Week ahead: Islanders to repay £1m loan

ENERGY experts will hear about the latest developments in wind, water and solar power.

The heads of energy research for Europe, America and other nations will meet in London to discuss how renewable energy can be used to take the place of fossil and nuclear power sources.

• Residents who bought the Scots island where they live are expected to return money lent to them by a lottery agency.

The Scottish Land Fund gave 1m to islanders living on Gigha to support their takeover bid two years ago. Residents, who have been saving and running fundraising schemes, will present a cheque for the entire sum to the agency.

TUESDAY

THE bravery and resourcefulness of British prisoners of war will be celebrated in an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the Great Escape.

The 76 Allied soldiers staged a mass escape from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 using homemade tools to build a tunnel, forge passports and tailor fake German uniforms.

• Celebrities including Jude Law, director Ken Loach and actor Richard Wilson will voice their discontent with the war in Iraq on the first anniversary of the invasion by Allied forces. The stars will perform pieces of literature that encapsulate their belief in peace.

WEDNESDAY

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown is expected to introduce a new minimum wage of 3 in this year’s Budget to protect workers under 18 from being exploited.

Other proposals are likely to include measures to encourage more young people to volunteer and a review of science funding over the next decade.

Taxi driver Mohammed Akram, 45, will be sentenced for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl and a 44-year-old woman in his cab in Glasgow. The married father-of-four, of Govanhill, was found guilty of the charges last month at Glasgow’s Sheriff Court.

THURSDAY

A RAIL operator will be sentenced for breaching safety laws in connection with the Ladbroke Grove rail crash in which 31 people died five years ago.

Thames Trains faces unlimited fines after pleading guilty to the charge at the Old Bailey.

The leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, will be guest of honour when he addresses senior executives of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation in Mexico.

The move has been widely interpreted as indicating that the media mogul is set to switch allegiances away from Labour. Tony Blair was invited to address media bosses in 1995, and the last Conservative leader to be invited was Margaret Thatcher.

FRIDAY

CAMPAIGNERS are to use the plight of a 71-year-old pensioner to mount a campaign against the English debt collection system. Exeter bailiffs will be instructed to collect Sylvia Hardy’s outstanding council tax bill of 116.28 from her home.

She has been paying 13 less a month on council tax than she is being asked for because she says she cannot afford the full sum on her state pension.

Demonstrators are planning to rally outside the home to prevent collection agents from entering.

• A charity will launch a helpline for fathers suffering from "post-natal depression". The service, thought to be the first of its kind, will allow new fathers to discuss their difficulties in adjusting to their new role with trained counsellors.