Fracking Water Warning As Tax Break Announced

UK water companies have warned shale gas 'fracking' should not be allowed to compromise public health as the Chancellor unveiled plans for a "generous" tax relief regime for the industry.

Water UK policy and business adviser Dr Jim Marshall said public health should not be put at risk by attempts to cash in on the controversial energy resource.

"Provision of drinking water is a cornerstone of our public health and as such a service that cannot be compromised," he said.

"There are arguments for and against fracking and the water industry is not taking sides. If it goes ahead, we want to ensure corners are not cut and standards compromised, leaving us all counting the cost for years to come.

"We want greater clarity from the shale gas industry on what its needs related to water are really going to be and a true assessment of the impacts."

George Osborne's planned new shale gas allowance will more than halve the tax due on a proportion - which will be determined following consultation - of income from production in order to encourage exploration of the unconventional energy resource in the UK.

Supporters say fracking will reduce the UK's reliance on energy imports

The backing from the Treasury comes after a recent report from the British Geological Survey revealed there was twice as much shale gas in the north of England as previously thought. Other areas of the country could also be exploited for the gas.

Ministers believe the experience of the US, which has seen a shale gas boom, shows it could boost tax revenues, create jobs, reduce energy imports - which have reached record highs in the UK - and bring down household fuel bills.

George Osborne said: "Shale gas is a resource with huge potential to broaden the UK's energy mix. We want to create the right conditions for industry to explore and unlock that potential in a way that allows communities to share in the benefits.

"This new tax regime, which I want to make the most generous for shale in the world, will contribute to that. I want Britain to be a leader of the shale gas revolution - because it has the potential to create thousands of jobs and keep energy bills low for millions of people."

But opponents warn that the process for extracting shale gas, by fracturing rock with high-pressure liquid to release the gas, or "fracking", can cause earthquakes, pollute water supplies, blight the countryside and affect house prices.

Questions have also been raised about how much of an impact efforts to develop home-grown shale resources will have on household energy bills, and environmental campaigners warn a new "dash for gas" will undermine efforts to develop clean energy, cut emissions and create green jobs and growth.

Environmentalists warn against 'industrialising' the countryside

Greenpeace energy campaigner Lawrence Carter said: "The Chancellor is telling anyone who will listen that UK shale gas is set to be an economic miracle, yet he's had to offer the industry sweetheart tax deals just to reassure them that fracking would be profitable.

"Experts from energy regulator Ofgem to Deutsche Bank and the company in receipt of this tax break, Cuadrilla, admit that it won't reduce energy prices for consumers.

"Instead we're likely to see the industrialisation of tracts of the British countryside, gas flaring in the Home Counties and a steady stream of trucks carrying contaminated water down rural lanes."

New planning guidance on shale gas is set to be published by the Communities Department as the Government attempts to drive forward exploration.

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OECD Warns Of 'Double-Tax Chaos' For Firms

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

The OECD has raised the prospect of a global tax war, with companies caught having to pay double the levels of previous years, unless countries agree to a new international deal on corporate tax avoidance.

In a landmark report, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned that the international agreements set up in the 1920s to prevent companies paying double the tax on their profits in different countries could be abandoned, leaving "chaos" in their wake.

The warning came as it presented a 15-point action plan aimed at tackling tax avoidance by multinational companies such as Google and Starbucks.

It said that many companies - particularly those involved in the digital and internet sectors - were able to reduce their tax bills by shifting profits around the world to areas where rates are lowest, taking advantage of 90-year old rules aimed at preventing them being charged tax twice in different countries.

The perverse upshot of these League of Nation "double taxation" rules, it pointed out, was "double non-taxation".

However, it warned that unless Governments agreed an international scheme to police this, countries were likely to throw away the existing rules, resulting in "the replacement of the current consensus-based framework by unilateral measures, which could lead to global tax chaos marked by the massive re-emergence of double taxation".

The report added: "In fact, if the Action Plan fails to develop effective solutions in a timely manner, some countries may be persuaded to take unilateral action for protecting their tax base, resulting in avoidable uncertainty and unrelieved double taxation."

The report was delivered as finance ministers from the G20 group of nations met in Moscow for their annual meeting.

