Free Bus Services For Elderly 'Under Threat'

Free bus services for the elderly and disabled people are under threat as councils struggle to fund the services.

Funding for free, off-peak travel has fallen by 39% since 2010, according to the Local Government Association.

Councils are now being forced to subsidise free travel at the cost of other essential services, the LGA added.

Among the county councils forced to cut back on the services due to funding shortages are Buckinghamshire, Cumbria and Somerset.

Peter Box, the LGA's economy and transport board chairman, said: "The concessionary fares scheme provides a lifeline for our most vulnerable residents to go shopping, pick up medication, attend doctor appointments or socialise with friends. However, it is now under real threat.

"Years of underfunding of the scheme forces councils to spend millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to subsidise the scheme.

"This is now impossible with councils having to make savings while struggling to protect vital services like adult social care, protecting children, filling potholes and collecting bins."

A Government spokeswoman said: "We know that bus services are vital for many older and disabled people.

"That is why the right to free travel is enshrined in law and government provides funding to meet the cost of subsidising off-peak travel for these groups.

"In addition, the Department for Transport provides funding to bus operators to help more services run and keep ticket prices down.

"The current level of this funding is protected until 2015/16."

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British Runaway 'Feared Kidnapped In Spain'

A British man who fled to Spain is believed to have been kidnapped by men posing as police officers.

Francis Brennan left the UK ahead of a sentencing date last October for an assault he committed in the Thames Valley area in 2012.

He was last seen in Alicante on January 24. He was in a friend's car when it was stopped by several men who posed as police officers.

The 25-year-old's parents, Carl and Janet, have appealed for information about his disappearance.

"We got a call from one of his friends and his girlfriend back in January to say that Francis had been arrested on January 24 but we later learnt from the Spanish authorities that this was not the case and that he had been taken against his will," they said.

"This has come as an awful shock to us as Francis is our only son and we can still remember him as a fun-loving child who was football-mad in a football-mad family who loved nothing more than playing out with his friends."

They said they pleaded with their son not to leave the country, but he did not listen.

"He told us not to worry and that he would be home after Christmas," they said.

Mr Brennan went missing in Alicante

Mr Brennan's girlfriend, Sophie Staunton, went to Alicante in December to try to persuade him to return home.

"Francis met Sophie, his lovely girlfriend, in 2012 and he seemed to start to grow up and they seemed very settled and happy," Mr Brennan's parents said.

"Sophie went out to Javea in December to try and persuade him to come home but then last month he disappeared and none of us know where. This whole thing has devastated all of us."

Detective Superintendent Richie Carr, from Merseyside Police, said: "Francis's disappearance is completely out of character and because of this, as well as his associations and lifestyle, ourselves and the Spanish police are extremely concerned for his safety.

"We do however believe he has been taken against his will and we and his family are hopeful that someone in the criminal fraternity here in Merseyside has information that could help bring about the safe return of Francis."

:: Anybody with information should call Merseyside Police on 0151 777 8520 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Floods Fund: £2m To Support Tourism Firms

Tourism businesses affected by the recent flooding are to get a £2m boost from the Government.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller says the money will fund experts who will visit affected areas and offer practical advice to tourism firms such as how to access business support measures.

The advice sessions will be hosted by VisitEngland and run throughout March.

The fund comes on top of  the £10m set aside by Prime Minister David Cameron last month to help flood-hit businesses generally.

Ms Miller said: "We want to help all those tourism businesses that have been affected by the horrendous floods get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

"Experts will be put on the ground to help small businesses with practical advice and communications while a bespoke Easter marketing will bring people back to the areas hit."

Welcoming the funding, VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford said: "Our message to customers is 'Business as usual'.

"Despite many areas having been affected by bad weather and some travel disruption, the tourism infrastructure is largely unaffected."

VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe said: "International tourism is worth around £1.5bn to the economies of south west England and Wales.

"We are already getting out the message that it is a great time to travel to Britain and will be intensifying that activity over the coming months."

