News round up: Conservatives aim to freeze town hall pay

Conservatives aim to freeze town hall pay amid concerns over 1% rise

The Conservatives are preparing to take on the unions and freeze the pay of up to 1.6 million local government workers next year.

In another sign of the party’s increasing confidence, some Tory-run councils are even warning that they might tear up pay agreements before the general election.

Read more on this story in The Times

500 children a year abducted from UK

Almost 500 children were abducted from the UK and taken abroad illegally last year, according to figures released to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.

There were 336 cases of child abduction reported to authorities in the UK in 2008, an increase of 20% on 2005 figures. These cases involved an estimated 470 children last year.
Read more on this story in The Guardian