The OECD's hope is that the action plan is adopted either at this conference or at the heads-of-state meeting in St Petersburg next month.

However, some countries, including Russia and the United States, have expressed concern about the consequences of rewriting international corporate tax agreements that have been in place for almost a century.

The OECD plan suggests an investigation into measuring the creation of value in internet firms (in order to identify where taxes ought to be paid), as well as proposals to tackle complex structures which help companies avoid tax.

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Mothercare Mulls Sale Of Early Learning Centre

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Mothercare is considering the sale of its loss-making Early Learning Centre (ELC) chain as it bids to meet a target of restoring its UK operations to profitability by 2015.

Sky News has learnt that Mothercare has been holding talks with potential advisers about a sale in recent weeks, although the company has not yet made a formal decision to offload the specialist retailer of educational toys for young children.

Analysts believe that disposing of the business, which has perennially underperformed during the six years that it has been owned by Mothercare, may be difficult because of its poor track record.

It may, however, appeal to firms which are accustomed to investing in struggling high street chains, such as Hilco, which snapped up HMV for a token price earlier this year.

In a trading update published on Thursday, Mothercare said that it had continued to close stores in the UK amid difficult trading conditions.

"The UK market has been very competitive during the last quarter and we have continued to focus on delivering cash margin," it said.

"In line with our plan, we closed a further 13 loss-making stores (four Mothercare and nine Early Learning Centre) during the first quarter of the year.

"We now have 242 stores (192 Mothercare and 50 Early Learning Centre) in the UK. Space is down 7.7% year-on-year and is reflected in the 7.9% decline in total UK sales for the first quarter."

The talks with banks about a sale of ELC could result in an appointment imminently, with Lazard understood to be in the frame for the role.

Mothercare paid £85m for ELC but is unlikely to recoup anything like that sum if it manages to sell the chain.

The group wants to cash in on the imminent birth of the royal baby with the launch of a range of themed products, Simon Calver, the former Lovefilm executive who now runs Mothercare, said on Thursday.

Mothercare, which has a market value of around £400m, now has a much larger business outside the UK than in its home market. It's share price has rebounded strongly since Mr Calver's arrival.

A Mothercare spokeswoman declined to comment.

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2012 Olympics Have Given UK A £10bn Boost

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

The UK economy has received a £10bn trade and investment boost from the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to a new report.

The boost comes from businesses securing contract wins, additional sales and new foreign investment in the last year, the report said.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "This £9.9bn boost to the UK economy is a reminder to the world that, if you want the best, if you want professionalism, if you want jobs done on time and on budget then you should think British.

"With companies across the country we are harnessing the Olympic momentum and delivering the lasting business legacy of the Games that will help make Britain a winner in the global race.

"But that's not where the good news ends. The Games are also delivering a strong social legacy.

"Last summer, Games Makers changed the way Britain views volunteering. Since then, thousands of people have been inspired to get involved with their local sports clubs."

The success of UK athletes has not had a dramatic effect on participation

Research carried out for the Government suggests that over the long term the total benefit could reach up to £41bn by 2020.

But a poll conducted exclusively for Sky News suggests a lasting legacy for sport and volunteering is proving harder to achieve.

The poll found that while more than half of respondents believe the Games delivered on their promise to "inspire a generation", the vast majority were unmoved to take up a new sport or commit to volunteering.

Asked if London 2012 had inspired them to take up a new sport or recreation activity, 88% said it had not.

Among existing participants there was also very little impact, with 80% of those asked saying the Olympics had not prompted them to do more sport.

With four golds, David Weir was one of Britain's star performers

Among volunteers there was a similar picture, with 89% of respondents saying they had not increased the amount of time they gave as a result of the Olympic example.

Just 6% said they had done more and 3% said they had done less.

While the results challenge the notion that the Olympics could transform behaviour, they do offer some comfort to organisers of what was otherwise a hugely successful Olympics.

Among 16 to 18-year-olds, responses were more positive, with 20% saying they had tried a new sport, 31% saying they had done more sport and 21% saying they had spent more time volunteering.

The poll also revealed mixed attitudes to the Games one year on.

