| Tui Travel enjoys late summer surge Tui Travel reports surge in late bookingsTurnaround follows August profit warningTui Travel, the owner of Thomson, cheered the sector's embattled investors today by reporting a turnaround in late summer trading.The more positive tone contrasted with the tour operator's profit warning in August, as well as last week's downbeat statement by rival Thomas Cook, which warned that operating profits would be hit by a further £10m and job losses would be inevitable.Peter Long, Tui Travel chief executive, said: "Since our last update, we have performed well in the 'lates' market for summer 2010 and the majority of our programmes are now almost fully sold. The failure of a number of smaller tour operators and airlines has emphasised the security that travelling with a leading tour operator brings. We have benefited from this flight to quality as well as the return to more normal weather conditions across northern Europe after the earlier period of good weather."Two months ago Tui blamed falling profits on volcanic ash, the emergency budget and good weather in the UK. Since then, UK bookings have increased by 5%, while the Nordic region has enjoyed a 16% rise. Tui admitted extra sales had been won by discounting and City broker JP Morgan Cazenove reiterated its profit forecast for the company of around £440m before interest and tax.Tui shares, which fell 10% on the August warning to around 200p, added 9.1p to 225.9p as investors were also pleased by lower debt expectations. Analysts are expecting hefty one-off restructuring costs, partly due to UKjob cuts. Wyn Ellis, at broker Numis, said: "High levels of exceptional costs are a sadly recurrent feature for the tour operators, resulting in a questionable quality of earnings and contributing, in our view, to the apparent low rating."Tui TravelTravel & leisureSimon Goodleyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Complaint about MP's conduct made The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards receives a complaint into the conduct of a Liberal Democrat MP. bbc.co.uk |
Row over public funding for research into history of black British jazz A Government quango has been accused of wasting taxpayers money after deciding to spend nearly half a million pounds on an academic research programme into black British jazz. telegraph.co.uk |
Court battle looms over high-speed rail link Campaigners demand judicial review for planned fast route to Birmingham and the north that they say will mar the Chilterns and ruin wildlife havensThe case for a high-speed railway linking London with the north looks set to end up in court amid fears over its impact on some of England's finest countryside.High Speed 2, which would link London and Birmingham and then Manchester, Leeds and potentially Glasgow or Edinburgh, was backed by the previous government as a vital contribution to the UK's low-carbon future.The project, which will cost more than £20bn, has been embraced by the coalition government. The prime minister, David Cameron, recently suggested that "getting people off roads and on to fast railways is good for the environment".Protesters argue, however, that the environmental impact as a whole will be negative. They want a judicial review on the grounds the government has failed to properly assess the impact on places such as the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire, an area of outstanding natural beauty. The law firm Public Interest Lawyers has advised that they have a strong case for bringing a judicial review, and a fundraising exercise to commence legal action has now begun.Analysis, shared with Buckinghamshire County Council, suggests the new link would use twice the amount of energy of the West Coast main line and as much as three times the amount if the trains were to run at their maximum projected speed of 250mph. The project's green credentials have been largely abandoned by coalition ministers amid concerns they can no longer be corroborated. HS2 Ltd, the company overseeing the project, now claims only that overall carbon emissions will be "neutral"."The case for HS2 is largely built on capturing the internal aviation market, but 80% of all journeys between Manchester and London already involve the train," said Steve Rodrick, chief officer of the Chilterns Conservation Board. "These trains will use double, possibly triple, the energy of normal trains. Where's that energy going to come from? You either have to bank on nuclear coming on stream or, more likely, power stations running on fossil fuels, which will involve significant carbon emissions."The extension of the route to Scotland would see journeys slashed, but only to three-and-a-half hours, meaning air travel would still be competitive in terms of journey time and price, Rodrick added. Unlike HS1, which runs through Kent, HS2 will not follow existing motorways and train lines but an almost direct line through the Chilterns, necessary for the trains to operate at maximum speed."What they are proposing is a virgin route," said Peter Raine, former chief executive of Kent Wildlife Trust who advised on HS1. "You end up taking away habitat, ancient woodland that is 400 years old." The proposed route runs through three sites of scientific special interest, including a wetland nature reserve that is home to migrating birds."People think it will be a normal railway," said Joe Rukin, of the campaign group Stop HS2. "But you're looking at something that is 25m (82ft) wide – almost six lanes of road – with a 25m no-vegetation zone either side, because the speed of the trains creates a wind vortex that will pick up any vegetation and drag it along. That makes it 75m wide. Wembley is only 69m wide."Marilyn Fletcher, of the Chiltern Countryside Group, said there were concerns about the impact on the River Misbourne, a chalk stream rich in wildlife. "The tunnel will go underneath it," she said. "If the river runs dry on account of the tunnelling it would affect protected species dependent on the river – great crested newt, otters, water vole, kingfisher and the brown trout. Ancient buildings – such as Hyde Farm and Chapel Farm near Hyde Heath – will also be destroyed."John Bercow, Buckingham's MP and speaker of the House of Commons, said the scheme failed to bring "any identifiable benefit to Bucks" and questioned the pro-line arguments by ministers. "They keep moving the goalposts from the business case to the national interest," Bercow said. "It just won't do."Cheryl Gillan, secretary of state for Wales, who represents Chesham and Amersham, has written to the transport secretary, Philip Hammond, urging him to publish a full assessment of the project's environmental impact on the Chilterns. She has asked the Environment Agency for a similar report.Campaigners are furious that the government will not publish the assessment before consultation begins early next year, saying the delay makes it difficult to put their case. Work is scheduled to start on the project, to which the government last week committed £750m, in 2015.A department for transport spokesperson said: "The government has been clear that it will publish the full appraisal of sustainability to inform the consultation early next year. However, this cannot be finalised until a final decision on the detailed route to be taken to consultation has been made."Rail transportTravel and transportEnergyJamie Dowardguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
David Kelly inquest: Case closed The details of Dr David Kelly's death, made public last week, should provide a final answer to the conspiracy theorists, says Andrew Gilligan. telegraph.co.uk |