and that giving the customer what they really wanted and then we got the pricing right on top of that," John Lewis managing director Andy Street told BBC's Breakfast.

The retailer saw a surge in activity in the 10 days before Christmas, with city centre stores experiencing record sales on Monday 23 December.

Among the most popular items were tablet computers, Christmas lights and coffee machines.

Unlike many other retailers, John Lewis did not discount before Christmas.

But its first day of sales on 27 December saw record trading, with the John Lewis taking £35.6m.

John Lewis was not the only retailer to enjoy strong sales over Christmas. House of Fraser said it had enjoyed its best Christmas trading period on record, helped by a jump in online sales.

Like-for-like sales for the three weeks to 28 December rose 7.3%, with online sales up by almost 58%.

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UK work controls on migrants to end

31 December 2013 Last updated at 19:11 ET

All Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will be free to live and work in the UK after temporary controls in place since 2007 expire on Wednesday.

Ministers have said the restrictions cannot be extended but they are curbing access to benefits and want to tighten rules on freedom of movement in future.

The UK has not released forecasts of migrant numbers but campaigners say up to 50,000 people a year could come.

Romanian officials have said talk of an "invasion" is far-fetched.

Business leaders in London have said firms will benefit from having "access to a larger labour pool" and have warned that the debate about immigration has become "highly politicised".

Bulgarians and Romanians gained the right to visa-free travel to the UK in 2007, when their countries joined the EU.

But since then, they have been able to work in the UK only if they are self-employed, have a job offer, or are filling specialist posts for which no British worker can be found.

The UK government extended this transitional period, which was due to come to an end in 2012, by a further two years and have insisted that they cannot do so again without breaching their EU Treaty obligations.

'Pull factor'

However, more than 60 MPs are backing a campaign to extend the restrictions for a further five years, saying the British economy has not sufficiently recovered from the 2008 recession to cope with the change and that it will put pressure on public services and reduce job opportunities for British workers.

Similar work restrictions in place in eight other EU countries also come to an end at the start of 2014.

However, Migration Watch - which campaigns for tighter controls on immigration - has suggested that many of the two million Romanians and Bulgarians currently working in Spain and Italy could now be tempted to come to the UK by the higher wages on offer and access to in-work benefits such as tax credits.

It says the UK remains the "most lucrative destination" for migrants across the EU, and estimates that 50,000 people from Romania and Bulgaria will move to the UK each year for five years.

The Bulgarian ambassador, however, has previously estimated that only about 8,000 migrants a year from Bulgaria would come to the UK.

The government is tightening the rules to ensure that migrants cannot claim out-of-work benefits for three months after arriving and will only qualify for support after six months if they have a genuine chance of employment.

Overseas visitors and migrants are also to face new charges for some NHS services in England.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the British public "are rightly concerned that migrants should contribute to this country, and not be drawn here by the attractiveness of our benefits system".

Professor John Salt, from University College London, said it was impossible to know what the figures would be but he told the BBC that advance flight bookings from Bulgaria to the UK were lower in the first quarter of 2014 than in 2013.

'Highly skilled'

The last Labour government was criticised for hugely under-estimating the levels of migration from Poland and seven other countries in eastern Europe when they joined the EU in 2004 - when no interim controls were imposed.

But the London Chambers of Commerce said the majority of its members believed migration had benefited the capital's economy and were happy to employ foreign workers.

Continue reading the main story

Not all Romanians, young and old, are going to jump on a plane"

End Quote Brandusa Predescu Romanian Foreign Ministry spokesman

"Migrant workers are often highly skilled, bringing with them knowledge and experience that London businesses badly need now in order to grow," said its chief executive Colin Stanbridge.

"The government has allowed the debate about Bulgarian and Romanian migration to become highly politicised when, in fact, giving London businesses access to a larger labour pool will help cement our economic recovery."

A Romanian government official accused sections of the British media of inflaming tensions ahead of the deadline.

"We see headlines that sometimes are really close to racist remarks, xenophobic remarks, and the target for now is the Romanian citizen that is supposedly invading Britain," spokeswoman Brandusa Predescu told BBC Radio 5 live.

The UK, she said, was "one of the most multi-cultural, open and tolerant societies in the world" and what she described as a campaign against incomers from her country was a "contradiction in terms and attitudes".

"People in Romania do read the British press," she added.

"There is not going to be an invasion... not all Romanians, young and old, are going to jump on a plane.

"The UK, for now, is not even the preferred destination for Romanians."

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PM to Scots: We want you to stay

31 December 2013 Last updated at 19:08 ET

Prime Minister David Cameron has told Scots "we want you to stay", as the UK enters the year in which Scotland will vote on independence.

He used his New Year message to stress the importance of the 18 September vote, which "matters to all of us".

"This year, let the message go out from England, Wales and Northern Ireland to everyone in Scotland," he said, "We want you to stay."

He also pledged to make the economy work for "people who work hard".

This was not a vote for the next few years but a vote that could change our country forever, the prime minister said, describing it as the biggest decision Scotland has ever been asked to make.

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David Cameron: Britain should stick to long-term plan (video released by the Conservative Party)

Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond had given the opposite view in his New Year message, saying a "Yes" vote would ease a generation of mothers back to work through universal childcare, making Scotland the best country in the world to raise families.