The Aquatics Centre may encourgage the public when it opens next year

Asked if the Olympics were value for the near £9bn spent on staging them, 41% of people said they were good or very good value for money, while 30% felt they were not worth the investment.

As to whether Britain should stage the Games again the poll revealed a split, with 40% in favour and the same percentage opposed to repeating the 2012 experiment.

Despite these findings, key figures in the Olympic project insist that the Games are delivering on the legacy promises.

Lord Coe says he believes more young people are now playing sport

Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the organising committee and now the Prime Minister's legacy ambassador, told Sky News: "I think in large part we have inspired.

"Look at waiting lists in sports clubs, they are both optimistic and challenging, but I think there are more people playing sport, and a good chunk of them are young people."

Lord Coe said his experience was that the appetite was particularly keen in schools.

"I've spent a lot of time in the last year, particularly with my legacy work in schools, in primary schools, secondary schools and even in colleges.

"And there's no doubt at all that PE teachers - and certainly teachers - that did not get sport up until the Games recognise that there is a very powerful momentum and that young people want more sport and so do their parents."

Sports minister Hugh Robertson said participation was growing, citing Sport England figures that show 1.4 million more people doing sport at least once a week than before London successfully bid for the Games.

"The legacy is undoubtedly genuine," said Mr Robertson.

"More people are playing sport now than when we started on the Olympic journey, but this was never ever going to be one smooth uphill journey.

"I am delighted to say that for the first time, with stability of funding and the same policies in place year after year after year, we are beginning to see the participation dividend that we all looked for at the time of the bid."

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Vodafone Hit By Declines Across Europe

Mobile phone giant Vodafone has seen its quarterly revenue decline across key markets in Europe and the UK.

Total group service revenue for the first quarter, ending June 30, was down 3.5% at £10.15bn.

Vodafone said conditions in Europe remain "challenging", with its revenue in Italy down 17.6%, Spain down 10.6% and other southern European markets down 13.6%.

The company said quarterly revenue was also down 4.5% in the UK and down Germany 5.1%.

It cited a "challenging macroeconomic and competitive environment" for its decline in Italy and Spain.

Although it was the first phone operator in Spain to launch faster 4G services, in May, the loss of customers was not stemmed.

However, it did see good growth in Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

Revenue was up 13.8% in India, with data usage up 29% compared to the previous quarter.

The overall performance in Q1 was in line with management's expectations.

Chief executive Vittorio Colao said: "We have made a good start to the year in our areas of strategic focus - growth in emerging markets has accelerated.

"Although regulation, competitive pressures and weak economies, particularly in southern Europe, continue to restrict revenue growth, we continue to lay strong foundations for the longer term."

Net debt at the end of June was £24.9bn, a reduction of £2.1bn on the previous quarter.

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Petrol Prices Set To Soar By 5p Over Summer

Petrol pump prices could soar 5p a litre - burning a hole in the pockets of holiday motorists, the AA has warned.

A surge in the wholesale cost of petrol across Europe has already led to a rise in UK petrol and diesel prices, with more misery possibly to come, the AA said.

On average, UK petrol prices have risen from 134.61p a litre in mid-June to 135.78p now, while diesel has gone up from 139.16p a month ago to 140.24p now.

The AA said: "A $100-a-ton increase in the cost of petrol across northwest Europe, combined with a weaker pound, heralds a potential 5p increase in pump petrol costs."

It added that should petrol go up 5p a litre then a family from Hounslow in west London, for example, heading off on holiday in a typical family car to Cornwall will pay £2.90 more for the return trip than it would have done in June.

The AA said a survey of last year's visitors to Cornwall found that 26% of visitors came from London and southeast England so that for every 100,000 trips to Cornwall from London and the South East, with 86% of visitors coming by car, the petrol price spike could siphon nearly £250,000 away from the tourism industry into the pockets of the fuel industry.

At present, London and the North West have the cheapest petrol, at 135.5p a litre on average.

Northern Ireland, although enjoying the smallest price rise over the past month, is still the most expensive region for petrol at 136.6p.

Scotland and East Anglia share the position of most expensive areas in the UK for diesel, both averaging 140.8p a litre, while the North West has the cheapest, at 139.7p.

