But the Lambeth Group, a multifaith group that meets at intervals to consider all religious aspects of the Millennium celebrations, was still being cautious.A spokesman said: "What we are concerned about is whether the sponsors, be they the Hinduja brothers or anyone else, want to change the design brief to suit their brief.". MINISTERS LAUNCHED a campaign yesterday to undermine Lord Neill, their anti-sleaze watchdog, after he called on the Government to remain neutral during the referendum on the single European currency. The proposal was dismissed as "mad" by one minister and "a joke" by another, who accused Lord Neill of displaying his own Euro-sceptic beliefs by trying to scupper Tony Blair's attempts to get Britain to join. The counter-attack came as ministers poured scorn on Tuesday's recommendation from Lord Neill's Committee on Standards in Public Life for the Government to avoid taking sides in future referendums.One government source said Lord Neill was a "well-known Euro-sceptic" and recalled his previous criticisms of the European Court of Justice. In 1994, he accused the court of "violating the Treaty of Rome" by making up the law to suit its own federalist philosophy and urged EU governments to tackle the "creeping extension" of the court's powers.Sources on the committee dismissed the criticism of Lord Neill as "nonsense" last night. "The proposal on referendums was agreed unanimously by the committee and his personal views were never an issue," said one.Ministers fear Lord Neill's proposal would blow off course their plans to call a referendum on Britain joining the euro shortly after the next general election."The key to winning is that we have Tony Blair and the Government out in front, leading public opinion," said one pro-European minister "The idea that the Government could remain neutral is mad. Of course we must have a view; otherwise, there would be no point in calling a referendum."Privately, Labour sources admitted Lord Neill's proposal would boost the Tories' chances of defeating a government move to take Britain into the single currency.Labour's latest private polling suggests the public opposes British membership by about 55 per cent to 45 per cent. It is understood that Mr Blair wants the cushion of a comfortable poll lead before he calls a referendum on the issue.Although ministers are likely to reject Lord Neill's proposal, they know that such a move would provoke controversy.William Hague, the Tory leader, stepped up the pressure on the Government yesterday to implement the Neill report in full.

Welcoming Lord Neill's call for future referendums to be conducted in an even-handed way, Mr Hague said the Tories would introduce legislation proposing this if the Government failed to act. He urged Mr Blair to go further by imposing a spending limit on referendum campaigns, like the one that would apply in future general elections, and said the forthcoming Electoral Commission should study the wording of the questions, the timing of the vote and whether thresholds should be introduced to give the verdict legitimacy.. A BUS STOP on a Walsall housing estate does not appear a likely place to start a revolution, but this spot could be celebrated by generations to come. What is happening in the Pheasey estate in the West Midlands is vital to one of the Government's main policies - not Europe, not the health service and not education, but the high-street bus. The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, has promised to raise the reputation of the humble bus. He has called on manufacturers to produce abus for the modern traveller - in his vision a mother with young children carrying bags of shopping - instead of "buses designed by men for men".The Number 33 to Pheasey, run by Travel West Midlands, is an insight into how bus travel could be.

Out go vehicles with steep-stepped entrances blocked by dividing poles; in comes a modern vehicle with a wide entrance and a low floor that "kneels down" to pavement level - ideal for the mother with an infant and shopping.On board, folding seats provide easy access for those laden down with baggage, and there are places for wheelchairs. The bus is well-lit, and an electronic sign tells the traveller what the next stop will be. In future the "33" may even have a recorded announcement heralding the next bus stop.As the "33" approaches the most busy junction on the congested route into Birmingham city centre, the traffic light magically changes from red to green.For regular bus users, the change has been breath-taking. One traveller pushing a pram with her baby son said: "I simply could not have used any of the old-fashioned buses If I'd wanted to get anywhere I had to wait for a car. These are much better."Mary Dennehy, who admitted she had taken the"33" five times in one day, was equally impressed: "These new buses are so big and airy that you don't feel closed in.

The waiting was the worst thing and the bus was always cramped when it did come."WTM has spent pounds 2.5m on 15 new Volvos for the route, with the local transport authority and council chipping in another pounds 1m. Since they were introduced in July last year, passenger figures have surged by 30 per cent, to 290,000 a month. On the Superline to Walsall, opened this June, passenger numbers are up 7.5 per cent to 29,000 a week, while on a route to Coventry, where new buses were brought in in July, passenger numberssurged from 40,000 a week to 46,000.None of this is, by itself new. London boasts bus times displays at the bus stop and many cities have buses that kneel down for prams. But TWM, a subsidiary of transport giant National Express, believes that combining all these elements is the key to attracting the public back on to the bus.. THE BBC may be allowed to take advertising and sponsorship on its new digital channels to help to supplement the licence fee, the Government said yesterday.

Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, announcing a review of the way the corporation is funded, declared that the licence fee is safe at least until 2006 when the BBC's charter is renewed. He will consider allowing extra money to be found by selling advertising and sponsorship on digital channels such as BBC Choice and BBC News 24 after 2002 when the current licence fee agreement runs out. BBC1, BBC2 and the local and national radio network are to remain free of advertising.An independent panel will be created in the next few weeks to consider the BBC's future funding. It will also be charged with looking at how concessions to the licence fee can be made fairer. Pensioners living in sheltered housing now qualify for a discount on the licence fee, while other pensioners do not.The review is an acknowledgement that the BBC can no longer find extra money for programmes by squeezing efficiencies out of its operations.However, industry insiders believe it is also an admission that raising the fee by above the rate of inflation is politically unacceptable to the Government.The BBC started a lobbying campaign to get the fee raised by more than the rate of inflation earlier this year. Mr Smith yesterday refused to be drawn on whether he would accept a recommendation from the review panel to increase the licence fee faster than the rise in the cost of living. The panel will report to the Government next summer.Announcing the review to a Royal Television Society symposium in London, Mr Smith said: "It is not yet appropriate to consider alternatives to the licence fee as the main source of BBC funding, which, whilst an imperfect funding mechanism, remains for the foreseeable future the best means to provide the BBC with sufficient security to continue to meet its obligations to all audiences." But he added: "The BBC must be capable of adapting, surviving and prospering in the fragmented modern market."He also outlined a five-point definition of what the BBC is for. He said it should be a benchmark for quality, provide something for everybody, expand people's horizons, operate efficiently and reflect Britain's cultural diversity.Reacting to the announcement Sir John Birt, the director general of the BBC, said: "We welcome it as most constructive.