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[JohnCenaFan28]

NHS hospitals are paying agency staff up to £200 an hour to cover shifts, the Tories claimed.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed some staff were paid hourly rates equivalent to salaries worth hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. The data also showed some agencies were taking large "cuts" in return for supplying workers to the NHS.

The Tories said NHS organisations across England were paying agency staff "hugely inflated" hourly rates to cover gaps in normal cover. The Party asked all NHS trusts to provide details of the highest amount they paid to an agency worker between May and October 2008 and received a response rate of more than 70%.

Whipps Cross University Hospitals NHS Trust said it paid £188 an hour for an anaesthetics medical consultant - equivalent to an annual salary of £366,000. Meanwhile, Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust paid £167 for an A&E doctor, equivalent to an annual salary of £326,000, and Dorset Primary Care Trust paid £158 an hour for a prison GP, equivalent to an annual salary of £307,000.

The data also showed that NHS Wakefield District Primary Care Trust paid £135 an hour for a prison GP, equivalent to an annual salary of £263,000, while Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust paid £131 for a doctor, equivalent to an annual salary of £255,000.

Trusts also paid high sums for non-clinical staff, the figures showed. Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust paid £157 an hour for a senior manager, equivalent to an annual salary of £306,000, while Wandsworth Primary Care Trust paid £147 an hour for a strategic commissioning manager.

The resulting data did not show whether the workers came from privately-run agencies or from NHS Professionals, a non-profit agency set up by the Government to provide flexible staff. However, they are most likely to be fees paid to private firms because NHS Professionals fees are standardised and comparatively low. Most organisations were unable to say how the hourly rate was split between the worker and the agency, the Tories said. But of those that did supply the information, some agencies were found to be taking large cuts.

For example, Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust paid £116 per hour for a nurse but the agency took £50 (43%), and Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust paid £94 per hour for a nurse but the agency took £40 (43%). Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust paid £105 per hour for a doctor but the agency took £45 (33%). Almost £800 million was spent on agency staff in 2006/07, although the Department of Health insists this figure is falling.

Shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said: "Labour's dithering and chaotic, short-term planning has let down NHS staff. Some stability for them is the least we would have expected from the billions that the Government has poured into the NHS. It's incredible that agency staff can be paid such high hourly rates when jobs are being cut at the same time. This is typical of the waste that's occurred under this Labour Government".

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "Temporary staff have, and continue to have, a key role in helping the NHS to respond to fluctuations in demand for services and in staff availability. Increasing the quality of, and achieving best value for money from temporary staffing is an important aspect of workforce planning in the NHS. We are spending less on agency staff year on year. The total pay bill spent on agency staff has reduced from 5.5% in 2003-04, to 4.2% in 2004-05 to 3.5% in 2005-06, 2.7% in 2006-07 and 3.2% in 2007-08."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Trained negotiators are continuing to talk to a man who is thought to be armed.

Police received reports that the man was refusing to leave the property in Wigan, at 12.40pm on Friday.

A second man is also in the house in Hereford Road, Hindley, and officers are also negotiating his release.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said it was understood the man may have access to firearms but denied a suggestion that the address had been doused in petrol.

The spokesman added: "Trained police negotiators are currently at the scene and are in discussion with the man, in order to ensure the incident is resolved safely and without injury to anyone involved.

"A cordon has been put in place while the incident is dealt with and a number of roads have also been closed."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

A British journalist kidnapped by Somalian gunmen has been released after 40 days in captivity, the Foreign Office said.

Colin Freeman, 39, the Sunday Telegraph's chief foreign correspondent, was snatched by bodyguards escorting him to Boosaaso airport in Somalia. Mr Freeman had just finished investigating a spate of piracy attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden for the paper when the kidnap happened.

Spanish freelance photographer Jose Cendon, also working for the Sunday Telegraph, was taken in the same kidnapping and remained with him throughout.

Mr Freeman told the Telegraph that he was "absolutely fine and delighted to be out" and "had absolutely no problems at all either physically or mentally".