AA president Edmund King said: "After the price of petrol stabilised at around 134.6p a litre through much of this June, and weeks were filled with beautiful weather and sporting excellence, it was perhaps inevitable that oil and fuel market speculators would cast a black cloud over what was promising to be a glorious summer."

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Google 'Must Do Better' Over Search Concerns

Google must do more to overcome worries that its search results are unfair to its competitors, the European Commission has said.

The company came up with proposals that it hoped would satisfy a three-year investigation into how it displays and ranks search results.

But Joaquin Almunia, the European Union's competition commissioner, said its ideas were not good enough.

If it does not come back with better ideas, it could face a fine of around $5bn (£3.3bn).

"I concluded that proposals that Google sent to us months ago are not enough to overcome our concerns," said Mr Almunia.

He said a letter had been sent to Google chairman Eric Schmidt asking the firm to "present better proposals".

Google has been accused of unfairly flagging up products or services that are listed via its specialised search tools, such as Google Shopping.

The accusation being that customers are kept within the Google framework and rival search services are discriminated against.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has been asked to 'do better'

Competition bosses are concerned that it is also bad for shoppers as products that are potentially better, more relevant or cheaper, may be listed too low in the results.

Other worries centred on how Google manages the ads next to its search results, how it displays content from other websites and how its actions affect advertising on rival networks.

The company had offered to mark out its own promoted links in search results, provide clear links to at least three rival search sites such as Yahoo and Bing, and make it easier for advertisers to move to rival platforms.

But the measures failed to impress the European Commission, with Google's competitors claiming they were "highly unlikely" to boost competition.

Google spokesman Al Verney said its proposal "clearly addresses" the areas of concern. "We continue to work with the commission to settle this case," he said.

If the two sides cannot agree on a solution then the Commission could take formal action against Google, with a potential fine of 10% of revenue.

Mr Almunia said he wants the case resolved by the end of the year.

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Greece Passes Job Cuts As Thousands Protest

Greece's parliament has narrowly approved a new batch of austerity measures that will see thousands of public-sector job cuts.

The country has been kept out of bankruptcy since it started receiving rescue loans in 2010 from the International Monetary Fund and other euro nations.

However, austerity measures demanded in return have caused a dramatic increase in poverty and unemployment.

The new legislation will put 12,500 public-sector staff, mostly teachers and municipal workers, in a programme that subjects them to involuntary transfers and possible dismissals.

It will also pave the way for 15,000 layoffs by the end of next year.

City halls across the country have been closed this week, with uncollected rubbish piling up on the streets, and unions held a general strike on Tuesday against the proposed cuts.

Thousands of protesters chanted slogans before the vote

"I fully understand the hardship the Greek people are going through during the great crisis," Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said during the debate.

"But I am fully convinced that the path we have chosen is correct."

Some 3,000 people protested outside Parliament in central Athens ahead of the vote, chanting anti-austerity slogans in a third straight day of protests.

The crucial vote came hours before a visit to Athens by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, planned amid security measures that Greece's left-wing main opposition party denounced as "fascist and undemocratic".

The measures include a ban of all demonstrations in the city centre, including the area outside Parliament that has been the focus of past violent protests.

It was the first major test for conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras since a left-wing party abandoned his coalition government last month.

The government claims it has already made progress in stabilising the shattered economy.

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Sports Direct Sees Pretax Profit Rockets 40%

Sports Direct has reported a full year pretax of £207.2m, showing a profit rise of 40% on last year's results.

Its UK retail like-for-like revenue increased 11.2% in the same period.

The Sportsworld empire, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, has now cleared another hurdle under a 2011 four-year share incentive bonus scheme for around 3,000 staff.

The group is halfway through the scheme, which comes on top of a lucrative bonus plan from 2009 set to pay out thousands of shares for each eligible employee next month.

For an employee earning a salary of £20,000 a year in 2009, next month's payout will see them pick up 12,000 shares - worth more than £68,000.

More than 2,000 of Sports Direct's 23,000-strong workforce will land share bonuses under the August payout.

