UK anti-doping figures reveal that Welsh rugby players constitute 34% of all sportspeople serving drugs bans. An ex-player told BBC Wales he is surprised more people have not been banned, but WRU chief Martyn Phillips says he is ‘not overly concerned’. The player, who would not be named, said, ‘It's totally off-the-scale. I think people are probably blind to it and if the truth came out there would be a lot more players who are banned from playing.’ An anti-doping expert said it was easy for cheats to avoid being caught because some drugs leave the body quickly. Seventeen Welsh rugby union and league players, from grassroots to semi-pro, are currently banned, with the majority found to have traces of anabolic steroids in their systems. In a survey of one hundred rugby union clubs, fifteen players said they had used a performance-enhancing drug, but only five had been drug tested.

Hopes are rising that a series of strikes by junior doctors can be averted as their leaders and the health secretary hold talks at ACAS to try to settle their dispute. Negotiations to find a compromise agreeable to both sides over a new contract have begun - the first formal face-to-face discussions in thirteen months between representatives of the British Medical Association, NHS Employers, and Department of Health civil servants. As recently as last weekend Hunt had ruled out direct talks without preconditions between the two sides, despite NHS bosses and senior doctors making it clear privately that he should be more flexible to avoid industrial action.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pension Secretary, says that after the Paris terror attacks, ‘people need to know there is something else in their lives', and that politicians need to be more open about their faith. He feels that MPs are ‘very wary’ about the role of religion, and added: ‘Everywhere, faith is a natural discourse. In Italy, nobody would get bothered about faith being involved in politics. I think the political class in Britain is kind of ridiculous about talking about faith.’ He also said that he has the ‘highest respect’ for faith-based charities which tackle alcohol abuse and other deep-rooted social problems.

Pressure is mounting on cinema advertising chiefs to reverse a ban on an advert featuring the Lord’s Prayer. The cinema chains, Odeon, Vue and Cineworld, banned the one-minute film earlier this week in case it ‘offends’ non-Christians. In it the Archbishop of Canterbury and members of the public recite the Lord’s Prayer. It was due to be screened throughout the week before Christmas and was given a Universal certificate by the British Board of Film Classification and approved by the Cinema Advertising Association. However the cinema chains said it could be ‘offensive’ to movie-goers. The Church of England is considering legal action, saying it was the victim of religious discrimination by Digital Cinema Media, which handles adverts for the cinema giants. Now politicians, including David Cameron, describe the ruling as ridiculous. Stephen Fry, a critic of religion, said it was ‘bizarre, unfair and misguided’, while Boris Johnson condemned it as outrageous. Watch the ad at: http://www.justpray.uk/