Mr Freeman claimed his captors had treated them both well and that they were hidden in caves in the mountains close to the city of Boosaaso. He said: "We survived on rice, goat meat and Rothmans. I gave up smoking in 1992 and somehow decided now would be a good time to start up again."

A Telegraph Media Group spokesman said: "We are grateful to all those who have helped secure the safe release of Colin Freeman and Jose Cendon.

"This is wonderful news and we are delighted that the two journalists will soon be reunited with their families, friends and colleagues. On behalf of their families, the Telegraph would like to thank all those involved in assisting in the release, including the authorities in Puntland."

The Foreign Office said it would be offering consular assistance to Mr Freeman but dismissed claims a ransom had been paid for his safe return. A spokeswoman said: "The government's policy on ransom is we don't pay."

Mr Freeman is not expected to return to Britain until Tuesday at the earliest, but left Somalia on a flight to Kenya on Sunday.

The Telegraph said that it first received contact from Mr Freeman five days after he was kidnapped when he called the news desk. The newspaper later set up a crisis management team to support his release.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The organs of 50 British NHS donors were transplanted into foreign patients over the past two years, it has emerged.

The bulk of the operations, which all involved liver transplants, took place at King's College Hospital and the Royal Free in London.

Of the patients, 40 were Greeks or Cypriots, who are entitled as EU citizens to NHS services, including transplants. The remainder included patients from non-EU countries such as China, Libya and the United Arab Emirates, seven of whom were classed as deserving equal access to services.

The Department of Health said that these patients, although not from the EU, must have met criteria allowing them NHS treatment.

Three people from non-EU countries were treated as lower-priority patients.

Although implanting organs from British donors in foreign patients is legal, some hospitals prioritise UK patients because of the shortage of organs.

There are currently more people needing transplants in the UK than there are donor organs available, with 325 people waiting for a new liver.

Dr Mervyn Davies, a consultant hepatologist at St James's University hospital in Leeds, told The Sunday Times: "There is a shortage of donors and we cannot cater for the whole of the EU. It is tragic for these patients but the system that we have cannot cope with the UK demand as it is."

A spokesman for King's confirmed that the hospital carries out liver transplants on a "small number of patients" referred to them by EU countries, with the costs of the operations met through a block contract with the Department of Health. Some EU countries, including the Republic of Ireland, Greece and Cyprus, do not have large enough liver transplant programmes of their own to support patient need," he said. "This is why a higher proportion of non-UK EU patients treated at King's come from these countries than from others."

He added that the Greek and Cypriot governments choose to pay for their nationals' treatment outside of the contract with the Department of Health, meaning they are effectively treated as private patients with payments made directly to the hospital.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Four members of one family are in hospital after being hit by a car as they walked along a footpath.

Police said the driver of a Ford Mondeo lost control of his vehicle, which then mounted a footpath in Prior Road, Camberley, Surrey.

The four family members were taken to Frimley Park Hospital where they are being treated for multiple injuries.

Police said a 44-year-old woman suffered a broken pelvis, a 48-year-old man has a possible broken leg and finger, a nine-year-old boy suffered abdominal and head injuries and concussion, and a seven-year-old boy has a broken leg and pelvic fractures.

Police are questioning the driver, who was not hurt in the incident.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Two men were arrested when police officers forced their way into a house which was under siege for more than 36 hours.

Marksmen had surrounded the terraced property in Wigan, Greater Manchester, since Friday lunchtime following reports that a man, possibly armed, was holding another hostage.

Trained negotiators talked to the man via a loudspeaker and neighbours in Hereford Road, Hindley, were not allowed back to their homes as the area was cordoned off.

Police entered the house at 1.20am on Sunday and fired a Taser at one of the men. Both men were taken to hospital and received treatment for minor injuries.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "At 1.20am police went into the house in Hereford Road, Hindley, and discovered two men in the loft space. One man was subdued with a Taser to allow officers to detain him in a safe and controlled manner. They were taken to hospital for treatment to minor injuries.