But the group has revealed that it has decided to scrap plans to resurrect the contentious "super-strench" bonus plan for founder Mr Ashley and will review "various options" ahead of its annual general meeting in September.

The previous scheme, which would have delivered a potential £26m payout, was withdrawn last summer after investors threatened to reject it in a shareholder vote.

Sports Direct's profit hike comes over the past financial year as the group strengthened its grip on the market following the collapse of rival JJB.

It added that trading since the year-end has remained strong and ahead of management expectations for the first quarter.

Dave Forsey, chief executive of Sports Direct, said it was a "record-breaking year for the group and for British sport".

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GSK Admits China Corruption Claims 'Shameful'

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

Chinese police have released further details of what they claim is a massive programme of bribery by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China.

According to a police official in Beijing, the British drugs manufacturer has transferred as much as £323m to over 700 travel consultants since 2007.

Separately, TV interviews have emerged with some of the GSK staff alleged to have been involved in the bribery.

The Chinese authorities allege that GSK officials used the travel agents as vehicles through which to bribe doctors, hospital bosses and government officials. According to Chinese police, the travel agents were paid to offer services to officials in return for the purchase of GSK branded products.

Gao Feng, the head of the Economic Crime Investigation Unit of China's ministry of public security, claimed that some travel agents offered "sexual bribery" to GSK employees to secure favours. He did not elaborate on those allegations.

In a statement to Sky News, GSK said: "We are deeply concerned and disappointed by these serious allegations of fraudulent behaviour and ethical misconduct by certain individuals at the company and third-party agencies. Such behaviour would be a clear breach of GSK's systems, governance procedures, values and standards. GSK has zero tolerance for any behaviour of this nature. 

"In the meantime, we are taking a number of immediate actions. We are reviewing all third party agency relationships. We have put an immediate stop on the use of travel agencies that have been identified so far in this investigation and we are conducting a thorough review of all historic transactions related to travel agency use.

"GSK fully respects the laws and regulations in China and expects all staff to abide by them. GSK shares the desire of the Chinese authorities to root out corruption. These allegations are shameful and we regret this has occurred. We will cooperate fully with the Chinese authorities in the investigation of these new allegations.

The GSK global headquarters in Brentford, west London

"We will take all necessary action required by the outcome of this investigation," the statement concluded.

According to police, four senior Chinese executives from the firm are being held and questioned.

China's Xinhua State News Agency named them as: Vice President and Operations Manager Liang Hong, Vice President and Human Resources Director Zhang Guowei, Legal Affairs Director Zhao Hongyan, and Business Development Manager Huang Hong.

In TV interviews aired by China's state-run CCTV (China Central Television), the suspects are heard apparently confessing to the bribery.

Speaking in Chinese, one of the employees, Liang Hong said: "We began to cooperate with Shanghai Linjiang International Travel Service Co Ltd since 2010.

"Within the following three years, about 10 meetings had been held, with participants ranging from over 100 in small meetings to 2,000 in large-scale meetings."

A reporter then asks him how much money would be involved in one of the large scale meetings.

"The expenses for the largest-scale one exceeded ten million yuan (£1.07m)." Liang says.

In another interview, an employee from one of the travel firms reportedly used by GSK staff, explains the alleged process.

"He (Liang Hong) said he need to visit a professional or a leader and bring some gifts with him," Weng Jianyong, Boss of Shanghai Linjiang International Travel Agency said.

"But according to the company (GSK) discipline, the gift can only value 100 or 200 yuan, (£10-£20) so it doesn't work at all. Then he said to me to give him some cash.

"The money sometimes reaches 500,000 yuan (£50,000) for an activity," Weng Jianyong alleged.

Last week, Sky sources confirmed that a British national was detained and questioned by Chinese authorities in Shanghai last week. He or she has since been released.

Sources revealed that dozens of Chinese police entered the GSK Shanghai offices on June 27, went into the offices of senior British staff and seized paperwork.

After the raid GSK circulated an internal memo, seen by Sky News, which said: "At this stage, it is unclear about the precise nature/purpose of their visit and investigation.

"We will of course cooperate with their inquiries, but are unable to comment further at this stage."

GSK operates a zero-tolerance policy toward bribery and issues staff with a 16-page booklet outlining its guidelines.