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:: Watch Sky News' special programme 'Battered Britain: From The Air' about the effect of the recent storms on the UK's landscape on Sunday, March 2, at 4pm.

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Moazzam Begg Denies Syria Terror Charges

Ex-Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg has denied charges of providing terrorist training and funding terrorism overseas.

The 45-year-old British citizen, from Hall Green, Birmingham, was one of four people arrested earlier this week on suspicion of terrorism offences linked to the Syria conflict.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court today alongside a woman, Gerrie Tahari, 44, of Sparkbrook, Birmingham, who also denied funding terrorism overseas.

Begg was remanded in custody and will next appear at the Old Bailey on March 14.

Both were arrested on Tuesday with two other men held on suspicion of facilitating terrorism overseas.

Begg was released from Guantanamo Bay in January 2005

The pair - a 36-year-old man from Shirley, Solihull, and a 20-year-old man from Sparkhill, Birmingham, who is the son of Tahari - remain in police custody.

Begg was held by the US government at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba for nearly three years after being arrested in Pakistan in February 2002.

He was detained on suspicion of being a member of al Qaeda before being released without charge in January 2005.

He was allowed to return to the UK where he was arrested by police before being released without charge.

Begg is a director of Cage - which campaigns "against the War on Terror" - and has always maintained that he has never been involved in any kind of terrorist activity.

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Cyclist Causes Chaos On M25 Rush Hour Ride

A cyclist caused travel chaos when he chose to pedal along Britain's busiest motorway during rush hour while following a sat nav app on his phone.

He ended up cycling for several miles on the southern section of the M25 in Surrey.

Drivers tweeted about the man as they were caught up in long hold-ups on the motorway.

One police officer tweeted that the cyclist had been seen between junctions 12 and 13 of the motorway. He was eventually removed and given a £50 fine.

The man cycles across slip roads at junctions along the motorway

One tweet said: "A male was looking for a shorter route to cycle home from work. Phone app sent him on motorway so thought it OK."

Another read: "Nice chap but unaware of the rules of the road, believed it OK to ride/walk on hard shoulder - struggled to see why not.

"Genuine mistake I'm sure but could have stopped at bottom of slip road! Most children know not to stray on to a motorway."

He was fined £50 and removed from the motorway

Sergeant Phil Dix, from Surrey Police roads policing unit, said: "The cyclist was apparently taking a short cut home and was following a satellite navigation system on his mobile phone.

"It is extremely fortunate that there was a safe outcome and that the cyclist was not injured, or worse - especially as he had crossed several slip roads coming off the motorway."

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Co-op Hits 6,500 Staff With Job Uncertainty

The Co-operative Group has confirmed it may sell its pharmacy business, employing 6,500 staff, as part of its strategic review.

It is also looking to offload 15 farms it owns, which have an estimated land value of £49m.

The review - ordered in the wake of the financial crisis at its bank - is yet to be completed.

But a short statement on Wednesday said: "As part of the wider strategic review of all of its businesses, The Co-operative Group has decided that its farms are non-core and has started a process that is expected to lead to a sale of the business.

"In addition, it is exploring options for the future of the pharmacy business; this could include the sale in whole or part of the business."

The Co-op operates 15 farms, three in Scotland and the rest in England, covering 50,000 acres in total with an estimated land value of £49m.

The division also owns three packing sites.

They are seen as surplus to requirements because the cereals and vegetables they produce only make up a small proportion of produce for Co-op supermarkets.

The chemists business, which operates out of 750 outlets, has suffered in recent times amid Government attempts to reduce its prescription costs.

The group ordered the strategic review after a huge £1.5bn capital black hole emerged in its banking arm, resulting in control passing to bondholders including US hedge funds.

The problems at the bank are currently subject to a number of inquiries.

The scandal also brought the appointment of Paul Flowers, now ex-chairman of the bank, into the spotlight amid questions about his lack of banking experience.

Just nine days ago the Co-op Group launched an online poll to help shape its future, admitting the mutual had lost touch with its customers and members.

Group chief executive Euan Sutherland said it would listen to suggestions and the results would feed into the strategic review.