"Two men have been arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and remain in police custody."

Neighbours said a woman managed to escape from the house before the stand-off started.

Reports that one of the men had doused himself and the house in petrol were denied by police.

Police said a 31-year-old man was later released without charge as detectives continue to question a 34-year-old man.

Superintendent Peter Matthews said: "Thankfully incidents such as these are extremely rare. However, Greater Manchester Police has a full team of experts trained to deal with situations like this."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Services on a busy rail line which was closed after a fatal plane crash will be back to normal by Monday morning, Network Rail announced.

The West Coast Mainline was shut after the light aircraft ploughed into its lines at Little Haywood, near Stafford, on Friday.

The crash claimed the lives of pilot Alan Matthews, 59, from Walsall Wood, West Midlands, and married couple Nick and Emma O'Brien, 35 and 29, from Shirley, Solihull.

The tragedy left thousands of rail passengers stranded on Friday as services were brought to a halt.

British Transport Police (BTP) said they had handed the line back to Network Rail after an examination by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

A Network Rail spokeswoman said they expected services would return to normal by first thing on Monday morning. She said diversionary timetables had been set up and some work and tests would need to be completed, and advised any passengers to check with rail operators before travelling.

On Saturday, British Transport Police named the crash victims as Mr and Mrs O'Brien, who had two sons aged 18 months and 10. It is understood that pilot Mr Matthews knew Mr O'Brien through his work with a Birmingham-based demolition firm.

Mr Matthews, a member of a flying club based near Lichfield, Staffordshire, was said by friends to be a well-liked and proficient pilot who had almost two decades of flying experience. His wife, Jenny, issued a short statement paying tribute to her husband as a "loving, caring" man who would help anybody and loved flying.

The aircraft is believed to have been a Piper Cherokee based at the Sittles Flying Club, which operates from an airfield near the village of Fradley. Members of the club paid tribute to Mr Matthews as a "nice chap" with many years' experience as a pilot.

A statement issued on the club's website said: "We will miss him deeply. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family at this terrible time."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Interest rates are set to hit a record low this week as the Bank of England grapples with a deepening recession.

The Bank's official rate has never fallen below the current 2% in its 315-year history, but experts predict a cut of as much as 1% on Thursday as the UK faces up to its worst year since the early 1990s.

Rate-setters on the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will ponder the latest gloomy data including a new low for mortgage lending in November and a record 16.2% fall in house prices during 2008.

And despite Government attempts to kick-start lending, banks and building societies anticipate a further tightening in credit to individuals and firms in the first three months of this year, according to the Bank's latest credit conditions survey.

IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer said: "We are forecasting a 0.75% cut from 2% to 1.25%, but it is very possible that the MPC could produce a third successive reduction of 1% or more.

"With the recession deepening, credit conditions remaining worryingly tight and inflationary pressures retreating sharply, there is intense pressure on the MPC to bring interest rates down sharply further."

But how much homeowners and borrowers will gain from any rate cut remains to be seen after building society Nationwide said it would invoke a "collar" clause enabling it to stop reducing rates on most of its tracker mortgages.

The collar was supposed to kick in when rates fell below 2.75%, but the group decided to waive the clause last month, passing on December's 1% reduction in full.

But it said on Friday that it would invoke the clause to protect its savers from further aggressive rate cuts - sparking fears that other lenders may follow suit and stop passing on future rate reductions to tracker customers.

Minutes of the MPC's December meeting showed policymakers discussed cutting rates by more than the 1% agreed on but they held back for fear of an "excessive" knock to the pound and confidence in the economy. This could limit the size of this week's reduction as the pound plunges towards parity with the euro, other economists suggested.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Details have emerged of a massive operation by British, Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan in which troops fought at close quarters, in knee-deep mud and in fierce trench battles reminiscent of the First World War.

