This is the Hud11 Corpus <Author O'Carroll, Lisa> <Publication title The Guardian> <Publication date Sep 29, 2011> <Section Guardian Home Pages> <Publisher Guardian Newspapers Limited> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> The publisher of the Daily Mail has challenged Lord Justice Leveson over the six advisers to the phone-hacking inquiry amid concerns that the prime minister's appointees lack tabloid or regional newspaper experience. Jonathan Caplan QC, representing Associated Newspapers, told a preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice that the inquiry would "benefit greatly" if the judge appointed additional advisers "to fill the gap" in expertise. The application by Associated Newspapers was supported by Trinity Mirror, the Newspaper Publishers' Association and Guardian News and Media. Caplan said Associated did not wish to be confrontational, but the inquiry would "raise very important issues for the future conduct, regulation and ownership of the newspaper industry". Leveson's advisory panel includes two prominent journalists - a former political editor of Channel 4 News, Elinor Goodman, and a former political editor of the Daily Telegraph, George Jones. The former chairman of the Financial Times, Sir David Bell, is also one of the appointees. Leveson said he took on board Associated's concerns and would reserve judgment until he had considered the matter fully. Earlier he told the hearing he was eager to engage with the Daily Mail and had invited the paper's editor in chief to attend a pre-inquiry seminar next month. Gillian Phillips, director of editorial legal services for the Guardian, said: "Our view is that tabloid and mid-market papers, as well as regional papers, will play a vital part in the story and we believe it is important that those assisting the inquiry reflect the plurality and divergence of the wider UK media." Leveson said that the role of assessors was limited to assisting from within their area of expertise with the conclusion being "mine and mine alone". He added: "It is of critical importance throughout this inquiry that I have the help of everybody. I have a vast and difficult task to address within a comparatively short period of time. I accept the importance that it holds for your clients and for the industry, the profession. <DAILY MAIL (London)> <April 30, 2011 Saturday > <QUEUE HERE FOR BRITAIN> <BYLINE: SPECIAL INVESTIGATION FROM SUE REID in Paris> A big smile spreads over the Tunisian's handsome face as he stands among the shoppers outside the magnificent old railway station in the chic city of Nice on the French Riviera. He's one of the lucky ones who made it here, dodging the French police and their batons by hiding on a night train to cross the border from the Italian coastal town of Ventimiglia. Karim Messaoudi is 26. He wants to go and live in Birmingham, where he has relatives and friends. Any day now, he will start his next journey by train up towards the northern coast of France. Once in Calais, just 21 miles from the white cliffs of Dover, he will take his chance where he can find it. 'I may have to smuggle myself on a ferry to your country. But I will do that,' he says in near-perfect English. 'I need a new life. I was a tourist guide in Tunisia, but now there are no jobs because there are fewer holiday-makers after our uprising. I plan a good future in England.' Karim, who speaks four languages, including German, may have a chance of that. He is just one of many thousands of migrants from North Africa who have fled the current turmoil of their own countries by sailing in ramshackle boats to the island of Lampedusa, off the southern tip of Italy. A flood of nearly 26,000 Tunisians (and hundreds of Libyans) began to arrive on the Italian island two months ago. It was quickly overrun, and in recent weeks Silvio Berlusconi's government has shipped most of the migrants to mainland Italy, where they have been given six-month residency visas. Crucially, under the so-called Schengen agreement signed by five of the then ten members of the old EEC in 1985, this means that they can travel freely just about anywhere within mainland Europe, apart from the UK and Ireland. Thus thousands of the Tunisians have made their way to the Italian seaside town of Ventimiglia, hoping to move on to France, and some illegally from there to Britain. Tunisia was once ruled by the French and therefore the migrants speak the language and hope to get work there. But such has been the volume of new arrivals on their south-eastern border in recent days that the French authorities - once self-righteous champions of open borders - have been doing all they can to refuse them entry, temporary visas or not. So the men hang around the parks and river banks in their hundreds during the day. At night, they sleep in places such as an old shed adjoining the railway station or in the storm drains under the pavements. They beg for money from tourists, occasionally get drunk in the cafes, and wash their T-shirts in the streets' drinking fountains. Almost all are young men under 30, who admit they are economic migrants - not political refugees fleeing oppression. Ventimiglia's mayor, Gaetono Scullino, fears his town is becoming overwhelmed and asks despairingly: 'Do you think just one European country, Italy, can resolve these kinds of immigration problems? The Tunisians are just the start. 'There are 520,000 Libyans waiting on the Libyan border with Tunisia because of the war there. There are another 720,000 Egyptians at their border hoping to get to Tunisia, too.' The onward journey of those hundreds waiting in Ventimiglia hoping to travel to France has been blocked, as a simmering diplomatic row has blown up between Paris and Rome over the mass migration from Africa into Europe. Italy said it couldn't cope with so many migrants. And, of course, France says the same. Both countries say they need concerted action from all the other EU nations to tackle the problem. So, after years of heralding the benefits of the Schengen border treaty (which was originally signed to facilitate trade and business), the two countries have suddenly woken up to the dangers - which were sufficiently clear to Britain that this country refused to sign up 26 years ago. The EU Commission has now been asked by the French and Italians to reform the agreement. Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says: 'Schengen needs a review, so it is suitable for the modern world.' One suggestion is that - as far as it is ever possible - a much tighter security cordon should be thrown around mainland Europe, allowing those inside to move about freely, but preventing newcomers from entering. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy who formerly championed a border-free Europe, has changed his tune in recent weeks and now agrees with the need for changes. This week the mayor of Nice - now home to 6,000 Tunisian migrants - was witheringly sarcastic about the way Italy had issued so many visas to North Africans: 'It is easy for Italy to be generous with other people's territory. 'By giving out these passes, Italy has made an incredible offer of hope to the North African migrants.' In many cases, it is a false hope because of the way the French have cracked down on the Italian border, or have harried those who have made their way into the country. Finding no welcome there, many migrants are turning their thoughts to Britain, where they believe they will be entitled to the benefits of the UK's generous welfare state. Already, 1,000 North Africans have made it to Paris and set up camps near the Gare du Nord station, where trains leave hourly for the Channel ports. At the Paris camp this week, 32-year-old Murad Broug, a hotel worker from the Libyan- Tunisian border, told the Mail how many of his friends had already left for England. 'They went north to the Channel coast and were hoping to sneak onto the train there,' he said 'We've heard it is better in England. We have nothing here - no jobs, no accommodation. We're not welcome in France.' Last week, French police launched a crackdown on the Paris camp. During dawn raids they took away 100 migrants, insisting that their visas were not in order. They were arrested and will be asked to leave French soil. Yesterday, the authorities in Calais were waiting for Tunisian and Libyan arrivals. They will join many other immigrants set on crossing the Channel to start new lives in England. In a derelict and roofless warehouse in the port town, Akram Jabrkhel, a 31-year-old Afghani, also hoping to make the journey to Britain, said: 'Where else will these people go?' Akram lived in Birmingham, Leicester, Cardiff and Nuneaton for a year until 2009. But he was deported because his asylum claim was rejected. Now, he is desperate to return. On the wall of their makeshift home, the men he is dossing down with have painted the words: 'We love England.' And as more migrants gather in Paris and the rest of France, the French authorities will increasingly attempt to cut off the flow from Italy. Trains travelling from Ventimiglia across the Italian-French border to Nice are being patrolled and immigrants seized. Those caught are handcuffed and held in prison before being sent back across the border to Italy. On the Ventimiglia streets, groups of migrants sent from France claim they were beaten with batons by gendarmes over the border. I watched this week as two young Tunisians bought tickets for Nice, boarding a train at Ventimiglia station with rucksacks. They took their seats nervously. At Menton, the first French town across the border, several French police got on board. They made straight for the Tunisians and asked to see their visas and identity cards. Three minutes later at the next stop, they hauled the Tunisians off the train and took them away for questioning. It is not entirely clear what happened next, but plenty of the Tunisians waiting in Ventimiglia whom I had spoken to said they had all been sent back to Italy. 'We go, they bring us back,' said Bicel Memni, 22, who paid £150 for two tickets to Paris for him and a friend. He was hoping to get to Manchester, where he has a Tunisian girlfriend, who works as a nurse. 'They ripped up our tickets. They said they did not recognise our visas.' Not surprisingly, these migrants are growing angry. However, the most resourceful are slipping through. This week I saw three Tunisians walk into France from Italy on the main coast road. Ramzi Smaci, 20, his friends, Rabai Sima, 17, and Sliti Rabiak, set out on Tuesday morning and an hour-and- a-half later were strolling along the promenade among holidaymakers in Menton. They passed the old border control post next to the sea, abandoned when the Schengen agreement was struck. 'We are happy,' said Rabai as I stopped him to talk in Menton five minutes later. 'We were frightened that we would be stopped. We cannot believe we are here.' With his friends, he plans to go to Marseilles, France's second-biggest city on the Mediterranean coast, where there is a big Tunisian enclave and they have family waiting for them. 'I have told them we are on our way,' added Rabai, taking out an expensive BlackBerry phone from his jeans. 'We will get a bus to Nice and then a train. We could still be caught if we are not careful.' What is happening here in Ventimiglia is having huge repercussions across Europe. Document checks are being hastily reintroduced on borders of the Netherlands and Belgium. Austria and Germany are threatening to tighten up border controls. In a matter of days, a passport-free area that stretched from the North Cape of Norway to the Straits of Gibraltar has started to crumble. Of course, all this means little to Karim Messaoudi, as he sips a coffee in Nice on a sunny spring day. In the past month, his world has been uprooted. He was among the first Tunisians to get to Lampedusa, sailing there on a small boat back in March. When he was given his 'Berlusconi visa' at a holding centre in Italy, he began to make his plans to get to England. He looks smart, in a black T-shirt and pressed clean jeans. <Subject Politics; Iraq War-2003; Prime ministers; Violence; Suicide bombings> <Title Bomb carnage in Baghdad as fragile peace collapses after US departure: Iraq> <Author Tomlinson, Hugh; Alkhafaji, Ali> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Dec 23, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A wave of bomb attacks across Baghdad left at least 69 people dead and almost 200 injured yesterday as a row between Iraq's Shia Government and its Sunni opponents erupted only days after US troops withdrew from the country. The crisis in Iraq's power-sharing Government threatens to plunge the country into fresh sectarian conflict and a return to the violence at the height of the insurgency in 2005-07 that left thousands of Iraqis dead and the country on the brink of civil war. Officials said that there were at least 14 bombings in mainly Shia areas of the capital although some Sunni areas were also attacked. They included a suicide bombing that killed 24 people when explosives in an ambulance were detonated in the district of Karrada. Roadside blasts ripped through morning traffic across the city. In the Amil district, a second bomb was apparently aimed at rescuers arriving at the scene of a previous explosion. "I heard a huge explosion and saw smoke and heard sirens. The police were firing their guns in the air to keep people back. I saw ambulances taking away bodies of the dead and injured," said Sameer, 40, in Karrada. The carnage yesterday was in contrast to the picture painted by US officials following their withdrawal last week -- of a country finding stability after almost nine years of war. An increase in sectarian violence was widely expected as militants moved to fill the vacuum left by the departing Americans. There were no immediate claims of responsibility but Sunni groups are suspected of carrying out the attacks yesterday in retaliation for accusations levelled at Tareq al-Hashemi, the Iraqi Vice- President, the most senior Sunni figure in the Shia-led Government of Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister. An arrest warrant has been issued for Mr al-Hashemi over claims that he used his personal guards to assassinate political rivals and ordered a recent car bombing near the Iraqi parliament. He denies the accusations and has fled to the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north. Shia MPs have demanded that the Kurdish government send him back to Baghdad to stand trial. Mr al-Maliki has been accused for months of seeking to marginalise Sunnis within the Government and consolidating the Shia grip on power. The Prime Minister's response to the attacks yesterday did little to calm the situation. Though he did not accuse any specific group, Mr al-Maliki's comments made specific reference to the sectarian nature of the bombings. "The timing of these crimes and the locations they took place [make clear] the political nature of these attacks ," he said. He did not respond to calls this week from Iraq's Kurdish bloc for a national dialogue between the warring factions. Positions are becoming entrenched. Saleh al-Mutlak, the Deputy Prime Minister, called Mr al-Maliki a dictator. Nahidah al-Daini, a Sunni MP, said that only an overhaul of the Iraqi political system could drag the country back from the brink. "Everybody is responsible for what happened today, including MPs and government ministers ... This political struggle gave the terrorists the chance to attack and kill civilians in cold blood," she said. "Nothing will save Iraq except the formation of a non-sectarian distribution of government posts. Only Allah will save Iraqis because the officials are indifferent to their people's miseries." Across the country, Iraqi police and armed forces were placed on high alert amid fears that the violence would spread beyond the capital. The latest bloodshed has reopened debate over whether American troops should have been allowed to remain longer. The al-Maliki Government refused requests from Washington to allow its forces to extend their stay beyond the 2011 deadline agreed by President Bush. <Subject Court decisions; Growth industries; Human rights> <Title Britain can ignore Europe on human rights: top judge: Lord Chief Justice bolsters case for reform Britain can ignore Europe on human rights, says judge> <Author Gibb, Frances> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Oct 20, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> The country's most senior judge criticised the dominance of the European Court of Human Rights yesterday, saying that British courts are free to ignore its rulings. Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, said there was an arguable case that judges must take account of decisions in Strasbourg but were not bound by them. His comments, to the Lords Constitution Committee, will fuel mounting controversy over the Human Rights Act and hostility to the influence of the Strasbourg-based court over UK legislation. It will also bolster the case for reform of the Act, which is now the subject of an inquiry set up by David Cameron. Lord Judge and other leading judges are concerned that some rulings from Europe threaten to undermine the workings of the English justice system. But a split emerged yesterday over whether the Act ties judges' hands. Lord Judge told peers that it was unclear what Parliament had meant when it enacted the Act and required courts to follow rulings of the European court. But the head of Britain's Supreme Court, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, suggested that the Strasbourg court must be followed. Lord Phillips, who was at the same evidence session, said: "In the end, Strasbourg is going to win. As long as we have the Human Rights Act ... and that is designed to give effect to that part of the rule of law which says we must comply with the convention [on human rights]." But Lord Judge added: "I would like to suggest that Strasbourg should not always win." It did not need to because of the existence of the European Union and the European Court of Justice. Judges, he added, would give them due weight and seek to follow the rulings, but might not necessarily do so. Theresa May, the Home Secretary, called for the scrapping of the Act this month, claiming that it protected an illegal immigrant from deportation on the ground that he had a pet cat. The coalition also faced a parliamentary revolt after saying that it would accept a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that some prisoners must be given the vote. MPs warned that the court rejected fundamental rules of criminal evidence enacted by Parliament to ensure that criminals do not escape conviction. Ministers appealed against the ruling to the European Court's Grand Chamber of 17 judges and a decision is due soon. Lord Phillips has also raised concerns about whether the Strasbourg court sufficiently appreciates UK procedures. Britain is bound by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and Lord Judge said that those rulings had to be adhered to because Britain was a member of the European Union. Judges are currently split about what Parliament meant when it enacted the Human Rights Act and stated that the courts must take account of Strasbourg rulings. Dominic Raab, the Conservative MP for Esher & Walton, said that Lord Judge's intervention bolstered the case for reform. "The Lord Chief Justice has highlighted a serious flaw in the Human Rights Act. We should not be importing the Strasbourg case law wholesale, with its continental approach to rights, and there is little point in having a Supreme Court unless it has the final word on how the law of the land is applied. "Lord Judge's intervention bolsters the case for a British Bill of Rights, both to strengthen our judicial independence and restore democratic accountability over the growth industry that human rights law in this country has become." Lord Pannick, QC, a human rights lawyer and member of the constitution committee, said: "Section 2 of the Human Rights Act says our judges must take account of the Strasbourg judgments; it does not say our courts are bound by them." But he predicted that if judges disagreed with those rulings and felt Strasbourg did not properly appreciate the reasoning of British courts, they might more regularly say that they had taken account of a ruling but not followed it. Jonathan Fisher, QC, a member of the commission of inquiry into a British Bill of Rights, said: "There plainly is debate as to the impact of the Strasbourg decisions and this adds to it. There are a number of decisions about which our courts feel squeamish and this is saying that they do not slavishly have to follow them." Controversial European Court of Human Rights cases 1996: European Court ruling in case over Karamjit Chahal, a Sikh activist, that foreign terrorists and criminals cannot be deported if they face risk of torture 1999: European Court ruled that boy killers of James Bulger did not receive a fair trial 2005: European Court ruled Britain's long-standing ban on prisoners having the vote was unlawful July 2010: European Court ruled that extradition to the US of Abu Hamza, "preacher of hate", could breach human rights laws February 2011: Sex offenders could appeal against being on the sex offenders register for life -- on the basis of European Court ruling February 2011: Supreme Court ruled that European Convention on Human Rights means a woman on benefits who failed to pay rent cannot be evicted September 2011: European Court ruled that a Nigerian man convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl cannot be deported back to country of birth <Subject Prime ministers; Parole & probation > <Title Ken twists and turns with a suede shoe shuffle> <Author Treneman, Ann> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Jun 22, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> Tough on Ken, tough on the causes of Ken. That was the Commons yesterday, but Mr Clarke simply doesn't seem to care. His face, as rumpled as his trousers, which he was constantly hoicking up, creased in joviality when he heard the toughest Ken question of all. "Are you on probation?" demanded the Labour MP Stephen McCabe. "And do you anticipate time added on or early release?" Ken fell forward on to the dispatch box, stomach hitting first, elbows propping him up. "I've been on probation for the last few decades!" His chuckle was low and soft and sounded, in cartoon terms, like "yuck yuck yuck". "Sooner or later I'll get the hang of it, but I'm working on it!" The rest of those words were lost forever as they collided, slipped and slid out of his mouth. He added: "The Prime Minister and I and the Cabinet have developed these policies together." This brought cries of hilarity. "Yes, we have," he insisted, his voice going falsetto now. Labour frontbenchers made rather rude-looking gestures intended to be Pinocchio's nose growing. Earlier in the day the Prime Minister had, extraordinarily, called a press conference to pre- announce Ken's announcement. That's how much he trusts the Justice Secretary. And, as I watched Ken perform what can only be called his stand-up comedy shtick, I could see why. Dave may hug hoodies but, if he's hugging Ken (not easy with that stomach), it's only to keep him close. The Tories seem to remain more or less furious with Ken. Edward Leigh, always close to explosion, castigated Ken for saying he was going to introduce drug-free wings in jails. "The public believe all parts of jail are drug-free and to them this sums up the irretrievably soft attitude to the entire prison system!" Ken embraced this. "I share your amazement!" he cried. "The fact is that drugs are very widely available in prisons." The Tories looked disgusted at this, while all the Lib Dems nodded madly. The coalition was hanging together by a thread. Bill Cash denounced "wishy-washy liberals". A Lib Dem stood up and pleaded guilty to wishy-washiness. Other Tories urged Ken to be more right-wing, to throw away human rights, to imprison at will. Ken turned this way and that, doing his trademark suede shoe shuffle. He was accused of multiple U-turns. "I've done many U-turns in my time and they should be done with purpose and panache," he trilled. "But I actually don't think that this is a U-turn at all!" This brought more guffaws from Labour but, for the Tories, this is no laughing matter. Probation? I think that they'd rather lock him up. <Title Baa-rmy EU tests> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Aug 31, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Document type News> EURO MPs want to blow Pounds 1.8million on new-age homeopathic treatments - for cows, sheep and pigs. The European Parliament's agriculture committee wants to test whether the remedy - opposed by British vets - can replace antibiotics. Tory MEP Richard Ashworth said: "Wasting millions on highly questionable remedies is sheer madness." <Title BRITS RAP MIGRANTS [Edition 2]> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Feb 28, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> BRITONS are so fed up with immigration that 48 per cent might back a far-right political party if it did not promote violence, a poll showed. Almost two-thirds of white people 43 per cent of British Asians and 17 per cent of black Britons believe immigration has been a bad thing for the nation. Asians already here were keenest to see it halted until the economy improves. <Title BORIS TAX RANT> <Author Hartley, Clodagh> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Jan 1, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> BORIS Johnson yesterday hit out at two key Government policies -- on income tax and immigration. The London mayor said the 50p top tax rate "can't go on forever" if the UK is to remain competitive. And he said the planned cap on immigration "hacked off" bosses who cannot recruit talent from abroad because of the new quotas. Mr Johnson said on radio that London had a great future, but added: "We can't be complacent." He said: "We are in a battle, competing constantly with other growing centres of economic activity." Government sources said the tax hike is a temporary measure and migrant limits are "a rational approach". 20% New rate of VAT starts on Tuesday <Morning Star> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Children's service cuts risk reform> <BYLINE: Will Stone> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 246 words> Charity Action for Children chief executive Dame Clare Tickell, who was asked by the coalition to review the "nappy curriculum," reported today that the current system was "far from perfect" and claimed it was bogged down by targets and bureaucracy. She said that there should be checks to identify early problems or special educational needs, that everyone working with under-fives should at least have A-levels, and that the goals youngsters are expected to meet should be slashed from 69 to 17." And it isn't doing enough to engage parents in their child's development or make sure children are starting school with the basic skills they need to be ready to learn," she said. However unions NUT and ATL questioned the government's priorities in the wake of he findings. They warned that any attempt to improve youngsters' education will be scuppered while the coalition oversees swingeing cuts to local services." We are appalled that cuts to local services are putting children's centres and other early years provision under threat," said ATL general secretary Mary Bousted. And NUT general secretary Christine Blower added: "This is an appalling situation which will simply lead to an increase in social disadvantage. If the government is serious about addressing inequality it needs to rethink its cuts agenda." A spokesman for the Department for Education said there wasn't a problem and claimed that it was providing a decent amount of funding. <Morning Star> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <MP slams 'batty Boris'> <BYLINE: Roger Bagley in Parliament> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 250 words> Tories grunted in protest as Mr Lavery urged the government instead to pay heed to the message brought to the streets of London by 500,000 anti-cuts marchers last Saturday. London Mayor Boris Johnson disgraced himself at the weekend by accusing Labour leaders and the TUC of stirring up violence and glorying in clashes with the police. Intervening in a debate on the chancellor's Budget, Mr Lavery told MPs: "It was an absolute credit to the TUC and Brendan Barber that they organised such an historic event." He added: "It was a privilege and an honour to stand shoulder to shoulder along with so many people - nurses, doctors, teachers, policemen, prison officers, council workers and trade unionists, among many others." The Wansbeck MP also launched an attack on Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, "who has established a record in betraying the young people of our country." Birmingham Labour MP Jack Dromey protested that 300 of the most experienced police officers in the West Midlands would face the axe tomorrow. They included an inspector who achieved a 97 per cent reduction in crime on a Birmingham estate, and a detective constable who had "put away those who robbed old people at cash points and those who robbed shops with a machete." Mr Dromey told the House: "They all now face having to leave the force against their will. The government has said to them, thanks for your past loyalty, but here's your notice." Governments should cut crime, not the police." <Morning Star> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Tory cutbacks lay waste to the arts> <BYLINE: Lizzie Cocker> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 479 words> Unions and campaigners struggled to get to grips with the scale of the cuts because such a diverse array of organisations were told they faced a funding axe. Internationally renowned institutions including the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare company fell victim - their funding will be reduced by 15 per cent each over the next four years. But while London's Almeida theatre was hit by a 39 per cent real-terms cuts the Arcola theatre, a stone's throw away in north London, welcomed an 82.1 per cent rise in its grant. Rather than making equal cuts across all organisations the Arts Council devised a series of criteria to determine which organisations' budgets would be cut, remain static or rise, while 110 completely new organisations were awarded grants. Overall more than 200 institutions suffered a complete loss of council funding and a further 308 face reductions. The latest cuts will pile more pressure on creative workers already grappling with the impact shrinking local authority support because of government funding cuts of around 28 per cent. Professional performers and creative workers' union Equity warned today that Britain's status as a "beacon of world theatre" was under threat. President Malcolm Sinclair said: "I fear that this is a move away from artistically led local theatres producing work for local people. This hits at the very heart of our theatre." We're looking today at the results of a cut of £100 million to arts funding. That's just 10 per cent of the figure awarded in in bonuses to Royal Bank of Scotland bankers this year." The impact of these cuts will be greatest on the smaller organisations, particularly in the regions and rural areas." These are the groups that provide the lifeblood of our great national institutions - cut support to those lower down the pyramid and eventually those at the top will starve." Musicians Union general secretary John Smith said the announcement was "the start of the end" for many organisations, with few music groups emerging "unscathed." Director of Zinc Arts Jonathan Rennison, whose organisation serves disabled and socially excluded people, said that the Arts Council's decision to withdraw funding would leave it struggling to reach out to a section of the population that is also being disproportionately affected by government public-sector funding cuts. He said he would be seeking talks with the Arts Council to understand why it justified the cut by describing Zinc's way of working as "untested" despite it using the same practices for the past five years and having a relationship with the council for 16 years. The council stressed that its decision-making had been undertaken "collaboratively, and with honesty and clarity of purpose." It is with great regret that we have had to cease funding some good organisations." <Morning Star> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Inspector exposes jail horrors> <BYLINE: Louise Nousratpour, Equalities Reporter> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 322 words> In an inspection report released today he described the delivery of care for the 500 women held at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Middlesex, as "chaotic" and labelled some treatments "unacceptable." The unannounced inspection carried out last October also found a "shocking level" of self-harm. There had been an average of more than seven incidents of self-harm a day in the 12 months before the inspection - a total of 2,771. One woman had harmed herself 93 times in a single month." Health care was shockingly poor," said Mr Hardwick. "It was surprising that this should be so given the obvious needs of the women and that concerns had been forcibly raised by the Independent Monitoring Board." He reported that there were no female doctors at the prison, pharmacy services were "tortuous and inconsistent" and that the appointments system was "unnecessarily complicated." Mr Hardwick also highlighted the case of a woman with a severe personality disorder who had "effectively been held in the segregation unit for three years with very little human contact." Mental health care was "better," but he questioned why there were only 15 women being treated for mental health issues, saying it "seemed an unfeasibly low number given the very visible need throughout the prison." Prison Reform Trust (PRT) director Juliet Lyon said today: "This must raise questions about why such vulnerable women, many of whom injure themselves repeatedly, are held in a thinly staffed prison rather than diverted into the mental health treatment and care that so many urgently need." In view of the report Ms Lyon urged the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Kalyx, the prison's managing company, to "put right" the health care failings at the prison. NOMS chief executive Michael Spurr claimed that improvements were "already under way." But the PRT said: "We understand that the situation has yet to be resolved." <Morning Star> <March 22, 2011 Tuesday> <'Shameless' MPs rubber stamp Libya air assault> <BYLINE: Roger Bagley in Parliament> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 365 words> Ms German called for peace activists to raise their voices against "idiotic gung-ho behaviour" following Monday night's massive vote of 557-13 in favour of Prime Minister David Cameron's leap to war. CND general secretary Kate Hudson appealed to MPs to "keep an open mind and reconsider the implications and consequences of this brutal military intervention." During a tense debate, many MPs expressed doubts about the outcome of the Libyan operation. But just 15 registered a vote against, with a number of sceptical Labour MPs abstaining. Among the tiny band of opponents were 11 Labour members, including the two tellers for the "Noes." Left MPs Katy Clark, Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Dennis Skinner spearheaded the opposition. A grim Mr McDonnell reminded MPs of Britain's long involvement in the Middle East in pursuit of mineral wealth - an involvement "steeped in blood, murder and maiming." Also voting against were solitary Tory John Barron, Green MP Caroline Lucas and two Irish SDLP members. Prominent left MPs backing the war and UN resolution 1973 included Diane Abbott, Martin Caton, John Cryer, Frank Dobson, Kelvin Hopkins, Ian Lavery and Grahame Morris. Ms Abbott told a tense house: "I will support the government in the lobby tonight, partly because I genuinely believe that only swift action at the weekend avoided a bloodbath in Benghazi." She added that she was also "convinced that we have a solid legal basis for the military action." But Ms Abbott warned: "The government would be wrong to take this evening's vote as some sort of blank cheque." Opposition leader Ed Miliband sought to invoke the lessons of 1930s non-intervention in the Spanish civil war as he led the vast majority of Labour MPs in support of the Libyan military adventure." In 1936 a Spanish politician came to Britain to plead for support in the face of General Franco's violent fascism," he recalled. MPs fell silent as veteran Bolsover MP Dennis Skinner told Mr Cameron: "It is easy to get into a war. It is harder to end it. When will we know what the circumstances are for pulling out and ending the war?"Mr Cameron insisted: "This is different to Iraq."rogerbagley@peoples-press.com <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <City's GBP 365 k bill to save just GBP 600k> <BYLINE: By Chris Riches> <SECTION: NEWS; 19> <LENGTH: 126 words> A COUNCIL has been criticised after spending GBP 365,000 to hire a cost-cutting firm - to identify GBP 600,000 worth of savings. It was brought in to look at key services, including housing maintenance and council tax collection, to try to make them more efficient. Vanguard Consulting have been paid just over GBP 1,000 a day by Stoke-on-Trent city council and in under a year raked in GBP 365,400, with an additional expenses bill of GBP 17,884. But taxpayer groups were angered when the specialists were only able to identify just under double their own fees in savings - around GBP 600,000 of annual cuts. Matthew Sinclair, of the Tax Payers' Alliance, said: "Council taxpayers struggling with the near doubling of the rates over the last decade deserve better." <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Alarm for UK airports as 'bomb' flown on jet> <BYLINE: By Sara Dixon> <SECTION: NEWS; 19> <LENGTH: 368 words> BRITISH airport security was under renewed scrutiny last night after it emerged a hoax bomb was smuggled on to a plane in London. The device was hidden in a wedding cake and sent as air freight to Turkey using the international shipping company UPS. The suspicious package, complete with wires and a timer, was not discovered until the aircraft had landed in Istanbul. The fake bomb was dispatched from a UPS branch in Camden, north London, two weeks ago and was flown to Turkey on a cargo-only flight. A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The Government is aware of this incident and takes it very seriously. We have already begun an investigation which will look at all aspects of this incident, including UPS's procedures. A statement by UPS said: "Processes, systems and procedures are designed to protect our people, aircraft and customers' shipments. In addition, UPS collaborates with security agencies around the world for information exchange, risk assessment, regulatory compliance and preventive action." Met Police have arrested a 26-yearold man in connection with the hoax bomb which is not thought to be terrorist-related. He has been released on bail. It is believed the bomb was sent as an attempt to scare a Turkish couple who were getting married. The lapse in airline security comes just months after Al Qaeda operatives smuggled a bomb disguised as a printer cartridge on to a UPS cargo flight headed for the US. That device was discovered after the aircraft made an unscheduled stop at East Midlands airport to refuel following a tip off from Saudi Arabian intelligence. Another device, also disguised as a printer cartridge, was put on board a Qatar Airways passenger jet. That was found when the flight stopped in Dubai. Both printer cartridge devices were sent from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a. Cargo packages are flown both on specially-designated aircraft and in the holds of passenger planes. Former government security advisor Lord West called for cargo packages to be subject to the same vigorous security checks that passengers are forced to undergo. He said: "The passengers are getting really vigorous checks. One hopes the cargo is getting the same checks." <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Postcode lottery for prostate cancer care> <BYLINE: By Victoria Fletcher> <SECTION: NEWS; 30> <LENGTH: 239 words> THE chances of survival for men with prostate cancer depend on where they live, a charity claims. Sufferers living in Sandwell in the West Midlands are twice as likely to die from the disease as those in Kensington and Chelsea in London. And another 24 out of the 151 Primary Care Trusts in England have a prostate death rate that is 10 per cent above the national average. Owen Sharp, chief executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, which compiled the figures, said: "It is clearly unacceptable that men diagnosed with prostate cancer in different parts of England could live or die based on their address. What we really need to see now is a clear and credible answer to why, despite improvements in prostate cancer services, this remains the case." Previous research suggests the reason for the postcode lottery which gives some patients a better chance of survival than others may be down to diagnosis, with those living in poorer areas being less likely to go to their doctor early with signs of cancer. But a recent Government report also suggested some patients had to go to their GP more than twice complaining o f symptoms before they were referred to the hospital for tests. The Prostate Cancer Charity is launching a campaign today to encourage all men at increased risk to have a prostate test. Every year in the UK 37,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, the most common male cancer, and one man dies of the disease every hour. <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <CAM PLEADS: DON'T STRIKE; Even Labour is against action> <BYLINE: GARY NICKS> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 2> <LENGTH: 189 words> DAVID Cameron made a plea yesterday for the biggest national strike in 25 years to be called off "for the good of the country". The PM branded unions "wrong" for pushing ahead with a mass walkout of 750,000 teachers and civil servants tomorrow. Up to 85% of schools could close or face disruption through action, which even Labour called a "mistake". Jobcentres, courts, ports, airports, tax offices and Government buildings will also be hit. The strikes are over reforms of public sector pensions, which Mr Cameron said are desperately needed or the system risked "going bust". The PM, left, said: "Public service pensions will remain among the very best, much better than for many private sector workers. So to those considering strike action, I would say to you these strikes are wrong, for you, for the people you serve, for the good of the country." Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham said: "We support the reforms and it is wrong for action to be taken now while talks are ongoing." Labour leader Ed Miliband called the strikes "a sign of failure on both sides" and added: "Thursday's action is a mistake." <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <Taliban kill 10 at hotel> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 18> <LENGTH: 106 words> <A COMMANDO-style Taliban terror attack on a top hotel in Afghanistan's capital killed at least 10.> Six machine gun-toting suicide bombers stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, used by western journalists and aid workers. Four blasts like those from explosive bomb vests were heard. Last night the five-star hotel was surrounded by armed police as gunmen on the roof fired off rounds. It was unclear whether` any Brits were caught up in the bloodbath. Criminal Investigations Chief Mohammad Zahir said: "It will take some time to control the area." The Taliban claimed responsibility, boasting they had killed "50 foreigners and Afghans". <Subject Political parties> <Title ED'S A DECENT, HONEST MAN> <Author Routledge, Paul> <Publication title The Daily Mirror> <Publication date Sep 30, 2011> <Section Features; Opinion, Column> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> THE more the Tories and their sycophantic supporters in the media attack Ed Miliband, the more I cleave to his Labour leadership. His speech to the party conference was full of good ideas. He will put his stamp on Labour and on Britain. And he is demonstrably a decent and honest man, at a time when those qualities are all too rare in public life. I watched the occasion on the box in the Baltic Fleet, one of Liverpool's best pubs (and there are many vying for that title) with Mirror readers. About one-third of the way through, there was a power failure and all the Beeb could show for 10 minutes was old footage from last year's conference. Somebody joked that the power failure was the best bit of the speech. That got a laugh, but this is no laughing matter. The carping within the party is as corrosive as the attacks from without. It should stop. Ed Miliband won fair and square under the rules. It is pointless - criminal, in my view - for the Blairite rump to undermine the leader we have chosen. If they can't put up - and they can't, because Ed's big brother has thrown in the towel - then they should shut up. <Title KNIVES OUT FOR BLAIR> <Author McTAGUE, TOM> <Publication title The Daily Mirror> <Publication date Sep 30, 2011> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> TONY Blair's days as Middle East peace envoy could be numbered because of his alleged bias toward Israel, it was claimed yesterday. Mr Blair has angered Palestinians by reportedly lobbying European leaders to vote against their bid for official United Nations recognition. Palestinian politicians are said to have lost confidence in the former PM and plan to have no dealings with him, although an official spokesman denied the claims. Some Labour supporters are also uneasy with Blair's role since he left office and there was booing when his name was read out at the party conference in Liverpool. He has made millions outside politics and his wife Cherie is one of the founders of Mee, a firm that stands to profit from privatisation of the NHS by the Tory-led Coalition. <Subject Councils;Collections> <Title Councils paid to restart weekly bin collections> <Author Winnett, Robert> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Sep 30, 2011> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> COUNCILS have "no excuse" but to restart weekly bin collections after ministers set up a Pounds 250million scheme to pay local authorities to offer the service. Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, will today announce that central government funds will be used to pay councils that are reintroducing weekly collections. More than half of all councils have switched to fortnightly collections over the past few years, affecting more than 18million people. The move has been blamed for an increased numbers of rats in cities and other health hazards. Last night, Mr Pickles said: "The last Labour government ruthlessly forced councils into axing bin collections. Their policies of bin taxes, bin fines and bin cuts hammered hard-working households and fuelled fly-tipping. "Weekly rubbish collections are the most visible of all front-line services and I believe every household in England has a basic right to have their rubbish collected every week. "Our fund will help councils deliver weekly collections and in the process make it easier for families to go green and improve the local environment. Councils now have no excuse not to reintroduce the weekly bin collection." The Daily Telegraph disclosed earlier this year that Mr Pickles was hoping to offer councils financial incentives to reintroduce weekly collections. The scheme was initially overruled by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs amid fears it would undermine attempts to encourage recycling. Following a Cabinet row, Mr Pickles has won the backing of David Cameron and will unveil the weekly bin scheme today. The Department for Communities and Local Government will make savings to provide Pounds 250 million for the scheme over the next two and a half years. A similar financial incentive was used to reward local authorities agreeing to freeze council tax, which led to no increase in England this year. Councils will be paid to cover the costs of weekly bin collections providing they guarantee the service for at least five years. They will also have to show that they have introduced recycling schemes. Doretta Cocks, founder of the Campaign for Weekly Waste, welcomed the announcement. "For too long households have had to put up with fortnightly collections so this is welcome news for hard-working families." <Subject Labour unions> <Title Union: Party has to back cuts strikers> <Publication title The Daily Mirror> <Publication date Sep 27, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> UNION chiefs yesterday issued a stark warning to Ed Miliband to back workers striking over public sector pension cuts. Unison chief Dave Prentis got a standing ovation after demanding the party should stand "shoulder to shoulder" with workers. He added: "They will never forgive us if we let them down." Unison is one of several unions planning to ballot members for strikes, with the TUC calling for a day of action on November 30. Ed Miliband had told the TUC Congress striking was not the way to resolve the pensions dispute. But Mr Prentis said the Government was taking a "chainsaw" to public services, adding: "It's no time to sit on the sidelines while this Government tears down all that we built." And at a fringe meeting later last night, general secretary of the GMB Paul Kenny suggested the public should occupy libraries and hospitals in non-violent protest action if they are closed because of the Government's savage cuts. <Subject Reforms; Politics; Tax reform> <Title Aid corrupts Pakistan, says Imran Khan> <Author Crilly, Rob> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Sep 27, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Document type News> INTERNATIONAL aid is propping up Pakistan's corrupt political elite at the expense of much-needed reforms, according to the cricketer-turned-politician, Imran Khan. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said cutting funds was the only way to force Pakistan's government to face up to the challenge of balancing its budget and introducing tax reform. "Aid is like using aspirin to treat cancer," he said. "And the cancer is spreading." His warning that aid is propping up a corrupt and incompetent elite puts him on a collision course with Britain's recently reviewed aid policy. Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary, ordered the doubling of aid to Pakistan. The amount will rise from Pounds 200 million in the past year to about Pounds 400million in 2015. The department set out ambitious plans to get more than four million children into school in the next four years. The programme is controversial in Britain at a time when billions of pounds is being slashed from domestic spending, but also has its critics in Pakistan, where many are suspicious of the West's motives. Mr Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Movement for Justice, said even with careful controls to prevent the cash being pocketed by politicians it raised a longterm question over Pakistan's ability to fend for itself. Without the crutch of foreign cash, he said, the country would have to make sure its rich elite could no longer escape being taxed. "We would be forced to make changes, reforms to the link between expenditure and revenues," said Mr Khan, whose stance on corruption saw him declared Pakistan's most popular politician in a recent opinion poll. "The rich don't pay taxes here so the entire burden falls on the common man and the difference is made up by aid. This aid stops any real reform." He also added that money given directly to the Pakistan government would be stolen. Mr Mitchell said: "As Imran Khan now accepts, Britain does not directly fund the government of Pakistan. Our aid and development programme is going to help up to 4million children into school over the next four years and Imran Khan strongly supports that. Our programme is linked, however, to reform at federal and provincial levels in Pakistan, including in the area of increasing tax revenue." <Subject Politics > <Title Gove advisers at centre of row over use of private emails> <Author Porter, Andrew> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Sep 22, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> THE Whitehall row over ministers and political advisers using private email accounts to conduct government business intensified last night. Michael Gove and his advisers circulated emails that allegedly included a discussion of replacing personnel in the Department for Education, but civil servants could not retrieve them when asked under the Freedom of Information Act. Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, sought to kill the row by ordering departments to say that no personal emails would be disclosed. However, the Information Commissioner's Office appeared to contradict this assertion in a statement. It said: "It is certainly possible that some information in private emails could fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act if it concerns government business." It is not against the law for ministers and officials to use private email for government business as long as they disclose it. However, it is illegal to conceal information concerning government business from those seeking public documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The Ministry of Justice also raised concerns that the Cabinet Office was taking the wrong line, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. The Cabinet Office statement read: "Personal email accounts do not fall within the Freedom of Information Act and are not searchable by civil servants." Last night Whitehall sources dismissed reports that David Cameron's personal emails were being searched to see if he had used them for government business. A regular meeting of Whitehall permanent secretaries took place yesterday. It is understood that the issue was discussed but no conclusions were reached about taking further action. The allegations follow an email sent in February from Dominic Cummings, the Education Secretary's chief political aide, who wrote to colleagues saying he "will not answer any further emails to my official DfE account". He added: "I will only answer things that come from gmail accounts from people who I know. I suggest that you do the same in general but that's obviously up to you guys - I can explain in person the reason for this ..." Mr Gove's aides said the email was only about party business. A source said: "Mr Cummings was telling Conservative Party officials not to use his departmental account for political business." The Information Commissioner's Office is said to be investigating after being contacted by The Financial Times, which has seen the correspondence. A spokesman said it had written to the education department. Ed Miliband has admitted he could improve his "voice and communication skills". The Labour leader told New Statesman magazine he would be "crackers" if he did not care about his image. <Subject Politics> <Title Britain to be frozen out in push for EU military headquarters> <Author Waterfield, Bruno> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Sep 8, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Daily Telegraph> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> FRANCE, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland want Britain to be bypassed in order to establish an EU military headquarters. The Government opposes the proposal but the so-called "big five" have told the EU foreign minister Baroness Ashton that she must set up a European Operational HQ by any means necessary, including a legal mechanism created by the Lisbon Treaty that bypasses a British veto. In July, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, threatened to veto a proposed military HQ, which would "command and control" troops including British forces taking part in EU operations, such as the current anti-piracy naval mission off the coast of Somalia. In a confidential letter, dated Sept 2, foreign ministers from the five European countries pledged their "strong political will to continue" as a "matter of urgency". "France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain remain at your disposal to support your work in this regard," says the letter to Lady Ashton, seen by The Daily Telegraph. Most controversially, the alliance instructs Lady Ashton to seek "structured co-operation", a legal route never before used, to set up the HQ without Britain. It demands "tangible results" by the end of the year. "We encourage you to examine all institutional and legal options available to member states including permanent structured co-operation to develop critical Common Security and Defence Policy capabilities, notably a permanent planning and conduct capability." Structured co-operation would allow a majority vote to decide the fate of the headquarters. In her proposals, Lady Ashton said that the European operational headquarters currently spread across Europe in Germany, France, Greece, Italy and Britain should be united under one roof, with a 250-strong EU military staff. The move puts the EU foreign minister, a Labour peer, at odds with the Government and could lead to the worst rift in European foreign policy since the Iraq war in 2003. Mr Hague has declared the issue a "red line" and defeat would be a major setback and failure of the Government's European policy, especially for Eurosceptics within the Conservative Party. The Government has been angered by the letter and its threat to bypass Britain using a legal route that was originally intended to help countries work on practical defence co-operation, such as air transport. "Structured co-operation was designed to encourage member states to work together to increase European capabilities," said a government spokesman. "It is inappropriate to use EU mechanisms to advance the political agendas of only a few member states." Britain supports European calls, backed by America, for more investment in military capabilities, improved planning and better EUNato co-operation. "But we disagree strongly that a permanent EU HQ is the answer to these problems," said the spokesman. "Focusing energy and resources on a project which is essentially about symbolism represents a costly distraction from investment in the defence and civilian capabilities that are really required, and will do nothing to increase political will to act." <Title Ofsted tightens rules for rating schools as outstanding> <Author Shepherd, Jessica> <Publication title The Guardian> <Publication date Sep 30, 2011> <Section Guardian Home Pages> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Fewer schools will be rated outstanding from next year, inspectors have said. The move comes after Michael Gove, the education secretary, said many schools awarded the ranking did not deserve it. Under rules coming into force in January, inspectors will pay more attention to pupils' behaviour, the quality of teaching, and children's ability to read. They will also spend more time scrutinising whether schools are narrowing the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Miriam Rosen, Ofsted's chief inspector, said she expected it would become "more difficult to achieve the accolade of outstanding". Ofsted's most recent annual report, published in November, showed that 13% of schools in England were outstanding, 43% were good, 37% were satisfactory and 8% were inadequate. Earlier this month Gove told a conference on school leadership that it was "a worry to me that so many schools are still judged as outstanding overall when they have not achieved an outstanding in their teaching and learning". Inspectors give an overall rating to schools, but also give individual verdicts on teaching and learning. Ofsted figures show that of 3,577 schools judged outstanding overall at their latest inspection, 923 would have been ranked as good or very good at teaching. The government has instructed Ofsted to pare down the inspection categories to four: the achievement of pupils; the quality of teaching and learning; the effectiveness of the leadership and management; and standards of behaviour and safety. . Schools will no longer receive separate verdicts on whether they are doing their best to achieve community cohesion or safeguard their pupils. Schools ranked outstanding will no longer have routine inspections unless there are concerns that standards may be slipping. Schools judged to be good will be inspected every five years, as they are now, while satisfactory schools will be inspected every three years. Ofsted also announced that from next month parents will be able to fill out a questionnaire on its website which includes questions such as "are pupils at your child's school happy?" and post messages. The Ofsted site will be anonymous, with users only asked for an email address. Inspectors will consider the comments when making a judgment about a school. A surge of negative comments could trigger an inspection. Rosen said Ofsted wanted to "give greater consideration to parents', pupils' and teachers' views". Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Allowing anyone to post comments anonymously leaves the system, and schools, open to abuse." Rosen said inspectors would also hear primary school pupils read. About one in five 11-year-olds are not reading at the expected level. <Title Suicide verdict on Moat as jury clears police> <Author Carter, Helen> <Publication title The Guardian> <Publication date Sep 28, 2011> <Section Guardian Home Pages> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> The fugitive gunman Raoul Moat took his own life after police fired an unapproved Taser at him, an inquest jury decided yesterday. The jury concluded that the armed officers had behaved properly during the six-hour stand-off with the 37-year-old former bouncer at Rothbury, Northumberland, in July 2010. Moat had been on the run for a week after shooting his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, and killing her new partner Chris Brown, 29. He went on to shoot and blind an unarmed traffic officer, PC David Rathband, after declaring "war" on police. An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation found no evidence of misconduct by the officers, though there may be "some learning" for Northumbria police. The three-week inquest at Newcastle crown court had been told that Moat was hit by an experimental Taser round fired by marksmen who believed he was about to kill himself. The Taser had no effect, and Moat shot himself in the head. The inquest was told that Moat had likened himself to King Kong while on the run. The jurors spent five hours considering their verdict. Summing up, the coroner David Mitford said the jury should consider either a verdict of suicide or an open verdict. He told them they had to answer five questions linked to whether police should have used the untested XRep X12 Taser that had not been approved by the Home Office. It was the first time it had been used in the UK during a police operation. The coroner said the jury had to be "satisfied so you are sure" before returning a verdict of suicide. <Title Asylum unit 'preventing claimants from lodging cases'> <Author Bowcott, Owen> <Publication title The Guardian> <Publication date Sep 30, 2011> <Section Guardian Home Pages> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> <Database International Newsstand> Asylum seekers are being prevented from lodging claims for permission to stay in the UK unless their lawyers threaten legal action, according to the Law Society. In a strongly worded criticism of shortcomings at the Asylum Screening Unit (ASU) in Croydon, south London, the body which represents solicitors complains of "degrading treatment", telephones constantly engaged and individuals who arrive in person being sent away. The letter, sent to the head of the ASU and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), highlights concerns voiced by other groups about facilities in Croydon - the only place in the whole of the UK where asylum claims can be made. Mark Paulson, head of the Law Society's family and social justice section, said that the only certain means of securing an appointment was for solicitors to send in "pre-action protocol" letters on behalf of clients announcing they were instigating judicial review proceedings. In July, Law Society representatives met ASU officials to raise concerns about problems. The situation, they claim, has deteriorated since then: "In recent months [we have] received reports of asylum seekers who are finding it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to register their claim for asylum, or who experience what appear to be quite unnecessary difficulties . . ." "Our members' experience and others' reports . . . have highlighted the negative and sometimes quite degrading treatment of people on their arrival at the ASU and the appalling nature of the physical environment which they expected to be in for often prolonged and indeterminate periods of time." Registering asylum applications as soon as possible is vital for claimants. Any delay undermines the credibility of their case. The letter contained nine case studies. One detailed the experience of an elderly Zimbabwean woman who caught a bus at 3am in order to arrive at Croydon by 7am where she was given a letter informing her that she was too late to be seen that day. The UKBA's website acknowledges that it experiences delays, explaining that: "The Asylum Screening Unit operates an appointment system and will also accept applicants on a walk-in service. If you choose to use the walk-in service, you should be aware that depending on your personal circumstances, there will be no guarantee that you will be seen. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you book an appointment." In response to the Law Society's letter, the UK Border Agency said: "We are confident that the care provided to asylum seekers at the Asylum Screening Unit in Croydon is of a good standard. "Asylum seekers are given access to interpreters and information regarding the asylum process and how to contact legal representatives. UKBA takes complaints very seriously and has processes in place for those using the unit to raise any concerns they may have." <Title Foreign Office overspent by pounds 91m> <Author Syal, Rajeev> <Publication title The Guardian> <Publication date Sep 30, 2011> <Section Guardian Home Pages> <Publisher Guardian Newspapers Limited> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> The Foreign Office overspent by pounds 91m on foreign currencies and failed to manage fluctuations in the money markets, a report by MPs reveals today. But the Commons' public accounts committee concludes that the Treasury is partly to blame because it only allowed the Foreign Office to buy and sell currency on a certain day each month, whatever the predicted changes in price. Foreign Office mandarins have been asked to find a 10% reduction in the department's running costs of pounds 100m over the next four years. Margaret Hodge, the chair of the committee, said the inquiry found that the Foreign Office's currency problems were exposed following a decline in the value of sterling in 2009. "Until 2008 the Treasury protected the department against exchange-rate fluctuations. Removing that protection made the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] budget vulnerable to a fall in the pound's value. "To make matters worse, the Treasury stopped the department from managing that risk effectively by only allowing the FCO to buy foreign currency in advance on one single day each month. "Recent events in the Middle East demonstrate that the FCO cannot always predict where additional resources may need to be directed. The department should develop contingency saving measures so that it can respond to unexpected worldwide events without derailing its plans to reduce spending," she said. Hodge's committee examined why the Foreign Office needed to make drastic cuts to its budget last year, the action it took to reduce its spending, and the lessons for the department and government. It found that around half of the Foreign Office's budget is spent in foreign currencies. As a result of a decline in the value of sterling, in September 2009 the department faced an overspend of pounds 91m on its 2009 to 2010 budget. The committee noted that in 2008 the Treasury withdrew the Foreign Office's protection against exchange rate fluctuations but limited the department's freedom to manage the risk of a fall in the value of sterling. As the value of sterling plummeted, the Foreign Office found itself on track to overspend by what was then predicted to be around pounds 70m, and was forced to make emergency savings. The department cut pounds 46m from centrally managed budgets and instructed embassies and high commissions overseas, which were facing an overspend of pounds 18.8m, to live within their budgets, saving a total of pounds 60m. Some money was saved through a shake-up of back-office functions and by recruiting local workers overseas to replace UK-based staff. Embassies also reduced travel and hospitality budgets, froze recruitment and training, enforced short periods of unpaid leave on local staff and made some staff redundant. However, the report found that many of the cuts were short term and included delaying or stopping activities, which risked further costs to the public purse. For example, the Foreign Office increased the rent on a number of its foreign-owned buildings but did not assess whether such a move would impact on other government departments. A consequence was to force the UK Borders Agency, which was renting buildings from the Foreign Office in some countries, to look for cheaper premises. Hodge said that this move was counter-productive. She said: "The FCO wants to raise income and find efficiencies by sharing its overseas offices , but the high charges have actually led to departments like the UK Border Agency moving out." A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The protection against currency changes was restored as part of our settlement last year with a new mechanism which will mean better value for money for the taxpayer." <Title NHS redundancies to cost public Pounds 852m> <Author Anonymous> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Jun 30, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Taxpayers face an 852m bill for redundancies as a result of the Government's shake-up of the National Health Service. The Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, who challenged David Cameron over the figure at Prime Minister's Questions, warned that many of the staff being sacked by strategic health authorities and primary care trusts (PCTs) would be re-employed by the GP commissioning consortiums replacing PCTs. Mr Miliband said the U-turn over the original reforms would increase the number of statutory organisations in the NHS from 163 to 521, instead of cutting bureaucracy as the Government suggested. "Is this what you meant by a bonfire of the quangos?" Mr Miliband asked. The Prime Minister insisted the shake-up would save 5bn by cutting bureaucracy. He told Mr Miliband: "What we inherited was a situation where the number of managers was going up four times as fast as the number of nurses. What's happened since we took over? The number of doctors has gone up, the number of bureaucrats has gone down." <Title Attempts to muzzle debate showed No 10 at its most beastly> <Author Anonymous> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Jun 24, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> From the outset, Downing Street's response to attempts by independent- minded MPs to ban the use of wild animals in circuses was misleading and bullying. Thankfully, yesterday it also proved to be futile. Last month the Government tried to claim such a ban would breach circus owners' human rights. Then it emerged Whitehall officials had ruled out any human rights implications. At the same time they tried to blame the EU by stating that "cross-border selling regulations" would be breached by any new British legislation. Then the commission pointed out this wasn't true and member states could make exemptions on animal welfare grounds. So having lost the argument, Downing Street (and David Cameron personally) resorted to baser tactics: bullying and bribery. On Monday Tory whips told Mark Pritchard, the MP behind the Bill, that if he dropped it quietly they would give him a job for his troubles. He refused. On Wednesday night, on the eve of the debate, they threatened him: unless he withdrew the motion the Prime Minister would look upon it "very dimly indeed". He refused again and even worse for Mr Cameron revealed all the dirty tactics on the floor of the Commons. The result: Downing Street carried out the Coalition's 18th U-turn and gave MPs a free vote of the Wild Animal Bill, despite an earlier decision to issue a three-line whip. Predictably and rightly they lost without even having to go through the division lobbies. The consequences of this debacle are significant. For Mr Pritchard - an honourable man brought up on a council estate and now a leading member of the Tories' 1922 Committee - his political career is all but over. Forget ministerial office or ennoblement; he will languish on the back benches for as long as Mr Cameron is in Downing Street. His legacy will be an effective ban after the Government said it would respect the wishes of the House. And, given how much he cares about the subject, he will certainly prefer this to being under-secretary-of-state for paperclips. For Mr Cameron, it has brought into the public spotlight bullying tendencies that, until now, have been kept behind closed doors. It also raises questions about why he took such a close interest in the subject. He over-ruled his own Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, to oppose the ban. Unsubstantiated rumours have circulated all week in Westminster that he had personal reasons for doing so. Those issues are unlikely to go away soon. But amid the political shenanigans, the substance should not be forgotten. MPs stood up to the Government and voted in favour of banning the use of wild animals in circuses. That's good news for animal welfare and democracy. <Title Clarke threatens to cut free legal aid for suspects> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Jun 23, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> KENNETH CLARKE faced anger last night after threatening to scrap the automatic right of arrested suspects to receive free advice from a solicitor. As part of a drive to save 2bn from his department's budget, the Justice Secretary has announced moves to means-test suspects who want access to a lawyer provided by the state. Critics say the plan would undermine the right to equal treatment under the law regardless of background and create a new layer of bureaucracy that would hinder the criminal justice system. The move is in addition to cuts of 350m on legal aid, withdrawing it from most family disputes, as well as from medical negligence, employment, immigration, housing and debt cases. Free legal help has been guaranteed to suspects as soon as they are arrested under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984. In custody, they are entitled to advice on their legal position and to ask for a solicitor in any initial interview with police. The Act was brought in by Margaret Thatcher's government after a series of cases in which police were accused of intimidating and misleading suspects or falsifying statements. The new Sentencing and Legal Aid Bill opens the door to people's financial circumstances being taken into account before they are put in touch with a solicitor. Thousands - many of whom not eventually prosecuted - could face hefty legal bills as a result because they are deemed too well- off. The Bill says that "advice and assistance ... is not currently means-tested" but will provide "the flexibility to make it so in the future if it is considered appropriate". The Law Society said the practical problems of the move, and the implications for equal access to justice, were "horrendous". Richard Miller, its head of legal aid, said: "Having free legal advice as soon as possible is a cornerstone of the criminal justice system." A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "There are no plans to make any changes at this time." <DAILY MAIL (London)> <April 30, 2011 Saturday> <WORLD OF SPORT> <LENGTH: 329 words> LEE FIRES BACK INTO CONTENTION Lee Westwood bounced back from a disappointing first round to post a four-under-par 68 yesterday at the Ballantine's Championship in Icheon, South Korea. But the world No 1 was still six shots off the lead. Australian Brett Rumford, who had nine birdies, led the way on 10 under after a second-round 63, putting him three shots clear of Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark. In contrast to the first day when a double bogey at the final hole sent Westwood (pictured) tumbling down the leaderboard, he ended a solid round with a birdie for a total of 140. Despite the cloudy conditions, the round could have been better still as Westwood, who regained the No 1 world ranking last weekend after winning the Indonesian Masters, collected three bogeys. Great Britain's women picked up six medals on the final day of competition at the ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta in Hyeres, France. Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor won gold in their Elliot 6m women's match racing final against the USA. Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark took silver and Penny Clark and Katrina Hughes bronze in the Skandia Team GBR's 470 event. Marco Simoncelli was quickest in free practice for this weekend's Portuguese MotoGP at Estoril. The Italian (San Carlo Honda Gresini) was fastest in both sessions as he sought to make up for crashing out while leading at Jerez in the last meeting. Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) was second. Salford yesterday parted company with head coach Shaun McRae with immediate effect. Australian McRae, 51, has been on sick leave since March and the engage Super League side, who play at Harlequins today, have now reached an agreement for him to leave. Last week McRae confirmed he would not renew his contract at the end of the season. With assistant coach Malcolm Alker also on sick leave and in dispute with the club, former Wigan assistant coach Phil Veivers was temporarily put in charge. <DAILY MAIL (London)> <April 30, 2011 Saturday> <PERFECT RETURN FOR PEACOCK AS LEEDS EASE HOME> <BYLINE: BY NEIL BARRACLOUGH> <LENGTH: 446 words> ENGLAND captain Jamie Peacock is back in business Ñ and so are Leeds after a third win in eight days. Eight months ago Peacock suffered a devastating rupture of a cruciate ligament that forced him out of Leeds' play-off campaign and the Four Nations tour at the end of last season. However, his introduction from the bench after just 27 minutes got the biggest cheer of the day from the travelling supporters. He managed a 21-minute spell and returned to action for the final quarter as the pressure eased on coach Brian McDermott. The former Royal Marine was under enormous strain just 10 days ago, but victories over Bradford, Crusaders and now Castleford have coincided with the return of Peacock and Danny McGuire. Those two are arguably Leeds' greatest talents and they showed their class with the Rhinos' fourth try, when Peacock's off-load set McGuire free to round Castleford full back Richie Mathers. Buoyed by back-to-back wins over Easter, Leeds made the perfect start as they aimed for a third successive triumph. They took fewer than 90 seconds to open the scoring, with wing Kallum Watkins squeezing over from Paul McShane's sharp pass. Castleford scrum-half Rangi Chase smashed Kevin Sinfield with a well-timed tackle after just 10 minutes before collaring Brent Webb and squaring up to Brett Delaney, and those early exchanges set the tone for a bruising half in which Castleford did most of the pressing but somehow fell further behind. The Tigers had two tries disallowed after some inspirational play from Chase. The talented Kiwi combined with Mathers to give Kirk Dixon half a chance, only for Webb and Sinfield to make a superb tackle. Then Chase dummied twice and passed for Richard Owen to touch down, only for referee Richard Silverwood to rule a forward pass. Castleford fans erupted when Silverwood made the same call in the same circumstances 15 minutes later and by then Jamie Jones-Buchanan's try had stretched Leeds' advantage to 10 points. Sinfield's penalty just before the break gave the Rhinos even more comfort, but Castleford remained committed. Chase continued to boss proceedings, forcing Leeds into a drop-out after trapping Ryan Hall with a well- weighted kick. However, Cas were consistently having to rely on their scrum-half Ñ and when that didn't pay dividends, there were few other options. Instead Leeds clinched a third try when young hooker McShane produced another cute pass to give Hall just enough room in the corner. Then Peacock and McGuire combined for the fourth, before Rob Burrow extended the lead. Joe Arundel grabbed a consolation for Castleford but McShane, Ian Kirke and Hall added late tries for Leeds. <DAILY MAIL (London)> <April 30, 2011 Saturday> <FOOTBALL EXTRA> <BYLINE: BY NEIL MOXLEY> <LENGTH: 111 words> MICK McCarthy has admitted that Wolves' poor form has coincided with the loss of Kevin Doyle. The Republic of Ireland striker has been missing for a month, during which time the club have picked up only one point. Although McCarthy said it was no reflection upon Steven Fletcher, he said that Doyle's absence has been keenly felt. 'I doubt very much I can put everything down to one person being out of the team,' said McCarthy, 'and Fletch was outstanding against Fulham. But we did have a team and a formula that was working. 'In that respect, Doyle has been a loss to us.' Another blow for McCarthy is that keeper Ben Foster will be fit for tomorrow's opponents Birmingham. <DAILY MAIL (London)> <April 30, 2011 Saturday> <WILLIAMS KING OF HIS CRAFT> <LENGTH: 628 words> <IVAN SPECK at The Crucible> WATCHING Mark Williams float around the Crucible yesterday, coaxing, cajoling and sometimes bullying balls into submission, it was impossible to believe that he was on the verge of slipping into snooker obscurity just three years ago. Williams leads John Higgins 9-7 and appears poised to make it a hat-trick of World Championship semi-final victories over the Scot. Only Ronnie O'Sullivan can match Williams's talent for making this technically taxing sport look so ridiculously easy. There is no fuss about his game, no need for trick shots or tactical escapes back to the baulk cushion in order to nick frames away from his opponent. The Williams motif is to see a ball, pot it, see another one, pot that. When you have potted enough to win a frame, try to do the same in the next frame. If the other bloke can match you, good luck to him. The simplicity of it is compelling. How extraordinary, then, that back in 2008 when, at 33, he ought to have been in his prime, he began to lose against players not fit to chalk his cue. There was Simon Bedford, a journeyman who never once made it to the last 16 of a ranking event in his entire career, who knocked him out of the 2008 Grand Prix in Glasgow. A year later came the lowest, most humiliating moment of all at the Welsh Open in Newport. Playing at a venue which is less than 20 miles away from Williams's home in the village of Cwm next to Ebbw Vale, he slumped to a 5-1 defeat against David Gilbert, a player who was so unsuccessful that he was forced to supplement his snooker income by planting potatoes and working in his father's forestry business. The root cause of Williams's demise had been an acrimonious split early in 2008 from the 110 Sport management company, which also looked after Stephen Hendry. Williams believed he was not being sufficiently well rewarded for his achievements. Suddenly, the future looked less secure. He lost motivation and confidence. He practised less and played worse. Slipping to 47 in the provisional world rankings, it seemed that nothing could reverse the decline. He needed a new challenge, a fresh focus. He found one by buying a snooker centre in Tredegar in his native South Wales, giving himself new surroundings in which to practise and, with them, a new start. By the time he won the 2010 China Open, he was practising hard again. Even when he allowed Higgins to snatch the UK Championship final away from him last December, there was no longer any reason to fear for him. The drama of the past fortnight in Sheffield was largely left to others before yesterday's technicolour explosion. Breaks of 115 and 103 eased him into an 8-5 lead and by the sixth frame of the afternoon, he was taunting Higgins, toying with him by compiling early points in the frame and then leaving him in impossible positions. Higgins, who has stuttered uncharacteristically through this championship, was in disarray and was forced to dredge every last ounce of belief from deep inside himself to take the final two frames of the session and retain a chance of victory. It has been a difficult year for the Scot, beginning with the folly of allowing himself to be caught on camera discussing the unseemly business of throwing frames for money, his subsequent six-month suspension and then the death of his father, John Snr, from cancer in February. For Higgins, barring a recovery in this match, there will be happier times ahead. For Williams, May was always guaranteed to be a happy month, given that he flies to Cancun to get married to his long-term partner Joanne. It appears increasingly likely that he will do so as master of his craft once again. <DAILY MAIL (London)> <April 30, 2011 Saturday> <THE SCREAMER ... IT'S THE TALK OF FOOTBALL> <LENGTH: 395 words> <SIMON JONES> <CONTRIBUTORS: Sami Mokbel, Colin Young and Dominic King> LIVERPOOL will hold further medical tests for Rennes midfielder Sylvain Marveaux before finalising his free transfer. He has agreed a four-year deal but missed the second half of the season with a groin tear. Liverpool want to be sure it has healed. RANGERS are ready to steal a march on West Bromwich Albion by agreeing a deal for Ipswich captain Gareth McAuley. The defender, 31, is out of contract this summer after rejecting new terms at Ipswich and Rangers want him. ALEXANDER HLEB wants to return to Germany. The ex-Stuttgart midfielder, 29, has endured a difficult season on loan at Birmingham and will return to Barcelona in the summer. He said: 'If my heart could decide, I'd be moving back to Stuttgart.' Alan Pardew sees Tabanou, 22, as an ideal replacement and has already opened talks over a bid for the France U21 winger who has excelled at left back after filling in there this season. He has also been watched by Liverpool, but their preference is Enrique. However, Arsenal are concerned that Gael Clichy will not sign a new contract and have added Enrique, 25, to a list that includes Everton's Leighton Baines and Celtic's Emilio Izaguirre. ASTON VILLA are interested in Borussia Dortmund's attacking midfielder Nuri Sahin. The 22-year- old £6million-rated Turkey player has failed to agree terms on a new contract and is available for a knockdown fee. However, Villa will face strong competition from Real Madrid, Chelsea and Liverpool. MANCHESTER CITY striker John Guidetti (left) is to spark a scramble for his signature after rejecting a new contract. The Swede, 19, has scored 16 goals in 18 games for the reserves. He was loaned to Burnley this season and has attracted interest from Leicester City. He said: 'It's a good contract but simply not good enough. There are better alternatives. My contract expires this summer and then it's time to move.' CHELSEA and Manchester City scouts watched Portugal left back Fabio Coentrao play for Benfica against Braga in the Europa League on Thursday. The 23-year- old is valued at around £20million. <Title NICE 'N EASING DOES IT Author Robinson, Richard Publication title The Sun Publication date Dec 6, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> QUANTITATIVEEASING is out to improve punters' money supply on Saturday. He is 6-1 favourite for Cheltenham's Spinal Research Gold Cup. Nicky Henderson's six year-old was runner-up in the Paddy Power Gold Cup last month, seven lengths behind Great Endeavour. But he meets the winner, who has since had a hard race in the Hennessy, on 9lb better terms and should improve after just six runs over fences. Henderson has also entered Nadiya de la Vega but she is an unlikely runner. The trainer said: "Quantitativeeasing ran a great race in the Paddy Power and has been very well since. I could have done without him going up in the ratings but otherwise I am happy." David Pipe has entered I'msingingtheblues, Matuhi and Salut Flo in addition to Great Endeavour. He said: "The intention is to run them all. Great Endeavour won the Paddy Power and then ran well in the Hennessy. This will be his third race in four weeks but he seems well and it looks like he will take his chance. "I'msingingtheblues ran a cracking race in the Tingle Creek. Both Great Endeavour and I'msingingtheblues will like the better ground at Cheltenham and so will Matuhi. Salut Flo could do with a bit of rain." TOMORROW's Hexham card is under threat from snow. Track officials will inspect at 2.30pm today. <Subject Athletes> <Title Hamilton pledges his future to the 'Dream Team' as nightmare ends: Motor racing> <Author Eason, Kevin> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Nov 29, 2011> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> Lewis Hamilton is preparing to commit his future to the McLaren team that brought him into Formula One and turned him into one of the biggest stars in the sport. As Hamilton trudged to the airport after a disappointing Brazilian Grand Prix for the final journey of his gruelling Formula One season, it was time to look forward and to forget a season that will be a blot on his career record. But the former world champion remains determined that this is the start and not the end of a talent that startled Formula One when he burst on to the scene in 2007. Crucially, he has erased all thoughts of desertion, stoked earlier this season when he coveted the speed machine that Red Bull had delivered to Sebastian Vettel, who walked away with the World Championship this year. That impetuous meeting with Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, in Canada is now a distant memory and representatives from XIX Entertainment, Hamilton's management agency, have opened talks with Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, about a new contract. His Pounds 75 million, five-year deal expires at the end of 2012 and preliminary negotiations seem to mean that McLaren will secure their "Dream Team" combination of Hamilton and Jenson Button until at least 2015, now that the former appears to be over his discontent. He says he is ready to get his head down and come back fighting next year after finishing fifth in the World Championship this season. "I am looking forward to going into the winter, to take my time to recover and channel all my energy into next year," Hamilton said. "What is most important about next year is me getting back to where I should be, getting back to the good performances and getting back to winning. "I am in no rush. I don't think there is any real pressure about my commitment to the team, so there is no rush to have to do anything. I have still got a year left on my contract. I have got a year to recover. Martin has spoken to me about re-signing already. At some stage, when we have time, we will sit down and discuss it properly. Again, the most important thing is to focus on the season ahead." If Hamilton is preparing to recharge his batteries, one of the best-known and most successful personalities in the sport is leaving. Patrick Head, cofounder of the Williams team, is stepping back from Formula One after 33 years. It could barely be at a worse time: Head was in Sao Paulo to see his team end its worst season since he and Sir Frank Williams set up Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1978. The team gained only five points this season, with none on offer on Sunday. Head was behind the team who made world champions of Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill among others, but he is moving to concentrate on Williams Hybrid Power, which deals with flywheel technology for broader commercial use in buses and trains. Williams have been on a recruitment drive to replace Head with Mike Coughlan, who was the McLaren engineer at the centre of the 2007 "Spygate" scandal, taking over as technical director, Mark Gillan coming in as chief operations officer and Jason Somerville becoming the new head of aerodynamics. "I certainly didn't have an ambition to stop my involvement in Formula One with a season like this last one we have had," Head said. "But when I have a look at what specifically I can do to assist, I came to the conclusion that it isn't really enough to justify me carrying on doing the same thing. "Those three people are good and I'm quite certain they will lift the capability of the company upwards. But we have fallen to quite a poor level and have quite a long way to go. It's not going to happen over a one-year cycle." Head made in excess of Pounds 30 million after he sold more than half of his shares in Williams this year when the Williams business was floated on the Frankfurt stock exchange. <Title CANNY KENNY'S POWER STRUGGLE> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Apr 30, 2011> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> KENNY DALGLISH has admitted the new Anfield power structure is no guarantee of a return to the glory years for Liverpool. Since their Prodigal Son returned in January the Reds have been transformed, rocketing from the drop zone to the heat of a battle for Europe. New owners Fenway Sports Group bought Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll and the appointment of Ian Ayre as managing director and Damien Comolli as director of football brought further calm to previously troubled waters. It has already got Scousers dreaming that King Kenny (left) will soon win the Premier League. But Dalglish warned: "The structure is great. We have had Andy and Luis come in and they've done very well but it is only two. "We need to wait a few years before we judge it, so it remains to be seen." <Title PEARCE TO GO FOR GOLD> <Author Jiggins, Paul> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Sep 3, 2011> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> STUART PEARCE is set to be confirmed as Great Britain's 2012 Olympic coach. While the FA are refusing to comment, it is understood they will appoint the England Under-21 manager to the post later this month. Since taking over the U-21s in 2007, Pearce has guided them to three Euro Championships. And even though this summer's disappointing performance in Denmark cast a cloud over his stewardship, he was subsequently awarded a new two-year deal, covering the Olympic period. One player in line to feature in the Olympic team would be Jordan Henderson -- despite disappointing as Pearce's Young Lions failed to progress beyond the group stage at last summer's finals. But the coach revealed the reason why the Pounds 20million Liverpool new-boy was below-par -- he was knackered! Pearce (right) said: "I don't think the price tag on his move to Liverpool affected him, the season did. There was much talk about Jack Wilshere's condition but Jordan was the player we realised was flat to the boards." But Henderson was back to lead the U-21s on Thursday as they began their Euro 2013 qualifiers with a 6-0 win over Azerbaijan. Pearce added: "He's a great talent but we have to nurture him." <Morning Star> <March 16, 2011 Wednesday> <Big Bucks to win World Hurdle war> <BYLINE: Farringdon> <SECTION: SPORT> <LENGTH: 132 words> The last named hosed up in the Cleeve Hurdle last time out, but taking on the Paul Nicholls monster is a different kettle of fish. The other big event of the day is the Ryanair Chase due off at 2.40 and the key to this race is the weather. If it stays dry then last year's winner Albertas Run looks an each-way bet to nothing at around the 7/1 mark and is preferred to Poquelin and J'Vole. Earlier on, the competitive Pertemps Hurdle Final (2.05) could go to Barwell Bridge. He has been aimed at this ever since finishing well behind the placed horses in last year's Triumph Hurdle. Sivota and Viking Blonde at a price look each-way players as well. Finally take a second look at Fredo in the Kim Muir at 4.40. This three miles should be perfect and he has most to fear from Mostly Bob and Junior. <Morning Star> <March 16, 2011 Wednesday> <'Andy won't forget elbow,' says Kenny> <BYLINE: Alex Ballard> <SECTION: SPORT> <LENGTH: 343 words> The £35 million man featured as a substitute in the dismal first encounter, notable perhaps only for the moment when defender Kaka clattered Carroll in the face with his elbow. Much to the chagrin of Reds boss Kenny Dalglish, the Brazilian stopper, who was on a yellow card at the time of the foul, escaped any retrospective sanctions from Uefa. As a result Kaka is likely to end up going head to head with Carroll again, in what might prove to be a hard-hitting heavyweight duel." That will probably be what Andy remembers from the game," Dalglish said today. "I never saw it in the game, but I've seen it since and if there is no retribution from Uefa it will be a real surprise for me." Aside from the aforementioned assault and the winning penalty from Alan, conceded when Sotirios Kyrgiakos clumsily brought down Mossoro, the first leg provided some extremely unpalatable fare for the Kop. It came as no surprise - Liverpool's form in European club football's second tournament has thus far been listless and largely impotent, with the Reds scoring just one goal in five away games. Borefests against the likes of Utrecht and Sparta Prague have set a worrying precedent for a club once so feared and so effective in Europe. Dalglish's charges will have to take on Braga without the services of skipper Steven Gerrard, who is sidelined for a month with a groin injury, and Daniel Agger (knee) is also a doubt. Young midfielder Jonjo Shelvey may return after knee surgery, but Martin Kelly and Fabio Aurelio are also absent with hamstring injuries and a cup-tied Luis Suarez leaves Liverpool looking short of quality, particularly up top. Despite only being down by the odd goal, Liverpool will most likely field a side similar to that which looked so toothless in Portugal last week - something that can be ill afforded when chasing the game against a very compact Braga side. However a fired-up Carroll coming off the bench against a tiring defence just might make the difference, and may still yet provide salvation for Liverpool's dismal European campaign. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Castle Stuart lures win duo> <BYLINE: JOCK MacVICAR> <SECTION: SPORT; 70> <LENGTH: 725 words> SCOTLAND'S celebrated transatlantic "double act", Paul Lawrie and Martin Laird, will appear in the Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart in July. Last Sunday, Lawrie won the Andalucia Open in Malaga and a few hours later Laird became the first European to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Now the two champions have set their sights on more success at the spectacular new Tour venue near Inverness. It is a huge boost to the Scottish Open and to the new Highland venue, with the 1999 Open champion and the rapidly emerging Laird pledging their support. Already the Championship and the area was assured the presence of three-times Major champion Padraig Harrington, US Open winner Graeme McDowell, Masters champion Phil Mickelson and the holder, Italian Edoardo Molinari. Last night both players expessed their delight to play a links course in the week before The Open at Royal St George's, especially 42-year-old Lawrie, who finished tied sixth there in 1993 - six years before his career defining moment at Carnoustie when he claimed the Claret Jug after a play-off. "It was certainly a great weekend for Scottish golf and I hope what Martin and I achieved will inspire a few other Scots to do the same, " said Lawrie. "There has been a lot of comment about Scotland's lack of success in recent times, but it wasn't from lack of effort. "The European Tour, in my view, is the strongest in the world at the moment. Winning is never easy, and especially right now with the high quality of players." Lawrie is eager to meet up with his fellow Scot again. "It will be great to see Martin, " he added. "I remember meeting him when my coach, Adam Hunter, was in charge of the Scottish amateur squad. He was a nice lad and a good player. I was impressed with him then and I was impressed with what he did on Sunday." Laird, who finished 10th in 2009 and tied 26th last year, moved to within one place of a coveted spot in the top 20 of the world rankings on the strength of his win in Florida. "I'm looking forward to getting back to my homeland to play the Scottish Open in July, " he said from his Arizona home. MARC WARREN will make his first appearance on the European Challenge Tour in six years at the Barclays Kenya Open in Nairobi this week. The Glasgow golfer won twice on the second-tier circuit on his way to topping the rankings in 2005 before going on to win two titles on the European Tour and a World Cup with Colin Montgomerie. He is joined in Kenya this week by former PGA champion Scott Drummond and Team Scottish Hydro members Gavin Dear, Craig Lee, Callum Macaulay, Jamie McLeary and Chris Doak. Meanwhile, Montgomerie has agreed to be the next president of the Golf Foundation, the charity which works to make the sport more accessible to children from all backgrounds. Last year's Ryder Cup captain will take over from former European Tour executive director Ken Schofield in May and combine the role with his playing career. The 47- year-old said: "I have long admired the work of the Golf Foundation and feel very honoured to be taking up this position. "Golf has played such an important part in my life and I look forward to working with the Golf Foundation to inspire as many youngsters as possible to take up this great game." SCOTTISH golf could lose GBP 1million of government funding if the proposed amalgamation between the SGU and the SLGA doesn't go through. Officials indicated as much yesterday at Dalmahoy, where the radical new structure took a significant step forward. "You never can say definitely, " said SGU chief executive Hamish Gray, when asked if continued government funding hangs on a "yes" vote. "But I think we'd be comfortable in saying there is a significant likelihood of that happening. "Sportscotland have a policy of one governing body per sport, which you can understand. I believe that bowls agreed to amalgamate in December, which leaves us as the only one with separate bodies." At the moment the Scottish government inject GBP 1m into golf, half going to cover the transition from amateur to professional and the other half to the grassroots club golf scheme. Scotland, Ireland, England and South Africa are the only countries left whose amateur bodies - men's and women's - are not amalgamated. Out of 220 clubs who attended seminars during the winter, only five were against the SGU and SLGA combining. <DAILY MAIL (London)> <April 30, 2011 Saturday> <RETURN OF THE MAN-EATER> <BYLINE: BY RICHARD PRICE> <LENGTH: 1995 words> For a man who looks like a scruffy geography teacher, Sir Trevor Nunn certainly has a way with the ladies. How else can one explain his ability to juggle two alluring younger women, each two decades his junior and as different as chalk and cheese? There he was on Monday morning, basking in the Cornish sun, with the unmistakable figure of Nancy Dell'Olio by his side posing for the cameras in knee-high boots and aviator sunglasses. The unlikely couple were out again the following night for dinner in London's Knightsbridge, Sir Trevor in his trademark battered plimsolls while his heavily made-up companion teamed a pair of strappy wedge heels with some seriously bling costume jewellery. The next morning, however, the 71-year-old theatre director was in his dressing gown on the doorstep of his London home chatting happily with another woman: his wife, Imogen Stubbs. What a difference 12 hours makes. It is hard to imagine Nancy appearing in public, as Imogen did on Wednesday morning, in a scruffy pair of pyjamas, sans make-up, and with un- brushed hair. Yet the contrast between the two women in Sir Trevor's life runs far deeper than mere aesthetics. On one hand there is the renowned classical actress Imogen, 50, the daughter of a retired naval commander, with her double first in English from Oxford. On the other is Italian firebrand Nancy, a controversial 49 (no birth certificate has ever been located), once a lawyer but now known almost exclusively for her tempestuous relationship with Sven Goran Eriksson, the former England football manager. Somehow, Sir Trevor, described as a 'charming flirt' is managing to keep both of them happy, yet for how much longer remains to be seen. For at the heart of this extraordinary mŽnage a trois lies a fundamental problem: the women can't stand the sight of each other, with each determined to oust the other. It goes some way towards explaining Imogen's inconsistent statements this week. In 24 hours she went from insisting that she and her husband were very much together, though admitting they were going through 'a difficult time', to stating that they were separating 'after 21 wonderful years together'. So why the sudden change of tune? The truth, I have learned from a close friend of Nancy's, is that Imogen's hand was forced by her rival's determination to make her affair with Sir Trevor public. After two months of secretly meeting at her Belgravia house, Nancy grew tired of the secrecy and decided to take action. Cue a suspiciously well-informed newspaper article lifting the lid on how Sir Trevor was 'smitten' with his Italian lover. Suddenly, Imogen was forced to address the issue and soon afterwards was revealing: 'There has been someone else in my life for a while. The testament to our friendship and respect for each other is the dignity with which Trevor has dealt with this knowledge.' Suddenly the tables were turned, and it was Imogen volunteering she was the unfaithtful one first. How odd, then, that despite their separation, she and Trevor continue to live under the same roof. In fact this rather bohemian arrangement has been going on for almost a year, and impeccably placed sources close to the couple insist that the Nunns were happy to continue with this unconventional arrangement Ñ were it not for the arrival on the scene of Nancy. Small wonder Moragh Darby, the married couple's long-standing assistant and friend, sounded weary when she told me this week: 'This has been the state of affairs for some time now so it's hardly a new situation. They are both very clear that they don't want to say anything else at this time, but yes, they're still living together and life is going on as normal.' That rather depends on one's definition of 'normal', especially given the secrecy surrounding the new man in Imogen's life. She has remained tight-lipped on the subject, amid widespread gossip in theatrical circles that her paramour is a younger actor who is in a long-term relationship of his own. One name in the frame is Patrick Kennedy, a handsome 33-year-old Irish-American with a background in period drama, who appeared opposite her in a touring production of The Glass Menagerie last year. Both his representatives and Imogen's declined to comment last night. Whatever the story, there is no denying the unusual domestic arrangements of Sir Trevor and Imogen, who met through work, and who live in West London with their daughter Ellie, who has just turned 20, and their 14-year- old son Jesse. The family home in Hammersmith consists of two properties, both purchased by Sir Trevor in the Nineties, which have been knocked into one. Local estate agents put the value of the combined property at £6 million. 'The property is so huge that they're able to, effectively, live independently from one another under the same roof,' a house guest told me this week. 'The distance between them has been a gradual thing, but over the past year it became increasingly obvious that the marriage had run its course. I wouldn't go so far as to call it an open relationship, but there was certainly leeway to develop their own friendships. They're a very bohemian couple. 'In all honesty I think they would have carried on merrily with the same arrangement if it weren't for Nancy. She's landed in the middle of them like a hand grenade, threatening to blow everything apart.' Certainly it is hard to imagine a more different woman from Imogen, yet in recent months Sir Trevor has developed something of an obsession with the raven-haired Italian. They first met in 2004 when Nancy attended a production of Hamlet at the Old Vic theatre. She was still in a relationship with Sven Goran Eriksson at the time, and it was not until last year that she renewed her acquaintance with Sir Trevor. Nancy's circle are adamant that it was Sir Trevor who 'vigorously' pursued her after they bumped into each other at the Ivy Club Ñ a private member's club above the famous Ivy restaurant, on a number of occasions earlier this year. He invited her to join his table, bought her champagne and a flirtation unfolded over a period of several months. Initially, Nancy was far from convinced, but gradually declared herself to be 'enchanted' with his 'intelligence and old school manners Ñ plus the fact that he is very generous'. No small matter for a woman who had become accustomed to the finer things in life through her relationship with the well-remunerated former manager of the England football team. This is a woman who dresses exclusively in designer clothes and eschews taxis in favour of a chauffeur-driven Bentley, despite having no obvious source of income. 'Sir Trevor would never let her pay for anything, and Nancy is very old fashioned in her attitude to that sort of thing,' one of her closest friends told me this week. 'It was a slow-burn flirtation but he loves her Geisha-like way of making him the centre of her attention at all times. I get the impression that's not really Imogen's style. 'They would always meet up at the Ivy Club because it's a discreet place for celebrities to hang out without attracting attention. Then after a couple of months the relationship moved on to the next level and they started meeting at her place although he was still very nervous about going public. 'Nancy isn't like that. When she's with someone then she is completely committed, and she was never going to be happy about being hidden away. It's no secret that her friends leaked the story with her consent and it suits Nancy down to the ground that it's all out in the open now.' Sir Trevor, who has been entitled to draw an old-age pension for six years, is a laid-back character and was happy to take his new relationship slowly. Yet last weekend he bowed to growing pressure from Nancy and introduced her to a group of friends during a bank holiday break at his £750,000 cliff-top holiday cottage in Cornwall. One can only wonder how she fits in with his theatrical cronies Ñ the likes of Kevin Spacey, Sir Tom Stoppard and Dame Judi Dench, with whom he dines regularly when in London. But as was seen during her relationship with the perpetually philandering Sven, Nancy is nothing if not committed. 'Anyone who knows the real Nancy will tell you she's looking for a happy ever after,' adds the friend. 'She desperately wants to settle down. Trevor's age doesn't worry her in the slightest. It's the power of a man which attracts her, and he is a huge figure in British theatre. Don't be fooled by his scruffy exterior, either. We're talking about a man who dyes his hair and his beard Ñ he doesn't want to grow old gracefully any more than Nancy does. 'Plus it doesn't do any harm that he's got a healthy bank balance. As far as Nancy is concerned Trevor is definitely a "keeper", though by the sound of things Imogen isn't particularly thrilled about it.' Their whirlwind romance continued apace on Thursday night when they were, again, spotted enjoying an intimate dinner at the Ivy Club. Fellow diners reported that Nancy was eagerly introducing her new man to every passing acquaintance, while Sir Trevor sat stroking her leg for much of the evening. 'They certainly weren't hiding their light under a bushel,' remarked one highly amused observer. 'It was like watching a couple of smitten 18-year-olds in action. Bordering on inappropriate at times.' No wonder that Imogen who, earlier this week said she was 'happy about any new friendships [Sir Trevor] is forming', is privately understood to be bewildered by his dalliance with a woman so far removed from the intellectuals he normally associates with, as well as being deeply concerned about how the relationship will affect their children. Given the mysterious state of her own love life, however, she is in no position to lecture anyone. It is somehow fitting that many of the plays which have defined her long career have focused on the complexities of marriage Ñ a subject she herself commented on in an essay written in 2008. At the time she was appearing in a production of Scenes From A Marriage by Ingmar Bergman, directed by her husband, and confessed to having 'some sympathy' with the view that a wedding was 'an excuse for a party rather than . . . a declaration of lifelong commitment'. Imogen, who is Sir Trevor's third wife, added: 'Although married myself, I have always felt somewhat ambivalent about a legal document sealing an emotional commitment.' With her children becoming more independent, it is only natural her thoughts have turned to where her life is going, and a career which has somehow failed to capitalise on the promise of her earlier years. Despite appearing in the film version of Sense And Sensibility, alongside Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, her screen career failed to take off. Perhaps fittingly, she has made something of a speciality out of performing in stage productions about the intricate dance of marriage Ñ including playing the lead in Harold Pinter's Betrayal at the National (once again directed by her husband), which she regards as the highlight of her career. That, however, was way back in 1998, and her only performances in the past two years have been in regional productions Ñ most recently in Private Lives at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre. That in itself was very much the poor relation of last year's much lauded West End production, starring Kim Catrall and Matthew Macfadyen. 'I've done a few marriage plays,' Imogen said in a recent interview. 'In fact, I've even thought about doing a little season of them. 'They're really fascinating and, in the end, they're all very similar. They are all about the fact that the most overwhelmingly potent and the most extraordinary thing in life, as well as the most destructive and hurtful and cruel, is love.' How their own very real romantic drama will play out over the coming weeks remains to be seen. But with Nancy among the cast, it's sure to have a very colourful denouement. <Title Society: Under threat: 400 years of social history: Plans to privatise Royal Mail could put at risk an important record of thousands of people's working lives.> <Author Allan, Clare> <Publication title The Guardian> <Publication date Sep 28, 2011> <Section Guardian Society Pages> <Publisher Guardian Newspapers Limited> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> There's a photograph of my grandfather taken when he was 14 years old, not long after the end of the first world war. He is dressed in the slim-fitting uniform of a telegram delivery boy: kepi with gilt insignia, high-collared tunic, leather pouch attached to the belt at his waist. The thick woollen gloves and tall laced boots suggest that it is winter. My guess is that this is his first day at work. His birthday was on November 5. It is one of the very few things I know about him. My grandfather, Robert Joseph Allan, stands beside his bicycle, looking into the camera. There is a shy determination about him, a consciousness of his new responsibilities. A sense too of a childhood packed hastily away; his working life has begun. The photograph has always held a fascination for me. I never knew my grandfather, he was the only one of my grandparents to die before I was born. My other grandparents I knew as elderly people, their older selves stand superimposed on earlier photographs - wedding pictures, days at the beach, on honeymoon in Scotland. Robert Joseph Allan I encountered first when he was a boy. Though separated by 60 years, we were nonetheless children together. Perhaps that's why I've always felt such a sense of connection to him. Socialist values My grandfather's influence on my life has been profound. And yet of his I know only the barest outline. The son of a tailor's cloth cutter, he grew up in Clerkenwell, north London, close to where I live now. He left full-time education at the age of 14, became a telegram boy, took himself through night school, came top of the civil service entrance exams and ultimately was awarded an OBE. His only child, my father, won a scholarship to Cambridge University and went on to become an academic. Now he is dead too, with all his memories of his father, save a last few fragments passed down to my sister and me. My sister and I share our grandfather's mouth, a look about the eyes, his old chess set, and the ability to play it (he taught our father, our father taught us), a complete set of Charles Dickens' works, his socialist values, and the photograph. It isn't much. I am shocked by the speed at which a life can vanish into the past. It was with the hope of discovering more that I went with my sister to visit the British Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA). Packed into two and a half miles of shelving in an underground former boiler room at the Royal Mail's Mount Pleasant sorting office in Clerkenwell are records relating to more than 400 years of postal communications. It is an extraordinary resource, offering an intimate glimpse into thousands of ordinary working lives; by 1914, the Post Office was the biggest economic enterprise in Britain and the largest single employer of labour in the world. A public postal service was first introduced by Charles I in 1635, with letters carried between "posts" by mounted post-boys. It remained essentially unchanged until 1782, when John Lombard, a theatre owner from Bath, came up with the idea of carrying mail by high speed coach. In 1840, the introduction of uniform penny postage opened it up for mass communication. The next hundred years saw the Post Office adapting to new technologies, such as the telegraph and telephone. It was nationalised in 1969, then in 1981 the telecommunications arm was split off to form British Telecom. During the last decade, the postal service has struggled to adjust to the internet age. With a postal service bill having received royal assent paving the way for privatisation, the Royal Mail faces an uncertain future. Among the archives and exhibits at the BPMA are the human stories of the thousands of people who lived and worked within it. There are letters cross-written to minimise postage, so you turn the paper 90 degrees to read the second page, and letters marked heavily in black ink so when the envelope was held up to the light the recipient could see it contained bad news and pay the charge to receive it. There are letters containing diagrams of pillar box designs sent in by the public in an effort to foil the attacks of suffragettes, who saw them as a symbol of government, at times destroying thousands in a single night. One file contains "objectionable and annoying letters addressed to members of the royal household", dozens of them from the same individual, an Irish man obsessed with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, who threatened to kill George V in 1914. There are also 90 paintings in the archive. Some are of Post Office dignitaries, others depict mail coaches racing out of the City of London's St Martins le Grand, where a lively gambling culture developed with bets laid on which coach would come in first. There are two paintings of an incident that took place in October 1816 when the Exeter mail coach was attacked by a lioness escaped from a nearby circus. The employment records hold particular fascination. Written in elegant sloping hand are listed the names of every Post Office employee over the age of 18, together with the date and place of employment. Disciplinary issues are noted. The same names crop up again and again. A group of four delivery boys see their pay docked repeatedly for "playing cards at work". Many official letters relate to matters of "immorality", female workers becoming pregnant and "bringing the service into disrepute". Married women were barred from employment until 1946 and there are many letters between officials trying to find ways around the guidelines in order to help women who had stopped work after marriage and were later abandoned but unable to earn a living. The BPMA's rather unprepossessing search room, down a pothole-filled side street behind the Mount Pleasant complex, suggests little of the riches buried in the boiler room beneath. And while most of the archive material can be requested without an appointment, viewing some items, such as the paintings, require prior arrangements. The tiny exhibition area displays highlights of the philatelic collection, but larger items such as postal equipment, uniforms and vehicles are kept in a museum store in Essex, which holds open days through the year. National importance As a charity, the BPMA depends on pounds 2m of annual funding from Royal Mail and though the archive has been designated as being of outstanding national importance, the rest of the collection enjoys no such protection. This is a particular concern with privatisation looming. Plans to build a postal museum in Swindon were aborted earlier this year when Royal Mail withdrew its funding. Royal Mail and BPMA are now in discussions about a new home for the collections and Royal Mail chair Donald Brydon has taken a personal interest in helping to secure access to the collections into the future. When my sister and I went to the BPMA, among the thousands of records we found our grandfather, the missing piece of our genetic jigsaw, appointed to the post of telegraphist at the Central Telegraph Office in 1923. Just a name and a date and a place of employment, but seeing the words written in that sloping hand lent him a tangible living existence in a way no photograph could. Once a five-storey building on St Martins le Grand, the Central Telegraph Office was the nerve centre of the British Empire. Now demolished, in its place stands a 1980s office block housing BT's headquarters. Opposite is the former General Post Office, with a statue in front of reformer Rowland Hill - whose proposals led to the creation of a uniform charge for letters and the world's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black. We stood outside the BT Centre, surrounded by people talking on mobile phones, and tried to imagine our grandfather, the newly promoted telegram boy arriving, nervous, for his first day at work. "What would he have thought," my sister said. "That serious looking boy with the bike, if he could have seen us here, his granddaughters, almost a century later." <Subject Cellular telephones; Donations; Young adults> <Title Teenagers tap in to charity donations by phone> <Author Fildes, Nic; Kenber, Billy> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Dec 27, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Teenagers and young people are increasingly being persuaded to donate to charity using their mobile phones, bringing in millions of pounds a year from a group that charities have traditionally found hard to reach. New figures show that almost one in four young people is likely to donate by text, compared with just one in ten a year ago, according to the research company npfSynergy. Donations by text are also increasingly generous, with PhonepayPlus, the phoneline regulator, recording a 40 per cent rise in the value of the average donation over the past year. "These early indications show the estimate that text donations will be worth Pounds 96 million annually by 2014 is easily achievable," the regulator said. Although only a maximum of Pounds 10 can be donated via each text, the technology has become an increasingly important revenue stream. More than 200 charities have registered with PhonepayPlus to directly receive funds by text message. Mobile phone users simply tap in a short code unique to a charity to donate funds, while gift aid is automatically collected. <Title Couples seek IVF treatment abroad> <Author Smith, Lewis> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Jun 30, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Couples desperate for a baby are being forced abroad because of a lack of sperm and egg donors in the UK, researchers say. A new study found the most popular destinations for treatment are Spain and the Czech Republic, followed by the US. Major reasons for seeking fertility treatment abroad were a lack of donors in the UK, long waiting times for NHS treatment, high costs and a "postcode lottery" in accessing IVF. The research, published in the journal Human Reproduction, also found that some of those going abroad for treatment were attracted by the anonymity of donors in other countries, and by the option of having more than one embryo transferred during a treatment cycle, which is not common practice in the UK. The latest available figures show 396 men registered with UK regulators to donate sperm in 2008, while 1,150 women registered as egg donors. In 2008, 39,879 women had IVF treatment in the UK, of whom 1,306 were treated with donor eggs. <Title CHILLER KILLER: BLIZZARDS TRIGGER TRAVEL CHAOS Trucker dies in tanker smash on snow- hit motorway> <Author Duffy, Gerry; Love, Annabelle> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Dec 6, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A TRUCKER was killed in a horror smash yesterday as Arctic blasts of snow triggered travel misery across Scotland. The 43-year-old driver died after two 40-tonne tankers crashed on the M73 -- sending diesel spilling across the carriageway. Cops were forced to shut a busy stretch of the motorway at Baillieston, Glasgow -- sparking huge tailbacks on the southbound M80. And icy conditions led to further delays on the M8, M74 in South Lanarkshire, and the A9, where a driver suffered chest injuries in a smash near Dalguise in Perthshire. The chaos followed snowfalls of up to SIX INCHES in areas like Lanarkshire and Dumfriesshire, while temperatures plunged to - 7.7 [degrees]C in the Cairngorm mountains. Transport minister Keith Brown said 130 gritters were out overnight with 3,000 tonnes of salt. However, snow and ice also led to train delays after a number of point failures between Cumbernauld and Motherwell. In the Western Isles, Stornoway airport was closed as snow was cleared from the runway -- hitting services to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen. Hundreds of parents also had to make last-minute childcare arrangements as schools shut in Lanarkshire, Dumfriesshire and the Highlands. Sarah Holland, of the Met Office, said a thaw is expected tomorrow -- before gales and blizzards batter the country on Thursday and Friday. She said: "We do still have alerts in place for snow and there could be gale-force winds up to 80mph in coastal areas." Meanwhile, it's believed homeless Barry Cannon, 44 -- found dead on a beach in Peterhead on Saturday -- may have frozen to death. But Grampian Police would only say: "The male is yet to be formally identified." <Subject Political parties> <Title Unions keep vote power> <Publication title The Daily Mirror> <Publication date Sep 26, 2011> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> By JAMES LYONS ED Miliband has climbed down on his plan to give less say in leadership elections to the unions who elected him over brother David. The Labour chief wanted to dilute their influence with new votes from "supporters" - registered members of the public. But, if the changes are voted through by conference today, each of the electoral colleges - MPs, members and unions - will be affected evenly. The U-turn, following activists' concerns, has not eased tension over the "pushing through" of Peter Hain's Refounding Labour package. Vauxhall member Dominic Curran said: "Conference isn't being trusted." The system saw David lose when unions backed Ed, but the former Foreign Secretary yesterday dismissed talk of brotherly tension as "hooey". David, who Ed added was "of course" welcome to a return to the front bench, left for the week after speaking at a rally last night. <Subject Political parties> <Title MPs warned of monthly benefits risk> <Publication title The Daily Mirror> <Publication date Sep 14, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Plans to make benefit payments monthly risk driving families into the arms of loan sharks, ministers were warned yesterday. Iain Duncan smith announced the move as part of a shake-up which will also see migrants forced to learn English to get benefits. The Work and Pensions secretary says paying cash once a month instead of fortnightly will help people learn to budget properly and prepare them for work. But Citizens Advice hit back, warning it could "lead to rent arrears and further debt problems". And Labour MP Kate Green said it will force people to borrow if they are faced with unexpected bills. Mr Duncan smith insisted the change, due with the launch of universal Credit in 2013, will make jobseekers more comfortable with the prospect of being paid once a month by employers. <Subject Labour unions; Civil disobedience> <Title Unions 'will break laws to get even'> <Author Ellis, Mark> <Publication title The Daily Mirror> <Publication date Sep 13, 2011> <Section Editorial; Opinion, Leading Articles> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> UNION leaders have warned of a mass campaign of civil disobedience to oppose Government cuts. Bob Crow, boss of rail union RMT, told the TUC conference in London yesterday that blocking motorways and disrupting large-scale events were possible tactics. He said: "It runs in the veins of trade union movements to mobilise civil disobedience and resistance if workers come under attack." Delegates also agreed to consider a legal challenge against the Coalition, vowing to campaign against "anti-union" laws and any attempt to bring in new legislation. The GMB's Paul Kenny said: "Bad laws have to be broken in protest at the erosion of civil liberties." He added: "Disobedience has a place in our history. If going to prison is the price to pay for standing up to bad laws, then so be it." But Labour leader Ed Miliband will today warn against using strikes as revenge against the Government. They should help their members "get on, not get even", he will say. He will ask them to work more closely with private industry, saying: "We need private sector employers in the new economy to recognise you are relevant to the future." <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <Contract killing> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 16> <LENGTH: 52 words> Vodafone calls on some contracts will soar from 15p to 25p per minute. Orange pay-as-you-go rates will rise from 20p to 25p, and other firms are set to follow. Ernest Doku, of uSwitch.com, said: "This will be a slap in the face to consumers." <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <Drawing Lotts> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 16> <LENGTH: 68 words> BRITAIN'S biggest-ever lottery jackpot is up for grabs on Friday - a mouth-watering £136million. The gigantic EuroMillions pot came after no-one won last night's big-money Euro draw. A National Lottery spokesman said: "If a single ticket-holder were to win, they would soar to the top of the exclusive National Lottery Rich List." Britain's biggest winner so far bagged £113million in October but stayed anonymous. <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <Watchdog raps credit card 'sting'> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 10> <LENGTH: 85 words> AIRLINES and travel companies were yesterday told to stop springing extra charges on customers who pay by card. Customers click through several online pages before the charge is added. The Office for Fair Trading (OFT) has advised firms to make credit card surcharges clear in the quoted price. A family could be stung for £32. If they do not co-operate voluntarily, the OFT will take legal action. It is also pressing the Government to ban surcharges for all debit cards, which cost airlines a few pence to process. <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <Facecrook rap> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 10> <LENGTH: 71 words> A WOMAN did a runner from a guesthouse without paying a £400 bill, which included a barrel of beer. Helen Ogden, 27, of Manchester, who posed as a heart surgeon, was tracked down by the owners of Westdale guest house at Llandudno, North Wales, using Facebook. At Llandudno Magistrates Court she admitted not paying Westdale's and two other bills. She was given a six- month conditional discharge and told to pay £815 compensation. <Daily Star> <June 28, 2011 Tuesday> <Robber's cover-up> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 23> <LENGTH: 65 words> AN armed man who robs travel agents while wearing a burka is being hunted by police. Officers say the thief uses the sensitivity surrounding the wearing of the Muslim women's outfit to carry out the raids, which have netted him a "substantial" amount of money in Dunstable, Beds. Detective Sergeant Terry David said: "Witnesses are sure it is a man because of the voice, build and mannerisms." <Daily Star> <June 28, 2011 Tuesday> <Girl's jail warning for Moat Pc taunt> <BYLINE: LAURA NEIL> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 23> <LENGTH: 144 words> A WOMAN who made a gun gesture and shouted "bang" at blind Pc David Rathband has been warned she faces jail. Mr Rathband, 43, said he had been left "deeply hurt and upset" by the incident. The bobby was blinded after being shot in the face by killer Raoul Moat. Kelsey Donkin, 22, carried out the stunt as Mr Rathband made his way to court for the trial of Moat's accomplices Karl Ness, 27, and Qhuram Awan, 23, in March. Sick In a statement yesterday to Newcastle Magistrates' Court, Mr Rathband said: "I feel sick at the thought of someone saying 'bang bang' behind my back. "This is the first time I have encountered any maliciousness or animosity towards me." Donkin, of Sunderland, admitted a charge of disorderly conduct. She will be sentenced at a later date. Chair of the bench Mr Brian O'Dwyer warned her that they were looking at sentencing her to 12 weeks in jail. <Daily Star> <June 28, 2011 Tuesday> <Suitcase tragedy> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 25> <LENGTH: 67 words> A PENSIONER was killed as she tried to dodge motorway traffic to retrieve a suitcase. The 64-year- old had just set off on holiday with her husband when the case fell from the roof rack of their Mazda 2 Antares. The woman, from Walsall, West Mids, was hit by a Ford Fiesta as she tried to get from the hard shoulder to the fast lane of the M40, near Warwick. An inquest will be opened and adjourned this week. <Daily Star> <June 28, 2011 Tuesday> <Brit lad critical in Oz> <BYLINE: FRANK THORNE> <SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 25> <LENGTH: 157 words> RELATIVES of a British backpacker fighting for his life are flying to Australia to be at his bedside. Daniel Moore, 21, had been out with friends in Sydney when he was found unconscious. He was taken to hospital with a fractured skull, broken ribs and internal bleeding. Last night his condition was critical. Police are unsure whether Daniel was assaulted or the victim of a hit-and-run. They have also appealed for a taxi driver who dropped off Daniel in Manly at 4am to come forward. His family are flying in from Redcar, North Yorks, and are expected to be at his bedside by tomorrow. Inspector Bob Bell said police were following up some leads but were unsure of what happened. He said: "It's a bit of a mystery. Daniel is the one bloke who can throw light on the whole thing and we haven't been able to speak to him because of his condition. "He was just doing the touristy thing and I did hear he was possibly saving his money to go to Bali." < Daily Star> <June 28, 2011 Tuesday> <Dream prom just a sham> <BYLINE: JANE O'GORMAN> <SECTION: FEATURES; OPINION, COLUMN; Pg. 40> <LENGTH: 127 words> I'VE told all my friends that I've got an amazing outfit lined up for our end-of-year prom night. They think I'm having a spray tan and full makeover. I've even hinted that I might be getting a lift in a limo or a helicopter. But it's all a lie. I've got nothing planned because I haven't got any money, and neither has my mum. I'm so embarrassed I'm tempted to go sick on the night. JANE SAYS: Is there any way that you can borrow a dress from a family friend or female relative? Also, what about charity shops or car boot sales? It would be a terrible shame to miss out on this special night. Talk to your mum, or your year head, and see if you can come up with something. But stop telling porkies because you're only digging yourself into a bigger hole. Good luck. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <World leaders ready to arm opposition forces> <BYLINE: By Macer Hall Political Editor> <SECTION: NEWS; 17> <LENGTH: 256 words> LIBYAN rebels may be given arms to help them end Colonel Gaddafi's despotic regime. Western leaders last night declared it could be legal to hand weapons to the tyrant's enemies. Foreign Secretary William Hague told a conference in London that support for the international alliance against Gaddafi was rapidly gaining global support as allied forces pledged to continue with air strikes. The Foreign Secretary was chairing a gathering of senior figures from more than 40 nations, including representatives from the Arab League and Nato, to discuss the next step in the offensive. Opening the meeting, Prime Minister David Cameron said Gaddafi was carrying out "murderous attacks" against his people and declared the mission had "saved lives." He added: "Ultimately, the solution must be a political one - and it must be for the Libyan people themselves to determine their own destiny." By last night the alliance had agreed to set up a contact group, including Arab states, to give political guidance for the response to the war and coordinate longterm support to Libya. The group did not formally discuss the option of arming the rebels. But after the meeting France said it was ready to talk through the arming of Gaddafi's opponents with its coalition partners, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested it would be legal to do so. No decisions were taken on the future of Gaddafi but Italy has suggested he may be allowed to go into exile. Mr Hague said: "We want the Libyan people to be in the lead in determining their future." <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <'Gang rape victim' faces charge> <BYLINE: By Jane Wharton> <SECTION: NEWS; 17> <LENGTH: 142 words> A LIBYAN alleged rape victim is to face criminal charges under the Gaddafi regime for daring to name her attackers. The woman, Eman al-Obaidi claims she was detained by troops at a Tripoli checkpoint then handcuffed and assaulted by 15 men loyal to the dictator. Now she is being charged with slander, the government said yesterday. Ms Obaidi burst into a hotel full of foreign journalists in Tripoli to recount her claims on Saturday but was subdued by security men, who also beat journalists. She was then bundled into a car. Libyan authorities have labelled Ms Obaidi a drunk, a prostitute and a thief. Her mother says her lawyer daughter is being held in a compound in Tripoli and that she has been asked to convince her to retract the allegations in return for freedom and cash or a new home. Ms Obaidi's allegations have not been independently verified. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Accused was 'shocked' wife hadn't signed life insurance> <BYLINE: By Wilma Riley> <SECTION: NEWS; 29> <LENGTH: 378 words> MURDER accused Malcolm Webster was "very surprised" to discover a half-a-million-dollar insurance policy on his second wife's life was not in force, a court heard yesterday. The High Court in Glasgow was told how Felicity Drumm revealed to him that she had not signed the document. Jurors heard the subject came up in conversation after her parents' house in New Zealand went on fire and the couple had to stay in a nearby hotel. Ms Drumm, 50, told Derek Ogg QC, prosecuting: "He said, 'That ust highlights the need for insurance'. I said I hadn't signed the policy and if something happened to me 'you wouldn't be collecting'." Asked if the accused was shocked, Ms Drumm replied: "Yes. He was very surprised. He was quite aghast." She said Webster then phoned the insurance company and got the salesman to come to the hotel that day. The jury was shown a copy of the policy, which came into force on February 10, 1999. Two days later, the couple were involved in a car crash in Auckland after Webster claimed the steering of their Honda Accord was not working properly. Ms Drumm's life was also insured for GBP 100,000 with Scottish Provident and GBP 205,000 with Marks and Spencer but she knew nothing about these policies. Webster is also accused of murdering his first wife, Claire, who died following a car crash in Aberdeenshire in 1994. Ms Drumm said she opened a savings account with 140,000 New Zealand dollars in it on December 1, 1998 but just over three weeks later, Webster transferred NZ$58,900 out. And when she closed the account in February 1999 there was only NZ$1,605 left. The court also heard that Webster bought a petrol can despite repeatedly claiming he would never carry fuel in a car again after Claire's death. Ms Drumm said she found a petrol station receipt in his briefcase. She said: "Following Claire's death he told me he didn't carry petrol in the car." Webster eventually left New Zealand after Ms Drumm confronted him, claiming he had been trying to kill her and that he had taken secret life insurance policies out on her. Webster, 51, of Guildford, Surrey, denies trying to murder Ms Drumm and murdering his first wife. He also denies intending to bigamously marry Simone Banarjee, of Oban, Argyll, to gain access to her estate. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Sian police tribute to 'unknown lady'> <BYLINE: By John Chapman> <SECTION: NEWS; 30> <LENGTH: 204 words> DETECTIVES investigating the murder of Sian O'Callaghan are still working to establish the identity of a body found at a second site. As they completed their search yesterday, officers laid flowers next to a wooden cross, with the message: "To an unknown lady. Now you can rest in peace." Excavation work has been taking place at the site in Eastleach, Gloucestershire - 17 miles from where Sian's body was discovered. A Wiltshire Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that work to recover a second body at Eastleach has been completed and the scene released. Forensic investigations to establish the identity of this young woman are ongoing using DNA, and the speed of this identification process relies on whether or not we have her DNA on a database." Speculation is pointing to a Vietnamese woman, Hai Nguyen, 20, who went missing from her temporary home in Swindon in June 2005. Police have said the body parts could belong to a woman aged 23 to 30, who was abducted in Swindon between 2003 and 2005. Minicab driver Christopher Halliwell, 47, from Swindon, is accused of murdering Sian 22. Her body was found last Thursday close to the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire. Halliwell is due before Bristol Crown Court today. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Sadistic yobs kill little girl's kitten with a 40ft drop-kick> <BYLINE: By Jane Mathews> <SECTION: NEWS; 19> <LENGTH: 289 words> A SICK teenage yob killed a kitten belonging to a seven-year-old girl by drop-kicking it "like a rugby ball" for 40ft. Heartbroken Tia Duke's family has appealed for help to trace a group of boys who tormented her four-month-old pet Tasmin before one took a run-up and kicked her through the air. The stricken animal was found by Tia's mother Julie after she was alerted by a horrified neighbour who saw the incident. Tia, of Plymouth, Devon, said: "I j ust want these people to be caught so they won't do it to any other animals. She was so important to me and I loved her very much and have been left very upset by what has happened. I'm begging anyone who knows anything to tell the police.'' The neighbour saw the gang of four teenagers "tossing around" the helpless kitten outside the family home. The witness then saw one, described as a white male aged 15 or 16, deliver the fatal kick. Julie, 45, bought her daughter the kitten as a Christmas present. She said: "I just hope they catch whoever did this. They have broken Tia's heart. She is devastated. It is horrible and I'm absolutely disgusted. Why would anyone think it's OK to do something like that?'' She added: "We'd only just started letting Tasmin out. We'd kept her inside for three months. "I'm not letting our two other cats out now. I don't want anything to happen to them.'' A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: "The witness heard the cat screech and land about 40ft away. This was a sick and cruel attack on a defenceless animal and somebody's much-loved pet.'' "Horrified" RSPCA spokesman Andy Robbins said that the thug could receive a six-month prison sentence and be fined up to GBP 20,000 if found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Boy's night alone with dead mum> <BYLINE: By Paul Jeeves> <SECTION: NEWS; 19> <LENGTH: 117 words> A BOY of four spent the night alone with the bodies of his mother and sister after they had been murdered at home. Police discovered the bodies of 42-year-old Tracy Donnelly and her daughter Louise, 23, early yesterday. Tracy's young son, Daniel, was led outside at 7.40am huddled under a blanket and taken away by police. Last night a 25-yearold man was being quizzed over the double murder at the threebedroom home in Hemsworth, Sheffield. Tracy had lived at the house for about 18 months with Daniel. An Asian man had lived there for some of that time but had recently moved out. Barmaid Louise had also been staying at the house. South Yorkshire Police said: "Officers believe this is a domestic incident." <Title Foundation hospitals: Health service chief challenges Lansley's reforms> <Author Watt, Nicholas> <Publication title The Guardian> <Publication date Sep 28, 2011> <Section Guardian Home Pages> <Publisher Guardian Newspapers Limited> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> The government's health reforms ran into further trouble yesterday when the chief executive of the NHS publicly challenged a key proposal. As peers prepare to table a series of amendments to the health and social care bill, Sir David Nicholson said the government was wrong to block failing foundation hospitals from returning to direct NHS control. Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, wants to repeal a provision in the 2006 National Health Service Act which allows for the "de-authorisation" of failing foundation trusts, triggering their return to NHS control. The change is designed to strengthen foundation trusts - a central element of the government's plans to decentralise power in the NHS - which will eventually take over the running of all hospitals in England. In evidence yesterday to the public inquiry into failings at the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust, Nicholson called on the government to retain the renationalisation of a failing trust in its "armoury". Nicholson is understood to have voiced, in private, reservations about the Lansley plan, which was introduced as an amendments to the bill after the government's "listening exercise" on the NHS reforms. Nicholson told the inquiry: "I do think that the opportunity in a sense to renationalise a foundation trust should be part of the armoury of any government in these circumstances." Asked by Tom Kark QC, counsel to the inquiry, whether his proposal went against the government's "central policy", Nicholson hesitated, then said: "They want all organisations to be foundation trusts, but I believe that from time to time it may be necessary for the state to take the direct management of an organisation." Labour will today lambast the health reforms at the party's conference in Liverpool. Liz Kendall, the shadow health minister, said: "For David Nicholson to so directly and publicly contradict Andrew Lansley is a damning indictment of the Tories' NHS proposals." <Title Pressure mounts over Scott resignation> <Author Anonymous> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Jun 30, 2011> <Section Sport> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper has joined the calls for full disclosure of the details which led to John Scott's resignation as chief executive of the Glasgow 2014 Games. Scott stood down on Monday after failing to declare an offer from a potential supplier. "The CGF supports the disclosure of the circumstances that led to resignation," Hooper said. <Title Politicians' pay withheld after failing to pass new budget> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Jun 23, 2011> <Section World> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> If politicians in Sacramento were not convinced before that the financial crisis facing California is grave, they surely did by yesterday after waking up to discover that their pay had been frozen as a penalty for failing to pass a new and balanced budget before a 15 June deadline. John Chiang, the state Controller who oversees the purse-strings, has ordered that all pay for members of the legislature be withheld pending their passing a budget where revenues and spending actually match. He contends a budget already passed by the Democrat majority is unacceptable because it is not balanced. The stand-off with the lawmakers is only the latest episode in the long saga of California's budget crisis. When Governor Jerry Brown took office in January, the state faced a crippling $26bn (16bn) deficit through July of next year. Huge cuts in public spending already agreed, coupled with a slight pick-up in revenues, has reduced that gap to $10bn. Democrat members of the legislature in particular are livid with the Controller for cutting off their pay. "John Chiang just wants to sit there and beat up on the unpopular kids," Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a Los Angeles Democrat, said. "I now have to explain to my wife and daughter that we won't be able to pay the bills because a politician chose to grandstand at our expense." <Morning Star> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Protesters picket Peres visit> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 172 words> Members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) staged a demonstration outside Chatham House, where the pair were speaking at an event marking "60 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Britain." PSC spokeswoman Sarah Colborne said: "Peres was president when Operation Cast Lead - which killed 1,400 people and injured 5,000 more in Gaza - was authorised." The illegal siege of Gaza continues and we wanted to send a clear message to Peres and the British government that Israel can no longer violate international law with impunity." The siege has to end and those responsible must be prosecuted." Ms Colborne also condemned the police's response to the protest, saying that people attempting to leave were stopped." It seems rather bizarre that the police are turning on those trying to uphold international law and campaigning for war criminals to be prosecuted," she said. The PSC also staged a demonstration outside the headquarters of Veolia in protest at the firm's continued activities in the occupied West Bank. <Morning Star> <March 21, 2011 Monday> <Brits don't like BSB buy-out> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 70 words> Murdoch's takeover of the satellite broadcaster has sparked massive opposition amid fears that his reputation for aggressive market expansion and self-serving editorial policies would allow his commercial interests to decide the entire public discourse. Just 5 per cent of people surveyed said they supported the deal, while 58 percent said Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt should have referred it to the Competition Commission. <Morning Star> <March 16, 2011 Wednesday> <Barca star set for cancer treatment> <SECTION: SPORT> <LENGTH: 98 words> The Spanish club said that the operation at their medical clinic had been moved forward after a rescheduling of appointments. The 31-year-old Abidal was diagnosed with the tumour on Tuesday. Barcelona gave no indication on how long the France international will be sidelined. Abidal joined Barcelona from Lyon in 2007 and has helped the defending Spanish league champions win eight major trophies, including consecutive league titles and the 2009 Champions League. Abidal has been a key player in Barcelona's defence this season, making 33 appearances and scoring his first goal for the club. <Title GIRL, 10, A MUM> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Nov 12, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A GIRL has become a mother aged just TEN. The child gave birth to a boy two months prematurely after suffering deadly complications. Shocked doctors in Mexico City were forced to deliver the baby by emergency Caesarean. He was in intensive care after developing pneumonia. His mum, from Puebla, 60 miles away, visits daily. Hospital director Dr Rogelio Gonzalez said the birth was reported to legal officials. Mexico's age of consent is 12. <Title PORTIONS are getting bigger [...]> <Author James, Alex> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Nov 12, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> PORTIONS are getting bigger all the time. UK portion sizes are now among the largest anywhere, although still not as big as in the US. When I take my five kids to the cinema, one large Coke and popcorn just about does all of us. But we're throwing a lot of food away. Leftovers are my favourite. Here's a quick recipe for leftover hash: Any cooked meat, any cooked root veg chopped up with a diced onion and mixed with a beaten egg and whatever spices you've got. Make it into burger and fry it. It's even nicer with cream on - what the hell. Credit: alex james <Title TULISA GOT IT MAID> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Oct 19, 2011> <Section TV Biz> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> TULISA Contostavlos looks like she plans to clean up yesterday as she visits her X Factor groups dressed like a FRENCH MAID. Sexy Tulisa, 23, showed off her perfect pins in a short black frock and towering black heels. But with her hair tied in a severe bun, she obviously wasn't in the mood to take any rubbish from her remaining acts Rhythmix and The Risk. And they know they will have to be note perfect after boy band Nu Vibe got the boot on Sunday. <Title EU hikes MoT bills> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Oct 19, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> BILLS for MoTs look set to soar due to new demands from Brussels. A total of 13 extra car parts will be tested from next year - including pricey equipment such as stability control systems and electric seat motors. Repairs for a stability system can hit Pounds 2,000. Seat belt pre-tensioners will even be checked. There are no plans to increase the price of the MoT test itself, which varies - but repair costs are likely to soar. <Title BOOZE IS 'DIET'> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Oct 19, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> WEIGHT-obsessed students are skipping meals to "save" calories for binge-drinking, a study has found. Sixteen per cent of youngsters at university admit swapping food for drinking bouts -- and three times as many women as men do it. Students in the US also say missing meals helps them get drunk more quickly. Experts in Missouri warned that poor nutrition mixed with too much booze harms the brain. <Title BP sued over spill> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Sep 3, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> OIL giant BP has been hit with a lawsuit after last year's disastrous spill in the Gulf of Mexico. US energy services giant Halliburton, which carried out work on the Deepwater Horizon rig, claims BP gave it inaccurate information. BP said it would "vigorously contest the claims". <Title QUEEN'S SOLDIER No2 HELD IN PAEDO HUNT: EXCLUSIVE Windsor Castle cavalry stunned by arrest> <Author Pyatt, Jamie; Sullivan, Mike; Willets, David> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Sep 3, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A SECOND member of the elite Household Cavalry regiment has been arrested by cops probing an alleged paedophile ring. Detectives swooped on the home of married Lance Corporal Mark Neal, 28 - who has guarded the Queen. Neal, stationed in the shadow of Windsor Castle, was away on exercise. Detectives drove 90 miles to detain him at a tank training range at Bovington, Dorset. He was quizzed on suspicion of conspiracy to sexually assault a child and possessing indecent images. Neal lives with wife Amy on a Windsor army estate - 100 yards from the home of his pal Lance Corporal of Horse Simon Davies, 37, who is charged with raping a pre-teen girl. Davies' teaching assistant wife Fiona, 44, is accused of aiding and abetting rape. The couple, arrested a week ago, have been remanded in custody. Neal and Davies were serving at the time that Princes William and Harry joined the Household Cavalry as officers. The cavalrymen's arrests came after cops seized a computer from a suspected paedophile in London and found a sick video of a man raping a schoolgirl. It is suspected the images were put on the internet for viewing by perverts. One shocked friend of Neal said: "I would have bet anything he would not be involved in anything like this. "Mark is a loving husband and an exceptional soldier. He was decorated in Afghanistan and is a great bloke and keen Tottenham Hotspur fan." Neal was a member of mounted ceremonial escorts for the Queen several times until 2008. Then he switched to the regiment's tank section at Combermere Barracks, Windsor. Davies joined the cavalry from the Royal Logistic Corps. He took part in pistol training on ranges in Norfolk before a sixth-month tour in Afghanistan in 2009. Both soldiers are being investigated by the Met Police paedophile unit. Neal was later released on police bail until September 11. Cops guarded his three-bedroom house on the Broom Farm Estate as forensic experts removed a computer, photo albums and documents. One cavalry officer said the regiment - traditionally the Queen's personal bodyguards - was "in meltdown" over the arrests. He said: "This is a total nightmare. The men are feeling it dreadfully. We dearly hope this is the end of it." <Title It's a gravy bout> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Aug 31, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> THERE'S nothing like a good clean fight and this is nothing like one - two girls wrestling in a pool full of GRAVY. The saucy pair were among fun-loving grapplers at the fifth World Gravy Wrestling Championships. The competitors were a mix of newcomers and, er, seasoned campaigners. And a crowd of 1,500 poured into Stacksteads, Lancs, to watch the thrills and spills at the Rose 'N Bowl pub. Guess you could say the winners were simply the Bisto! <Title Director jailed for Pounds 85,000 sex fraud> <Author Guy, Patrick> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Jul 30, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A RANDY boss at an optician's firm stole Pounds 85,000 of company cash to pay for his Pounds 100- a-time visits to prostitutes and live internet sex shows. Married Alan Hornby, 51, used a company credit card to pay for three trips a week to his favourite brothel. The finance director was so trusted he got away with the thefts for five years. But last night he was beginning a 32-month jail sentence after a colleague spotted the fraud while Hornby was on holiday. Kay Driver, defending, told Manchester Crown Court: "The thefts were motivated entirely by his sex addiction. He has been diagnosed as a genuine sex addict. "As with all addictions, it began as something reasonably small, which then grew and grew. It has been a compulsion." Hornby, from Stockport, admitted theft, false accounting and fraud. Judge Peter Lakin told him: "Over a period of several years, you stole cash and used the company credit card to feed your addiction to sex. "Because of your knowledge of the company's affairs, you were able to hide your fraud. "This was a most serious breach of trust." The dad of one is being sued by Integrated Optical after failing to repay the cash. <Title A VIPER IN OUR MIDST: Fanatic urged MP stabbing [Edition 3]> <Author Coles, John> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Jul 30, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A MUSLIM extremist whose website rantings inspired a fanatic to stab an MP was branded a "viper" as he was caged for 12 years yesterday. A judge told IT graduate Bilal Ahmad, 23: "You became a viper in our midst, willing to go as far as possible to strike at the heart of our system." Ahmad called on fanatics to "raise the knife of Jihad" against MPs who supported the Iraq War on the Revolution Muslim web page. But his words were taken literally by Roshonara Choudhry, 21. She crept into Labour MP Stephen Timms' London surgery and knifed him twice in the stomach with a 6in blade in May 2010. He survived and Choudhry was jailed for at least 15 years for attempted murder. Ahmad said Mr Timms had "got off lightly" while she should have been freed and given a medal. Sentencing Ahmad at Bristol Crown Court, Mr Justice Royce told him: "You gave a chillingly clear message -- get a knife, get an appointment with the MP and kill him or her. Your views were corrosively dangerous." Ahmad, from Dunstall, Wolverhampton, had earlier admitted soliciting to murder members of Parliament, inciting religious hatred and three charges under the Terrorism Act. <Title Pounds 10m MS stem trial> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Jul 30, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A Pounds 10MILLION global trial will test whether stem cells can safely treat multiple sclerosis. They will be injected to target active MS lesions -- to see if they can slow, stop and even reverse damage caused to the brain and spinal cord. The tests, involving up to 200 people round the world over three to five years, will advance knowledge "by years". Dr Paolo Muraro, head of the study based at Imperial College, London, said: "A trial of this scale would be impossible in one location, which is why this type of collaboration is essential." <Title Pounds 62k for '19 kids' lie mum: BENEFITS SCAM> <Author Parker, Andrew> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Jun 30, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A MUM who fiddled Pounds 62,000 in benefits by claiming for 19 fictitious children was jailed yesterday. Kerry Melia, 30, had six kids of her own and looked after four for relatives -- which she began pretending were hers to draw benefit. The fake brood grew as she INVENTED another 19 youngsters. Some of the cash was used to buy exotic pets. Investigators who raided her home in Tipton, West Midlands, found a menagerie including a large snake, terrapins and cockatiels. Melia admitted fraud. Jailing her for eight months at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Judge Michael Dudley told her: "This was absolutely blatant fraud. "You invented 19 fictitious children to obtain public money from people who work hard for it." Prosecutor Barbara Webster said that over six years Melia and her jobless husband were paid "no less" than Pounds 118,000 in benefits, of which they were only entitled to Pounds 52,000. She added: "In her claims Melia kept adding children over the years." The court was told that she hoped to repay the money. <Title CSI TORTOISES: Cops call in forensic expert over pets theft> <Author France, Anthony; Sales, Dan> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date May 31, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A FORENSIC expert has been called in to track down TORTOISE thieves, it emerged yesterday. The officer dusted for prints and hunted for clues after 14 of the slow-moving creatures were stolen from breeder Lisa McIntyre. She rang 999 and a uniformed cop was immediately sent to take details. The forensic officer turned up later in a large van. Mum-of-two Lisa, 42, said: "The police response was phenomenal. "I never imagined they would send a forensic officer, but it shows they are taking it seriously. He spent at least 20 minutes here. It was extremely professional." Seven adult and three young Horsfield tortoises were taken with four of the spur-thighed reptiles from a heated greenhouse and fenced pen in the garden of Lisa's home in Sevenoaks, Kent. The office administrator said some were more than 100-yearsold and together could be worth Pounds 2,000. She added: "This was planned. Whoever did this didn't take our garden equipment." John Hayward, of the National Theft Register for exotic pets, said: "These tortoises are on the endangered species list and anyone offering them for sale, likewise the purchasers, commits a most serious criminal offence." Earlier this month 12 tortoises were stolen in Bridgwater, Somerset, and two in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. Some fetch up to Pounds 6,000. <Title It's cheap, but spend it wisely Author King, Ian Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 21, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Officially, the European Central Bank isn't engaging in quantitative easing, but that is what is happening as today's longer-term refinancing operations -- in which banks can park distressed eurozone sovereign debt with the ECB in return for borrowing money for three years at ultra-low rates -- get under way. Demand will be strong, as shown by yesterday's sharp fall in ECB funding to the banks and the success of the latest Spanish bond auction, which suggests that some banks were loading up on paper to can be used as collateral to access that cheap three-year money. What is harder to predict is what the banks will do with the cash. President Sarkozy would like it spent on the tsunami of debt, about EUR 837 billion by HSBC's estimates, due to be issued by eurozone countries next year. He may be in for a disappointment. The eurozone's banks themselves have some EUR 725 billion of debt maturing during 2012, including EUR 282 billion in the first three months. Using ECB money to roll over that maturing debt, or to buy back profitably existing debt that trades at a discount, looks a much better use for it than alarming investors by buying yet more Italian and Spanish bonds. <Subject Criminal sentences; Rape> <Title Rape victim sets dowry 'to avoid marrying attacker'> <Author Starkey, Jerome> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Dec 5, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> An Afghan rape victim who was pardoned by President Karzai and then betrothed to her attacker has demanded a $22,000 (Pounds 14,000) dowry, making the prospects of a union unlikely. The figure is almost four times the average dowry in Afghanistan, and Gulnaz's supporters said that her attacker's family were unlikely to be able to pay. Gulnaz was sentenced to 12 years in prison for adultery after she reported the rape to police and gave birth to a daughter from the attack in jail. Her assailant, Assadullah Sher Mohammad, was arrested, convicted and jailed for the crime. She tried to tell her story in a documentary about women's rights, funded by the European Union, but the EU banned the film, In-Justice, citing concerns about its relations with the Afghan Government and the safety of the women it portrayed. However, last week Mr Karzai overturned Gulnaz's conviction after her ordeal was revealed in The Times. In a letter witnessed by her lawyer, Kim Motley, Gulnaz demanded the dowry by next Saturday. "I think it is a ruse to avoid the marriage," Ms Motley said. The Afghan Justice Minister and the Attorney General visited Gulnaz in jail on Thursday to tell her about the pardon and discuss her future. They told Mr Karzai's office that she had agreed to marry Mohammad. Gulnaz had contemplated marrying him before in interviews filmed for In-Justice, as a way to "legitimise" her daughter in the eyes of Afghan society, and to try to broker peace between the two families. In other interviews she cursed Mohammad to rot in prison and vowed never to forgive him. "When the government officials went in to talk to her it sounded like they were telling her she had to marry this guy, rather than asking her if she wanted to," Ms Motley added. Mohammad, whose sentence was cut from 12 to seven years, says he is innocent, but would marry Gulnaz if it meant getting out of prison early. However, he said he did not have $22,000. <Subject Women; Serial murders; Criminal investigations; Human remains; Murders & murder attempts; Serial crime> <Title Craigslist serial killer 'destroys evidence with tricks learnt from TV crime shows': United States> <Author Pavia, Will> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Dec 3, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> America's latest serial killer may have learnt to cover his tracks by watching television crime dramas, the police commissioner overseeing an investigation into the killings of ten people in Long Island has told The Times. Richard Dormer, of the Suffolk County Police Department, said that a familiarity with shows such as CSI that have popularised the techniques of crime scene investigation could explain how the killer eluded police and delayed the identification of victims. He made the comments after the announcement that police believe a single killer is responsible for the deaths of eight women, a man and a baby whose remains have been found since December 11 last year. Detectives had suggested earlier that several killers were probably responsible and there had been speculation that one could be a former police officer. Attempts had been made to remove an identifying tattoo from one of the victims, the bodies had been dismembered and the remains dumped in different locations along the Long Island shoreline and further inland. "We haven't determined that a police officer's involved," Mr Dormer said. "Anyone who watches these shows on TV -- they are very familiar with police investigative techniques." As families of some of the victims prepare to mark the anniversary of the first discovery, DNA evidence and the appraisal of a patchwork of crime scenes has led police to conclude that they are dealing with a single killer: one of the most prolific in recent years. They believe that the killer lives in Long Island, preys on sex workers and has been active for the past 15 years, dismembering victims, dividing their remains and driving all over the island to dump body parts. The killer preyed on victims whose disappearance often went unreported. The first four bodies discovered wrapped in sacks near Gilgo Beach last December were identified as those of women who had been working as prostitutes and posted advertisements on Craigslist. In March they found the head and forearm of another woman whose torso had been found in 2003, in Manorville, 40 miles (64km) away and 10 miles inland. By mid-April they had found the remains of three more women, a young Asian man and a toddler. "The theory is, he's familiar with and comfortable with the Long Island area," Mr Dormer said. <Title UK EMBASSY STORMED IN IRAN> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Nov 30, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Militants chanting "Death to England!" broke into the UK's embassy in Tehran yesterday. The action, a protest against British-backed sanctions on Iran over its shadowy nuclear programme, was described as "unacceptable" by the Foreign Office. <Title COUNCIL TENANTS TO GET 50% DISCOUNT ON 'RIGHT TO BUY'> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Nov 30, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Independent Print Ltd> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Council tenants will be given discounts of up to 50 per on the value of their home if they exercise their "right to buy" the property. But for those looking for easy money by selling their central London property for hundreds of thousands of pounds and pocketing the savings there will be disappointment. The total amount a tenant can make will be capped and there are likely to be restrictions on how soon they can sell on the property after buying it. The Government is due to publish a consultation on exactly how the scheme will work in the next few weeks. Ministers have promised that it will be much more generous than the current scheme which Mr Osborne said had been "stealthily strangled" by Labour "as discounts were cut and cut again". But while ministers have pledged that revenue will be ploughed back into building new affordable homes there is still a big question mark over whether their sums add up. The larger the discount the less money the Treasury will have to build new houses. And that could be mean less social housing for those people who really need it. Mr Osborne also confirmed new mortgage indemnities to help 100,000 such families buy newly built homes. This, he hopes, could reduce deposits for first-time buyers from 20 per cent levels at present to just 5 per cent. But critics point out that at a time of great economic uncertainly it may not be advisable to load such levels of debt on new homeowners. It could end up leading to a new wave of repossessions - especially if unemployment continues to rise. Mass home ownership is a particularly British obsession not shared on the Continent - and, they said, a model far better suited to the current economic environment. <Title Downing Street staff asked to man borders> <Author Wright, Oliver> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Nov 30, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> David Cameron's personal advisers have been asked by the Prime Minister to volunteer to work as border protection staff at Britain's ports and airports during today's strike. Members of the Downing Street Policy Unit have been asked to put aside their day jobs and relocate to airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick to help reduce the queues of people trying to enter Britain as a result of the nationwide industrial action, The Independent has learnt. Those who agreed to take part have received training in border security and are expected to be checking passports on "low risk" flights entering the UK. Mr Cameron hopes the move will show Downing Street is "setting an example" to help mitigate the effects of the strike as well as giving senior political officials an insight into frontline Government "delivery" services. As special advisers, members of the Policy Unit are technically civil servants and have the security clearance which would allow them to work "airside" at ports. "We don't know how many have agreed but they have been asked," said a senior source. "The only problem is you can't imagine anyone less scary than the wonks in the policy unit." <Title LIDDLE MAY FACE TWO YEARS IN JAIL FOR ARTICLE> <Author Sherwin, Adam> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Nov 30, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> The Director of Public Prosecutions will consider whether to launch proceedings over a comment piece by Rod Liddle in The Spectator about the Stephen Lawrence murder trial. Dominic Grieve QC, the Attorney General, has referred the article to the Crown Prosecution Service, after concluding it may have breached a court order. Keir Starmer QC will decide whether Mr Liddle, pictured, and The Spectator should be prosecuted for breaching the Criminal Justice Act. The maximum penalty for contempt of court is two years in prison and an unlimited fine. Liddle's article was referred to Mr Grieve earlier this month by Mr Justice Treacy, the judge in the Lawrence murder trial. Treacy also ordered the trial jury not to read that week's edition of the magazine. A spokesman for Mr Grieve said: "While a prosecution can be brought by the Attorney General, accepted practice is that such matters are more appropriately handled by the CPS and the police. In accordance with usual practice, he has referred the matter to the DPP for consideration. It will be for the CPS to determine whether a criminal prosecution should be brought." <Title Disabled man's right-to-die plea> <Author Farmer, Brian> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Nov 30, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> A severely disabled 57-year-old man is to ask a High Court judge to allow a doctor to "lawfully" end his life, solicitors said yesterday. Lawyers want a ruling that a doctor can end Tony Nicklinson's "indignity". Mr Nicklinson, from Melksham, Wiltshire, had a stroke in 2005 and was left with "locked-in syndrome". He cannot move but has communicated his wish to die through his eye-blink computer. <Title Norovirus found in oysters> <Author Lawrence, Tom> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Nov 30, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> More than three-quarters of British-grown oysters contain norovirus, research has found. The study, for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), discovered that 76 per cent of oysters tested from UK oyster growing beds had traces of the infectious bug. Although the virus was detected at only low levels in 52 per cent of the positive samples, a safe limit for norovirus has not been established. The virus can cause vomiting and diarrhoea. The FSA said it was "difficult" to assess the potential health impact of the findings, as researchers were unable to differentiate between infectious and non-infectious norovirus material in the shellfish. Scientists from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science took samples from 39 oyster harvesting areas. David Lees, the lead investigator, said: "Norovirus is a recognised problem for the sector, and this study provides important baseline data to help the industry and regulators to focus on the key risks." <Title Fuel-efficiency scheme may hit homeowners> <Author Read, Simon> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Nov 26, 2011> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type Feature> A 200m government energy-efficiency scheme which aims to refurbish the UK's 14 million draughty homes has been attacked for putting millions of homeowners in a worse position. The so-called Green Deal announced this week will allow homeowners to take a loan to install insulation or other energy-saving measures from October 2012. The theory is that the bill savings from the measures will be larger than the loan repayments. "But millions of hard-working households will lose existing subsidies for insulating their home and will have to borrow the costs of insulation at commercial rates instead," claimed Steven Heath, of Knauf Insulation. Although subsidies remain for the fuel poor, Mr Heath said households struggling to pay rising fuel costs would be adversely affected. "The Green Deal initiative needs to be revised to ensure a sensible, effective transition over the next five years from current green energy subsidies," he said. The Green Deal proposals allow for up to 150 to be given as a cashback offer to homeowners, but that is added to the loan. Richard Lloyd of Which? said: "It's crucial that the Government gets the Green Deal right. If it's not good value for consumers overall, short-term incentives will not be enough." <Title Gloom 'n bust> <Author Sun SAYS> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Aug 31, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> THE outlook for the economy seems as gloomy as the August weather. A top world economist warned the nation's debts were still spiralling to "dangerous and excessive" levels. He singled out pensions as a ticking timebomb as we all live longer. Spending cuts and reform of public sector retirement deals are tough but vital. And there is no room for even a penny of Government waste. Meanwhile, UK households owe Pounds 1.45TRILLION, mostly on mortgages. And yet, more and more people can't get a home loan at all as lenders demand ever bigger deposits. Time to tighten that belt. Again. <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <CWW slump boss walks> <SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 39> <LENGTH: 164 words> THE boss of Cable & Wireless Worldwide quit yesterday as a slump in orders forced the telecoms services supplier to warn on profits. Chief executive Jim Marsh resigned after CWW, whose customers include Next, Boots and Government departments, said cash-conscious customers were placing less business with it. In the third profit warning in 12 months, the firm said earnings in 2011/12 would be up to a tenth below market hopes and annual dividends would halve to 2.25p a share. Shares dived 7.25p to 45p, wiping £200million off the company's stock market value. They have halved since the group demerged from Cable & Wireless last year. Chairman John Pluthero has replaced Marsh, who will get a year's notice pay equal to his £650,000 annual salary. He said: "It has been easy to lose sight of what this business could be. It is my intention to reassert and realise that." Investec Securities said: "We believe the potential remains for a doubling of value as a more radical approach is taken." <Daily Star> <June 29, 2011 Wednesday> <High St's choc full of failure> <BYLINE: BILL MARTIN> <SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 39> <LENGTH: 306 words> INVESTORS turned their backs on the High Street yesterday after chocolate maker Thorntons and other retailers announced closures and cutbacks. Shares in Thorntons tumbled 41/2p to 58p after the confectioner announced plans to shut at least 120 of its stores to kick-start its flagging business. Budget store chain TJ Hughes, which was bought by private equity group Endless in March, sent shockwaves through the sector by announcing it was looking to appoint administrators. It follows last week's move by Habitat owner Hilco to sell part of the UK business to Argos owner Home Retail and to put the rest of it into administration. There was better news from collapsed retailer Jane Norman, whose administrators agreed to sell 33 of its shops to Edinburgh Woollen Mill, saving 366 jobs. City analysts said more firms were likely to fall victim to high rents and poor sales. Research group Verdict Retail said consumer belt-tightening was reducing demand for non-food goods, leaving retailers without cash reserves vulnerable to problems. Verdict's Maureen Hinton said: "It is likely yet more will follow. The rent demand is the final nail in the coffin." Broker Arden Partners said: "The squeeze on consumer spending is now hurting even some of the better players on the High Street and things are not going to get any better." Thorntons plans to axe under- performing shops as leases expire in the next three years, leaving it with about 180 stores in its best locations. It plans to replace them with about 300 franchised outlets and to expand sales through supermarkets and the internet. <Subject Banking industry; Credit ratings; Costs; Loans; Rating services; Banks > <Title Big companies turn their backs on RBS and Lloyds [Edition 2]> <Author Costello, Miles> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Oct 19, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Companies are cutting their business with the taxpayer-backed lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds amid fears that the cost of borrowing will rise after the recent ratings downgrade by Moody's. The Association of Corporate Treasurers told MPs yesterday that corporate borrowers had already begun talking to rival overseas loan providers, including Japanese banks keen to secure a stronger foothold among British businesses. John Grout, the association's policy and technical adviser, told the Commons Treasury Select Committee: "A lot of companies are seeking to reduce their dependency for loans on the now two single A [rated] banks." He said that big businesses were also reviewing the amount of "ancilliary services" such as derivatives that they buy in from the big banks in order to reduce their overall exposure. Moody's downgraded 12 UK financial institutions, including RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander and the Co-operative Bank, on October 7. Its rival credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch have also downgraded their view of Britain's big banks' credit quality in response to the Government's declared unwillingness to bail out lenders who plunge into crisis. The agencies have also responded to a plan by the Independent Banking Commission to create a firewall between retail and investment banks to isolate high street lenders in any future financial crisis. The impact of these changes was already being felt in the "real economy", prompting companies to scale back some of their financial relationships with the big bank lenders, Mr Grout said. He did not refer to Lloyds or RBS by name, but, as the most substantial lenders to British businesses, his comments are understood mainly to refer to the two taxpayer-backed banks. Speaking to The Times after appearing before the committee, Mr Grout said that companies were anticipating that the banks would face higher borrowing costs themselves as a result of the downgrade. They would be bound to pass at least some of those additional costs to borrowers when they try to refinance maturing loans, he said. "Next time, the bank will be asking for a bigger margin over Libor," he said. Libor is the rate London-based banks charge to lend to each other and is used to price loans for corporate customers. Mr Grout emphasised that companies were not moving to sever relationships with British lenders but would take prudent steps to diversify their overall exposures to the banking sector. "Corporate treasurers are a conservative breed," he said. Companies were trying to expand the number of lenders that they borrow from, not cut some out completely. The main companies taking such measures would be those with borrowing requirements of between Pounds 100 million and Pounds 1 billion, he said. Larger companies were able to raise funds in the bond markets and were less reliant on banks for capital. Both RBS and Lloyds declined to comment on Mr Grout's observations. Bank insiders said, however, that they had not yet noticed a change in company behaviour in the wake of the downgrade. Lloyds has also stated that its borrowing costs will not be driven higher by the downgrade. Under the Project Merlin agreement with the Government, lenders including RBS and Lloyds have pledged to provide financing for struggling small and medium-sized businesses. Lloyds lent Pounds 21.2 billion to British business in the first half, including Pounds 14.5 billion to larger companies with annual turnover of more than Pounds 15 million. RBS lent Pounds 44.2 billion over the same period, including gross new loans of Pounds 16.7 billion to mid-size and large companies. <Title Don't bank on quick solution> <Author King, Ian> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Oct 18, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> It was fun while it lasted but, having been created by some oddly inflated optimism that next weekend's Cannes summit will see a package to end the eurozone's ills once and for all, the recent rally in equities was asking to be derailed. To that end, it was eminently sensible of Berlin yesterday to shoot down hopes of a miracle cure, particularly with private sector lenders to Greece still resisting accepting writedowns on their holdings of more than the 21 per cent agreed in July and with the Germans themselves still reluctant to countenance any European Central Bank involvement in expanding the firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility. Since the EFSF will also have to backstop both Italy and Spain, as well as the weaker eurozone banks, this latter stumbling block, how to boost the EFSF's capacity, is perhaps the single most critical issue at stake. What will not emerge next Sunday is any kind of roadmap for growth. However, as recapitalising the banks is essentially a short-term solution to the eurozone's woes, this is what will ultimately be required. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Watchdog orders no more surprise energy price hikes;> <YOUR MONEY> <BYLINE: By Esther Shaw> <SECTION: FINANCE; 39> <LENGTH: 263 words> ENERGY suppliers will be required to give customers at least 30-days' notice of price increases under new rules set to come into effect next month. Regulator Ofgem has introduced the new notice period to give consumers time to cope with price hikes. Until now, providers have been under no obligation to inform consumers for up to three months after putting up costs. However, from April 28, they will have to tell customers about their plans 30 days in advance. They will also have to give the same notice for alterations to contracts that leave customers significantly worse off. "These changes show that we are serious about making sure suppliers play it straight with customers, " said Andrew Wright of Ofgem. "We believe 30-days' notification of price increases, coupled with our new proposals for more transparency and an end to complex tariffs, will give consumers more power to make informed switching choices." Households have been hit hard by price hikes from energy suppliers in recent months. "If customers are being asked to pay more, clearly they need to know in advance, " said Audrey Gallacher, of Consumer Focus. "This long- awaited move should help people budget for price rises and make informed decisions early on about whether to switch supplier." She added that the moves proposed by Ofgem in its recent review should also make it easier for customers to compare energy tariffs and switch to a better deal. "The test now is for energy firms to rise to the challenge of improving the market and for the regulator to keep the spotlight on them until they do, " she said. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Deadline is looming for tax-free Isa allowance;> <YOUR MONEY> <BYLINE: By Holly Thomas> <SECTION: FINANCE; 39> <LENGTH: 418 words> SAVERS have less than a week to make sure they don't lose this ear's tax-free Isa allowance. The maximum amount savers can place in a cash Isa (individual savings account) is GBP 5,100 but the full GBP 10,200 can be invested in a stocks and shares Isa (see story in panel). After April 5, any unused allowance is lost. Here we look at the best accounts based on different requirements and what savers need to do over the next week to make sure they do not miss out. BEST FOR NEW ISA CASH SANTANDER is paying 3.3 per cent for new deposits. The instant access Flexible Isa does not allow transfers in from other cash Isas, which means that savers who've already used their 2010-11 tax- free allowance cannot open this. The deadline for applications online is tomorrow at midnight. Otherwise savers can make an appointment in the branch to open the account and make the deposit in person. This can be done up until April 5. Until Monday the AA Cash Isa was paying a market-leading 3.35 per cent on its instant-access account but it was taken off the shelves to allow for processing. The account will be available again on April 6, the first day of the new tax year, at the same rate. From April 6, the Isa limits will rise in line with inflation to GBP 10,680 with a maximum of GBP 5,340 in cash. RATES FOR EXISTING ISAS TRANSFERRING money in cash Isas from previous years can be done at any time of the year as there is no deadline for this. The best rates are generally paid on new accounts which means switching is likely to boost the interest you earn. With banks competing for business, now is a good time to do it with the likes of Halifax offering 3 per cent. This account is open to new and existing customers. Halifax has also pledged to pay interest while the money is being switched, so even if the transfer takes time savers don't lose out. LONG-TERM ACCOUNTS SKIPTON Building Society is paying 4.5 per cent fixed for five years on a minimum of GBP 500. On this type of account, you will be penalised for early withdrawals. Skipton will accept any accounts opened and credited up to close of business on April 5 by 5pm for branches, 5.30pm for the Skipton Direct telephone service and up to 8pm online. Cheques will be treated as this year's allowance, so long as they are paid in by close of business on Friday, April 1. Alternatively, Halifax is paying 4.4 per cent fixed for four years with no early access. New customers will need to show identification at a branch, and funds must be transferred by the end of April 5. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Driving down costs of car insurance;> <YOUR MONEY> <BYLINE: By Harvey Jones> <SECTION: FINANCE; 40> <LENGTH: 693 words> MOTORISTS could be heading for cheaper insurance following the Government's pledge to put the brakes on the UK's "no win, no fee" compensation culture. Car insurance premiums rose by 33 per cent last year according to the AA and are set to rise another 20 per cent this year. So-called "ambulance chasing" personal-injury claims lawyers are to blame for much of the increase. Many claims management companies and also lawyers aggressively advertise for people who have suffered an accident "that wasn't their fault" and persuade them to make a personal injury claim. With the average payout after a road accident now at GBP 2,340, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), people have an incentive to claim. Under "no win no fee", individuals do not face any legal costs, even if their claim is kicked out. Lawyers also have a big financial incentive because they earn a success fee each time they win. They can even take out insurance against losing the case and claim the cost of this cover from the defendant's insurance if they win. Average legal costs now add GBP 2,100 to the cost of each claim and innocent motorists ultimately end up footing the bill. Insurers pass on this added expense to their customers in the form of higher premiums. For every GBP 1 you pay for insurance, 10p goes to personal-injury claims lawyers. This costs every motorist about GBP 100 a year. Now the Government is clamping down. In last week's Budget, Chancellor George Osborne explained he would introduce new restrictions on how personal-injury lawyers and middlemen such as referral agencies could tout for business. Further details of these proposals were given by Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke in the House of Commons yesterday (see story, bottom). MOTORISTS LOSE OUT IN CLAIM GAME THE UK's compensation culture has got out of hand, says Adrian Webb at motor insurer Esure. "People often say personal-injury claims are getting as bad as the US but they're wrong. We are now worse than the States." Too many people think insurance companies are fair game but it is the ordinary motorist who loses out. Webb says: "Insurance companies are there to pay claims but not exaggerated or gratuitous claims. "The only way we can recoup the money is through higher insurance premiums, which means our customers end up footing the bill." Webb says that "no win, no fee" isn't all bad. "If you have suffered pain or injury after an accident, you deserve access to justice and 'no win, no fee' has given many people that. Unfortunately, the system is open to abuse." Public attitudes to legal action have changed dramatically since claims management companies have started advertising on daytime TV, leading to "exaggerated and unnecessary" claims, says Graeme Trudgill, head of corporate affairs at the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA). "People are much more willing to pursue a claim these days. We estimate claims and accident management companies add at least GBP 1 billion to UK motor claims' costs." Many claims management companies send millions of random "hit or miss" emails and texts to potential claimants, says Robin Reames, claims director at insurer Swiftcover.com. "Motorists can take a claim to court up to three years after an accident and we often receive claims for damages not mentioned at the time, typically whiplash, which is medically difficult to diagnose. Innocent motorists end up footing the bill." People who make claims such as these generally don't realise their actions will result in higher premiums for everyone, including themselves, Reames says. "We estimate that claims firms have pushed up motor insurance premiums by 25 per cent. Motorists should base claims on their actual conditions and not be influenced by claims firms." The UK has the safest roads in Europe, with the lowest number of recorded crashes per person, yet it has four times more whiplash injury claims than any other country, says Ian Crowder at the AA. "Either Britons suffer unusually weak necks or there is a deeper problem with the system for making personal injury claims, " he says. <The Express> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Balancing investment with risk;> <YOUR MONEY> <SECTION: FINANCE; 39> <LENGTH: 187 words> SAVERS can invest up to GBP 10,200 in a stocks and shares Isa. Choosing a place for money invested in the stock market is not as simple as choosing the account with the highest rate. It's important to pick the right investments in the first place that suit your attitude to risk. Investors can seek advice from a professional but for those confident in going it alone, fund supermarkets and discount brokers allow them to choose from thousands of investment funds. Discount broker Chelsea Financial Services says its top 10 most popular funds include Schroder Income Maximiser, currently yielding 6.5 per cent. Patrick Connolly at AWD Chase de Vere believes cautious investors could consider the Fidelity Multi Asset Strategic Fund. He said: "This is a 'sleep at night' fund which invests in a range of Fidelity's other funds covering shares, fixed interest, property, commodities and cash. The typical stance is 50 per cent invested in growth investments and 50 per cent in safer ones." Darius McDermott at Chelsea Financial Services named the M&G Global Basics Fund as a higher-risk fund with a good record over the past five years. <Title Europe braced for MEPs' expenses storm> <Publication title The Independent> <Publication date Jun 22, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> Publication of suppressed report could undermine efforts to deal with eurozone debt crisis Report's release could herald new era of EU transparency THE EUROPEAN Parliament will today back down and order the release of a secret report detailing the widespread abuse of expenses by MEPs, The Independent has learnt. A meeting of senior MEPs is expected to accept a European Court of Justice ruling that there is an "overriding public interest in disclosure". The decision could have far-reaching consequences for transparency within the European Parliament and wider European Union institutions. It will increase pressure on the parliament to publish more details of the expenses claims of MEPs including their travel expenditure, attendance records and the highly controversial 4,300 (3,800) "go anywhere" budget given to members. Given the difficulties the EU faces in persuading countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal to accept tough austerity measures, the re-emergence of allegations of misuse of taxpayer funds by MEPs is unlikely to be welcome on the streets of Athens or across the Union. It also means future reports - however controversial - into governance of EU institutions are likely to be put into the public domain. "Bit by bit the parliament is being brought kicking and screaming towards transparency," said Chris Davies MEP, who first leaked the contents of the report compiled by the parliament's chief internal auditor, Robert Galvin, in 2008. "I was delighted by the European Court's decision. There is still a long way to go but I would hope pressure will now build to identify what was done to pursue those MEPs identified by Galvin as misusing the system." The court ruled earlier this month that European institutions could no longer claim potential political controversy as grounds to refuse access of internal audit reports. A leaked copy of the report to The Sunday Times revealed systematic abuses by Euro MPs of parliamentary allowances that enable them to pocket more than 1m from a five-year term. Among the abuses it detailed were: * Payments made to assistants of MEPs who were not accredited. * End-of-year bonuses worth nearly 20 times the monthly salary paid to assistants, which allowed members to use up their full annual allowance. * Some assistants doubled their salaries by banking pay-offs from outgoing MEPs at the same time as receiving salaries from incoming ones. But despite widespread outrage at the allegations senior officials in the European Parliament refused to release the full report and fought a costly court battle with Ciaran Toland, an Irish lawyer, over its disclosure. The parliament had argued that if such reports were released to the public then in future those writing them might not be prepared to offer frank advice and could adversely affect decision- making. However, this was rejected by the court. Last night Mr Toland said: "I would very much welcome this development. When they refused me access to the report, the European Parliament effectively said that the taxpayers of Europe, who fund the parliament, cannot be trusted to know how their money is being spent by that parliament, nor are they entitled to know what recommendations exist for how the system should be reformed. "What is at the heart of the case are central issues of European transparency law. This case has now established new rights of access to a wide range of documents by both citizens and the media. On a wider point, involving the public in any debate on legislative reform, or in respect of public funds, is an essential prerequisite of a democratic system. No self-respecting parliament should ever be afraid to discuss its finances in front of the citizens who elect it, and who pay for those very funds." Those who argued against the publication will be anxious it should not inflame the situation in Greece. Anger there is so far directed at the Commission and other nation member states, but that could spread. Sources in the European Parliament said last night that the Galvin report would be discussed today at a meeting of the Bureau of the Parliament which is responsible for matters relating to the budget, administration, organisation and staff. It is composed of the President, Jerzy Buzek, along with all 14 vice-presidents. The release of the Galvin report is being backed by Diana Wallis, the vice-president responsible for transparency and is expected to be passed. "The plan is to release the report and not question the wider element of the European Court's decision either," said the source. The move was welcomed by the Ukip MEP Nikki Sinclaire, who has campaigned for greater transparency within European institutions. <Morning Star> <March 21, 2011 Monday> <Big Six will be curbed> <BYLINE: Will Stone> <SECTION: BRITAIN> <LENGTH: 248 words> The overhaul of the energy industry by Ofgem follows a probe into the big six suppliers British Gas, EON Energy, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, Npower and Scottish & Southern Energy. It drew up five reforms to combat the problem and said the suppliers, who were found to "not be playing it straight with consumers" with complex tariffs and a lack of transparency, have eight weeks to comply with them or face referral to the Competition Commission. Proposed reforms include simplifying prices and breaking down the power of the big six over the market by selling off up to a fifth of their electricity output. But Left Economics Advisory Panel co-ordinator Andrew Fisher said Ofgem's solution for "more competition" was ludicrous and estimated that a windfall tax on this year's excess profits alone could raise £85 million - enough to assess and refit the homes of every pensioner in Britain. He said: "It is clear that privatisation has enabled gratuitous profiteering in the sector - with the result that one-quarter of pensioners live in fuel poverty and thousands die each year because they can't afford to heat their homes." The only long-term answer is to renationalise the energy sector and set prices to prevent fuel poverty." Ofgem launched its review in November after it emerged that price hikes had seen suppliers' profit margins soar by 38 per cent. Average industry margins on a standard dual fuel tariff rose to £90 in November from £65 in <Title Fuel firm 12% hike> <Author Hawkes, Steve> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Apr 30, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> FEARS of higher power bills have soared after an energy supplier hit its 5,000 customers with a 12 per cent hike yesterday. OVO ENERGY announced it was raising gas and electricity dual-fuel rates from June 9, blaming rising wholesale costs. The company has 50,000 customers on fixed-rate deals -- but a tenth have slipped on to variables. The blow came as SCOTTISH POWER and E.ON scrapped their cheapest online deals. This means that BRITISH GAS is the only company offering an online dual-fuel product below an average cost of Pounds 900 a year. Experts have warned bills were on their way up ever since the Japanese earthquake. Earlier, TheEnergy-Shop.com predicted hikes of 15 per cent. Credit: BY SUN BUSINESS EDITOR STEVE HAWKES <Subject Musical recordings> <Title Concert> <Author Finch, Hilary> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Dec 23, 2011> <Section T2> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> No holly, no ivy, no wassailing; but an Elizabethan pageant to propel the Wigmore Hall into Christmas. An evening of Old and New Elizabethans was part of Ian Bostridge's continuing Ancient and Modern project, and it touched something at the very heart of the English muse. John Dowland and Peter Warlock were the elected ambassadors. And, around the figure of Bostridge clustered musical courtiers such as the soprano Sophie Daneman, the baritone Mark Stone and the Heath Quartet. And Elizabeth Kenny with her lute. She it was, nimble-fingered and observant and idiomatic of imagination, who held together a sometimes wayward consort. Dowland's lute "ayres", with their teasing and touching interplay of musical rhythm and poetic metrics, just cannot be sung like any post-Romantic song. Too often they are; and this was once too often. Apart from Daneman's gentle, sentient solos, both Bostridge and Stone were a little too careless of the niceties of Dowland's word setting and hooted horribly in ensemble. On to Warlock's arrangements of Elizabethan song for voice and string quartet. Again, Stone's heavy, resonant baritone chopped the lines and swamped the subtleties of Born is the Babe and When May is in her prime. But the Heath Quartet bowed their astringent modal harmonies beautifully, and Daneman chirped and chanted cheerfully with the cuckoo In a merry may morn. Later, with Julius Drake's delectable piano accompaniment, Daneman relished the interplay of rhyme and rhythm, caressing her Cradle Song, while Bostridge at his most plangent intensified the hearts' desires of Rest, sweet nymphs before returning them to dream. Four songs by Ivor Gurney were the musical high point of the evening, with Daneman's Orpheus with his lute and Sleep, sung in her gentle, tremulous vibrato, by far the most eloquent performances of the entire concert. To bring back the Heath Quartet, and also introduce Nicholas Daniel, cor anglais, and Philippa Davies, flute, Bostridge concluded with Warlock's The Curlew. For those able to suspend disbelief long enough, Warlock's probing harmonies brought out the potency of Bostridge''s lower range in a performance which recreated artfully the work's own emotional artifice. <Subject Spirituality; Wives; Musical recordings > <Title When the Military Wives sing, we all want to join in> <Author Gledhill, Ruth> <Publication title The Times> <Publication date Dec 23, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> I like Little Mix; these sweet girls who won The X Factor make me smile. But I love Military Wives, their challengers for the Christmas No 1 slot. Just thinking about them makes the backs of my eyes prickle. Why has the nation taken Gareth Malone, the television choirmaster who put the Wives together, to its heart? It can't be just because it's Christmas or because he has brought a group of inexperienced singers to extraordinary prominence with such skill, patience and diplomacy. No, the reason for the runaway success of the Wives and their tender anthem, Wherever You Are, can be found in the long, glorious, eccentric English tradition of people coming together in song. It is more tried, more evolved, more durable than the pop music at which we also excel, and is a rebuke to the brash instantaneity pushed by X Factor. No one -- certainly not Malone or his army wives -- pretends that they are a challenge to the King's College Choir or have a soloist to threaten Katherine Jenkins. But to watch them is to see why choirs play such a vital role in the life of the nation. These women are a timely antidote to commercialism and a practical demonstration of the power of choral belonging. Maybe it is the profoundly spiritual effect -- "the soul factor" -- of being joined with others in song, a visceral awakening from the virtual reality of the internet. Or maybe it is some kind of response to the downturn that so many people are turning to something relatively inexpensive. I am only partly joking when I say that times are so tough that we have sent our ten-year-old son out to work. Arthur even has to work on Christmas Day. He is a chorister with the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court. Not only do we not have to pay for the fantastic musical education he is receiving, but he actually gets paid for receiving it. In the year that our son has been attending twice-weekly practice and all-day Sunday singing we have seen an incredible transformation. He now wanders around the house singing Byrd and Tallis rather than the latest anthem from WWE wrestling -- testimony to the almost miraculous power of choral music. This power shows itself in the creation of choirs that can be far greater than the sum of their parts. Even in our office choir at Wapping, I have experienced the strange, spiritual force that enters you when you are in the physical heart of the singing. As our son and his fellow choristers sang as they danced in the robing room after their sellout carol concert at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court this week: "Sing, sing, sing." And sing again. <Morning Star> <March 8, 2011 Tuesday> <Arts - Climate polemic credit to National> <BYLINE: John Green> <LENGTH: 399 words> Theatre can easily deal with grand concepts but not with abstract ones and that's why a play about climate change doesn't sound like a thrilling subject for the stage That's the challenge faced by four of Britain's brightest young writers - Moira Buffini, Matt Charman, Penelope Skinner and Jack Thorne - who've been given the task of bringing the clock-ticking issue of global warming home to us in a series of vignettes that are only related in terms of subject matter. A small ensemble plays all the various roles and the performers and respond to the task effortlessly and with real verve. This is not theatre in the traditional sense. It's more a kind of a git-prop piece like Peter Brook's anti-Vietnam war drama US. As such it raises many of the issues surrounding the climate change debate, not least the head-in-the-sand behaviour of "I don't think it will affect me and the science is dubious anyway." Also highlighted are the issues of the sustainability of mass consumption with food being flown into our supermarkets from all over the world, the role played by the big oil and gas companies in frustrating climate control measures, and which forms of active protest to adopt. All are explored through the intimate interaction of individuals, yet the play manages to avoid an over-earnestness and the writers inject plenty of humour to lighten the apocalyptic vision symbolised by thunderous noise, frenetic strobe lighting and on-stage chaos. I particularly liked the advice given on where to buy a house to be safe from rising sea levels - choose one near Hinckley Point, as the government is bound to do all in its power to stop a nuclear power station being flooded, but not to save Brighton or Bournemouth. The appearance of an incredibly realistic and very hungry polar bear that traumatises a camp of Arctic researchers is also a high point. Though it is a short two-hour piece it wouldn't be able to hold your attention for much longer, despite imaginative and effective direction by Bijan Sheibani and a strong cast. But it is a very worthwhile dramatic polemic for those still sitting on the fence and the National is to be congratulated on trying to address burning contemporary issues in this way. Judging by the packed auditorium of mainly young people, it is succeeding splendidly. <Morning Star> <March 8, 2011 Tuesday> <Arts - Reliable pain relief from Coward> <BYLINE: Paul Foley> <LENGTH: 306 words> It may be an old reliable but for sheer entertainment value Noel Coward's 1930s comedy Private Lives still hits the mark. With the long cold winter stretching into March and Cameron's thugs slashing everything in sight, this adaptation from the Royal Exchange is a perfect antidote to the relentless grind of living in these turbulent times. Brilliant young director Michael Buffong, whose fabulous staging of Raisin In The Sun won the Men award for best theatre production of 2010, shows what an excellent and versatile director he is with this adept production. Buffong has assembled a first-rate cast who keep the play zipping along and the laughs flowing. Amanda, who is honeymooning with her stuffy new husband Victor, discovers that her ex Elyot has chosen the same hotel for his honeymoon with the sweet but dim Sibyl. This chance encounter revives their passion and without a by-your-leave they hot-foot it to Paris, with their jilted spouses in pursuit. Holed up in their Paris hideaway, their idyll begins to crumble as the increasing bickering gives way to outright violence. The amazing Imogen Stubbs and the excellent Simon Robson are superb as the reckless and feckless former lovers, who can neither live with nor without each other. And there is great support from Joanna Page as the simpering Sibyl and Clive Hayward as the pompous Victor. Although Coward has some interesting things to say about middle-class morals, ultimately this is a play where you can just sit back, relax and let the spectacle wash over you. The sheer pleasure from the performances coupled with the belly laughs produce enough endorphins to ease away most aches and pains. A show which recharges weary batteries for the battle with this philistine government. <Morning Star> <March 8, 2011 Tuesday> <Arts - Skits with spark;> <Ciaran Bermingham is taken by a new Talawa play on the young black British experience> <BYLINE: Ciaran Bermingham> <LENGTH: 451 words> Talawa theatre celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and as part of the special projects marking its role as one of Britain's foremost black theatre companies it's currently touring Krunch, a devised piece that expressively combines dance, movement, words and music. Most of Krunch's cast would have been very young, or not even born, when the company was first founded. Yet their youthful enthusiasm shows a commitment to Talawa's project and they are evidently aware of their role in carrying the mantle as a new generation of leading black British theatre practitioners. Krunch makes a bold, admirable attempt to articulate what it means to be a young black person in Britain today with competing identies and inherited memories. It's no small feat that it's carried off so well. With eclectic music throughout from an onstage DJ and a bar upstairs, Deptford's vibrant Albany Theatre where Krunch begins its tour almost feels like a club. There's an ideal atmosphere to prick the pomposity associated - rightly or wrongly - with London's largely white, middle-class theatreland. The production and the cast are at their hilarious best during the more humorous skits. One of my favourites is a fanciful imagining of a Facebook Anonymous meeting. "He asked me for my Facebook name instead of my number," laments one self-confessed addict. "Does she poke you?" asks another. "She better not." Krunch's comic moments are most successful in conveying the vulnerability, paranoia and anxiety that underlines the media-savvy, pop-culture lexicon of youth. While there is a great deal of sincerity in the production, ultimately it is the glimmers of irony which shine through brightest. Another stand-out are the strong female cast members, particularly Stephanie Yamson and Maria Yarjah, who lead an excellently aware satire of the acting industry. Interchanging between patois, south London vernacular and African accents, they parody the racialised stereotypes sought by casting directors, suggesting first-hand experience of actors competing in a world where roles are crushingly limited. While Krunch achieves varying levels of success in its ambitiously broad scope, it importantly manages throughout to highlight the fact that there is no singular young black British experience. The array of mediums employed is clearly an attempt to mirror the vast, multifaceted subject matters addressed. The result may at times be contradictory, but then the experiences of being young in a supposedly post-racial, transnational world might seem pretty contradictory too. <Title C-LARKIN AROUND> <Author Ross, Ally> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Dec 6, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> IT'S the columnists' mantra. Love me, hate me, but please don't ignore me. Praise, however rare, is lovely. But a storm of protest is even better. Which is why the correct reaction to Clarkson's One Show "joke" should've been a roll of the eyeballs, and nothing else. You can never, though, underestimate the stupidity of politicians or the vast reserves of fake outrage that now froth away under the surface of this country. So, before you know it, Labour MPs have condemned Clarkson, students' leader Ed Miliband has blown another gasket, and some bone brain from Unison, the public servants' union, has called on a public servant to be sacked. The huge irony is, obviously, they're exactly the same people who were telling everyone else to have a sense of proportion during the Ross/Brand teacup storm. When they've finally untwittered their knickers over this one, however, they might just notice the country is broke and we've not a pot to p*** in, because, as Labour's former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne admitted: "We've spent all the money." Though, of course, he was: "Only joking." INCIDENTALLY, bravo to Eamonn Holmes, who described any attempt to sack Clarkson as "a sense of humour bypass" and added: "We're not all easily offended these days. But some people are very easily offended these days. Some people know their rights these days." And some people get their lawyers to threaten The Impressions Show, because some people eat too much, these days. <Title TOWIE's 'snobby' critics are slammed> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date May 31, 2011> <Section TV Biz> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> THE former story producer of The Only Way Is Essex has criticised the "snobbery" surrounding the show's Bafta win. Daran Little said the ITV2 programme followed on naturally from the likes of Big Brother and the "scripted reality" format was here to stay. TOWIE, as it's known by fans, won the viewers' choice category at the TV awards this month. But Daran said: "I was surprised by the snobbery surrounding it. "If fans want to show their appreciation by voting for it, what's the problem? Maybe it's because viewers want to wallow in the lives of 'ordinary' people, to laugh at their stupidity and shout their catchphrases. "Isn't this the next evolution of Big Brother? "To film fame-hungry but seemingly talentless young people in their natural environment rather than in one big house?" Little, who picked up a Bafta for penning drama The Road To Coronation Street, said: "Maybe in 50 years it'll be hard to imagine life without structured reality shows." He left The Only Way Is Essex after the first series and went on to story-produce E4 show Made In Chelsea, which follows socialites around London's King's Road. <Title SKINNY WHITE GA-TTE TO GO: bizarre> <Author Smart, Gordon> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date May 31, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> LADY GAGA'S kinky postman has been leaving his hats lying around again. She wore this leather cap on a trip to Starbucks in LA. It's surprising superstar GaGa buys her own coffee - although out of shot she still gets one of her flunkies to carry it around for her. The slender singer doesn't even dress herself these days, bar headwear. Her marketing team must take care of the rest. Why else would she be wearing a T-shirt with her own face on? <Title DIAMOND GLEEZERS> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Mar 31, 2011> <Section TV Biz> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> GLEE stars Lea Michele and Chris Colfer lifted the roof at a shopping centre -- by bursting into song. The duo, goody twoshoes Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel, were joined by a gang of backing singers to film scenes for the second series of the E4 hit. Co-star Mark Salling (Noah Puckerman) also took part in the scenes in Los Angeles. Lea, 24, managed to keep smiling despite being involved in a car accident shortly before. Her vehicle was hit as she drove home from work at 2am. She walked away from the crash shaken and reported it to police. The star had a previous prang -- on her way to audition for Glee. She insisted at the time: "I'm a pretty good driver, but there was confusion." Lea added: "I hear you have to crash your car once in California before you can be a true LA resident." <Title PACK YER TRUNK.. WE'RE OUT OF EAR: SUN SAVES BEATEN ELEPHANT> <Author Flynn, Brian> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Mar 31, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> ANNE the abused elephant packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus yesterday -- after The Sun stepped in to help prepare her for a happy new life. Circus boss Bobby Roberts agreed to let Anne go to Longleat safari park after being as sickened as our readers to find her groom was secretly beating her. We were on hand to welcome independent vets to check 59-year-old Anne and ensure she was fit to travel after the deal was sealed. And I broke the news to the elephant over a trunk of her favourite treat -- a giant suitcase full of bananas. Circus owner Bobby said: "We want to thank The Sun for helping arrange the perfect send-off and we're delighted Anne will be retiring to the ideal place. She will love Longleat." People around the world were outraged at footage filmed by an animal rights group showing a recently-hired groom, Romanian Nicolae Nitu, beating Anne with a pitchfork while Bobby was away with his circus. The elephant stayed at the family's base in Polebrook, Cambs, when the circus is on the road because she is now too old to travel or perform. Bobby said: "We were as horrified as everyone else when we found out that a keeper had been beating Anne. "We trusted him to look after her and he abused that trust when we were away. It's the most awful thing we've ever had to deal with." The family have already handed details of rogue keeper Nitu to police in the hope he can be tracked down and prosecuted. They had been trying to rehome gentle giant Anne but had no luck because of her age and arthritis. We were on hand yesterday as specialists concluded she bore no injuries from mistreatment but had arthritis in her back legs because of her old age, for which she is already being treated. <Title Simon's in Oprah life class> <Publication title The Sun> <Publication date Jan 1, 2011> <Section TV Biz> <Publisher News International Trading Limited.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> X FACTOR boss Simon Cowell will give lessons in LIFE on Oprah Winfrey's new self-help show. He is one of the experts in Master Class, which launches in the US today. Simon, 51, will dish out advice based on what he has learned as a TV and music mogul. The former American Idol judge will tell viewers of the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN): "You have to think with your heart and not your head. "That's where people in the music business screw it up. They don't think with emotion." Other experts include rapper Jay-Z, actor Sidney Poitier and politician Condoleezza Rice. <Subject Documentary films; Rap music; DVD; Musicians & conductors Title Explicit DVDs sold legally to children Author Revoir, Paul Publication title Daily Mail Publication date Mar 30, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> MOST parents wouldn't consider lapdancing or graphic scenes of violence as suitable viewing for their children. But thanks to a loophole in the law, youngsters are able to buy sexually explicit and ultra-violent DVDs without any restrictions. Although there is a series of viewing guidelines based on age, many pop videos, sports releases and documentaries do not have to be formally included and are simply classed as 'exempt'. This makes it legal for youngsters to buy material including sexually charged imagery. According to research, eight out of ten parents believe such exempt videos should be reclassified. Among the videos singled out for concern are cage-fighting compilations and the Pussycat Dolls Workout, which contains suggestive fitness routines. In one case, topless lap-dancing was considered exempt on the basis that it is an exercise video. Semi-naked cage fighting has been free from classification because it is a 'sport'. Parents are already concerned about the appropriateness of family viewing. Thousands complained about December's X Factor final following lewd dance routines by Rihanna. The pop singer has a tour DVD which is 'exempt'. But the British Board of Film Classification which conducted the survey with parenting website Mumsnet, found only 8 per cent of those polled understood what the 'E' symbol means. The organisation, which issues viewing guidelines, is powerless to act, as distributors decide whether a release is exempt. Labour's culture spokesman, Gloria De Piero yesterday wrote to Culture Minister Ed Vaizey to raise concerns about the loophole in the 1984 Video Recordings Act. She wrote: 'I have seen some of this content, which includes cage fighting, dangerous combat techniques, topless lapdancing, illegal drug abuse, and racism. It is clearly unsuitable. 'Yet because the video is of a type that which enjoys exemption from statutory classification and because the content falls short of the extreme content which causes the video to lose that exemption, it may be supplied to children. The Government needs to act.' Mr Vaizey expects to make an announcement on the issue soon, she said. Responsible parts of the video industry do send problematic 'exempt' material to the BBFC for classification but others do not. A BBFC spokesman said: 'When the Act was passed in 1984, legislators could not have anticipated some of the material which is legally claiming exemption today. 'This means that children can legally obtain this potentially harmful material with no restriction on its supply. 'The BBFC believes, along with politicians and parents, that the more extreme music and sport DVDs and some documentaries, should lose their exempt status and be give appropriate age restrictions to protect children.' RAPPER'S ORGY IN A LAPDANCE CLUB AMONG the DVDs classed as 'exempt' from classification are: 50 Cent: The Best Music Videos, which depicts an orgy in a lapdancing club. In the video for the American rapper's song Disco Inferno, topless girls repeatedly kiss while seminaked couples grind on top of each other, and 50 Cent, in a group-sex scene. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad live tour, featuring the singer's infamously raunchy performances. In the video for her current hit S&M, the singer is variously shown semisuffocating behind plastic sheeting, brandishing a whip while sporting a pink rubber dominatrix costume, and bound at the arms and legs with rope. Several Lady Gaga releases, including Glamourpuss and Just Dance, which claims to be 'totally uncensored'. Live shows by the controversial artist can involve simulated sex - at a New York concert last year the singer stretched out on a dancer's lap while another performer groped her breasts. <Subject Art galleries & museums Title Gallery faces the facts as 9 portraits disappear [Scot Region] Author Bruce, Sarah Publication title Daily Mail Publication date Mar 30, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> STAFF at one of Scotland's most prestigious art galleries have admitted losing nine 'significant' paintings from its collection. The pieces, some of which date back to the early 1700s, were found to be missing during a multi- million-pound revamp of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. Staff yesterday said the works were 'currently recorded on our database with locations that checks have revealed to be either inaccurate or out-of-date' - or, simply put, the gallery does not know where they are. A spokesman for National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) said the paintings were not officially 'missing' as they were believed to be somewhere in storage. In a statement, NGS added: 'Anomalies in the system are very rare but can occur, for example, if detailed information is not recorded accurately on the system, or if a record is not updated accurately when an item is moved.' The paintings include a portrait of Professor John Anderson (1726-1796), who is credited with founding what would become Strathclyde University. Duncan Thomson, keeper of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery from 1982 to 1997, said the missing works were 'significant' and 'important, part of the primary collection', adding: 'I would be amazed if they were not able to find them.' <Subject Musical recordings; Musicians & conductors Title Beyonce's dad quits as manager: MUSIC Author Smyth, Leanne Publication title The Daily Mirror Publication date Mar 30, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> THE father of pop star Beyonce has quit as her manager, it has been revealed. The 29-year-old Crazy In Love singer has been left without a manager as her father Mathew Knowles walked away after guiding her career since her teenage debut. Beyonce said: "He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me. "I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. "They were hard-working entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps." Mathew has managed his daughter since she started out with chart-topping girl group Destiny's Child in the late 1990s and throughout her career as a solo artist. But it has been revealed the decision to split was mutual. <Subject Vitamin E; Cooking Title Happy Couples: Foods that are better when eaten together Publication title Daily Mail Publication date Mar 29, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> SPRINKLE sesame seeds on your spinach to stave off colds and flu. Spinach is a good source of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant known to play an important role in the immune system and also thought to protect against cancer. Sesame seeds contain a phytoestrogen called sesamin that boosts vitamin E absorption. Toss sesame seeds into a spinach salad or on to cooked spinach, or saute spinach in sesame oil. SNACK on nuts at the pub to boost your heart. Studies show nuts reduce bad cholesterol and boost good cholesterol, while beer, in moderation, can thin the blood and help to prevent clots forming which can lead to a heart attack. Consuming them together will give your heart an extra protective boost. Make sure that you opt for unsalted nuts -- excess salt will increase blood pressure. <Subject Restaurants> <Title drink> <Author Curran, Tim> <Publication title The Daily Mirror> <Publication date Mar 26, 2011> <Section Features> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> REDS First, a real Budget beater, Baron St Jean Vin de France Rouge (Aldi, pounds 2.99), a medium- bodied blend from southern France - and yes, this is the regular price, not an offer. You can't expect miracles but it's an honest, full-flavoured, dryish, food-friendly blend with a touch of cherry fruit. Try it with red meat dishes, pasta or pizza. *** Vignale Valpolicella la 2010, Veneto (Waitrose, pounds 4.99) is a fresh, fruity lighter-bodied Italian red, full of warming plum and cherry fruit - fine value to have with pasta, cheese and steaks. **** Asda Extra Special Beaujolais Villages 2009 (Asda, pounds 5.97) is made from the lighter, raspberry and cherry-fruited gamay grape. This easy-drinking red goes especially well with ham, omelettes and quiches, as well as pasta or pizzas. **** WHITES Prestige de Calvet Bordeaux Semillon Sauvignon 2009 (Sainsbury's, half price at pounds 5.24 until April 5) is a crisp, fruity French white, not bad at this price but I'd baulk at paying the full cost. Good with seafood pasta. *** The Co-op is keeping down prices with its new South African range, which includes unoaked The Co-operative South African Chardonnay 2010 (pounds 1 off at pounds 3.99 until Tuesday). Clean, crisp, light and fruity, try it with salads, white meat and fish. *** La Chasse du Pape Chardonnay Viognier 2009 (Asda, pounds 1.88 off at pounds 4.50) is a stylish, fresh-tasting southern French blend. The viognier gives peachiness, chardonnay adds citrus and structure. Especially good with fish. **** Marks & Spencer Gavi del Comune di Gavi 2010 (M&S, pounds 9.49) is for a special meal. The new vintage of this elegant Italian white, made from the cortese grape, has loads of lemony freshness. **** ON THE GRAPEVINE Microbreweries are booming in Britain - there are now 750, more than at any time since the Second World War, bringing fresh vitality to the country's brewing business. Britain still has a massive thirst for Champagne. In 2009, the average price paid for a bottle was pounds 17.22 and Britain imported more than 30 million bottles - more than double the amount snapped up by Champagne's second-largest export market, the US. UK wine buyers decide on their choices first by colour, then special offers, grape variety and country of origin, research reveals. Cognac is booming in China. While sales fell in the rest of the world last year, China saw a 7% increase, especially in luxury brands. Growth of whisky and rum sales there also outstrips the rest of the world. Green power will drive three whisky distilleries when giant tidal turbines are installed on the sea bed between the islands of Islay and Jura off the west coast of Scotland. <Subject Interior design> <Title RADIO CHOICE> <Publication title Daily Mail> <Publication date Mar 24, 2011> <Section News> <Publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd.> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> IN HOUSE BEAUTIFUL (RADIO 4, 11.30AM), a one-off programme to tie in with the V&A exhibition on the aesthetic movement, The Cult Of Beauty, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen visits the amazing Leighton House in London's Holland Park. The home and studio of the hugely successful painter Frederic Leighton, this splendidly opulent house perfectly embodies the aesthetic movement and had a huge influence on taste and Seventies and Laurence to sing interior design in the Seventies and succeeding decades. Who better than Laurence to sing its praises? The AFTERNOON PLAY: CAVITY (RADIO 4, 2.15PM) is a rum affair, but strangely compelling. It's a surreal drama in which an adulterous couple are caught out when the man's wife returns unexpectedly. The hide in the attic, but finds herself trapped in the cavity wall. There, weirdly, she comes to feel quite at home, and gradually turns into something mistress hurries to hide in the attic, but finds herself trapped in the cavity wall. There, weirdly, she comes to feel quite at home, and gradually turns into something not quite human. <Subject Gardens & gardening; Flowers & plants> <Title End of the line for poet's wild daffodil> <Author Gray, Louise> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Mar 28, 2011> <Section News> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type News> THE delicate wild daffodils of the poet William Wordsworth's most famous poem could be lost forever because of a predatory rival. His "host of golden daffodils" were the native species, narcissus pseudonarcissus. But it is under threat from the hardier and more prolific narcissus carlton, bred for modern gardens. The poet wrote about the paler, wild daffodils after coming across them on a walk along the shore at Ullswater, in the Lake District, with his sister Dorothy. John Hooson, the National Trust's wildlife and conservation adviser at Ullswater, said: "What's happening is the bright yellow flowers which have been planted more recently are fusing with the native daffodil. "The number of these wild daffodils - those which Wordsworth would have seen - are now dwindling as a result. "I would urge people not to interfere with nature by planting bulbs around Lake Ullswater otherwise these flowers could disappear." But Paul Kleian, of the Wordsworth Trust, said: "In my opinion, the wild flowers aren't disappearing. They bloom later than the more hardy species and are often not seen until April." <Subject Motion pictures; Musicians & conductors> <Title Silent films were never really silent: Opening gambit Live music bridges the gap between the vintage movie world and the modern day> <Author Davis, Carl> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Mar 26, 2011> <Section Features> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type Feature> In Rupert Julian's 1925 silent film version of The Phantom of the Opera, the audience gathers in the Paris Opera to watch the conductor enter the crowded pit; and then, on his downbeat, to see the curtain lift. Tomorrow night, much the same will happen in real life at the Royal Festival Hall, as I stand up to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra in a performance of the score I created for Julian's film in 1996, while the film plays on the big screen. Cinemagoers in the early 20th century were used to seeing films accompanied by the live performance of the score; the custom vanished only with the arrival of recorded sound in film. So how did I end up bringing it back to life? My interest in silent films was born in my childhood in New York, when I watched Chaplin shorts. Later, I saw his films City Lights and Modern Times in the city's art cinemas. But my breakthrough came in the Seventies, when I worked on Hollywood, a 13-part television series exploring the history of silent film. My work entailed researching the lives of the industry's musicians and how they composed or chose suitable music. I met several practitioners, then at great ages, to ask them how they did it. Most helpful was Ann Leaf, who lived behind the Hollywood sign and had been the Paramount Theatre's last organist. When I visited her, Ann opened a large cupboard and pointed out different scores: "That piece is good for love scenes, that for chases and that one for Roman orgies!" At shows, her husband would sit next to her with a stopwatch. Each scene had been carefully timed and he would cue her when it was about to change. In June 1980, at a party to celebrate the screening of Hollywood, I blithely suggested to colleagues that I try composing a new score for a whole film. The film historian Kevin Brownlow had nearly five hours of his restoration of Abel Gance's Napoleon up his sleeve. The British Film Institute held the print, and in collaboration with Thames Television, they commissioned me to write a score, which we presented in a single performance on November 30 1980 at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square. That day changed everything. I had to learn how to assemble the existing musical material, edit it, compose new music and attempt to synchronise it to the film without any of the clicks, wipes and fresh starts afforded by a recording studio. I had, in short, to acquire the skills of an opera or ballet conductor - only instead of singers or dancers, I had the inflexibility of the screen. I called the process "stepping into dead men's shoes". That performance of my score for Napoleon came to the attention of Jeremy Isaacs, who was just beginning to assemble the components of Channel 4, and was its first chief executive. He wanted to commission a series of silent film restorations with new scores. Over the next two decades I created an entire repertoire of film scores - from epics like Ben-Hur, to three Greta Garbo films and one-offs like Phantom and Greed. I also entered into a fruitful collaboration with the Chaplin estate, which led to the restoration of Chaplin's own scores for live performances of City Lights and The Gold Rush. Soon, orchestras looking for new repertoire became interested: the Philharmonia led the way, then the RLPO came on board, and others followed. The new musical scores form a bridge between today's world and the bygone age of the films. We accept period practices in opera and ballet, and enjoy them. The same should go for silent films - which were, after all, never silent. <Subject Books> <Title Cookery writers who stir the soul: Rose Prince on food and family www.roseprince.co.uk> <Author Prince, Rose> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Mar 26, 2011> <Section Features; Opinion, Column> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type Feature> Writing about food can be as good as eating it - especially when you want to shake off the blues. An experiment by psychologists at the University of Buffalo, reported this week, showed that when participants were forced into depression by writing about an unhappy event, their mood would change for the better if they wrote about their favourite food soon afterwards. And this is news? I have only to look at the over-crowded cookery section of my bookshelves to appreciate that underlying misery is a requirement in the genre. There's more loneliness and loss in the lives of the cookery writers than there is in that of poets. "If you have never been really sad," said a girlfriend, dabbing away my tears long ago after a failed relationship, "you will never understand true happiness." I replied that without experiencing true misery, it was impossible, truly, to articulate the multi-storey, gooey, love-substitute bliss of patisserie. Personal pain has been the springboard for the most enduring recipe books stretching back to the dysfunctional life of the 18th century's most sympathetic food writer, Hannah Glasse, to today's comfort food specialist Nigella Lawson, who lost her husband, mother and sister too soon. Glasse was the unwanted illegitimate daughter of a gentleman and devoted to her penniless adventurer of a husband. She endured bankruptcy and debtors' jail and knew more than any housewife how to keep your end up. This she did with gorgeous food on a budget, and her instructions from the hellish front line were lapped up by her adoring readers. Elizabeth David yearned for love, both from the father who died when she was very young and a long string of rotters she fell for. Driven by the loss of the last of these to a drinking spree, a subsequent stroke left her without her sex drive - and some of her ability to taste. Yet we readers were unaware; her memoir was about only the good things, eaten in sunshine. Isabella Beeton's short career bequeathed a lasting legacy of sound advice on life management. Claudia Roden, uprooted from warring Egypt at an early age, writes yearningly about the food of her birthplace. The books of another fugitive from an unhappy childhood, Nigel Slater, have had me heading to the kitchen for a meal guaranteed to anaesthetise pain on many occasions. A successful cookery book can, of course, be written on a diet of smug self-satisfaction. How else to explain the book sales of I-love-me Jamie Oliver, and ohso-superior-Delia? But an inspiring book that provides prose that is as good as the meal itself, that's a different recipe. Take one bucket of tears and add a degree of despair, mix together, and help yourself to the emotion. <Subject Theatre> <Title Shakespeare finds a sumptuous new home... and the coffee's terrific, too: THEATRE> <Author Spencer, Charles> <Publication title The Daily Telegraph> <Publication date Mar 11, 2011> <Section Features> <Place of publication London (UK)> <Source type Newspapers> <Document type Feature> THE RSC opened its first productions to the press yesterday in its new Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the main element in its dramatic Pounds 112.8 million transformation project. Before entering theatre, however, what I really needed was a double espresso - the idea of three and a half hours of King Lear, surely the most gruelling and emotionally draining of Shakespeare's plays, was inconceivable without one. The good news is that the new bars and restaurants are efficient and spacious, and whereas one was often forced to endure frustrating queues in the old RST, the service is splendidly efficient - and the coffee terrific. What's more, the rooftop restaurant with its fantastic views over Shakespeare country looks set to become a tourist destination in its own right. But it's the new 1,040-seat auditorium that really matters - and it is superb. In the old theatre, the stage seemed to be in another county if you were unlucky to be sitting at the back of the balcony, with the actors looking like toy soldiers. Now no one is further than 15 meters from the action. The audience curls round the thrust stage at three levels, so that both performers and audience seem to sharing the same room. The intimacy is tremendous, creating an atmosphere at once attentive and charged, and those I spoke to in even the remotest seats said they felt very much part of the action. The acoustic are superb, too, and the new RST feels infinitely more welcoming than the old barn of yore. It is wonderful, however, that much of the fabric of the original theatre complex has been preserved, creating a rich mixture of old and new. I'm afraid I can't be quite as enthusiastic about David Farr's production of King Lear, first seen in Stratford's temporary Courtyard Theatre last year, which was effectively a prototype for the new RST. The show's mixture of medieval and First World War costumes seems merely silly, and the showy sound and lighting effects with lots of neon tubes and electronic crackles seem downright jejune, especially in contrast to the telling simplicity of the Donmar Warehouse's recent production with Derek Jacobi. <Morning Star> <March 30, 2011 Wednesday> <Join us in our fight against Gove's drive for academies> <SECTION: LETTERS> <LENGTH: 205 words> Last October the heads of all the local secondary schools, which include five grammar schools, wrote to Michael Gove advocating a mass conversion to academy status "without undue delay." Becoming an academy brings with it very little as regards long-term benefits. Head teachers are being seduced by talk of freedom from the curriculum, more control over policies such as admissions (in an area where selective education is already active, what will happen to local children?) and greater financial freedoms (when the funding being given is equivalent to what would be received from the LEA but with the added pressure of bringing in and paying for the necessary services without the benefit of economies of scale). All local accountability is lost from academies - they are effectively no longer a part of their community but simply reside within it. This conversion, if it goes ahead, will create a worrying and dangerous precedent for all other local authority schools in England and Wales. A petition is active and can be signed at www.gopetition.com/petition/43500.htmlPlease join this fight, not just for those directly affected, but to say no to the fragmentation and privatisation of our school system. <Subject Older people; Coalition governments Title Caring for our Futures: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 16, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Sir, As the co-leads for the Department of Health work on Caring for our Futures we were outraged by reports that reform to social care was being reserved for the long term. This is a false portrayal of our work, and of the coalition Government's agreement that reform was "urgent". We have been clear that the experience of people who need care now is in immediate need of change. The care system is funded in the wrong ways: resources are inadequate and misdirected, and the legal basis for care is outdated. There is a consensus that this is unsustainable. Doing nothing potentially costs more to the state and people buying care, while the wrong care system continues to pose a real danger to the NHS. We were tasked with presenting views from those who use care and the sector about what reform might look like. We offered a new long-term vision of what a 21st-century care system might look like. There is no quick fix. But there is the potential for a historic shift that will set this system on the path towards being the best it can be. We also outlined the support those working in the sector have for seeking to change the system for the better. We accept it would take time to complete that vision. We need to reverse decades of failure by successive governments to tackle the care system. We cannot delay starting any longer. To do so would be both reckless with scarce resources and betray the needs of the vast majority of us who will need care for the later stages of our lives. On taking office this Government made an unprecedented commitment to undertake care reform in this Parliament urgently. Our findings were designed to take this forward, and were positively received by Government. We will work to support change and in so doing we will hold the Government to its word. <Subject Behavior; Brain Title Brain states: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 15, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Sir, Nicholas Mackintosh's view (report, Dec 13) that adolescents are not responsible for their actions because their brains predispose them to irresponsibility, requires debate because it runs the risk of licensing the application of the "my brain made me do it" defence to the population at large before due consideration to the principle has been given. It is generally accepted in neuroscience and philosophy of mind that the states of our brain cause pretty much all of our behaviour, and those same disciplines are identifying correlations between neural states and the tendency to specific behaviours. In principle, therefore, the time will come when defence lawyers generally will be able to call expert witnesses to attest that a particular set of brain states were the cause of their client's actions. Such circumstances would, by Professor Mackintosh's principles, presumably result in reduced sentencing and may ultimately deflate the notion of crime completely. That may or may not be desirable, but society's consideration of the principles by which this journey will be managed should not be pre-empted by the huge bound that Professor Mackintosh's proposals represent. <Title Let football fans sit or stand: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Journal subject General Interest Periodicals--Great Britain Source type Newspapers Document type Letter> Sir, I'm afraid that Mark Hodkinson (Opinion, Dec 21) gives an inaccurate view of fans' attitude to standing at football grounds. Fans across the country continue to stand, home and away, at all-seater stadiums, clearly demonstrating a will among a substantial proportion of football fans to be allowed the opportunity to stand at games. I stood all game as an away fan last Sunday at Fratton Park; Manchester United fans had their ticket allocation cut at Liverpool due to "persistent" standing. The argument that "we have got used to it" just doesn't hold water. Standing in seating areas poses a safety risk, and can obscure the view of those who wish to sit. Safe standing areas, such as those used in Germany where Bundesliga games are still affordable and generate a fantastic atmosphere, allow fans who wish to stand to do so, while the view of those who sit is not obscured. The Scottish Premier League is to be applauded for its stance, and it is time the English authorities followed suit. <Title Schools, hospitals and 'professional dress': Letters to the Editor Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 31, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Document type Letter to the editor> Sir, Everyone who cares about the future of our schools should welcome the appointment of Sir Michael Wilshaw as the new head of Ofsted (reports, Dec 28, and letters, Dec 30). Not only does he believe in the setting of high professional expectations for schools and teachers, he also has the credibility of having been an outstanding head teacher himself. He is also right to identify that addressing the quality of school governance is key to raising standards and that direct experience of school leadership should be highly prized. Governors (whether paid or not) who have themselves recently been serving heads have invaluable, fresh knowledge which can be used strategically to support senior leadership teams without interfering with the executive running of school. The more decision making is placed in the hands of those with first-hand professional experience, the closer we will come to a long-term education strategy that has the needs of children, rather than the vested interests of politicians, at its heart. Sir, Teachers are being urged to dress in a more professional manner, but the opposite is happening in the medical profession. Until recently I always wore a suit and tie on hospital ward rounds. In accord with current dogma and for fear of reprimands from the infection control nurses, I now conduct these rounds without a tie and "bare below the elbows". Incidentally, ties (that have no contact with other people) are banned, but this does not apply to blood pressure cuffs, which can be used on the arms of multiple patients. Sir, Back in the days of the Beatles I was the art master at a large, mixed secondary school in the Black Country. It was not long before all the senior boys were wearing their hair down to their shoulders. The headmaster, wishing to curb any further excesses, decreed that all boys with long hair would, for all practical lessons, either cut their hair or wear a hairnet. In my own department we catered for all forms of graphic art, printing and ceramics. From joining the school I had worn my own hair well down over my collar and matched it with a crisp white shirt, a Dijon-yellow tie and a green corduroy suit. A few days after the hairnet edict the head received a delegation of boys whose point was: "Why do we have to wear a hairnet in the art department while the teacher does not?" The head listened patiently and thanked the boys for their carefully reasoned argument. His response was: "Thank you, gentlemen, but may I remind you that Mr Hoben is head of our art department -- we expect him to look like that." <Location United Kingdom--UK Title Voting on the Union:Letters to the Editor Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date Dec 29, 2011 Section Letters Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> SIR - John Corbett (Letters, December 24) asks whether Scottish expatriates should be eligible to vote in a referendum on Scottish independence. Indeed. But what about the other inhabitants of the United Kingdom who live outside Scotland, or the English people who live in Scotland? Should they all be entitled to vote? The refurbished National Museum in Edinburgh has an installation which tells visitors that there are five million people in Scotland, but also 25 million of Scottish descent in other countries. One such person is David Cameron, whose father is from Aberdeen and who would prefer the Union to stay. Another is Sir Sean Connery, who says he will remain outside Scotland until it achieves independence. There is much to be said for both parties having a vote - in this case, Scottish and non-Scottish members of the United Kingdom. As a Londoner with two Scottish grandchildren and family in Glasgow, I wonder if I might claim entitlement to vote. <Subject EU directives Location United Kingdom--UK Title Doctors from Europe can practise in Britain when British doctors cannot: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date Dec 26, 2011 Section Letters Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> SIR - At present, professionals, including doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, veterinary surgeons and architects, are granted automatic recognition throughout the EU of their qualifications based on EU-wide agreed minimum training requirements. As a result of the 2005 Professional Qualifications Directive, those moving on a temporary and occasional basis were given more flexibility to practise anywhere in the EU. The out-of-hours health provision in Britain is heavily dependent on this directive. The EU is proposing changes to the Professional Qualifications Directive, which may make it easier for doctors from the EU to practise in Britain, particularly on a temporary basis. At the same time the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom is introducing revalidation for all doctors registered with the GMC. From 2012, no UK doctor, fully qualified and registered with the GMC, will be permitted to treat a patient in the United Kingdom without a licence to practise, which will be subject to revalidation every five years. The revalidation process is complex, and requires every practitioner in the United Kingdom to provide evidence under a variety of headings. These include general information (providing context about what you do in all aspects of your work); keeping up to date (maintaining and enhancing the quality of your professional work); review of your practice (evaluating the quality of your professional work); feedback on your practice (how others perceive the quality of your professional work); and so on. I am a fully registered medical practitioner, qualified in 1969, with a licence to practise, but currently not practising. Once revalidation is in place I shall no longer have the option to practise and will therefore voluntarily surrender my licence to practise - though remaining on the register of medical practitioners. At the same time, under the current and proposed EU directive, any doctor from the EU will be able to register with the GMC and practise in the United Kingdom without showing evidence of revalidation or competence in English. The Health Secretary has said that he will impose language standards in future but even that is not required at present. With a European professional card, those interested in providing services in other member states on a temporary basis would be able to use their professional card for two years, without other administrative requirements. So EU qualified doctors - without a licence to practise but with a European professional card - will be allowed to work in Britain on a temporary basis, but I will not. Strangely, under the current and proposed legislation, as a fully registered doctor in Britain - without a licence to practise - I will have the right to practise in all other EU countries. But I will not! <Daily Star June 30, 2011 Thursday Letters & emails SECTION: LETTERS; Pg. 31 LENGTH: 148 words> "YOU do the fighting and I'll do the talking" seems to be the attitude of David Cameron over the defence budget. But that's the problem - it's all talk and no action. All the words in the world won't produce one fighter jet. You can use all the clever soundbites you like but out there in the killing zones, our forces know they are all just futile empty gestures. Our fighting men need the tools to do the job. But Cameron doesn't like to be told the truth, and he certainly doesn't want people to realise that the military action in Libya is leaving Britain without an effective defensive air force, navy or army. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Pensions are a joke but political class rakes it in; LETTERS SECTION: LETTERS; 36 LENGTH: 130 words> HAVING just read your Letters page of March 25, I felt prompted to write to express my ongoing indignation about age-related allowances to the State Pension. This year I celebrated my 80th birthday with the generous gift of an additional 25p per week from the Government after 50 years of paying National Insurance and Income Tax, not to mention two y ears' National Service. This brings my weekly pension to a staggering GBP 135.15. When politicians and bankers can be confident of receiving anything up to six-figure pensions and bonuses - from public money - for relatively short periods of service, even when found to be responsible for gross misdemeanours whilst in post, it is no wonder that the people of this country are beginning to rise up in protest. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Violent protesters should be made to pay for riots; LETTERS SECTION: LETTERS; 36 LENGTH: 113 words> I THOUGHT Andy Hayman, ex-Chief Constable, was retired? Why does the ITV news give him airtime? He must be a source of embarrassment with his verdict on the riots where he continually complains about the police handling of the protests. The police cannot win - they are either too soft or condemned for brutality. It is high time the mindless scum, many with rich parents, are sent to prison for long terms and made to pay for the damage they cause. It is also time anyone wearing a mask or anything that covers their face is arrested on the spot. The police should also have water cannons. As a taxpayer it disgusts me the expense caused by a few mindless idiots. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Radioactive cocktail is a threat to public health; LETTERS SECTION: LETTERS; 36 LENGTH: 127 words> MAY I remind John Connor of Dunfermline (Letters, March 25) that iodine 131 is only one of a cocktail of radioactive elements being spewed from Fukushima in Japan. Radioactive caesium is lethal to all life and litters the beaches and seabed round Dounreay. Potassium 40 has a lethal half- life lasting 50 billion years. Uranium 238 is deadly for four and a half billion years, and uranium 235 for 113 million years. Potassium iodine pills are useless against these. Absurdly, it is now costing one hundred times more to decommission Dounreay than it cost to build the blighted blimp. It is an idiotic cost/benefit equation that costs more to get rid of the station and store the nuclear waste, than was earned by any electricity produced by Dounreay. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Idea that proves nuclear sites can be totally safe; LETTERS SECTION: LETTERS; 36 LENGTH: 127 words> A FEW weeks ago I had a letter published in my local newspaper in which I stated I was willing to take my dinner off any nuclear submarine at Rosyth. There was no response from any politicians. Reading that Cllr Liz McLardy wants to turn the Hunterston A power station into a visitors' attraction with water slides and adventure courses (Scottish Daily Express, March 28) is a great idea as it will make good use of the site, closed since 1990. Anyone with any common sense would know that this would only be able to go ahead if radiation levels were back to normal readings and the site cleared of radioactive contamination. Another example of politicians and eco-campaigners not knowing what they are talking about! <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Screening for dementia can help us to tackle it; LETTERS SECTION: LETTERS; 36 LENGTH: 121 words> I WRITE in relation to calls made by the Alzheimer's Society to screen over-75s for dementia. I believe this would be a welcome step forward in terms of supporting the potentially hundreds of thousands of people in the UK who are living with the condition undiagnosed. The Alzheimer's Society says that within 10 years, a million people will suffer from dementia but less than half, if things remain as they are, will be diagnosed. By identifying the condition early, people can receive the right course of treatments to stay healthier for longer, giving them more time to get their affairs in order to plan for the future and most importantly to spend time with those they love. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Feltz is wrong to suggest we become pill poppers; LETTERS SECTION: LETTERS; 36 LENGTH: 101 words> RE "Pass the pills" (Scottish Daily Express, March 29). Sorry, Vanessa, I can't agree with you on this one. Why on Earth would anyone want to take pills with goodness knows how many side effects when they were perfectly healthy? We can't afford to treat the sick so why should perfectly healthy people be taking pills? The same goes for all the people who have operations they don't need, all very risky stuff. Everyone has a responsibility to themselves, they should be encouraged to lead a healthy life and not expect some miracle pill which may or may not do more harm than good. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday It takes a tough old bird to get by in UK these days; LETTERS SECTION: LETTERS; 36 LENGTH: 76 words> IT'S great news that Britain's oldest breeding osprey, Lady, should have returned to her nest at the Perthshire wildlife reserve, her Scottish home for 21 years. She must have been physically tough to have survived the long flight from Africa but one must doubt her mental faculties given that the Express has warned that parents in this country can't afford to feed their offspring. Hopefully Lady will be an exception! <Morning Star March 30, 2011 Wednesday For one beautiful day London belonged to us all SECTION: LETTERS LENGTH: 264 words> There was a carnival atmosphere - families, pensioners, babies in backpacks, whistles blowing, choirs singing, drummers drumming. Crowds lined every bridge, every road, as far as the eye could see. It took us hours just to reach the start of the march. Having been on countless London demonstrations over the years - and having been assaulted by the Met on several occasions - I expected to find the same treatment from the police and a hostile media prepared to show us in the worst possible light. But with their own pensions and jobs on the line from Con-Dem cuts the police handed out helpful leaflets and stood back to allow the people to march in peace. It was difficult for us to join the huge mass of humanity at the start of the march, so we had free rides on the Thames pleasure boat to get across the river. We entertained those on board with our songs of solidarity. A cafe in Trafalgar Square gave us free meals, saying "Go on, you are fighting for all of us" and the Tube guards allowed us through the barriers to get back to our coaches. Cars hooted in approval as the march passed by peacefully. A small breakaway group did damage to banks and shops, but the day belonged to the half a million working people who were fighting to defend their pensions, jobs, services, education and health against the Con-Dems' savage attacks. The alternative to cuts was clear - close the tax loopholes for multinationals, banks and rich tax dodgers and leave our pensions and services alone. For a day, London belonged to us all, and it was beautiful. <Morning Star March 30, 2011 Wednesday Radio 4 show just a platform for right-wing windbags SECTION: LETTERS LENGTH: 171 words> Alongside Boris Johnson and Bob Crow was Dame Ann Leslie. Preceding any comments she made, she delivered a string of examples from faraway crises that she had reported on in the past. This I can only presume was to give herself credibility on the matters that were raised. With the impending TUC march coming up, someone raised the issue "Should I march tomorrow against the cuts?" Her reply, after another long winded interlude of examples, was that demonstrations in other countries have far more moral standing and we should feel rather lucky with what we have already - implying that the people who were going to attend the rally should know their stations and be damned for asking for anything more. This rather silly lady has taken all her years of self- servitude and used it to insult the very foundations of the British working classes. Though I suppose in her eyes British working caste would be a more apt description. Dear old Boris didn't fare any better either. He's not that good a comedian. <Morning Star March 30, 2011 Wednesday Poor old Ed is not so red SECTION: LETTERS LENGTH: 54 words> I copied out the People's Charter as printed in Saturday's Morning Star but every time I hit the send box a new window opened asking me to remove inappropriate words. As I couldn't find any offensive language in the charter I'm wondering if it's the charter itself that is inappropriate to the Labour leader. <Morning Star March 29, 2011 Tuesday March showed alternatives to the government's cuts SECTION: LETTERS LENGTH: 189 words> It is important that people speak up for public services and say no to these deep and savage cuts to jobs and services. It seems the Conservatives and their Lib Dem allies have one answer to the financial crisis caused by greedy bankers - and that is to cut services regardless of the impact and devastation it will cause to our society. I believe that cuts to public services are not inevitable - they are a political choice. The government claims it has no other option, but there is an alternative. Closing tax loopholes, taxing the banks and the outrageous bankers' bonuses and keeping people in work. The government needs to change course. There really is an alternative yet they are choosing to ignore it. Why? Around half a million people from all walks of life, including doctors, nurses, teachers and firefighters took part in this protest against what the government is doing and rightly so. Remember Maggie Thatcher tried to cut her way out of a recession in 1979 and made the economic situation worse. It looks like Cameron and Clegg are going the same way. Please say no to the cuts! <Morning Star March 29, 2011 Tuesday Cancer screening saved my life SECTION: LETTERS LENGTH: 160 words> This campaign shows our precious NHS at its most effective. It was due to this screening programme that I was diagnosed with an early cancer in 2008. I tested myself at home with a kit that came through my letter box and sent it off promptly. After receiving my results and the confirmation of the diagnosis I had the necessary surgery very soon afterwards at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital. I was treated by a brilliant team of surgeons, cared for by some superb nurses and emerged from hospital to play cricket, groove to some marvellous jazz and read the Morning Star every morning. The follow-up care is regular and scrupulous. So, dear 60-plus Star readers, make sure that you get the screening kit from your GP and test yourselves. The NHS staff saved my life and they can do the same for you if necessary. Long live the NHS and the skilled and dedicated people who work for it. We must fight to defend it from the Con-Dem menace. <Morning Star March 29, 2011 Tuesday Free trade deal not yet finalised SECTION: LETTERS LENGTH: 228 words> The agreement contains provisions for Indian workers to be temporarily brought into the EU to carry out skilled work for very low rates of pay - known in World Trade Organisation jargon as Mode 4. Unfortunately the final version of the article appeared to suggest that the deeply controversial FTA deal with India was already in place. This is not the case. In fact it has suffered a setback according to officials, who say they now believe it may not be signed before the end of the year or early 2012. Indian and European trade ministers had hoped to sign the highly secretive deal by the end of this month but EU officials have said the talks have been halted due to disagreements on key issues like access to India's legal and financial service sectors and the protection of intellectual property. The main issues include data protection for European pharmaceutical firms, the right of Indian rivals to sell generic medicines in third countries and the degree of access to Indian markets for EU financial service companies while Mode 4 provisions have raised concerns of social dumping. That is why our article called on the TUC to seriously engage with these dangerous developments and inform their affiliates on the impact on wage levels here and the devastation that monopoly finance capital would cause if allowed to run riot in India. <Subject Human rights Location United Kingdom--UK Title European Court of Human Rights: Letters to the Editor [Eire Region] Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Sir, The Attorney-General, Dominic Grieve, QC, MP, says that it is not clear whether Parliament intended our courts, in applying the Human Rights Act 1998, to follow Strasbourg judgments (report, Oct 25). In my submission Parliament made this clear in section 2(1) of the Act, which says our courts and tribunals "must take into account any judgment, decision, declaration or advisory opinion of the European Court of Human Rights". You take a thing into account by following it, not by defying it. Mr Grieve contradicts himself by later saying, according to your report, that even if his suggested reforms are carried out "the United Kingdom should still be subject to the judgments of the Strasbourg Court". If any domestic court did defy a relevant Strasbourg decision the claimant would have the right to go straight to Strasbourg and obtain a ruling applying what the Strasbourg court would be bound to treat as the correct version of ECHR law, namely the one it had arrived at in the disputed decision. The usual practice of the UK Government is to respect such rulings. This shows the error of those who think we are free to scrap the present Human Rights Act and enact a British Bill of Rights in its place. While the UK remains a member of the EU it is required by it to submit to the ECHR and Strasbourg justice. It is also bound to submit to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which has bound Britain since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009 and overlaps in many respects with the ECHR. <Subject Health services Location United Kingdom--UK Title Right to healthcare:Letters to the Editor [Eire Region] Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 19, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Sir, Although the Health and Social Care Bill will not be delayed, the Bill still ought to incorporate the basic principle that everyone has the right to the highest standard of attainable physical and mental health, which government is under a progressive duty to provide, according to the maximum of its available resources. A right to healthcare would help to create an NHS with patients' dignity at its core, helping to establish the spirit in which any competition for health services ought to be conducted. The United Nations has criticised the UK for having a welfare state without protecting the social right to health, because it gives insufficient protection to British people. This would not be party politics but an incorporation of our legal duty under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which the United Kingdom has been bound by since 1976. An increasing number of countries see the right to healthcare as fundamental to 21st century democracy. The Bill is the ideal opportunity to remedy this democratic deficit. <Subject Exports Location United Kingdom--UK Title Be proud of our defence industry: Letters to the Editor [Eire Region] Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 1, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Journal subject General Interest Periodicals--Great Britain Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Sir, Export control rules in the UK are among the strictest in the world (leading article, Aug 29). According to a written statement to the House of Commons on July 18 by the Foreign Secretary an inquiry found "no evidence of any misuse of controlled military goods exported from the United Kingdom" during the Arab Spring. Furthermore, your leading article is puzzling because it called on the Government to use diplomatic pressure to ensure peace and democracy in the region, which is precisely what is happening. The region itself is very diverse politically and this is taken into account during the export licensing process. Collating all the region's countries together guarantees an overly simplistic, damaging opinion. The UK is the world's second largest exporter of defence equipment, as measured through a definition of the global export market which excludes certain countries. There are many parts of the world to which the UK does not sell equipment, unlike some other major exporting countries which have less stringent rules, and the figures are adjusted for this. Nevertheless, strictly controlled defence exports are valuable diplomatically and economically to the UK and unless your recommendation is to increase the cost of equipment to our own Armed Forces from a lack of legitimate exports, the real world solution is to continue to export with strict rules in place to prevent abuse, as is the case today. Our defence industry is one of the few world-class manufacturing sectors that remain in the UK, despite the industry-supported restrictions placed on exports by our own Government. Were you to take a more balanced view it would be a source of pride to the nation given its strong contribution to supporting our own troops and our economy. <Subject Independence Location United Kingdom--UK Title A vote for all the Union: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date May 9, 2011 Section Letters Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> SIR - The United Kingdom is as much my country as it is Alex Salmond's and that of every other citizen of the UK. If there is to be a referendum on Scottish independence - which will damage our country- then the vote should be extended to every citizen of the UK, not just to the people of Scotland. SIR - The people of Scotland should think very hard about where independence might lead. In 2008 Alex Salmond pledged: "We will create a Celtic Lion to rival the Celtic Tiger across the Irish Sea." We all know what happened when that wild beast was welcomed by the Irish. SIR - If Scotland achieves independence, will the English continue to give Pounds 23 billion a year to allow them free prescriptions, tuition and care of the elderly, and will this then come under the heading of "overseas aid"? <Subject Anglican churches Location United Kingdom--UK Title It isn't racist for the British to be doubtful about the scale of immigration: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date Apr 16, 2011 Section Letters Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> SIR - How wholeheartedly I agree with Ruth Dudley Edwards (Comment, April 15). The people of this country are not, on the whole, racist. We do, however, deplore the way in which immigration has been allowed to escalate to the extent that native British are in the minority in some places. To what she has written needs to be added that the Church of England is being marginalised. The Anglican church is still supposedly the national church. SIR - I fail to understand how Ruth Dudley Edwards, an economic emigre from the Irish Republic, should now look down on the Polish arrivals in her former "village" of South Ealing. When I arrived in the capital in the 1970s, the Irish in London were largely confined to ghettos in Kilburn, Cricklewood and Willesden and were engaged in the building trade and manual work. Today, their children and grandchildren have integrated into mainstream society and, while they retain Irish names and identity, are permanent residents of the United Kingdom. To be sure, mass immigration without controls has caused problems in the United Kingdom, but over time the new arrivals will integrate and contribute to this country. Japan, which is more xenophobic, faces a drastic fall in population in the coming decades and should welcome the "problems" of immigration. SIR - Putting aside the heated social arguments about immigration, the fact remains that these small islands are already very densely populated. Surely common sense should dictate a reduction in immigration for that reason alone. SIR - "Immigration", "welfare dependency". If David Cameron does not watch his tongue, people will take him for a Conservative. SIR - I grew up in the county of Cornwall, whose own, slowly reviving, language was wiped out by English immigrants. I now live in the nation of Wales, where use of its language was once banned in schools by the English. I look forward to all incomers to those areas where Welsh is the first language learning the local language. SIR - The emigration of Vince Cable would make a welcome addition to the net immigration target proposed by Mr Cameron. <Subject Eurozone; Coalition governments Location United Kingdom--UK Title Britain should refuse to be left paying the bills for Portugal and Iceland: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date Apr 12, 2011 Section Letters Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> SIR - You rightly ask (Leading article, April 9) why Britain should pick up bills for the eurozone, a club to which it does not belong. George Osborne, the Chancellor, seems to accept that the commitment made by Alistair Darling, his predecessor, binds him to pour billions of taxpayers' money into bailing out bust members of the eurozone through the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism. This is not the case. No Parliament may bind its successors, and it is essential for Mr Osborne to review the commitment made by Mr Darling. Members of the eurozone must solve its problems. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, at the Davos economic forum, underlined that: "We are fully determined to defend the euro... Mrs Merkel and I will never - do you hear me, never - let the euro fall." With that promise Mr Osborne is surely free to allow France and Germany to back their mouth with their money. Lord Willoughby de Broke Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire SIR - Britain is not obliged to write a cheque for Pounds 4.4 billion to secure the solvency of Portugal. Its responsibility is that of a guarantor. The guarantee would only be called in should Portugal default. Yes, Portugal has lived beyond its means - it is hardly alone in that regard. Why has Britain's Coalition Government introduced its own austerity measures? Portugal is in many respects a poor country, and as Fiona Govan (report, April 8) points out, some workers live on a salary of 400 euros a month. Compare that with lavish social benefits distributed in Britain - to indigenous people and immigrants alike. No such generosity exists in Portugal. G.V. Coombs Santa Barbara de Nexe, Faro, Portugal SIR - In May 2008, it was reported that the cost of bailing out Northern Rock had risen to Pounds 92 billion. Almost three years later, we are told that negotiations have started on the scale of Portugal's rescue package, expected to reach about Pounds 66 billion. So, Pounds 92 billion for a bank, Pounds 66 billion for a whole country. Can that be seen as an improvement? Frederick Reuben Parr Tyldesley, Lancashire SIR - If the Icelandic people can vote not to repay debts created by the collapse of Landsbanki, why are the British people denied the opportunity to vote on whether or not we should bail out Portugal, Ireland and Greece? John Warden Cherry Burton, East Yorkshire SIR - We are told that Iceland's refusal to pay the debts of its bankers could mean that the country will be denied EU membership. As this seems rather like Brer Rabbit being thrown into the briar patch, is there anyone we could annoy sufficiently for us to be ejected from the EU? Colin Bullen Tonbridge, Kent <Subject Extradition; International law Location United Kingdom--UK Title Gaddafi regime's extradition treaty: Letters to the Editor Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Sir, Extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and other foreign states are usually entered into on the basis that the participant states recognise, notwithstanding their different procedures, certain core values in their respective criminal justice systems: notably the concept of a fair trial, and the integrity of the judicial process. Under the Extradition Act 2003, the United Kingdom operates two distinct systems for the extradition from the UK of persons wanted for trial, or to serve sentences, abroad: under Part 1 of the Act the member states of the European Union are designated by the Secretary of State as "category 1 territories" and operate the European arrest warrant scheme. Under Part 2 of the Act all other foreign states with whom we have arrangements are designated as "category 2 territories". They include, for example, Australia, Canada, and the United States. A year ago, the Labour Government, in a gesture of fawning toadyism remarkable by even its standards, made an Order in Council designating Libya as a "category 2 territory". This followed the negotiation of an extradition treaty between the Government and the Libyan regime, which was ratified in 2009. Sadly, not one of our elected or unelected representatives in Parliament appeared to raise so much as an eyebrow at the implications of this process. A treaty can be repudiated, and the process of designation can be undone. This should happen with immediate effect. <Title Leading Article: Media plurality: The law and its loopholes Publication title The Guardian Publication date Mar 4, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> So Rupert Murdoch got what he wanted. If there is a less surprising sentence in the English language it would be good to know of it. As a result of Jeremy Hunt's announcement yesterday the American media tycoon is virtually certain to end up owning a monster British media company spanning broadcasting, newspapers and film and sports rights - together with the distribution channels through which the content is piped. His television company - double the size of the BBC - will be free to exploit numerous synergies with his newspapers, which are easily the most dominant in the market. If the government doesn't understand why this makes a great many people nervous it is either being disingenuous or dishonest. The timing could hardly be worse. Rupert Murdoch's companies in Britain are currently subject to unprecedented scrutiny and investigation. There is a 45-strong team of detectives looking into how one of his newspapers illegally commissioned a snooper to hack into the phones of numerous leading politicians, royals and actors. Two parliamentary committees are looking into related questions of MPs' privilege and the supine behaviour of the police when confronted with this kind of media muscle. There are multiple civil actions wending their way through the courts by the victims of this illicit surveillance. And the press regulator, the PCC, has launched its own inquiry as to whether - or, more accurately, how - it was misled and into the nature of the expensive cover- up orchestrated by News International, with the presumed acquiescence of the "independent" grandees on the News Corp board. So this was hardly the best moment to be offering Mr Murdoch even more power. Given the perfectly reasonable suspicions that hang over any dealings involving Mr Murdoch, politicians and regulation it would have been wiser for Mr Hunt to have passed the matter straight to the Competition Commission, as the media regulator Ofcom advised. Mr Hunt chose a different course - trying to see if he could extract concessions out of Mr Murdoch which would relieve him of the need to involve any more regulators. Mr Murdoch duly obliged, with a souped-up version of his favourite solution when thus challenged - an "independent" oversight board. By hiving off Sky News into a curious spinoff company with a 10-year guarantee of Murdoch cashflow, the problem was solved to the satisfaction of all concerned. What the Murdoch lawyers and lobbyists have done is cleverly weave their way through the gaps between European regulation, competition law and the muddled and inadequate framework for judging issues of media plurality. The coalition government (and where were the Lib Dem voices yesterday?) cannot seriously believe that yesterday's decision will advance the cause of media plurality in this country. No weight has been given to the future potential for price bundling, rights carve-ups and cross-platform advertising deals which smaller media groups simply won't be able to compete with. News Corp operates on a global scale. Most of its competitors work on a much more limited scale, often within national boundaries, with different statutory frameworks. News Corp can be arguing about plurality of news in one arena, about territorial sports rights in another and about secondary movies rights in yet another. Mr Hunt hinted that a future communications bill might find ways of addressing the sort of media dominance which grows organically rather than through acquisition. In future, if Ofcom's proposal is accepted, any warping of the media landscape with one company growing too big - not least through competitors dropping out - could be subject to a public interest test which would put it in danger of being broken up. Such a measure is urgently needed. Whether this government has the genuine political will to pass it must be doubted. It is, after all, not what Mr Murdoch would want. <Title Leading article: ENGLISH RUGBY: What became of playing the game? Publication title The Observer Publication date Nov 27, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Listening to the accounts of the Rugby Football Union chaos, the leaks and the resignations and the shifting of blame, you could have been forgiven for thinking you were hearing another tale of woe from the corporate world. The rhetoric was all "confidential 360 feedback" and "low empowerment". There had been a "lack of a coherent communications structure", an "absence of clear leadership goals" and all this from the "wealthiest union in world rugby" with its elite performance directors and dizzying array of management layers. We are so used to England's sportsmen and coaches - and media - talking in such business-book banalities that the phrases no longer sound absurd. You don't need to look much beyond them, though, to see a compelling reason for the failure of national teams in world cups. The RFU has followed the FA's farcical example in believing that success at the highest level is a matter of management-speak and money (it's a way of justifying their chief executive salaries, at least). The effect is, however, both to cosset and alienate the individuals who matter most: the players. One of the weirder themes to emerge from the leaks was the sense that though the players had no particular gripe with their manager, Martin Johnson, they never had much understanding of what he wanted of them either. You guess that England's football players would have said the same of Fabio Capello after their last debacle. In all the talk of structures and psychologists and global businesses, that crucial relationship always seems to be neglected. No wonder players felt a lack of leadership and direction: they had so much opaque structure to deal with that their personal responsibility to the team hardly figured. Like the employees of an organisation so intent on its strategy and message that it neglects the human basics of talking and listening, they had an easy get-out: on and off the field, it was always someone else's fault. <Title Leading Article: Biodiversity: Boundless, priceless - and threatened Publication title The Guardian Publication date Jan 1, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Continental Europe is home to more than 125,000 known species of terrestrial and freshwater animal, and each year another 700 newly described species join the list. That sounds like good news to mark the end of 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. It may not be. The planet buzzes with life, most of it unidentified and an alarming proportion of it now vulnerable to extinction. That is why the UN has declared 2011 to be both the International Year of Forests and the launch of an International Decade of Biodiversity, with a new intergovernmental panel of expertise. French researchers pointed out in November that the inventory of European fauna is incomplete and that they cannot begin to guess what the total might be. Yet Europe is where taxonomy and ecology began: from Beijing to Bradford, from Windhoek to Wisconsin, creatures have formal Latin names because Latin was the scholarly language of the first systematic catalogue of the living world little more than 250 years ago. Biodiversity is all we have. Living things provide humankind's food, fabric, fibre and pharmaceuticals; they fertilise and pollinate crops, generate oxygen and recycle water. The wealth of nations is built upon biodiversity: even the oil, coal, peat, chalk and flints dug from the ground were once living tissue. So the case for the conservation of life's variety ought to be obvious. But biodiversity is a problem in four parts. We do not know, cannot identify, and cannot even begin to count most of the creatures upon whom we depend; nor do we know how these unidentified species interact with and depend upon each other; yet we are extinguishing this richness at a rate perhaps unparalleled in the 3.5bn year history of life on Earth; and we have as yet no masterplan with which to address any of these challenges. Right now one fifth of the planet's known vertebrates and one fifth of its named flowering plants are vulnerable, threatened or heading for extinction, but these represent only a small fraction of all that there is to conserve. If biodiversity is still unfinished business in the continent in which research began - and which is still home to most of the world's expertise - then things look ominous for those places so much richer in wildlife and so much poorer not just in money but in scientific investment: those countries with the coral reefs, mangrove swamps, rainforests, savannahs and dry uplands that are home to the greatest diversity. There are of course vital projects - the Census of Marine Diversity, the Barcode of Life, International Union for Conservation of Nature red lists and so on. But they do not add up to global determination, and so far these initiatives do not address one taxonomic riddle: confusion about how many species have been "discovered" and named more than once. There is a global convention on biological diversity with 193 signatories, which declares that living species are not the common heritage of all mankind; instead states have sovereign rights over their own biological resources, and therefore implicitly a direct interest in conserving them. Since the richest concentrations of biodiversity are held by the poorest nations, scientists from Europe and the US must negotiate formidable bureaucratic and social obstacles before they can begin research, train local naturalists and start to advise on conservation techniques. Such intricacies forced the last- minute cancellation of a London Natural History Museum initiative in Paraguay in November. Meanwhile, the most conservative estimates suggest that creatures fashioned by millions of years of evolution are being extinguished at a rate a thousand times faster than, for example, at the end of the Ice Age, and that as the human population grows in the next 90 years, this extinction rate is predicted to increase by a further tenfold. Such problems cannot be solved in a year, or a decade. But perhaps, with serious political investment, a concerted global effort can at last begin. <Title Leading article: Hungary: One-party rule Publication title The Guardian Publication date Jan 5, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> When he swept to power in April last year, Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, said voters had carried out a revolution by giving his rightwing Fidesz party more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament. Since then, he has stripped his country's constitutional court of the power to review the budget; he has attacked the Hungarian National Bank, the last major institution not under his party's control; and now he has turned on journalists. A national media board has the power to impose crippling fines for coverage deemed unbalanced, immoral or "offensive to human dignity". People should judge for themselves what colour this revolution is. Hungary's problems are now Europe's too. As holder of the EU rotating presidency for the next six months, Hungary has many responsibilities: to conclude an EU entry deal with Croatia, to bring Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area, to discuss the integration of the Roma community and to agree on better economic governance within the EU. As a rightwing populist who has already provoked the ire of Germany, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and the OSCE over his media law, Mr Orban is the last person in Europe suited to oversee, let alone host, any of these negotiations. His one contribution to the central European debate has been to raise ghosts of the past by granting citizenship to 3.5m people of Magyar extraction in neighbouring countries, while stopping short of the incendiary proposal by the neo-fascist Jobbik party to give them voting rights. It is right to acknowledge the disastrous economic legacy of the previous Hungarian government. Yet perhaps the closest parallel to Mr Orban's national patriotic revolution is the ill-fated rule of the Kaczynski twins in Poland. But, unlike Poland, Hungary is a small country - and one whose economy is dependent on German investment. Without it, this house of cards would collapse. Mr Orban has already kicked out the IMF, insisting Hungary could find money from the markets. But when 15 of Europe's leading companies and major foreign investors then complained about a windfall tax imposed selectively on them to shore up the national budget, Mr Orban found himself stepping on some even more important toes. Hungary, now effectively under one-party rule, can be populist, isolationist and poor, or it can seek foreign investment. But it cannot do both. As Mr Orban and his party control not only parliament but almost every major city, it falls to the media to play the role of scrutineer and political opponent. Their role should be vigorously upheld, in the European courts if need be. Criticism from Europe may not frighten the prime minister, but the spotlight is now on his whole country. <Title Leading article: Pakistan: Playing with fire Author Anonymous Publication title The Guardian Publication date Mar 3, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> One by one, those who stick their head above the parapet to demand changes in Pakistan's infamous blasphemy law are being gunned down. First Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab, and now Shahbaz Bhatti, Islamabad's minister for minorities, himself a Christian. To say these men were liberals is to posit a false dichotomy. The people gunning them down are not conservatives. They are people who impose their authority by suicide bombings and murder. Their form of argument is terror, and the battle which should be fought against them by anyone who upholds freedom of belief should be as clear on the streets of Islamabad as it is in the foothills of Waziristan. But everyone recoils. The government backs off through a misguided sense of self-preservation. Weak and fragile, it believes it is being goaded into a conflict it cannot win. So it retreats, backing up against a precipice over which it will eventually fall. Instead of mobilising mass demonstrations against the killings, the Pakistan Peoples party appeases the very forces responsible for the murder of its former leader Benazir Bhutto. The next woman on the death list is Sherry Rehman. Rather than support her bid to reform the blasphemy law and hold the debate where it truly resides, with elected representatives in a parliament (what else was the struggle to end military rule all about?), the PPP prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, hung his former information minister out to dry. Under pressure from religious clerics, he claimed that she had voluntarily withdrawn a bill proposing changes to the law. She had done no such thing. After ruling out reforms, Mr Gilani invited religious leaders to tell him how to prevent misuse of a law. The bulk of the law's victims are Muslim rather than Christian, the latest being a 17-year-old student being held in a juvenile prison after having written allegedly blasphemous remarks on an exam paper. If Mr Gilani becomes the last liberal left standing, he will not be standing for long. The state, too, recoils. The army cultivated and supported the militants as proxy weapons for their own