The Brentford-based company said in June that it had already investigated an accusation that its sales people in China bribed doctors and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The drug-giant has a growing business in China. It currently employs more than 5,000 people at eight sites across the country and has investments totalling £300m.

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New London Airport Shortlist Revealed

By Enda Brady, Sky News Correspondent

Boris Johnson has unveiled a shortlist of three locations on which a new London airport will be built.

He put forward his outer Thames Estuary, artificial island plan - dubbed "Boris Island" - for a new four-runway hub airport in a report published on Monday.

He also said that a new, four-runway airport on the Isle of Grain on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent - a plan already outlined by architect Lord Foster - should be considered and was his first choice.

And Mr Johnson's third proposal for a four-runway hub would be at Stansted in Essex, where the existing airport would be expanded.

Mr Johnson's plans, which rule out expansion at Heathrow airport in west London, will be submitted later this week to the Government-appointed Airport Commission headed by Sir Howard Davies.

A list of 20 options were whittled down to the final three.

Mr Johnson said that a new hub airport would be able to support more than 375,000 new jobs by 2050 and add £742bn to the value of goods and services produced in the UK.

He said a new hub airport could be delivered by 2029, with a hybrid bill being passed by parliament to secure approval for the airport, the surface access and the acquisition of Heathrow.

He also wants to shut Heathrow at a cost of £15bn and create a new London borough for 250,000 residents, with housing and a university.

"This is a global race and we can still win it," Mr Johnson told reporters as he unveiled the plans at City Hall.

"Ambitious cities all over the world are stealing a march on us and putting themselves in a position to eat London's breakfast, lunch and dinner by constructing major airports that plug them directly into the global supply chains that we need to be part of.

"Those cities have moved heaven and earth to locate their airports away from major centres of population in areas where they have been able to build airports with four runways or more."

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Horsemeat: MPs Criticise 'Slow' Investigation

MPs have condemned the "slow pace" of an investigation into the horsemeat crisis in the UK as no one has been prosecuted six months after the scandal erupted.

Horsemeat contamination was first revealed in January by officials in the Irish Republic and the food crisis then spread across Europe.

Several supermarket products and school dinners across the UK were found to contain horse DNA.

But authorities in both the UK and Ireland are yet to acknowledge the scale of the illegal activity involved, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said.

"The evidence suggests a complex network of companies trading in and mislabelling beef or beef products which is fraudulent and illegal," said committee chair Anne McIntosh.

"We are dismayed at the slow pace of investigations and seek assurances that prosecutions will be mounted where there is evidence of fraud or illegality."

Birds Eye products were found to contain horse DNA

The committee complained that there was still a "lack of clarity" over where responsibility lay in dealing with the contamination, and that role of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) was not clear.

"The FSA must become a more efficient and effective regulator and be seen to be independent of industry," Ms McIntosh said.

"It must have the power to be able to compel industry to carry out tests when needed.

"It must also be more innovative in its testing regime and vigilant in ensuring every local authority carries out regular food sampling."

Major supermarkets in the UK have been caught up in the scandal

The MPs were also "surprised" that in EU-mandated tests, 14 out of 836 samples of horsemeat from the UK tested positive for the painkiller bute.

But the committee acknowledged that horsemeat contamination was limited to a "relatively small" number of beef products sold in the UK, with 99% of products tested containing no horse DNA.

They said more regular testing of products is necessary to protect consumers.

"Regular and detailed DNA tests are needed on all meat or meat-based ingredients which form part of a processed or frozen meat product," the MPs said.

"Consumers need to know that what they buy is what the label says it is."

The committee also said there were clearly "many loopholes" in the current system of horse passports and called for assurances that horse movements were being properly monitored.

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Warm Weather Gives High Street A Boost

Glorious Sun: Heatwave Here To Stay

Updated: 11:13pm UK, Sunday 14 July 2013

Parts of the UK remain on heatwave alert, as the hot weather shows no sign of letting up.

Following the hottest day of the year on Saturday, Sunday was another scorcher with temperatures into the high 20s in many regions.

The hot weather is forecast to continue until at least next weekend, with the rest of the week hovering between the mid to high 20s.