The Co-op operates a wide variety of businesses, including supermarkets and funeral services.

Its 2013 results - due to be released in late March - are expected to confirm growing losses.

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One Direction's Louis To Make Doncaster Debut

One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson is swapping the stage for a football pitch as he makes his debut for Doncaster Rovers.

Ticket sales, unsurprisingly, have soared for the reserve team's match against Rotherham with hundreds of 1D's fans, or "Directioners",  expected to flock to the stadium.

The club's media executive Jordan Owens told Sky News a similar game would usually sell a "couple of hundred tickets" but more than 5,000 have been snapped up already.

The 22-year-old boyband star has been training with the team for the past few days and Mr Owens said the players were getting along "great" with him.

Tomlinson fulfilled his childhood dream and signed for Doncaster Rovers in August.

Tomlinson (second right) with his bandmates at the Brit awards

The singer once worked as a waiter at the club in his hometown but he has now been issued with the number 28 shirt for the season.

Mr Owens said: "We've been told he's not a bad wing-back."

Feelings about the star's appearance in the team are said to be mixed among the fans but Mr Owens added: "There is always a chance he'll play again."

It is not known if his bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne will be in the stands.

One Direction were together in London last week where they won two Brit awards.

In September, Tomlinson was forced to limp off the pitch after a shoulder barge from Gabriel Agbonlahor during a charity match.

One Direction fans left angry messages on social media sites after the tackle which also left the star vomiting by the touchline.

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Cameron Criticised On Flood Defence Spending

The boss of the country's biggest insurance firm, Legal & General, has told Sky News he is concerned about a lack of spending on flood defences.

As the industry faces Government pressure to pay out quickly on the costs of the winter storms, Nigel Wilson also spoke out against policy on home building in flood-prone areas.

He said: "We've had a housing policy that has encouraged too much building in flood plains area. And we've been on and on about this.

"There's an issue in the UK. We're not building enough and where we're building them is in the wrong place.

"So we've got a multi-phased approach in actually increasing housing supply.

L&G is facing a multi-million pound flood bill

"The Government needs to focus much more attention on housing supply and where that supply is."

He was speaking hours after David Cameron's boast that flood defence spending will increase under his leadership was contradicted by the UK's statistics watchdog, which claimed the budget had actually been cut by £250m.

Sir Andrew Dilnot, head of the UK Statistics Authority, called on the Government to publish its real-term figures "in the public interest."

Mr Cameron claimed at Prime Minister's Questions that spending between 2011 and 2015 would be higher than in the previous four years under Labour.

The results of the wettest winter on Met Office records

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson went further, saying the Government is "providing more than any previous government in this spending review".

The discrepancy stems from the Government including money spent by private firms and other third parties in its figures.

Flood defence spending was £2.37bn between 2007 and 2011, according to House of Commons library figures.

Between 2011 and 2015 it will be £2.34bn - a £247m cut in real terms.

The Army was called in to help tackle the rising waters

Sir Andrew believes the House of Commons numbers are more credible than those being stated by Mr Cameron and his colleagues.

He said: "We agree with their finding that, as of January 2014, government funding for flood defences was expected to be lower in both nominal and real terms during the current spending period than during the last spending period.

"Our analysis also supports the conclusion that the statement 'over the current spending review period, more is being spent than ever before' is supported by the statistics if the comparison is made in nominal terms and includes external funding, but is not supported by the statistics if the comparison is made in real terms or if external funding is excluded."

Labour and Friends of the Earth say the cuts contributed to the damage endured across swathes of the country this winter - and the issue will be debated by MPs on Wednesday.

Mr Paterson has already apologised for "any offence" caused by his flood defence spending claims, but denied there had been any "manipulation of figures".

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Figures on flood defence spending are published. The Government is spending £2.4bn on flood management and protection from coastal erosion which is more than ever before.

"The Prime Minister also recently announced £130m extra for flood defence repairs following the extreme weather."

All this comes as the Institution of Civil Engineers called on Chancellor George Osborne to use next month's  Budget to return spending on flood risk management to pre-2010 levels.

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