No VAT on Military Wives as single heads for Christmas No1

 Festive cheer: Gareth Malone with the Military wives choir in Oxford Street, where they sang to commutersUpdated 14:31pm on 21 Dec 2011 The Military Wives choir were celebrating today after the Government agreed to waive VAT on sales of their soon-to-be chart-topping single.

The Treasury is to give the money to charity in lieu of the tax taken from sales of Wherever You Are, which is on course to be the Christmas number one this weekend.

Choir member Sarah Wall said it was a "brilliant" gesture.

Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the tax would be waived today after a request from Conservative MP Oliver Colvile called for the tax to be waived.

The single - which will raise money for forces' charities - is a soaring success, and chalked up the biggest two-day sale for six years, according to figures released yesterday.

It is outselling nearest rival Cannonball by X Factor winners by a margin of six to one.

The Military Wives were formed by Gareth Malone for BBC2 programme The Choir, which climaxed with the group performing at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

Their single sold 242,000 copies in just two days and could hit the half-million mark by the end of the week.

Mr Osborne said today: "Our armed forces demonstrate incredible commitment to the nation and make sacrifices for all of us.

"The Military Wives choir is doing a great job of raising money for this hugely worthy cause. We will donate the tax collected on the single so that as much as possible of the money spent by the public on this fantastic song goes to charities helping our armed forces and their families this Christmas."

Last month the Government agreed to a similar gesture for The X Factor's charity single Wishing on a Star.

Proceeds from the single are being donated to the Royal British Legion and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association.

Mrs Wall, 32, whose husband, Corporal Mark Wall, is a military policeman, said any tax move by the Government was welcome.

"I know when Gareth went to Downing Street he asked about it," the mother-of-two said.

"I'm glad they are behind us and they want to help us raise money and everything. It is brilliant that they are doing that."

Mrs Wall was speaking as she and fellow choir members went to their workplace at Tyspane Care Centre in Braunton, north Devon - where some of them will be working when they find if their single is the Christmas number one.

The announcement will be made during the Christmas Day edition of BBC1's Top Of The Pops.

One Direction, JLS join 'X Factor' charity single

One Direction and JLS will star on this year's X Factor charity single, it has been revealed.

Simon Cowell is said to have asked the bands, both previous X Factor finalists, to sing on the cover of Rose Royce's 1978 hit 'Wishing on a Star'.

He was apparently concerned that this year's "average" contestants weren't enough to ensure the song becomes a chart success and so added established artists for the first time.

An insider told The Sun: "Simon and the other Syco execs want huge sales this year and weren't sure the contestants would get that on their own.

"Now they'll be using One Direction and JLS's combined fanbase to sell the song. It's a no-brainer and is bound to be a huge seller now."

A spokesman confirmed: "As Simon has a personal involvement in this year's charity he has asked two of the country's biggest acts to make this year's X Factor charity single the biggest of the year.

"He asked One Direction and JLS to sing on the track to give the song something extra special - and encourage all their fans to buy the single and raise lots of money for the charity."

Previous X Factor charity singles - 'Hero' in 2008, 'You Are Not Alone' in 2009 and 'Heroes' last year - have all reached number one.

'Wishing on a Star' is due to be released on November 20 and all proceeds will go to ACT & Children's Hospices UK.

JLS will perform on the X Factor results show on Sunday, while One Direction will appear the following weekend.