Wednesday could be particularly hot, according to forecasters, when temperatures could reach 32C (89.6F).

On Sunday, the Met Office issued a level three heatwave alert for southwest England. The alert "requires social and healthcare services to target specific actions at high-risk groups".

Saturday saw the warmest day of the year so far, with the mercury hitting 31.9C (89.4F) in Southampton.

It topped the previous high of 29.9C recorded at Edenfel in County Tyrone last Monday.

The soaring temperatures have seen shoppers spend thousands of pounds on the high street and online, buying barbecues, food, sunscreen and garden furniture.

Paddling pool sales are up 816%, said online retailer Amazon, while Tesco said it was predicting a sausage surge of nine million bangers this weekend.

With many people taking to the water to cool off, emergency services have warned against swimming in lakes and quarries after three people died in the West Midlands in the last week.

"Please think twice about going into open water," said Commander George Marshall, of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.

"If you must take a dip please do it in the safety of a public swimming pool where there are lifeguards on duty."

Monday will see lengthy spells of sunshine for most parts, although northwest Scotland will be overcast and there could be patchy light rain.

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Company Directors 'To Face New Scrutiny'

Fraudulent or negligent directors could be forced to compensate creditors, under new plans expected to be outlined by the Business Secretary.

Vince Cable will announce proposals to boost transparency and trust in British business in a speech to the London Stock Exchange.

He will float a range of options for discussion including making errant bosses liable for losses, and disqualifying directors who are already banned outside of the UK.

Mr Cable will also raise making ensuring the safety and stability of firms the main responsibility of bank directors - an idea suggested by the parliamentary commission on banking standards.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he warned that the failure to punish executives in the wake of the banking crisis had undermined public faith in regulation.

"I think the public are a little baffled by the current regime," he said.

"There is an issue around the people who used to run Lloyds and RBS, and there is a worry about how the system operates."

People who operate "rogue companies" or are involved in "serial failure" should be punished through disqualification, the Cabinet minister added.

However, he indicated that he wanted any new measures to be proportionate.

"We don't want to get into a situation where we're penalising good business people who take risks but whose business fails for whatever reason," he added.

Tougher rules are not expected to be retrospective, despite persistent calls for action against figures such as former RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin.

There also appears little chance that final proposals will reach the statute books before the 2015 general election.

On transparency, Mr Cable is to moot ending 'concealed ownership' of companies, by requiring businesses to supply information on their owners and controlling shareholders.

This could mean scrapping bearer shares, which confer ownership without requiring the holder of the shares to be identified in public, and demanding more information about nominee directors.

But shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour had been leading the charge for a "more responsible capitalism".

"Since the Tory-led government came to office the number of actions taken against suspected fraudulent or reckless directors has fallen at the same time as the number of incidences of suspected fraud has increased," he said.

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Welfare Cap Of £500-A-Week Comes Into Force

How The Benefit Changes Work

Updated: 8:36am UK, Monday 15 July 2013

The coalition is pushing through radical changes to the welfare system in a bid to slash the benefits bill and make it pay to work. Here is a full breakdown:

Benefit cap

:: A cap on the total amount of benefit people aged 16-64 can receive

:: Limited to £500 per week for a family and £350 per week for a single person

:: Some 56,000 households affected

:: Average loss of £93 per week

Housing Benefit

:: Cuts for people living in council or housing association properties if they have more bedrooms than they need

:: Those with one spare bedroom will have their benefit cut by 14%

:: Households with more than one spare bedroom will lose 25%

:: An estimated 660,000 claimants affected

:: Average loss of £14 per week

:: Introduced April 1

Council Tax Benefit

:: Current schemes scrapped and replaced by Local Council Tax Support

:: Government funding for new schemes reduced by 10%

:: Average loss of £2.64 per week

:: Some 3.1 million households affected

:: Rolled out from April 1

Disability Living Allowance

:: Replaced from April 8

:: New benefit called the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) introduced

:: New system includes face-to-face assessments and regular reviews

Universal Credit

:: A single monthly payment of benefits

:: Replace means-tested benefits including Income Support, income-based Job Seekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit

:: Rolled out from October

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