strategic purposes in Kashmir and Afghanistan. Soldiers are the Taliban's principal targets, but links with the militants are still maintained by some of their officers. The judiciary is also party to these suicidal games. Estranged from her party, Ms Rehman is exposed to prosecution in Lahore and Multan on petitions to get her disqualified as an MP and have her tried for blasphemy. This is not justice. It is legal persecution and any court should have thrown these petitions out. The government, the army, the courts are all playing with fire. Appeasement never works and, in the end, that flame will consume them all. <Title Leading Article: Oil prices: Green light from the black stuff Publication title The Guardian Publication date Mar 5, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> It will come as little comfort to many motorists blenching at the pumps today at having to pay 130p or more a litre to fill up their cars with unleaded petrol, but the surge in the price of oil may not all be bad news. Potentially, at least, and if the right lessons are drawn, today's threat could be tomorrow's opportunity. Be clear, however. The 15% jump in the cost of crude oil since the new year will lead to higher inflation and lower growth, particularly if central banks respond by pushing up interest rates. If sustained, this will be the fifth significant rise in oil prices since 1973, and each of the previous four was followed by a recession. This will have political consequences too. If consumers are paying more for their petrol, domestic energy bills and public transport, they have less to spend on everything else. Historically, support for the government drops when there is a squeeze on disposable incomes of the sort currently being endured. And worse may be to come. Chris Huhne, the energy secretary, says there is a real threat of crude prices hitting $160 a barrel; the business secretary, Vince Cable, is warning of a "fully fledged energy and commodity price shock". Oil prices are high for three reasons: demand, particularly from China, has been strong; the vast quantities of cheap dollars in the global financial markets have encouraged speculation in commodities; and political unrest in north Africa and the Middle East has led to fears of disrupted supplies. While the UK government is powerless to influence these trends, it has a duty to come up with a medium-term strategy for British needs in a world in which rapid growth in the emerging nations, coupled with dwindling output from traditional low-cost producers, means prices are on a permanent upward trend. This will not wait. In the short term, there will be pressure on Saudi Arabia and the other leading oil producers to increase production and hence bring down the cost. This has helped in the past but may not work this time. In part, that is because there are growing doubts about whether Saudi reserves are as big as the officially quoted figures. But it is also because the jittery leaders of oil-producing states - Russia, Iran and Venezuela as much as those in the Arab world - are using the windfall from higher crude prices to buy off domestic opposition. They have an incentive to keep the cost of crude high. Higher oil prices, if sustained, will also prompt oil companies to seek to develop new fields in the inhospitable parts of the world that were uneconomic when the cost of crude was below $30 a barrel. But, as BP found to its cost with the Deepwater Horizon disaster, this can be dangerous as well as expensive. What is more, it misses the longer-term point. Sooner or later the oil that has been crucial to the development of industrialised societies for the past 150 years is going to run out. As Mr Huhne rightly noted this week, the faster we follow the example of China and America and move to a low-carbon economy the better. There is plenty of room for improvement. UK firms have only 3% of the $3tn global market in low- carbon goods and services, largely because other countries have decided that the transition to low carbon will not come about through market forces alone and have actively used government procurement, regulation, tax breaks and direct subsidies to nurture green industries. They have recognised that there is a virtuous circle in which investment in the low-carbon economy creates jobs, makes energy supplies more stable, and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. Here, the stranglehold of the Treasury has meant a scaling back of plans for a green investment bank and limits on the funds available for small-scale renewable electricity schemes under the feed-in tariff scheme. To argue that the state of the public finances necessitates a more cautious approach will not wash. It is short-termism of the worst kind. <Title Leading article: In praise of... stew Publication title The Guardian Publication date Dec 30, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Publisher Guardian Newspapers Limited Place of publication London (UK)> Where might we turn for something to tickle the taste buds in these dreary, dark, austere days? Perhaps to something as old and fundamental as the cooking pot: a hearty, rib-sticking stew. Archaeological evidence dates stew-making back 8,000 years to the first domesticated cattle. Aside from an absence of Latin and the addition of a more efficient energy source, a cook in ancient Rome would probably note little difference between the methodology as described in Apicius and Delia Smith's Complete Illustrated Cookbook. The word "stew" (from the Old French estuver) describes both the dish and the long, slow cooking which renders the cheapest, toughest and often tastiest cuts of meat as juicily tender as the best fillet, but a touch of stew magic can also be employed to transform vegetables, fish or fruit. Consider a ratatouille - the satisfying business of chopping the onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and aubergine; the grinding of spices; the slow cooking to a jewel-bright intensity of colour and flavour. It is heaven on a plate. Think of a tagine of fruit, honey, nuts and meat - a kaleidoscope of taste and texture. Or of a carbonade with velvety beer-enriched gravy. Or peperonata, goulash, yahni, cawl, gumbo, stroganoff, hotpot. . . Think dumplings! For centuries homebound frost-nipped noses have twitched at the first delicious whiff of a stew simmering on the hearth: surely the most perfect low-maintenance, idiot-proof dinner ever invented. <Title Leading article: Economy: The failure of Osbornomics Publication title The Guardian Publication date Dec 30, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Many big ideas in economics have been tested to near-destruction this year, from the permanence of the euro to the resilience of China. In Britain, the biggest of all has been the ideology behind George Osborne's historic spending cuts. This was the year when voters and investors got to see whether the chancellor's big idea stood up. It doesn't; and the result is that workers and businesses are in for a far worse time than need have been the case. Like Gordon Brown, Mr Osborne moved into the Treasury with a clear sense of what was wrong with the British economy, and ideas about how to fix things. The Osborne diagnosis was summed up in two words: crowding out. His remedy could be described in just three more: expansionary fiscal contraction. In his debut budget, the chancellor argued that a bloated public sector was "crowding out" businesses. Hack back the state and interest rates and taxes would drop, giving companies room to grow. That was expansionary fiscal contraction, and ministers made much of how Canada pulled it off in the mid-90s. To which all one can say is: Ottawa 1, Westminster 0. For every post created in the private sector between July and September, 13 were lost in the public sector. Nor are things likely to turn around soon. The UK will probably slip back into recession before spring is out, with unemployment officially tipping over 3m not long after. In last month's autumn statement, Mr Osborne gave up waiting for the private sector to turn up and announced subsidised loans for small firms, along with a little extra cash for public works. The austerity carries on, only now without an underpinning ideology. While it is debating policies and presentation, Labour should not lose sight of the fact that, in his critique of the cuts, Ed Balls was spot-on. How did Mr Osborne get it so wrong? First, his diagnosis was upside down: the private sector was being propped up, not crowded out, by the public sector. As the economist Michael Burke points out, in the last three months of 2009 public investment was 20% higher than before the recession, which boosted GDP and encouraged private investment. When the coalition laid out its huge spending cuts, companies tightened their belts too. Second, Mr Osborne underestimated the role of overseas demand. Canada wasn't an example of successful austerity as much as free-riding on a booming US economy. The UK must rely on a bust Europe. Finally, the mantra of "public bad, private good" never added up. Business has always relied on the state for markets (as with pharmaceuticals and defence) and its inputs. Sadly, that economic common sense has been buried under crude politics. <Title Leading article: All about Adam: Diversity in public life Publication title The Guardian Publication date Dec 28, 2011 Section Guardian Leader Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Britain's boardrooms are white and male. So, predominantly, is parliament and government, and so are the people who run television and newspapers, as well as those who perform, manage the arts or sit as senior judges. The national public discourse is still largely conducted by a monocultural middle-class masculine elite. Often this is treated as a challenge for women. As half the workforce they are the most obviously disadvantaged. But it might be easier to change if it was seen less as a question of gender and more as matter of diversity. The statistics are familiar enough: plenty of women go out into the workplace on level terms with men, only to fall away in the middle years, leaving the boardrooms - spokesmen claim - struggling to find women of experience to promote. Enlightened management insists the shortage of women is not for want of trying: flexible working, career breaks, they've tried it all and ungrateful women still walk away. Under pressure from Europe and the government (and worried that quotas might be imposed), some City companies have started to think creatively about the real barriers that hold women back. The findings of qualitative surveys like the ones done for the Women Matter series by McKinsey consultants tell a more complex story than the one about work-life balance. More women are being taken on at the bottom. In the law, medicine, journalism and the City, women are recruited in equal numbers. It's the second or third round of promotions where women begin to fall away. The McKinsey work found it wasn't lack of ambition that stops women, more a lack of confidence in being able to fulfil that ambition, and not enough role models showing them the way. Mentoring, coaching and sponsorship are all important to stop women taking another job, or going in another direction. So is dealing with embedded prejudices among senior managers about the risk of employing women. But above all what matters is counting and measuring, knowing how many women start, what happens to them and why they leave. This is just as true for minorities as for gender. It's about the way powerful networks replicate themselves. Understanding that could help break down the monoculture at the top and create a real diversity. There was disappointment when the government-commissioned Davies report failed to recommend quotas to drive up the number of women in the boardroom (the Equality and Human Rights Commission reckons it will take 70 years to win parity at the current rate). But it has good ideas about mentoring and monitoring. The next battle is to make sure that they are about not just women, but class and ethnicity too. <Subject Shopping centers; Professional soccer; Football Title It's our similarities that are driving us apart: The more life in Scotland feels like life in England, the stronger the desire to assert a distinct identity Author Massie, Allan Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date Dec 23, 2011 Section Editorial; Opinion, Columns Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Sir Gus O'Donnell, in a valedictory address as our most senior civil servant, says it will be an "enormous challenge" to prevent the break-up of the United Kingdom. Not surprisingly, Alex Salmond, the SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland, believes it is a challenge which will not be met. Even before his party surprisingly won a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament in May, he told me that independence was now inevitable. In part, the disengagement of Scotland from the UK reflects the inexorable consequence of the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. It is in the nature of institutions and their members to seek to extend their powers. We see this in Brussels and we see it in Edinburgh. It may still be unlikely that a referendum in Scotland would produce a majority for outright independence, but there will probably be a majority for giving much greater powers to the Scottish Parliament - what is commonly called devo-max. The Union is being sliced up salami-style until the final step to independence is small. The rise of Scottish nationalism puzzles many in England, especially those who believe that Scotland is subsidised by England (an arguable proposition) and also those millions south of the border who claim Scottish ancestry, often proudly. In truth, it puzzles some of us in Scotland, too, for many are still happy with a dual Scottish-British identity. Undeniably, however, the sense of Britishness has weakened over the past half-century. There are some conventional, explanations: the distance from the Second World War, when Britain resisted Nazi Germany; the end of the British Empire, in which Scots had played a disproportionate role; and, perhaps, membership of the European Union. Certainly, the SNP fastened on this as a defence against the charge that independence would leave Scotland isolated. With this weakening of a British identity goes a resurgent Scottishness. Take the kilt, for example. When I was young, it was worn by soldiers, stage comics and singers of Scots songs, public schoolboys on Sundays, and, somewhat unconvincingly, members of the Royal family and lairds attending the Braemar Gathering and other Highland games. It was also favoured by a few cultural nationalists like Compton Mackenzie and Hugh MacDiarmid. Now it is far more popular than it used to be: standard wear for weddings and dances, and international football and rugby matches. It has become an expression of difference, of our distinct identity. The truth is, however, that differences between Scotland and England are fewer than they used to be. The strongest institution in 19th- and early 20th-century Scotland was the Presbyterian Kirk. It set the tone of the nation. Its values - thrift, self-restraint, self-help, hard work - were thought to characterise the Scottish people. The Kirk was very different from the Church of England, its morality narrower and more demanding. Now it is a pale shadow of what it used to be. Religion plays no greater a part in Scottish than in English life. Both countries have been secularised. For years, too, the Church and Nation Committee of the Kirk produced reports on socioeconomic matters that were little different from Labour Party handouts. When Margaret Thatcher was invited to address the general assembly of the Kirk, she infuriated her audience by speaking, from her Methodist background, much as ministers of the Kirk might have done a couple of generations previously. Assimilation is evident in other visible ways. Shopping centres in Scotland are just like shopping centres in England; the same may be said of what is left of our high streets. We mostly watch the same television programmes, see the same movies, and respond to the same popular music. Football is Scotland's national game, but Scottish newspapers give far more coverage to English football than they used to, and if a boy is not wearing a Rangers or Celtic replica shirt, he is more likely to wear a Manchester United one than that of another Scottish club. Our postman was early one Saturday. When I asked why, he said he had arranged his shift to get to Old Trafford. The more life in Scotland is like life in England, the more the need is felt to assert our distinct identity. There is another factor not perhaps given sufficient weight. This is the gravitational pull exerted by London - and increasingly resented. Of course, Scots have been drawn to London ever since the Union and since Dr Johnson proclaimed that the noblest prospect a Scotchman ever saw was the high road that led to England. Few stopped in the North and Midlands. Instead, they headed for London. You couldn't enter a newspaper office without bumping into a Scot. Indeed, you still can't. Nevertheless, the predominance of London promotes nationalism. If the Scottish Conservative Party is dead in the water, and Scottish politics dominated by the soft Left, this is principally because the Tories are regarded as an English party, the party of the City of London and the South East. The North of England and the Midlands may also reject the Tories for similar reasons, but they can't express their resentment by emphasising a distinct national identity. It is likely that there would be a resurgence of Right-wing values in an independent Scotland, for many who vote SNP, especially in their strongholds in Aberdeenshire and the north-east counties, would be Thatcherites if they lived in Essex. But, as things are, the Right in Scotland is as feeble as can be imagined. For many Scots, a Tory government is the best reason for voting for independence. <Title Leading article: THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: Without demand, the economy is doomed Publication title The Observer Publication date Oct 9, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Britain faces not just its worst-ever financial crisis - it confronts a crisis of a woefully unbalanced economy, dysfunctional institutions and a capitalism that no longer delivers. Already, the consequences are clear in stubbornly high and rising unemployment, widening deprivation and an ossifying society. Worst of all, our government is plainly at sea. It does not have a clue how to respond - worshipping discredited shibboleths and clinging to its Plan A with all the vigour of the condemned. Last week's Conservative party conference was a shocking spectacle. Messrs Cameron and Osborne had little to say beyond windy exhortation about leadership and the bulldog spirit. With a bit of hasty redrafting, David Cameron's glib suggestion that we should all pay off our credit card and consumer debts was expunged from his conference speech, but the episode remains telling, because it exposed two things. Not merely that the Conservatives have so little empathy with the millions of families who are living hand to mouth, week to week, but also the total incoherence of Cameron and his party's economic thinking. It may be true that too much borrowing got us into this crisis. That does not mean that suddenly repaying those loans will get us out. It will make a bad situation worse. The evidence was laid bare in official statistics last week: the economy has been in stasis since last autumn, expanding by just 0.1% in the second quarter of this year, when consumers tightened their belts more aggressively than at any time since the depths of the recession two years ago. Imports continue to grow nearly as quickly as exports. It is only government spending that the coalition is so anxious to cut that is holding the economy up. Meanwhile, the crisis in the eurozone has added a dangerous backdrop to this non-recovery, threatening to tip our biggest export market into recession and rocking the UK's financial sector. The downgrading by credit rating agency Moody's of 12 British banks, including both Lloyds and RBS, has raised fresh concerns that RBS - and perhaps others - will need yet more government assistance if they are to survive. Paralysis is once again affecting the vast interbanks markets. Unemployment was already rising sharply by the start of the summer and new figures on Wednesday could show that the number of people out of work has exceeded the peak of more than 2.5 million hit during the recession and is back to levels last seen in the early 1990s. For the under-25s, the picture is far worse: more than one in five are out of work and a generation are finding that even if they've done everything right, studying hard and stacking up work experience in their holidays, employers are either not hiring or unwilling to take the risk on a fresh face, when there are scores of more experienced candidates knocking on their door. It is a desperate situation and progressively the government is being forced to abandon its stance that nothing can be done except to eliminate the government's own structural deficit as fast as possible. The Bank of England's decision to push the button on pounds 75bn-worth of quantitative easing (the creation of electronic money, used to buy assets in a bid to keep the economic wheels turning and avert a major slump) would have revealed how seriously the Bank of England takes the current economic situation, even if the governor had not toured the television studios to tell the nation that it's suffering through what may be the worst financial crisis of all time. But at least it is action. George Osborne's unexpected announcement during his own speech in Manchester that he will step into the murky territory of "credit easing" is further testimony to the seriousness of the situation - and of the necessity to do something other than launch self-defeating cuts in public spending. In other countries, credit easing - in effect the state stepping in to provide finance and underwrite lending to business because the banks are too weak or risk-averse - is done by the central bank. But Mervyn King has refused the chancellor's entreaties point blank to use quantitative easing in such a manner. Thus the Treasury has to devise how to become the central bank that the Bank of England refuses to be. And the chancellor has just six weeks between now and the autumn statement at the end of November to come up with the scheme that will allow this to happen. It is hardly surprising that nobody has a clue how the scheme will work. Properly structured it could be a valuable intervention but, more importantly, it betrays a very un-Conservative willingness to try anything to relieve the situation. But neither the bank's intervention, nor the Treasury's new toolbox will help unless Osborne and Cameron grasp the basic fact that what's lacking in today's economy is demand. You can deregulate, shrink the state all you like, but if there's no confidence and no demand it won't help anyone. Who wants to take on a shiny, state-backed loan to expand their factory or take on new staff, if orders have gone through the floor? It's not what Cameron called "can't do sogginess", it's hard-headed economic calculation. At this moment, there is a profound risk that both King and Osborne are pushing on a piece of string. The challenge is urgent. We may already be in recession: we are certainly dangerously close. Osborne's new venture has shown that he is willing to be flexible where monetary policy is concerned. He needs to show the same creative approach to his deficit-cutting plans. This is not to argue that the government abandon its commitment to reducing the deficit and paying down the national debt; but even the IMF has said that where countries have a credible plan in place, they can take targeted, short-term measures to support their economies through tough times. Osborne should look again at whether he can bring forward job-creating infrastructure projects, as the Lib Dems suggested. He should create an infrastructure bank that will imaginatively fund key infrastructure projects just as he wants to get credit moving imaginatively. He should use short- term tax cuts to relieve the plight of the worst-hit households while at the same time providing a welcome boost to demand, and find ways to help almost a million young people off the scrapheap. These are not times for conservative, anti-state belt tightening. They are times for government activism, an activism that will do more to restore financial, business and consumer confidence than any homily about reducing public debt. <Subject Breast cancer; Breasts; Medical research Title Breast screening saves lives - but it inflicts harm, too Author Palmer, Alasdair Publication title The Sunday Telegraph Publication date Dec 11, 2011 Section Editorial; Opinion, Columns Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> For nearly 25 years, the NHS has had a policy of encouraging women over 50 to have their breasts regularly screened for cancer. The policy is aggressively promoted: a woman in the target group will get a letter offering an appointment, and if she decides not to go she'll get another letter (and in some areas a DVD) explaining why she's making a big mistake. The basic message is that getting your breasts screened has a good chance of saving your life - and at no cost or risk to you. So sign up for screening: if you don't, and you later turn out to have breast cancer, it will be much harder for doctors to intervene successfully to save your life, and you will only have yourself to blame. Last week, research was published in the British Medical Journal which suggested that this is all wrong: that the policy may actually do more harm than good. The new research says that the original experts overestimated the extent to which such screening saved lives, and ignored the risks that come with it. The principal risk is misdiagnosis, which leads to unnecessary surgery and medication, and happens much more often than you think. The work that led to the introduction of the screening programme 25 years ago did not put a number on the likelihood of misdiagnoses: it did not consider it at all. But the figures are very striking. According to a 2009 study quoted by the BMJ, over the course of a decade, for every 2,000 women invited for screening, one will have her life prolonged - but 10 healthy women will be wrongly diagnosed as having breast cancer. These women will be treated for a disease they don't have, which will both do them harm and consume resources that the NHS cannot afford to waste. There will also be more than 200 women who will be told that their scan indicates that they have cancer. That diagnosis will be corrected in time to prevent surgery or chemotherapy - but their psychological distress will, in the interim, be all too real. How should the Department of Health react to this? Its spokesman said: "We urge all women to go for breast screening when invited. The best available evidence shows that screening saves lives by detecting cancers earlier." Which is true - but it misses the point. The new research asks a different question: given that we now know that breast cancer screening leads to a significant amount of misdiagnosis and mistreatment, is it worth doing? It is not obvious that the answer has to be yes, simply because the existing programme saves, or at least extends, some lives. After all, there are plenty of programmes, medical and otherwise, that would save lives - but the costs would be too great to make it sensible to adopt them. Reducing the speed limit on motorways to 45mph is one of them. Banning cigarettes and alcohol is another. Before deciding whether a policy is worth implementing, you have consider how many lives it saves, and the harm it inflicts in the process. Are the pain and distress that are the result of the inevitable misdiagnoses - let alone the wasted medical resources - a price worth paying for extending the lives of some women? This is a dilemma that comes up frequently, but the NHS seems determined not to deal with it. The BMJ researchers note that one factor that may help to buoy up the breast-screening programme is that the women who are misdiagnosed, and who go on to be treated with chemotherapy or mastectomy when they don't need either, do not know that they are the victims of medical error. They think that their treatment was necessary, even that they would have died without it. If they came to know that their treatment was unnecessary, it might be more obvious that the costs of breast-screening can be greater than its benefits. NHS policy-makers urgently need to start considering the full costs of screening and other programmes. They should remember that it is not only money or lives that need to be saved, but unnecessary agony as well. <Subject Economic conditions; Recessions; Eurozone; Economic summit conferences; Government spending; Monetary unions; Banks; Inflation Title China may prevent global recession but it won't pick up eurozone's bills: The East is still an engine of growth but don't imagine that will rescue the West Author Halligan, Liam Publication title The Sunday Telegraph Publication date Dec 18, 2011 Section Editorial Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> A serious global slowdown looks likely in 2012 - or, at least, that's the way conventional wisdom is shifting. The eurozone, of course, remains the epicentre of world-wide angst, its debt crisis threatening to cause havoc across an economy about the same size as that of America. Eurozone sovereign yields eased slightly last week but massive questions remain. Will the "Merkozy" plan work? Will Germany print money? Will monetary union be slimmed down in a relatively ordered manner, with some smaller countries leaving? Or will the entire structure collapse, the pan-European edifice crashing down amidst chaos and recrimination? No one knows. But the stakes are now so high, and the doubts so acute, that just the threat of a "euroquake" has brought the global economy, in the eyes of some, to the brink of recession. Just three years ago, at the end of 2008, our economic predicament looked dire. Yet here we are once more. The difference is that, back then, while Western governments were heavily indebted, they still had fiscal ammunition in their locker. That is not the case today. Having squandered countless billions bailing out rather than shutting-down insolvent financial institutions, the West is on the edge of a fiscal precipice. The resulting "zombified" banks, by refusing to lend, are stultifying economic activity, weakening government balance sheets even more. The economically-illiterate claim that the likes of the UK and the eurozone are barely growing because "austerity isn't working" and government spending is being cut "too far and too fast". What tosh! The reality is that state expenditure is still rising and borrowing remains extremely high, with West European national debts still spiraling to the point where some of the world's most advanced economies can barely roll over their loans. Yes - yields eased in recent days, but largely as a result of covertly printed money, central bank bond-buying and governments forcing nationalised banks to buy sovereign paper. This situation isn't sustainable. So it will not be sustained. The reason we aren't growing has nothing to do with "austerity". Tough measures to rein in fiscal deficits have barely begun. The principal cause of the West's economic torpor is that our banks remain utterly moribund, weighed down by cash-hoarding and undisclosed off-balance sheet losses, the inter-bank market paralysed by fears of counter-party risk. Fixing that, breaking the deadlock, involves shakingdown the banks, taking their mendacious executives down a peg or three and, while standing behind ordinary depositors, forcing a wholesale restructuring. The banks, though, are still too powerful. Our political leaders, in a show of cowardice that future historians will deride, remain incapable of standing up to the money-men. And so we carry on, sleepwalking towards disaster, as Western Europe heads towards a toxic combination of high inflation, economic stagnation and explicit sovereign defaults. Having said all that, I still don't buy the idea of a global recession in 2012. In my view, the world economy will continue to expand next year, albeit by 3pc or so, down from the 4pc that looks likely in 2011. One reason is that in the US, for all the regulatory lapses and policy faults, the banks are being slowly restructured and the wheels of finance are once again starting to turn. The American economy could grow by 2pc in 2012, roughly the same as this year. The main reason I don't foresee a global recession, though, is that I remain relatively optimistic about prospects for the large emerging markets - not least China. The Peoples' Republic, to say the least, is no economic sideshow. The second-largest economy on earth, China expanded by around 9.2pc this year, accounting for around two fifths of global growth. Yet concerns are mounting that the world's most populous country is heading for a hard landing. And that, of course, would have grave implications for economies elsewhere. It's certainly clear that growth is rapidly replacing inflation as Beijing's main policy concern. The Chinese leadership last week agreed, at its most important economic summit of the year, that the major macro risk for their country, amidst a worsening global outlook, has now shifted from rising prices to an economic slump. A slew of recent Chinese data shows growth easing, driven by fewer housing sales, lower construction spending and slowing exports, not least to Europe. The most alarming data, perhaps, comes from the all-important residential property market. The vast majority of Chinese savers, hemmed in by a closed capital account, have few investment options. They have to choose between a state bank (which gives them a negative real interest rate), the domestic stock market or property. Many go for property, with house prices an even bigger topic of conversation among China's growing middle class than among their counterparts in the UK's leafy home counties. Back in 2009, in the aftermath of the Lehman collapse, Beijing's central economic planners launched an almighty stimulus package, driven by a huge increase in bank lending. This did the trick, and kept the economy expanding, but at the cost of an overheated housing market and high inflation. In response, state banks have since been ordered to curtail loan growth, which has hit the property market hard. The price of new residential units fell month-onmonth in October in no less than 34 of the 70 mainland cities tracked by China's National Bureau of Statistics. Property market weakness has now spread from Beijing and Shanghai to the smaller cities. The reality is, though, that the Chinese government can reverse this trend pretty much as and when it chooses. The important goal, up until now, has been to squeeze inflation, which has recently been achieved. During the year to November, China's CPI growth was 4.2pc, down for the fourth straight month. That done, the likelihood now is that Beijing's policymakers will yank on the policy-lever marked "expansion". Already, reserve asset ratios on Chinese banks have been cut by 50 basis points. It won't be long, in my view, before we see a sizeable rise in the vital loan-quota to which the banking sector must adhere. Many assume that China will ultimately choose to bail out the eurozone as a result of selfinterest - not least because the European Union is the country's biggest trading partner. While this view might be reassuring for some, I don't believe it is true. For one thing, even if the eurozone stagnates badly, the demand for cheap Chinese goods won't dry up. In relative terms, as European household budgets are squeezed, it could even increase. Intra-Asian trade is also rapidly expanding. Commercial flows between China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan now account for more than half of their total trade. The Chinese economy also depends heavily, for the foreseeable future at least, not on European demand, but on infrastructure spending funded by the country's vast $3,200bn haul of foreign currency reserves. It was this kind of spending power that kept China growing by 8.7pc in 2009 - despite widespread predictions the People's Republic would be dragged down by the West. A hard landing in China? I don't think so. Now inflation looks licked, Beijing will soon unleash higher loan growth, while channelling yet more billions into more construction and other capital investments, not least by state-owned enterprises. China has this policy flexibility because it has the money, so can finance a meaningful "Keynesian boost" from cash. European governments, on the other hand, are not only broke, but face massive future liabilities. Assuming China will pick up the bill would amount to yet another policy mistake. <Title Leading article: SOCIETY: Rude Britannia? Don't you believe it Publication title The Observer Publication date Oct 9, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Prospects appear dark and optimism is severely rationed, so it is particularly timely to be reminded of the better and perhaps more surprising aspects of our national character. Tomorrow, the Young Foundation, a think-tank based in London's East End, publishes "Charm Offensive - Cultivating Civility in 21st-Century Britain". As the Observer reports, it draws on work in the London borough of Newham (inner city and diverse); Cambourne in Cambridgeshire (a new purpose-built community), and Salisbury, Trowbridge and Devizes (rural towns with pockets of affluence). The first and most striking element in the report is that it tells us something positive about ourselves. Although many people in the UK think standards of civility have declined, according to the Young Foundation, there is little objective evidence to support this view. In 1991, only 51% of the population believed that most people are trustworthy. That figure has now climbed to 65%, ahead of other western countries. We are, in the main, tolerant, considerate, caring. We are not so rude Britannia. What's missing from the report is a clear definition of civility. But perhaps one isn't necessary. Regardless of culture, income and ethnicity, civility appears to be understood by many of us as going further than demonstrations of politeness, welcome though that they are. Civility conveys a belief in a desirable common standard of conduct in real life and in cyber space. It places a value on reciprocity and empathy. Civility, coming from the Greek "civilis" - "relating to public life befitting a citizen" - is the antithesis of bullying, violence and intimidation. It struggles where there is greed, fear and profound inequality. The Young Foundation researchers found "very high" levels of civility in disadvantaged and diverse areas and instances of serious incivility in more prosperous and homogenous neighbourhoods. Or, to put it another way, the well-off can also be very poorly behaved. The report also discovered that while civility matters, we are often unaware when we are rude to others. The report reminds us to be more self-aware. Incivility is easily sparked. A lack of time; growing financial insecurity; social and technological changes add up to a 21st-century terrain in which most people have their own incivility list. The Observer's might include, for instance, talking on a mobile phone when paying a sales assistant and allowing children to occupy a seat on a bus or train while adults stand. What further erodes civility is what psychologist Dr Cordelia Fine, in A Mind of Its Own, calls "pernicious stereotyping" that assumes, for instance, that all young people in hoodies intend malice. The quality of our environment also has an impact. Run-down transport results in passengers showing less concern for others. As the report concludes, promoting civility is as much about encouraging positive behaviour as it is about instigating punitive measures. The culture in our institutions and services; the civic use of public spaces and the importance of acquiring social skills in home and school are all part of the way that, as a secular materialist society, we build a community in which regard for others remains highly prized. Good manners are not old-fashioned. The Young Foundation has done well to remind us just how much they matter. <Title Leading article: RUGBY WORLD CUP: Princes of Wales Publication title The Observer Publication date Oct 9, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Rugby is a sport of contradictions. It is played by men with heads like punchballs, their ears flapping by threads and their noses indented like footprints in concrete, yet many of the best of them have been doctors or solicitors or writers or in-laws of the Queen. It was invented at one of Britain's most exclusive seats of learning and might as easily have been the game of Harrow or Gordonstoun. It is a game of grace and strategy which sometimes seems to have all the intellectual subtlety of conkers, played with wrecking balls. It can be as crude as a Friday night brawl in East Kilbride, all gouging and scraping and fingers in orifices. Its supporters, though, are the most amiable types in the world and a packed stadium could be policed by a middle-aged St John Ambulance lady with a spaniel. And it is ferociously tribal, until the final whistle. After that, all fans are family. Now that England, Ireland and Scotland are out of the World Cup, it is natural for all British rugby supporters to hurl their weight behind the one remaining sceptr'd nation. We are all Welsh now. <Subject Free markets; Recessions; Banks; Banking industry Title If capitalism does fail, the alternative is far, far worse Author Palmer, Alasdair Publication title The Sunday Telegraph Publication date Oct 9, 2011 Section Editorial; Opinion, Columns Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> There were riots and a general strike last week in Greece. In New York, several hundred demonstrators occupied Wall Street, in a sitdown protest against the finance industry that is being imitated in several other US cities, and may well spawn something similar here. The anti-capitalist movement is on a roll. With the exception of a few anarchists and some oldfashioned communists, the protesters don't have a coherent alternative. But if they're not sure what they're in favour of, they know very well what they're against: bankers and their bonuses, and the system that hands them billions in bail- outs, while cutting the services relied on by ordinary folk. It would be a mistake to dismiss them. For their grievances against the form of capitalism currently operating in most of the developed world are increasingly widely held - and they can't be disposed of simply by pointing out that the banks, and the finance industry, are necessary to economic growth. It is certainly true that some form of banking industry is necessary to growth. It is demonstrably false that the sorts of banks that gamble with their customers' savings, and pay enormous bonuses to the employees who do the gambling, are necessary to growth. From 1950 to 1980, when the economies of Europe and America grew, on average, at least as fast as they did for the next 30 years, most banks did not gamble in that way, because the law prevented them from doing so. They also did not pay themselves colossal salaries and bonuses. In the Sixties, the average executive in the finance industry was paid around 25 times the average wage. Today, bankers are frequently paid several thousand times more than the average worker - a multiplier that cannot possibly be justified by the bankers' greater productivity. Gaps of that kind are tolerated when most people are reasonably content with their own economic position, and think things will get better next year. They become intolerable to many people when recession takes hold, most of us feel poorer, and the only reliable prediction is that next year will be no better, and may be a great deal worse. Then the pressure on the government to regulate the finance industry and its wasteful ways becomes increasingly difficult to resist. The pressure does not stop with the finance industry - for if the state can run banks better than bankers can, surely it can also run other industries in a fairer, better way? That's how the policy pendulum swings against the free market and towards much greater state intervention in the economy. We have just had 30 years in which the ideology of the free market has been dominant. And yet, during that time, what has happened to the percentage of the British economy controlled by the Government? It has remained static, at around 45 per cent. The state has been able to increase its control even when there has been almost unanimous agreement that it would be far better if it were to control a much smaller slice of our collective wealth. What, then, is likely to happen now that free markets are going out of fashion, and state supervision is becoming an intellectually respectable alternative? The short answer is an increase in the portion of the economy controlled by the state. We should all know what that is going to mean: a greater likelihood of economic stasis, if not contraction; a lack of innovation and development; and an enormous increase in bureaucracy, waste and inefficiency. That has been the long-term legacy of every state that has controlled more than half the economy. But that truth has no traction at the moment. So defenders of capitalism urgently need to come up with a way to remind everyone of the dangers of thinking that things will improve when they are run by the state - because if they fail, the portion of the economy that it is free from its control will steadily diminish to much less than half. And that is a sure way to impoverish permanently everyone except the politicians and bureaucrats. <Title Leading article: PARENTING: A child's innocence is precious. That's why it must be protected Publication title The Observer Publication date Oct 2, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Children seem to be disappearing. They are physically present, but infant clothes, toys and street games seem to have been subsumed by a rush to adulthood: mini grown-ups rule. The duty of parents and carers to build a metaphorical wall between their offspring and the nastier habits and practices of adult life is proving increasingly difficult, even for the very well-intentioned. It is not just that some parents can't say no or lack the inclination to impose boundaries. It is partly that the world of global internet entertainment appears all-powerful, constantly reinventing itself to outwit the latest parental imposition. Now, for instance, as the Observer reports, some children have fake Facebook accounts to hoodwink parents trying to exercise control. The advice given to adults concerned about what to do is: "Familiarise yourself with the technology." For some of us, this is akin to hunting for dodos. Ofcom, the media regulator, has now told broadcasters that they must be more careful about showing "sexualised" music videos and live performances before the watershed of 9pm. More than a million children watched Christina Aguilera and Rihanna perform gynaecological aerobics on ITV's The X Factor last year. Given that children can watch anything anywhere so long as they have access to a laptop, does Ofcom's ruling matter? The Observer thinks it does. It is not prudery to believe that there is an adult duty to try to manage information on behalf of the children in one's care. Rihanna has talent that is more than her gyrating body parts, but it's the latter that six-year-olds copy. The Ofcom reinforcement of the importance of "family shows" before the watershed signals a position in society. It endorses the view that children are entitled to enjoy the freedom that comes with a sense of innocence. It reminds parents that simulating soft porn has no place in the playground. <Title Leading article: DAVID CROFT: Farewell to a cherished voice of Britain and lost Empire Publication title The Observer Publication date Oct 2, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Publisher Guardian Newspapers Limited Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once. Shakespeare contributed more phrases to the English language than any other writer. A glance at the career of David Croft, who died last week, aged 89, suggests just what a contribution he, and the sitcom tradition he did so much to create, made to the way we talk. Croft's knack with a catchphrase was incomparable: "They don't like it up 'em!"; "You stupid boy"; "I'm free!"; "Hi-de-hi, campers!"; "Good moaning!"; "Don't panic, don't panic!" With his co-writers Jimmy Perry and Jeremy Lloyd, Croft created more classic sitcoms than anyone who ever wrote for TV or radio. Other comedy writers were satiric, or anarchic or left wing, but Croft tapped into Britain's endless appetite for nostalgia and seaside smut. His settings were the backwaters of the Second World War (in Britain, France, India and Burma), the gruelling holidays of our childhood and the last vestiges of the feudal system. Against these backdrops, he was safe to uncork sexual innuendos that would have made Joe Orton blush. "At seven o'clock tonight," Mrs Slocombe would declare, "my pussy's expecting to see a friendly face!" Croft caught the last echoes of Empire, the farcical side of the decline of a nation that had governed nearly half the planet when he was born in 1922. In his evocations, Britain was ridiculous, even pathetic, but still trustworthy. It was the pig-headed courage of a bank manager squeezed into an officer's uniform. It was the implacable standards of a department store floorwalker who insisted on being addressed as "Captain". It was bracing larks beside the campsite pool and the unrequited love of a chalet maid with the sniffles. It was mocking the French for their faint hearts and secretly envying their libido. It was healthy tolerance of homosexuals, so long as they confined themselves to saucy asides. Above all, it was co-operation between the classes. Now Croft has gone - and that sense of Britain went with him. <Title Leading article: ED MILIBAND: Labour, spell out your vision of a good society Publication title The Observer Publication date Sep 25, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> On occasion, a politician seizes the moment and in doing so, sets a valuable template for him or herself. For Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour party, it was the bold, if belated, decision earlier this year to break with the Murdochs in the midst of the phone-hacking scandal. In interviews several months later, rather like a magician pleased to discover that there actually is a rabbit to pull out of the hat, he still sounds surprised at his own acuity. "People had a sense that we were reflecting the mood of the country," he has said. "And that's what you try to do as leader of the opposition. . . it was a set of people whose power had never been challenged and who thought they were untouchable. That's why you've got to rip up the rule book." Unfortunately for Mr Miliband, as his critics are quick to point out, much of the rule book was written during New Labour's 13 years of power. It was during this time, as Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, reminded the Liberal Democrat conference last week, that the Labour leader and Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, were "the back-room boys" for Blair and Brown, "always plotting, always scheming". Undaunted, Mr Miliband has hinted that "ripping up the rule book" will be one of the major themes of this year's Labour party conference beginning today in Liverpool. How that develops into a political vision that resonates both with Labour supporters and the wider public at a time of drastic cuts, rising prices and downward mobility is Mr Miliband's challenge. How might he rise to the occasion? Mr Miliband has everything against him and, therefore, perhaps nothing to lose. While Labour is just ahead in the polls, Mr Miliband's personal appeal is poor. According to yesterday's Guardian/ICM poll, only 30% of voters and 49% of Labour supporters agree with the statement: "The party has the right leader in Ed Miliband." He has possibly three years to change the electorate's mind. His speech on Tuesday will be key to that process, as he acknowledges in his interview with the Observer today. As he points out, keeping his head down is not an option. A major millstone is Labour's chronic lack of fiscal credibility. New Labour allowed itself to be deflected by admiration for the rich, the banks and the City. Consequently, the party isn't trusted with the public purse - and that lack of trust previously kept it out of power for 18 years. So far, while criticising government for cutting too fast and too deep, Mr Miliband has yet to detail how Labour would tailor the cuts to stimulate growth while keeping to the former chancellor Alistair Darling's plan to halve the deficit in four years. However, some policy details have emerged. They include a pounds 6,000 cap on tuition fees revealed in the Observer and yesterday's announcement that Labour would act against price-fixing by the six energy companies. These have a theme that this paper sees as heartening. It's a theme that, thanks to the current bumper harvest of "legacy-lite" autobiographies of prominent political players, tells us that while Mr Miliband might have been a New Labour apprentice for many years, he may have grown into a different politician. Philip Gould in The Unfinished Revolution, for instance, says that Ed Miliband was "never fully comfortable with New Labour, he wanted something more emphatic, more ideological". So Miliband has talked of the "squeezed middle" (a group with which an increasingly large number identify, irrespective of income); the plight of young people and the need for "a new settlement". He says he abhors the old settlement, one that is about "an ethic of take what you can, something for nothing, the short term, the fast buck". Where Mr Miliband is at risk is in defining the new. He says in the Observer interview that he believes that the country is ripe for "this moment of reckoning". Elections are won when the centre is won but since the centre is always dynamic, Miliband appears to be banking on the support of "a new centre ground" - one united by concern about "the gap between the rich and everyone else". One that may also be troubled by the marketisation of every aspect of our lives, including health and education and the manner in which materialism is corroding the values and relationships that are at the heart of a decent, well-functioning society. The electorate can and has united in the past behind a political leader with the rhetoric, vision and character to define, at a particular period, a different path ahead. It happened with Margaret Thatcher and it happened again in 1997 under Tony Blair. However, neither was labouring in an era of austerity infused with such profound mistrust of the establishment. Can Ed Miliband find the right words to describe the Britain of which he wishes to be part? The Observer endorses Mr Miliband's view that this is the time for boldness and risk-taking. The evidence that "bad" capitalism has failed is all around. The neoliberalism that began in the 1970s has resulted in a global financial crisis and the demonisation of the public sector and the welfare state. The belief that tax cuts, deregulation and small government would enable wealth to trickle down to the benefit of all has proved an expensive mirage. New Labour's adoption of key aspects of this agenda meant it failed to broadcast many of its notable achievements, for instance Sure Start, the minimum wage and combating child poverty. Mr Miliband's different kind of settlement needs to champion these achievements and articulate a better form of capitalism that treats equality and prosperity as intrinsic to each other rather than separate and competing goals. A new settlement imposes responsibilities on the rich as well as the poor; it stops the government's ideological and extreme reduction and privatisation of the welfare state. Instead, it sees the state as a springboard, an enabler for citizens, not a paternalistic creator of greater dependency. Better capitalism recognises that the more equal a society is, the more prosperous it is, so top pay rises no faster than low incomes. It encourages long-termism in investment in industry and manufacturing; it ensures that families are protected from the challenges they cannot manage alone - illness; childcare; unemployment. It's a society that works for all, not just the affluent few. On Tuesday, we hope we will hear more of Mr Miliband's new settlement. Then we shall also learn whether caution is his undoing - or whether, once again, he can seize the moment. <Title Leading article: COHABITATION: Living together is good for you. Equal rights - even better Publication title The Observer Publication date Sep 25, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Publisher Guardian Newspapers Limited Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> Last week, probably for the first time in its history, cohabitation acquired a good name from defenders of the state of matrimony. According to a study for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the key to a strong marriage is to live together first. Cohabitation allegedly screens out those who would otherwise marry and divorce. In the 1950s, fewer than one in 100 adults under 50 cohabited; now it is one in six. In recent years, 80% of couples who marry have lived together first. ONS researchers suggest that cohabitation, because of its test-run potential, is seen as "promoting rather than competing with marriage". So, if the terms of engagement have changed, as it were, then it seems only fair to ask that legal rights for cohabitees should once again be considered. Common law marriage hasn't existed in England and Wales since 1753, although more than 50% of the population believe that it does. As a result, at the end of a relationship, the law treats cohabitees as two unrelated individuals with no right to claim for maintenance, except for the children, or a share of the property. Rights for cohabitees were resisted in the past because opponents argued this would undermine marriage. Now cohabitation appears to have become a valuable marital prop, surely it's only fair that those who continue, for a variety of reasons, to resist the orange blossom and nuptials are entitled to a better personal security? Campaigners have fought to win a change in the law and several governments, including this one, have refused to see reason. On the whole, it's those who are poorer, less well-educated and less well-qualified who remain as cohabitees, although that, too, is beginning to change. They live together for a variety of reasons: the partner doesn't want to; they can't afford a wedding; they resist the interference of the state. That's their choice. The fact that, as a result, they and their children are left unfairly vulnerable when Cupid's arrows cease to fly now seems even more unjust. <Title Leading article: RUSSIA: Putin's presidential ambitions signal a return to autocracy Publication title The Observer Publication date Sep 25, 2011 Section Observer New Comment Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> The announcement by the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that he favours taking a back seat and recommending his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, to succeed him in 2012 should hardly come as a surprise. The reality is that Putin, the macho former KGB officer, has never gone away since he stood down in 2008 after serving two terms. Putin's current break from the president's office as Medvedev's prime minister - a break required by constitutional rules that forbade him standing for a third term - was widely seen as no more than a mechanism to keep Putin in the public eye until he could stand again, an arrangement Medvedev said yesterday was "agreed a long time ago". Indeed, Putin has long been regarded as the real power behind his compliant ally. That odd interregnum has not seen Putin behave in an any less "presidential" way. He has stayed at the forefront of the nation's imagination through his regular media appearances that have cast him as the shirtless action man. While there is no denying his real popularity - or that of his United Russia party - that support has been gained at the expense of a genuine opposition or a free media, both of which have been targeted by Putin and his supporters. Indeed, Medvedev's announcement follows months of political manoeuvring, which has included the unopposed appointment last week of Putin ally Valentina Matvienko as speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament to replace the leader of the Just Russia party, who was removed after criticising United Russia. Putin will benefit too from constitutional changes pushed through by Medvedev, which critics suggested at the time were designed to bolster Putin's power should he run again to ensure that the new term - which Putin will certainly win - will be for six years rather than four. All of which confirms a country slipping from democracy back towards autocracy. And that should be a cause for serious concern. <Daily Star June 29, 2011 Wednesday A ray of sunshine SECTION: EDITORIAL; OPINION, LEADING ARTICLES; Pg. 6 LENGTH: 122 words> THE weather is going from one extreme to another. First we had sweltering 33C temperatures, the best for five years. A day later and it's torrential downpours and tornadoes. Forecasters are now predicting a two-week heatwave. They say Brits will be basking in 35C heat as summer returns with a vengeance next week. Let's hope we do have a good long sun-kissed spell. And that everyone takes advantage of it by going out, enjoying themselves and spending money. Because Britain's economic recovery has been stalling. And the High Street has taken a battering. A summer-fuelled nationwide shopping resurgence would be the ideal tonic. So no more doom and gloom. Go out and make the most of the balmy weeks ahead. Get this country smiling again. < Title UK is no longer a united country: Letters to the editor Publication title The Sentinel Publication date Mar 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication Stoke-on-Trent (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Editorial> AV UK - four letters which will have, or could have, a major influence on our lives. AV or Alternative Vote, is an attempt by the Lib Dems to alter a voting system which has served us well over the years. By so doing they hope to one day form a government because if they were not dead and gone before the coalition they certainly are now. But what I find very annoying is that we are being given a referendum by Cameron to express our opinions on this trivial matter but could not be given one to vote on Europe. AV is a watered down form of Proportional Representation and will do little other than to create confusion in voters' minds. We must kick this into touch and in no way countenance bringing it into our lives. Good heavens we might even get Clegg as PM. UK - two important letters standing for United Kingdom. I ask you what is now united about the UK? Let the Scots have independence but let them pay for it from Edinburgh not Westminster. Let the Welsh have independence but pay for it from Cardiff. Let us no longer pretend we are united when patently this is no longer the case. Let we, the English, be just that, English. <Subject Polls & surveys; Politics; Focus groups; Conservatism; Political leadership; Politicians Title All right on the right Publication title New Statesman Volume 140 Issue 5073 Pages 24-29,31 Publication date Oct 3, 2011 Place of publication London Source type Magazines> Robert Peel Jason Cowley In the early 1990s, I began spending occasional weekends at my girlfriend's family home on the edges of the old Lancashire mill town of Bury. A prominent local monument was "Peel Tower", named for Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850) and positioned high on Holcombe Hill. Even all these years later, Peel is revered in Bury (but not quite as revered as the rock band Elbow). Its grand civic architecture - the town hall, the old library, the wonderful parish church where we were married - bespeaks a lost prosperity and confidence. I used to talk to my girlfriend's parents, resolute northern Tories, about Peel, the so-called father of the modern Conservative Party and one of the most singular politicians of the Victorian era. In the language of today's politics, Peel was a moderniser. Following the passage of the Reform Act 1832, which the Tories opposed, he knew that the party he had, in effect, created was compelled to reach out to new constituencies, especially the emerging wealthy industrial class. In his Tamworth Manifesto of 1834, he laid out a vision for modern conservatism: reformist, adaptable, reactionary, yet prepared to accept change. The son of a hugely wealthy self-made industrialist, Peel was educated at Harrow and Oxford, where he took a double First, and then entered the Commons at the age of 21. He was dour, driven and extraordinarily determined. William Gladstone spoke of his mentor's "righteous dullness". As with William Hague today, another talented northern Tory, Peel never lost his accent: it was said that he "guarded his aspirates with extreme care". "He had managed his elocution like his temper," said Benjamin Disraeli, Peel's great tormentor: "neither was originally good." Peelisbest known as the creator of the modern police force; but I most admire him for his struggle to repeal the protectionist Corn Laws. Introduced in 1815, these were tariffs used to keep the price of wheat, oats, barley and other agricultural commodities artificially high, even as bread shortages and the potato famine in Ireland were leading to the misery and deaths of hundreds of thousands. Peel had demonstrated before that he could be pragmatic and, like a true Tory, he was capable of accommodating democratic agitation. As a young politician he was a Protestant supremacist, and yet, in 1 829 , he sponsored the Catholic Emancipation Bill, which ended the restriction on Catholics entering parliament. It was the struggle over repeal of the Corn Laws that defined but also broke Peel's premiership. Harrowed by the plight of the urban poor and the starvation of the Irish peasantry, and instinctively on the side of free trade, he challenged his party over the Corn Laws. Disraeli understood that Peel's difficulty could be his opportunity, and, from the back benches, he led a brilliant and witty rebellion against his prime minister. Peel eventually won the argument; the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846, but only with the support of Whigs and Radicals. The political outcome for him was grave - the government fell and the Conservatives split, with Peel leading a new "Peelite", or liberal Conservative, faction. Prominent among the Peelites "was Gladstone, who became leader of the Liberal party, formed out of a coalition of Whigs, Radicals and Peelites. Peel died in July 1850, shortly after falling from his horse while riding on Constitution Hill in Westminster. He was remembered as an austere and cold utilitarian, the embodiment of an unrelenting Protestant work ethic. But he "was on the right side in the conflict over protectionism and the Corn Laws, and courageously used the power and privilege of the prime minister's office to challenge the hegemony of the feudal landowning class, even at the expense of splitting his own party. Jason Cowley is editor of the New Statesman Rab Butler NickPearce In his history of Britain in the 1950s, Having It So Good, Peter Hennessy recounts a delicious little anecdote about Richard Austen, or "Rab", Butler (1902-82). One Friday evening, the then Conservative chancellor stormed into his private office, clutching a copy of the Economist. "I work very hard for this country and they are very critical of me in here," he said. "Can you ask to cancel my subscription?" It speaks volumes about Butler. He was a politician of "vague ambition", as Macmillan once gibed, lacking the hunger and ruthlessness, if not the guile, to reach the summit of politics . To many of his contemporaries, he would forever be a "Munich Man", guilty of the original sin of appeasement, and therefore unworthy of the prime ministerial crown. But his record in office, as an MP from 1929-65 and five times in cabinet between 1951 and 1963 - second only to Churchill's in longevity - bears comparison with many of the political giants of the 20th century. While Churchill fought tooth and nail to preserve British imperialism in India, Rab's first achievement was to steer through the Government of India Act 1935, legislation that alienated Indian nationalists but prefigured the country's independence after the Second World War. He chaired the wartime coalition's reconstruction committee, tasked with preparing for postwar social reform, while the Education Act of 1944, which laid the foundations for a new education settlement, still bears his name in the annals of political history. With skill and determination, he created a free secondary school system, raised the school -leaving age to 15, and bound the church schools into a relationship with the state which lasts to this day. Britain's great wave of social mobility in the 1950s and 1960s owes much to Butler's pioneering expansion of secondary schooling. Unlike many other Conservatives, Butler understood that the Attlee government would transform the economic and social foundations of postwar Britain, and as chancellor he governed within the Keynesian framework of full employment and demand management it had created, relaxing wartime controls and ending rationing along the way. Although he disliked the charge of Butskellist consensus with Labour on economic policymaking, he acknowledged that he and Gaitskell both spoke "the language of Keynesianism", even if they did so with "different accents". After 1979, such an acknowledgement 'would become unthinkable for a Conservative chancellor. He was also a reforming home secretary who started to "loosen the corset" of social conservatism in the late 1950s, opening the way for Roy Jenkins's liberalism of the 1960s. He legislated to restrict the use of capital punishment and faced down what he called the "Colonel Blimps of both sexes" in his party to liberalise the laws on licensing, gambling and prostitution. Rab deserves more than a footnote in the history of British decolonisation. He oversaw independence for Malawi and Zambia, and he swept up the mess left behind from the Suez crisis. While appeasement will always be a deep stain on his record, few Conservatives can match his commitment to social reform and public service. Nick Rearce is director of the Institute for Public Policy Research Michael Heseltine Andrew Adonis Few ministers - even prime ministers - make much difference. Even where they preside positively, few worthwhile reforms can be attributed to them personally. Michael Heseltine is a case apart. Council house sales. Docklands. The Thames Gateway. High Speed 1. The Jubilee Line and the Docklands Light Railway. The O2 Arena - and before you say "Dome", if Hezza had been organising the millennium celebrations, they would doubtless be remembered as another Festival of Britain. In the brilliance of his institutional creativity, Heseltine is matched only by Aneurin Bevan and Ernest Bevin among postwar ministers. More shaming for us on the left, he is the best social democratic institution builder of recent decades. No other minister has done more to modernise the nation's infrastructure, to envision a better future for England's cities, or to enfranchise hard- working families. As I set about systematically creating academies to replace failing comprehensive schools, and planning High Speed 2 - the high-speed line from London to the Midlands, the north of England and Scotland - Michael Heseltine 'was an inspiration. He is standing proof that, in this deeply conservative country - and no part of it is more conservative than the Labour Party - it is possible to be bold and transformational in progressive causes. If an entirely new city can be created on the Thames, if three million tenants can be turned sustainably into homeowners, and if a new high-speed line from London to Paris can be driven through Kent, what can't we do to build a better future? My dad was one of the first Camden tenants to buy his council flat. No act of the state has done more to transform his and his family's life. It was a practical and psychological liberation, a capital asset that made so much else possible. To my surprise and pleasure, I now find myself campaigning alongside Heseltine in favour of elected mayors for England's provincial cities. Hezza first tried to introduce this reform under John Major. He failed, although Major now recognises that Hezza was right. Tony Blair dearly wishes that he, too, had established mayors nationwide, instead of stopping at London. Without strong, visible, democratic leadership, our cities will never flourish. It is time to sweep away the nowdys functional 19th-century municipalities and to create anew. Even where Hezza failed, he was usually right. He was right to oppose the poll tax, right to highlight the social crisis after the Toxteth riots, right in the Westland crisis - which precipitated his resignation from Thatcher's cabinet- to campaign for strong domestic engineering companies, rather than shipping helicopter and hi-tech production abroad. Then there is Hezza as Tarzan. Only Tony B lair and, perhaps, B or is Johnson rank alongside him as modern political showmen, fundamentally creative in the exercise of democratic arts. As G K Chesterton wrote: "I've searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees." But it's a fair bet that, a century hence, there will be a few statues of Michael Heseltine. Andrew Adonis was transport secretary and minister for schools in the last government Humaneness at high speed: Michael Heseltine David Maxwell Fyfe Sadiq Khan For a Labour politician, writing about a Conservative you admire is always going to come with heavy caveats, and there is a lot not to admire about Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (1900-67). His socially regressive views on homosexuality and his refusal to commute Derek Bentley's death sentence might make him seem an unlikely choice. But it is hard for me, as a lawyer and shadow lord chancellor, not to admire the man who prosecuted the most significant trial in international law, at Nuremberg, and played a principal role in drafting the European Convention on Human Rights. As deputy chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials, Maxwell Fyfe was responsible for one of the most noted cross-examinations in history when Hermann Goring took the stand. His exposure to the evidence of Nazi atrocities hardened his commitment to human rights. The European treaty overseen by Maxwell Fyfe contained the fundamental rights and freedoms that underpin our society and democracy: the right to life, liberty, the freedom from torture or inhumane treatment, the right to a fair trial, free and fair elections, the right to receive an education, to practise your religion and express yourself freely. So, it seems ironic that the convention, overseen by a British lawyer who held four offices of state in Churchill's government, is now being attacked by Tory MPs as an assault on Britain's identity and values. To me, there is nothing more British than enshrining in law the rights and liberties that citizens should be free to enjoy without incursion from the state. I wonder what Maxwell Fyfe would think of the repeated trashing of his legacy on the Tory backbenches. Had we been contemporaries, Maxwell Fyfe and I would have more often than not found ourselves on opposite sides of the political debate and the voting lobbies. But, in devising the European Convention on Human Rights, he created something that still has a positive impact on our everyday lives. For that, I am full of admiration and gratitude. Sadiq Khan is MP for Tooting (Labour) and shadow lord chancellor and shadow secretary of state for justice <Subject Urban areas; Professional soccer; Evacuations & rescues Location United Kingdom--UK Title The great property swindle Author Cahill, Kevin Publication title New Statesman Volume 140 Issue 5043 Pages 25-29 Number of pages 5 Section COVER STORY Place of publication London Source type Magazines> The myth spun about Britain is that land is scarce. It is not - landowners are paid to keep it off the market. As a result, we have the smallest, most expensive houses in Europe Modern British history, excluding world wars and the loss of empire, is a record of two countervailing changes, one partly understood, one not understood at all. The partly understood change is the urbanisation of society to the point where 90 per cent of us in the United Kingdom live in urban areas. Hidden inside that transformation is the shift from a society in which, less than a century and a half ago, all land was owned by 4.5 per cent of the population and the rest owned nothing at all. Now, 70 per cent of the population has a stake in land, and collectively owns most of the 5 per cent of the UK that is urban. But this is a mere three million out of 60 million acres. Through this transformation, the heirs to the disenfranchised of the Victorian era have inverted the relationship between the landed and the landless. This has happened even while huge changes have occurred in the 42 million acres of rural countryside. These account for 70 per cent of the home islands and are the agricultural plot. From being virtually the sole payers of such tax as was levied in 1873 (at fourpence in the 240p pound), the owners of Britain's agricultural plot are now the beneficiaries of an annual subsidy that may run as high as £23,000 each, totalling between £3-5bn and £5bn a year. Urban dwellers, on the other hand, pay about £3sbn in land-related taxes. Rural landowners receive a handout of roughly £83 per acre, while urban dwellers pay about £18,000 for each acre they hold, an average of £1,800 per dwelling, the average dwelling standing on one-tenth of an acre. Britain urgently needs land reform, but there is a problem. The "tenants" of between 30 and 50 per cent of the Home Island land mass are unknown. I use the word tenant deliberately. Here's why. In a written response to a question by Andrew George MP in February 2009 , Bridget Prentice, a parliamentary undersecretary at the Ministry of Justice, replied, "The Crown is the ultimate owner of all land in England and Wales (including the Isles of Scilly): all other owners hold an estate in land. Although there is some land that the Crown has never granted away, most land is held of the Crown as freehold or leasehold." Prentice omitted to add that, as the preamble to the Land Registration Act 2002 put it, "the concepts of leasehold and freehold derive from medieval forms of tenure and are not ownership". What this means is that, in relation to land in the UK, we are all tenants on the basis of the feudal superiority of the Crown, a superiority created in 1066 and founded on legal norms that were created to uphold that same feudal superiority. This expensive medieval legal miasma in relation to land might not matter, if the confusion did not directly impinge on the size of our homes and even more directly on the price of land, which can be as much as 80 per cent of the cost of a new home. Both the size and the cost of houses are predicated on the idea that land is scarce in the UK, but this is a myth propagated by those with an interest in selling plentiful land expensively. The home islands together with Northern Ireland are 60 million acres in extent. It is estimated that there are 62 million people living on those acres, giving every man, woman and child a little under an acre apiece. An acre is a little over half the size of a standard Football Association pitch, which is why that measurement is used here. Almost everyone in the country knows what a football pitch looks like. Very few people know how to visualise a hectare. So, who wants the acre on the top of Ben Nevis? You don't have to go to a Scottish mountain to find plenty of land, however. England, one of the most urbanised countries in the world, has abundant spare acres. This is because less than 6 per cent of the entire island of Britain - and 10 per cent of England - is urban. Put another way, for every acre that is bricks and mortar, home or business premises, nine acres are not. This is not counter-intuitive. Most people understand it as they get out of urban areas, big or small, and journey by train or car through some of the greenest and most pleasant land on earth. What runs counter to what you see is the propaganda, unremitting and relentless, from the environmental and countryside lobbies, telling you that the UK is a small and crowded island and that within 30 years the last blade of grass in England will be concreted over. At the current rate of urbanisation, which is about 14,400 acres a year, England won't finally fall to "concretisation" for 2,014 years. Behind the scare stories is a very simple financial fact: an acre of rural land worth £5,000 becomes an acre of development land worth between £500,000 and £1m once planning permission is obtained. Moreover, most land granted planning consent is registered offshore and is thus tax- free, or virtually so. If the true availability of land in the UK were known, the conversion factor would not be quite so generous. The true availability of land starts with who tenants or holds it freehold. What we need in this country is a debate about land, informed by facts. The obvious place to look for the facts is the three land registries of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Here we encounter two extraordinary but related anomalies: we have land registries that do not record the ownership of land at all and a second Domesday book that did record the ownership of all land in the UK but vanished. These facts are not unrelated. First, the land registries. Most people think that this is where the ownership of all land in the UK is recorded. They are wrong. Formally created by the Land Registration Act 1925, the current three land registries only partly succeed where a series of earlier attempts failed, beginning in 1875. Before that, there were deed registries in most counties in the United Kingdom. The effort to create a land registry happened at roughly the same time as the publication in 1873 of the Return of Owners of Land, the so-called second or new Domesday Book, a coincidence that almost certainly led to the failure of the push for a registry. The second Domesday of 1873 exposed the inequity of land ownership in Victorian Britain - that all land in the UK was then "owned" byjust4-5 per cent of the population, while 95.5 per cent of the population owned nothing, not even a blade of grass. Domestic home ownership was in its infancy at the end of the 19th century; most of the land was the property of a very small network of aristocratic families, most of which had dual links to the House of Commons and the Lords. Those who owned everything also had political control of everything. The second Domesday recorded the ownership - yes, the word used was ownership - of at least 98 per cent of all land in the four countries of the then United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The details of each owner's holding, name and address, together with the valuation of any land of more than one acre, were recorded and printed in four volumes running to 2,300 pages and containing 321,000 names and addresses. The details of the owners of less than an acre were recorded but not printed. And it was all completed in four years. The current Land Registry for England and Wales is at least 35 per cent short of that achievement after 86 years of trying, and in the age of computers. The failure to record the ownership of land in the UK arises not from failures by the staff running the registries, but from the way they were constructed by lawyers on behalf of landowners. The land registries were designed to conceal ownership, not reveal it. Shocked by the detailed revelation of the actual acreage that they held, the great landowners did two things. First, they refused to register their land with the new land registry in 1875. Second, they had one of their own, the Hon George C Brodrick, Old Etonian warden of Merton College and second son of Queen Victoria's chaplain, the landowning 7th Viscount Middleton, damn the Returns in his 1881 work, English Land and English Landlords. No academic work relating to the Returns appeared subsequently until 2001. By the early 1920s, the pace of urban home ownership in London and throughout the UK necessitated an expansion of land registry activity. This resulted in a series of land registration and land regulation acts that reaffirmed the Crown's feudal superiority by creating two forms of lease - for a term of years, or freehold of indefinite duration. The structure passed into law in 1925; nothing significant has changed since. With rare exceptions, ownership dictates how land is used. Those who now "hold" the bulk of the acreage of the UK are extremely hard to identify, almost entirely because of the defects in the land registries. But they are for the most part the descendants - the so -called cousinhood - of the great landowners of 1873 . Among them are the current Duke of Buccleuch, with his 240,000 acres, the Duke of Northumberland, with 131,000 acres, the Duke of Westminster, with 129,000 acres, and the Prince of Wales, with 141,000 acres. With ownership information missing, planning of any kind, whether national or local, is extremely difficult. And finding out who is getting the money is almost impossible. In 2002, Michael Wills, then parliamentary secretary in the lord chancellor's department with responsibility for the Land Registry, wrote to the Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders setting out the limitations of its remit: 1. The Land Registry does not record ownership of land. 2. It records two forms of tenancies: leaseholds for a term of years and freehold tenancies of indeterminate duration. 3. It creates titles without recording the acreage of each title. 4. Its records are not kept in a manner which would enable the registry to establish with any certainty what land was owned by a particular organisation or individual. 