Mr Cameron began his message by saying the UK economy had turned a corner and the government would not only stick to its economic plan but redouble its efforts to deliver every part of it.

Continue reading the main story

This is a vital year for our economy"

End Quote Prime Minister David Cameron

"We're going to keep on doing everything possible to help hard-working people feel financially secure, cutting income taxes and freezing fuel duty."

"We've already capped welfare and cut immigration and, this year, we'll carry on building an economy for people who work hard and play by the rules.

"And last but not least, we're going to keep on delivering the best schools and skills for our children and young people so that when they leave education they have a real chance to get on in life."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg gave a pro-EU new year message while Labour leader Ed Miliband said in his that his party had a "credible and affordable" plan to help families struggling with the cost of living,

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Act like Mandela, archbishop urges

31 December 2013 Last updated at 19:24 ET

People should pledge this new year to try and emulate Nelson Mandela and change the world around them, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby said he never usually made resolutions because he was "hopeless" at keeping them.

But he urged people people to "change the world a bit where we are", in his first new year message as archbishop.

And he quoted Mr Mandela's remark that dealing with poverty was a matter of justice rather than charity.

The archbishop said the Church would continue to talk about poverty and other social issues, because they were part of its duty to promote Christian values.

He was speaking as he visited a centre supported by the Church Urban Fund, a charity run by the Church for people suffering hardship.

'Great generation'

"I want to suggest this year that each of us makes a resolution to try and change the world a bit where we are," Archbishop Welby said in his message, to be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two.

"Nelson Mandela said that dealing with poverty is not an act of charity; it's an act of justice. He said every generation has the chance to be a great generation and we can be that great generation."

He recalled a first year in office marked by the rapid succession of contrasting events.

He said he had experienced some "incredible high points", including his own installation in a spectacular service at Canterbury Cathedral, and the christening of Prince George in October.

He said one of the "greatest excitements" of his job was being part of an organisation that is the "glue that's holding the whole of society together" in many places.

The archbishop said people accused the Church of being political when it spoke about heating bills or insecurity in families, but he insisted that such issues were not so much a matter of politics as fulfilling the commandment to love your neighbour.

His message comes after he described Pope Francis as his person of the year.

"He has changed the sense of direction and purpose of the Catholic Church with his personal example," he told the BBC on Tuesday.

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M25 lanes closed after fatal crash

1 January 2014 Last updated at 01:03 ET

A person has died after a crash on the M25 in Surrey on New Year's Day.

Three lanes are still closed after a collision between a car and a lorry just after 02:00 GMT.

The crash happened on the anti-clockwise stretch between junction 11 for Chertsey and junction 10, the A3 turnoff at Wisley.

Traffic was being diverted off the motorway and sent via Ottershaw but one lane has since reopened to allow trapped traffic to pass.

The Highways Agency said the road could be closed until mid-morning to allow investigators to complete their work.

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Millions across UK welcome New Year

1 January 2014 Last updated at 02:47 ET

Millions across the UK have celebrated the start of the new year, with parties, music and fireworks.

Peach-flavoured snow and edible banana confetti fell on 50,000 revellers gathered by the River Thames for London's "multi-sensory" firework show.

Fireworks lit up the skies above three Scottish cities and one town at 20:14 GMT to herald the change of date.

There were more fireworks in Cardiff, while Belfast's City Hall was lit up with rainbow colours.

Party atmosphere

In what was billed as "the world's first multi-sensory fireworks display", Londoners and city visitors were doused in apple, cherry and strawberry mists and big orange-scented bubbles.

Partygoers in an area the size of three football pitches were able to taste and smell the party atmosphere.

Another 100,000 or so lined the Thames, despite being beyond the reach of the mist and bubbles. They were given packs of fruit sweets and LED wristbands.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said there was "no better way" to celebrate the highs of 2013 and the start of an exciting new year than by seeing "one of the world's most dazzling firework displays, now augmented in more ways than one".

The Metropolitan Police said 100 people were arrested up to 04:30 GMT including 39 for drunk and disorderly behaviour and 21 for assault.

Others were arrested for drugs offences, affray, sexual offences, theft and carrying an offensive weapon.

Chief Inspector Robyn Williams said forecasts of wind and rain had not deterred revellers from filling up the fireworks viewing area in record time.

"Crowds were good natured and there were no major issues reported to police," she said.

Edinburgh's famous Hogmanay street party, part of three days of celebrations, attracted an estimated 80,000 people.

The Pet Shop Boys shared the Concert in the Gardens stage with the 1975 and Nina Nesbitt, while the street party had music on three stages from acts including King Creosote and Django Django.

Traditional Scottish music was played at The Keilidh, an outdoor dance event.

Mystery runner

Simultaneous firework displays took place in Edinburgh, Inverness, Stirling and the Aberdeenshire town of Stonehaven at 20:14 to mark the start of Scotland's Year of Homecoming, a year-long programme of events alongside the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup.

In Wales, more than 1,200 runners joined the annual Nos Galan evening road race near Mountain Ash in the Cynon Valley.

The four-mile race has been run for 55 years in honour of 18th Century athlete Griffith Morgan, and is always led by a "mystery" international sporting star - this year Wales rugby star Alun Wyn Jones.

In Belfast, lights at City Hall counted down to midnight, and in Londonderry its last few hours as the UK City of Culture 2013 were marked with a service in the cathedral.

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