A nurse who secretly filmed footage for the BBC Panorama programme to reveal the neglect of elderly patients is struck off.

The decision was criticised by Joyce Robins, co-director of Patient Concern.

She said: "This just demonstrates the priorities of the regulators - rules come before patients every time. The message that goes out to nurses is: however badly you see patients treated, keep your face shut.

"This makes total nonsense of all the talk about openness and transparency in the NHS. Cover-up is the order of the game."

Ms Haywood's actions were also defended by Gary Fitzgerald, chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse.

He said: "We know that we're seeing older people suffering the most appalling care and neglect too often in our care environments.

"In that context I believe what Margaret Haywood did and what Panorama did was right and proper.

"She said the public needs to be aware of what exactly's going on in these places, in these wards, we didn't have any other way of telling them and I think that's the point".

A nurse who secretly filmed for the BBC to reveal the neglect of elderly patients at a hospital has said she is "devastated" at being struck off for misconduct.

Margaret Haywood, 58, filmed at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton for a BBC Panorama programme in July 2005.

Increasing activity levels in middle age can prolong life as much as giving up smoking, a study suggests.

Swedish researchers from Uppsala University monitored more than 2,200 men from the age of 50.

They found those who increased activity levels from 50 to 60 ended up living as long as those who were already exercising regularly by middle age.

Public health experts said the findings showed it was never too late to start exercising.

The government has admitted that it is powerless to stop energy firms passing on the cost on its fuel assistance package onto customers.

Business Secretary John Hutton said he could not stop firms increasing bills in response but said there would be "no justification" for them doing so.

The plan includes half-price insulation for all households and a freeze on this year's bills for the poorest families.

The measures have been criticised as "flimsy" and "disappointing".

Gordon Brown said he hoped for a "sea change in energy efficiency" and help for the poorest households this winter.

But anti-poverty campaigners say while the £910m package is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough.

Mr Brown announced the package of measures, drawn up after weeks of negotiations with energy companies, to help people cope with rising energy bills.

The package is being financed by the companies themselves.

But Mr Hutton said the government could not fix prices to ensure customers did not end up footing part of the bill themselves.

But David Porter, chief executive of the Association of Electricity Producers, told the BBC earlier "It remains to be seen just how much of it ends up on the customers' bill in the longer run.

"Whenever people impose costs on an industry like ours the bill, to some extent, always ends up with the customer."

Labour MP Frank Field, who led a successful backbench revolt over the abolition of the 10p tax band, said after a summer spent "roaring about the package" the government had actually produced "a mouse of a proposal".

Another Labour MP, Alan Simpson, chairman of the Parliamentary Warm Homes group, told the BBC that an extra £74m pledged towards the Warm Front insulation scheme simply reversed existing cuts to its budget.

He said Britain should look to other European countries for a more radical approach - such as allowing price increases to be set by an independent regular.

"We have ducked this notion of intervening, and have gone to the industry sort of cap in hand," he said.

Gas and electricity watchdog Energywatch said the response to growing fuel poverty was "too little, too late".

Chief executive Allan Asher added: "The lack of political will to tackle fuel poverty is not just disappointing, it approaches negligence."

Help the Aged described the package as "flimsy and failing" which would do little to help the elderly while Tony Woodley, joint leader of the Unite union, said bigger steps were needed and promised a windfall tax a central theme of this month's Labour conference.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said the government should have been tougher with the energy companies, adding: "These measures will not do nearly enough to help the millions of people who will struggle to heat their homes this winter".

And for the Conservatives, shadow business secretary Alan Duncan, added: "Despite all their grand promises of cash payouts, all Gordon Brown has been able to offer is to restore a budget which they cut last winter and a package of measures that should have been implemented years ago."

The government has been warned it faces a backlash over its decision to rule out handouts to households struggling with soaring fuel bills.

Tony Woodley, leader of the UK's biggest trade union, Unite, branded the move a "downright disgrace".

And backbench MP Fabian Hamilton said the consequences could be "very serious indeed" for Labour.

There were hopes the government would unveil handouts of up to £150 after talks with the power companies.

But they are now expected to focus instead on energy efficiency measures.

In a speech on Thursday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there would be no "short-term gimmicks or giveaways".

But the decision is likely to be savaged by union leaders at next week's TUC conference in Brighton.

Unite, currently the Labour Party's biggest donor, said "greedy" fuel companies had won out over struggling consumers and people needed an "immediate respite" to rising energy costs.

Unite general secretary Tony Woodley told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "This is no longer about lagging the lofts, this is about looking after people who are going to be in very very serious trouble to heat their homes."

He said the government should introduce a windfall tax on the energy giants or go "even further".

"We need to legislate to cap these prices rises from these greedy utilities here so that we help the ordinary family in our country - if we don't do that then we would have betrayed our people and betrayed our party."

Backer warning

Left-leaning pressure group Compass, which has been campaigning for a windfall tax, said the real disappointment would be felt by the "fuel poor who will go cold this winter".

Labour backbencher Fabian Hamilton has warned ministers they could lose support from people who need help paying bills.

Mr Hamilton is one of more than a 100 Labour MPs to have publicly backed calls for a windfall tax.

"The consequences for Gordon Brown and the government could be very serious indeed," he said.

"They could further lose support from those people who look to the government for the help that they need right now."

Mr Hamilton also said support from Labour's strongest backers "might fade away considerably".

Permanent fix

It comes as research found the "big six" energy suppliers increased their shareholder dividend payouts by 19% last year.

The suppliers paid £1.64bn in dividends in 2007, £257m more than the year before, a study commissioned by the Local Government Association said.

Acting LGA chairman Sir Jeremy Beecham said the report "torpedoes" the companies' argument that they needed to protect their profits to pay for future investment in infrastructure.