Pope Benedict welcomed by Queen

Pope Benedict XVIDowning Street says the visit will be “very special” for people of all faiths

The first state visit by a Pope to the UK gets under way later when Benedict XVI flies into Edinburgh.

He will meet the Queen at Holyrood House and parade through the city before an open-air Mass in Glasgow.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to line the streets to catch a glimpse of the Roman Catholic leader.

Some ticketed events during the four-day trip have not sold out and protests are planned over Vatican policies on birth control, gay rights and abortion.

The visit is the first to the UK by a Pontiff since John Paul II in 1982.

Vatican officials say Pope Benedict will highlight the importance of the role of faith for everyone in contemporary Britain, not just Catholics and Anglicans.

Child abuse

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, said the visit was eagerly anticipated.

“The Catholic tradition in this country is one of actually very profound loyalty to the person of the Holy Father,” he said.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said it will be “a very special four days, not just for our six million Catholics, but for many people of faith right across Britain”.

But the Pope’s visit is controversial among campaigners who say they were sexually abused by Catholic priests as children.

They have accused Church authorities of a culture of secrecy and of not taking strong enough steps against abusive priests.

The head of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission said he was confident a meeting between the Pope and victims would go ahead during the trip.

Bill Kilgallon said he expected a group of less than 10 to meet the Pontiff without anyone else present, and with no restrictions on what was said before or after.

Pope’s visit16 September: Arrives in Edinburgh; Open-air mass in Glasgow; Flies to London17 September: Meets Archbishop of Canterbury; Address at Westminster Hall; Service at Westminster Abbey18 September: Mass at Westminster Cathedral; Open-air vigil in Hyde Park19 September: Beatification Mass at Cofton Park Birmingham; Meets bishops of England, Scotland and Wales; Leaves for Rome.At a glance: Full details of visit Final preparations for Pope visit Pope aide calls UK ‘Third World’ Catholics in Britain

In Edinburgh, Presbyterians, secularists, and other groups are planning to protest, but police have said they do not expect large-scale demonstrations.

On Wednesday, more than 50 public figures added their names to a letter in a newspaper saying the Pope should not be given the “honour” of a UK state visit.

The signatories to the letter in the Guardian include Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman and Stephen Fry.

Meanwhile, one of the Pope’s senior advisers – Cardinal Walter Kasper – has pulled out of the visit after reports in a German magazine that he said arriving at Heathrow airport was like landing in a “Third World country”.

He went on to say the UK was marked by “a new and aggressive atheism”.

The Vatican said the cardinal had not intended “any kind of slight” and had simply pulled out due to illness, while the UK Cabinet Office said his views did not represent those of the Vatican or UK bishops.

Drivers in Edinburgh are being warned to expect delays because of road closures and parking restrictions as the Popemobile joins the St Ninian’s Day parade amid tight security.

On Thursday evening, the Pope will hold an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow – billed as the largest organised event during the visit.

It will be preceded by performances from an 800-strong choir, Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle, and Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus.

The Catholic Church in Scotland had hoped to attract up to 100,000 to the event, but later reduced the capacity to 65,000 after a slow take-up of tickets.

Preparations in Glasgow for the Papal visitTicket allocations were reduced for the Pope’s open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow

A similar mass given by Pope John Paul II 28 years ago attracted some 300,000 followers.

Dioceses in England and Wales have also reported thousands of unfilled places for a vigil in London’s Hyde Park on Saturday and a beatification mass in Birmingham on Sunday.

Organisers of the latter ceremony expect 54,000 to 55,000 people to attend the 60,000-capacity event in honour of the 19th century cardinal John Henry Newman.

The Pope flies to the capital on Thursday night and will spend the next two days meeting religious and political leaders, Catholic groups and holding prayers and mass.

On Friday, the Popemobile will parade from Lambeth Bridge to Millbank, and on Saturday, along Horse Guards Road, The Mall and on to Hyde Park.

The Association of Chief Police Officers has estimated the cost of policing the trip at £1.5m.

Lord Patten, the prime minister’s representative for the visit, has said the total cost of the Pope’s stay to the taxpayer will be between £10m and £12m.

The PopemobileThe Popemobile is designed to keep the Pontiff safe during public events

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Pope arrives for UK state visit

Pope Benedict XVIThe Pope will arrive in the UK for his four-day trip on Thursday

The first state visit by a Pope to the UK gets under way on Thursday.