5. The titles to only about 65 per cent of the acreage of England and Wales are recorded; in Scotland and Northern Ireland it is 85 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. What the land registries do is record the freehold titles of the domestic dwellings of the UK, and they do that in an exemplary way. This is to damn with faint praise, however, given that domestic dwellings cover three million acres in the UK at most. Those may be the most valuable parts, but they still constitute only 5 per cent of the country's land mass. The 60 million acres of the UK are broadly comprised of 42 million acres of "agricultural" land, 12 million acres of what is called natural waste (mountains, bog, moor and so on) and six million acres of the urban plot (houses, shops, businesses). When it comes to our homes and the taxes we pay, only two of the three sectors are significant. These are the taxed land where most of our homes and businesses are, and agricultural land, which is untaxed and subsidised. Many businesses are subsidised by the taxpayer, for various reasons - to retain jobs, to improve technology, to keep businesses in the market. But the agricultural subsidy is strange. Pared down to its essentials, it is a permanent and unaudited gift from the taxpayer to the owners of rural land. Introduced in America in the 1920s, in Britain after the Second World War and in the European Union in the 1970s, subsidies were intended to keep the agricultural sector viable and food supplies secure. In practice, the agriculture subsidy appears instead to have become a permanent prop to an unprofitable business as well as a free handout to the rich. <Coventry Evening Telegraph (England) May 2, 2011 Monday Nuneaton Edition AMBASSADOR EXPELLED OVER ATTACKS ON UK EMBASSY; Mob vents anger on Tripoli compound after death of Gaddafi's son SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6 LENGTH: 422 words> BRITAIN has expelled Libya's ambassador after the UK embassy in Tripoli was attacked by a mob. Foreign Secretary William Hague last night said Omar Jelban was "persona non grata" and had been given 24 hours to leave the country. Diplomatic missions belonging to a number of Nato states have been targeted after an airstrike reportedly killed Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son and three of his grandchildren. Mr Hague said: "I condemn the attacks on the British Embassy premises in Tripoli as well as the diplomatic missions of other countries. "The Vienna Convention requires the Gaddafi regime to protect diplomatic missions in Tripoli. By failing to do so that regime has once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations. "I take the failure to protect such premises very seriously indeed. "As a result, I have taken the decision to expel the Libyan Ambassador. He is persona non grata pursuant to Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and has 24 hours to leave the country. The attacks against diplomatic missions will not weaken our resolve to protect the civilian population in Libya." Meanwhile, David Cameron defended Nato's choice of targets in Libya after an airstrike apparently hit a building where Muammar Gaddafi was staying and killed his youngest son. The Prime Minister insisted individuals were not being targeted, and UN Security Council resolutions permitted attacks on "command and control" bases. But the Libyan regime reacted furiously, branding the missile strike an illegal assassination attempt. Mobs also stormed diplomatic premises belonging to the UK and other Nato members in Tripoli, prompting Mr Hague to expel Libya's ambassador from London. Saif al- Arab Gaddafi, 29, the dictator's sixth son, died when his house was hit by at least one missile fired by a Nato warplane, according to Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim. The younger Gaddafi had spent much of his time in Germany in recent years and had studied at a German university. Journalists taken to the walled complex of one-storey buildings in a residential Tripoli neighbourhood saw heavy bomb damage. The blast had torn down the ceiling of one building and left a huge pile of rubble and twisted metal on the ground. Nato said its forces had carried out precision strikes against Gaddafi regime military buildings in Tripoli, including a strike on a "known command and control building" in the Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood. But it did not verify media reports that members of Gaddafi's family had been killed. <Evening News (Edinburgh) May 2, 2011, Monday Digging deep for underground bins BYLINE: MICHAEL BLACKLEY City Council Reporter SECTION: Pg. 11 LENGTH: 454 words> MASSIVE underground bins are to be introduced to Princes Street Gardens in order to make it look more attractive. The city council has announced that GBP50,000 will be spent within the next few months on 17 new bins that will be partially buried underground. Each individual "silobin" will be up to 33 times bigger than the existing bins. It will mean a significant reduction in the total number of bins in the gardens, from 200 at present to 17, sparking fears that the scheme could lead to an increase in people dropping litter. Council chiefs believe the new bins will improve the appearance of the gardens because they will replace the existing "unsightly" bins. It will also reduce the likelihood of overflowing bins. With recycling to be introduced for the first time, it is hoped the scheme can help reduce the amount of rubbish being sent to landfill. The initiative is a pilot project but if it is seen to be successful it could be rolled out to areas across the city, including major parks. Councillor Robert Aldridge, the city's environmental leader, said: "It is important to keep our parks litter-free and this trial will not only increase litter collection but will also reduce the number of unsightly bins. Edinburgh is a great place to live in and visit, especially during the summer months when people are out enjoying the city's parks and we want to keep them looking good." The design of the new bins has been agreed with the support of Edinburgh World Heritage and Historic Scotland. Despite the reduction in the number of the bins, the initiative will result in the total capacity of all of the bins in the gardens rising from 10,340 litres to 48,000 litres. It is also estimated that there will be a minimum 70 per cent increase in the amount of waste that is recycled, possibly rising to an 85 per cent increase. Because of the reduction in the amount of times that collections have to take place, it is hoped that significant savings can be made on the cost of collections. The cool underground temperature also reduces bacteria growth and odour, while reducing the nuisance from flies and wasps. Green councillor Alison Johnstone said: "It is high time we saw more progress towards the 'zero waste' commitment that the administration have made. "Clearly, this is a spend-to-save measure because at the moment we spend GBP7 million on landfill and that is a waste of taxpayers' money." She added a warning over littering. "I would like to think that the gardens are so well kept that it would encourage people to keep them tidy. But littering will have to be closely monitored because it is a vast reduction in the number of bins so we will have to make sure we have done all we can as far as signposts and such like." <Evening News (Norwich) May 2, 2011 Monday Tories and Lib Dems battle for Broadland SECTION: ROP LENGTH: 1276 words> It's all-out election time in Broadland, where the Conservatives will be looking to see off the challenge from the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives are currently comfortably in control of Broadland District Council, with 34 seats compared to the 12 Lib Dems and the single independent. But, with elections across all 27 wards, there is plenty to play for and, despite there being a coalition government, there is no love lost locally between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. The growth planned for areas to the north-east of Norwich has sparked controversy and the Lib Dems, having opposed the eco-town at Rackheath, could pick up votes on that issue. The Lib Dems will have been buoyed by success in by-elections over the past couple of years in Buxton, Wroxham and Taverham, where they made gains, twice at the expense of the Conservatives. But the Conservatives are saying their stewardship of the council shows they have the know-how to deliver in difficult times, pointing to recycling rates and sound financial management. A number of leading twin-hatters are also up for election, including county council cabinet members Ian Mackie and James Carswell. Several councillors have also decided to call it a day including Brian Iles, Charlotte Casimir, Tom Gasson and Dal Dewgarde. Labour were wiped out in Broadland last time around, but they will be looking for a better showing this time around. The party is especially hopeful of picking up votes from Lib Dem voters disappointed with life under a coalition government, particularly in the urban areas on the edge of Norwich such as Sprowston Central and Old Catton & Sprowston East. The UK Independence Party are fielding nine candidates, including Glenn Tingle, former Norwich North parliamentary candidate. The Green Party, who have yet to emulate their success in Norwich in Broadland, have six candidates, while there are three independents. Voters in 15 parishes in the district will also be able to vote for their new parish councillor. It's all-out election time in Broadland, where the Conservatives will be looking to see off the challenge from the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives are currently comfortably in control of Broadland District Council, with 34 seats compared to the 12 Lib Dems and the single independent. But, with council elections across all 27 wards, there is plenty to play for and, despite there being a coalition government, there is no love lost locally between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. The growth planned for areas to the north-east of Norwich has sparked controversy and the Lib Dems, having opposed the eco-town at Rackheath, could pick up votes on that issue. The Lib Dems will have been buoyed by success in by-elections over the past couple of years in Buxton, Wroxham and Taverham, where they made gains, twice at the expense of the Conservatives. But the Conservatives are saying their stewardship of the council shows they have the know-how to deliver in difficult times, pointing to recycling rates and sound financial management. A number of leading twin-hatters are also up for election, including county council cabinet members Ian Mackie and James Carswell. Several councillors have also decided to call it a day including Brian Iles, Charlotte Casimir, Tom Gasson and Dal Dewgarde. Labour were wiped out in Broadland last time around, but they will be looking for a better showing this time around. The party is especially hopeful of picking up votes from Lib Dem voters disappointed with life under a coalition government, particularly in the urban areas on the edge of Norwich such as Sprowston Central and Old Catton & Sprowston East. The UK Independence Party are fielding nine candidates, including Glenn Tingle, former Norwich North parliamentary candidate. The Green Party, who have yet to emulate their success in Norwich in Broadland, have six candidates, while there are three independents. Voters in 15 parishes in the district will also be able to vote for their new parish councillor. <The Journal (Newcastle, UK) May 2, 2011 Monday Councillors Must Change Objections For Wind Farm Plan BYLINE: Brian Daniel SECTION: A; Pg. 18 LENGTH: 441 words> COUNCILLORS will this week be asked to change their reasons for objecting to a proposed wind farm in the Northumberland countryside. Northumberland County Council's planning and environment committee is being recommended to alter its grounds for opposing RES' bid for nine turbines at Park Head, near Netherwitton. At the same meeting, councillors are being urged to visit the site of another wind farm proposal nearby, BT's scheme for three 100m engines at Wingates Moor, and to consider arranging a public meeting to allow residents in the area to air their views. The RES bid is heading to a public inquiry after the developer appealed to the planning inspectorate because the council failed to determine it inside 16 weeks. The authority insisted that was because the company had not submitted information requested of it. It later agreed to oppose the application at the inquiry because of a lack of information to allow officers to assess impacts on landscape character, ecology, the radar at Newcastle International Airport, residential amenity in terms of noise and cumulative impact. Ahead of the inquiry, which begins on June 29, a report has been prepared for tomorrow's committee. It states RES has now submitted additional information, and that further discussions have taken place with the company and consultees. The report asks that the committee agree a change in reasons for the council's objection. It requests that councillors endorse officers' views that the turbines would have a significant adverse impact on the setting of grade I-listed building Netherwitton Hall. Officers also say the scheme would result in unacceptable harm to the landscape when viewed from Wingates and to living conditions at one property. The document furthermore states there is still insufficient information to assess impacts on legally protected species, the airport radar and residential amenity. Meanwhile, the report on the BT scheme says: This is a major planning application which is likely to generate substantial local interest. It is considered that members would wish to visit the site and hold a public meeting prior to determining the application.' Meanwhile, in a Journal article in March we stated that the Wingates not Wind Farms action group deemed BT's East Wingates project currently on hold to be preferable to the Wingates Moor plans. Chairman John Thompson has asked us to clarify that it does not consider the scheme to be preferable. It believes the East Wingates scheme would add less to cumulative impact of schemes in the area but that it "is not appropriate for many other reasons including access, visual and other impacts." <The Scotsman May 2, 2011, Monday The Week Ahead : Banks and retailers in the foreshortened spotlight BYLINE: Scott Reid SECTION: Pg. 35 LENGTH: 643 words> Banking giants Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland will share the limelight with retailers Next and Morrisons during another shortened week for UK investors, with today being a stock exchange holiday. Disappointing figures from Barclays showing a 9 per cent drop in quarterly profits have set a gloomy tone ahead of first-quarter updates from Lloyds and RBS on Thursday and Friday respectively. Aside from recent performance, the updates from the part-nationalised pair will provide the City with its first chance to quiz the banks on the impact of the recent Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) report. Lloyds tends to gives little financial detail in its Q1 updates. A year ago, it revealed it returned to profit for the first time since the financial crisis and remained in the black through 2010, reporting pre-tax profits of GBP2.2 billion against GBP6.3bn losses in 2009. However, it warned in annual figures earlier this year that its margins were under pressure as it gave a sobering outlook for the economic recovery. RBS, which is 83 per cent owned by the state, remained in the red in 2010 with losses of GBP1.1bn, but returned to profitability in the fourth quarter and the market will be hoping this continued into 2011. Sharply lower bad debts were behind the turnaround at the end of 2010, which offset slower investment banking revenues. Morrisons - the UK's fourth biggest supermarket chain - is unlikely to have avoided the consumer spending squeeze but should still reveal a resilient performance when it posts first-quarter figures on Thursday. Analysts expect quarterly sales at the group to better the recent 0.7 per cent decline seen at larger competitor Tesco, albeit with marginal growth. Andrew Porteous at Evolution Securities is pencilling in like-for-like sales growth of 1 per cent excluding VAT, which implies negative volumes after inflation. He said Morrisons' "Fuel Britannia" petrol offer was a canny move, with customer pockets hit hardest by soaring fuel costs. Clive Black at Shore Capital said the group may also be benefiting as shoppers trade down, given the chain's value credentials. The struggles of the high street will also come into focus on Wednesday when Next delivers a trading update for the first three months of its financial year. According to broker UBS, the clothing chain is expected to report a 5 per cent decline in like-for-like sales in the three months to the end of April, amid the squeeze on household incomes from the VAT hike and soaring input costs. The City will also be looking for an update on input costs after Next warned its ranges could be up to 10 per cent more expensive this autumn and winter as rising commodity prices continue to hit the business. Andrew Hughes, an analyst at UBS, said total sales, including new retail space and online, should show decent growth. He said: "Although disposable income and consumer confidence are under pressure, the impact has been felt most heavily on large ticket discretionary spending." Wednesday's interims from software group Sage will be watched for further news on a sales revival under the leadership of new boss Guy Berruyer. The Newcastle-based firm returned to sales growth in the six months to September and maintained the improved performance in the final three months of 2010. The FTSE 100 company has been benefiting as its target market - small and medium-sized businesses - begin to get back on track following the recession and financial crisis. George O'Connor, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, believes improving conditions will have helped turnover rise by 2 per cent to GBP733.8 million in the half-year. He is forecasting underlying interim earnings to edge up by 2 per cent to GBP185.3m, although this includes a near-1 per cent fall in the UK. The UK makes up about 20 per cent of its revenues, with America accounting for some 40 per cent.. </FULLTEXT> <The Scotsman May 2, 2011, Monday SNP will defend Scotland best, says new poll BYLINE: David Maddox SECTION: Pg. 1 LENGTH: 989 words> MORE people trust the SNP to defend Scotland's interests when dealing with Westminster than Labour, according to a poll for The Scotsman. With just three days until polling day, the survey of 1,108 voters north of the Border shows 50 per cent believe the SNP is better at standing up for Scotland, while only 31 per cent think Labour is stronger. The result will come as a blow to Labour, which had made its fight against cuts imposed on Scotland by the Tory-led coalition in London a key part of its Holyrood election campaign. But poll results published yesterday had some good news for Labour, with a YouGov survey revealing the gap with the SNP was narrowing. Over the past seven days, SNP support has fallen by three points to 42 per cent in the constituency vote and by four points to 35 per cent in the list vote. Labour, by contrast, has risen by two points to 34 per cent in the constituency vote and by four points to 33 per cent in the list vote. However, another poll, by Scottish Opinion, put the SNP ten points ahead on 45 per cent. This would translate into 62 seats for the Nationalists against 51 for Labour. With the UK government's popularity plumbing the depths, the YouGov finding on who can better stand up for Scotland is a severe blow to Labour, suggesting the party has failed to get over one of its key messages - that it is the party of fighting cuts. The YouGov poll for The Scotsman also shows voters think the SNP's record in government over the past four years has been good, by a factor of almost three to one. Some 57 per cent said the SNP had been good or very good, compared with 17 per cent who thought it was bad or very bad. The message from the electorate was underpinned by their answers to a separate question, which showed voters were basing their decision on Thursday on the parties' records in Holyrood, not Westminster, by 64 per cent to 15 per cent. This appeared to show that another key Labour message, of broken SNP promises and a lack of action in government, has also failed to register with voters. Meanwhile, an initial tranche of YouGov findings at the weekend, for The Scotsman's sister paper Scotland on Sunday, found support for the two coalition parties continuing to fall, with the Tories on 12 per cent and Lib Dems on 7 per cent. The latter are in danger of becoming Scotland's fifth party behind the Greens, who polled 8 per cent. Of her party's positive showing, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon commented: "This election is about Scotland, and by a factor of over three to one, the poll shows that people want to re-elect the SNP government on the basis of our positive record. "The figures are extremely positive, demonstrating that people trust the SNP, not Labour, to stand up for Scotland - underlining the ineptitude of Labour's negative campaign, which is further damaged by Ed Miliband's recognition that the SNP government fight for Scottish interests against a Tory-led UK government." However, Labour believes the shrinking of the gap, the first positive sign for the party since it relinquished the 15-point lead it had until about a month ago, shows the election is far from over. Labour also seized on the finding that many Scots were concerned about the impact of a referendum on independence. Some 36 per cent said a referendum would be harmful for Scotland's economy, while only 24 per cent thought it would be beneficial. Labour's election co- ordinator John Park said: "This poll shows it is game on for Labour and exposes once again how desperately unpopular the SNP's flagship policy of independence is with Scots. "Now the Tories are back, the best line of defence is a strong Labour government in Scotland that has the clout to stand up against unfair Tory cuts from Westminster that are too fast and too deep. It is little wonder the last thing David Cameron wants is a Labour victory in Scotland." Former chancellor Alistair Darling said: "The SNP's priority is not jobs - it is separating Scotland from the rest of the UK. This is not an idle threat. This is now a real risk." The poll showed Scots were still undecided over what shape of government they would like to see, with most favouring a coalition but not sure between which parties. The most popular choice is Labour and the SNP, even though the two are fighting a bitter battle, with this option commanding 19 per cent support. The next most popular is an SNP/Tory coalition or an SNP/Green partnership, both on 9 per cent. Already boosted by the poll that suggests his party could be the fourth biggest, ahead of the Lib Dems, Scottish Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said his party offered the only different choice for a coalition. He said: "Leaving aside the implausible option of Labour and the SNP working together, a role for the Greens remains the next coalition preference for Scots. Whoever wins on Thursday will need partners and, as the Lib Dems drop out of sight in the polls, the reality is that the next First Minister will end up relying on either the Tories or the Greens. "Only a strong Green second vote on Thursday can ensure the Tories don't hold the balance of power at the end of the week." The Tories said that, after four years of getting through popular changes to SNP government policy, such as small-business rate relief and more police on the streets, they were best placed to restrain the SNP and Labour. A spokesman said: "Scottish voters realise that Annabel Goldie and the Scottish Conservatives are the real check on Alex Salmond and Iain Gray, and that we are needed to tackle the excesses of the SNP's nationalism and Labour's socialism. "We are focusing on tackling the real problems and bringing common sense to Holyrood. " A Lib Dem spokesman said: "We won't play fantasy coalitions before the voters have had their say. Scotland needs a government with solutions in these tough times. Liberal Democrats hope to get as many of our solutions into government as possible." <Scotland on Sunday May 1, 2011, Sunday Leader: Salmond is best choice BYLINE: Leader SECTION: Pg. 20 LENGTH: 1140 words> THE modern attitude to elections is by and large a little perplexing and a little sad. It has to be wondered why there is not more excitement and enthusiasm as polling day approaches. Here is a chance to actually have a say in the direction our country will take over the next five years. It is a major responsibility, helping to determine not only in how we as individuals are treated, but also how we see our society and our nation going forward. And yet there is a general cynicism that pervades the entire event. Perhaps as society as a whole grows more affluent it is believed elections are less important. The globalisation of industry and finance, shown in stark relief by the worldwide credit crunch, may make some think that decisions taken here have little impact on the events that truly govern our lives. Perhaps the revelations of the MPs' expenses scandal just reinforces views that politicians are simply self-serving. And perhaps the recent move of political parties adopting middle-ground policies and the certain votes they bring has led many to believe that there is little true difference between them. But the truth is that the credit crunch has made elections even more relevant to every one of us. Although many decisions are taken by Westminster and not Holyrood, the make-up of Holyrood will still have a major impact. Decisions to be taken in the next few years will determine how much money we give in some taxes and how large chunks of our public money are spent. That will have an impact on what services the state provides and how many people it employs. We may even have our own National Debt. This election gives us a choice to make. It may not give us all the choice we would like; the way we vote may not improve every aspect of our lives, but it does give us a say in important aspects, and it would be a failing to squander it. More than that, we should positively enjoy it. So what choices are available to us when it comes to determining the leadership of the country? The Liberal Democrats are suffering, rightly so, for sacrifices they have made to power-share at a UK level. It seems we do care about broken promises, and, by all accounts, they will pay the price at the polls. The Tories are no real force in Scotland, and their only chance also is in influencing from the sidelines, but perhaps the impact of that should not be underestimated. It may be that a strong Tory presence in Parliament might be able to inject some grounded realism into fantasy economics. But the real choice in shaping the direction of this country from Holyrood lies with either Labour or the SNP. How have they put their cases? The fact is that Labour's campaign has been appallingly negative and treated the electorate with contempt. Both main thrusts of its campaign have been deceptive and can only have been constructed against a view that we, the electorate, are stupid. Initially Iain Gray, in a shameless attempt to re-create their success at the Westminster elections last year, again raised the spectre of Thatcherism and the Tories. At the launch of its manifesto the Labour pledge card began with the words: "Now the Tories are back..." This was simply a scare tactic raising a non-existent bogeyman - or bogeywoman in this case. A Labour government in Holyrood is not going to pose any serious opposition to a Westminster coalition - the only place the Tories are back. He knew that. He was simply hoping for a Pavlovian reaction to the word Tories. But few delivered the response he was after. When that tactic went badly for Labour, Gray belatedly switched his attack to the real opposition: the SNP. He again chose to raise a populist fear, and warned that a vote for the SNP brought independence closer, and said: "The message of separation is simple. If you don't want it, don't vote for it." But we are not voting for that. This election is a vote for a Holyrood government, not on independence. We know that there will have to be a referendum on that. We know how it works. Give us some credit. His was a relentlessly negative campaign, disingenuous at best, sneakily manipulative at worst. It is a damning indictment of his political judgment. Alex Salmond asked to be judged on his record in government. You have to be confident to do that. There have been few calamities - the release of Al Megrahi possibly the greatest error of judgement - but, frankly, Labour's behind-the- scenes machinations over that put them in a worse light. And there have been notable successes including the council tax freeze and small business rates. Operating as a minority government has meant some major pledges never saw the light of day, but that perhaps is no bad thing and proves the effectiveness of parliament. That is not to say everything in the SNP basket is wonderful. There are doubts over its policy on university funding, and on universality of some benefits, and the local income tax is just simply wrong. There are major fears that the coming impact of spending cuts is simply being ignored and the full budget-balancing nightmare will only be revealed after the election. As for personalities, Alex Salmond, for all his bonhomie and cheery chappie public persona, is a consummate politician, no stranger to realpolitik and spin, and seeks to exploit all the advantages he can for his party's ends. As we go into this election, there are no real great policy divides between Labour and the SNP on the major issues like the health service, employment and university fees, usually because both parties have moved somewhat opportunistically to follow their opponent to the populist position. The choice before us here is not that of choosing the bits of the SNP or Labour manifesto we agree with. The choice before us is who we believe would be better for Scotland. Gray did not do enough on the positive front. He has not laid out how he would steer Scotland through the tough times ahead. Gray pitched himself as a "serious politician" who would tackle the coming difficulties, but then scrapped reform of the council tax and his education spokesman's policy on university tuition fees. He was too content to play the oppositionist, rather than the potential First Minister. Alex Salmond has proved he can stand up for Scotland on the national and international stage and acquit himself well. Tellingly, in this election, he has spoken with passion about his grand vision for Scotland, a vision that sees the country harnessing its population's creativity and its natural environment and exploiting its moment in time to be a global leader in renewable energy technology. We may be wary of some of the claims, and know that there is a long way to travel, but we should admire and applaud its ambition. Where is the alternative vision? So, that then is the choice before us. For our money, Salmond takes it, comfortably. <Scotland on Sunday May 1, 2011, Sunday Independence is not the people's priority BYLINE: Kenny Farquharson SECTION: Pg. 20 LENGTH: 930 words> WHAT has been the secret of the SNP's success over the past four years? Well, partly it has been crowd-pleasing policies like free prescriptions and scrapping bridge tolls. Partly it's the swaggering confidence of Alex Salmond, who - love him or loathe him - is one of the pre-eminent politicians of his generation. Literally and metaphorically he has what the French call "avoirdupois" - he carries weight. But mainly, in my view, the SNP's success is down to the Scots having their cake and eating it on the constitutional question. The vast majority of people in this country are fiercely proud of their Scottishness. We feel that visceral tug at the heart when a breeze catches a Saltire or when our sporting heroes display a flash of jinky genius on the international football or rugby field. But most Scots don't want Scotland to be removed from the UK. Poll after poll shows this to be the case - our YouGov survey today puts support for independence at just 28 per cent. What the SNP government of the past four years has given us, however, is the opportunity to walk a little taller as a nation without any realistic prospect of independence. And we seem to like that. In fact, we seem to like it so much that recent polls suggest we are minded to re-elect the Salmond administration for more of the same. Except that now, with the ballot box in view, our poll today suggests a more questioning attitude emerging about what re-electing Salmond might mean in practice. In the past week, support for the SNP has fallen three percentage points on the constituency vote and four on the regional vote, while support for independence has fallen seven percentage points. These facts may be related. The reason for the SNP wobble can, I suggest, be traced to the attention now being paid to the only bum note in the SNP's otherwise flawless election campaign. Asked about independence, Salmond said a second election victory would give him "the moral authority" to hold a referendum on taking Scotland out of the UK. Moral authority? This is where a substantial number of voters who might otherwise be well disposed to the SNP leader say something like: "Now haud on, big man." Let's be clear: the only political authority that matters in Scotland is one derived from a majority vote in the fancy parliament building that sits at the bottom of the Royal Mile. Salmond was unable to muster such a majority in the last parliament. What gives him the right to demand it in the next? Salmond has conducted himself with steely discipline for almost the entire campaign. This slip has been the only moment that betrayed any sense of hubris, of entitlement. But voters seem to have clocked it. The question now is whether it will cost Salmond more of the former Tory and Lib Dem voters who currently provide him with his lead. We are not in the same place as we were in 2007. A global financial crisis and its collateral damage has seen to that. We are less devil-may-care. So when some polls suggest Salmond could have, with the Greens, the majority he needs to hold his referendum it is only natural that the news gives some voters pause for thought. The SNP line - and the conventional wisdom among political commentators - is that Salmond has decoupled the independence issue from the Holyrood election by promising there would have to be this referendum, in which we could still vote "No". And many people seem entirely relaxed about such a vote taking place. Personally, I'm less relaxed. Let no-one be under any illusion - an independence referendum would be a traumatic event for Scotland, whatever the outcome. Given the passions involved it would be rancorous and bitter. I know this because I've seen such a referendum up close. In September 1995 I reported for this newspaper from Quebec, which was holding a vote on breaking away from Canada. It was a referendum that split families, damaged the economy and entrenched Quebec's social, cultural and political divisions. The biggest rally I saw was not, as one might have expected, in support of the highly-motivated "Yes" camp - it was an emotional gathering of 150,000 "No" campaigners in Montreal's Place du Canada. They had come from all over Canada to beg the QuÃ(c)bÃ(c)cois not to leave. In the end the result was 49.44 per cent "Yes" for independence and 50.56 per cent "No". Bitter recriminations followed, with a senior "Yes" campaigner blaming the result on immigrants, most of whom felt more comfortable staying loyal to Canada. The "real" QuÃ(c)bÃ(c)cois, he said, had voted "Yes". So I'm afraid I'm not as relaxed about a Scottish independence referendum as some other people. I accept, however, that a referendum may at some point be necessary. It would, as Salmond has said, settle the matter for good - or for a generation. Whatever the outcome, it would divert the extraordinary amount of energy we put into this sterile unionist/nationalist wrangling and instead allow us to concentrate on more practical means of improving lives. Such a vote may, like many other kinds of trauma, ultimately prove cathartic. But is such a convulsion really what Scotland wants now? With the economic crisis tightening its grip on every home in the land? Is this really the people's priority for our politicians and our parliament? I think not. The SNP's campaign strategists never intended to fight this Holyrood election on independence. For them, as for the voters, it is an unwelcome distraction. The Nationalists may be far enough ahead for it not to matter on Thursday. Or it may ensure this fascinating Holyrood election goes down to the wire. <Scotland on Sunday May 1, 2011, Sunday Business & Money Edition Wishful thinking BYLINE: Nathalie Thomas SECTION: Pg. 5 LENGTH: 1381 words> FOR Graham Blaikie, Thursday will be like any other day as he sets about his normal duties at the Mercat Bar & Restaurant, the business in Edinburgh's west end that he bought more than five years ago. The 33-year-old entrepreneur will arrive at 9am following an early-morning gym session to lend his staff a hand with the breakfast rush. But despite a long day serving the steady stream of tourists and locals he is expecting to filter through his doors, Blaikie will make sure he has time in between that and his other daily chores to cast his vote. Several years ago, the Scottish elections were viewed by most businesses as a poor relation to the main event at Westminster due to the Scottish Parliament's limited abilities to manipulate taxes and other important factors such as employment law. But business groups say this week's poll is as important as a Westminster vote as more decisions with important consequences for the private sector are taken at a Scottish level. Although issues such as non-domestic rates and alcohol licensing may sound prosaic compared to "bigger" business concerns, such as corporation tax, firms say that much of the legislation that comes out of the Scottish Parliament these days has just as much of an economic impact. "The Scottish elections are still important for us businesses," said Blaikie. "The biggest thing for me is the minimum pricing for alcohol and that's what the SNP is trying to push." Colin Borland, head of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, agreed. "These elections are of equal importance to the general election and next year we'll have the local government elections as well. Business issues are not just about the tax system and employment law - important as they are," he said. All four of the larger business organisations have set out comprehensive manifestos, which they hope will serve as a blueprint for the next Scottish Government - no matter which party finds itself in power. Although the Scottish Government has limited tax and other revenue-raising powers at present, all of the main business groups argue there is still a lot the next administration can do to ensure that Scotland's economy is set on the path of sustainable recovery. Whoever gains power after Thursday's polling day will face one of the toughest economic challenges in the Scottish Parliament's 12-year history. Business leaders point out that the next government will be staring down the barrel of a gun with a GBP1 billion cut in its budget from the Treasury. But many of the business groups argue that the next administration should use the opportunity of a reduced settlement from Westminster as an opportunity to make some hard decisions on rebalancing the economy. David Watt, head of the Institute of Directors in Scotland (IoD), said the government will have a "rare opportunity" to tackle the country's bloated public sector and regear the economy towards private enterprise, which will be relied upon to generate some of the tens of thousands of jobs expected to be shed by government departments, local authorities and other state- backed organisations over the next few years. "We believe that there is too much public sector focus as far as GDP is concerned - they [past governments] have spent too much money," he said. According to the latest official estimates, one in four workers in Scotland is employed by the public sector. Academics note that since 1999, the number of public sector jobs as a percentage of all employment in Scotland has been consistently higher than the UK as a whole. Business groups acknowledge that moves to scale back the public sector will be unpopular with the electorate but a re-balancing is necessary if Scotland wants to ensure robust economic expansion over the next ten years. Garry Clark, head of policy and public affairs at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), said: "The greatest fear we have is whichever party gets into power will fail to get a grip of public sector reform. We need the private sector to dominate the next ten years if we are going to create the jobs we need." David Lonsdale, assistant director of CBI Scotland, warns that all parties must take brave decisions on public sector reform and other areas such as higher education funding - and avoid the temptation to raid the private sector in an attempt to balance the books. Although the Scottish Government's revenue-raising powers are restricted, it still has the ability to boost income through areas such as business rates. There are also fears that important funding to support innovation and business expansion may be targeted. "Overall, the political parties have each made a number of very costly promises and still seem to believe devolved Scotland is awash with public money, while at the same time berating the UK administration for reducing public spending," Lonsdale said. "Maintaining these very costly promises will undoubtedly mean cuts elsewhere in the devolved budget, and our chief concern is that this may in turn lead to cuts in important GDP-enhancing investments or higher taxes on business." CBI Scotland said the next administration could introduce a number of measures which would be of "little or no cost", which would significantly aid businesses and their ability to grow. Among the priorities in its manifesto is further improvement to the planning system. Many businesses still complain that planning decisions take too long and the process is cumbersome, despite efforts to accelerate procedures. The SCC argues that it is a similar story when it comes to procurement. "It's still a major issue," said Clark. "We have made progress over the past two governments in particular, but we still need government to go the final distance." The SCC argues that the process should be streamlined into a "one-stop shop" so that companies looking to take on public sector contracts don't have to fill out pre-qualifying questionnaires for every single local authority in Scotland. The FSB is concerned that it will become even more difficult for small firms to access public sector work if there is pressure on local authorities to cut costs. Borland said there are already examples of local authorities aggregating contracts to save money, which means there is a risk that large chunks of work are handed out to big, overseas contractors that offer to carry out contracts at a discount. "It is happening already and all the signs are that the pressure to accelerate that process is going to increase," he said. The FSB, whose members make up the lifeblood of the economy, hopes the next government will avoid pouring millions of pounds of scarce funds into the "next big thing", as other attempts to nurture individual industries have ended in failure, for example, Silicon Glen. "Let's not look for the next panacea to come in from overseas and create all of these jobs," said Borland. "Let's ensure we have a broader base." Chief among its priorities is to offer more support to "one-man band" businesses to take on extra staff. It is believed many of Scotland's 200,000 owner-manager firms are keen to employ more people but are baffled by the regulatory and legal hurdles. If even a tenth of these were to take on one extra member of staff, that would help substitute for the 20,000 jobs that are expected to disappear from the public sector over the next five years. Other demands from the business community address Scotland's technology and transport challenges. Frustration at the inefficiency of major transport links is a common complaint among businesspeople, while there are growing concerns that Scotland is falling well behind rival economies when it comes to investing in the technology and broadband ca- pabilities that will be required to attract new industries and sustain existing ones, such as financial services. While few business leaders are willing to publicly tie their colours to the mast for one party ahead of polling day, the message from the private sector to the next government is loud and clear: free up the private sector and let it get on with creating the jobs Scotland vitally needs. As Clark of the SCC concluded: "Obviously the government is not going to be able to directly create the jobs we need in Scotland, but it can create the conditions to ensure that businesses can succeed." <BOG BIKERS GO FOR GOLD BYLINE: DANIEL FISHER SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 22 LENGTH: 454 words> IT PROMISES to be 2012's most astonishing sporting extravaganza of its kind. And with its generous Government subsidy and host of eye-catching events spread out over 16 days next summer, Ministers hope it will capture the imagination of the assembled global press pack. It is, of course the... err... first ever World Alternative Games being held in Llanwrtyd Wells. While London gears up for the Olympics and the likes of Usain Bolt in the 100m, Mid Wales will play host to the somewhat wackier delights of wife carrying, underwater hockey, world bathtub championships and stone skimming. And while the UK's largest city gets a specially-crafted state of the art torch carried proudly from community to community, its smallest town - already famous for its bog snorkelling championships and man-v-horse race - will feature a water-filled saucepan at its opening ceremony. But in case anyone was worrying that the bog had been left behind, there will also be the world bog snorkelling event, world mountain bike bog snorkelling and, of course, the world bog triathlon championships. The Welsh Government said it was hoping the "quirky" event would provide a high profile platform for raising Wales' international reputation and is ploughing pounds 50,000 into making it happen. Details of what will be on offer were revealed yesterday. Organisers say the inaugural alternative games, which will run from August 17 to September 2, has an ethos of "the taking part that is more important than the winning" and all competitors will be awarded a "Corinthian Medal" for their efforts. The official opening ceremony will draw on Llanwrtyd Wells' history as a spa town. A "sospan fach" (little saucepan) containing the area's sulphurous water from its original source will be carried by chariot to town centre. A more formal evening ceremony will include local male voice choirs and "other exciting drum and bass music for the younger generation". Powys council and local businesses are also getting behind the event. First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "One of the key principles of Event Wales, our major events strategy, is that we should encourage a spread of major event opportunities across Wales by supporting a programme of growth events outside Cardiff. "We are also committed to support innovative, experimental and quirky events and this event will deliver a positive economic impact for Mid Wales and provide a high profile platform for raising Wales' international reputation." Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, said: "An event that brings more people to the area and provides local people and businesses with greater income has my backing." Visit the games' website at worldalternativegames.co.uk <Wales on Sunday November 27, 2011 NO regrets and NO going back on my decision - vows Wales' wing genius ; genius BYLINE: GARETH GRIFFITHS SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 56 LENGTH: 743 words> SHANE WILLIAMS will ride into the international rugby sunset with no regrets about failing to overhaul David Campese's Test tries record. Williams brings the curtain down on his remarkable Wales adventure on Saturday knowing he is destined to fall just short of eclipsing Campese's try- scoring exploits. The Wallabies wizard managed 64 tries in 101 Tests, five ahead of Williams' current mark of 59 for Wales and the Lions in 90 games. Williams actually stands third on the official all-time list with Japan wing Daisuke Ohata top of the charts with 69 tries in 58 Tests. But because a lot of those tries were scored against inferior opposition, it is Campese's record that is seen as the benchmark. Williams needs five tries against Australia at the Millennium Stadium next weekend to equal it - surely a feat even beyond this Welsh magician. "I know there's a lot at stake and records to be broken," said Williams, who was crowned IRB world player of the year in 2008. "But the last thing I want is to spend two years trying to break those records and come nowhere near it. "Campo was a great player and I have no qualms at all about not breaking his record." But defeating Campese's Australia would provide the perfect end to a glittering international career that began nearly 12 years ago. "Beating Australia would be another progression and put us in good stead for the Six Nations," said Williams on Wales' revenge mission after losing the World Cup bronze medal match to the Wallabies last month. "I believe we can win the Six Nations and another Grand Slam would be nice. "It's also important we perform and hopefully we can go out and prove we deserved more at the World Cup." There has been a lot of conjecture over the past year about when the Ospreys flier would actually retire. But the Lions star has insisted now is the right time, saying: "It's my definite and final decision. "I am expecting there to be a lot of mixed emotions. It will be a fantastic day playing in front of our own fans and against one of the best teams in the world. "All of my friends and family will also be there to share the special day - there is no better way to go out. "It's going to be emotional and I will have to cope with everything that goes with it. "It will be sad knowing I won't be playing international rugby anymore. "But you know in your heart when it's time to finish and this is that moment for me." Williams looked as sharp as ever during the World Cup but, at the grand old age of 34, he said it was important for him to quit international rugby at the top. "I'd like to play for Wales until I was 50 but I know that's not possible," he said. "Going out on my own terms is very important, especially having enjoyed such a wonderful career with great memories. "I would be gutted if I was dropped, not picked again and didn't have the chance to leave with a bang. "I would rather retire than be retired. "I don't believe I'm over the hill and have to retire now. "I just feel there's a time and place for everything. "This is my time and the Millennium Stadium is my place. "It's nice to retire when you're near the top rather than falling down the hill." Wales' loss is the Ospreys gain as Williams will commit himself solely to regional rugby for the next 18 months. "For the next season and a half I'll be giving my all for the Ospreys," he said. "I'm confident the season and a half I have left with the Ospreys that I can give them my 100 per cent commitment. "If the region believe young players coming through are playing better than me, I won't throw my toys out of the pram. "But I feel I have the legs for the next 18 months. "I'm feeling good, although I feel the bumps and bruises a bit more these days. "I'm still enjoying my rugby and the fitness tests results are going well." Williams admitted he will find internationals days very difficult to cope with in his dotage but insisted he will always support the national team. "I find it difficult watching Amman United when my brother plays and I'm almost jumping on the pitch!" he added. "So watching Wales play is going to be very difficult. "I'm sure I could have a few trips to places like Dublin to enjoy myself and be like all those mad Taffs and wonderful Wales supporters. "It would be great to see Wales being successful, especially after the World Cup and how hard they've worked. "Not being a part of that journey will be hard though." <Wales on Sunday November 27, 2011 Goodbye Shane, I don't think [...] BYLINE: JOHN BARRY SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 57 LENGTH: 714 words> Goodbye Shane, I don't think we will see your like again SHANE WILLIAMS will walk out of the tunnel first at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday to thunderous applause. And as far as I'm concerned, the louder and the more time the ovations last the better. We are bidding farewell to the brightest light Welsh rugby has known over the past decade and I can pay Shane no greater tribute than to bracket him right up there with Gerald Davies as the best I have seen. There is an uncanny resemblance between the two true wing greats of the game. I used to say of Gerald that if he had two or three men in front of him then it was still no contest. Gerald would win hands down... and he invariably did. Likewise with Shane. He has this incredible knack of sniffing half a chance and producing blinding speed and mazy running to fly away, bamboozle defenders and score. When I noticed Gerald going off on one of his runs, I would begin my own march towards the posts to grab the ball for the conversion I knew I would be taking. I'm sure, had I had the privilege to have played next to Shane, I would have done likewise. His statistical record of being our greatest try scorer in history - 59 touchdowns in 90 Tests for Wales and the Lions - speaks volumes in its own right. But Shane is about far more than that. He is the last of a breed, a little jack-in-the-box who not only proved he could play among the huge juggernaut wings of the modern game, but also triumphed to such an extent he was named World Player of the Year in 2008. What a feat - and what a wonderful legacy he leaves behind. The ovation he will get ahead of the Australia game will be such a poignant moment and one, I suspect, that will even have an impact upon the Wallabies. Hard-bittern rugby players they may be, but they will know they are in the presence of greatness and that this is the end of an era. Shane has triumphed despite the various trials and tribulations of Welsh rugby down the years. There have been occasional highs, wonderful ones like two Grand Slams. More often than not, though, it has been lows. Yet through the dark days Shane has still always stood out. There is a sense of expectation, anticipation and hope - just like there used to be with Gerald - when Shane has had the ball. More often than not he has managed to deliver with wonderful balance and mesmerising skills. It is only a matter of time before he is inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. There hasn't been a Welshman selected recently, but those of us who have been selected in the past will be more than happy when he joins us. As I say though, it's not just about Shane's try-scoring, but the very manner in which he plays. He doesn't get intimidated by the big men standing in front of him, where wings these days are as big as back row forwards. He doesn't get daunted by the lack of space there appears to be on the pitch these days. Nor does he just stand out on his wing, his comfort zone, and just wait for the ball to reach him. No, Shane gets involved far more than most modern wings. Maybe it's the free spirit in him, maybe it's a legacy of being a scrum-half in his early days... but he always wants to be involved. Of course, whether Shane bows out as a winner on Saturday is another thing entirely. The Wallabies may be without Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale, but they always want to win. But I have genuine hope for this new-look, young Welsh side who came together during the World Cup in New Zealand. These players experienced a real buzz down under, the press attention, the TV interviews, winning games, the limelight, and they must have enjoyed every minute of it. They know what it takes to be at the top of your game at international level and won't want to let that go. It is one of the factors, I have no doubt, behind the success of our regions in the first two rounds of the Heineken Cup. The top players have returned and, despite their tender years, they have proven they understand what is needed to succeed. It is what makes me so positive about the future of Welsh rugby, even though we are seeing our single brightest star depart. Goodbye Shane... it has been a real pleasure. You will never be forgotten - and I don't think we will see your like again. <Wales on Sunday November 27, 2011 SPUR FOR WELSH IS TO JOIN THE LIONS; Australian tour is ideal preparation BYLINE: ANDY HOWELL SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 58 LENGTH: 764 words> WALES coach Warren Gatland has revealed his players possess an extra edge to avenge their World Cup defeat to Australia. The dust has barely settled on the 2011 World Cup, when Australia beat Wales to third place with a 21-18 victory in the bronze medal match at Auckland's Eden Park. But Gatland is already focusing on the future and feels Wales' four Tests with Australia in the next five months provides his stars with an advantage to become Lions heroes in 2013. That tour of Australia is little more than 18 months away - but Wales will have a three-Test taster there next June after Saturday's Millennium Stadium revenge mission. "Those players who go to Australia will give themselves an opportunity to put their names to the forefront for the 2013 Lions tour," said Gatland. "It does give you an advantage if you've toured there and been successful. "You're familiar with the conditions and the elements and we've seen that with Wales. Going to New Zealand last year made a big difference to us when we went back there for the World Cup. "It was the same in 2008 when we went to South Africa for two Tests, it gave our players a big advantage when it came to the Lions the following year. "They knew what it was all about and used the experience in their favour. "So there's everything to play for over the next few months against Australia. "It's a chance to beat a southern hemisphere team, which is always a yardstick by which we measure ourselves." Australia visit the Millennium Stadium on Saturday with Gatland desperate to improve a miserable record of only three wins in 45 games against the Tri-Nations super-powers. But there is a real sense of optimism in the Welsh camp after the World Cup and a determination to set down a Six Nations marker. "Of course, it's an opportunity to avenge that World Cup defeat to Australia," said Gatland. "But we can also send a message to our Six Nations opponents that our World Cup performances should not be seen in isolation. "This young squad will continue to be a force to be reckoned with as we build to the 2015 World Cup." Meanwhile, Lions officials and Australia coach Robbie Deans join forces in Cardiff tomorrow to announce the fixtures for the 2013 tour Down Under. And there's a chance the Millennium Stadium could host a warm-up match between the Lions and the Barbarians in May 2013. The iconic stadium was the venue for a Lions draw with Argentina before the 2005 tour of New Zealand. Wales captain Sam Warburton is the current favourite to lead the party, priced at 13/8, with former Lions skipper Brian O'Driscoll at 9/4 and Paul O'Connell 3/1 respectively. "Sam was arguably one of the best players in the World Cup and we are convinced that he would make a great Lions captain," said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams. "But he will face stiff competition from the Irish duo." However, insiders in the Wales camp believe Warburton, barring injury or a drastic loss of form, is the only candidate to lead the 2013 tour. Lions power-brokers have also noted Warburton's rising stature in the game and former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio has hailed the Blues forward's leadership qualities. "Wales have not recently had a captain who they could hang the team on and say 'you're the man to lead us for the next five to 10 years'," said Dallaglio, a key member of the last Lions team to win a Test series in South Africa 14 years ago. "But now they have found that player. "Warburton has been very impressive. He's only 23 but has already put in some world-class performances. "He's also humble as a captain. "Wales and Australia had such young squads at this World Cup and that is exciting for what that brings when you consider the Lions tour coming up. "Wales are in the best place at this moment of the home unions. The others all have to go back to the drawing board." Gatland is expected to have a major role with the 2013 Lions, although he would need serious persuasion to become the head coach. The New Zealander reckons a British or Irishman should be the figurehead of a squad made up of players from the four Home Unions. Given his enormous experience, Sir Ian McGeechan is the front-runner to spearhead operations for a fifth tour. But Gatland would be delighted to occupy the position of technical chief he had alongside McGeechan when the Lions were edged out 2-1 by South Africa in 2009. His Wales lieutenants, defence guru Shaun Edwards and attack specialist Rob Howley, are also in the mix for another crack at ending the Lions' long wait for a series victory. <Subject Travel; Resorts & spas; Hotels & motels Title Four of the best floating hotels, by Francesca Syz Author Syz, Francesca Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date Mar 19, 2011 Section Features Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type Feature> MV APSARA AT THE PARK ON VEMBANAD LAKE KERALA, INDIA There are few nicer ways to explore Kerala's backwaters than aboard this eight- cabin cruiser, which is attached to the Park, a land-based hotel down a twisty, bumpy road on the palm-fringed banks of the Vembanad, a vast, tranquil expanse of water. The intimate, 10-room hotel is a rustic affair on the outside and fresh, cool and contemporary on the inside, with a tented spa attached. Essentially, it is a highly luxurious docking station for the Apsara, a floating boutique hotel designed to take you off on overnight adventures in extreme comfort. Each cabin has a double bed, study desk and bathroom and is stocked with books, music, films and a quality TV and DVD player on which to enjoy them. Food on board tends towards a spicy fusion of Keralan seafood, local fruit and vegetables and the ubiquitous coconut, but the chef is more than happy to design a bespoke menu. The in-house ayurvedic doctor is available for consultations. The details Greaves Travel (020-7487 9111; greavesindia.com) offers a week's tour of Kerala including two nights aboard the MV Apsara from Pounds 1,725 pp based on two sharing, including flights, transfers and excursions. KING PACIFIC LODGE BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA Despite its being eye-wateringly expensive to stay here, this luxury lodge and leader in sustainable tourism offers an extraordinary back-to-nature experience. Set within the pristine Great Bear Rainforest and anchored on the shore of Princess Royal Island's Barnard Harbour, this wilderness lodge-on-a-barge has 17 elegant bedrooms with huge beds and deep baths, a wraparound deck with amazing views and a spa for massages, body wraps and aromatherapy with a Jacuzzi and plunge pool. It also offers incredible regional organic cooking, the freshest seafood and award-winning wines. The surrounding area is teeming with orcas, humpback whales, black bears, seals, sea lions, sea otters and eagles, and wilderness guides offer interpretive hikes, sea kayaking, beachcombing, heli-hiking, whale watching, stargazing and float-plane tours. A communal drawing-room has cathedral-height ceilings and ocean views. The details ITC Classics (01244-355527; itcclassics.co.uk) offers seven nights in British Columbia from Pounds 5,895 pp based on two sharing, including three nights full board at King Pacific, international flights, transfers, scenic flights and daily ecotourism activities. RIVER KWAI JUNGLE RAFTS KANCHANABURI, THAILAND With no electricity and its location on a wild, remote stretch of the river, the magical River Kwai Jungle Rafts, which was first opened in 1978, is an escape in the truest sense. Not for those of a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton persuasion, accommodation is in two floating wings built in the local Mon style, each housing 55 spacious, bamboo-walled twin rooms naturally cooled by the river passing underneath and lit at night by simple oil lamps. A long wooden terrace wraps around each and is dotted with armchairs, hammocks and sun loungers. There is also a floating restaurant serving authentic Thai as well as international food and a jungle bar. The resort adheres to ecoprinciples by using its own sewage treatment system to ensure nothing is dumped in the river, and employing local people. It also offers excellent elephant trekking, waterfall hikes, rafting, fishing trips and more. Watch this space for the 10-room Float House, Jungle Raft's floating sister hotel two miles away, due to open at the end of the year. The details Travel Zest (0800-171 2152; travelzest.com) offers seven nights B&B at River Kwai Jungle Rafts from Pounds 2,410 pp based on two sharing, including flights and transfers. SALT & SILL KLADESHOLMEN, WESTERN SWEDEN Fans of herring should hotfoot it to Salt & Sill, an inn on the west coast of the island of Kladesholmen (where they've been fishing for herring since the 15th century, so know a thing or two about it) without delay. Starting life as a restaurant in 1999, famous for its raw local food and in particular the herring platter, it then added a chic but gloriously cosy 23- room floating hotel in 2008. It was built with extraordinary care for the environment - all the rock excavated during the construction of the hotel (six two-storey buildings on floating pontoons) was used to build a new lobster reef. All bedrooms, which overlook the surrounding archipelago, are named after spices used in the restaurant's kitchen, decorated with a modern Scandinavian simplicity and have access to an outdoor seating area. The most recent addition is a two-floor sauna that sits atop a catamaran and makes for a very original way to see the coast. The details Simply Sweden (0845-890 0300; simplysweden.co.uk) offers three nights B&B at Salt & Sill from Pounds 665 pp based on two sharing, including flights and car rental. Next week: affordable hotels for spring sun <Subject Television programs Title No room for black faces in Midsomer; says its creator: Producer suspended after claiming detective drama is 'last bastion of Englishness" [Edition 2] Author Singh, Anita Publication title The Daily Telegraph Publication date Mar 15, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> FOR 14 years, it has found a plethora of ways to kill off unfortunate villagers while remaining remarkably unchanged in one regard: the absence of non-white faces. Now the creator of ITV1's Midsomer Murders has landed himself in hot water after claiming that one of the reasons the drama series has been so successful is because it is entirely free of ethnic minorities. Brian True-May said the show was "the last bastion of Englishness" and if its cultural make-up changed "it wouldn't be the English village". His comments, to Radio Times, appalled ITV bosses and he was promptly suspended by All3Media, the media conglomerate that includes Mr True-May's company, Bentley Productions. Mr True-May gave the interview to promote the 14th series of the cosy Sunday night drama, which regularly pulls in six million viewers and has been sold around the world. "We are a cosmopolitan society in this country, but if you watch Midsomer you wouldn't think so. I've never been picked up on that, but quite honestly I wouldn't want to change it," he said Asked what he meant by "cosmopolitan", Mr True-May, 65, replied: "Well, we just don't have ethnic minorities involved. Because it wouldn't be the English village with them. It just wouldn't work. "Suddenly we might be in Slough. Ironically, Causton [the town in Midsomer Murders] is supposed to be Slough. And if you went to Slough you wouldn't see a white face there. We're the last bastion of Englishness and I want to keep it that way." Mr True-May is the co-creator and executive producer of the show, which began in 1997. It has continued despite the recent departure of the central character, DCI Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles. He has been replaced by Neil Dudgeon, who plays Tom Barnaby's cousin DCI John Barnaby. Explaining the secret of the show's popularity, Mr True-May added: "When I talk to people and other nations they love John Nettles, but they also love the premise of the show. They love the perceived English genteel eccentricity. It's not British. It's very English." He conceded that many people would consider that "Englishness" in the 21st century should encompass other races. "Well, it should do, and maybe I'm not politically correct," he said. "I'm trying to make something that appeals to a certain audience, which seems to succeed. And I don't want to change it." Mr True-May added that multi-culturalism "would just look out of place" in Midsomer, with its thatched cottages and village greens. The show is filmed in South Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Mr True-May lives in Great Missenden, Bucks. Following the disclosure of his comments yesterday, an ITV spokesman said: "We are shocked and appalled at these personal comments by Brian True-May which are absolutely not shared by anyone at ITV. We are in urgent discussions with All3Media, the producer of Midsomer Murders, who have informed us that they have launched an immediate investigation into the matter and have suspended Mr True-May pending the outcome." The show's stars were asked if they approved of the all-white cast. Dudgeon said: "If people have been quite happy for it not to really change in 14 years, there's no reason to suppose they're going to want it to change now. I daresay there are some things where I would want a bit more of this and a bit less of that - but that's a long way in the future." Jason Hughes, who plays DS Jones, added: "I've wondered myself and I don't know. It's an interesting question. This isn't an urban drama and it isn't about multi-culturalism. That's not to say that there isn't a place for multi-culturalism in the show. "But that's really not up to me to decide. I don't think that we would all suddenly go, 'A black gardener in Midsomer? You can't have that!' I think we'd all go, 'Great, fantastic'." A 2006 survey found that the show was "strikingly unpopular" with ethnic minorities. Rob Berkeley, the director of the Runnymede Trust, the race equality think tank, said: "Clearly, as a fictional work, the producers of Midsomer Murders are entitled to their flights of fancy, but to claim that the English village is purely white is no longer true and not a reflection of our society - particularly to this show's large international audience." <DAILY MAIL (London) April 30, 2011 Saturday PLATELL'S PEOPLE LENGTH: 1407 words Amanda Platell Column Culture: Celebrity gossip> ELTON'S SO CRUEL TO CUT OFF HIS MOTHER She was there when her only child married the love of his life. There also during the teenage years when he was a talented but truculent struggling musician. And it was she who helped introduce her music-loving son to rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley and Bill Haley And His Comets, when he was just nine. She stood by him when his life imploded as he blew a fortune on drugs and wild parties. His behaviour would have tried the love of even the most devoted parent. Yet, throughout it all, Elton John's mother never wavered in her love and support. And now, when his mother is 86 years old and frail, we learn Elton has not spoken a word to her for more than three years, after she supposedly made a remark that Elton's partner, David Furnish, took great offence at. 'He has cut me off completely,' she said in an interview this week. 'It happened three years ago this June. He has had nothing to do with me since.' She has never seen Elton's son Zachary. How heartbreaking. All of us with parents in their 80s know their age brings new challenges to our love. They're not as robust and are increasingly forgetful. Frailty creeps in and so does dependence. But we love them none the less (perhaps even more). And so we should. Frankly, it's payback time for all the years they put up with our teenage tantrums, the broken hearts, crazy schemes, moods and melodramas. And for all the times they rejoiced in our happiness and success. The rules aren't any different when you're a multi-millionaire rock star, but sadly Elton's tale of motherly neglect is not unique to him. How many children stuff their elderly parents into homes at the first possible chance? How often do they even bother to see them except on high days and holidays? How much do they resent spending a penny of their parents' life savings on their care, preferring to protect their own inheritance. A spokesman for Elton John, attempting to explain away the rift, said: 'She is a lovely lady, but she is 86 and she is frail and old.' All the more reason for her son, whatever the provocations, to step up and be the adult in the relationship. Elton John has a big heart. He has raised and personally given away hundreds of millions of pounds to charities. Yet, surely, true charity begins at home. Tragically, it can be easier to give money to strangers than to give yourself. JUST SAY NO, IF THIS MOB'S THE BEST AV CAN OFFER By the time this column next appears, I sincerely hope this country will have given a resounding No to the AV referendum on Thursday. So here's a few facts that emerged this week to help you make up your mind. The Yes campaign is fronted by 'Red' Ed Miliband, a leader so unconvincing that even half of his own MPs will vote No. He shares a platform with Nick Clegg Ñ a living reminder of the shoddy compromise that comes with an AV electoral system that makes coalition governments very much more likely. Another leading light of the Yes campaign is Chris Huhne, who recently dumped his wife of 26 years for his former press aide, Carina Trimingham. She is a director for the Yes! campaign and the Electoral Reform Society backing AV to the tune of £1 million. The group's business arm, Electoral Reform Services, is making money from the campaign itself, producing its literature, and stands to profit from the new voting machines if AV is introduced. Welcome to the Lib Dems' new kind of politics. The mother who tied up her 19-year- old drug addict daughter to stop her meeting a dealer says she has no regrets, despite being jailed for a year. Julia Saker's daughter, Tabitha, pleaded with the judge not to imprison her mother, and was so shocked by the episode she is now clean of drugs. 'She looks so much healthier,' Julia said, 'and to have this result, I would have served a life sentence.' If that's not motherly love, I don't know what is. When Charlotte Church ended their engagement after another drunken fight and threw Gavin Henson out of her Cardiff mansion, he said he would stay close to home as he adored his two young children. First he moved to London, then to France to try and rekindle his rugby career. He's now been booted out of Toulon after a nightclub fight and abusing fellow player Jonny Wilkinson. Meanwhile, Charlotte (left) is happily settled with her musician boyfriend Johnny Powell, without a booze-fuelled brawl in sight. Well done, that girl. In response to the criticism she received for her silly Burkini stunt, Nigella Lawson says she couldn't possibly lose the 40lb some believe she now needs to shed because, at 51, she fears it would make her look ten years older. She saw that first hand when her father Nigel Lawson lost 70lb and looked like a cadaver. She admits that her mother's obsession with being thin, the periods of bulimia and anorexia, made her vow she'd never become a victim of weight obsession. With parents like that, her healthy attitude to enjoying her food is a miracle in itself. Fresh from claims that she's on the breadline after Sven- Goran Eriksson failed to pay her off adequately, Nancy Dell'Olio is in love again. This time it's the theatre director Trevor Nunn, 71. They have been holidaying at his £750,000 cottage in Newquay and pictures of the pot-bellied impresario this week showed Nancy's not the only new accessory he's acquired. Nunn's now got bizarre purple 'Paul McCartney' hair. With an estimated fortune of £40million, badly dyed hair isn't the only thing he has in common with Macca. Poor judgment when it comes to gold-diggers is clearly the other. WESTMINSTER NOTICEBOARD Terrified of appearing posh, David Cameron originally did not want to wear tails to the Royal Wedding, before having a change of heart. Then, in an unseemly exchange at Prime Minister's Questions, he sneeringly told the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle, to 'calm down, dear' when she questioned information he had given the House. It was rude, arrogant and patronising - exactly the kind of behaviour one expects from the worst kind of toff. The PM would do well to recall that it is not clothes that maketh the man, but manners. Former security minister Kim Howells admits the Labour Government failed to see the deadly flaws in its policy of granting asylum here to Islamic extremists who were wanted in other countries for terrorist offences. Experts warned it would lead to terrorist attacks in the UK, and the London bombings were soon proof of who was right. Blair believed that if you were nice to terrorists, they'd be nice back. Try telling that to the bereaved families of the 52 innocent commuters killed on July 7. To get herself into shape for her role as a judge on the American X Factor, Cheryl Cole is on a baby food diet. She has five portions of baby food a day, topped off with a 'healthy adult dinner'. Presumably that means a toothpick of chicken and two peas, then. A SCROUNGER'S PARADISE As nearly a thousand Arab refugees from the Libyan and Tunisian conflicts gather in Paris for their journey to the UK, 22-year-old Tunisian Ali says: 'Britain is like paradise. Friends who have already made it into Britain have told me about the riches you can make there without working. I hear the benefit system is generous.' This as we learn that 900,000 Brits attempting to claim sickness benefit are fit to work. When we've allowed our country to be a scroungers' paradise for our workshy, who can be surprised we become a Mecca for the rest of the world's? ANNE'S WITLESS EXIT The Weakest Link will be no more. Anne Robinson insists she did not take a pay cut, nor was she forced to quit the show. It was just time to move on. The presenter was once described as 'the rudest woman on TV' for her comments such as 'Why are you so fat?', 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the dumbest of you all?' and 'Whose silicon is sadly leaking into their head?' Yet, in her parting interview, Ms Robinson (right) compared her wit to Woody Allen's. 'Woody Allen always says that if it's real wit, you hear it at the same time as you say it.' We're still waiting, Anne. A new animal rights journal says we can no longer call our cats, dogs and gerbils 'pets'. It is insulting to them. We are not owners, we are 'human carers'. Expressions such as 'drunk as a skunk' and 'sly as a fox' are a form of abuse. The news leaves Britain's legions of animal lovers, myself included, as sick as a parrot. As for that dirty rat of an ex- husband of mine ... Daily Mail <DAILY MAIL (London) April 30, 2011 Saturday I'M STONE COLD SOBER AT LAST! BYLINE: BY SIMON HATTENSTONE LENGTH: 2324 words> THERE'S only one thing more surprising than Rolling Stone Keith Richards surviving into his 60s - the fact that his bandmate Ronnie Wood has done so, too. After all, this is a man so debauched, so obliterated by drink and drugs, and such an all-round pain, that Richards once put a gun to his head and threatened to kill him. And that was before things got really bad. Three years ago, the Stones guitarist walked out on his wife Jo - who appeared to be the one stabilising influence in his life - and moved in with a teenage girl. The drink, the drugs, the mood swings all escalated. Many feared the worst. Yet today he is 15 months clean, has a sensible girlfriend (still young enough to be his granddaughter, of course), has released a fine solo album and been nominated as radio personality of the year and best newcomer. What went right? We're at the studio in Central London where he records his weekly radio show for Absolute Classic Rock. He's reminiscing about the 1960s when great guitarists were ten-a-penny. Who was the best - Page, Clapton, Beck, Hendrix? 'Jimi [Hendrix], cos he broke all the rules and was such a natural. But Eric was my mainstay because I was a big fan of him with The Yardbirds and I used to share the same girlfriend with him. I got my first wife Krissy from him. We'd always rib each other: "Oi, take your hands off my bird!" ' Didn't they also both have a relationship with Patti Boyd? 'Yeah. Amazing, the camaraderie. And the girls. There was a girl in Los Angeles called Cathy. I thought she was my girlfriend, but I found out after she was seeing just about every other guitar player on the circuit.' At the same time? 'Yeah. When I was out of town she'd move on to the next one. But in those days it was a kind of unwritten rule, what's mine is yours.' And nobody got upset? 'No, nobody looked too far into it.' He pauses. 'Well, some people looked a bit deeper than they should have done and probably got upset.' Wood has one of the most extensive CVs in rock. He played bass in the Jeff Beck Group, guitar in The Faces and The Stones (he might have missed out on the golden age, but has still done 36 years with them), hung out with Hendrix, was chased by Janis Joplin, helped Clapton out of his drug haze and collaborated with everybody from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin to Bo Diddley. His face is a map of dissolution - cheeks like quarries, deep grooves running from nose to mouth - but he has the same black hair (now flecked with tiny bits of silver) in the same feather cut he's always had. At times, he bears a disarming resemblance to EastEnders' Dot Cotton; at others, his energy, enthusiasm and boyish figure make him seem more like a teenager. Today he's wearing skinny girl's jeans (28in waist), a leopard-skin top, dinky little waistcoat and black cashmere coat. He is 63. We're on the roof garden of the studio and Wood is taking one of his many fag breaks. (It would be more accurate to talk of non-fag breaks.) His beautiful Brazilian girlfriend Ana Araujo is in her early 30s. She seems sweet, shy and devoted, talking about how she'd like a baby in her late 30s, how both she and Wood are Gemini. How come his teeth are so white? 'I had them done a few years ago; they trimmed the actual teeth down a bit and put these veneers on top.' What about those concave cheeks - are they natural or drug-induced? 'I got them from sebaceous cysts while using heroin.' He's grinning again. 'Amazing the poisons I used to put in my body. I used to love it.' His lean figure is, he says, from 'drugs, drink and malnutrition. I used to have a big breakfast, then sail through the rest of the day. The hole that the drink didn't fill, the cigarettes would.' He looks back on those years with pleasure and exhaustion. 'With youth, we could take on anything and conquer it.' Sometimes, he says, he still feels like that - but then he remembers the dodgy ankle or ropey shoulder. But it's incredible how well he looks, all things considered. He nods: 'I'm lucky to be alive because a lot of them have dropped by the wayside, even young people - my kids' friends are dying because they don't know where to stop. 'And there's a lot of bad drugs around, lots of depression and lots of misuse of alcohol.' People are taking worse drugs now? 'Yeah, I think they were purer in our day. And also, it ran in my family to have such resistance to alcohol because my mum and dad, grandparents, brothers - they were on the barges and reared on alcohol.' His parents, he has said, were the first generation in his family to live on land. His dad Arthur, who played piano and harmonica, busked and entertained in the music halls. 'At my first wedding, Keith [Richards] told me: "Your dad's got more talent in his little finger than you'll ever have." And I went: 'That's a compliment, even though you're trying to put me down, Keith, because you love my dad." Archie. Good old Archie . . .. .....' While he credits his ox-like constitution to his gypsy background, drink was partly responsible for prematurely seeing off his two brothers. 'Lots of the family lived to a ripe old age, but my brothers went in their 60s. My brother Ted was my age when he went and I don't feel like going. But Ted had given up the will to be ambitious. I'd say: "Come on, Ted . . . " ' He trails off. Wood has been DJ-ing for only a year, but he is extraordinarily good - relaxed, funny, with a fund of outrageous stories. It's quickly apparent how much he loves the music - he closes his eyes tight, clicks his fingers, dances along and talks over the songs in a rush of giddy enthusiasm. He says he wishes his family could be here to see him. 'I think my parents and brothers would have been so proud to see me sober and getting my life back together.' He was 14 when he started drinking heavily - brandy and whisky. In the 1970s, he drank himself silly because, despite his apparent insouciance, he says he felt insecure in The Faces. At the end of the 1970s, he started freebasing cocaine - an early form of crack. And, as he says in his autobiography, that was him done for the next five years. It was during this period that Richards threatened to blow his brains out. 'When he thinks you're out of control, you think, Christ, there must be something wrong,' says Ronnie. In 1985, he married his second wife, Jo, and though she was a moderating influence, he still drank. Until 2003, he claimed he had never played a gig sober. But in 2008, he left Jo for Russian model Ekaterina Ivanova. The collapse of his marriage could not have been more public or dramatic: two days after his daughter Leah's wedding, he ran away with Ekaterina, or Katia as she's also known. His four children were devastated. The 18 months that followed made the previous 50 seem positively abstemious. In December 2009, he was arrested after witnesses alleged he had tried to throttle Katia during a drunken row in the street. Although she didn't press charges, that was the end of their relationship. A few weeks later, he was in rehab for the eighth and, he hopes, final time. The day before he went into the Priory, his manager Sherry Daly, who's worked with him for 30 years, told him she couldn't cope any more. 'I saw her in tears and she said: "I can't work with you.'' '[Faces drummer] Kenney Jones was there as well and he said: "Ronnie, I agree with Sherry," and I thought: "F***in' hell, I must be doing something wrong to affect people like this." They were in tears.' Many didn't expect him to stick it out. 'Lots of people went: "Oh, give him a couple of weeks and he'll be back on it." There were a lot of doubting Thomases, and there was something inside me that thought: "I've got to do this and prove them wrong." ' Is it true he was 'kidnapped' by snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan and artist Damien Hirst? Yes, he says, sort of - but they did ask him first. 'They went: "Ronnie, d'you want us to come over and help you?" And I went: "Pleeeeease," cos I couldn't stand myself; I'd just have more and more and more. A bit like I am with the cigarettes now.' If he wasn't in a bar, he'd be drinking alone at home. 'I was even worse on my own, because I wouldn't have to face me.' Since he got clean, Wood has enjoyed a sustained creative splurge - painting (he once sold a work for $1million, and says he could make more from his art now than from the Stones), a new album and the radio show. Over the decades he's released seven albums and written many songs. Even so, until now, he has been regarded as a wannabe - the Stones rarely record his songs, and he has said the Jagger/Richards songwriting partnership feels like a bit of a closed shop. But the recent album I Feel Like Playing is a real breakthrough. His voice is more mature and controlled, and there are a few really great songs. Is the album autobiographical? Of course, he says - what isn't? 'A lot of the songs are about the relationship I was in at the time, with Katia. I was leaving home, and walking out of my marriage with Jo. It was something I had to do. I don't know what drove me to it, but I had to do it.' He shows me a silver leaf round his neck. 'Eric Clapton gave me this freedom leaf. And that's what I wanted, what I felt: I've got to be free of the ties I've got at the moment.' Strangely, his daughter Leah also gave him a freedom leaf: 'Even though she didn't actually know what was going down at the time. I gave her away, and two days later I was gone.' In a way, he says, he had to completely lose it before recovering his sanity. Many people expected him to run back to Jo and beg forgiveness. Did he? 'No I didn't. A lot of people were going: "You've made the worst move of your life." But I was thinking: "There's something here I've got to discover, and that something is me." And that was very exciting because I'm much crazier and much more creative when I'm sober.' He admits there's been plenty of pain. His relationship with his children broke down; they were furious with him when he walked out. 'I've had my differences with them,' he admits with rare understatement. But they've forgiven him now? 'Yeah. I used to worry, "I've lost my family." They hated me for a while, but they're very resilient. The oldest is 36, the youngest is 28. So they're all grown and they've seen me come through and now they say: "OK, Dad, we love you, we're on your side.'' After moving out of the Esher home he shared with Jo, Wood went to live in Surrey with Katia. Now he lives alone in a Hoxton studio. He and Jo have split everything down the middle and will continue to do so, he says. Wood has famously lost tens of millions of pounds over the years - on wine and women, being a useless businessman and just not caring. Now he's convinced those days are over. 'Looking at the bills on tour when I was using, I'd have the top wines - I should have been a sommelier because I'm a wine expert and I go from the gutter to the throne in my taste in alcohol.' What's the most he'd spend on a bottle? 'A thousand pounds . . . it didn't matter.' Has he ever tried to work out how much he's spent on drink and drugs? 'No I haven't, because it's bottomless and it's pointless to go: "Agh!" It would make me laugh, actually. What, £20 million?' Now, he says, he's so alert to everything and has so many projects on the go that he doesn't know how to squeeze it all in. And what about the Stones? 'They're evolving, all doing their own stuff. Charlie's got his jazz band, he's doing his solo stuff. Keith is contemplating his navel and playing with different people and reading. Mick is doing s***, but we want to work together again. When that comes, I don't know.' For the first 17 years of his Stones life, he was just a hired hand. Did it make him insecure? 'I just looked at it like I was doing my apprenticeship, even though I might have been 50 years old. I was learning, but I was teaching as well: how to let go and enjoy life.' He also performed another valuable function - as a glue in the combustible relationship between Jagger and Richards. 'During the Dirty Work days, that was a really bad time,' he says. 'I got them through that. I'd be like: "You stay near the phone, I'm going to get him on the phone and I'll ring you back." Does it feel different now he's a fully-fledged member of the band? 'That's right, now they listen to me before they make a decision.' Ana walks into the room. He is delighted to see her and gives her a playful slap on the thigh. 'She's part of my adventure and I'm part of hers, cos she gave up . . . she used to drink a glass of wine and enjoy it, but she said: "If you need the support, I won't do it." And she hasn't weakened, which I think is very admirable.' Is Ana making him more sensible? 'No, but it is nice to be with somebody who isn't like: "Come on, let's go and get wrecked." I can go into bars and parties, and I used to feel: "I'm really missing out here," but now I don't feel I am - been there, done it.' Despite being divorced from Jo, he is still wearing their wedding ring. 'I wear it on my right hand now. She saw it a couple of weeks ago and said: "You've still got your wedding ring," and I said: "Yeah, because you're my old mate and you always will be." And she said: 'Yeah, you're my best friend and you always will be.' It's early evening, and he's hungry - another change from former hell-raising days - so we leave the studio. He's arm-in-arm with Ana, still puffing away on a fag. He's just made a jingle asking listeners to vote for him in the radio awards. He'd love to win, and thinks it's amazing he's been nominated. It makes him laugh that, at 63, he's up for best newcomer, but at the same time he thinks there's something weirdly apposite about it. <DAILY MAIL (London) April 30, 2011 Saturday 7/7 CORONER TO ORDER A 999 SAFETY REVOLUTION BYLINE: BY JAMES SLACK HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR LENGTH: 455 words> EMERGENCY services will be instructed to carry out a radical overhaul of their health and safety rules in the wake of the July 7 inquest. Coroner Lady Justice Hallett is expected to highlight that a number of victims of the terrorist atrocity remained alive long after three bombs were detonated on the London Underground in 2005. The inquest heard some were left to die in agony because of health and safety protocols which left firemen unable to rescue them. Police, fire and ambulance crews will in future be expected to show far more discretion in rescuing victims. Families of the deceased have already demanded changes to the way health and safety rules are implemented. The verdict into how four Islamist fanatics killed 52 by detonating bombs on Tube trains and a bus will be delivered on Friday. The most devastating finding for the emergency services would be that, by failing to respond quickly enough, they contributed to some of the deaths. Some firemen refused to go into tunnels because they had to wait for confirmation that the current on the rails had been turned off. Victims on the Aldgate train were left screaming in pain for up to 40 minutes before emergency services were allowed near the bomb site. Seven people died after suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer detonated a rucksack containing home-made explosives on the train at 8.49am. The first paramedics did not arrive at the station until 25 minutes after the explosion, and firemen initially refused to enter the tunnel because of fears there could be a second bomb on the train. The coroner will also tell the emergency services to stop using incomprehensible jargon, which can lead to confusion at the scene. During the hearing, a London Fire Brigade officer described a 'conference demountable unit' when referring to a portable incident room. Friday's verdict is being anxiously awaited by security officials. M15 came under questioning along with the police for failing to track Mohammad Sidique Khan and his right-hand man Tanweer after they appeared as part of an investigation into a plot to detonate fertiliser bombs in the UK. The pair were monitored by the Security Service almost 18 months before the 2005 attacks. MI5 insists there was no available evidence suggesting Khan or Tanweer were planning any attack, and that the July 7 plot was not even in existence at the time the men were under surveillance. Both MI5 and the police were previously cleared of blame for the bombings by Parliament's intelligence and security committee. Earlier this year, a coroner at the inquest into the victims of Cumbria gunman Derrick Bird said it was disturbing that paramedics were prevented from reaching the injured sooner because of red tape. <DAILY MAIL (London) April 30, 2011 Saturday SO, WHO RULES IN MIDDLE ENGLAND? LENGTH: 1138 words ASTON VILLA> IT WILL not please everyone in the West Midlands that the region boasts a trophy-winning team once more. But Birmingham City's triumph in the Carling Cup has certainly put a gloss on a season in which there has been plenty going on Ñ and not all of it good. Here, with the four West Midlands teams facing each other in derby matches this weekend, NEIL MOXLEY sums up his highlights and lowlights from the quartet . . . Prize guys: Birmingham City's players celebrate winning the Carling Cup final against Arsenal at the end of Februaryandy hooper Highlights: The emergence of yet more young talent from the outstanding academy at Villa Park. Marc Albrighton grabbed the early attention with some sparkling wing play but it is with Ciaran Clark that most commentators feel true promise lies. Insiders at the club believed he was a future England captain in the making. However, the defender has now pledged his allegiance to the Republic of Ireland. Other plus points include the £24million signing of Darren Bent Ñ a statement of intent by owner Randy Lerner that he was backing the manager, Gerard Houllier. And also the re-emergence of Stewart Downing, who should win the club's Player of the Year award. Lowlights: Most of it centred on Houllier. His arrival was handled in a haphazard fashion and it went downhill from there. The manager's comments after losing to his former club Liverpool three months later caused embarrassment for Villa. His alienation of core players disrupted the dressing room and that manifested itself in bizarre fashion with a drunken fracas during a team-building exercise. It is only since those mainstays have returned that results have improved. Bent's arrival apart, Houllier's signings have done little to fire the imagination. Losing to Birmingham in the Carling Cup quarter-final was a bitter pill. The less said about the fifth-round FA Cup tie at Manchester City, the better. Outlook: Still clouded due to Houllier's illness. Everyone wishes him a full recovery. How many Villa fans want to see him return to the job, though, is another matter. The club's immediate prospects are uncertain with little sign that improvement is around the corner, particularly as Ashley Young and Downing could leave in the summer. Birmingham City Highlights: After a 48-year wait for significant silverware, the club finally landed a trophy of note in the Carling Cup. From the quarter-final win over Aston Villa to the last-minute drama at Wembley, it could not have been scripted any better. However, the Blues' campaign in the Barclays Premier League has been less eventful. The best individual performance, by Ben Foster, coincided with the best result, a 1-0 victory against Chelsea. Alex McLeish has suffered because of injuries but a win tomorrow over Wolves should cement the club's status in the league. And that will be an excellent return. Lowlights: Significant injuries to James McFadden, Scott Dann and Nikola Zigic have certainly had an impact on the club's displays. And of more concern is the continuing issues over funding. An eight-figure shortfall in the accounts that threatens Birmingham's Europa League place has been addressed but fans would be reassured by long-term commitments to ensure on-going improvements. Outlook: So many unanswered questions. Will Birmingham's owners continue to bankroll the club? Can they retain McLeish? How many of this squad will remain in August? With several experienced voices expected to leave, McLeish's biggest battles may be yet to come. West Bromwich Albion Highlights: A strange season at The Hawthorns Ñ but ultimately a successful one, thanks in no small part to the goals of Peter Odemwingie. Roberto di Matteo's finest hour was unquestionably the victory over Arsenal at the Emirates. Thereafter, Albion sparked until November, then fizzled out equally as spectacularly. With one eye on the possibility of returning to the Championship, and the corresponding drop in revenue, owner Jeremy Peace sacked the former Chelsea midfielder and brought in Roy Hodgson. Unwanted as Liverpool boss, he has been welcomed with open arms in the Black Country, with his experience and organisational ability the key reasons why the club are no longer in a relegation scrap. Lowlights: Di Matteo's disastrous decision to change his Carling Cup quarter-final team against Ipswich from that which had beaten Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park four days earlier had an undoubted hand in his downfall. It was sad to see the back of the amiable Italian, but football is a ruthless business and the results since have proved the decision correct. Outlook: Pretty good. Hodgson seems to be the perfect fit for a well-run club. He is used to working with sporting directors and possesses sufficient nous to work with the chairman, rather than against him. If they can add in one or two important areas and retain Odemwingie's services, they can improve next season. Wolverhampton Wanderers Highlights: An incredible run of form against several of the top four. Victories over Manchester United and Chelsea at Molineux, allied to a surprising win in December at Liverpool gave rise to real hope that Wolves would survive after a tricky fixture list either side of New Year's Day. Matt Jarvis has received England recognition for his consistency and Kevin Doyle remains a handful up front. Wolves fans can never accuse their team of lacking effort. Lowlights: Industry can be no match for quality and that has shown itself on occasions. McCarthy's back four have never totally convinced and the injury to Doyle last month has knocked the club backwards. If there is one criticism it is over Steven Fletcher. Wolves paid £6m for the forward, but have not known how to use him. Outlook: Victory at St Andrew's would breathe fresh life back into Wolves' survival bid. With home fixtures to follow against West Bromwich and Blackburn on the final day, McCarthy would fancy his chances of a revitalised side Ñ complete with the returning Doyle Ñ mounting a great escape. Wolves are stable thanks to the efforts of owner Steve Morgan and chief executive Jez Moxey but if they lose tomorrow, West Bromwich could help send them down in the Black Country derby next week. That would not be pretty. midlands awards <DAILY MAIL (London) April 30, 2011 Saturday ANDY TOWNSEND'S BOOT ROOM LENGTH: 605 words> WHEN you are struggling down at the bottom, what you need above all are players who will pounce on any chance and score off scraps. You have to pinch goals when you're in a relegation fight. But Blackburn have scored only once in their last four matches and that says it all. They don t possess enough of a goal threat and just Birmingham and Wigan have scored fewer at home. against Manchester City, Blackburn started with Benjani and Jason Roberts up front and immediately city could breathe easier. Although the pair have experience, they need plenty of chances before they'll score. They showed plenty of commitment and fight but even with all the chances against city, I never felt they were going to force a goal or nick a point. Bringing on players like Ruben Rochina, who's only just turned 20, hardly breeds confidence. But Blackburn do have players who are good enough to keep them up. Having Roque santa cruz back will be huge and he needs to take on the responsibility of leading the team from the front. I also think Nikola Kalinic, whose work rate might not be as high as Blackburn's other strikers, looks more dangerous these days. Phil Jones is an accomplished player. He can play as a holding midfielder or as a centre half. Christopher samba is under-rated and could fit in at a top-six club. But in the middle of the park they look ordinary. picking the right team is a balance that manager steve Kean has to get right. Oddly enough they don't necessarily need to win this one but they have to get a point. a draw would force those below them to win, which is becoming increasingly difficult for them. six weeks ago positions kept changing in the bottom six but that s stopped now. Bolton have just come off the back of a great win over arsenal and Owen coyle would love to finish above liverpool in the league that would be one hell of a season. They have one of the in-form strikers in the league in Daniel sturridge, if he can beat an ankle injury. THE TACTICS BOARD HAMMERS THREE-POINT PLAN (IE: HOW TO WIN THREE POINTS) PICK THE RIGHT TEAM: Avram Grant should not gamble on the fitness of any 50-50 players. if Scott Parker isn t 100 per cent fit, this isn t the game to risk him. There are bigger games to come against relegation rivals. He must also be braver with his subs. When was the last time Grant changed a game with a sub? SCORE FIRST: if you concede first, your head drops and the floodgates open. Chasing games when you re at the bottom is soul-destroying. GET THE BALL WIDE: City pack the middle of the park, so West Ham should exploit that. They don t use their wingers enough. Get the ball wide and send dangerous balls into the box. it s bound to work sooner rather than later. THE FLASHBACK MARCH 22, 1958 NO doubt Bolton fans are still smarting after the 5-0 FA Cup semi-final humiliation by Stoke. So by way of compensation, a reminder of the good old days . Bolton s 1958 Cup triumph has been mentioned here this season following the death of Nat Lofthouse, but a Wanderers legend at the other end also played an important role. Eddie Hopkinson was just 5ft 8in short for a goalkeeper even in the 1950s but that did not hinder him against Blackburn at Maine Road as he punched the ball clear (right). Bolton s record appearance holder was beaten just once as Blackburn took the lead through Peter Dobing but Ralph Gubbins, in for the injured Lofthouse, scored twice to take Wanderers to a final against Manchester United. However, he would play no part at Wembley as Lofthouse returned to hit a double of his own as Bolton won the Cup for the fourth time. <DAILY MAIL (London) April 30, 2011 Saturday DYNAMIC DUO ARE TOP OF THE WORLD LENGTH: 1558 words> WHEN Roberto Mancini decided to put down some more permanent roots in Manchester, he bought a house just a couple of doors along from David Platt. And when one particular Manchester City player decided to put down some more permanent roots, he moved into a place slap bang between the two. Only he didn't realise he had his manager on one side and the first-team coach on the other. 'I told him there's no sneaking home at three in the morning,' said Platt, laughing almost uncontrollably. 'No matter which direction he comes from.' Not so much a case of noisy neighbours as nightmare neighbours. Platt is back in the game he graced with distinction as a player and the former England captain could not be happier. Mainly because he is enjoying the job as much as he is but also because his return to football, last summer, was so unexpected. He did wonder if such an opportunity would ever come his way again. Even wondered if a career in football was something he still wanted. He had made his money, particularly during those years playing in Italy, and had a rather nice life, dividing his time between his family and a golf business that allowed him to get his handicap down to six while enjoying some of the world's finest courses. The difficult spell he had endured as the manager of Nottingham Forest, which was then followed by three years in charge of England Under 21s, was becoming a distant memory. He had been away six years. 'At the level I would have wanted to return at, I didn't see anything happening,' he said. 'There was nothing on the horizon. And the longer you are out of it, the more you take a step back and question whether you want to go back in. If you'd asked me 16 months ago whether I thought I'd ever get back in, I'd have said no.' It all changed when his close friend and former Sampdoria team-mate became City's manager. Although even then, when Mancini eventually called him, he had his reservations. 'My whole life had started to balance out,' he said, enjoying a coffee in a local cafe he used to go to far more frequently. 'I was late becoming a father. My son's five and I'm 44. I had time, I had the financial ability to have that time, I was playing the best golf courses in the world. I could get up and down in two from the edge of the green 75 per cent of the time! I wouldn't get anywhere near that now. 'Had Robbie gone into a club that was in London, it would have been another obstacle I had to overcome. It would have been a much bigger decision if I'd had to move my family in an industry that can be so fickle. But this opportunity was just down the road, and I thought, "S***, there's no reason not to do this".' Now he's so glad he did take the plunge, because City have not only reawakened his passion for the game but also the competitor that burns inside him. Much of that, he says, is down to Mancini and Platt offers a fascinating insight into the suave, sophisticated Italian who has guided City to next month's FA Cup final and within touching distance of a place in next season's Champions League. Their friendship dates back nearly 20 years, to when Mancini was the captain of Sampdoria and somehow entrusted with the task of luring Platt from Bari. 'You have to understand that Robbie was a God at that football club,' said Platt. 'He was a player but he was privy to president and sporting director conversations. He would have been told I was on their list of transfer targets and he would have said, "OK, I'll talk to him". 'I remember earlier this season when that crowd gathered outside Wayne Rooney's house, because they thought he was leaving. How many were there? 50? Robbie was laughing. When he was at Sampdoria and he said he might go to Inter Milan, a crowd of 10,000 gathered outside his house, all begging him to stay. 'Eventually he got me there, and at one stage we were going through a bad spell. We then lost the derby against Genoa, 3-1 at home. The supporters were magnificent but all hell broke loose after that, and Robbie got a letter from the leader of the supporters. We used to warm up underneath the stadium and then go out for kick-off. But the letter invited us to warm up on the pitch half an hour before kick-off so they could give us loads of abuse, get it out of their system and then become the 12th man again, come kick-off. 'So we go out, (Sven Goran) Eriksson goes out as well, and we're getting it from all sides. But then Robbie goes over to where the hardcore fans sat and just did that (Platt opens his arms), and they stopped, there and then, and started singing his name. It was just incredible. Like he'd parted the sea or something.' Mancini invited Platt to become his room-mate when he signed for Sampdoria in 1993 Ñ after a season with Juventus Ñ and from there a bond was formed. 'But we're not like bosom buddies,' said Platt. 'And it's not like there's a mutual appreciation society. We have remained friends. We both have a place in Sardinia and we would catch up every summer. 'But I don't think that's why Robbie asked me to come and work at City. I think it's because I've always been straight with him. Robbie could dish out b*********s, even as a player. But I was someone, if I didn't agree, who would stand up to him. He likes to have people like that around him.' According to Platt, Mancini is someone perfectly equipped to cope with the pressure associated with trying to bring success to the world's richest football club. 'He has this ability to absorb everything,' said Platt. 'The media attention, any setbacks we might suffer, the burden of expectation. 'His mantra, even after a defeat, is that we can improve, every day. We had breakfast before the semi-final against United and I asked him if he was nervous. He said, "I'm not nervous. I can absorb any defeat. But I'll feel so sorry for the owners and the supporters if we don't get there". 'I think that's why it meant so much to him. For him it's all about winning but it's not about winning for himself. His mantra now is that "We can make history" at this club. That in 100 years they will be talking about Yaya Toure and David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong and so on. If we'd been beaten in the semi it would have been a massive kick in the b***s for the fans.' Platt says there is a real sense of optimism at City. Excitement too. Even when it comes to the progress he says the often troublesome Mario Balotelli is making. 'We started the season with a lot of new players and it's taken time for the team to evolve, understandably,' he said. 'But since January it's been good. Slowly but surely there's a spirit and an intensity that has built up. 'Mario is 20, and he's had to find his feet in a different country, playing a different type of football. But I don't think he's that difficult to manage. I think he responds. We have to continue to manage him, continue to develop him. But he listens and he is learning.' Mancini, he says, is a 'hands on' manager. But you can tell that Platt, a bright, articulate man who remains fluent in Italian, takes great pleasure in seeing players like Balotelli develop. 'When I was the Under 21 manager I always felt the development of the player was paramount,' he said. 'I took a great deal of interest in such things. I looked at the way the England team was developing. I collated information on the make-up of the England team, and examined the players Ñ in my position as Under 21 coach Ñ who were coming up through the age groups. 'I anticipated there being a decrease in the number of England players playing Champions League football. I produced a document that raised the issue because I didn't feel it was being recognised. I could see difficult times ahead for the England team.' As someone who represented England in a World Cup semi-final as well as the Euro 96 semi-final, Platt does have opinions that should be shared. He has his doubts about the practicalities of preparing an England team for matches at Wembley at a National Football Centre in Burton. He also questions the value of making Jack Wilshere play in this summer's European Under 21 Championship. 'The boy is now playing in Arsenal's first team, playing in the Champions League, playing for England, so I'm not sure what he's going to learn in an Under 21 tournament,' said Platt. 'The level he's now playing at is superior to Under 21 level. There might be an argument that says the tournament experience would be useful but the argument needs to be counter-balanced by the physical damage that could be done to the player. 