Free Access but authors pay: this is not the Academic Spring

According to today's Guardian (16.7.12) the British government is about to 'unveil' plans to make science research free to access, but by tranferring costs to authors who apparently will have to pay an 'article processing charge' to publishers of about £2000 per article. This so beggars belief that I have written to The Guardian to check whether it is a misprint for £20 - and why should authors pay anything - they should be PAID to publish. If universities henceforward pay authors' fees, who will pay those of independent researchers, including those who have retired from teaching?