The offensive in central Helmand province involved more than 1,500 troops and was one of the largest operations mounted by the Royal Marines since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

It was fought over 18 days around the town of Nad-e-Ali to capture four key Taliban strongholds.

Some of the Royal Marines taking part trudged more than 60km through mud with packs on their backs while also fighting insurgents at close quarters, the MoD revealed.

A Lance Corporal, signaller with the 77th Armoured Engineer Squadron, said: "I was in Nad-e-Ali for just over two weeks ... Some of the places we stayed in were a nightmare - sleeping in the mud was the worst.

"(At times) we were exposed and moving ahead of our infantry protection. It felt like we were being watched and it was difficult to tell who the enemy was - it was pretty scary."

The operation, which culminated in a battle on Christmas Day, claimed the lives of five British servicemen and wounded scores of others. About 100 Taliban fighters were killed, including a senior commander.

Operation Sond Chara - Pashto for Red Dagger - was named after 3 Commando Brigade's shoulder badge.

Describing Sond Chara, Captain Dave Glendenning, commander of the marines' artillery support team, said: "Almost every day we were involved in intense fire-fights ranging from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms 'shoot-and-scoots' to four-hour battles with the enemy forces as close as 30 metres."

The operation aimed to provide better security in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah following Taliban attacks in October, and to pave the way for a voter registration programme due to start early this year.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Gordon Brown said that it was too early to judge the success of his £37 billion bank bail-out - and insisted he had "no plans" to call a General Election this year.

The Government is preparing a fresh bid to push the banks into resuming lending amid figures showing mortgage lending slumping to a new low. Mr Brown played down suggestions that it could include another injection of public cash into financial institutions and urged voters to judge his policies by long-term effects.

Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, he said: "I do not think you can judge the success of recapitalisation by what happened in one month; you have got to judge it as a necessary means by which, by saving the banks - and saving is the right word - we restore the ability to fund businesses and mortgages. If we had not acted that weekend and then the rest of the world acted, you would have had a banking collapse, you would have lost major institutions."

He went on: "From January 1 we have the small business scheme, we have the export credit scheme, we've got the ability of companies to defer their payments to the Inland Revenue. We've got other means by which we will try to get liquidity, cash into the system."

Asked if that could include more public cash for the banks, he said: "I do not think that's the first thing anyone would think about at the moment. The first thing we are thinking about is how we can help the flow of money to businesses; how we can get the banks doing what they said they would do after the recapitalisation - that is, maintaining the level of funding for small businesses and mortgages that happened in 2007."

The Prime Minister, who said that up to 100,000 jobs could be created through Government projects being brought forward, also pointed out that only a small fraction of an £18 billion boost for the economy had yet been spent. "If we have spent £1 billion of a total of £18 billion to be spent, some on public works, some on keeping people in their jobs, some on environmental and green projects, some on helping more people go to university and college... we have just started. You can't judge a success or a failure by the first few weeks, you've got to judge it over the next few months."

Asked to rule out a 2009 General Election, the PM said it was "the last thing on my mind" - adding, when pressed: "I've got no plans for that."

Mr Brown hailed the jobs initiative as he sought to counter fears that unemployment could soar beyond three million this year as the recession bites. He believes speeding up school, transport, technology and environmental projects will help offset the effects - and is discussing other job protection measures with industry.

The PM, who will spend much of this week touring the country in advance of a Downing Street "jobs summit" next Monday, also defended his handling of the economic crisis. "I want to show how we will be able to, through public investments and public works, create probably 100,000 additional jobs over the next period of time in our capital investment programme - schools, hospitals, environmental work and infrastructure, transport," Mr Brown told The Observer.

But the Tories accused the Prime Minister of producing headline-grabbing figures out of the air with little evidence to back them - and questioned why other major projects were being slowed down. Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said: "Frankly, I'm extremely sceptical. Only last month he delayed his biggest public project - the new aircraft carriers - because the Government has run out of money. This is a Government that has got Britain into a major debt crisis and its solutions to the problems just aren't working."

-Nova