'He's played a great deal of football already this season and part of his development is a substantial rest in the summer that allows him to progress next season and finish it with a strong performance in the European Championship.' That, however, is now someone else's problem. Platt's focus is elsewhere. 'The objective, when I sat down with Garry Cook and Brian Marwood and discussed working for City, was to win something and qualify for the Champions League. And we've now got a very exciting three-and-a-half weeks ahead of us.' He wouldn't miss it for the world. <Subject Evictions; Councils Title pounds 18M THE COST OF GOING NOWHERE: Dale Farm reprieved again Author Parry, Tom Publication title The Daily Mirror Publication date Sep 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> DALE Farm celebrated yesterday as the travellers were granted another stay of execution - but there was fury over the pounds 18million bill for the planned eviction. A High Court judge ruled that the injunction preventing the families from being kicked off the illegal site would be extended until Thursday. There was joy at the six-acre former scrapyard, but Basildon council is refusing to back down in the battle which could cost pounds 225,000 for each of the 80 families it plans to evict. Councillors insist the authority's huge compound set up for bailiffs, police and the media in a field next to the travellers' site will remain as long as it takes. And it was revealed yesterday for the first time what the pounds 18million eviction bill will be spent on. It is thought policing costs alone will mount to at least pounds 9million. The fee for hiring bailiffs Constant and Co is pounds 2.2million, with a further pounds 3million allocated to clearing the site. Temporary accommodation for bailiffs and the security officers looking after the compound is costing a further pounds 1million. Most are staying in nearby hotels where even the cheapest rooms are pounds 50 a night. The figures could rise higher because of the drawn-out legal wranglings. It is estimated that pounds 7.2million for the eviction is coming from the Government's coffers. Campaign group Dale Farm Solidarity said yesterday: "The Government is making taxpayers foot the bill for this unnecessary eviction. And the council will cut services to cover its costs." The legal case was adjourned until Thursday so the court can decide if evicting the travellers is lawful. Reacting to the judge's decision, Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy, 52, said: "Every day is a blessing and we feel that at least our arguments are being listened to. Hopefully we will be here for another 30 years - we are strong, we won't give in." The council has been fighting for 10 years to clear the part of the site in Crays Hill, Essex, which is illegal. Tory councillor Malcolm Buckley said the Conservative-run authority was doing the right thing, adding: "They will only make fools of us if we fail." <Subject Councils; Elections Title SENATORS BACK NORRIS Author Bardon, Sarah Publication title The Daily Mirror Publication date Sep 22, 2011 Section News Source type Newspapers Document type News> Aras battler close to getting support needed for his bid ARAS hopeful David Norris yesterday reset his sights on the Presidency after it emerged he now has the backing of 14 Oireachtas members. He needs just six more Senators or TDs to secure a nomination for the election after Independent John Halligan last night pledged his support. The Waterford TD was one of the first deputies to withdraw his support for Norris earlier this summer. Mr Norris was meeting other Independent TDs and Senators yesterday in his bid to drum up further support. He said he was "confident" of getting on the ballot paper and was working hard to get there. And the Senator, who announced his intention to re-enter the race last Friday, also has Fingal County Council on side but has been given the chance to address more. Mr Norris and Eurovision winner Dana will talk to Roscommon, Kilkenny and Carlow councils on Monday. Laois County Council will hear from Mr Norris but not Dana and one source told the Irish Daily Mirror they will give him their backing. The two Independents will also have the chance to scoop votes from Donegal, Waterford, Longford and Offaly - who originally supported Sean Gallagher. And it has emerged South Dublin County Council will debate a motion to nominate Norris on Monday. Meanwhile, a senior minister yesterday claimed Martin McGuinness was unsuitable to be President. Phil Hogan added the Sinn Fein candidate had "too much baggage" and wasn't fit to become the head of Garda and the Defence Forces. The Environment Minister said: "I don't think we're at the stage where a person of Mr McGuinness' past is going to be President of Ireland." <Subject Councils; Elections Title SENATORS BACK NORRIS Author Bardon, Sarah Publication title The Daily Mirror Publication date Sep 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> THE Whitehall row over ministers and political advisers using private email accounts to conduct government business intensified last night. Michael Gove and his advisers circulated emails that allegedly included a discussion of replacing personnel in the Department for Education, but civil servants could not retrieve them when asked under the Freedom of Information Act. Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, sought to kill the row by ordering departments to say that no personal emails would be disclosed. However, the Information Commissioner's Office appeared to contradict this assertion in a statement. It said: "It is certainly possible that some information in private emails could fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act if it concerns government business." It is not against the law for ministers and officials to use private email for government business as long as they disclose it. However, it is illegal to conceal information concerning government business from those seeking public documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The Ministry of Justice also raised concerns that the Cabinet Office was taking the wrong line, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. The Cabinet Office statement read: "Personal email accounts do not fall within the Freedom of Information Act and are not searchable by civil servants." Last night Whitehall sources dismissed reports that David Cameron's personal emails were being searched to see if he had used them for government business. A regular meeting of Whitehall permanent secretaries took place yesterday. It is understood that the issue was discussed but no conclusions were reached about taking further action. The allegations follow an email sent in February from Dominic Cummings, the Education Secretary's chief political aide, who wrote to colleagues saying he "will not answer any further emails to my offi-cial DfE account". He added: "I will only answer things that come from gmail accounts from people who I know. I suggest that you do the same in general but thats obv up to you guys - I can explain in person the reason for this ..." Mr Gove's aides said the email was only about party business. A source said: "Mr Cummings was telling Conservative Party officials not to use his departmental account for political business." The Information Commissioner's Office is said to be investigating after being contacted by The Financial Times, which has seen the correspondence. A spokesman said it had written to the education department. Ed Miliband has admitted he could improve his "voice and communication skills". The Labour leader told New Statesman magazine he would be "crackers" if he did not care about his image. Credit: By Andrew Porter, Political Editor <Subject Labour unions; Public sector; Leadership Title Nov 30 will bring UK to a standstill Author Ellis, Mark Publication title The Daily Mirror Publication date Sep 15, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> BRITAIN is set to grind to a halt on Wednesday, November 30, with the biggest mass walkout since the 1926 General Strike. TUC leaders set the date for the Day of Action at their conference yesterday as 300 delegates voted unanimously to plan for strikes over pension reforms. Union ballots could see nearly three million people take part, with schools, colleges, courts and public offices shut, and hospitals badly affected. Firefighters joined the call for action and prison officers, legally barred from walkouts, may defy the law to join in. Leaders warned that the Coalition risks "seasons of strikes" unless there is a breakthrough in public sector pension talks. TUC leader Brendan Barber said it would be the "biggest union mobilisation for a generation" while Unison head Dave Prentis attacked the Coalition's policies and told them they faced "the fight of their lives". He added: "And the campaigns we are fighting aren't just about pensions, or jobs and pay - they are about the kind of society we leave to our children." Patrick Roach, of teaching union NASUWT, said: "Be in no doubt - we are in the midst of a perfect storm." A spokesman for No10 said the strike calls were "disappointing". Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, leading the pension talks for the PM, said: "The public will be really fed up if they see industrial action damaging the economy and their ability to get to work and earn their own living." Len McCluskey, leader of Unite, said: "The union movement has 2011 taken this step with reluctance, but we have been faced with a Government that refuses to negotiate in good faith. "Public sector workers, many of them lowly paid, are relentlessly and unfairly targeted." The Congress also vowed to fight for the jobs at our last train maker Bombardier as four shop stewards from the Derby works got a standing ovation in London. It accused the Government of "betrayal" by rewarding its German rivals Siemens. <Subject Labor unions; Civil disobedience Title Unions 'will break laws to get even' Author Ellis, Mark Publication title The Daily Mirror Publication date Sep 13, 2011 Section Editorial; Opinion, Leading Articles Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> FRANCE, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland want Britain to be bypassed in order to establish an EU military headquarters. The Government opposes the proposal but the so-called "big five" have told the EU foreign minister Baroness Ashton that she must set up a European Operational HQ by any means necessary, including a legal mechanism created by the Lisbon Treaty that bypasses a British veto. In July, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, threatened to veto a proposed military HQ, which would "command and control" troops including British forces taking part in EU operations, such as the current anti-piracy naval mission off the coast of Somalia. In a confidential letter, dated Sept 2, foreign ministers from the five European countries pledged their "strong political will to continue" as a "matter of urgency". "France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain remain at your disposal to support your work in this regard," says the letter to Lady Ashton, seen by The Daily Telegraph. Most controversially, the alliance instructs Lady Ashton to seek "structured co-operation", a legal route never before used, to set up the HQ without Britain. It demands "tangible results" by the end of the year. "We encourage you to examine all institutional and legal options available to member states including permanent structured co-operation to develop critical Common Security and Defence Policy capabilities, notably a permanent planning and conduct capability." Structured co-operation would allow a majority vote to decide the fate of the headquarters. In her proposals, Lady Ashton said that the European operational headquarters currently spread across Europe in Germany, France, Greece, Italy and Britain should be united under one roof, with a 250-strong EU military staff. The move puts the EU foreign minister, a Labour peer, at odds with the Government and could lead to the worst rift in European foreign policy since the Iraq war in 2003. Mr Hague has declared the issue a "red line" and defeat would be a major setback and failure of the Government's European policy, especially for Eurosceptics within the Conservative Party. The Government has been angered by the letter and its threat to bypass Britain using a legal route that was originally intended to help countries work on practical defence co-operation, such as air transport. "Structured co-operation was designed to encourage member states to work together to increase European capabilities," said a government spokesman. "It is inappropriate to use EU mechanisms to advance the political agendas of only a few member states." Britain supports European calls, backed by America, for more investment in military capabilities, improved planning and better EUNato co-operation. "But we disagree strongly that a permanent EU HQ is the answer to these problems," said the spokesman. "Focusing energy and resources on a project which is essentially about symbolism represents a costly distraction from investment in the defence and civilian capabilities that are really required, and will do nothing to increase political will to act." <Daily Star June 30, 2011 Thursday ED LOOKS TO ECLIPSE SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 45 LENGTH: 241 words> Ed dunlop is favouring the Coral-Eclipse over the bet365 Lancashire Oaks for Snow Fairy as the multiple Group One winner returns to action this weekend. Despite the prospect of coming up against two of the best horses in Europe in Workforce and So You Think, Dunlop is not afraid of taking them on. She was supposed to run in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh last weekend but was pulled out on account of the soft ground. "She went to Ireland and back in a short period of time and it won't be until Thursday morning that we make a decision whether she'll run in either race, but I'm favouring Sandown," said Dunlop. "The ground should suit. She'll have a small blow- out tomorrow. If that goes well and we are happy, we will run. "She has beaten the colts but that was a long time ago. It will be her first run after her injury and of course she will improve for the run, but not that much. "She went 12 hours to Ireland, spent an hour there and then it was 12 hours back all in the space of 36 hours so it was a long journey, but don't forget she's been to Hong Kong, Japan and Ireland before so she's used to it. "The other two are two of the best horses in Europe. The race is what it is, we have to start somewhere and it's not the be-all-and-end-all," he said. ?James Fanshawe has been forced to concede that it is 'highly unlikely' his Golden Jubilee winner Society Rock will be fit enough to run in the Darley July Cup at Newmarket next week. <Daily Star June 30, 2011 Thursday Bridge bad boys told to behave BYLINE: DANNY FULLBROOK SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 52 LENGTH: 253 words> CHELSEA'S players have been warned they will need to behave on and off the pitch next season. New boss Andre Villas-Boas does not want to see a repeat of the sort of lurid headlines surrounding the likes of Ashley Cole last season - including his sex life and him accidently shooting an employee at the training ground with an air gun. The Portuguese coach is also looking for leadership from his senior players to challenge John Terry. Blues skipper Terry was himself mixed up in a saga in his private life when he was originally axed as England captain by Fabio Capello last year. But talking about the captaincy and his players' responsibility, Villas-Boas said: "In Porto, the captaincy is decided by the management and the structure. John is a reference of this club. Leader "He's been successful in his captaincy for most of the time. "For sure, most of the players in the dressing room see John as a leader and a player who motivates them. "If we find other leaders, more social role models, for sure they will have the captaincy as well. "At the moment John is the captain of this club and will be a captain throughout the years, as is Lamps and Didier, who have taken the captaincy in different games. "In the end, it's not a question of saying John is the only leader. There are lots of leaders in the dressing room. If John is in the team, he will be the captain. "The most important thing is for them, in the dressing room, to find different leaders within that dressing room. John represents the history of this club." <Daily Star June 30, 2011 Thursday NEYMAR KEEPING IT REAL BYLINE: DAVID WOODS SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 52 LENGTH: 189 words> ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS looks set to lose out to his old boss in the race to sign Brazilian wonder-kid Neymar. Starsport can reveal Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid have persuaded the 19-year-old striker that the Bernabeu is the place for him. Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona and ambitious Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have reportedly all agreed to pay Santos the £40m release clause in the hitman's contract. But a source close to Neymar insisted Mourinho's Madrid will win the race. "Who can say no to Real Madrid?" he said. Star Chelsea have been long-term admirers of Neymar and his addition to the squad would have been a huge boost for new boss Villas-Boas. But Mourinho has been determined to land the rising star and put his former protégé in his place. Villas-Boas was part of Mourinho's backroom staff at Porto and Chelsea, but the pair fell out at Inter Milan over the 33-year-old's managerial ambitions. Neymar has been offered a lucrative five- year deal at Madrid, leaving Chelsea to look elsewhere. Meanwhile, a Mourinho aide yesterday denied reports the Spanish giants were interested in Arsenal's want-away skipper Cesc Fabregas, 24. <Daily Star June 30, 2011 Thursday RUTHLESS ANDRE WILL WIELD AXE; Silent assassin Villas-Boas vows to shoot Chelsea back to the top BYLINE: DANNY FULLBROOK SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 52,53 LENGTH: 735 words> BEING ruthless and realistic is the way Andre Villas-Boas plans to take on the challenge of guiding Chelsea back to the top of English football. The 33-year-old has a baby-face and innocent look about him - but in reality he is a silent assassin ready to wield the axe. He knows only too well he has massive spending power in the form of Roman Abramovich's chequebook but at the same time is aware he has to spend wisely and build a winning team He will take his time, look his players in the eye when they return on July 6, and then decide who is surplus to requirements. As Villas- Boas explained: "I'm more than happy with the actual squad. It's nothing new that when a manager comes, radical changes are expected. "I think at the moment, and bearing in mind the success this club has had in the last six or seven years, we have to judge things carefully and make wise decisions. Value "I'm counting on everybody to come in from last year and then make the best decisions. We have plenty of time to judge the market and approach it in a way that's valuable for the team in the end. "There's no fuss in the changes we might need to do. The guys have to feel important. They're top-quality players and I want to see them back so I can start taking decisions. "Regarding the Champions League and Premier League, you have to put yourself in the condition to win them. That's why I want to value the players as they are. "We need to take all the information on board as soon as possible. The more we can get, the better. "Pushing ourselves now is a challenge, past what we have achieved in the past. We have to raise players' ambitions and motivations to be successful. They are able to do that. "I spoke to a couple of them on the phone and they are willing to come back and start this new life. They told me this is a fresh new start and they are willing. "I don't agree that the team is short of quality. I think we are up there. I also agree that minor changes can be done and we can put some input here or there in certain sectors, but my confidence in them is for them to return to me and judge from that. "These are players who deserve this respect from me. We have plenty of time up to August 31 to make a decision. "These players have won a lot but still have hunger for success." But changes will be made. Out will go players like Paulo Ferreira, possibly Jose Bosingwa and Nicolas Anelka while the likes of Yossi Benayoun, Salomon Kalou, John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien are all under threat. Porto striker Falcao and Inter Milan's Samuel Eto'o are major targets together with Brazilian wonder-kid Neymar. While Villas-Boas takes his time to get things right, he also knows he has to hit the ground running. Finish the season without either of the major trophies and he knows he will end up the same way as Carlo Ancelotti, Avram Grant, Big Phil Scolari and Jose Mourinho - out on his ear. He does not need telling and added: "What you expect from this club is to be successful straight away. "I expect to be successful. To win straight away, on a weekly basis. There's no running away from that challenge. "That's what I face. I'd be surprised to be kept on if I don't win. I want to be a winner - that's the challenge I promote to myself and my technical staff. Most of them took this challenge to be successful, not to be passing time." Villas-Boas is aware he took a gamble in leaving Porto after a year and winning the Treble. Moves The Portuguese champions even offered to surpass the £4m a year he is getting as Chelsea manager. But he could not resist returning to a club he worked at as a scout and trying to win Abramovich's Holy Grail - the European Cup. One of the first moves was to bring in former Chelsea favourite Roberto di Matteo on to his coaching staff. Despite being the same age as Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, Villas-Boas expects to command respect when he walks into the dressing room. He added: "I think it's normal for people to judge my age. In the end, it all happened at a very young age for me, just as I started my career as a coach when I was 18. "It's something I take in my stride. The players are responsible and professional enough to respect the position of the manager. "If they lose that respect, something is wrong. "It makes no sense for us to get into a club and play dreadful football. "This is why this technical staff was picked, based on a philosophy of playing well and as a team." <Daily Star June 30, 2011 Thursday Rob: Sanch deal's dead in the water BYLINE: JEREMY CROSS SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 52 LENGTH: 320 words> ROBERTO MANCINI has admitted defeat in his bid to lure Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez to Eastlands. The Manchester City boss held talks with Sanchez and was hoping to land the Udinese star in a £30m deal. Sanchez was Mancini's top summer target as he looks to strengthen his attacking options for next season. But Sanchez, 22, has made it clear he wants to join Barcelona instead, forcing big-spending City to end their interest and look elsewhere. Mancini admits a deal for Sanchez is now dead in the water and said: "I have spoken to Sanchez and he told me that he was available to join us. "However, we then ended our interest. We pulled out of the race to sign the Chilean after our last offer was tabled." Hunt Mancini has been left frustrated this summer in his hunt for new signings. He wants to add at least three new players to his squad ahead of what could be a demanding season for his men. City are expected to challenge for the title as well as competing in the Champions League for the first time and Mancini wants more strength in depth. Mancini has been linked with Neymar and Juan Mata and also admits he is an admirer of Napoli hitman Ezequiel Lavezzi. Napoli are demanding a £30m release fee and Mancini added: "Carlos Tevez is a good player and I believe he is staying at City. I have three attackers but we need another one. "Could that be Napoli's Ezequiel Lavezzi? I like him a lot but I don't believe he is worth his release fee." Mancini, meanwhile, has refused to rule out a return to Serie A. He was linked with taking over at Juventus last season and added: "It's too soon to go back. Life is quite good in England and I don't miss Italian football. I do miss Italy though. "I spent four years at Inter and I did what I had to there. Milan? At this moment no, but who knows in the future?" Shaun Wright-Phillips is mulling over a possible £6m switch to Bolton. <Daily Star June 28, 2011 Tuesday My bro's girl is a big bore BYLINE: JANE O'GORMAN SECTION: FEATURES; OPINION, COLUMN; Pg. 40 LENGTH: 246 words> I'M good friends with girls I used to work with and we go out all the time to concerts, clubs, shows and bars. Just recently my brother's new girlfriend asked if she could start coming out with us. I thought she was OK. But this woman is now driving us all absolutely mad. The problem is that she went to one of the top universities and never stops going on about it. If we've heard one "hilarious" story about her getting drunk, falling over, playing a prank and getting into trouble then we've heard a hundred. People and their college stories are really boring. Now my friends are saying that they don't want her joining us any more and it's up to me to tell her. But it's so awkward, because I know that she's never had a better social life and my brother's going to be furious if I hurt her feelings. JANE SAYS: The reality is that your brother's new girlfriend isn't your responsibility. Your loyalty has to be to your oldest friends. If they don't like this girl then you've got to listen, otherwise you could end up out on your ear. I suggest you lie low for a while. Don't organise any outings and tell your new recruit, if she asks, that everyone is really busy. Then gradually start seeing your friends on your terms. If she asks you outright why she's not being included, then say that you want to do your own thing in future. Whatever happens, she's going to be miffed or hurt. But your brother could break up with her next week, and he certainly wouldn't ask your permission. <Daily Star June 28, 2011 Tuesday He's cheated on me for 20 years; DENIALS ARE SO PAINFUL BYLINE: JANE O'GORMAN SECTION: FEATURES; OPINION, COLUMN; Pg. 40 LENGTH: 457 words> MY husband has been having affairs for more than 20 years. I know because I've got eyes and ears and a woman's sixth sense. I can always tell when he's up to his tricks because he buys new clothes, wears expensive aftershave and starts going abroad on business trips. He wants more sex from me, because anyone having an affair is invariably super-sexed and charged up, and his bank account goes into the red. I spot the early warning signs, then I start checking his phone, his laptop and his pockets. I find the restaurant, hotel and cashpoint receipts, which I neatly line up on his bedside table. Accuse Sometimes I even find condom packets, which I place next to his toast at breakfast. Bitter? Twisted? Moi? You don't know the half of it. The problem is that he has never admitted any of his crimes, and I don't think he ever will. Sometimes I stand right in front of him and accuse him outright of cheating on me. I show him the proof. I mention times, dates, and places where he's shagged other tarts. But he refuses to rise to the bait. He either totally ignores me or mutters that I'm mad. Yes. I suppose I am mad now. I've been driven completely and utterly round the bend by him. Tell me this, Jane, how can a man who has it all - wife, children, nice house - walk out of the front door and straight into the arms of another woman? How can he so coldly separate us from them? Sometimes I think about my life and I weep. I know that I've wasted the best years of my life with a man who still refuses to tell me the truth. I feel betrayed and so stupid. I used to be alive once, now I'm just hollow inside. I go through the motions every day for the sake of our children of 21 and 19, but this is no life. What upsets me most is his total selfishness and his blatant disregard for my feelings. JANE SAYS: Surely it's time you set yourself free? Yes, you're married to this man and you made certain vows on the day of your wedding. But he's broken those vows again and again. He has continued to cheat and make a fool of you for 20 years. When is enough enough? It's important now that you start to put your health and your sanity first. I accept that you've striven to provide a stable home for your children, but they're young adults now. A family break-up is never easy, but what if you end up having a break-DOWN? Step back and accept that this man doesn't define you. There is a life, a happier life, away from his cruelty and deception. The problem is that he's never going to change. He's never going to apologise or explain. Why should he? He's successfully had the best of both worlds for yonks. Speak to a relationship counsellor at Relate (relate.org.uk) and start thinking about divorce and moving on. And don't you dare feel guilty about it. <Daily Star June 28, 2011 Tuesday Teased over a sex toy BYLINE: JANE O'GORMAN SECTION: FEATURES; OPINION, COLUMN; Pg. 40 LENGTH: 206 words> I AM a single guy of 26 and I've not had a girlfriend for many months. For sexual relief, I purchased a "vibrating vagina" from a website. I currently houseshare with two other guys and one girl. Last week the girl had her friends over for drinks so us guys went out for the evening. Unfortunately, I forgot to put my sex toy away in its usual storage place. Towards the end of their evening, my female housemate gave a tour of our house to her friends. The sex toy was discovered in my room by one of the friends. Now my housemate and her friends are constantly teasing me about it. This is driving me crazy. What can I do or say to make them stop? JANE SAYS: You need to tell your flatmate that she's had her fun and now it's over. Yes, it was all very funny, someone went into your room and discovered your sex toy in all of its gory glory. Of course everyone fell about in stitches, because that's only human nature, but it's time to move on. Your bedroom isn't a museum to be toured and viewed. What on earth was your flatmate thinking by snooping around in your personal space in the first place? Read her the riot act. Insist she kills this, or you'll be tempted to make a complaint to your landlord about bullying and unacceptable behaviour. <Daily Star June 28, 2011 Tuesday DON'T MISS LORI EVERY DAY IN THE DAILY STAR BYLINE: LORI REID SECTION: FEATURES; OPINION, COLUMN; Pg. 41> ARIES March 21 to April 20 THERE'S a pull-me-push-you tussle going on in your mind today, Aries. It's that eternal conflict between work and home. You might get some misleading information. Don't fudge issues. News that arrives late afternoon is surprising but is just what you want when it comes to your social life. To hear when a domestic matter won't go to plan, call... LIBRA September 24 to October 23 IT'S not unusual for a Libran like you to sit on the fence and be in two minds. That indecision increases today and you wonder whether you've done the right thing or not. Errors are rife during the morning so try to leave key decisions until later. Partners are full of happy and unexpected surprises tonight. To hear when to watch out for mistakes, call... <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday ANALYSIS BYLINE: BY PROFESSOR PADDY REGAN SECTION: NEWS; 05 LENGTH: 299 words> A SPIKE in the level of Iodine 131 has been detected in Oxfordshire and Glasgow and it is reasonable to deduce that this is radiation from Fukushima. The level recorded was 30 times higher than the usual background levels of Iodine 131 you would expect which suggests it has come from the plant. Radiation would have travelled to the UK in air streams circulating the globe. It would have been released from the plant through the initial explosion and through the steam and subsequent fires. It also suggests that some of the fuel rods at the plant have gone into at least partial meltdown, releasing radioactivity. The air samples here were passed through a filter which catches and identifies minute particles. What has been detected is gamma rays, which are released as Iodine 131 decays. It is a bit like a fingerprint which identifies the type of radioactivity. Contamination can get into the water supply when it rains by getting washed out of the air and into rivers. It can also be breathed in by animals and people when it is still airborne. After it has contaminated water supplies it can be ingested by animals and humans directly, or can get into people who eat animal products. But at the levels detected, the health risks are zero. The amounts are billions and billions of times less than the natural radiation released every second from your bones. If more radiation is released from the plant the levels could get higher. But the half life of Iodine 131 - the time taken to decay - is quite fast so the levels would fall before more radiation had the chance to reach the UK. It is unlikely that we will see high levels here. Radiation can cause thyroid cancer in children - which is what we saw in Chernobyl. But we would have to see such a massive increase it is a virtual impossibility. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Which party leader is least likely to end up looking like an idiot?; LEADER BYLINE: Kerry Gill SECTION: LEADER; 12 LENGTH: 913 words> THERE is no such thing as bad publicity, it is said, but they were obviously talking about Kate Moss and her cocaine habit, or maybe Charlie Sheen threatening to attack his wife with napalm. For pop stars, supermodels, artists, writers and internationally famous actors, almost any publicity is better than none. In politics, every press conference, hustings event or television interview, however, is a pratfall waiting to happen. The most infamous in recent political history has to have been Gordon Brown's ill-fated meeting with that "bigoted woman", poor Gillian Duffy. But, as the past few days of the Scottish Parliamentary election campaign have reminded us, it happens on a regular basis. . . as the Scottish Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have found to their cost, and the Nationalists, Labour and the rest will surely find out in the shark-infested waters of an election campaign that still has more than five weeks to run. It has been a bad few days for both the Tories and the LibDems. Both have lost candidates, although in rather different circumstances. The most spectacular - if that is the right word to use when a virtually unknown MSP chooses to opt for political oblivion over already well-deserved obscurity - afflicted the LibDems. The messier of the two has momentarily unbalanced the Tory campaign which, one way or another, suffered problems with first one, then two and then three of its candidates. Hopefully, that's the lot of them out of the way. T AVISH SCOTT, the LibDem leader, came out of his embarrassment worst, his stupid refusal to admit simply that his party may have suffered even a minor blow made it look a more serious setback than the disappearance of someone called Hugh O'Donnell actually was. The Tories' Annabel Goldie, when her campaign launch was hijacked by a noisy and persistent protester called Sean Clerkin, managed - as only she can - to rescue the situation with a few of her customary words of commonsense. So far as policies - increasingly looking like treats when it comes to Labour and the SNP - are concerned, we have probably heard the most of it. Both parties are vying to show themselves as the ones best positioned to protect Scotland from the "ConDem cuts" - as if either of them can in our global world - and also competing to put themselves in the best light: a council tax freeze, no fees for students, free prescriptions, and jobs and prosperity just around the corner, so long as you vote for us. And so far as the electorate is concerned, most of us have probably made up our minds; more so, I suspect, than at this stage before the 2007 election. That is due to the Government in Westminster, and its Herculean task of fixing the economy after Labour's disastrous tenure, which has encouraged us to assume our positions rather earlier than usual. Floating voters won't be so numerous this time; you are either broadly, if reluctantly, in favour of what the Coalition Government is trying to do, or utterly opposed to its Draconian cuts, or you're a Nationalist, in which case everything is subsumed at election time for that great - if only dimly perceived vision at the moment - independence. Labour are almost certainly ahead, but the SNP are hard on their heels. The Tory vote, I believe, will hold up reasonably well and the LibDem support will be stronger than most people right now imagine. The next government will be a minority one, but it would be a brave man to predict whether it will be again led by Alex Salmond or Iain Gray, the Labour leader. A meaningful coalition, as I argued here some time ago, looks unlikely. Could either Labour or the SNP sidle up to the LibDems being, as they are, part of the UK Coalition imposing those cuts? The SNP could, however, come to a loose arrangement with the Tories who are, perversely, deemed to be less culpable than the LibDems at Westminster. Why is this? Partly because David Cameron is a more sympathetic character than Nick Clegg who, for all his earnestness, has compromised his party whereas, with the Tories, you get what you see, as ever. I T is, of course, the personalities of the two leading contenders for First Minister that could well decide the outcome in the end. Do we want Mr Gray or Mr Salmond? Which of them is better placed to challenge Westminster and promote the Scottish cause? Which of them looks like a whinger, which more like a fighter? Which man, indeed, is less likely to blunder into a humiliating Duffyesque confrontation over the next few weeks? You choose. When times are difficult, a country seeks a strong leader, whether the electorate is his natural supporter or not. Cast your mind back a few weeks to the "summit" held after the Celtic-Rangers/Lennon-McCoist spat, another dismal occurrence casting a poor light on our nation. Both clubs sent their top executives wearing their gravest faces, and Strathclyde's Chief Constable, Steve House, was there to set out his case for more cash for policing. Suddenly behind them appeared Alex Salmond. Talk about the cat who'd got the cream. His face was fairly beaming. And so it should have been. Here was a politician in his element, having turned an ugly little Scottish footballing episode into a personal political victory for an international television audience. No one took any notice of what Celtic or Rangers, or indeed Mr House, had to say, it was pure Salmond. Bad publicity may be difficult to avoid if you're a politician, but Alex Salmond looks increasingly immune. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday It's madness to let drug dealers escape prison; LEADER BYLINE: Ross Clark SECTION: LEADER; 12 LENGTH: 894 words> AMONG the many archaic laws that have fallen into disuse without actually being repealed is one that apparently makes it illegal to shake a doormat in a London street after 8am. I wonder how long it will be before dope-heads are giggling about our drugs laws. Yesterday the Sentencing Council published proposals to spare drug dealers from jail. In future, it said, only those who are proved to be big-time dealers should go to jail. Drugs mules, runners and small-time dealers caught with up to 50 grammes of heroin or cocaine should instead be given community sentences. It is one more attempt by the authorities to downgrade offences and so bring about the de facto legalisation of drugs. We are forever being told by the pro-drugs lobby that the "war on drugs" has failed - but what war on drugs? Government and its agencies ran up the white flag years ago. For 40 years we have witnessed the slow legalisation of drugs without any politician or civil servant being brave enough to admit what is really going on. The punishments handed out to dealers have already been watered down in recent years: only a third of dealers supplying class A drugs receive custodial sentences. Moreover our prisons - where surely it cannot be difficult to put sniffer dogs over all incoming visitors and mail - have somehow become allowed to be swamped with drugs. D RUG users get it even easier than dealers. Theoretically anyone caught in possession of a class A drug can be jailed for seven years, those caught with a class B drug five years and those with a class C drug two years. But when did you last hear of someone going to jail for possessing any kind of drug for personal use? Unless the police can prove that you are intending to sell or supply the drugs that are found on you, you are unlikely to be so much as fined, even if you are a role model for millions of young people. Singer Pete Doherty was fined GBP 750 last year for possession but that was only after 13 wraps of heroin were found on him when he turned up in court on a careless driving charge following years of drug abuse. Amy Winehouse was merely bailed after being photographed taking crack cocaine. She was once fined for possession but that was in supposedly liberal Norway. Kate Moss was never prosecuted even though she was clearly photographed snorting a white powder in 2005. The fact that she apologised to "all the people I have let down" says it all yet the Crown Prosecution Service failed to bring charges because it could not prove whether the powder was cocaine (class A) or amphetamines (class B), so it didn't know what charges to bring. The decline in punishments for drug use over the past generation has been marked. At the height of the "Summer of Love" in 1967 anyone caught in possession of soft drugs could expect a stiff punishment, possibly jail. In that year Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones were all given jail sentences of between three months and a year for possessing cannabis. Although these sentences were later quashed on appeal all were given large fines. Jones received a fine of GBP 1,000, equivalent to more than GBP 10,000 today. Punishments have been weakened because successive governments have been happy to swallow the propaganda of the legalisation lobby. This holds that the UK has a big problem because we adopt too hard an attitude towards drug users and that if only we had a more enlightened policy like that of the liberal Dutch we would have fewer problem users. As a result policy has moved away from one of prohibition to one where drug addiction is treated as a mere health problem. Money has been diverted from enforcement o f the drug laws into rehabilitation programmes: of the GBP 1.5billion annually spent on fighting drugs only GBP 380million goes on tackling the supply, compared with GBP 800million on treatment. Actually "treatment" isn't quite the right word: GBP 300million of it is spent supplying methadone to addicts, fuelling their addiction rather than fighting it. INCREASINGLY users are treated not as criminals but as victims of dealers. Yet it takes willing customers as well as suppliers to create a drugs market - and the former are just as culpable as the latter. The police don't say o f people caught downloading child porn that they are victims of evil dealers. Those who view child porn are rightly treated as being just as guilty as those who supply it. So why is it any different with drugs? Public policy on drugs is based on a false premise: Britain is not a harsh country when it comes to its drug laws and its enforcement of them. On the contrary, our laws are among the most lenient in the world. Aside from a few well publicised "coffee houses" in Amsterdam, where cannabis smoking is tolerated, the supposedly liberal Dutch are now stricter than us. Convictions for supplying drugs are rising while treatment programmes are based around abstinence rather than minimising health damage as here. Baroness Meacher, chairman of a new all-party House o f Lords group on drugs policy, said last week: "Criminalising drug users has been an expensive catastrophe for individuals and communities." She, along with most liberal voices, seems to have failed to notice that actually drugs are fast becoming decriminalised and that most of the millions "wasted" on fighting drugs are actually being spent keeping junkies pumped up with them. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Yummy? We're feeling yucky say new mothers BYLINE: By Jo Willey SECTION: NEWS; 31 LENGTH: 290 words> YUMMY Mummies could be a thing of the past as more women resist the pressure to look good and snap back to their post-baby weight. The example set by glamorous mothers such as TV's Myleene Klass and the expectations from friends and family are proving too much for many women. Research has found 40 per cent of mothers felt more attractive and confident before they had babies. One in 10 have so little confidence in their appearance they avoid going out. A survey commissioned by Sheer Cover mineral make-up questioned 1,600 women across Britain and found that the majority of mothers were depressed about their appearance. This is perhaps no surprise after the results revealed that having a baby halves the time a woman has for her appearance. A third of new mothers get just five minutes to do their make-up, compared with a fifth of childless women. Social situations are avoided by one in 10 mothers who say they have no confidence in their appearance. More than half (56 per cent) said their nearest and dearest made them feel selfconscious, with only 10 per cent blaming pressure from famous mothers. This is despite celebrities such as Klass, Gisele Bundchen, Dannii Minogue and Heidi Klum showing off slim figures and fresh faces weeks after giving birth. Mother and Sheer Cover brand ambassador Emma Forbes, 45, who has two children Lilly, 14, and Sam, 11, said: "It's sad to see how many women are feeling such a lack of confidence. "I know how hard it is to juggle work, family and a bit of 'me' time. I hope my children benefit from seeing me take care of myself." Armand Beasley, top make- up artist for Sheer Cover, said: "For busy mums, it's important that they look and feel the best they can. You only need 10 minutes to get up and glow." <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday MAD AND VERY BAD BYLINE: Compiled by SIMON EDGE SECTION: NEWS; 34 LENGTH: 572 words> Do dictators, from Genghis Khan to Gaddafi, start off crazy or just end up that way? HEROD THE GREAT Emperor of Rome from 37-41AD An insecure and highly strung young man who succeeded his great-uncle Tiberius at the age of 24 and has become a byword for cruelty and madness. Popular at first, he suffered a serious illness six months into his reign and then degenerated into paranoia. Madly extravagant, he issued dinner invitations in the name of his favourite race-horse and fed criminals to the lions. He made all Romans, including the Senate, address him as a living god and had several senators executed. He was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, along with his wife and daughter, just four years into his reign. VLAD THE IMPALER A warrior ruler who unsuccessfully fought to free his country from Ottoman rule and who was known for savage civilian massacres. His surname Dracula inspired Bram Stoker to create his vampire count. His favoured method of execution was impalement on a stake. Death was slow and agonising. Vlad once held a feast in a forest of impaled enemies. When a servant held his nose because of the stench, Vlad had him impaled on the highest stake where the smell wouldn't bother him. He was killed fighting the Ottomans near Bucharest in 1476. TOMAS DE TORQUEMADA Queen of England from 1553-58 The only child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon who set about returning the Church of England to Rome. She had 283 Protestants executed for heresy during her fiveyear reign. The Archbishop of Canterbury was forced to watch the Bishop of London and the former Bishop of Worcester being burned at the stake. She died at 42, possibly of uterine cancer. FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ King of Belgium from 1865-1909 The first cousin of Queen Victoria, chiefly remembered as the most brutal imperialist of his generation, setting up a private state in the Congo for his own gain. Ruling the African territory with a private mercenary army, he forced the native population into slavery. Brutality was widespread and up to 15 million people are estimated to have died. His parliament forced the king to cede the Congo to the Belgian government. He died in his palace near Brussels at the age of 74. His funeral procession was booed. JOSEPH STALIN Führer of Germany from 1933-45 An ill-educated, third-rate painter from Austria, Hitler was a messianic tyrant who convinced millions to follow him in his drive to restore Germany to "Aryan" glory. His Nazi forces systematically murdered 17 million people, including six million Jews gassed in death camps, plus unknown numbers of gypsies and homosexuals. He shot himself in his Berlin bunker as the city fell to the Allies. POL POT President of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1965-97 The son of a hotel cook, he seized control of a country rich in diamonds, copper and gold and set about embezzling as much as GBP 3billion - leaving the rest of the country mired in poverty. A vain showman, he staged hangings of his political enemies in front of huge audiences and hosted the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman; the stadium where the fight was held doubled as a massive prison. He liked to charter Concorde to fly him to one of his residences in Paris, the Cote d'Azur, Brussels, the Algarve, Switzerland, Cape Town, the Cape Winelands and the Ivory Coast. Overthrown in 1997, he died of cancer in Morocco four months later. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday ANALYSIS BYLINE: DR MA RUEHL SECTION: NEWS; 35 LENGTH: 331 words> THE label "mad dictator" has been applied to numerous rulers of the past hundred years, from Stalin and Hitler to François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and Idi Amin. Recent examples include Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong-il and Muammar Gaddafi. As far as I can see, it is generally representatives of the media who use this expression to denounce a (more often than not: non-Western) despot. Their underlying assumption seems to be that certain political actions are abhorrent or eccentric to such a degree that they could only be the manifestations of an inherently deranged mind. But the term "mad dictator" also suggests that autocratic rule breeds or at least exacerbates insane behaviour; that absolute power, to adapt a famous dictum by Lord Acton, corrupts so absolutely that it even unhinges the mind of the one who wields it. Most historians would be wary of using this label. What do we learn about the "mind of Adolf Hitler", say, by calling it "demented" or "pathological"? We may want to regard as "mad" the dictator's fanatical belief in his own charisma, his "divine mission" - but it is precisely this belief in himself that makes his followers believe in him. There are other reasons why I think we should discard the label "mad dictator". Modern tyrants generally come to power at a moment of crisis. The lack of security and stability that characterises their rule will bring forth certain forms of behaviour that some might deem amoral, abhorrent or "mad". But the despot who claims and maintains power under such circumstances is likely to develop skills not familiar to the parliamentarian office-holder. Those skills make him dangerous, and more of a force to be reckoned with than the epithet "mad" would suggest. The label is misleading also insofar as it implies a lack of moral culpability. The "madman" after all cannot be held responsible for his actions. If we want to confront and, eventually, judge them, surely we ought to take the "mad dictators" of our time more seriously. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday New life for dormant funds; YOUR MONEY BYLINE: By Esther Shaw SECTION: FINANCE; 43 LENGTH: 425 words> But you will still be able to claim forgotten cash. By Esther Shaw THE Government is set to use unclaimed deposits for good causes, but customers will still be able to come forward to reclaim their forgotten cash as the money will be held in a central pot. The Reclaim Fund, established earlier this week, will manage up to GBP 400 million from "dormant" accounts that have not been accessed for 15 years. Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) will administer the pooled funds, having gained approval from City watchdog the Financial Services Authority. It will not benefit financially, however, as the fund will be run as a non-profit organisation. The Co-op will be responsible for transferring the money from dormant accounts while ensuring there is sufficient cash held in the fund to pay any missing account holders who later find they have money in a forgotten account. The fund will transfer any money considered surplus to that needed for customer reunification to the Big Lottery Fund for distribution to good causes, including social enterprises, charities, voluntary groups and the Big Society Bank in England. It is estimated the first distribution to the fund will be in the region of GBP 60-GBP 100 million over the next 12 months. The Co-op was keen to point out that bank and building society customers will still be able to reclaim their dormant account money at any point in time. Paul Mills, executive director of the Reclaim Fund, said: "While we will give as much money as possible to the Big Lottery Fund, we will also be prudent in keeping back enough for customers who come forward to claim accounts." Building Societies Association (BSA) director general Adrian Coles said: "This is an important milestone for the Dormant Accounts Scheme, whereby money in accounts with no activity of 15 years or more will be made available to charitable causes. "In readiness for the scheme, BSA members have made considerable efforts to track down savers whose accounts are dormant. Since 2008, mutuals have reunited about GBP 65 million across 200,000 accounts. BSA members estimate GBP 115 million is still lying dormant in accounts." If you think you may have forgotten about an old account, you should contact your bank or building society directly. You can also make use of My Lost Account, the free tracing service run by banks, buildin g societies and National Savings & Investments. To launch a search include as much detail as you can on the online form. You should hear back within three months. For more information go to www.mylostaccount.org.uk. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Making time holds key to Gemma's care plan; YOUR MONEY BYLINE: Maisha Frost SECTION: FINANCE; 46 LENGTH: 403 words> Agency fulfils needs of dementia patients, says Maisha Frost HOME is at the heart of a young entrepreneur's business that cares for older people with dementia. Gemma Uglow's agency Forget Me Not Care provides extra daily help so people can still enjoy the one thing they most want: to live in their own homes. In a deliberate move away from the short, perfunctory visits offered by other agencies, 21-year-old Uglow saw room in the market for a different kind of service, that could meet emotional and social needs of customers at prices they or their families could afford. The minimum time she and her small team spend with a client is two hours, with the maximum 20 hours including an overnight stay. "Forget Me Not builds meaningful relationships with its clients so they know and trust us, " she explains. "It is more than just physical care. We keep them company and interested, cook, do their shopping, make sure they get to appointments, calm them down if necessary or watch over them during the night." Forget Me Not is in the process of being registered with the sector's supervisory body, the Care Quality Commission. Once approved it will be able extend its services to personal care as well, helping clients with washing and taking medication. Working within a 15-mile radius of its base in Solihull, in the West Midlands, the enterprise is the only agency of its kind in the Heart of England area, says Uglow, who expects a GBP 70,000 first-year turnover after launching last autumn. The agency now employs three full-time workers and is recruiting another three. Competitive pricing has also been one of its strong selling points and should help it forge strategic partnerships in future. "The dementia problem is growing as people live longer but pressure to cut costs is rising too, " says Uglow. "Our average fee is about GBP 300 a week, whereas the charges in a home are nearer GBP 450. That's why I think the business has a future. "My plan is definitely to expand, perhaps to team up with another agency offering physical care, then we would have a complete package. Forget Me Not will always be cost-effective, not least because many people do not degenerate so quickly when they are able to continue living in their own homes. "My day starts at 6am and can go on to 8pm but I never regret one hour of it. At last I have got the kind of job satisfaction I only used to dream of." <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Prince's Trust loan boost for start-up; YOUR MONEY SECTION: FINANCE; 46 LENGTH: 183 words> ALTHOUGH always interested in the care sector and with some basic qualifications, Forget Me Not boss Gemma Uglow struggled to find work after family problems forced her to cut short her nursing training. Temporary jobs with other agencies convinced her that the only way to get the kind of professional satisfaction she wanted was if she did it herself but with no money, no bank would help her. However, The Prince's Trust, a charity founded by Prince Charles which helps disadvantaged young people set up in business, saw the potential in Uglow's proposition. She has now joined the 6,000 people the charity helps every year when it loaned her GBP 3,200, sent her on a week-long management course and provided her with on-going mentoring. "I couldn't have achieved this without the Trust, " says Uglow. In its recent report Today's Young People: Tomorrow's Economy The Trust estimates that the number of people it has helped so far through its enterprise programme could bring more than GBP 26 million into the UK economy by 2014. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Now Wolseley weighs up its return to UK; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE SECTION: CITY; 62 LENGTH: 214 words> BUILDERS' merchant Wolseley may return to the UK after becoming the latest company to endorse last week's budget corporation tax cut, writes David Craik. It moved its base to Switzerland last year to take advantage of lower business taxes but yesterday welcomed Chancellor George Osborne's vow to cut corporation tax by 5 per cent over the next four years to tempt firms back home. Chief executive Ian Meakins said: "We like the direction o f travel but we need to look at every area of the legislation. We will have a think about it." Last week advertising giant WPP and United Business Media, which both moved to Ireland for lower taxes, said they were considering returning. Wolseley, which trades as Plumb Center and Build Center, returned to the black with first-half pre-tax profits o f GBP 195million, up from a GBP 261million loss last time, on sales 5 per cent higher at GBP 6.62billion. It said construction markets had "stabilised" with demand particularly strong for repair and maintenance projects "We see slow, steady recovery, particularly in the US, " said Meakins. "We are a bit more concerned about the UK. People are waiting for the impact o f the recent VAT increases and government spending cuts." Wolseley restored a dividend of 15p per share. Its shares rose 65p to 2154p. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Thomas Cook hit as Britons stay at home; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE BYLINE: By Andrew Johnson SECTION: CITY; 62 LENGTH: 355 words> BRITS are cutting back on holidays abroad in the face of spending cuts, rising inflation and political turmoil, travel group Thomas Cook announced yesterday. The company said demand for foreign holidays in the UK had fallen sharply, forcing the company to slash the number it is offering customers. It confirmed a GBP 20million hit from events in North Africa and the Middle East, which has resulted in 150,000 cancellations of holidays to Egypt and Tunisia. Chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said bookings had held up well in other key markets, such as Germany and northern Europe. "It was a weaker picture in the UK, where recent trading has also been affected by fragile consumer sentiment, " he said. "We have taken a more prudent approach to capacity." The company said bookings in the UK had "slowed noticeably". The shares slipped 13/4p to 165p. Summer bookings are now running only 1 per cent ahead of last year, compared with 6 per cent when the firm last updated the market in early February, indicating a sharp slowdown in sales over the past two months. It has cut the number of holidays on offer by 1 per cent on last year. Consumers have traditionally been reluctant to give up their summer holidays but have been feeling the squeeze from rising food and oil prices, higher VAT rates and low wages growth. They are also worried about job losses as the Government wields the axe. The company's merger with The Cooperative Group's travel business, which would have boosted sales, has also been delayed while the Competition Commission investigates. Thomas Cook said many restrictions on travel to Egypt and Tunisia had now been lifted and hoteliers are offering "attractive discounts to rebuild confidence in the area". The problems also hit business in Europe because North Africa is a favourite holiday destination for the French and Belgians. However, there were some bright spots. Trading is stronger in central Europe, with sales to Germany, Austria and Switzerland 4 per cent higher than a year ago, while those in northern Europe are 11 per cent up. The company now generates about two-thirds of its sales outside the UK. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Austerity spells profit for Merlin; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE SECTION: CITY; 62 LENGTH: 86 words> MERLIN Entertainments said people were flocking to its theme parks such as Alton Towers and Legoland to escape the economic gloom, boosting annual profits 9 per cent to GBP 255.8million on sales 4 per cent higher at GBP 800.8million. Visitor numbers rocketed by 2.5million to 41million. "People have cut the home improvement and the foreign holiday but they still want to take the kids out, " said chief executive Nick Varney. He said Merlin was still considering a stockmarket listing after abandoning plans last year. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Mouchel rejects bids; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE SECTION: CITY; 62 LENGTH: 178 words> SUPPORT services group Mouchel saw shares tumble yesterday after it knocked back two takeover bids and reported weak first-half results. The company fell 481/2p to 99p, valuing the group at GBP 111million, after it dismissed a 135p-a-share cash and shares offer from rival Interserve as too cheap and said a 153p-a-share bid from Costain was too risky. Its announcement came as the firm said pre-tax losses had narrowed from GBP 3.5million to GBP 1.5million on revenues down 13 per cent to GBP 270million for the six months to January. Mouchel said the two approaches had been an "unwelcome disruption" to the business as it grappled with a feeble economy and Government cuts The firm provides a range of services, including parking enforcement and highway maintenance, to councils and Government. Chief executive Richard Cuthbert said the company saw "some benefit" to being part of a larger group but the "significant integration risks and prospective valuation" meant neither bid would work. The company said it had talked to leading shareholders, who supported the decision. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Pret's US salad days; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE SECTION: CITY; 62 LENGTH: 181 words> SANDWICH chain Pret A Manger hailed a "breakthrough" in the US yesterday as strong demand for salads and filter coffee helped sales soar. The company, which has opened 31 stores in New York, Washington and Chicago in 10 years, said it had "slowly learned" what US customers wanted. "They prefer salads to sandwiches and filter coffee to espressos, " said chief executive Clive Schlee. "They get us now and we are building a sizeable business there." It will open 10 new US stores this year with 20 in the UK, creating 700 new jobs. It will also open for the first time in France. Pret, with more than half of its 262 worldwide stores in London, said annual profits rose 37 per cent to GBP 46.1million on sales 17 per cent higher at GBP 327.5million. Budget products such as GBP 1.50 egg sandwiches and new offerings including porridge had helped defy the downturn. "We are now selling over 50,000 bowls of porridge a week " Schlee said. Pret, bought by private equity firm Bridgepoint in 2008, said it had no plans to float on the stock market. "We are focused on growing the business, " Schlee said. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Shake-up call at Nat Express; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE BYLINE: By Andrew Johnson SECTION: CITY; 63 LENGTH: 291 words> ONE of National Express's largest shareholders is pushing for a major boardroom shake-up to pave the way for a strategic review of the bus and train group's operations. American hedge fund Elliott Ad visors, which owns 17 per cent of the company, has written to fellow investors to urge them to vote at the annual meeting in May for three new nonexecutives it is putting forward. It will also vote against the only non-executive standing for re-election, Roger Devlin. The shares rose 11/4p to 2431/4p. The move comes a week after National Express failed to make the shortlist to run the Greater Anglia rail franchise, despite the firm being the current operator. Elliott said it was happy with the progress made under Dean Finch since he became chief executive a year ago. But it fears the group risks being too small to compete effectively with the large state-backed firms now moving into the UK, such as Germany's Deutsche Bahn and France's SNCF. It wants the group to investigate ways of growing more aggressively in the US and emerging markets. It is believed a strategic review would also consider whether National Express should be sold or merged with another group. National Express said it had already begun a review of the board's composition and had launched a hunt for new "fully independent non-executive directors" to "represent the interests of all its shareholders" and support the business through its next stage. Elliott is the company's second biggest investor after Spain's Cosmen family. It insisted its nominees were independent. They are Javier Alarco Canosa, of Spanish bank BBVA, Marc Mehoyas, the managing partner of investment firm Greybull Capital and Chris Muntwyler, the chief executive of Swiss management consultant Conlogic. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday BRITISH BUSES JUST THE TICKET FOR FIRST GROUP IN GBP 160M ORDER; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE SECTION: CITY; 63 LENGTH: 145 words> BUS operator First Group showed its faith in British engineering yesterday by placing a record GBP 160million order for 955 new buses to tap into soaring passenger demand. The order, the largest made in the British bus sector, will safeguard hundreds of jobs at bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis based in Falkirk, Central Scotland, and Wrightbus, based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. "We looked at foreign operators but we are committed to the British bus business, " said Giles Fearnley, managing director of First UK Bus - pictured below. Colin Robertson, chief executive of Alexander Dennis, said: "This represents a shot-in the-arm for the bus manufacturing sector." The buses, including 200 to transport spectators to the Olympics, will be rolled out from next month. Fearnley said: "High prices at the petrol pump are persuading more people to look at public transport." <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday MARKET REPORT -Bid talk lifts Home Retail; CITY & BUSINESS EDITED BY PETER CUNLIFFE BYLINE: by DAVID SHAND SECTION: CITY; 63 LENGTH: 425 words> HOME Retail Group was marked up 4p to 201 p yesterday on rehashed gossip that the Argos and Homebase operator is on the shopping list of US retail giant Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's UK business Asda and other big supermarket chains were outshone by discount grocery chains such as Lidl and Aldi in the first quarter, according to market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel Sainsbury's fell 4 p to 338p, while Tesco and Wm Morrison lost 2p to 386 p and 1 p to 268 p. Marks & Spencer was discounted 2p to 351 p as broker SG reckoned next week's trading update would show "a painful quarter for clothing". Barclays was 6 p in the red at 286p as UBS said it was "mired in the fog of regulator uncertainty" and should consider shifting domicile. Analyst John-Paul Crutchley argued: "While staff compensation is driven by international comparisons, rewards to shareholders look increasingly determined by local regulators. "While we believe shareholders may well be willing to accept a temporary disconnect between these, if the choice of corporate location for Barclays continues to frustrate longer-term potential returns relative to its global peers, we see little option for Barclays but to reconsider domicile." The banking giant was joint-top blue-chip casualty with BP, down 10 p to 466 p amid reports its managers could face manslaughter charges following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The FTSE 100 Index rose 27.68 points to 5932.17, supported by the heavyweight mining sector where Rio Tinto added 87p to 4366p as it said it would press ahead with its $4billion (GBP 2.5billion) takeover offer for Mozambique-focused coal miner Riversdale despite failing to gain a controlling stake. CPP Group, which provides credit card and identity theft protection, plunged 130p to 150p on the back of a profits warning after it said it is being investigated by the Financial Services Authority over issues surrounding the sale of such products. Homewares retailer Dunelm Group climbed 9 p to 420p as UBS told clients to buy with a 500p price target, while bullish comments from Morgan Stanley lifted fashion chain Next 41p to 2065p. But babycare products retailer Mothercare retreated 25 p to 452p amid fears that tomorrow's trading update could disappoint. Engineer Charter International strengthened 20p to 795p as the market warmed to its 100 million euros (GBP 88million) acquisition of Thomassen Compression Systems, which provides compressors to the oil and gas and petrochemical industries. By close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 81.13 points higher at 12,279.01. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday MARKET REPORT -SMALL COMPANIES ROUNDUP BYLINE: by DAVID SHAND SECTION: CITY; 63 LENGTH: 141 words> CIRCLE Oil flowed 1.13p positive to 35 p yesterday on brisk trading as traders reckoned a forthcoming drilling programme in Oman could be transformational for the company, which also has a big concession in Egypt. Botswana Diamonds rose 0.88p to 5p as chairman John Teeling bought 3.95 million shares at 4 p to nearly double his stake to 7.95 per cent, while Hardy Oil & Gas was 15p slicker at 181p on deal hopes. Eruma, the specialist provider of counter terrorism and intruder prevention products, advanced p to 6p after GBP 170,000-plus contract wins, while positive results from its flagship Araguaia nickel project in Brazil lifted Horizonte Minerals 1 p to 22p. Mobile marketing firm InternetQ rose 19 p to 177 p as its maiden annual figures since its December Aim listing showed revenues that more than doubled to a total of 35.5 million euros. <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Don't Hooray to back her BYLINE: By Mark Jeffreys SECTION: CITY; 68 LENGTH: 264 words> SIR Mark Prescott has all but written off his chances of winning a first home Classic with his toprated filly Hooray in the Qipco 1,000 Guineas on May 1. Confidential Lady went closest for Prescott when runner-up to Speciosa in the same race five y ears ago before earning the Newmarket handler his first Classic in the French Oaks. But he says the odds are stacked against last season's highest-rated j uvenile filly breaking his domestic Classics duck. "She has come back wonderfully well but she hasn't grown at all, " said Prescott. "Her family very often don't train on and I have had quite a few of them. She hasn't particularly thrived since I've started to work her and she is not eating as well as I would have liked. I wouldn't be backing her. Her time is probably later in the year. I'll see how she does this week - if she thrives we'll keep going and if she doesn't we'll stop and wait for something else. I'm not going to push her." Prescott says Hooray and Confidential Lady are like chalk and cheese. "Confidential Lady was a big, strong, filly, a tremendous eater and was bound to improve from two to three. but didn't have Hooray's form. She was also dead easy to train whereas this filly is a trainer's exam question." Fellow Newmarket trainer David Simcock intends to run Dewhurst flop Dream Ahead, a dual Group One winner last season, in the 2,000 Guineas on April 30, but has warned he will not risk the colt on fast ground. Simcock said: "I want to run in the 2,000 for many reasons but if things aren't right - notably the ground - then we will look at Ireland and France." <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Nick won't stay with Gunners BYLINE: By David Kelso SECTION: SPORT; 70 LENGTH: 239 words> EDINBURGH last night launched another hunt for a new boss after Nick Scrivener revealed he is heading home to Australia. Scrivener had been tipped to land the head coaching role permanently after taking the job on an interim basis when Rob Moffat was sacked at the start of the year. But the Scotland A supremo has opted to return Down Under for the sake of his family. Scrivener's departure at the end of the season will bring to an end a two-year association with the capital club, where he initially acted as defence specialist. He said: "My wife and daughters have made huge sacrifices to support me in the last couple of years, and having had the chance to further discuss our future with them, I've chosen to withdraw my application for the head coach post." Meanwhile, Alan Tait has rejected the notion that the prop Euan Murray's Scotland career is hanging by a thread. Murray struggled in the first two Six Nations games against France and Wales, then failed to win bac k his starting slot after opting out o f the Sunday clashes with Ireland and England due to his faith. Tait, who snapped him up for Newcastle from Northampton, said: "He didn't get a match for two-and-a-half months before he came here, had one game for us and was suddenly playin g international rugby. "Euan knows more than I do that on the Test stage you have to be match-fit. He'll go back to Scotland a different player again and they will benefit from that." <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Murray hunting for a new coach BYLINE: By Keir Scott SECTION: SPORT; 71 LENGTH: 527 words> ANDY MURRAY appears to have paved the way for the appointment of a new coach after announcing his split from his parttime consultant Alex Corretja. The Spaniard began working with Murray three y ears ago, initially as a claycourt specialist to help the world No 5 improve on his least favourite surface. Murray stressed that the decision was mutual, saying: "I've had a really good relationship with Alex over the past three years. "I have learned so much from being around him and I want to thank him for his hard work, enthusiasm, dedication and support. "He has been a great friend as well as a mentor to me and we've shared lots of success and good times both on and off the court." Murray's coaching situation, which he is now reviewing, has come under an increasingly bright spotlight during his current terrible run of form. After reaching the final of the Australian Open in January then surrendering meekly to Novak Djokovic, the Scot has lost his first match at three consecutive events. The two most recent of those were defeats by Donald Y oung and Alex Bogomolov Jnr, both ranked outside the top 100, at the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. Two years ago Murray won the Miami tournament, his biggest title to date, but his performance this time was of a man struggling to find any semblance of form. The British No 1 confirmed last week that Dani Vallverdu, who he met while they were both juniors at the SanchezCasal Academy in Barcelona and who has become an increasingly important member of his team, would travel with him to most tournaments. The Venezuelan, though, has only minimal experience of playing on the professional tour and the clamour for Murray to appoint an experienced coach has grown ever louder. The likes of Darren Cahill and Bob Brett have been mentioned, while this week there were claims eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl was interested in the post. The former world No 1 lost his first four major finals and is thought to be a figure that Murray, winless in three finals, would consider working with. Corretja, a two-time French Open runner-up and former world No 2, gradually expanded his role to other surfaces and it was a difference of opinion over this situation that was at the root of Murray's split from full-time coach and fellow Scot Miles Maclagan last July. Rather than taking over from Maclagan, the Spaniard simply continued in his part-time position, but that arrangement has now come to an end. Corretja said: "Helping Andy has been a great experience for me. He's got great talent and can be one of the best on any surface. "I am very thankful to him for his confidence and trust during this time and also to his family, and the rest of Andy's team. "I wish Andy, his family and all his team all the best both personally and professionally." The 23-year-old is set to return to action on clay at the Barcelona Open beginning on April 18. Murray, meanwhile, has been encouraged to add a coach to his team by brother Jamie. The doubles specialist admitted: "Andy could do with some advice from the right person. "He is good enough to get to that next level, but he needs that something extra that's missing." <The Express March 30, 2011 Wednesday Ponting calls it quits as skipper BYLINE: By Sean Taylor SECTION: SPORT; 71 LENGTH: 282 words> RICKY PONTING has brought down the curtain on his spell as Australia captain. Ponting, who intends to carry on as a player under his successor, bows out having won 48 of 77 Tests in charge. He also led his country to two World Cup titles. His critics point to his record as the only Australia captain to suffer three Ashes defeats but another former skipper, Allan Border, led the tributes. "I fully support Ricky's decision to relinquish the captaincy of the Test and one-day sides - and I don't think it will be an issue at all if he continues to play as a batsman under Michael Clarke or another captain's leadership, " said Border. "He is still in the top six batsmen in the country and showed in the World Cup quarter-final against India that he still has what it takes to play at international level, so I don't think him playing on should be debated." Ponting, 36, has backed Michael Clarke to take on the leadership role, and defended his record as skipper. Australia's most prolific run-scorer, who steps down after nine years as one-day captain and seven years as Test skipper, said: "It's funny how we talk about losing the Ashes three times. "Playing in three World Cup-winning teams never comes up very often, winning 16 consecutive Test matches doesn't come up very often, winning 30-odd consecutive World Cup games doesn't come up very often, but that's the world we live in." Meanwhile, Sri Lanka reached the World Cup Final after defeating New Zealand by five wickets yesterday. The Black Caps slipped from 161 for four to 217 all out, Scott Styris top scoring with 57. In the run chase, halfcenturies by Tillakaratne Dilshan and skipper Kumar Sangakkara eased the home side to victory. <The Express March 29, 2011 Tuesday THE GREAT CLASS HEALTH DIVIDE; YOUR HEALTH BYLINE: JANE SYMONS SECTION: FEATURES; 32 LENGTH: 1761 words> Although the average Briton now lives to 80, life span also depends on how well-off you are, says JANE SYMONS AS THE nation gears up for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, science is revealing that the young couple have more than their love to celebrate. When it comes to wellbeing, their comfortable backgrounds mean that William and Kate have been born extremely lucky. As members of the Royal Family they can expect to enjoy long and healthy lives, unlike their television fictional namesakes the Royle family, whose working-class roots and couch-potato lifestyle could cut short their lives by a decade. The royals are famously long-lived. William's great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 101 while his grandmother The Queen is 84 and shows no sign of being ready for retirement. The family appears blessed with good genes and their love of horse riding and other outdoor pursuits provides a health boost but Office for National Statistics figures show that social class counts for a lot when it comes to health. Their neighbours in upmarket Kensington and Chelsea enjoy the highest life expectancy in the UK. Residents can expect to live to 86.7 years, 10 years more than those living in Manchester, where the Royle family holds court in front of the telly. Predominantly working-class Glasgow has the lowest life expectancy in the UK, with an average of just 74.3 years. Here we look at some of the ways social class affects our health and what we can do in order to swing the odds in our favour. PRINCE OF HEARTS It's a myth that only high-flying businessmen and bankers chasing bumper bonuses are the most likely to suffer stress-induced heart problems. The lower your position in the employment pecking order, the greater your risk of heart disease and other problems. A study of 10,308 civil servants aged 35 to 55 found men with chronic work stress had twice the incidence of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors which increase the chance of cardiac disease and diabetes. While an American study of 17,000 women with stressful jobs found their risk of having a heart attack was 88 per cent higher, they were 40 per cent more likely to have coronary disease and their odds of needing cardiac surgery were 43 per cent higher than average. It all comes down to your definition of stress. In medical terms it means having a job with little creative control, few rewards and no power to make decisions. This sort of long-term tension means the body is constantly awash with hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline which are part of our primitive "fight or flight" response. Short bursts are fine which is why successful entrepreneurs and other deal-makers may have regular surges of adrenaline but rarely develop stress-induced heart problems. However stress is not the only factor that places people from less-privileged backgrounds at a greater disadvantage when it comes to heart disease. Researchers at the Institute of Child Health who tracked 9,377 children born in 1958, found children from poorer homes grew up to have higher levels of obesity, cholesterol problems and hypertension, all key risk factors. The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found making improvements to your lot financially also improved your health but did not wipe out the deficit. Class action: Walk to unwind. The exercise will help burn off stress chemicals and if you maintain a pace which keeps you slightly out of breath, will provide a cardio workout. A breakfast of wholegrain cereal will help lower cholesterol. FAT CHANCE Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and a host of other health problems and your postcode can predict your chance of being obese. Using data from GP practices, health analysts Dr Foster compiled a fat-map of Britain which revealed the Shetland Isles, parts of Wales and the North-east have the highest levels of obesity. In the Shetlands, where it's estimated that one-in-four households lives in poverty, 15.5 per cent of patients were clinically obese, more than three times the number in affluent parts of London and the Home Counties. In what were once the heartlands of mining and heavy industry in Wales and the North-east, one-in-10 people were classed as dangerously overweight. Studies of child obesity reveal a similar pattern. Girls from working-class backgrounds are one-and-a-half times more likely to be obese than those from well-off families. Among boys, the gap is 0.6 per cent. Economic divisions are increasing this health divide, according to researchers at University College London. Their study shows the incidence of child obesity is slowing in well-off areas but in poorer ones it is on track to double. By 2015 they predict 11.2 per cent of girls from lower-class backgrounds will be obese compared to just 5.4 per cent from the families of professionals. Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum says: "It is often quite expensive and time-consuming to buy healthy food and that puts wealthier parents at an advantage." Market insight group TNS found only one in every eight of us hits the recommended target of five servings of fruit and vegetables a day but the more affluent we are, the more we eat. Class action: The secret to long-term weight control is simple: finding the right balance between calories in and calories burnt. Keep a food diary for a week to identify calories that are easy to cut. Milky coffees, wine and other drinks can pile on the pounds. MIND THE AGE GAP Studies of DNA taken from more than 1,500 volunteers revealed that those who struggle to make ends meet get old before their time. Not having enough money accelerates the ageing process say researchers, who analysed key pieces of DNA known as telomeres. Telomeres are repeat sequences of genetic code which sit at the ends of chromosomes, protecting our genetic data. As we age they become shorter, leaving our chromosomes vulnerable to damage and cell death, the triggers for ageing and disease. Lifestyle factors such as obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking are known to hasten the shortening of these telomeres but even after accounting for these, a study in the journal Aging Cell found that coming from an impoverished background cuts seven years from your life. To double-check their findings, the researchers looked at telomeres from 17 pairs of identical twins who had taken different paths as adults, with one moving into a different social class. Then the gap was even bigger, with the telomeres of better-off twins nine years younger on average. Professor Tim Spector who led the study says: "Not only does social class affect health and age-related disease but it seems to have an impact on the ageing process itself." He believes money and job worries probably explain the divide. "The strain of being in that job, the effort-reward imbalance, self-esteem and the psychological stress of having lots of areas you cannot control in your life are perhaps more important than we have realised." Class action: You can't change your DNA but you can reduce damage from smoking, alcohol and poor diet. WHEN LIFE'S A PAIN Long-term pain can be more difficult to handle if your life is hard too. An American study looking at the impact of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease associated with chronic discomfort and disability, found a link between patients' ability to cope and their position in life. Depression is common in people with RA, with research showing that anywhere between one in 10 and four in 10 patients with the condition also experience low moods. However a recent study of more than 800 patients carried out for the American College of Rheumatology found those with the lowest social status were 50 per cent more likely to suffer a bout of the blues. Dr Mary Margaretten, the University of California researcher who headed the project, says: "For the same level of disability, patients with low socioeconomic status may be more likely to experience depression." Class action: St John's wort is proven effective against mild to moderate depression. Regular exercise can also help beat the blues. AIRS AND GRACES There are reportedly three smokers in the Royal Family: Prince Harry, the Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Eugenie but they are not typical as government statistics reveal the posher you are, the less likely you are to light up. Only around 15 per cent of senior managers, professionals and others at the top of the social pecking order smoke, compared with around 40 per cent of unskilled workers on low wages or benefits, such as chain-smoking Royles, Barbara and Denise. Three times as many women in manual jobs or those dependent on benefits, smoke during pregnancy as those in supervisory or professional roles. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are also slightly more likely to start smoking than their more affluent counterparts but by the time they are 30 the gap is wider, as those from richer families are twice as likely to have quit. Even if they resist the temptation to start, children from less well-off families are more likely to suffer health problems such as glue ear as a result of passive smoking. Some researchers have found a link between social class and a higher incidence of asthma. Pollution is the most likely trigger, with one German study showing that children who grow up in heavily polluted inner-city environments are twice as likely to develop breathing problems as those who grow up in leafy suburbs with clean air. Class action: Increase your intake of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains and oily fish. SIP CODES Britain's biggest boozers are now middle-class drinkers who unwind with a bottle or two of wine. A study which analysed figures from every local authority in the country found the worst rates of dangerous drinking, defined as between 22 and 50 units a week for men and 15 to 35 for women, in some of the nation's most sought-after postcodes. Booze blackspots include the well-off spa town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, Runnymede in Surrey, where a detached family home costs around GBP 750,000 and Guildford and Mole Valley, also in the well-heeled commuter belt of Surrey. However, a recent study in the journal Alcohol And Alcoholism warned working-class people are more likely to die from cirrhosis of the liver. Researchers suggest this may be because they are more likely to binge drink and down booze without food, while the well-to-do tend to drink with a meal. <The Express March 29, 2011 Tuesday Health news IN BRIEF...; YOUR HEALTH SECTION: FEATURES; 35 LENGTH: 160 words> BIRTH LINKS TO ALLERGIES FIRSTBORN children are more likely to suffer allergies than younger siblings, a study has revealed. Researchers found multiple births boost the immune system in the womb, which is then transferred to the baby. So second and third children are less likely to suffer hay fever or food allergies. Scientists surveyed 13,000 children aged seven to 15 asking parents the order of their children and what allergies they had. Four per cent of firstborns had conjunctivitis, rhinitis and food allergies, against 3.5 per cent of second and 2.6 per cent of third children. Dr Takashi Kusunoki, who led the study for the Shiga Medical Center for Children and Kyoto University in Japan, said: "Individuals with increased birth order have a smaller risk of allergy." Scientists also cite the "hygiene hypothesis", where nervous first-time parents over-sterilise. Subsequent children build a stronger immune system after being exposed to more germs in the home. <The Express March 29, 2011 Tuesday NHS saved me from Cairo bullet nightmare; YOUR HEALTH SECTION: FEATURES; 36 LENGTH: 829 words> After being shot in the eye in the Egyptian uprising, GAVIN ASCOTT's sight was only restored due to the skill of British surgeons STANDING amid the tanks and smoke in Cairo's Tahrir Square, Gavin Ascott paused to take in the chaos he was witnessing. What had started as peaceful demonstrations had deteriorated into vicious battles as tens of thousands of protesters demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule clashed with police. When he heard about the unrest on January 28, dubbed the Day of Rage, Gavin, who had been living in Cairo for eight years, rushed to the square to see what he could do to help. "I was not taking sides, " says the 35-year-old teacher. "I just wanted to help encourage a more peaceful atmosphere." As he handed out water to both protesters and police, Gavin heard a sudden bang and felt a searing pain in his left eye as he collapsed. When he tried to open his eye, he could not see. The former business consultant originally from Wood Green, London, had been caught by a stray bullet which had lodged deep under his eye socket. Had it continued through to his brain he would have died instantly. It is only thanks to the skill of British surgeons that Gavin is not only alive but two months on, his vision is almost perfect. The only reminder of his ordeal is a tiny scar under his eye. At the time he had no idea he had been shot. "I was so shocked that initially I didn't register any pain, " he says. "But lying on the ground, unable to see properly in what felt like a war zone, was very frightening. I felt a warm liquid coming from my eye and heard someone shouting for an ambulance but an ambulance was clearly not going to get through the square at the time." Despite the danger, strangers rushed to help him. "They tried to get me on my feet but I collapsed, I had no strength in my body. A towel was pressed over my eye and someone put me on the back of a scooter and drove me to hospital. Without their kindness things might not have worked out so well for me." The bullet was so deep under his eye socket that doctors who treated him didn't spot it. The wound was cleaned and Gavin was sent home. "They said the bullet must have bounced out, " says Gavin. However that night Gavin began to feel an extreme pressure behind his eye. "It was so bad I could not sleep. I was in agony, so the next morning I went back to hospital and this time I was given an X-ray and that's when I found out that I had a bullet under my eye. It had wedged under the socket pushing up my eyeball slightly." Surgeons initially disagreed about whether to operate or let the swelling ease first. "They asked me to come back in three days to allow the swelling to go down." That evening Gavin called his father in the UK who tried to persuade him to return home. Gavin decided to stay, trusting the doctors who were treating him but when he returned to hospital three days later he found it closed, as staff were too frightened to work. "That was when I realised I really had to go back to the UK." HIS FATHER drove Gavin from the airport straight to The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, where surgeons were waiting to remove the bullet. "The pressure was intense by then and I didn't take any painkillers so they could see how bad it was, " says Gavin. "They told me they could get the bullet out but that I might lose my eye. By then the pressure in my head was building and I just wanted that bullet out whatever the consequences." Oral and maxillofacial surgeons Simon Holmes and Chris Bridle carried out the painstakingly delicate operation. "The bullet was a substantial lump, about 10mm by 6mm and was lodged in a mass of shredded muscle behind the eye meaning that it could not move, " says Mr Holmes. "If we didn't move it there was a risk it could lead to a bleed which would almost certainly lead to the death of the eye. However the bullet was also right next to the optic nerve and any damage to that could result in loss of sight, so it was tricky. "Because the wound was so fresh there was no thick scar tissue to get through so we were able to follow the route the bullet took to get to it. Had he come to us much later, the scar tissue would have made the operation much more difficult. As it was, the operation took 45 minutes from start to finish." Gavin was in hospital for a further three days and under observation for a month. "Initially I was seeing double but now I can see normally when I look straight ahead, " he says. "I have problems looking up as some of the muscles may have been affected but really that is no big deal. People meeting me for the first time would have no idea I had been shot." His eyesight is good enough for Gavin to be back teaching at the International School in Cairo. Despite his ordeal he appreciates just how lucky his escape was. "So many people knock the NHS, " he adds. "But it was brilliant and when you compare it to what is available elsewhere, you appreciate how good it is." <The Express March 29, 2011 Tuesday MEDICAL MYTHS; YOUR HEALTH SECTION: FEATURES; 37 LENGTH: 242 words> Does a lump in your breast always mean you have cancer? NINE in 10 breast lumps are benign or non-cancerous. They may be cysts, nipple discharges and calcification (calcium salt deposits in breast tissues) resulting from injury or bruising, hormonal changes or an infection. Yet this doesn't mean you should not get breast lumps checked out, according to GP Dr Graham Archard of the Royal College of General Practitioners. "It does mean you probably don't need to worry. The ones we get most concerned about are the ones that feel tender but even they are not necessarily cancerous, " he says. Dr Sarah Rawlings of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer says the main thing is being breast aware. "The best way to do it is to show your breast some TLC, " she says. "Can you feel anything unusual? Look for changes. Is there any change in shape or texture? "Check anything unusual with your doctor. If you want more help you can always use our iPhone app called iBreastCheck." Even if a lump does prove to be malignant it is important to remember that breast cancer is increasingly treatable. In England and Wales the drop in breast cancer mortality rates over the past 20 years has been 35 per cent and it is estimated 80 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK are still alive five years later. "We think it's due to more effective and targeted treatments, better breast screening and women being more breast aware, " says Dr Rawlings. <The Express March 29, 2011 Tuesday GETTING TO THE HEART OF MEDICAL MATTERS; YOUR HEALTH BYLINE: Dr Rosemary SECTION: FEATURES; 37 LENGTH: 665 words> Q HAVING suffered from plantar fasciitis for nearly 18 months my doctor gave me injections in my heel which helped for a while. The condition has now returned and is as painful as ever. Is there any cure? I have spent a lot of money on various insoles and wedges but nothing seems to help. A THE plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue, similar to a ligament, that runs from the bottom of the heel to the ball of the foot. It supports the arch of the foot and acts as a shock absorber. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the plantar fascia and causes pain under or just forward from the heel. The pain is usually worse when you first get out of bed or when you stretch the foot, for example when you walk up the stairs or stand on tiptoes. The condition used to be called "policeman's heel" because it is common in people who spend a lot of time on their feet. It is also common in those who do a lot of running, in women and among those aged 40 to 60. The plantar fascia takes a long time to heal and by that I mean months not weeks. That means that whatever the treatment you have to be patient. You should rest your foot and avoid excessive walking and running. Wear shoes with a cushioned heel and arch support and avoid walking barefoot on hard surfaces. Special shoe inserts and arch supports can help but they work best if you wear them all the time. If your heel is tender cut a hole in the heel pad so it does not touch anything inside your shoe. Regular exercises that gently stretch the plantar fascia can help ease the discomfort but these are best done initially under the supervision of a physiotherapist. Ask your GP for a referral. As you have discovered, steroid injections may relieve the pain for several weeks but don't always cure the problem. Other treatments that may be worth a try include wearing a special splint on your foot and lower leg overnight to slightly stretch the tendons around the ankle. In very difficult cases wearing a plaster cast for several weeks may help but this is very much a last-resort measure. Q I AM a 65-year-old retired widower. I am 6ft 1in tall and weigh 15st. I am trying to eat healthily and have restricted my intake to 1,000 calories a day but I'm not losing weight. Am I naive to think dieting this way will help me slim? A LOSING weight successfully relies on one equation: the amount of energy or calories your body uses must be greater than the amount you eat. That way your body makes up the difference by burning fat to supply energy. The number of calories you use on a day-to-day basis can be altered significantly by your activity levels. In practice it's quite difficult to lose weight if you don't exercise. If you do very little all day, at your age and weight you will only burn around 1,850 calories. If you eat around 1,500 calories a day you will be in a negative balance of about 350 calories. To get rid of 1lb of fat you need to go into a negative calorie balance of 3,500 calories which means without any exercise and on your current diet you should lose 1lb every 10 days. However eating just a couple of chocolate biscuits or having a few drinks at the weekend could easily mean you don't lose any weight at all. In practice the only way to ensure steady weight loss is to take regular exercise. To lose a steady 1lb a week you need to expend 500 calories more than you take in. You can burn 250 calories walking steadily for an hour and if you up the pace so you are a little breathless you'll burn 350 in an hour. Swimming burns around 600 calories an hour and walking around a golf course carrying clubs burns around 400 calories an hour. You need to try to do something active at least five times a week, preferably every day. The more active you are the more weight you will shed as long as you stick carefully to a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet. <The Express March 29, 2011 Tuesday Health news IN BRIEF; YOUR HEALTH SECTION: FEATURES; 38 LENGTH: 116 words> WHITE-COAT WORRIERS MANY patients believed to have hard-to-treat high blood pressure may have doctor induced nerves, a study has found. "White coat syndrome" can result in blood pressure going up when people visit a surgery. The findings, published in American Heart Association journal Hypertension, suggest around a third of patients who seem not to be responding to drugs may be affected Researchers asked patients to wear a portable device that takes readings every 20 minutes Study leader Dr Alejandro de la Sierra, from the University of Barcelona in Spain, said: "Patients benefit from knowing whether their blood pressure is normal during daily activities or needs dietary and drug measures." <Title Society: Policies should be put to the test: Public manager Author Johnson, Paul Publication title The Guardian Publication date Sep 28, 2011 Section Guardian Society Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> GP commissioning is at the heart of the government's health reform proposals. It will mean GPs taking the lead role in negotiating and buying treatment for their patients. It will cut out a layer of bureaucracy - the primary care trusts - and ensure those with the best information on their patients, and the best incentives to be efficient, are taking charge. It sounds like a good idea. The health secretary certainly thinks so. But the costs of change will be large, GPs may have neither the interest nor the expertise to make efficient commissioners, and they may struggle to negotiate effectively with the big and powerful hospital trusts. So say those against the change. The fact is, we don't know. But we could have found out. Just as new medicines are subjected to clinical trials before they are used more widely, the health reform proposals could have been piloted in some areas, their effectiveness measured and the final policy tailored accordingly. As it is, more likely than not, we'll never really know how well it worked and whether or not it was worthwhile. The same is true of swaths of government policy. We didn't know how effective rolling out children's centres across the country would be. But we could have found out before committing billions of pounds. The list is endless. Policymakers operate in a fog of ignorance about the effects of what they do. And that fog does not disperse as we try new things, because policies are rarely implemented and evaluated in a way that allows us to learn from them. That in part explains why so many debates seem never to be settled and to be so driven by ideology rather than evidence. Of course if you're a minister then piloting and evaluating policies can be immensely frustrating. You want to get on and do it. You want your name associated with a shiny new policy and you don't want to be known for trying something out, especially if it is then shown not to work. But that is a staggeringly costly and ineffective way of working. In particular, there seems to be an instinctive aversion to randomised controlled trials (RCTs). These involve trying a policy out on some people and not on others and looking at the difference in outcomes. They are the gold standard in evidence. They are routinely used in health to understand the effects of different drugs and treatments. In the UK they have been used only very rarely in other policy areas. Oddly, when it comes to developing countries, we in the west seem to take a rather different attitude. Spending supported by aid budgets is routinely subjected to rigorous evaluation, with extensive use of RCTs. The evaluations that are carried out often throw up results that provide clear signposts for future policy. Esther Duflo, this week giving the Institute for Fiscal Studies annual lecture, gives a host of examples of how we can learn about what works in Poor Economics - which she wrote with Abhijit Banerjee, her fellow professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Serious evaluation of policies across developing countries has revealed how and when primary education can be effective, what forms of health interventions work and how some of the world's poorest people can be helped to move up the ladder to higher incomes. Perhaps even more importantly it shows what doesn't work. As they put it, we need to "accept the possibility of error and subject every idea, including the most apparently commonsense ones, to rigorous empirical testing" and we must "resist the kind of lazy, formulaic thinking that reduces every problem to the same set of general principles". That may not be the most exciting call to arms. It may not set the pulse of many politicians racing. But it should be a way of working and a way of thinking that we demand of those who govern us. Just as modern medicine has (largely) accepted that progress depends on evidence of what works, so should modern government and the rest of the public services. <Title Education: Speed read Author Murray, Janet Publication title The Guardian Publication date Sep 27, 2011 Section Guardian Education Pages Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Apprentices to the stars: Nick Clegg's pledge to end unpaid internships, announced earlier this year, appears to have little sway with his Westminster colleagues. Politicians have continued to advertise unpaid roles, the most recent being Lyn Brown, the Labour MP for West Ham. Her website boasts she has "campaigned tirelessly for a living wage for all", yet she has advertised for a "voluntary Westminster worker" whose duties - including research, dealing with constituency enquiries and clerical support - sounded uncannily like a job. But the days of unpaid internships, a practice deeply ingrained in the corridors of Westminster, could be numbered. Next month sees the launch of the first parliamentary training programme. Dubbed the "school of apprentices", it will offer 16- to 19-year-olds the chance to spend up to three days a week working in Westminster, along with two days working towards a level 3 apprenticeship (equivalent to A-level) in business administration. MPs who recruit from the apprentice school will have to pay the minimum wage for apprentices (pounds 2.50 an hour) but the London living wage of pounds 8.30 an hour is recommended. The project was the idea of MP Rob Halfon and the charity New Deal of The Mind. "The aim is to open up politics to young people from a much broader background and get them a decent qualification at the same time," says Halfon. Over the past few weeks, all 650 MPs have been sent a letter asking them to take on an apprentice. So far, eight have agreed. Interestingly, with the exception of Diane Abbott, they are all Liberal Democrats or Conservatives. A further 14 have expressed a strong interest. David Cameron and Ed Miliband are said to be "thinking about it". Guided by girls' opinions: "Be prepared" may be the guides' motto, but according to new research from Girlguiding UK, girls and young women feel anything but prepared for their future education. The annual girls' attitudes survey, in its third year, canvasses the opinions of more than 1,000 girls and young women aged 7 t o 21 throughout the UK, on a range of issues, including education. This year's survey indicates the hike in university tuition fees has had an impact, with 50% of girls saying they are worried about paying for college or university fees compared to 30% last year. Two years ago, just 8% of 11- to 21-year-olds said the economic downturn had made them less likely to stay in education - this year it is 29%. <Title Coulson brought phone hacking to News of the World, says ex-reporter Author Cusick, James Publication title The Independent Publication date Nov 30, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Journalist says Brooks also knew of widespread practice and reveals Beckham was a target Two former editors of the News of the World knew the full extent of phone hacking at the tabloid but "threw reporters to the wolves" to distance themselves from the illegal practice, the Leveson Inquiry heard yesterday. In some of the most startling and controversial testimony heard since the judicial review into press ethics began, Paul McMullan, the NOTW's former deputy features editor, said Andy Coulson had "brought the practice [of illegal voicemail interception] wholesale with him when he was appointed deputy editor". In evidence which challenged the legal right to privacy and claimed dictators in China and Iran would be "laughing" at the inquiry, he said the "fairly common" practice of phone hacking was "done for the editors, Rebekah Brooks and Coulson". He branded them "scum" for "trying to drop me and my colleagues in it", but also claimed that hacking was "widespread" across Fleet Street and insisted the NOTW was "the least bad of the offenders". Asked if Ms Brooks and Mr Coulson, currently under police bail, knew voicemails were being intercepted, Mr McMullan replied: "Yes." In a challenge to years of serial denials of knowledge of phone hacking by Tom Crone, News International's former legal manager, McMullan said he was required to tape every interview he conducted. "It was Tom Crone's job to make sure anyone trying to sue was headed off at the pass because 'here's the video' or 'here's the tape'," he said. Mr McMullan worked for the NOTW for seven years, in roles including war correspondent and as one half of a double act with the infamous "Fake Sheikh" Mazher Mahmood, and was responsible for some of the paper's most high-profile stories. He admitted trying to hack into the phone of the former England football captain, David Beckham, but was caught out when Mr Beckham picked up the call. "I didn't hack his phone - in that instance," he said. It took a personal warning from Lord Leveson on self-incrimination to halt him in full flow. He later told the inquiry, during a passage on the activities of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator commissioned to hack phones by the Murdoch-owned tabloid: "It was a shame you said what you did earlier, I would have quite happily spoke more about it." Mr McMullan said a succession of UK prime ministers had "cosied up" to the Murdoch empire and accused David Cameron of effectively turning a blind eye to the criminal practices that had gone on under Mr Coulson's regime. He said the Prime Minister had ended up with "Murdoch-lite - James [Rupert's son] and Rebekah Brooks" and said Mr Cameron had been "moulded by the arch- criminal, Rebekah Brooks, the criminal-in-chief". He added that he was congratulated by Piers Morgan for having "pinched" a picture from the woman who took John Major's virginity. He defended practices of intrusion that have dominated the inquiry to date, claiming in one of his most controversial passages of exposition that "the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone was no bad thing for a well-meaning journalist to do". Mr McMullan did not condone the actual hacking, but claimed the police force looking for Milly were full of "Inspector Clouseaus". He added: "We were doing our best to find the little girl, the police were utterly incompetent." He also said the British people did not need Max Mosley to tell it what it should put in its newspapers, and said the NOTW's five million readers were the ultimate "judge and jury" of what was put on its pages. "Privacy is the space bad people need to do bad things in," he insisted. HACKED OFF THE DAY JOURNALISTS HAD THEIR SAY Journalists wanting to publish private information about individuals should have to justify what they are writing before a public interest advisory body, the Leveson Inquiry heard. Nick Davies, the Guardian reporter credited with revealing the extent of phone hacking by the News of the World, said such a body would help distinguish between what was published in the public interest and what was merely of interest to the public. He said the issue of what should and should not be published arose during coverage of the US war logs from Afghanistan obtained by WikiLeaks, when it became obvious that publishing the names of people who gave information to the coalition forces could get them killed. Davies said the private detective Glenn Mulcaire was the "facilitator" for the hacking of murdered teenager Milly Dowler's mobile but that NOTW journalists deleted some of her phone messages. Also speaking yesterday, the former Daily Star journalist Richard Peppiatt, above, claimed he received threats and may have had his phone hacked after he quit the paper in protest at what he claimed was its anti-Muslim propaganda. He claimed editorial decisions at the paper were "dictated more from the accounts and advertising departments than the newsroom floor" but added that the paper "did not really use" private detectives, adding: "I don't think that was some sort of ethical decision as much as a financial one." <Title Anger grows after Mubarak loyalist returns as leader Publication title The Independent Publication date Nov 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Military Council's choice of a new Prime Minister frustrates activists ahead of Monday's elections With tens of thousands of protesters maintaining a grip on the heart of Cairo, Egypt's frustrated revolutionaries were further angered yesterday when the country's ruling Military Council appointed a long-time Mubarak loyalist as Prime Minister despite continuing demands for a new civilian government. The appointment of Kamal el-Ganzouri, 78, was met with bemusement and dismay in Tahrir Square, where a more popular option, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, was feted, an Egyptian flag draped over his shoulders. Such is the chaos that, with little more than 48 hours to go before the first democratic elections in Egypt's history, it seems hard to believe that any such vote will really take place. With activists at at loggerheads with the military and the authorities accused of killing dozens of them, any semblance of the unity which once characterised Egypt's revolution is rapidly falling apart. Mr Ganzouri, who served as Prime Minister between 1996 and 1999, appealed to the people last night: "give me a chance". In a separate, televised statement he said the Military Council had furnished him with stronger powers than his predecessor - but few were convinced by a figure so associated with the ancien rgime. One user of Twitter wryly wondered about Mr Ganzouri's age, noting how he had been born during the time of the Great Depression. According to one military source, Mr Ganzouri was a fifth- choice candidate. The Americans have now also entered the fray, with the White House issuing a statement which appeared to correspond closely to what many of the protesters in Tahrir Square are demanding. Asking that Egypt's generals give adequate powers to the next interim government, the statement added: "We believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible." It is a line which chimes with the central demand of protesters in Tahrir Square, who want an immediate transfer of powers to an interim authority. During another rally of about 100,000 people in central Cairo yesterday, Nevine Ali, 24, a marketing employee, explained why she would be staying put in Egypt's central square. "The Military Council came from Tahrir Square," she said, referring to the 18 days of civil strife earlier this year which eventually bought Egypt's generals to power. "Without Tahrir Square, there would be no Military Council today in power. "If the protesters stay in the square they will put a lot of pressure on the government," she added. Yesterday's protest was dubbed the "Last Chance Million Man Protest", in a nod to the approaching parliamentary poll. Demonstrators camping out in central Cairo hope that, by turning the screw on Egypt's generals, they can persuade them to step down from power immediately and hand authority to the so-called interim "salvation" authority. As one flier from a group calling itself the New Republic said, activists want to stop being "exploited by the Military Council" and avoid living in a "militarised state". There is only one problem: the Military Council has effectively already torpedoed the idea, saying this week that such a move would amount to a national "betrayal". Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi has floated the possibility of taking the proposal to a referendum, yet many demonstrators believe this is nothing but a ploy to divide Egyptians. It leaves Egypt once again on the brink. A ceasefire brokered on Thursday between protesters and the police remains in place, but so do the fundamental political differences which have prolonged the conflict. "I think the revolution will continue," said Emad Gad, an Egyptian political expert who is also due to be running in Monday's parliamentary poll. "The Military Council is refusing to listen to Tahrir Square. "Up until now I cannot understand how the military will continue with elections, given the situation in Cairo and the rest of the country," he added. The past five days of rioting, which began when police violently broke up a small sit-in in Tahrir Square on Saturday morning, have culminated in the deaths of dozens of people. This came on the back of growing disaffection with the military, which culminated last month in a deadly attack on Christian demonstrators by the army in central Cairo. For many activists, yesterday's appointment of Mr Ganzouri was just the latest kick in the face from a Military Council which apparently can get little right. Yet this is not by any means the whole picture. Yesterday a counter-rally of Military Council supporters was held in a district north of Tahrir, drawing thousands of supporters. Egypt's generals have made clear they believe the protesters in Tahrir Square do not reflect the majority opinion in Egypt. In the words of retired General Sameh Seif al-Yazal, "the demonstration in Abbasiyah proves there are other opinions". If they decide to press ahead with elections on Monday, Egypt's fragile ceasefire will be sorely tested. MEDIA ANGER AT CALL TO BAR FEMALE REPORTERS A journalists' outcry forced a press rights group yesterday to withdraw advice to editors not to send female journalists to the Cairo riots. Reporters Sans Frontires (RSF) had issued a statement saying the situation in Tahrir Square was too dangerous for women following a number of sexual assaults. "For the time being [media should] stop sending female journalists to cover the situation in Egypt," the organisation said. "It is unfortunate that we have come to this but, given the violence of these assaults, there is no other solution." Its statement came after a French television journalist, Caroline Sinz, was violently molested by protesters after becoming separated from her cameraman. She said she had been assaulted in a way that "would be considered rape". An Egyptian-American journalist, Mona Eltahawy, also revealed she had been sexually assaulted this week after being arrested in downtown Cairo. But RSF received a torrent of criticism from reporters. One journalist in Cairo, Sarah Carr, tweeted: "Why are RSF telling female journos not to go to Tahrir? "They don't tell male journos not to go places cos there are bombs and guns." In the face of the criticism RSF amended its advice, instead simply urging that reporters' safety should be a priority. <Morning Star March 30, 2011 Wednesday Banditry, pure and simple BYLINE: Jeremy Corn SECTION: FEATURES LENGTH: 1072 words> The obvious divergence of the US and the leading Nato players Britain and France over Libya has as much to do with public opinion as any real debate over tactics or objectives. President Barack Obama is frightened of being involved in another war with no obvious end or clear purpose. Prime Minister David Cameron and President Nicolas Sarkozy are aware of public opinion polls. They also see an opportunity to distract public opinion with yet another display of force in a much poorer, less well-armed country. The rapid unravelling of the decisions made less than two weeks ago are becoming more apparent. The UN security council voted on establish a "no fly zone" over Libya. It was repeatedly stressed by the Prime Minister that this was a peaceful humanitarian act and not about regime change. He then, almost eight years on to the day from Tony Blair's attack on Iraq, went to opine that he would not be sorry if there was regime change as a result. Russia and China, clearly sceptical about the whole endeavour, abstained as they were assured it was a specific and limited operation that was envisaged. Within hours of the decision and announcement to Parliament, but two days before any vote, British planes unleashed a barrage of Tomahawk missiles and the US followed suit and have kept up the barrage ever since. A hundred and fifty were set off on one night alone. Each of these weapons of destruction costs around $500,000. As the 10 days of the conflict have unrolled the bombing is increasingly co-ordinated with the "rebel" forces and looks more and more as though the Nato-led forces are actually almost organising the war effort. The hell for people in the towns in both east and west of Libya continues with fighting on the streets as rival forces move in. It is a civil war. Like all wars, it is a failure of politics. The Libyan revolution of 1969 brought down the regime of King Idris, himself put on the throne by the former European colonialists only 17 years earlier in 1952. Eventually the action of the officers brought Gadaffi to the fore and with it his "green book" revolution and appeal to the rest of Africa as well as support for diverse causes all round the world. Vilified by the west and isolated, he nevertheless survived the bombing of 1986 and the economic and trade blockade. After the Iraq invasion and aware of Bush's "axis of evil" speech Gadaffi effectively manipulated a position of being at least neutral towards the west, and his country, oil-rich and very wealthy, began trading and investing. However, the largesse he showered around the world was not evenly spread in Libya and the seeds of revolt, never far below the surface, rose up in the wake of the demonstrations in Tunisia and then Egypt. The calls were of the need for jobs and a share of the wealth but also opposition to censorship and frequent abuses of the human rights of many people. The forces of the state went to Benghazi and to their surprise lost control of the city very quickly and then similar uprisings happened in all major cities. Some army defections brought weapons and the fighting intensified. Sarkozy, in particular, decided to do all he could to promote the idea of a "no fly zone" as a form of intervention and quickly the west lined up. No real or obvious effort was put in by the UN representative or indeed Arab League states to promote an internal dialogue. The more Sarkozy talked of military action the less likely any grouping in Libya was to think in terms of dialogue. Gadaffi was being backed into a corner and the "rebels" were encouraged to believe they were going to receive outside military assistance. The world's media, or most of it, dutifully came in behind the calls for intervention. Most of them conveniently ignored the absurd contradiction of the western position. Vast arms sales, oil imports and investments in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain meant there was no serious consideration of the appalling human rights records of both kingdoms. The Gulf Co-operation Council was convened to provide a handy fig leaf to give authority to the Saudi invasion of Bahrain. Deaths and human rights abuses are not peculiar to Libya but are rife across the whole region. Western military and intelligence systems maintain the most oppressive regimes in office while the opponents are either in exile, hiding or prison. The uprising across the Arab world is exciting and hopeful but does not appear to present a coherent political programme beyond opposition to autocracy. The debates now taking place with such huge intensity are being threatened by the remains of the security services in Tunisia and Egypt. There are no certainties of the immediate outcome. Beyond the north Africa/Middle East axis the killing machines of warring factions, militias or the state operate. The appalling death rates in west Africa from conflict continue to rise and there is no talk of action or involvement by the west. Last Monday in Parliament, at a meeting called by the Great Lakes Group and supported by Liberation, women described the systematic rape and torture in the mineral-rich east of the Congo. Government forces engage, with impunity, in large-scale looting, militias working in support of mining interests put their own greed ahead of protecting human rights. The UN has on the ground a 17,000-strong peacekeeping force with a mandate to use lethal force to protect civilian lives but it has failed to do this effectively. Fifty years after independence and 125 since the Belgian King Leopold was "granted" the Congo by fellow Europeans, the rape of the whole country goes on. The meeting, quite rightly, wanted to know who was making money out of the misery and why the world was so silent. Their demand, is a demand that every colonial people want an answer to. The whole history of western involvement in the Middle East is largely guided and motivated by economic interests, always backed up with the threat of force. As the delegates emerged from the London conference to discuss Libya's future there was plenty of talk of the next stage of military action, precious little talk about giving time, opportunity and space for a political settlement and non violent way forward. The toxic combination of oil, arms and self-aggrandising military adventures is once more being played out. In Parliament on Monday some MPs wanted to know about "reconstruction." How about stopping destruction instead? <Morning Star March 23, 2011 Wednesday We are not all in it together SECTION: EDITORIAL LENGTH: 540 words> It was fully in line with the coalition government's determined course of making Britain's working men and women, and those on fixed benefits, bear the brunt of the crisis created by the banks. The Chancellor engaged in a number of eye-catching gimmicks, such as his token-gesture levy on private jet flights, which was floated to cover up his failure to impose air passenger duty on planes rather than individuals. His 1p cut in fuel duty is another populist measure, which is treated by media commentators as an across-the-board benefit, ignoring the reality that one-third of families have no access to a car and depend on underfunded public transport. And his projected increase in personal tax allowances, benefiting the average basic-rate taxpayer by less than £2.50 a week, will be swamped by the VAT increase, which is already forcing up prices. The Chancellor's reminder that his Labour predecessor Alistair Darling brought in the 50p top-rate tax band as a temporary measure was not made by chance. It serves as a warning that he intends to remove it at the earliest opportunity, especially in light of his assertion that high taxation could drive wealthy individuals and companies from Britain. Osborne's flat-rate offer of a £50,000 annual donation in lieu of income tax to non-domiciled fat cats is an increase from £30,000, but it remains little more than beer money to them. And his decision to slash corporation tax by 2 per cent from next month, rather than 1 per cent as previously announced - falling by a further percentage point in each of the next three years to 23 per cent - shows the Chancellor's real priority. It is the welfare of the powerful and wealthy not the poor and vulnerable that he champions. Osborne made a noise about tax avoidance, claiming that this costs the Exchequer about £14 billion annually. This is a gross underestimate, but, in any case, his supposed "clampdown" is projected to realise only £1bn a year. Is he serious?Campaigning group UK Uncut has highlighted the efforts of many prominent high street companies to avoid their fair share of taxation and the scale of the problem is not difficult to uncover. Take Philip Green's avoidance of £300m taxation on a £1.2bn dividend by the expedient of putting his company in his tax-exile wife's name, Tesco's use of a letter-box operation in Hungary to avoid millions in tax, Vodafone's negotiated non-payment of a £6bn tax bill or Barclays' payment of just £113m on 2009 profits of £11.6bn. All entirely legal and approved by this Chancellor and by new Labour's Darling. Tories, Lib-Dems and Labour have no difference in principle over who should pay for the crisis and who should escape scot-free. That's why Ed Miliband berated Osborne for cutting £50bn more than Darling had planned as part of his plan to halve the deficit over four years but not for going easy on the rich. The multitudes of trade unionists, community activists, pensioners and those dependent on public services marching in London and Belfast this Saturday will not be demonstrating for marginally less savage cuts over a slightly longer period. Labour should oppose the cuts in jobs and services and demand that those who caused the crisis be made to pick up the bill. <Morning Star March 22, 2011 Tuesday From a lack of clarity to chaos SECTION: EDITORIAL LENGTH: 557 words> And the tame media aren't doing much to help the situation. A perfectly simple statement such as that issued a couple of days back by Arab League head Amr Moussa warning that the assault on Libya had exceeded the UN terms of reference was misconstrued and garbled on television news for a full two days, until its message became incomprehensible. Reports on it were hedged about by television reporters with qualifiers such as "what he seems to be saying is..." what he appears to mean is..." and so on, masking the fact that Mr Moussa felt quite simply that smashing into Tripoli with 112 cruise missiles over one night didn't amount to "protecting civilians." The tame media succeeded in fogging that one to the extent that, when the relevant item was mentioned on TV news, it was followed by a flat-out contradiction by William Hague on his way into Downing Street, which was cravenly allowed through without comment. But it's not just blatant Establishment media obfuscation that's at fault here. Even the government doesn't seem to know what it's doing. Having heard dozens of times that "there will be no deployment of ground forces," coming from sources as widely varied as the US government, the United Nations and the French government, even that flat-out statement seems to be plastic and malleable. Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey claimed today that there was a clear distinction between sending in a full-scale occupation force - which is banned under the terms of the United Nations mandate - and a more limited intervention by ground troops. Which part of "no deployment of ground forces" doesn't Mr Harvey understand?Prime Minister David Cameron tried to reassure MPs that Libya would not be "another Iraq," with international forces "knocking over" the government and then being left responsible for the aftermath. But sending in ground troops mean exactly that, Mr Harvey - come to think of it, so does making Muammar Gadaffi a "legitimate target." Which is precisely the option that No 10 aides had sought to leave open, even after Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards said clearly that such an action is "not allowed" under the UN mandate. At least Mr Harvey was honest that "the departure of Colonel Gadaffi is very much the political objective of the British government. But that is not what the United Nations resolution has provided for." But it seems that the Armed Forces Minister and Downing Street have very different hymn-sheets. So far, we have the south American Alba nations, the African Union, the Arab League, Russia, China, Germany and various others, including a small and brave contingent of British MPs, with doubts about this action at one level or another. We have the British government split over whether ground forces will be involved and on whether Mr Gadaffi is a "legitimate" target or not. We have a public commitment to regime change from some elements in government, but a clear understanding from the armed forces that their mandate is limited, and that mandate doesn't include regime change. In short, we have a bloody mess in which no-one is clear about anything and the paeans of praise for Mr Cameron's leadership from the bourgeois press seem very much like persiflage, covering up a developing mess that will make the chaos that is Iraq look well-organised by comparison. <Morning Star March 21, 2011 Monday UK Uncut calls for post-rally occupations SECTION: BRITAIN LENGTH: 176 words> The group revealed that following the TUC demonstration activists from the group will hold occupations of business that they have accused of tax-dodging as well as banks on London's busiest high street, Oxford Street. It said that at 3.30pm there would be a mass occupation of a business with the intention of staying as long as possible, but it stopped short of revealing what the "top secret target" was. Locally organised events have been taking place in dozens of towns and cities across Britain in recent months under the UK Uncut banner. The newest addition to the list is Wolverhampton, which saw a protest on Saturday called by Wolves Against The Cuts. A spokesman for UK Uncut said that more local actions of this kind were planned to draw attention to the fact that the government was choosing to cut the NHS and other public services instead of taxing big business and wealthy individuals effectively. UK Uncut will be meeting for the March for the Alternative demonstration on March 26 at 11.30am, outside the National Theatre on the South Bank. <Morning Star March 21, 2011 Monday Grieve: new war is legal SECTION: BRITAIN LENGTH: 116 words> It was based on advice obligingly produced by Attorney General Dominic Grieve. Mr Grieve stated that security council resolution 1973 was based on Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, which was concerned with action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression. Chapter 7 provided for action by air, sea and land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. The document concluded: "Her Majesty's government is satisfied that this Chapter 7 authorisaton to use all necessary measures provide a clear and unequivocal legal basis for deployment of UK forces and military assets to achieve the resolution's objectives." <Morning Star March 21, 2011 Monday Restraint tactic 'should face ban' BYLINE: Louise Nousratpour SECTION: BRITAIN LENGTH: 311 words> She branded the practice, which is sanctioned by the Youth Justice Board and the Ministry of Justice, out of step with international standards set by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Dr Atkinson issued the call for Britain to join other countries in outlawing the use of physical violence on children following a study by charity User Voice, which canvassed 89 young people who had experienced "pain compliant" techniques. One girl had said the technique was "disgusting," while a boy said that being restrained had made him feel "helpless." Dr Atkinson stressed that children in custody were "some of the most vulnerable in our society" and that many had been traumatised by being forcibly restrained. Where used such practices could have "a profound, lasting and negative impact on young people." Banning the technique could "radically alter young people's experience of custody," she said." If we want them to be constructive members of society, it is important that practices used to improve their behaviour do not result in a negative outcome for their mental health and emotional well-being." User Voice founder Mark Johnson said he recognised that staff members in secure institutions worked with "some of the country's most troubled children." However physical force should only ever be used as a measure of last resort and must be done in the safest possible way." A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The independent review of restraint published in December 2008 concluded that in exceptional circumstances pain-compliant techniques were necessary. The government has made good progress on implementing recommendations from the review." Britain has been criticised by the UN committee on the rights of the child for the frequency with which restraint and pain-compliant methods are used on young people in custody.louise@peoples-press.com <Morning Star March 21, 2011 Monday Workers' lives 'at risk' as MPs seek to cut funding BYLINE: Louise Nousratpour SECTION: BRITAIN LENGTH: 288 words> Work and Pensions Minister Chris Grayling launched a new Strategy for Health and Safety Regulation in Britain which will include a further review of regulation, a reduction in on-site inspection sand the introduction of more fees for employers when HSE inspectors find fault. Setting out the next stage of the government's plans, Mr Grayling told a conference in London: "We need common sense at the heart of the system, and these measures will help root out the needless burden of bureaucracy." But Construction union Ucatt warned that the number of inspections, enforcement activity and prosecutions being undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive had already declined dramatically in recent years. A recent series of unannounced intensive investigations conducted by the HSE in various parts of Britain revealed that roughly one in four construction sites visited had serious safety failings." The government are using myths and distortions to introduce what amounts to an attack on worker safety. These plans will allow employers to ignore safety rules," a Ucatt spokesman said. "Workers should not be forced to play Russian roulette with their safety." Prospect union spokesman Mike Macdonald said: "The announcement shows that health and safety regulation is now driven by the government's wish to cut spending." Hazards campaign spokeswoman Hilda Palmer rejected Mr Grayling's claim that the proposals would shift the cost burden of health and safety regulations onto the culprit." The policies will do the complete opposite of making employers pay," she argued. "The bill for poor safety and health every year in GB is a minimum of £30 billion but employers pay less than 25 per cent of this."louise@peoples-press.com <Morning Star March 16, 2011 Wednesday Unsurpassed hypocrisy SECTION: EDITORIAL LENGTH: 563 words> Coupled with hereditary ruler Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa's declaration of martial law for three months, it indicates that the autocracy is determined to hold on to absolute power and to slaughter its citizens who oppose this position. The determination of the Bahraini people to oust this feudal relic and to build a democratic republic ought to win universal support. But the implications for imperialism's domination of the region of a further step in the direction of popular sovereignty and democratic accountability are serious. The fact that all six countries in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - have united to crush people's protests in Manama sums up their common denominators. They all have huge oil and gas deposits and they want nothing to do with democracy. To that could be added their long-term military alliance with the US, expressed in Bahrain's location as the home base of the US Fifth Fleet. While lecturing the rest of the world on the need for democracy and human rights, Washington has spared the GCC states the denunciation that it reserves for such countries as Cuba and Venezuela that reject the US model. With regard to these platinum-plated dictatorships, US governments have always stressed their stability and security rather than observance of democratic norms. However, their stability is less credibility now that the Khalifa dynasty has opted for bloody repression to curtail protests, as have US-allied regimes in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. These GCC states condemned Libya's Gadaffi regime as "illegitimate" last week for deploying military force against its own citizens. They were right to do so then, which condemns their own actions now. Their hypocrisy is matched by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments on Bahrain." The people's demands for change must be respected. How is it possible to stop waves of humanity with military force?" asked the man responsible for unleashing violence against peaceful protesters in Iran and carrying out dozens of executions earlier this year to intimidate them. But nothing surpasses the hypocrisy of US imperialism and its allies, headed by Britain and France. These are the countries responsible for flooding the region with arms. French President Nicolas Sarkozy demands a no-fly zone in Libya, ignoring his country's sale of Mirage jets to the Gadaffi regime, while David Cameron thought it appropriate to surround himself with arms salesmen during his recent visit to the region. And Amnesty International has exposed the origins of weaponry used by Bahrain's monarchy to kill and wound demonstrators at Pearl Square last month. In its report Bloodied but Unbowed: Unwarranted State Violence Against Bahraini Protesters, published tomorrow, Amnesty identifies US-made tear gas canisters and rubber multi-baton rounds and French-made tear gas grenades and rubber "dispersion" grenades, which fragment into 18 pieces and produce a loud sound effect. It notes that Britain has licensed exports of tear gas, assault rifles and machine guns to Bahrain, some of which could have been used during recent repression. International demands for democratic reform in all states in the region must be accompanied by suspension of exports of weaponry and "security" equipment that is being used to hold back the forces of change. <Morning Star March 8, 2011 Tuesday Sport - Cattermole set to return to training LENGTH: 169 words> FOOTBALL: Sunderland boss Steve Bruce believes that skipper Lee Cattermole will train with his team-mates later this week as he prepares for his latest comeback from injury. The 22-year-old midfielder has not played since the 2-0 home defeat by Blackpool on December 28 because of a back problem which required complete rest. Specialists warned Cattermole that the injury could develop into a stress fracture if he did not sit out and, having already seen his captain miss a significant proportion of his time on Wearside because of fitness concerns, Bruce acted on that advice. However, the £6 million signing from Wigan has now resumed light training and is expected to step up his work over the next few days to hand his manager a boost in the face of continuing injury problems. Bruce said: "He's training and we hope by the middle of this week that he's joining in. "He's out there training and physically working, but he has been out 10 weeks as well now. "It doesn't get any better, week in, week out, to be honest." <Morning Star March 8, 2011 Tuesday Sport - Toulon swoop for Springbok Botha LENGTH: 67 words> RUGBY UNION: South African World Cup winner Bakkies Botha has agreed a deal to sign for Toulon, the French Top 14 club confirmed yesterday. The 32-year-old is reported to have agreed a three-year deal to move to France after the World Cup in New Zealand in September and October. The Springbok, who has 72 caps, has won both the Super Rugby title and the Currie Cup with the Bulls in his native South Africa. <Morning Star March 8, 2011 Tuesday Sport - Boxing - Haye to face Vitali if Wlad pulls out LENGTH: 184 words> David Haye will fight Vitali Klitschko this summer if his brother Wladimir pulls out of their world heavyweight title unification showdown with injury. Londoner Haye, the WBA heavyweight champion, finally agreed a deal to fight IBF/WBO king Wladimir over the weekend. However, the Klitschkos' manager Bernd Boente said yesterday that the contract signed does not specify which of the Ukrainian siblings he will meet. Should Wladimir fail to recover from an abdominal injury before the end of June, Haye could instead fight his brother Vitali, the WBC champion. Boente, who also confirmed they are exploring possible venues outside Germany for the fight on June 25 or July 2, said: "It could also be Vitali. "In the talks, David was not rejecting Vitali any more, he was very flexible. That was never negotiated. "Knock on wood it's not the case, but should anything happen injury-wise (to Wladimir), as long as it is not three days before the fight or whatever, then Vitali could be the opponent. But first of all Vitali has to win his fight against Odlanier Solis on March 19 which will be a pretty tough fight." <Morning Star March 8, 2011 Tuesday Sport - Football: Dutchman trains despite predicted four-week lay-off - Van Persie in line for shock return; Striker is named in squad for Barca clash despite knee injury LENGTH: 288 words> Robin van Persie has been added to Arsenal's squad for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against Barcelona at the Nou Camp tonight. Van Persie was substituted during Arsenal's League Cup final defeat against Birmingham after suffering a knee injury while scoring the equaliser at Wembley. The second leg was expected to come too soon for the Holland striker, but he trained with his team-mates at London Colney yesterday and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has included him in a 19-man squad that will be cut to 18 ahead of the match. Speaking after Saturday's draw with Sunderland, Wenger confirmed that he expected his star to be out for three to four weeks. And there was more good news for the Gunners, who lead 2-1 from the first leg at the Emirates, with captain Cesc Fabregas expected to be fit. However, Alex Song is ruled out by a knee injury. Former Barca youth player Fabregas has not played since injuring his hamstring in the victory over Stoke almost two weeks ago and missed the Carling Cup final. His recovery is going well, though, and he now looks likely to take his place at Camp Nou. "Fabregas will have a final test today," said Wenger. "It is 90 per cent he will travel and be fit. It is vital for us because he is important in the transition between attacking and defending. He is also the leader of the team so we want him there." Holding midfielder Song, who started the first leg, has not been so lucky but, as expected, Jack Wilshere has recovered from slight ankle discomfort. "Alex Song is completely out. He had a test on Sunday morning and it was negative," said Wenger. "Wilshere will be fit. "Everybody else who played on Saturday should be available." <Morning Star March 8, 2011 Tuesday Sport - Cricket: ICC allow change after star batsman suffers hernia - Morgan to replace KP in England squad LENGTH: 227 words> England must get by without the injured Kevin Pietersen for the rest of their World Cup campaign after he was ruled out with a hernia injury yesterday. Pietersen said that he was "absolutely devastated" to have to leave the World Cup and he could be unavailable for the forthcoming Indian Premier League too, because of an injury that will require surgery. England have replaced Pietersen in their 15-man squad with the fit-again Eoin Morgan - a move ratified by the International Cricket Council yesterday. England coach Andy Flower is disappointed by the loss of his star player, but insisted that Pietersen is committed to returning for England in all three formats. Reports immediately before England set off for the World Cup last month claimed the mercurial batsman would be ready to forsake one-day international cricket at the end of the tournament, in order to concentrate on Tests and Twenty20s. But Pietersen himself swiftly and unequivocally denied those plans, and Flower is delighted to take him at his word. "I anticipate him playing a lot of one-day cricket for England," he said. "He's 30 years old. He should be in the prime of his batting form, or coming up to it. "He enjoys playing for England. He's an incredibly talented bloke, and we want to see him playing all three forms for England for as long as possible. "I hope he's hungry enough to do that." <Morning Star March 7, 2011 Monday Comment - Stomach for the fightback LENGTH: 553 words> The magnificent mobilisation of trade unionists in Cardiff at the weekend showed that the labour movement has the stomach to take on the Con-Dem coalition programme of cuts. Trade unions in Wales already have a memorandum of understanding with the assembly government in Cardiff Bay that there should be no compulsory redundancies among public-service workers in light of the Westminster government's imposition of savage cuts in funding for Wales. This would explain partially the leading role that unions played in winning the Yes vote in the referendum to empower the assembly to legislate on matters proper to Wales without recourse to Westminster. The trade union movement knows that it will get nothing without using its collective strength. That was the lesson from the referendum, where support for devolved government has increased substantially since the 1997 poll to set up the assembly. It is also the lesson to be drawn from the slash-and-burn programme for our public services drawn up by the Thatcherite Tory leadership and its equally nefarious allies, the Orange Book free-marketeers of the Liberal Democrat party. Labour lost power last May because it danced to the bankers' tune, allowing the City to operate without serious regulation and to live off the fat of the land in good times. And when the bad times visited, when the dream balloon of ever-increasing speculation in toxic assets burst, public cash to the tune of £1.3 trillion was used to bail out the banks. It wasn't just the banks that were effectively bankrupt and had been taken into protective custody that were cosseted by our funds. Even those that hadn't imploded benefited from cheap money from the Bank of England through its quantitative easing scheme, assisting them to swell their profit margins. The credit for the banks' return to super-profits ought to go to the taxpayer, but it hasn't. The squalid City elite that precipitated the crisis has drawn a line under it and is operating as though it never happened. Its top dogs are even advising the government on how to stuff the rest of us more efficiently. Tax dodger Philip Green, who avoids paying £250 million in tax on his company's profits through exploiting a legal loophole, is honoured as a government adviser. The labour movement would be letting itself down if it fell for any of the "we're all in it together" twaddle or suggestions that cutting jobs and services would be fairer if they weren't quite so deep or were spread out over a longer period. Workers should not accept being made scapegoats for a crisis that none of them had a role in creating. The Wales TUC banner fluttering over the Unite HQ in Cardiff is forthright in its declaration of "No Cuts." That should be the benchmark of the movement, leading up to the major mobilisation in London on March 26 and beyond. Mark Serwotka's insistence that mass industrial action, co-ordinated to maximise impact, will be necessary to stop the Con-Dems in their tracks is surely right. The Scottish parliamentary, Wales assembly and English local elections in May should be used to give the coalition parties a good kicking, but that alone will not dissuade them from their chosen path. Co-ordinated strikes and solidarity action, backed up by community support, will be vital to put an early end to this illegitimate government. <Title OUR FIVE POINTS TO THE 'BIG SIX' [Edition 2] Publication title The Sun Publication date Oct 19, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> THE Sun today calls on Britain's Big Six energy giants to finally play fair by their millions of customers this winter. As temperatures drop and hard-pressed families switch the heating on, we have teamed up with consumer champions Which? to launch our five-point Keep It Down campaign, above. Our plea to British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power, E.ON, npower and EDF echoes our call for fuel duty to be frozen at the petrol pump earlier this year. Which? chief Richard Lloyd said: "People are struggling to pay their energy bills and, with a cold winter coming, it's going to get worse. If energy firms want to earn customers' trust, they need to change the way they treat them. There's too much smoke and mirrors. "People shouldn't have to choose between heating and eating." Each of the Big Six hiked bills over the autumn. Last week, regulator Ofgem said energy firms' profit margins had soared eight-fold to Pounds 125 per customer per year. WHAT WE ARE CALLING FOR 1 All suppliers to commit to freeze on price rises until 1 August 2012 2 Offer free insulation to all customers until 1 April 2012 3 Free boiler cover for the winter months (or for 3 months from December - February) 4 Pay Pounds 120 to any elderly or vulnerable customer on income of less than Pounds 16,000 a year 5 If people call up and ask for the cheapest deal, give them the cheapest deal <Title MO WITH THE FLOW: Moorcroft backs Farah to boost Brits Author ORVICE, VIKKI Publication title The Sun Publication date Sep 3, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> MO FARAH has been backed to become the first British man to win a global 5,000 metres title. Former world-record holder David Moorcroft insists Farah will go one better tomorrow than his 10,000m silver. Farah, 28, narrowly beaten by the little-known Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan last Sunday, will start as favourite after clocking a European record of 12:53.11 in July -- the fastest in the world this year. And Moorcroft, the last non-African to set a 5,000m world record in 1982, said: "There is no one in the race he needs to fear. "A few years ago it wasn't a gap between us and the rest in distance running, it was a chasm. But this year Mo has gone from being a European medallist to a potential world champion." Golden boy Dai Greene was forced to pull out of last night's 4x400m final -- admitting it was one of the toughest decisions of his career. The newly-crowned world 400m hurdles champion made the move himself when he warmed up an hour before the race. Britain are still stuck on five medals after Goldie Sayers finished a lowly 10th in the javelin final last night and Chris Tomlinson LAST in the long-jump after struggling with a knee injury. But Greene, 24, said: "My body wasn't up to it after the hurdles. I didn't think I could do the team justice." In his absence Richard Strachan, Nigel Levine, Chris Clarke and Martyn Rooney finished back in seventh. But double amputee Oscar Pistorius will receive a world silver -- despite being dropped from South Africa's final line-up for 400m hurdle bronze medallist LJ van Zyl. Britain's relay flop summed up a dismal night which also saw Jenny Meadows, the 2009 world bronze 800m medallist, fail to make tomorrow's final. Meanwhile, Usain Bolt has spoken for the first time about his dramatic 100m false-start exit. As he began the defence of his world 200m title, the Jamaican insisted: "I'm not going to blame anybody. It was for me to stay in my blocks. It was my fault." <Title GATES OF HELL Author Liddle, Rod Publication title The Sun Publication date Jun 30, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> BRITAIN'S airports are now so hellish that millions of travellers find them more stressful than moving house, according to a survey. Heathrow, of course, is the worst. There are lots of pompous signs all over the terminal warning you that their annoying staff have a right to be treated with respect and courtesy while they're losing your luggage or bouncing you from a flight. Here's an observation: The more signs there are around begging you not to punch, kick or swear at the staff, the worse the place will be and the more likely you are to wish to do so. <Title Wills' heir miles Author Sun SAYS Publication title The Sun Publication date May 31, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> WILLIAM and Kate are a welcome blast of fresh air for the Royal Family. Their cut-price trip to Canada and the States using scheduled flights is another signal that they understand that the Monarchy's future depends on us getting value for money. Not just now, in austere times, but always. Compare and contrast with Prince Andrew, a man who charters flights at taxpayers' expense to attend the opening of an envelope. Who blew Pounds 6,000 hiring a helicopter to go 17 miles -- a Pounds 40 cab ride. Those who would scrap the Monarchy will begrudge every penny spent on Wills and Kate's trip. But the benefits for British businesses, charities and tourism will pay for it many times over. We trust their frugality will force a rethink by certain other Royals. <Title SAM LANDS TRIPLE SLAM Author Carter, Gary Publication title The Sun Publication date May 31, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> WIGAN 40 HULL KR 6 SAM TOMKINS tonked Rovers with a sensational hat-trick. The Wigan full-back stole the show with his second try, producing an amazing sidestep to send the visitors' defence the wrong way. Tomkins also created the second of Pat Richards' trio of touchdowns, as well as having a hand in George Carmont's try. Even Rovers coach Justin Morgan admitted: "He reminds me of Brad Fittler, who is one of the best ever to play the game. You know what he's going to do but it's still really difficult to stop." Kris Welham crossed for KR, his 15th Super League touchdown of the season. <Title Charles cracks gags about Wills' heir loss Author Sabey, Ryan Publication title The Sun Publication date Apr 30, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> PRINCE Charles cracked jokes about his newlywed son's bald patch at the Buckingham Palace reception yesterday. Susie Lea, a friend of the Middleton family, said: "He joked about his own bald patch and his son's thinning hair, saying it must be hereditary. Everyone found it funny, including William and Kate. "It was a wonderful reception -- unbelievable." William delighted guests by serving up a chocolate BISCUIT cake. The creation, made at his special request, took pride of place beside an exquisite eighttier wedding cake crafted from 17 fruit cakes and topped with 900 iced flowers and leaves. Both cakes were served at the lavish lunchtime bash for 650 close friends and family. <Title War hero killer plea Publication title The Sun Publication date Apr 30, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> COPS hunting the killer of a war hero issued a fresh appeal for public help yesterday a year after the brutal attack. Geoffrey Bacon, 90, a driver for Field Marshal Montgomery and US General Eisenhower in World War Two, was punched to the ground at his home. The thief stole just Pounds 40 and a bus pass. Mr Bacon, of Camberwell, South London, suffered a shattered hip bone and died in August. Detective Inspector Richard Beadle, leading the hunt, said: "A year on, we still need help from the public." There is a Pounds 20,000 reward. <Title Killed girl pregnant Author Anonymous Publication title The Sun Publication date Mar 31, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> A BARMAID murdered with her mum was nearly three months pregnant, pals revealed yesterday. Louise Donnelly, 23, and mum Tracy, 43, were believed to have been beaten and knifed to death at home. Their bodies were found by Tracy's four-year-old son Daniel. Yesterday, Louise's boss said she was looking forward to her first child. Pub landlady Jacqueline Woonton, 50, said: "She couldn't stop telling everyone." Boyfriend Ricky Williams, 23, paid tribute, saying: "You will always be in my heart." Cops were last night still quizzing a man of 25 over the murders in Sheffield on Tuesday. <Title Seven sit on chair and get pregnant Author Haydon, Harry Publication title The Sun Publication date Mar 31, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> HOTEL receptionists are refusing to use a chair at their desk after SEVEN colleagues fell pregnant after sitting on it within 18 months. And the four who have so far given birth have all had boys after using the blue swivel seat. Staff at the Best Western Moore Place hotel in Milton Keynes, Bucks, have now dubbed it the "fertility chair". General manager Giles Shaw said: "It is just a typical office swivel chair, but we now have staff refusing to sit on it. "We first started joking that if anyone wants a boy then they should take a seat on our fertility chair, but now it's just so surreal that it's happening every time." <Title MISSILE ON TARGET Publication title The Sun Publication date Mar 31, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> A MISSILE drops out of the sky on to the smoking remains of one of Gaddafi's residences in Tripoli. The bomb smashed into the ground -- exploding with massive force. The image shows Coalition forces are still hot on the Mad Dog's trail -- this time in the suburb of Taiura. The bombardment came as a Nato aircraft reportedly screamed overhead. US President Barack Obama still insists no attempts are being made to kill Gaddafi. <Title Kid 'food treat risk' [Edition 2] Author Anonymous Publication title The Sun Publication date Feb 28, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> PARENTS who give kids food to quieten them down could be setting up a lifetime of weight problems, a study revealed. The tactic causes a bad diet in adulthood, low self-esteem, comfort-eating and eating disorders. The YouGov study also found that many people who were rewarded with food as youngsters had more difficulty in tackling their own children's weight and eating habits. Researcher Dr James Stubbs said: "It's when parents repeatedly use high calorie foods as a quick way to appease their children that they begin storing up future problems for them." <Title HILTON SUES Publication title The Sun Publication date Feb 28, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> PARIS Hilton is suing an underwear company for almost Pounds 1million. The hotel heiress, 30, claims Le Bonitas guaranteed her the sum to be the face of a 2010 range but then didn't bother to promote it. The Italian firm said the project flopped after she failed to authorise designs sent to her. <Title Stacey: Get me a TV gig Publication title The Sun Publication date Jan 1, 2011 Section TV Biz Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> JUNGLE queen Stacey Solomon wants to be a TV presenter -- despite a disastrous guest slot on The X Factor final. The over-excited I'm A Celeb winner spoke so fast on Simon Cowell's show that viewers couldn't follow what she was saying. But it hasn't put off the Essex mum of one. Stacey, 21, said: "I'd love to be able to say, 'That's the programme I present' and just go to work every day." <Title Goodbye to Goode, Tatling's rattlin' on Author Duval, Claude Publication title The Sun Publication date Jan 1, 2011 Section Favourite Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> GRAHAM GOODE, the voice of nearly 100 Classics, has made his final commentary. The man always known as GG made his farewell appearance at Uttoxeter yesterday. Goode said: "I've covered 95 Classics and 10 Grand Nationals and loved every minute of it. "To have the best view on a racecourse for all these years and to actually get paid for it has been beyond my wildest dreams." But another track legend had his retirement shelved. Muchloved sprinter The Tatling races on ... even at the age of 14. Trainer Milton Bradley planned to call time on The Tatling's career if he had won at Lingfield yesterday. But on his 158th start he was a game second to a wellbacked favourite. Bradley said: "I desperately want him to go out on a win. I am sure I can find another race for him." Lingfield's Kate Hills gave Bradley a packet of mints for The Tatling. "We'll share them on the way home to Wales," said Bradley.That would have been tricky as Bradley, 75, always drives his own horsebox and The Tatling was no doubt relaxing in the back. <Title OUR WAY ... OUR THE HIGHWAY: Unpaid Essex stars face chop if they fall out of line Author Holmwood, Leigh Publication title The Sun Publication date Jan 1, 2011 Section TV Biz Place of publication London (UK) Journal subject General Interest Periodicals--Great Britain Source type Newspapers Document type News> ITV BOSSES have laid down the law to rowdy The Only Way Is Essex stars -- warning them that if they cause trouble they're out. The real life stars in the hit ITV2 show don't get paid, receiving only expenses for filming duties and the possibility of raking in thousands of pounds from making personal appearances. The show has also given a huge boost to the Deuces bar in Chigwell owned by lead star Mark Wright -- who last night threw a New Year's Eve party for which tickets cost Pounds 25 and tables Pounds 500. But after ITV2 ordered two new series to air in 2011, producers have told the stars -- who also include Amy Childs -- not to make any diva demands or they will be replaced by other unknown locals desperate for fame. Nightclub promoter Kirk Norcross, right, felt snubbed after he was edited out of the Christmas special -- which he blamed on him not playing along with producers. He claimed he had now quit the show because of it and would launch his own rival series. Kirk wrote online: "The Only Way Is Essex dropped me because I don't have three girlfriends and ain't a d***! They decided to cut me from the Crimbo one so I quit the rest! Gonna try do my own show. Their loss. Let's see if I can get my own show -- The Real Essex." An insider said The Only Way is Essex had the ability to be a long-running hit for ITV2 but bosses needed it to run smoothly and to keep costs down. The source said: "The huge success of The Only Way is Essex has taken everyone by surprise. "But none of the stars of it get paid. They get standard filming expenses, but what the show does do is raise their profile so they can earn a lot of money from magazine deals and personal appearances in clubs. "Bosses have told them they are committed to the show, but if anyone starts demanding big money they will get the boot. "The success of the show is built around the fact that these are regular, everyday people. If their heads start getting too big, they will just get new people in and refresh it like a soap. No one is bigger than the show." <Title Go for Thriller ride on the big Dipper: TEMPLEGATE Author Jones, Steve Publication title The Sun Publication date Jan 1, 2011 Section Favourite Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> MR THRILLER will have us on the edge of our seats in the Dipper Chase (2.00) at Cheltenham. David Pipe's hope developed into a really smart hurdler last season and he was particularly good in the mud. He was giving top prospect Time For Rupert a race when falling two out on his chasing debut and should go close with his trainer in form. 1.30 CHE: QHILIMAR can put his low weight to good use. We've not seen the best of this youngster and he ran a race full of promise when fifth at this track in November. The softer ground is right up his street. Buffalo Bob ground out victory at Newbury and should go well with Kim Bailey''s team still in good form. The Sliotar has had his problems with injury but is unexposed over fences. He would be a danger if ready to rock on his first start for Philip Hobbs. Maljimar likes this track but hasn''t won for nearly two years, while Richard's Sundance is better going right-handed. 2.00 CHE: David Pipe has weathered the cold spell better than most and his MR THRILLER can continue the trainer's hot streak. This former smart hurdler was going well when crashing out at this track in November. The ground is not a problem. Master Of The Hall is the danger. He would have won easily on his chasing debut at Ascot if he hadn't blundered at the last with the race won. This distance on energy-sapping ground could prove too much for Plumpton scorer Medermit while Reve De Sivola took advantage of some carnage over track and trip last month. His jumping needs to improve. Cois Farraig needs to improve on his Newbury win but Ranjobaie is an interesting contender on his first start for Venetia Williams. 2.15 EXE: Alan King will be glad to see the back of 2010 after his stable endured a torrid time last season. The Marlborough trainer has put his problems behind him in recent weeks and SALDEN LICHT can kick the New Year off on the right note. He won twice in the mud last season and scored on the Flat in October before running well in the November Handicap. Hunterview is capable of winning off his current handicap rating, while there are no worries about Advisor''s fitness after his all-weather bumper win just before Christmas. Improving Salontyre cannot be ruled out at a track he knows well. 2.35 CHE: TARANIS can help Paul Nicholls start the year as he ended the last one -- in the winners' enclosure. See Page One. 2.50 EXE: Put your faith in Mic and Vic. Trainer Victor Dartnall does well at his local track and bumper winner MIC'S DELIGHT has been given a fair weight for his handicap debut. He has run a couple of nice races behind useful novices and will have no problem with today's conditions. Point West finished ahead of him at Chepstow last time but my fancy is weighted to reverse the form. Just The Job has been mopping up lesser races and will find life tougher having shot up 18lb in the weights. 3.10 CHE: This could turn into a dour test and that will help VIKING BLOND plunder the prize. He has been unlucky to be nailed up Cheltenham''s famous hill on his last two starts. The softer ground should help him cling on. Le Beau Bai is another who stays all day. He's just as at home over hurdles as he is over fences and will not go down without a fight. Don't carried away with Den Of Inquity's win in a Southwell bumper while Royal Ascot winner Junior is better on faster ground. Chartreux was really promising last season and he could easily be well handicapped but progressive novice Kilcrea Kim faces his toughest test. <Subject Murders & murder attempts Title Secret tape exposes Lawrence defendant's racist obscenities Author Brown, David Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 14, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Gary Dobson hunched forward in the dock towards the television to get a better look at the video of himself almost half his lifetime ago. There he was, the 19-year-old who had been arrested for the murder of Stephen Lawrence the previous year, swaggering with his friends and making obscene racist comments. Grainy black-and- white recordings made by a hidden police camera in Mr Dobson's flat in Eltham, southeast London, were played at the Old Bailey yesterday. As he began his defence to the charge of murdering Stephen, Mr Dobson, appearing older than his 36 years, admitted that he felt "disgusted and embarrassed" by what he had seen of himself in 1994. "It's not comfortable sitting there watching it," said Mr Dobson. "I would not say it is part of me. It is an idiotic young fella talking like an idiot. It's not something I'm proud of and it's certainly not the way I was brought up to speak either." The videos also caught his co-defendant, David Norris, and their friends using obscenities and racist language. The sounds in the background took the court back to a different era with the hit ITV show Gladiators playing. Mr Norris, who was in the dock with Mr Dobson, did not flinch as he was heard saying: "If I was going to kill myself, do you know what I would do? I would go and kill every black c***, every paki, every copper, every mug that I know, I'm telling you." He continued: "I would go down Catford and places like that, I am telling you now, with two sub- machineguns, and I am telling you, I would take one of them, skin the black c*** alive, mate, torture him, set him alight ... I would blow their two arms and legs off and say, 'Go on, you can swim home now'." Mr Dobson was heard recalling how he threatened a colleague with a knife. He said: "He is a black c*** but he ain't like a n*****, a rude boy or nothing. He talks like a normal f****** white geezer. I said, 'Tap me once more, you silly c***, I'm going to f****** slice this down you seven times'." Mr Dobson and Mr Norris, 35, deny that they were members of a gang who stabbed Stephen to death in Eltham in April 1993. They claim that when their clothes were seized by police, they were contaminated with evidence linking them to the victim. Mr Justice Treacy warned the jury that they could only take into consideration the views on the video if they accepted that the defendants' clothes had not been contaminated. "What this evidence cannot do, and what it must not be used to do, is to identify those involved in the attack," he said. "If it could do that, others would be in the dock as well as the defendants." Jurors were then read a police interview with Mr Dobson in 1995. Asked if his friends were racist, he replied: "They have the same point of view as me." He also told officers: "Stabbing innocent people is not something that we get off on, it's not something that we enjoy doing ... We ain't animals." Yesterday Mr Dobson, wearing a dark three-piece suit, admitted that at the time of the video he used the word n***** to describe black people. "There is not much I can defend or justify things like this," he said. Timothy Roberts, QC, for the defence, asked: "Did you have anything to do with the events that led to the death of Stephen Lawrence?" Mr Dobson replied: "No, I did not." Mark Ellison, QC, for the prosecution, asked: "Did you hold racist views at the time this tape was made?" Mr Dobson replied: "I don't think there is no denying that with words I am using. I am using terrible words but I still have black, Asian and Chinese friends. I am not someone who dislikes people because of the colour of their skin despite what I said." As Mr Dobson returned to the dock he looked straight ahead while passing Stephen's parents, Neville and Doreen Lawrence, at the back of the court. <Subject Trials; Contempt of court; Internet; Attorneys Title Juror faces trial after 'researching case on internet': Abuse is widespread, says Attorney- General Author Gibb, Frances Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 5, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> A juror who allegedly researched a case on the internet is to be prosecuted as the Attorney- General, the Government's chief law officer, signals a crackdown on what he says is becoming a more widespread problem. Dominic Grieve, QC, is warning jurors that such behaviour is unacceptable. Mr Grieve, who plans to prosecute the case himself, said that he was determined to reinforce the message put out by the judges that use of the internet in trials would not be tolerated. The Attorney-General added that the internet presented challenges for the criminal justice system and said that, in time, there might be a need for wider legislation to deal with aspects of it. A juror was jailed for eight months earlier this year after communicating over the internet with a defendant. Last week Mr Grieve applied to the High Court for permission to bring contempt proceedings against Theodora Dallas, a juror in a trial at Luton Crown Court in July. It is alleged that she disobeyed an order not to conduct research on the internet. The case that she was trying -- a man charged with two others of causing grievous bodily harm -- was discharged and a retrial ordered, which has now taken place. Ms Dallas has been a psychology lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire since 2002. She specialises in the satisfaction of patients in the health system. She allegedly looked up information about one of the defendants, Barry Medlock, a court was told last week by Louis Mably, counsel for the Attorney-General. "Next day, when the jury retired, she informed other members of the jury. Her conduct was reported to the court and the judge discharged Ms Dallas and the remaining jurors." Her case will now be heard in the High Court "as soon as possible", Sir John Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Wyn Williams, said, as such conduct, if proved, needed prompt attention to deter others. Mr Grieve said that the internet was only a "lawless territory" to the extent that it made enforcing contempt laws more difficult if "people post things on the net abroad". He also dismissed "tittle- tattle on Twitter" as necessarily posing a problem to enforcing the contempt laws. "Ultimately, no one thought that the contempt rules, even before 1981, would prevent dinner party tittle-tattle and nor should we necessarily get too exercised about that," he said. If, though, comments went "viral" and "reached by millions of people accessing a site or blog then of course we are going to be exercised". As for jurors using the internet, the courts had distinguished between researching cases and reading mainstream newspapers online, which was acceptable, he said. "We must keep this in perspective," Mr Grieve added. "Judges have been given directions to jurors for a long time not to discuss cases with those who are outside the jury room. We know that long before the internet some failed in their duty occasionally and were punished for it." The Attorney-General went on to warn that there seemed to be a "free-for-all" in the media, where it was believed that anything could be published, possibly because of the provisions that allowed a defendant's "bad character" to be introduced at trial. <Subject Trials; Firearms; Murders & murder attempts; Court hearings & proceedings; Explosives Title Lithuanians jail Real IRA gunrunner who fell for an MI5 sting: Real IRA Author O'Neill, Sean Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> A leading figure in the Real IRA was jailed for 12 years yesterday for plotting to buy arms and explosives to wage a terrorist campaign in London. Michael Campbell, whose brother has been blamed for the Omagh bombing, was caught in an MI5 sting that led to him striking a deal with an arms trader nicknamed "Rambo", who was actually a Lithuanian security services agent. He was arrested when he handed over cash for a sniper rifle and detonators, after telling agents that he intended to attack "Brits" and set off bombs in London. The four-year operation was made possible by the actions of the undercover agent, known by the name Robert Jardine, who infiltrated the dissident republican movement and won the trust of its leaders. Campbell, 39, from Dundalk in the Irish Republic, and his associates were under constant surveillance as they met their contacts in Ireland, Spain and Lithuania. After a meeting in Vilnius in August 2007, where they were shown explosives and were able to test-fire rifles, a listening device picked up Campbell talking to an associate about buying plastic explosive for a bombing campaign in England. He says: "You imagine us getting over to England if you'd ten of them and ten clocks [detonators] in a holdall. You imagine, with a sixhour timer we could be over to London and back ... Just tick, tick, tick, tick ... gone. Leave it anywhere." The audio recording was played at Campbell's three-year trial in Vilnius, the first terrorism trial ever held in Lithuania, and released by the state prosecutor's office. It also released covert video footage of Campbell closing the deal in a lock-up garage. At one point he inspects a US-made Barrett sniper rifle -- the type of weapon used by the sniper who shot Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, the last British soldier killed by the Provisional IRA in 1997 -- and says he wants it for "shooting across the border" to kill "Brits". Campbell also tells the men he is meeting -- who he thinks are a Lithuanian and a Chechen -- that he represents the IRA. Judge Arunas Kisielius sentenced Campbell to 12 years yesterday for attempting to smuggle, possession of firearms and supporting the Real IRA, saying that Campbell was clearly part of an organised group and that his crimes were premeditated. He said: "Campbell tried to smuggle guns and explosive material and bullets for guns in an organised group." Campbell smiled and posed for photographers before the hearing and spoke only once to tell the judge: "I understand that I have a right to appeal." His lawyer, Ingrida Botyriene, who accused the Security Service of setting Campbell up, said that her client would appeal. MI5 believes that the sting operation dealt a major blow to the Real IRA's attempts to revive its campaign of violence. One counter-terrorism source said: "They were trying to buy highgrade explosives, not the stuff you mix up in Granny's shed. And they were talking about blowing up London." The dissidents believed that they had found a genuine source of ordnance with which to take their terrorist campaign to a new level, but were all the time being "played" by agents. Although Campbell is the only person to have been convicted in relation to the plot, other alleged Real IRA figures have been put out of action. His brother, Liam Campbell, who has been found liable in a civil trial of involvement in the 1998 Omagh bombing, is in prison in Northern Ireland fighting extradition to Lithuania over the arms plot. Another man, Brendan McGuigan, is on bail in the Irish Republic as he also fights extradition. Michael Campbell has maintained throughout the lengthy case -- which has seen a string of security services operatives from Britain, Lithuania and Ireland give evidence before the judgeonly court -- that he has been framed by MI5 because of his family connections. "I haven't got a chance with this court and in this country," Campbell said at a hearing last month. However, Irmantas Mikelionis, chief prosecutor of organised crime in Lithuania, said yesterday that "he acted not on the incitement of secret agents but on his own initiative". He added: "If we failed to stop Campbell, we would put in danger the lives of innocent people." The sting -- codenamed Operation Uncritical -- began in the summer of 2004 when the widow of a dissident republican approached the MI5 informant to inquire whether his contacts in Eastern Europe would be able to source and supply weaponry. An exchange of messages followed before a meeting was arranged between the agent, the woman and a man called Tomas, another Lithuanian agent posing as an arms dealer. In October 2005 and January 2006, the woman supplied "shopping lists" that included rocket- propelled grenade launchers, AK47 assault rifles, explosives and detonators. Activity then ground to a halt. The authorities wanted to play a long game, knowing that the woman was only a messenger, to see who was driving the arms-buying scheme. Jardine told the woman that his contacts were annoyed and no longer wanted to do business with her. Then, at the end of 2006, Jardine was approached by Seamus McGreevy, a Real IRA man who said that he had written the list and wanted to revive the deal. In August 2007, three Real IRA men travelled to Vilnius. They went to a lodge in the country where they stayed with secret agents, posing as black-market arms dealers. They were photographed test-firing weapons and left a EUR 5,000 deposit. It was after that meeting that Campbell and his companion were recorded discussing buying the explosives. The next meeting between the defendant and the "dealer" whom he had now nicknamed Rambo took place in Marbella, Spain, in October 2007. Here they discussed the nitty-gritty of their deal, with the Real IRA man asking if he could use the deposit as a first instalment on a package that would include two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, plastic explosive, detonators, and timer clocks. The two also discussed the possibility of Real IRA members going to Lithuania for weapons training. Discussions took place about transporting the weapons into Ireland. The deal was to be finalised in Vilnius early in 2008. Michael Campbell travelled there with his wife and the couple dined with Rambo on January 21. Campbell later went with the dealer to a garage where his consignment was waiting. Their meeting was filmed by a hidden camera that picked up their discussion about detonators, including one for car bombs. Campbell was arrested as he left and has been in jail since. He can seek transfer to an Irish prison after the appeals process. How smuggler was turned by Secret Service Behind the story The agent who played the pivotal role in the Real IRA Lithuanian arms plot sting was not a Security Service operative who had spent his life being schooled in the world of intelligence, infiltration and surveillance. Robert Michael Jardine was a middle-aged businessman who lived in the Home Counties and ran an import-export concern, dabbling in anything from furniture to contact lenses. But he also had an illicit sideline in cigarette smuggling and, after arranging a number of tobacco shipments from Eastern Europe to Ireland, found himself approached in 2002 by MI5. The Security Service told Jardine that the men he was dealing with in Ireland were members of the dissident republican group and the money that they were making was used for terrorism. Jardine, a false name used by the agent in court proceedings, agreed to work for MI5, providing his contacts with valuable intelligence on the Real IRA. The hope was that the "product" that Jardine would provide would be information on who was in and who was associated with the dissidents as they tried to resurrect a campaign of violence. MI5 also hoped that it could disrupt the smuggling that was a key source of finance for the terrorists. Then, in 2004, Jardine came to his handlers with the information that he had been asked to source weaponry. This was not in the plan for the agent; his "legend" was that he was a cigarette smuggler with criminal contacts, not a dealer in black-market guns. The dangers were explained to Jardine, who is now in his mid- fifties, but he went ahead with everything that was asked of him, risking his life as he became involved. At one point he went to South Armagh for a meeting with a Real IRA leader to which he was driven by circuitious routes with frequent car changes. The last leg was to be made in a blacked-out van and as the doors were opened Jardine saw that the inside was lined with bubble wrap and there was a shovel on the floor. The infilitrator thought that his cover had been blown and he was about to be executed and his body buried in the countryside. But it was a test. Jardine was driven to a house where he met the Real IRA man, who said: "We know MI5 are after us and how they do it. You better not be one of them." Jardine's last risk was to give evidence in the trial of Michael Campbell, a step few agents are asked to take. When he left his home, to travel to Vilnius as a witness, it was for the last time. He now lives a with a new identity. Credit: Sean O'Neill Crime and Security Editor Fiona Hamilton Vilnius Caption: Arms buyer: Seamus McGreevy: one of the Real IRA men; Michael Campbell was filmed testing weapons by security services agents; Michael Campbell at court yesterday with his lawyer, Ingrida Botyriene, right. He was sentenced to 12 years after trying to buy explosives and guns to kill "Brits"; VALDA KALNINA / EPA <Subject Activists; Trials; Convictions; Police corruption Title Second undercover officer accused of using alias in court [Edition 3] Author Gray, Sadie Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Scotland Yard is reviewing a second case of an undercover police officer accused of maintaining a false identity in a criminal trial, it has emerged. Last week the Metropolitan Police referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) the case of Detective Constable Jim Boyling, who was alleged to have been allowed to lie under oath after his arrest while working undercover in a protest movement. Now the force says that it is reviewing the case of another officer with a view to referral to the IPCC. He is believed to be Bob Lambert, who in the mid-1980s spent four years living in deep cover to infiltrate animal rights and environmental groups. Mr Lambert was suspected of having been prosecuted under an alias for distributing animal rights pamphlets, The Guardian claimed last night. In letter written in 1986 to an activist, Mr Lambert said that he had been "backwards and forwards to Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court for distributing 'insulting leaflets' outside a butchers shop". When contacted by the newspaper, Mr Lambert refused to say whether he had been prosecuted under his false name, in which case he may have lied under oath. Scotland Yard said that it was "reviewing similar allegations about a retired officer, with a view to referring it to the IPCC". Mr Lambert later went on to run a network of police infiltratrators of groups believed to be causing public disorder. One of his agents was Mr Boyling. Senior police officers had authorised undercover colleagues to hide their true identities in other cases, The Guardian alleged. It was reportedly seen as "part of their cover" for officers to be prosecuted for their involvement in public disorder. It has previously been claimed that Mr Boyling was permitted by senior officers to lie under oath in court, potentially jeopardising the conviction of an environmental activist. That disclosure led HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to delay the publication on Thursday of a major report into undercover policing. The review was conducted by Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Met Commissioner, in his previous role as head of HMIC. In January the trial of six campaigners accused of plotting to invade a Nottinghamshire power station collapsed after defence solicitors discovered that one of the activists was an undercover police officer. Mark Kennedy, 41, who used the alias Mark Stone, worked for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit. Over seven years he had taken part in a number of large-scale protests at power stations. Mr Boyling had infiltrated a protest movement called Reclaim the Streets when, in August 1996, he was arrested and charged alongside other activists. During his prosecution he maintained his alias, Jim Sutton. After a trial in 1997 he was found not guilty of public order offences, but a fellow activist was convicted. Mark Schwarz, of Bindmans solicitors, said that his firm had unwittingly represented the undercover officer alongside other activists. "It's institutionalised police corruption of the legal process for this to happen," he said. Mr Boyling is currently under investigation over allegations that he married an activist he was monitoring. <Subject Sex crimes Title I wanted kiss from Jo but her killing was not sexual, Tabak tells jury Author Simon de Bruxelles Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The man who claims that he strangled Joanna Yeates to stop her screaming after he tried to kiss her said yesterday that her killing was not sexually motivated. Vincent Tabak, Miss Yeates's next-door neighbour, told Bristol Crown Court that he had just "wanted a kiss". When he was asked under cross-examination whether that was not a sexual act, he replied: "I don't think so, no." Tabak, 33, who admits strangling Miss Yeates, 25, but denies her murder, claimed that he was trying to "calm her down" when he put his hand around her throat. He was shocked, he said, when he realised that he had killed her. Nigel Lickley QC, for the prosecution, derided Tabak's denials and repeatedly pressed him to admit that there had been a sexual motive to the attack. He asked him: "Did you derive sexual gratification from holding her throat? Were you sexually aroused when you were holding her throat with your hand over her mouth?" Tabak replied each time: "No, definitely not." He then asked Tabak about Google searches that he had made shortly after killing Miss Yeates, a landscape architect, at her flat in Clifton, Bristol, last December. Among them were searches for "aggravating features in manslaughter", "sexual assault" and "sexual conduct". Mr Lickley asked the defendant to close his eyes for 20 seconds, the length of time that he suggested that Tabak had had his hands around Miss Yeates's neck. Mr Lickley said: "You squeezed and squeezed and squeezed." Tabak claimed that his victim was "cheery, happy" and "flirtatious" when she invited him into her flat on December 17. He denied that he had used the pretext of returning her cat to persuade her to open the door. He also denied that there had been a struggle during which he had overpowered her. He said: "I was not aggressive and she did not resist." Tabak claimed that after Miss Yeates's death, he was in a state of "panic, distress", and was sweating after trying to dispose of her body by pushing it over a wall, and admitted that he was able to conceal his turmoil from his girlfriend Tanja Morson when he collected her later than night and over the next two days. Nat Cary, a forensic pathologist and expert in "neck compression", said there was no evidence of sexual assault in this case. He said the medical evidence showed that Miss Yeates died of "reflex cardiac arrest" within a relatively short space of time as a result of the blood supply in her neck being constricted. He said that many of the 43 injuries listed by the prosecution as evidence of a struggle were probably sustained after her death as her body was moved. He also said that it was more likely that her T-shirt and bra were dislodged by someone moving her into and out of the boot of a car than as part of a sexual assault. <Subject Riots Title Police follow the trouble as arrests reach 1,000 Author O'Neill, Sean Publication title The Times Publication date Aug 11, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Thousands of police officers are crisscrossing the country to support forces in the worst hit riot areas. West Midlands Police have the help of 25 riot squads, comprising 625 officers, from other forces. The same level of reinforcements have been dispatched to Manchester. Scotland Yard said London would continue to have 16,000 officers -- 1,500 of whom have been drafted in from outside the capital -- on duty for as long as necessary. Support units have also been sent to the Avon & Somerset, Nottinghamshire and Gloucestershire forces. More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the riots. Mr Cameron will today offer financial help to shops, businesses and councils affected. Addressing MPs in an emergency one-day session, he will say that businesses without insurance and councils sheltering those burnt out of their homes can seek compensation. Whitehall departments were in talks with the Treasury over where any extra cash would come from to help meet the estimated Pounds 100 million costs. The Riot (Damages) Act of 1886 allows uninsured businesses and insurance firms to recoup losses from police authorities. <Subject Criminal sentences; Convictions Title Provenance of knife relevant in sentence: Law Report Publication title The Times Publication date Aug 10, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Court of Appeal, Criminal Division Published August 10, 2011 Regina v Kelly Regina v Bowers Regina v Singh (Balraj) Regina v Harding Regina v Roberts Regina v Robinson (Ashleigh) Regina v Robinson (Hollie) Regina v Barr Before Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Justice Leveson and Mr Justice Bean Judgment June 16, 2011 For sentencing purposes, the taking of a knife to the scene of the crime did not involve taking a knife from the kitchen to the place in the house where the offence was committed. