Star Comment

Star comment: Small step in the right direction

With town centre traders needing all the help they can get, the 15 minutes free parking being brought in by Shropshire Council from Monday is a small gesture which takes a step in the right direction.

Star comment: Brave men are finally recognised

Ivan Hall, on the left, with a fellow apprentice whose name he only recalls as 'Rogers' on the quayside in Santos, Brazil, in 1940

The Dambusters squadron, whose daring and audacious raids during World War Two are often cited as the very essence of British bravery and ingenuity, will be quite rightly showered with plaudits this week.

Star comment: Pitfalls of payment by results

Ministers visit to Pentonville prison

The new proposals from the Government to ensure offenders are supervised for at least a year after they have been freed from prison is being billed as a payment-by-results initiative.

Star comment: It’s a good idea, but will it work?

In theory, it is a sound and sensible idea. Banks are given access to billions of pounds of low-interest money, on the strict condition that they loan it out to small businesses to help them survive this rocky rollercoaster of a recession.