Benedict XVI will arrive in Edinburgh where he will meet the Queen at Holyrood House and parade through the city before an open-air Mass in Glasgow.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to line the streets to catch a glimpse of the Roman Catholic leader.

The visit is the first to the UK by a Pontiff since John Paul II in 1982.

Some ticketed events during the four-day trip have not sold out and protests are planned over Vatican policies on birth control, gay rights and abortion.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

UK retail sales in surprise fall

sale signThe fall in retail sales came as firms warned that high street spending could be hit further

UK retail sales suffered a surprise fall in August, the first drop since January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Sales fell 0.5% from July, suggesting that worries about tax rises and budget cuts are starting to hit consumers.

The ONS added to concerns about spending by revising July’s growth figures to 0.8% from 1.1% previously.

The data came as three retailers – John Lewis, Kesa and Kingfisher – said High Street conditions could worsen.

Non-food stores were the worst hit in August, with sales down 0.7%, driven largely by household goods stores.

Food stores saw a decline of 0.5%, according to the ONS.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Row over Trident decision ‘delay’

One of the UK's Vanguard submarinesThe renewal of Trident has major financial and political implications

A row has erupted after it emerged the government is considering delaying the replacement of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system.

Postponing a decision until after the 2015 general election could save billions in the short term.

But Labour said it could put at risk Britain’s ability to maintain a constant nuclear patrol at sea.

And it accused the coalition of being “divided” on the Trident issue and unable to make up its mind.

The Conservatives strongly support Trident renewal but the Liberal Democrats do not.

The difference of opinion is acknowledged in their coalition agreement, with Lib Dem MPs free to make the case for a cheaper alternative to the estimated £20bn system.

Britain’s nuclear weapons system is made up of four submarines, based at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, which can deploy Trident ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads.

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At least one submarine is always at sea so a continuous deterrent can be maintained.

Treasury Minister Justine Greening told BBC2’s Newsnight that she could not prejudge the outcome of next month’s spending review but there would inevitably be difficult decisions.

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, a former defence spokesman, warned on BBC Radio 4’s Today that it would be “extremely divisive” if the coalition agreement on Trident were abandoned.

He said he did not think that the delay would happen because it would “disturb the Conservative Party very, very much” and would be the “maddest” decision to take, increasing the long term costs of replacing Trident and undermine the UK’s foreign policy.

But former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell told the same programme it made “no sense” to be committed to a like-for-like replacement of a nuclear weapons system designed for the cold war era.

He said decisions made in the next few weeks for the strategic defence review could not be reversed, so it made sense to look at other alternatives for a future British nuclear weapons system.

Shadow Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, for Labour, said delaying a decision could risk Britain’s continuous “sea deterrence” and cost industry billions.

“It is hardly leadership to dodge a decision like this, just to avoid a row between coalition partners”

Labour peer Lord HarrisMore comment from around the web on the defence spending review

“The government can’t just simply put off such difficult decisions because they can’t make up their mind.

Their internal squabbles and the divided nature of the coalition on this issue cannot be allowed to affect choices which will have such a huge impact on our future capabilities.

“If the government are really going to take this enormous step we must have a proper debate on it. They cannot make such a decision behind closed doors without proper consultation with the parliament and the public.”

The government is already spending large sums on possible designs for new submarines that would carry the Trident missiles.

The main, final decision to go ahead and build the new submarines was expected to be taken in 2014. This is known in military jargon as the “main gate” decision, the point of no return when ministers sign contracts and start spending billions of pounds.

However, the BBC understands ministers are now looking at pushing this “main gate” decision into the next parliament, in 2015 or beyond.

Any delay would ease the short-term pressure on the defence budget which is facing substantial cuts under the coalition’s spending review.

But critics say delaying spending money on replacing Trident will cost the taxpayer more in the long run as it will risk losing the skills of engineers who might lose their jobs if there is no work for them, and will increase the costs of repairing existing Vanguard submarines which will have to last for longer.

In a report published on Wednesday, MPs urged ministers to clarify how a replacement for Trident – which it is estimated could cost up to £20bn – will be funded.

The Treasury has made clear that the Ministry of Defence will have to cover the cost from its own budget, which is facing reported cuts of between 10% to 20% over the next four years.

Responding to the report, Lib Dem Defence Minister Nick Harvey said there were “big debates” to be had about the cost of renewing Trident – currently the subject of a value for money exercise.

But he insisted that this would not impact on the current spending round – the details of which will be announced next month – as the bulk of expenditure will be after 2015.

MOD budget

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.