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, so held when refusing applications for leave to appeal against sentences of life imprisonment for murder with a specified minimum term of 25 years for Marlon Kelly on his conviction on February 7, 2011 at Guildford Crown Court (Judge Critchlow and a jury); a minimum of 20 years for Jason Bowers on his conviction on January 14, 2011 at Norwich Crown Court (Judge Jacobs and a jury); a minimum of 20 years for Balraj Singh on his conviction on December 8, 2010 at the Central Criminal Court (Judge Beaumont, QC and a jury); and, respectively, specified minimum terms of 22, 20, 22 and 18 years in the cases of Gordon William Harding, Sacha Andrew Powell Roberts, Ashleigh Tonia Robinson and Hollie Louise Robinson on their convictions on February 8, 2011 at Mold Crown Court (Mr Justice Griffith Williams and a jury). The court also refused Joanne Barr's application for leave to appeal against a prison sentence of four years imposed on the same date at Mold Crown Court following her plea of guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides by Schedule 21, paragraph 5A, as inserted by Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Mandatory Life Sentence: Determination of Minimum Term) Order (SI 2010 No 197): "5A (1) ... the offence is normally to be regarded as sufficiently serious for the appropriate starting point, in determining the minimum term, to be 25 years. "(2) The offence falls within this sub-paragraph if the offender took a knife or other weapon to the scene intending to (a) commit any offence, or (b) have it available to use as a weapon, and used that knife or other weapon in committing the murder. Miss Sasha Wass, QC for Kelly; Mr Michael Clare for Bowers; Mr Justin Cole for Singh; Mr Simon Mintz for Harding; Mr Daniel Travers for Roberts; Mr Duncan Bould for Ashleigh Robinson; Miss Elwen Evans, QC for Hollie Robinson; Mr Simon Medland, QC for Barr, all assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals; Mr Andrew Edis, QC and Miss Caroline Harris for the Crown. THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said that these applications raised questions about the determination of the minimum term to be served following conviction of murder committed with a knife and required the court to examine the ambit and impact of paragrah 5A of Schedule 21 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003, as inserted. Paragraph 5A set the appropriate starting point at 25 years when determining the minimum term to be served by an offender who took a knife or other weapon to the scene. It was plain from the structure of paragraph 5A that it was not the legislative intention that every murder involving the use of a knife or other weapon to inflict fatal injury should normally fall within the 25 years starting point. Indeed, the first requirement before the paragraph bit was the specific intention required by paragraph 5A(2) when the knife or other weapon was taken to the scene, itself a distinct intention from the intention required at the time when fatal injury was inflicted. A practical difficulty arose from the provision that the offender "took the knife or other weapon to the scene". If a man decided to kill his partner and went to their home and there picked up a knife in the kitchen and killed her with the knife, he would not have taken the knife to the scene. On the face of it, that offence would not fall within paragraph 5A. But if a man in the same frame of mind bought a knife on his way home and killed his partner in the kitchen in exactly the same circumstances, then on the face of it paragraph 5A would apply. It was doubtful whether anyone would believe that justice would be represented by assessing the starting point for minimum terms for each of those defendants at 15 and 25 years respectively but, unless examined in the context of the decisions of the Court of Appeal about the way in which the provisions of Schedule 21 should be approached, a literal interpretation of paragraph 5A might produce that disparate result. The second of those examples forcefully underlined that paragraph 5A was not confined to murders committed with the use of a knife which had been taken out on to and used on the streets. It did not follow that a murder committed with a knife in the offender's or the victim's home automatically fell outside the ambit of paragraph 5A but a knife taken from the kitchen to another room in the same house did not fall within the meaning of "taken to the scene" in paragraph 5A. <Title Losing its appeal: is it time to say goodbye to the CCRC?: Its glory days are over, say some. But what about today's miscarriages of justice, asks Jon Robins Author Robins, Jon Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 10, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Next week marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the Birmingham Six and that iconic image outside the Old Bailey when they were free after 16 years, having had their convictions quashed for the murder of 21 people in two Birmingham pubs. The case was one of a series of miscarriages of justice that sent shockwaves through the justice system, led to the 1993 Runciman commission and, 13 years ago, the creation of the Criminal Cases Review Commission to investigate such cases. Critics of the CCRC -- and there has been ferocious criticism of late -- say not enough has changed. "I'm out of prison but not free," says Susan May, of Royton, Manchester. "I eat, sleep and breathe my case." May has always protested that she was the victim of a miscarriage. Last year her friends held a meeting at the House of Commons, hosted by John McDonnell, the MP for Hayes & Harlington, to highlight a case over which there has been growing disquiet. Speakers included Bob Woffinden, the investigative journalist, and Michael Naughton, an academic. Both have questioned whether the CCRC remains fit for purpose. It is six years since May left Askham Grange open prison after 12 years of a life sentence for the murder of her elderly aunt. She was convicted in 1993, lost her first appeal in 1997 ("the year the CCRC was formed") and a second CCRC-backed appeal in 2001. She believes that her fate -- and peace of mind -- rests in the hands of the Birmingham-based body. It deals with longstanding appeals such as her's and 950 new applications every year from people who want it to look afresh at their cases. "To be wrongly convicted is the worst thing ever," May says. "But to fight a system that is surrounded by red tape and bureaucracy just makes the nightmare worse." Woffinden believes that it is time to "acknowledge that [the commission] is an experiment that has failed". He calls its lack of action in May's case "an irrational non-decision" and says that her conviction would have been quashed were it not for the CCRC. Controversial, impossible to prove, but the campaigner says that the commission can take credit for taking only seven "major cases" to appeal since 2005. He argues that a host of cases -- including those of Jeremy Bamber, whom the CCRC decided not to refer back to the Court of Appeal again, Eddie Gilfoyle and May -- are left to languish. " 'Major' seems to us to equate to Bob's view as to how interesting he finds them," the CCRC counters. Since 2005 there have been 202 referrals to the appeal courts, including 33 murders and 28 rapes. "If you look over the entirety of the commission's existence, the number of cases we've referred has remained pretty constant and between three and four times as high as it was under the Home Office," says Richard Foster, former chief executive of the Crown Prosecution Service and now chairman of the CCRC. Many prominent defence lawyers disagree that the watchdog is redundant. The idea that we revert to the discredited Home Office C3 unit is "completely untenable", says Henry Blaxland, QC. "It's important that we don't lose sight that it was an historic development and broadly welcomed as a world leader. It should be something that we're proud of." But Blaxland acknowledges that its work is "increasingly variable". He says: "The commission has become overcautious. That's understandable. It reflects the mood of the Court of Appeal." The CCRC "stepped into an enormous vacuum", says Michael Mansfield, QC, whose name has been associated with the overturning of countless miscarriages from the Birmingham Six to Barry George. "The problems that it faces come from a couple of sources. The first is, I'm afraid, the Court of Appeal that over the years has turned the clock back. It is less willing to investigate miscarriages and from time to time has openly criticised the commission." The second problem is money. Its budget has been slashed from Pounds 6.9 million to Pounds 5.9 million since 2005, caseworker numbers have fallen from 48 to 32 and only 9 of the statutorily required 11 commissioners are in position. Surely something has to give? David Jessel, who recently stepped down from the commission after ten years, says: "There's a limit beyond which you can't honestly claim to do justice to a thousand new applicants a year." Jessel, a campaigning journalist through his work on programmes such as Rough Justice and Trial and Error, says that it might be "the time and the opportunity to rethink the CCRC's remit" and "refocus on its founding ambitions". Mansfield fears that CCRC critics play into the hands of ministers ideologically opposed to the commission. "I'm always aware that there are political forces at work that would love the CCRC disbanded," he says. "They think it's a waste of time. Not only do these people not deserve the vote, they don't deserve to have their cases reviewed." A collection of essays on investigating miscarriages of justice is to be published as part of the Justice Gap series by Jures and Solicitors Journal <Subject Restaurants Title An alternative to smoked salmon: Fast food Author Weinberg, Joanna Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 22, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> There's something fantastically glamorous about eating raw, or nearly raw, fish at home. It's also one of the few cold things that feels right to eat at this time of year. To boot, it's unbelievably easy to make, the only issue is finding extremely good quality, very fresh fish. It's generally more important, when buying it, to ask which is the freshest, rather than head for a specific type. Of the options, ceviche, which is fish "cooked" in lime juice is one of the most forgiving. Beat together for the marinade, plenty of lime juice, a little minced shallot, very finely sliced green chilli and salt. Chop your fish into small pieces and pour the marinade over. Leave for an hour in the fridge, and just before serving, add diced avocado and scatter with fresh coriander leaves. Delicious as a starter or on toast with drinks -- try sipping a good, mellow tequila alongside. Salmon tartare is one of those staples of vaguely ambitious Nineties restaurant menus that is worth revisiting at home. When you have a gentle mound to eat with toast rather than a compressed sandcastle formation, it's light and perfect for brunch alongside scrambled egg. Start with a piece of wild salmon belly (asking for sushi-quality fish should help) rather than something farmed and fatty, and make sure that you're in the mood for some fine chopping. Mince the fish and stir through minced chives, minced shallots (you don't need much), olive oil and a little salt. Now mince red onion, run under water for a few minutes to take the edge off, then drain and dry on kitchen towel. Stir through creme fraiche, season with salt and white pepper and serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and thin toast. If you're planning ahead for a crowd, gravlax, the Scandinavian cured salmon, is definitely the way to go. Ask the fishmonger for two whole matching pieces of salmon fillet with the skin on. For each 1kg of fish, mix 2 tbsp sea salt, 1 tbsp soft brown sugar, 1 tsp ground white pepper and a bunch of fresh dill. Rub the flesh side with the mixture, place the fillets flesh side together on a large sheet of clingfilm. Wrap tightly together, lay into a container to catch the drips and weigh down with a board with a couple of tins on top. Refrigerate for 2-3 days, turning over after the first day. When you are ready to eat, unwrap, rinse well and serve in thin slices, as you would smoked salmon. Eat with creme fraiche beaten with horseradish on the side, or this classic dill and mustard sauce: for 2 tbsp Dijon, mix in 4 tbsp mustard powder, the same amount of honey and 2 tbsp chopped dill. Frozen vodka shots complete the picture. <Subject Musical recordings Title Ray Gelato: Jazz Author Davis, Clive Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 22, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> In Soho, at this time of year, you still half-expect to bump into a zoot-suited George Melly as he saunters towards another of his late-night shows in Frith Street. Four years after his death, it still seems odd not to hear the old reprobate re-enacting the tragi-comic love affair of Frankie and Johnny or reminiscing about his Surrealist past. The saxophonist Ray Gelato goes a long way to filling Melly's shoes, though, especially when his showband, the Giants, revs up on that old stand-by, Airmail Special. His jokes may lack Melly's patina of worldly sophistication -- he is more Wheeltappers & Shunters than Chelsea Arts Club -- yet Gelato's festive residency has deservedly become an institution in its own right. The jazz temple becomes a Vegas lounge for a night or two. Not many bandleaders have a cookbook to flog as well. Gelato cheerfully plugs his Cookin' with Ray tome, pays cheesy musical homage to that Soho landmark Bar Italia and smuggles a reference to Nigella Lawson into his exuberant vocals on My Kind of Girl. As for the swing recipes, Louis Prima's legacy remains the prime ingredient, although the drummer Sebastiaan de Krom gets the opportunity to channel the spirit of Dizzy Gillespie with demure lead vocals on the novelty love song Ooh Shoobie Doobie. Playing the role of sidekick, for a change, Gelato supplied the necessary pinch of vaudeville. Compact but endlessly versatile, the immaculately drilled Giants matched him through every change of gear. Another of his old favourites, the keening instrumental version of Night Train, evoked the gritty R&B of Earl Bostic. "It's tough to play that one now," sighed the grey-haired Gelato as the tune reached its explosive conclusion. In a buoyant opening set, the influence of Prima and jumping jive master Louis Jordan was at its brightest on the likes of Up a Lazy River and a devilishly brisk treatment of As Time Goes By. There's a case for saying that When You're Smiling smacks of chicken-in-a-basket, but the tribute to Bobby Darin on Mack the Knife fused showbiz with first-rate musicianship. Gelato's sell-out run continues until Friday, and he returns to Ronnie Scott's in the run-up to New Year (Dec 29-31) for a series of duets with the singer Kai Hoffman. <Subject Vegetarianism; Restaurants; Local elections Title Healthiest city's good burghers surrender to the Big Mac attack: United States Author Will Pavia New Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 20, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The inhabitants of America's healthiest city could be experiencing a bout of high blood pressure -- for in the very heart of Loma Linda, California's primary citadel of vegetarianism, there are plans to build a McDonald's. The proposal to allow the sale of Big Macs in this sanctuary of healthy living was narrowly approved last week by city planners. Opponents are now contemplating drastic action, including a ban on fast food within the city limits. "Our credibility as a Blue Zone region is linked to maintaining longevity," Sylvie Wellhausen, a leading member of the Loma Linda Health Coalition, told the San Bernardino County Sun. "We are seriously at risk." The Blue Zone status was awarded to Loma Linda by Dan Buettner, an author and healthy living advocate, in a 2008 book published by National Geographic. Loma Linda, 60 miles west of Los Angeles, was identified as one of five places in the world with the highest concentration of people living above 100. The others were Sardinia, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece and the Japanese island of Okinawa. The roots of longevity in Loma Linda appear to lie in the large population of Seventh-day Adventists, a large proportion of whom are vegetarians. "Roughly half the population are Seventh- day Adventists," said Rhodes Rigsby, the mayor, a Seventh-day Adventist and lifelong vegetarian. One of the largest supermarkets stocks no meat products at all, there is a smoking ban, and the small number of fast-food outlets that are in Loma Linda offer a vegetarian option. John Weeks, a newspaper columnist, recalled that in 1967 a cafe serving meat opened: "It didn't last long. Nervous citizens would cast fearful glances, and quicken their step if they had to walk that way. It was as if the Devil himself had opened a diner." The mayor will not oppose a ballot on the issue at the June elections but thought that a total ban on fast food might be an overreaction. "I don't think having a Big Mac available to me would ever induce me to eat one," he said. <Subject Musicians & conductors; Musical performances; Bands Title McFly are boy band with the world at their feet after Strictly triumph [Edition 2] Author Hoyle, Ben Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 19, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> They don't have the sales of Take That, the youth of One Direction or the earnest musical differences of Busted but no boy band can match McFly's television hot streak. More than 12 million people watched the finale of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night in which Harry Judd, the band's drummer, won and was promptly mobbed by his bandmates. No wonder: victory crowned what Judd described as an "amazing year" for the band, following the triumph by their bass player Dougie Poynter in the 11th series of I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! earlier this month. Now television production companies are bombarding McFly with ideas for shows in the new year to capitalise on their popularity. The challenge will be coming up with something the band haven't done already. According to a spokesman for the band, "they are now TV stars as much as they are music stars", although, true to rock cliche, "for them it's still all about the music". It may well be, but all four members of the band have recently found time to take a break from "the music" to take part in television competitions. In addition to Judd and Poynter, the vocalist and chief songwriter Tom Fletcher won Pounds 100,000 for the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust earlier this year in a celebrity edition of the gameshow The Cube. The only blemish in the band's immaculate record came at the start of last year when Danny Jones, their singer and guitarist, came fifth on Pop Star to Opera Star. This summer they made a reality television programme called McFly on the Wall for Channel 5 and there have been previous guest appearances by the band on Casualty and Doctor Who. Fletcher and Poynter are already booked for a celebrity special of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on January 3, alongside the chef Heston Blumenthal and the boxer Amir Khan, while Judd will spend the early part of next year touring with the Strictly live show. Their spokesman was at pains to point out last night that "this wasn't a band that were on their arse, if that's what people were thinking". They toured arenas around the world earlier this year and their 2010 single Shine a Light, a gentle step away from their regular pop rock sound into electro-pop, became their biggest hit yet. While Judd was rehearsing for Strictly, the other three band members took a coastal break in Wales to work on new material, which will form part of the band's sixth album, to be recorded next year. A British tour beginning in March is already sold out, buoyed by renewed interest in McFly, seven years after they formed, thanks to Strictly and I'm a Celebrity. Primetime success in other fields is opening new doors however. "Since all of this has been happening, television can see that the boys are really popular because they have won two of the biggest shows on TV. Various networks have been in touch wanting to talk about what other ideas and other formats would work." <Subject Restaurants; Butter Title 'I once ate half a million pounds': Dine in Simon Callow Author Greenwell, Daisy Publication title The Times Publication date Nov 24, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Long ago, I had one of those terrible meetings with my accountant and she said I'd earned half a million pounds in the past couple of years. "And where is it?" she asked. "I don't know," I said, and she replied, "you've eaten it". I can remember the first restaurant meal of my life, in 1967 when I was working in the box office of the Aldwych Theatre. It was beef on foie gras on toast. The most heavenly dish, and it awakened me to all kinds of things I'd known nothing about. I became a serious foodie, but never dared to cook until my last relationship, when I shacked up with Daniel [Kramer, the playwright] who couldn't cook at all. In fact, it was clear he rather expected to be cooked for, so I bit the bullet. Because I'm so far behind, I always try to do new dishes. I've just moved from Camden to a flat with my two boxers, Biff and Roxie, on the canal in King's Cross. When people arrive, I serve champagne and often go to the length of a White Russian. We'd probably start a dinner party with an Ottolenghi salad of some kind, or cheese souffle in ramekins, or parsnip soup, which is outstandingly lovely. For the main, I adore duck, goose or poussin, and I particularly love cooking pork. It's the whiteness of it that appeals to me: it doesn't feel so carnivorous. Pork cooked in milk is a favourite -- it's very straightforward and the juices interact with the milk in the most thrilling kind of way. I like to have music playing, especially at the beginning. You don't want silence or awkwardness, which can easily happen if people don't know each other. Telemann's Tafelmusik (table music) is ideal. I'm the messiest cook in the world. I can turn a perfectly good kitchen into carnage in about ten minutes, and I'm more than capable of catastrophic disasters. I did one slow-roast dish for 24 hours, following the recipe to the letter, and it was literally cooked to a cinder. My guests were sitting round looking at pieces of coal. It's very heroic of me to do dessert because I don't eat it myself, I have no sweet tooth at all. I like making a fresh berry and red wine jelly, and sometimes I do creme brulee. For my personal taste I'd just have cheese, but when I'm acting I can't because it brings up all the mucus. My dream invitee would be Charles Dickens, no question. He relished his food and was apparently the most wonderful guest, because he roared with laughter and made the people he was talking to feel very funny indeed. <Subject Theatre Title comedy: Critic's choice Author Maxwell, Dominic Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 22, 2011 Section Saturday Review Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Dave Gorman's Powerpoint Presentation Don't miss Gorman, right, uses his projector to reflect on marriage, his fascination with marketing and the misconception that he is Jewish. Very entertaining. Aberdeen Music Hall (01224 641122), today; Edinburgh Festival Theatre (0131-529 6000), Sun; Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham (0115-989 5555), Mon; Cambridge Corn Exchange (01223 357851), Wed; Cliffs Pavilion, Southend (01702 351135), Thur Jerry Sadowitz Don't miss Sadowitz is perverse, spiteful, unacceptable. And if he's on the kind of fulminating form he was when I saw him in London earlier this year, he's also unmissable. Komedia, Brighton (0845 2938480), Sun; Komedia, Bath (0845 2938480), Thur; Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (0844 8884414), Fri Jimeoin New show The Irish-Australia returns for another round of smart observations. Leicester Square Theatre, London WC2 (0844 8733433), today; Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry (024-7652 4524), Sun; Swan, High Wycombe (01494 512000), Tues; Norwich Arts Centre (01603 660352), Wed; The Glee Club, Birmingham (0871 4720400), Thur Reginald D. Hunter: Sometimes Even the Devil Tells the Truth Don't miss A bold, brilliant new stand-up show from the American comedian in which he challenges received opinions in a way that's controlled yet heartfelt, contentious yet constantly witty. The show of his career. Cambridge Corn Exchange (01223 357851), today; New Victoria Theatre, Woking (0844 8717645), Sun; Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent (0844 8717649), Wed; Venue Cymru, Llandudno (01492 872000), Thur; Wolverhampton Civic Hall (0870 3207000), Fri; Southport Theatre (0870 607 7560), Thur <Subject Television programs; Motion pictures; Motion picture festivals; Military history Title Digital choice Author Hardy, Alex Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 24, 2011 Section Saturday Review Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Pick of the day Curb Your Enthusiasm More4, 11.10pm There is definitely life after divorce. With Larry's split settled in last week's opener, he has moved on to pastures new -- and how brilliantly the Curb team has mined the fresh seams of awkwardness. The laughs come as thick as the cringes as Larry discovers that there is a safe house for battered women on his street ("You hit the jackpot with this place, huh?" he says of their luxurious surroundings). There are clever twists on issues from racism to breast reduction, and the new dynamic at the lads' lunches, with Larry and Marty freshly single, is spot-on. Factual Gettysburg Military History, 9pm Historical re-enactment documentaries can be deeply naff. But this one comes with high-calibre credentials -- its executive producers are Ridley and Tony Scott, no less. It covers the three-day 1863 Gettysburg battle, or as Ed Stoppard's voiceover puts it: "The bloodiest battle ever fought on US soil." It is certainly fact-packed: experts lend their insights as we see eight personal stories of those involved graphically reconstructed. The Scotts certainly don't hold back on the "bloodiest" bit, as we see open wounds and CGI bullets carving their way into soldiers. Factual Freedom Riders Yesterday, 9.50pm A powerful film by the director Stanley Nelson, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at last year's Sundance Film Festival. The "freedom riders" are the young black and white Americans who, in 1961, took a stand against segregation, simply by travelling the Deep South on buses and trains together. The film chronicles the seven months in which they risked their lives, facing Ku Klux Klan attacks, mob threats and imprisonment. Entertainment The Only Way is Essex ITV2, 10.15pm How long until the words "reem" and "vajazzle" make the Oxford English Dictionary? Not long, given the runaway success of the series that put them into popular consciousness: TOWIE, which is back for its third run (broadcast on Sundays and Wednesdays ). The scripted reality show returns amid wins (it picked up the Audience Award at this year's TV Baftas) and losses (there's no Amy Childs this series because she jumped ship for Celebrity Big Brother). So how will the lives (and loves) of Joey Essex, right, Mark, Sam, Arg, Lydia and co play out now that they've hit the relative big time? One thing's for sure, the sage/hot-food provider Nanny Pat will have wise words and sausage plaits to keep them in line. <Subject Restaurants Title Dine out Massimo Author Bartley, Emma Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 22, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The Corinthia Hotel, 16 Northumberland Avenue, London SW1 (020-7998 0555); massimo- restaurant .co.uk What the critics say Zoe Williams The Sunday Telegraph, September 4 The dining- room here is magnificent, with great globular chandeliers that beam with luxuriousness ... I had the grilled octopus with avocado and potato, with a spicy lemon sauce and three squidges of aioli (Pounds 14). I was immediately exclaiming -- blaspheming -- about how good it was. It was an awesome feat of precision cheffing: if the avocado had been one degree squishier, or the potato 30 seconds more al dente, or the octopus fractionally chewier, it wouldn't have worked. The delicacy of each flavour was lifted and amplified by the lemon, never masked. A. A. Gill, The Sunday Times, July 17 For main course, the editrix had chicken, which she said was so chicken it had run off and left a magpie in its place. Nothing to write home about, or indeed, write to you about. My rack of lamb came with fregola, a sort of Sardinian couscous, and chick peas. The peas only just made it to the plural: there weren't enough to play a game of jacks. The lamb was boring. So, all in all, not very good, in a room wanting atmosphere. Giles Coren, The Times, July 2 For pudding we had a salted caramel ginger thing that tasted of posh moisturiser and some cups of pretty poor coffee. With the house prosecco and two bottles of cheap (but very good) vermentino, the bill for four came to well over four hundred quid. Mental. What the customers say Service excellent, seating comfortable. Adam on London-eating.co.uk What the chef says Massimo Riccioli It's been an interesting process getting to understand British journalists. I think some of them can be quite harsh, but generally, I feel that criticism is necessary and can be helpful. I will only stop learning when I am dead. I appreciate when a critic notices the fresh ingredients and the quality of the food being served. As Zoe Williams found, I'm a big fan of citrus flavours so I guess that is what I tend to serve my customers. I don't think the prices are high taking into account the high quality of ingredients we use and the environment in which our guests dine. Our portions are also generous -- I love to really feed people! <Subject Clothing; Actors; Auctions; Jewellery Title Liz Taylor's designer frocks and hot rocks set to fetch a queen's ransom at auction Author Blakely, Rhys Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Auctioneers have promised that the sale will include "a lifetime of one-of-akind haute couture gowns, pret-aporter fashions, coats, and capes ... scores of handbags, costume jewellery and shoes." But this being an auction of the contents of Liz Taylor's wardrobe, there will also be an abundance of wedding dresses -- including the ones that she wore marrying Richard Burton, on two occasions. The collection is to be auctioned by Christie's in New York on December 14 and 15. Taylor died in March of heart failure at the age of 79 in Los Angeles. Taylor always dressed to thrill, and the contents of her closets have been declared "a fashion equivalent of Tutankhamun's tomb". The 400 pieces to be sold range from an ethereal silver Chanel ballgown and cape, which the actress wore to a royal performance of The Taming of the Shrew in London in 1967, to the hotpants she donned in 1971 to celebrate becoming a grandmother at the age of 39. "This is not a red carpet wardrobe edited by stylists but a treasure trove of looks chosen by the last of the great movie stars," said Meredith Etherington-Smith of Christie's. A day before the clothes are offered, the actress's legendary collection of jewels will be sold, just in time to make somebody an extraordinary Christmas present. The baubles -- dubbed "The Crown Jewels of Hollywood" -- have been estimated to be worth $30 million (Pounds 19 million), but appear likely to fetch much more. They include La Peregrina, a pearl once worn by European queens. Now estimated to be worth up to $3 million, it cost Burton $37,000 when he bought it in 1969, outbidding the Spanish court at a Sotheby's auction in London. He gave the gem, said to have been discovered by an African slave diving in the Gulf of Panama in the 16th century, to Taylor as a Valentine's Day gift. The other star of the sale will be the "The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond", an asscher-cut, 33.19 carat stone set in a platinum ring, also a gift from Burton and estimated to be worth between $2.5 million and $3.5 million. At the other end of the spectrum, bidders will have a chance to snap up Taylor's two diamond-set wedding bands from her marriages to Burton. Estimated at only $6,000 to $8,000, they seem a steal. The clothes, shoes and handbags will include items by Chanel, Christian Dior, Gianfranco Ferre, Givenchy, Halston, Tiziani, Valentino, Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent. Apart from the two dresses that she wore when she married Burton, in 1964 and 1975, the ivory silk Valentino Couture gown she wore to the 1992 Oscars will also come under the hammer. The most expensive dress -- worn for Taylor's first of eight weddings, to Conrad "Nicky" Hilton -- is expected to sell for between $40,000 and $60,000. "Many of the pieces in this lifetime collection were couture, custom-made for Ms Taylor by designers who became her close friends," said Ms Etherington-Smith. Taylor's welltravelled Louis Vuitton suitcases will also be offered, complete with the star's personal tags, which announce in large letters, "Mine". The question now is who will buy the most famous pieces. Experts note that most modern film stars prefer to borrow jewellery when they walk the red carpet. However, there is speculation that the finest items will find new celebrity homes. <Subject Clothing; Fashion Title Something in the way they wear it ...: If you want to know what's cool in fashion, call on the insiders. The experts share their secrets with Carolyn Asome Author Asome, Carolyn Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 21, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Anyone who wants to solve their style conundrums need look only as far as the fabled front row -- the ultimate "how to" masterclass. Wondering how to do colour this autumn? Two stylish examples this week were Calgary Avansino and Pippa Holt, who rocked apple green and banana yellow. Susie Bubble also went for colour-clash teaming, nearly matching shades of strawberry pink and orange. Is black always back? Gabby Hackworthy and Kim Hersov seem to think so. "It creates such a strong and powerful silhouette," says Hersov. For Hackworthy "black is what I always do. Stick to your own style, don't dress to be photographed." Not quite as harsh is Meredith Melling Burke's take on nudes: she toughens up a blush pink coat with a black leather skirt. Jayne Pickering, meanwhile, wears a funky sandal to sex-up a utilitarian style. If we've learnt anything about next summer, it's how to get our heads around print. Jane Bruton shows us that animal-pattern trousers should do the talking, and Nicola Rose thinks minimalism and opts for polka-dot trim jeans. Here we reveal the look of ten style mavens who caught our eye in the past week and whose lead you may soon be following. Meredith Melling Burke Senior Market Editor at US Vogue Wearing a Phillip Lim coat, top by Alexa Chung for Madewell, a Gap skirt and Fendi bag. What's the best thing about coming to London aside from the shows? Dinner at the Wolsley is always enjoyable and I love checking out the brands at Dover Street Market, Mayfair. Gabriele Hackworthy Fashion Director at Harper's Bazaar Wearing Alexander McQueen velvet slippers, Balenciaga trousers, Acne white T-shirt, Martin Margiela blazer, a pyjama top I picked up in China. LFW survival staples? Nurofen Express for feet, Berocca and vodka, chauffeured Mercedes with a handsome driver. Wardrobe fail-safe? Edward Sexton bespoke suit. Highlight of the week? Fendi after-party at Mark's Club. Kim Hersov Editor at Large at Harper's Bazaar Wearing a Meadham Kirchhoff jacket, Maison Michel hat, Balmain T-shirt, Azzedine Alaia shoes and Sass & Bide jeans, Givenchy bag. How to stay sane? Tons of water and seeds and nuts because you never know where you next meal is going to come from. What do you wear? I always end up wearing a lot more black during the shows: it becomes a sort of uniform. And the leather trousers get an outing. Highlight of the week? The Marios Schwab show and Emeli Sande's performance at the Groucho made a nice change from fashion. Calgary Avansino Executive Fashion Director at Vogue Wearing blue Stella McCartney top, Joseph trousers, Rochas shoes and a Brahmin bag, a new label from New York. Fashion SOS? Green juices, nuts, seeds and an apple as well as Laura Mercier concealer to brighten my eyes at the end of the day. What have you loved this week? Seeing so many silk printed colour trousers on the catwalk and whimsical Prada sunglasses and the glamour of the Tom Ford dinner. Jayne Pickering Fashion Director of Marie Claire Wearing J Brand jeans, Stella McCartney blazer, Celine shoes, Chanel bag and Isabel Marant top. What do you always carry in your handbag? Sisley lip balm. Wardrobe fail-safe look? Christian Louboutin 85cm heels, pointy toed pumps and a great jacket. Favourite moment? Seeing David Byrne sitting opposite me in Meadham Kirchhoff's show. Hamish Bowles European Editor at Large at US Vogue Wearing suits by Dries van Noten and shoes by Burberry. What's your top grooming tip for London Fashion Week? Plenty of Tracie Martyn products. What do you rely on clotheswise for the week? Dashing into Turnbull & Asser for a pick-me-up. What has been your highlight? The Moet & Chandon gala for Mario Testino on Monday night. Jane Bruton Editor in Chief of Grazia Wearing Mulberry Carter bag, trousers from Elizabeth and James, grey sweater by Gap , shoes by Azzedine Alaia. What's your go-to fashion staple this week? My Jonathan Saunders skirt. What are you lusting over? A white trouser suit. Favourite moment? Dionne Bromfield singing at the Fendi dinner and seeing the Beyonce collection. Pippa Holt Contributing Editor to Vogue Wearing a 3.1 Phillip Lim dress, a Prada faux-fur scarf, Balenciaga shoes, Hermes Birkin bag and a YSL gold necklace. What's getting you through the week? Essie's fluro-yellow nail polish. Any highlights? Burberry's African-inspired print jackets and Anya Hindmarch's golden pear handbag. Nicola Rose Fashion & Creative Director at Red Wearing Marni jeans, YSL shoes, Cos coat and Miu Miu handbag. A beauty survival tip? Batiste shampoo is great when you're rushing all week and haven't got time to sort out your hair. Advice from the front row? Don't try too hard and be comfortable: being able to walk helps. Highlight of the week? The retro sweets at the Anya Hindmarch presentation. Susie Bubble Blogger Wearing Krystof Strozyna orange jacket, Jil Sander button-down dress and trousers, KTZ painted sweater, Rochas sandals and 3.1 Phillip Lim bag. What's your SOS fashion garment? Breton stripey tops from the US brand Madewell, which I use to contrast with whackier things. They are a great basic. And beauty wise? I'm actually quite low-maintenance but Batiste dry shampoo is good when you're busy. What have you enjoyed? I've been living in New York for a few months and it's fantastic to see LFW designers through fresh eyes. They are some of the most creative globally. <Subject Musicians & conductors; Grammy awards Title The Roots: Pop Author Sinclair, David Publication title The Times Publication date Aug 23, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The Roots are certainly a tangled phenomenon. In recent times, the long-running group from Philadelphia, founded by the rapper Black Thought (aka Tariq Trotter) and the drummer "?uestlove" (Ahmir Thompson), have found a mainstream role as the house band on the US TV talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And this year they won three Grammy awards for their collaboration with John Legend on the album Wake Up!. But they didn't play any of the songs from that on a one-stop visit to London, which was notable for the relentless high-speed bark of Black Thought's rap routines and several extended displays of thunderous instrumental showboating from the rest of the band. They set off with Thought at Work, a typically funky hip-hop groove, given an unusual twist by the bass line being played on a sousaphone by Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr" Bryson (pictured). An irrepressible character, Bryson spent the whole show hip-hopping around the stage with this most unwieldy of brass instruments wrapped around his neck, lending an insouciant touch of oompah- band dynamics to the hardcore funk grooves of How I Got Over and Here I Come. So far, so good. But while the musicians were all great players, they were a little too keen to demonstrate exactly how great. The longeurs began with a drum duel between "?uestlove" on the main kit and the percussionist F. Knuckles. This explosive but longwinded sequence was followed by an entertaining sousaphone solo and finally by a set-piece guitar-hero routine from Captain Kirk Douglas, which was so over the top that it had become a virtual parody by the time it ground to a conclusion with a quote from Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. The booming sound mix, at first merely overbearing, gradually reached soul-sapping levels. At one point Kamal Gray's keyboard rack collapsed, depositing its load of hi-tech equipment at the musician's feet and further contributing to the impression of a band that was not altogether in control of the commotion that it was bent on creating. There was a timely tribute to the late Nigerian star Fela Kuti and a swaggering version of Gil Scott-Heron's The Bottle. It was just a shame that it all turned into such a fearful ear-bashing. <Subject Bookstores; Books Title The Times Book Club: Ed Potton is whirled away by a cinematic saga Author Potton, Ed Publication title The Times Publication date Aug 22, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Michael Chabon is perhaps better known for Wonder Boys, the freewheeling campus novel that became a rather good film starring Michael Douglas. But his Pulitzer-winning masterpiece was published five years after that in 2000: an unashamed epic that stretches from the gothic alleyways of occupied Prague to the dazzling avenues of Forties New York to the blasted tundra of Antarctica. It's a tale of two cousins: Sam Clayman, a neurotic, secretly gay New York Jewish kid with a talent for storytelling, and Joe Kavalier, a stern, gifted draughtsman and conjuror who has escaped the Nazis in Czechoslovakia and is desperate to help his family do the same. It's a book full of Boy's Own riches: ancient golems, FBI stings, airborne adventures. Most of all, it's about escapes: Joe's thrilling flight from Prague and feats of showbiz escapology, Sam's retreat from his internal urges, and The Escapist himself, a comic-book character that the pair create and feed to the superhero-hungry teens of wartime America. It's a fun book about big ideas: just as Sam and Joe's comic strips are the cloak for their personal dramas -- Joe's absent family, Sam's homosexuality -- so Chabon's exuberantly readable prose explores elemental themes: identity, ambition, love, loss. Like Wonder Boys, the book has a cinematic quality: Stephen Daldry has already tried and failed to get it on to the big screen. If somebody manages it, they could have quite a film on their hands. <Subject Books;Novels Title 'The self is something you've got to get rid of': Ali Smith's brilliant new novel, about a guest at a dinner party who locks himself away, reflects on how stories have the power to restrain us or free us, she tells Erica Wagner Ali Smith on the power of stories Author Wagner, Erica Publication title The Times Publication date May 21, 2011 Section Saturday Review Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> This is like the beginning of an Ali Smith story, I think. We're walking to lunch in Cambridge, Ali Smith and I, on a perfect spring day, moving from the streets of cosy terraced houses, like Smith's, towards the grand pale stone of the university. But just as we approach Parker's Piece we come upon a man lying on the narrow pavement. He's in a T-shirt and jeans and he has an expensive watch on his wrist; and yet it looks as if he has fallen there, collapsed in the sunlight. Ali leans over him, shakes his arm, asking if he's all right in her quick, warm Scottish burr. At first he won't wake; Ali keeps trying. I'm standing beside her, wondering what turn this afternoon is about to take. If you want to say one thing about the stories told by Ali Smith, it's that anything can happen. "Oh, I love a catalyst," she said to me an hour earlier as we sat in her cosy front room talking about her remarkable new novel, There but for the. The catalyst in this book is Miles Garth, who finds himself invited to a dinner party in leafy Greenwich -- an hilariously recognisable uppermiddle-class aspirational evening -- and while there locks himself in an upstairs room and won't come out. At all. ("I am only relieved the bedroom is en suite," remarks his desperate host, Genevieve.) The story is told in Smith's characteristic method, by a sequence of voices surrounding the enigmatic Miles. By Anna, an old friend of his enlisted to help to get him out; by Mark Palmer, who had invited him to the dinner in the first place, though they had really only just met; by May Young, an elderly woman in a nursing home whose connection to Miles is, at first, obscure; and by Brooke Bayoude, the talkative, clever little daughter of his host's neighbours and fellow guests. Miles himself is seen only through others' impressions of him, and through small scraps of his own writing -- a story, notes -- that punctuate the book. It is a brilliant novel: funny, serious, always surprising, always true. Described in a few words, it sounds like a jeu d'esprit; but it is a profound meditation on the stories that we tell about ourselves, about other people, how those stories box us in and free us. And as Smith's books show, it is stories that make us who we are. Her use of multiple narratives comes not of her own choosing, she says. "I don't have a choice. If there's a story there will be another story. There's always the Other Story." You can hear the capital letters in her voice. "If you write fiction, your job is to apprehend the truth, something real, and be sensitive enough to give back a reflection that is both a mirror and beyond the real: so we can use the real and the reflection and be able to survive both. There is nothing singular. We exist at multiple points." Smith's own story began in Inverness in 1962; looking at her dark hair, her bright elfin face and her silver-ringed hands, I find it hard to believe that she'll be 50 next year. But she has always had an ageless quality; both wiser than her years and eternally young. Her first book, Free Love and Other Stories, was published in 1995, won the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award and an award from the Scottish Arts Council. She's been on an upward trajectory ever since. Hotel World (2001) was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Booker; her last novel, The Accidental, won the Whitbread Novel Award in 2005. (Her contribution to the Canongate Myths series, Girl Meets Boy, was published in 2007.) It's worth remarking that The Accidental, too, uses this device of a catalyst: a woman, Amber, who appears to transform a single family's life, unleashing its hidden passions and desires. "That has to be one of my favourite myths: the unexpected visitor and how we deal with it. Or: what if we are the unexpected visitor? When I think about it now -- though I couldn't have thought of it at the time -- this book is the inverse of The Accidental. This book is about the opposite of our desires. We can't construct Miles -- or we can, we can try, but at every point that construction will be resisted." Newspaper reports, of course, begin to appear about Miles and his selfentombment in a nicely decorated house on a leafy street; they refer to him as "Milo", because it's catchier. We know that he's not Milo, but Miles. For Smith, the shift in a couple of letters is no small thing. "When I started this book, the vision I had was a Kafkaesque vision," Smith says. "Of a man who was put in a room, could not get out of that room and could not understand what was holding him there. That was the genesis of this novel. Then, beyond that -- well, that put me on to Plato, on to Pascal, and what it means to sit in a room and think by yourself. But now that means, you sit with this!" There's her laptop, beside her and the cat on the sofa. "So you aren't by yourself; you're on this massive, global, viral interconnection. But are you connected? Or is that a fantasy act, a fantasy action?" She's suspicious of the supposedly instant connection we can get these days to what we think of as the rest of the world: Google, she writes, "promises everything, but everything isn't there. You type in the words for what you need, and what you need becomes superfluous in an instant, shadowed instantaneously by the things you really need, and none of them answerable by Google". Sitting on her sofa we discuss the perils of tweeting, a temptation both of us, so far, have resisted: "When you send a tweet you enter into yourself in a performance mode," she says. "When you sit down in a room and are connected with people in this way, you are in a performance self, exactly the way you are if you know a camera's on you. All someone has to say is 'Camera's on' and you become someone else. So there's a split, a self-split, there." One might argue that writing requires a splitting of the self, too -- although for Smith it's clear that writing, for her, is no performance: it is what she is, with every fibre of her being. When I ask her if she's surprised at how her life story has turned out, she laughs. "I kind of think I don't really have one." And she expresses puzzlement at the cult of the writer-aspersonality: "Writers need anonymity," she says. "We really need to be invisible. The self is something you've got to get rid of as a writer. It's just something else that's in the way. Of course, you can't get rid of yourself, it all passes through the same mulch, mush, much of a muchness" -- that ready laugh again -- "but it's of no help, and it's not relevant. The only relevance is to hear whatever the story, or the voice, or the sentence or the syntax is doing. That's our responsibility." That mulch, mush, much of a muchness is characteristic of Smith: her love of language, her commitment to it as a force for good. I wonder if this is because, in a sense, language was her liberator: her fiction as a whole is striking for its use of the second person as narration, the ungendered "you". That must have been an important discovery for a young gay woman in workingclass Inverness? "We're really lucky in this language," she says in answer. "We're lucky not to be gendered in our first and second person. I know that from talking to people who speak other languages -- they tell me that they are jealous of English, of how free you can be. And I'm sure as a kid growing up, and not knowing how multiple or singular I was, and wondering about all those questions that make you the person you are. I think that's a big thing, to know that things don't have to be gendered. Selves love in imagination. These things don't have to have a gender. There's an out in language that allows you to be out out, whatever you are. And that allows the reader to go in: whoever the reader is. Our language is immensely versatile and freeing that way." She grins. "Good old English!" It's clear -- out out -- that her delight in language is as evident in person as it in her books; as is her genius for puns. Elderly May, suspicious of the modern world, observes the virtual online life of the young people she sees: "That was them these days, spending all their time looking up things on the intimate." I'll never think of the internet in any other way. The intimate: the force that has wormed its way into our minds, our souls, so that it's hard these days ever to be quite alone. It is this consideration of how any interaction with the world is mediated that makes There but for the a political novel -- all the more so because it doesn't wear its politics on its sleeve in the way that, say, Jonathan Franzen's Freedom does. Ali Smith and I met two days after the world learnt of the death of Osama bin Laden; it's no surprise to me that she latches on to the language used to describe that death. "I was walking through King's Cross station when it flashed up on the news. Every time there was a mention of the death there was a word -- such a surreal word -- celebration of the death. David Cameron says: 'We welcome this death; it's a killing which will bring relief. So I have been in King's Cross for half an hour and I have seen death, killing, celebration, relief. And I can't quite believe how that's happened. That that's all right." She jumps up, grabs a book from her overflowing shelves and reads to me from Virginia Woolf's Three Guineas, an epistolary essay published in 1938, near the end of Woolf's life. It responds, in part, to graphic photographs of the carnage of the Spanish Civil War and asks how we should respond to those images. Looking at such an image, Woolf writes, "... suggests that the public and the private worlds are inseparably connected; that the tyrannies and servilities of the one are the tyrannies and servilities of the other. But the human figure, even in a photograph, suggests other and more complex emotions. It suggests that we cannot dissociate ourselves from that figure but are ourselves that figure. It suggests that we are not passive spectators doomed to unresisting obedience but by our thoughts and actions can ourselves change that figure." Her voice is intent as she reads. Then she looks up, passion in her eyes. "There is an indivisible connection between public and private abuse," she says. "And we have to know that our human selves are always both public and private. It's all of us. We are all human. Nothing human is alien to us." "Nothing human is alien to us" is as good an explanation as any for why Ali Smith will never pass by on the other side, in her writing or in her life. The man on the pavement declined her help. Ali Smith made sure that he really meant what he said. "Fine, fine," he mumbled, "I'm fine, thanks." And we walked on in silence. The story could have gone another way. The story always can. There but for the by Ali Smith is published by Hamish Hamilton I had a Kafkaesque vision. Of a man who was put in a room and couldn't get out 'We need to know that our human selves are always both public and private' <Subject Musical recordings Title Philippe Jaroussky: Concert Author Brown, Geoff Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 26, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> In September 2005 the young French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, daisy-fresh, burst upon Britain from the back of the Purcell Room singing one of Monteverdi's songs of tortured love with the free spirits of Christina Pluhar's group L'Arpeggiata. Jaws dropped. An instant star? Perhaps not, but certainly promise incarnate. Still surrounded by Pluhar's musicians, people as partial to a jazz hiccup and slur as a polished baroque trill, he returned to London with the same item (Ohime ch'io cado) and much more. Not every addition of six years' singing and marketing was welcome. The voice's flexibility and soprano glow are still abundant; he still inflects phrasings and words with dazzling grace. But a hard glare has come into the weak top register. The expressive range remains exquisite yet small, while colours are still various shades of white. At the same time, physical gestures have expanded alarmingly, as if in compensation for his lightweight voice. Hands forever plead, sob and all but conduct. "Get a grip, man," I wanted to shout. Even in a programme labelled Teatro d'Amore the imploring limbs soon became bothersome. So did aspects of Pluhar's instrumental theatre. She's famous for avoiding pedantry and welcoming improvisation -- something to be expected in a programme of Baroque laments and dances built round ostinato bass lines. Some of the embellishments were terrific. Who could grouse at the vigorous sprints of Veronika Skuplik's violin or the gorgeous silvery psaltery of Elisabeth Seitz? But Boris Schmidt's double bass added little of value, decibels included. The biggest problem was Doron Sherwin's jazzy cornet -- smoothly executed, yet over-indulged and soon predictable, a stone in the ensemble's shoe. Among the concert's florid adventures, some lovely tender intimate moments survived: Monteverdi's opera lullaby Adagiati, Poppea, and the early stages of Giovanni Felice Sances's Stabat Mater. Once the encores rolled out, the night tipped over into cabaret. Pop-star shakings from Jaroussky, musical duels with Sherwin's jazz toots, while Monteverdi's notes came and went. The packed audience, enthusiastic from the beginning, almost clapped the house down. And me, poor me? I laughed a little, then said: "Enough, already." <Subject Musical recordings Title R. Kelly: Pop Author Sinclair, David Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 25, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> It has been a long time since I saw an audience seduced with quite such a ruthless sense of purpose as that deployed by R. Kelly at the Apollo. The self-proclaimed pied piper of R&B last performed in Britain 12 years ago, an absence which arose, he told us, because he was "too scared to get on the plane". This from the man whose biggest hit is I Believe I Can Fly. Striding on in jacket and scarf, a half-smoked cigar between his fingers, like a hip-hop version of the Great Gatsby, Kelly, 44, machine-gunned his way through snippets of half a dozen songs -- Hotel, So Sexy, Gigolo, Strip for You -- in about as many minutes, while restlessly working his way from side to side, reaching out and clasping the hands of admirers clustered at the foot of the stage like moths fluttering around a flame. "I'm searching for someone to come back with me to America," he crooned, raking the audience with eyes that could pierce armour, in search of this potential soulmate. "Is there anybody here who'd like to go all the way with me tonight?" he inquired. The sea of outstretched hands and floating phone cameras in front of him went into a mild frenzy. Subtle it was not. But Kelly's phenomenal stage presence was matched by the sensational range of his singing. Accompanied for the most part by a four-man band with two backing singers, he alternated between industrial-strength hip hop routines (Ignition, Bump 'n' Grind) and big traditional, soul ballads (Down Low, When a Woman's Fed Up). For a long stretch he sang a cappella, all the time working the crowd with a hustle that combined the techniques of spiritual leader and fairground huckster. Like many great entertainers, his appetite for attention was simply insatiable. I Believe I Can Fly was delivered amid a thunderstorm of self-belief and driven emotion, followed by When a Woman Loves, a ballad from his current album Love Letter, towards the end of which the great man fell to his knees, apparently overwhelmed by the intensity of the feelings swelling in his breast. He recovered sufficiently to muster a quick trot through Happy People and then effected a surprisingly brisk exit. The crowd, too stunned to move for several minutes, eventually headed unsteadily for the exits. You know when you've been Kellyed. <Subject Theater Title A labour of love, but not quite the miracle that the faithful had hoped for: Theatre [Edition 2] Author Kingston, Jeremy Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 25, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Over a weekend that was sunnier and hotter than Jerusalem, the citizens of Port Talbot presented a three-day passion play that was imaginative, bewildering and weird. The inspiration for this enormous enterprise came from the actor Michael Sheen, a local boy, and was brought to fruition by National Theatre Wales and Wildworks. The latter is a company dedicated to creating "landscape theatre" under Bill Mitchell, its artistic director, and he had directed this joint venture with Sheen. On Good Friday, Sheen's Jesus-figure -- referred to as The Teacher -- appeared on the town's beach, an amnesiac in a hoodie, and gathered followers to resist the destructive inroads of a nasty company called ICU. Some of what followed, including his eventual trial and beating, took place in the local shopping centre. Other scenes occurred in a churchyard, along roads and beneath the M4 flyover -- here called the Passover. Yesterday, 50 drummers led a vast procession escorting Sheen, bloodstained and staggering, as he carried his cross to the place of Crucifixion. The construction of the M4 did slice through Port Talbot, and the script of The Passion, written by Owen Sheers, imagines that the wicked ICU plans to destroy much of what remains to get at the coal beneath the streets. The idea has promise and I salute the vigour that went into realising it. But three factors limited its success. The first was the improbability of any commercial company here wielding the kind of cruel power that Sheers imagines (although one could go along with that for the sake of the drama). The second problem was that Sheen, acclaimed for his portrayals of Tony Blair, David Frost and Brian Clough, did too little with his character. He seemed to spend the first two days gazing with saintly gentleness upon those who were troubled and seemingly bringing calm by his mere presence. Sheers presented the actor with brief gnomic utterances, but much of the dialogue was fractured and repetitive. The Last Supper was a performance in the Seaside Social and Labour Club, with the Manic Street Preachers -- local pop heroes -- hauled off the stage by ICU heavies. The Teacher, unmoved, divided sandwiches between his followers. Leonardo da Vinci this wasn't. But the crucial hindrance to realising its creators' vision was the frequent impossibility of finding out what was going on. Occasionally it felt like the cheesemaker's scene in The Life of Brian, where little could be seen but the heads of people in front. Figures in long pale gowns stood among the gravestones. Were these the dead who had been resurrected? Or were they just waiting for their star actor to start their scene? Why did the Teacher's discovery that he had fathered a daughter impel him to seek self-sacrifice? Was she one of the three women in white who hugged him on top of a skip in a car park, moments before he conversed with a white-bearded figure on a rooftop who called him Son? Yet, where the production succeeded was in energising so many hundreds of townspeople to work for a common purpose, be it acting, dancing, singing or providing the crew to stage it. This might not have been the miracle Sheen's Teacher asked for, but it truly was something remarkable. <Subject Institutional investments; Bank acquisitions & mergers; International finance Title Banking & finance: Need to know [Edition 2] Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 18, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Lloyds: A plan to offload a corporate loans portfolio thought to be worth about Pounds 100 million is being examined. The bank is trying to cut some of the financial risks it accumulated in the run-up to the 2008 credit crisis. Equitable Life: The Treasury has been accused of creating delays in the payment of compensation to Equitable Life policyholders after it rejected a disc containing up-todate contact details for 322,000 customers. A Freedom of Information request has also revealed that only 777 of one million expected payouts have been made. Page 37 Vickers plan: The CBI will give evidence today to the Treasury Select Committee hearings on Sir John Vickers' plans to create a firewall between retail and investment banks. PwC, the Association of Corporate Treasurers and Cass Business School also appear before the committee today. Bank of Ireland: A group of institutional investors including the Wall Street financier Wilbur Ross's investment fund has completed the acquisition of a EUR 1 billion (Pounds 873 million) stake in Bank of Ireland. Berkshire Hathaway: General Electric has paid $3.3 billion (Pounds 2 billion) to repurchase preferred stock sold to Warren Buffett's investmnent fund in October 2008. Takeover extensions: The Takeover Panel has extended "put up or shut up" deadlines on about ten bids that are at an advanced stage of negotiation. One of the longest-running deals -- an estimated Pounds 40 million bid for Travelzest -- was given until November 14. Page 44 <Subject Profits; Financial performance Title Philips to shed jobs as TV sale falters Author Fildes, Nic; Thompson, Susan Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 18, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Hundreds of British jobs are at risk after Philips revealed plans to cut 4,500 workers as profit slumped to a two-year low. The Dutch group has been forced into a restructuring after reporting a 85 per cent drop in third- quarter net profits, which slid to EUR 76 million (Pounds 67 million), from EUR 524 million a year ago. Although it said that it planned to cut 1,400 jobs in the Netherlands, the consumer electronics giant has not yet specified how many of Britain's 2,200 staff will go. It has, however, said that the job cuts will account for 60 per cent of an anticipated EUR 800 million in cost savings. Frans van Houten, who took over as chief executive in April, said that cutting jobs was an "inevitable step" in restoring one of continental Europe's most famous brands back to health. Mr van Houten's first move after joining Philips was to sell its loss-making television business, after 80 years of ownership, to a new company majority-owned by China's TPV Technology. Philips said yesterday that the deal was taking longer than expected and was unlikely to be completed by the end of the year. This has led to concerns that the spinoff may collapse. Mr van Houten said that Philips would "consider alternative options" if a deal could not be struck. Despite reiterating the group's 2013 financial targets of 4 to 6 per cent sales growth, and a profit margin of 10 to 12 per cent, Mr van Houten said there was little hope of a material improvement in the near-term. "We are not yet satisfied with our current financial performance, given the ongoing economic challenges, especially in Europe, and operational issues and risks. We do not expect to realise a material performance improvement in the near term," he said. Shares in Philips fell EUR 0.78 to EUR 14.56 on the Amsterdam stock exchange, having fallen from EUR 25 in January. Lights dimming Philips, which traces its roots to the manufacture of carbon filament lamps in the 1890s, is still the biggest maker of lightbulbs, street lamps and industrial lighting in the world. But profits have slumped heavily at its lighting business, with operating profit falling to EUR 110 million, down from EUR 193 million last year. The Eindhoven-based company noted, however, that it had recently won several big clients, including Carrefour, the French supermarket group. <Subject Acquisitions & mergers; Tender offers Title BP investors demand new strategy after Rosneft fiasco: 'It's shambolic ... this is a seriously bad day' Author Webb, Tim; Costello, Miles Publication title The Times Publication date May 18, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Investors have rounded on the BP chief executive Bob Dudley, architect of the "shambolic" Rosneft deal that finally collapsed yesterday, demanding that he carry out a fundamental strategic rethink. BP insisted yesterday that a deal with the Russian state-controlled company could still be revived and that talks would continue, though no date has been set for their resumption. But Robert Talbut, chief investment officer of Royal London Asset Management, a longtime BP shareholder, said that Mr Dudley needed to rebuild trust with investors. "It's quite clear that the deal with Rosneft was a significant plank of BP's future growth prospects. Without the deal the prospects are significantly worse. The company needs to come up with a revised long-term strategy. Shareholders will be asking it to return to a fundamental review." BP's period of exclusivity to form an alliance with Rosneft to explore the Russian Arctic expired on Monday night after four months of tortuous negotiations. BP and Rosneft failed to strike an agreement to buy out the oligarchs who hold a 50 per cent stake in its TNK-BP joint venture, though the British company said yesterday the offer was still on the table. Several heavyweight shareholders blamed Mr Dudley for the collapse of the deal, arguing that as a former TNK-BP chief executive he should have seen the potential stumbling blocks in relations with the oligarchs. "It's shambolic. You can't go out and sell this as a done deal when you haven't the authority to do so. This is a seriously bad day for management credibility," one investor said. Mr Talbut added: "No one is calling for Bob Dudley to go. But it's clear that he significantly underestimated the difficulty that AAR [BP's Russian partners in TNK-BP] would present." Another investor said: "Dudley seems to have been naive. There's clearly more than meets the eye here, but it reflects badly on Dudley and management and they mishandled it." A fourth added: "This isn't life-threatening for Dudley, but it does reflect badly on him." People close to BP are confident that rivals such as Shell and ExxonMobil are unlikely to replace it as Rosneft's partner because they do not have suitable deep-water expertise or are unlikely to be prepared to swap shares with the Russian company. But insiders indicated that any new deal with BP is unlikely to be completed this year, because it could take two months to negotiate and another six to secure the necessary regulatory approvals. Mr Talbut said that Mr Dudley had to accept that the Rosneft deal might not happen. "It would be a real shame, but there comes a point where you simply say it does not make commercial sense and you have to move on." The collapse of the Rosneft deal means still more uncertainty and investors appear to be losing patience in a company still trying to recover from the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Iain Reid, analyst at Jefferies, said: "The market did not like the fact that BP tried to go ahead with the share swap without the exploration deal, so there was a bit of relief today that the deal collapsed." Shares in BP fell 3.65p to 434.8p. One top ten shareholder told The Times that BP had a "seriously weak" board that left it vulnerable to an opportunistic takeover bid. He blamed the chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and said he should quit. The investor added that Mr Svanberg had survived at the annual meeting last month only because shareholders did not want to destabilise the board while the Rosneft negotiations were taking place. "Svanberg has got to go," he said. "Next time, the vote will be an easy one." BP said yesterday that it had agreed to sell its stake in Wytch Farm in Dorset to Perenco UK for up to $610 million in cash. The Times has learnt that Premier Oil is interested in exercising its pre- emption rights. Premier, which has 30 days to decide, declined to comment. <Subject Appointments & personnel changes; Central banks; Eurozone; Meetings; Bailouts Title IMF chief was preparing to tackle Greek debt crisis: Strauss-Kahn Author Fleming, Sam Publication title The Times Publication date May 16, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The International Monetary Fund's executive board convened an emergency meeting last night as the accusations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn sent shockwaves through the organisation. The board's 24 members were due to gather in its Washington DC offices at a meeting chaired by John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director, who has assumed the job of acting head. The institution issued a statement saying that it remained "fully functioning and operational", but the events in New York had immediate ramifications for its work in dealing with the continuing crisis in the eurozone. Mr Strauss-Kahn had been due to attend talks with Chancellor Merkel of Germany to discuss how to shore up the crippled finances of Greece, but the meeting was cancelled after his arrest. The Frenchman was also due to join EU discussions today over whether to extend a new bailout package to Athens to cover a looming funding gap in 2012. Nemat Shafik, a deputy managing director of the IMF and former Permanent Secretary at the British Department for International Development, will instead attend the EU meetings. Economists said that the charge against Mr Strauss-Kahn would unsettle financial markets that are already on heightened alert because of the worsening situation in Greece. Mr Strauss-Kahn had won widespread plaudits for his steady handling not only of the eurozone crisis but also the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers crash in 2008. He secured a tripling of the Fund's resources at the height of the credit crunch. With government finances buckling across the world, the IMF's emergency loans soared to $91.7 billion last year from only $1.1 billion on the eve of the crash. The IMF had been widely criticised for failing to spot the stresses building in financial markets before the crash, but under Mr Strauss-Kahn's stewardship it had regained much of its stature. It has been a particularly important player in the bailouts of Greece, the Republic of Ireland and Portugal, agreeing to lend them EUR 78.5 billion. Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered bank, said that the events in New York came at a tense time given the febrile state of eurozone markets. "The IMF has been pretty good in how it has handled the crisis and some of the credit should got to Dominique Strauss-Kahn," he said. "The worry would be about there now being a lame duck at the organisation." Mr Strauss-Kahn's travails will heighten speculation over who will take the helm of the IMF when he goes. At 62, he was already widely expected to step down early in order to pursue his dream of becoming French president; some analysts had predicted that he could leave this summer. Paola Subacchi, head of the international economics programme at Chatham House, said that there were likely to strengthened calls for the next IMF boss to come from an emerging market. "There is more urgency now about the question of who to chose as Strauss-Kahn's replacement," she said. Officials in the UK and elsewhere have expressed support for Christine Lagarde, the French Finance Minister, as a possible candidate. Mario Draghi, the head of Italy's central bank, had been seen as a possible successor but he is now expected to become president of the European Central Bank. <Subject Recessions; Employment; Job openings Title For every job, there are 40 unemployed Author Lea, Robert Publication title The Times Publication date May 16, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Country of publication United Kingdom Source type Newspapers Document type News> The closure of the historic home of Johnnie Walker Scotch in Kilmarnock, the loss of dozens of small and medium-sized companies and deep cuts in the public sector have transformed Scotland's industrial heartland into the recession's biggest employment blackspot. Latest figures show that Ayrshire and Dunbartonshire, north and south of the Clyde west of Glasgow, have the most unemployment claimants chasing the fewest jobs. Yet only six years ago the top ten worst economic blackspots in Britain were all in London. The list was headed by Newham in East London, which had about 15 claimants for every job. Even though it has been home to a construction boom surrounding the 2012 Olympic Games, Newham's ratio has stayed at about 15. But it has been overtaken by areas now even worse off. In 2011, West Dunbartonshire has more than 40 claimants for every job vacancy, the worst ratio in Britain. Neighbouring north Ayrshire has 28 claimants per vacancy, while east Ayrshire has 32. The closure over the past two years by Diageo, the world's biggest drinks company, of the Johnnie Walker plant has hit the region, as have the 18,500 public sector job cuts in Scotland for an economy heavily reliant on state-backed employment. Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, which collated the figures, said: "People living in inner London boroughs have had tough job prospects for many years, but since the recession new employment blackspots have emerged. There is a stark jobs divide across the country, with parts of Scotland experiencing a far sharper downturn than parts of the South East. "We are in the midst of a jobs crisis. Dozens of towns and cities have more than ten dole claimants chasing every vacancy and areas on their doorstep are not faring much better. "It's not good enough for ministers to brand those out of work as feckless and claim that there are plenty of jobs out there." In 2005 the number of dole claimants per vacancy across the country was 1.5. It is now four times that amount. Inner London still has areas with large claimant/vacancy ratios: Haringey, Hackney, Lewisham and Lambeth are all in the national top ten troubled areas. In Scotland the Western Isles also makes the top ten. The Scottish TUC said that it was likely to be joined soon by Moray in the Scottish north east with the closure there of RAF Kinloss and question marks over the future of RAF Lossiemouth. A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research said that public spending cuts would disproportionately hurt regions of the country that have been heartlands of support for the Labour Party. The CEBR said that its research showed that over the life of the Parliament, public spending as a proportion of a local share of GDP would be cut in some cases by more than 10 percentage points. Its data indicates that that the fall between 2009-10 and 2014-15 will be 8.1 per cent in the North East, 7.1 per cent in the West Midlands, 7.2 per cent in Scotland, 9.2 per cent in Wales and 10.9 per cent in Northern Ireland. That compares to shallower cuts elsewhere in the country, such as the expected decline of 5.1 percentage points in the South East. The CEBR figures show that public spending in the North East will still account for 55.7 per cent of local GDP, compared with 31.4 per cent in London. <Subject Financial performance; Building societies; Net losses Title Banking & finance: Need to know Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 16, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> EBS: Ireland's biggest building society reported a net loss of EUR 590 million (Pounds 522 million) for 2010, more than seven times larger than the previous year's shortfall, and said that its funding situation remained challenging. The society, which is to merge with the country's second-largest lender Allied Irish Banks, took a EUR 677 million impairment charge for the year as mortgage arrears rose and it transferred assets to a state-run "bad bank". Charles Schwab: Net income at the largest American discount brokerage was slightly higher than forecast at $243 million (Pounds 149 million) for the three months to the end of March. This compared with $6 million for the same period last year, when a legal settlement almost wiped out earnings. Bank of America Profits at America's largest bank by assets fell by 37 per cent to $2 billion for the three months to March 31. The figure was $3.2 billion in the same period last year. Revenue fell by 16 per cent to $27 billion. <Subject Mortgages; International finance; Fees & charges; Fixed rates; Legal fees Title Landlords gain from booming lettings market: Mortgages Rent rises and more loan availability mean prospects are bright, says David Budworth Author Budworth, David Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 16, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> House prices are sagging, but as rents rise and the supply of buy-to-let mortgages improves, prospects are brightening for landlords. In recent weeks, Skipton Building Society has returned to the buy-to-let market and Metro Bank, Yorkshire Building Society and Santander have said that they will be offering more mortgages to property investors too. Existing lenders are also making it easier to get a loan. Kensington Mortgages recently increased its loan to value (LTV) on buy-to-let deals to 85 per cent. This week, The Mortgage Works, part of Nationwide Building Society, introduced a new range of buy-to-let loans with free valuation and legal fees or Pounds 350 cash back. David Hollingworth, of the mortgage broker London & Country, says: "Like all borrowers, buy-to-let landlords face the dilemma of whether to switch to a new deal to insulate themselves against interest rate rises. More competition should make the decision easier." The improving picture marks a turnaround from the bleak scene just a few years ago, when lenders pulled the majority of buy-to-let loans as recession struck, amid fears that many landlords faced a financial meltdown. Ian Potter, of the Association of Residential Letting Agents, says: "It has been exceedingly tough. At the start of 2010 there were just ten buy-to-let products on the market. Now there are more than 300 [still only a tenth of the number available at the peak of the market in 2007]." Booming tenant demand has prompted lenders to return to buy-to-let, as landlords benefit from the inability of first-time buyers to get a leg on the property ladder. David Newnes, of LSL Property Services, says: "Although more high LTV products are coming on to the market, first-time buyers simply can't afford the average Pounds 25,000 deposit that lenders require without substantial aid from parents. For landlords this has been great news, as those unable to muster a large deposit have remained in the private rental sector. The growing demand continues to outstrip supply, and this is pushing rents upwards beyond the rate of inflation and well above wage rises. "At the current rate of increase, the average rent will top Pounds 715 [a month] this time next year. London rents are likely to hit Pounds 1,050 in a years' time." The strength of demand is revealed in figures from Paragon Mortgages, which shows that the average period in which landlords are without tenants is at its lowest level since early 2009 at 2.8 weeks a year. Despite the improved outlook, experts warn that anyone tempted to dip their toe in the buy-to-let market could still struggle. You are in a strong position if you don't need to borrow. Not only can you act quickly but you are more likely to be able to dictate terms. Lucian Cook, director of research at Savills, the property agency, says: "Cash investors hold the trump card. In the last quarter of 2010, 40 per cent of all buyers were cash buyers." Most buy-to-let mortgages still require a minimum 25 per cent deposit and the best-value ones require an investor to commit even more. The rates on offer are higher than the equivalent rates on standard residential mortgages, but not by a big margin. The cheapest variable rate deal from Bank of China (UK) charges 3.38 per cent above Bank of England base rate for life. This means it has a current pay rate of 3.88 per cent. The maximum LTV depends on how much you borrow. If you prefer the security of a fixed rate, the cheapest five- year deal, from Leeds Building Society, charges 5.69 per cent up to 60 per cent LTV. It has a Pounds 199 booking fee and a Pounds 1,350 completion fee. Coventry Building Society has a twoyear fix at 4.49 per cent with a Pounds 250 booking fee and Pounds 999 arrangement fee. It is available up to 60 per cent LTV. Deciding where to invest involves weighing up the rental yield -- the rent as a proportion of the purchase price -- versus the prospects for capital growth. The highest yields, of about 6 per cent, are available on one-bed flats in less expensive neighbourhoods, according to Savills. However, because there is less demand from owner- occupiers in these areas, capital growth is likely to be weaker than in other areas. Family homes offer lower rental yields -- a typical three bedroom house yields almost 5 per cent -- but offers better prospects for capital growth. Where you buy in the country also influences returns. Rental yields in Nottingham average 6.1 per cent, according to Savills. In Manchester this drops to 5.7 per cent, in London it is 5.1 per cent and in Bristol 4.7 per cent. At the peak of the house price boom, some investors went into buy-to-let to make a quick return. This view was encouraged by get-rich-quick clubs that claimed to reveal the secrets of how to make millions from property investment. Many of these claims were false, although it did work for some. However, the uncertain outlook for house prices means that rookie investors should also bear in mind that making money from buy-to-let nowadays is a long-term game. Annual average returns on residential investment property fell by 26 per cent last month to Pounds 4,261, according to LSL Property Services. In February the comparable figure was Pounds 5,730. Had rental income not risen by 0.4 per cent last month -- the average landlord made Pounds 7,326 in rent -- the drop would have been even greater. The growth in rental income helped to offset a capital loss of Pounds 3,065. And it seems that buy-to-let investors will be relying on rental income for the bulk of their returns for some time to come. The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows that sales and prices were flat in March. A RICS housing spokesman Ian Perry says: "The low level of buyer interest in many parts of the UK continues to impact on the market, resulting in some downward pressure on prices. "With the prospect of forthcoming interest rate rises and continued shortage of mortgage funding, it seems that overall recovery for the national housing market is still some way off." Occupancy is in full swing Case study Michael Kakkad, from Leicester, is a long-term buy-to-let investor who owns properties in the Midlands, Shropshire, North London, the Far East, Europe, America and Dubai. In his opinion the credit crunch and recession have been a double-edged sword for landlords. Although the supply of buy-to-let mortgages dried up, he benefited as interest rates fell. His monthly mortgage payments dropped as his fixed-rate deal with The Mortgage Works came to an end and he moved on to its lower standard variable rate. Mr Kakkad, 36, is also profiting from the strong demand for rental property that has resulted from the tough lending conditions in the residential mortgage market. He says: "My UK properties have been empty only when people are moving in and out." Auction houses are the best places to pick up bargains, he adds, as they are full of vendors looking to make a quick sale. <Subject Politics; Euro; Eurozone; Budget deficits Title Eurozone countries agree EUR 700bn bailout facility Author Fleming, Sam; Charter, David Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 22, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Eurozone nations agreed last night to set up their permanent bailout fund with a capital base of EUR 700 billion to ensure an AAA rating and put the single currency on a firmer footing. The European Stability Mechanism will have EUR 80 billion (Pounds 70 billion) of paid-in capital from the 17 euro countries and EUR 620 billion in callable capital, which will have to be made available if a recipient country becomes unable to repay its loans. This will give the facility an effective lending capacity of EUR 500 billion when, in mid-2013, it supersedes the temporary fund set up to rescue Greece and the Republic of Ireland. The formula to calculate each state's contributions will give more weight to economic output than to population, slightly lowering the burden on poorer countries. Meanwhile, Portugal's Government warned yesterday that a political crisis would force it to seek financial support overseas, as it struggles to push new austerity measures through its parliament. The Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said that political turmoil would make it very difficult for the country to tap financial markets. Jose Socrates, the Portuguese Prime Minister, has said that he will resign if the latest budget package is rejected. The new austerity measures are designed to ensure that Lisbon reduces its public deficit to 4.6 per cent of gross domestic product this year and meets the European Union's 3 per cent ceiling in 2012. But the head of Portugal's main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD), has said that talks with the Government over its deficit-cutting scheme are on hold and that "there are no conditions of confidence in which to hold negotiations". Speaking in Brussels, Mr dos Santos said: "If we open a political crisis at this moment, it will create great difficulties for our country to access financial markets and will put at risk its capacity to finance itself. A political crisis would push the country to fall into the arms of external aid." Financial markets have been simmering with speculation that Portugal will be forced to run to the eurozone's rescue fund, following in the footsteps of Ireland, which received a package at the end of last year. In an attempt to ensure that the budget deficit falls to 4.6 per cent as planned this year, the Government announced additional deficit-reduction measures amounting to 0.8 per cent of GDP on March 11. Separately, there are concerns that Ireland may need more than the EUR 35 billion set aside to recapitalise its banks, as a new round of stress-tests looms. Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European Central Bank, reiterated yesterday his concerns about inflation and signalled that the ECB is still intending to increase interest rates. <Subject Kurds; Politics; Prime ministers; Vice Presidents Title Spectre of sectarian violence returns as Vice-President flees arrest warrant: Iraq Author Hider, James Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 21, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Only days after the US army left Iraq the Sunni Vice-President is on the run after the Shia-led Government accused him of running death squads and masterminding terrorist attacks on the country's security forces. The issuing of an arrest warrant for the country's most senior Sunni politician, Tariq al-Hashemi, threatens to plunge the country back into chaos, and has set alarm bells ringing in Baghdad and Washington. The move has exacerbated fears that the Shia Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, may use the country's UStrained security forces to silence political opponents. As well as serving as Prime Minister, Mr al-Maliki controls the interior and defence ministries. "This is a clear sign that the fragile political accommodation made possible by the [US troop] surge of 2007, which ended large-scale sectarian violence in Iraq, is now unravelling," said the leading Republican senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, in a statement. They urged President Obama to renew efforts to keep some residual US force in Iraq. The Shia Government has arrested hundreds of people affiliated to Saddam Hussein's ousted Baath Party in recent weeks on security charges. It also broadcast televised confessions of three men said to be Mr al-Hashemi's bodyguards, claiming they had been paid to carry out attacks on civil servants and traffic police using silenced pistols and explosives. The report said that they received $3,000 (Pounds 1,900) for each attack from the vice-president. An arrest warrant for Mr al-Hashemi was issued on Monday and he sought refuge in the autonomous Kurdish region in the north. The vice-president, who has been banned from leaving the country, denied the charges but said that he would be willing to face a court in the Kurdish region. "I swear to God that I never committed a sin when it comes to Iraqi blood," he told a press conference convened in the Kurdish capital, Arbil. "I suggest transferring the case to Kurdistan. On this basis, I will be ready to face trial." He condemned the accusations as "false and politicised" and demanded that representatives of the Arab League should participate in any investigation. The vice-president, one of the first Sunni leaders to join the political process after the Sunni-led insurgency against the US occupation, also poured cold water on Mr Obama's optimistic remarks about the future of Iraq when he met returning troops a week ago. "I am surprised by the statements of the US President, when he said that Iraq had become democratic and had an independent judicial system," he said. The arrest warrant has triggered alarm that politics in Iraq may be veering back towards the sectarianism that led to thousands of deaths in a civil war that raged for several years until the US troop surge of 2007 brought it under control and allowed a process of fragile reconciliation to begin. At the weekend, Mr al-Maliki called for parliament to withdraw its confidence from another senior Sunni politician, Saleh Mutlaq, who had called the Prime Minister a dictator who was "worse than Saddam Hussein". His comments were echoed yesterday by Ayad Allawi, the Shia leader of the Iraqiya bloc. "We fear the return of dictatorship by this authoritarian way of governing. It's the latest in a build-up of atrocities, arrests and intimidation that has been going on on a wide scale," he said, adding that the episode recalled "what Saddam Hussein used to do where he would accuse his political opponents of being terrorists and conspirators". Mr al-Maliki's call sparked a walkout by Sunni MPs of the Iraqiya bloc, which holds nine ministerial portfolios. The increasing tension may hasten attempts by three Sunni-dominated provinces to seek Kurdish- style autonomy, which some see as a precursor to a potential split of the country. Mr al-Maliki has called for talks to resolve the crisis, but his aides said he would not accept any conciliation efforts in the case of the vice-president. "The Prime Minister will not compromise the blood of Iraqis, no matter what the price," his spokesman said. Kadhum al-Muqdadi, the political analyst, said: "Iraq is slipping into its worst nightmares now, and Iraqi people will pay a high price because of the struggle among political blocs after the pullout of US troops." Sunni versus Shia mayhem could spread beyond border Analysis James Hider Just a few years ago, before the US troop surge in 2007, Iraq was teetering on the brink of implosion, beset by a sectarian civil war that threatened to suck in its neighbours in a region that provides the world with almost all of its oil. The current political crisis also threatens to become a regional one because the entire Arab world is in a dangerous period of flux and Syria, the one-time stable neighbour of Iraq, is itself slipping towards chaos, sectarianism and civil war. The terrorism charges against Tariq al-Hashemi, the Vice-President, will be seen by most Sunni Iraqis as an attempt by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shia Government to sideline the minority that once ruled under Saddam Hussein. In Syria the reverse is happening. The Alawite regime of President Assad, which is an offshoot of Shia Islam, is facing a revolt by the Sunni majority. The two sectarian upheavals may spill into each another. Already, Iraqi Sunni militants are reported to be shipping weapons into Syria, where more than a million Iraqi refugees fled during the worst of the fighting in Baghdad. Syrian jihadists likewise have a long record of slipping into Iraq to create mayhem against the Shia Government and its former US backers. In the background is Shia Iran, which is in danger of losing a key ally in the Assad regime, but which holds considerable sway over Baghdad's rulers. It also operates its own very capable death squads inside Iraq. Some politicians fear that with the Arab Spring suddenly throwing Sunni Islamists to the political fore across the Middle East and North Africa, a stand-off against Iran and its encroaching regional influence may be in the offing, and the battlefield would once again be Iraq. The ability of the US to mediate has diminished massively since the last of its troops left the country at the weekend. In Baghdad some people are already stocking up with supplies in anticipation of renewed bombings and assassinations. <Subject Murders & murder attempts; Prime ministers Title Eta declares 'definitive' end to armed struggle Author Keeley, Graham Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 21, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The Basque separatist group Eta announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity" last night, apparently heralding the end of Europe's last major armed secessionist organisation. In a video released through the Basque newspaper Gara, three hooded Eta terrorists announced the end of 40 years of bloodshed. "Eta has decided the definitive cessation of its armed activity," they said. "Eta calls upon the Spanish and French governments to open a process of a direct dialogue with the aim of addressing the resolution of the consequences of the conflict and, thus, to overcome the armed confrontation." Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, welcomed the move. "Ours will be a democracy without terror, but with a memory," he said. The Spanish Socialist Government has refused in the past to negotiate with Eta unless it gives up its weapons and disbands, but it is expected to lose the general election on November 20. The conservative opposition Popular Party, which is expected to win a majority in the election, initially dismissed the announcement. Mariano Rajoy, the leader of the Opposition, called for the group to disband. Politicians in the Basque region were cautious. "They are sparing our lives but we are disappointed because this is not the final step," said Maria del Mar Blanco, a member of the Basque regional parliament, whose brother Miguel was killed by Eta in 1997. "The do not talk of disbanding the terrorist group, nor of surrendering their arms." On Monday a conference in San Sebastian, northern Spain, attended by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, Bertie Ahern, the former Irish Prime Minister, Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader, and Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's former chief of staff, called on Eta to end the violence for good. Critics said that the conference had been orchestrated by Eta, and the Spanish Government did not attend. Over 43 years, Eta has been blamed for 829 deaths. It began as a group of left-wing students discussing Basque nationalism in the 1950s. The struggle for an independent Basque nation turned bloody when General Franco suppressed the Basque language and any signs of independence. Students founded Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque Homeland and Freedom) in 1959. In 1960 Eta killed what the authorities believed was its first victim, a 22-month-old girl. Its first admitted murder came in 1968, when it shot dead a police officer. Its most high-profile assassination was in 1973, when it blew up the car of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, then head of the Government and Franco's expected successor. Eta's deadliest years were during the 1980s: it killed 100 people in 1980 alone. In 1987 it killed 21 people in a supermarket bombing in Barcelona. It has tried to kill King Juan Carlos on a number of occasions, and failed twice to murder Jose Maria Aznar, the former Prime Minister. By the 1990s, support for it was waning even in its heartland in the Basque Country. Two ceasefires that were called in 1989 and 1999 both failed. Another "permanent" ceasefire in 2006 lasted nine months. Eta, severely weakened, has not killed since 2009. In January it took another step, announcing a "permanent" and "verifiable" ceasefire. The Spanish Government, stung after the previous ceasefire was abandoned by Eta, rejected the move, demanding that the organisation give up its weapons before the start of negotiations. <Subject Studies; Leadership; Coalition governments; Public sector Title Politicians should pick the brains of business Author Cavendish, Camilla Publication title The Times Publication date Jun 21, 2011 Section Ambitious For Britain Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> After the boom and the bust, the realisation has come that throwing money at public services is neither sustainable nor sensible. The NHS budget almost doubled between 2005 and 2009, bringing new hospital buildings and slashing waiting times, but productivity fell overall. Improvements in primary education seemed to stagnate, after initial reform. And the social security machine lumbered through the good years, paying out ever more complex benefits to a bewilderingly large number of people, each one added on to an unreformed, Byzantine computer system. It is arguably much harder to run a public service than a business, because there is rarely a clear bottom line. The comparative lack of executive power, the frustration of managing political masters, is a reason why some business leaders who take on public sector roles end up retiring wounded from the field. But, today, the urgent question is whether business leaders can offer insights to Whitehall about the size, shape and organisation of the public sector. Risk-averse cultures go hand in hand with accountability, the need not just to explain how the money has been spent, but to avoid error. Mistakes that might be regarded in business as part of life's rich tapestry can prove fatal in politics. Are there better ways of holding public services to account than to create ever more inspectorates and tick-boxes? Do these only entrench poor performance by sapping initiative? Should government be doing less? Should the Home Office shrink to half its size, once citizens start using crime maps of their area to hold elected police commissioners to account? And do we need different skills in Whitehall: more civil servants good at procurement and contracts negotiation, rather than intellectual policy formulation? The mantra in business today is "getting close to the customer". Yet citizens who are used to choice, convenience and quality in the rest of their lives are astonished to find a police officer who is uninterested in their burglary, a nurse who won't feed an elderly patient, a planning officer who is always on holiday. The coalition Government is pinning its hopes on transparency, on releasing data, to empower citizens to demand more of public services. But will the public use it? Or will they, as some US studies have found, rely on anecdote rather than hard data even when hard data is available? How could the Government give information more bite? Lastly, what role might the profit motive have in all this? Is Michael Gove doomed to have only a handful of free schools unless he lets them make a profit, as they do in Sweden? Will "payment by results" schemes attract companies into rehabilitating criminals and getting the unemployed back to work, or will we find that help is needed to create such markets? How can business make government smarter? The NHS and Tesco are roughly equal in size. Without wanting to stretch the analogy too far, Sir Terry Leahy has told me that he thinks most doctors have less power than a store manager. And Sir Gerry Robinson tells me that the NHS has more titles, layers and tiers of management than any comparable institution he can think of. What is missing, in that particular organisation, is leadership. That is something on which business leaders can surely offer some tips. <Subject Sovereign debt; Eurozone Title Pressure builds on Greece over assets sale Author Hopkins, Kathryn Publication title The Times Publication date May 20, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The International Monetary Fund and the European Union have warned the Government in Greece that it will not receive its latest injection of financial aid unless it comes up with a workable plan to sell its assets. The debt stricken country needs to prove that it can raise EUR 50 billion (Pounds 44 billion) from privatising state-owned assets by 2015 as part of its economic recovery programme. Greece is expected to need extra financing of between EUR 60 billion to EUR 80 billion over the next two years, even after receiving a EUR 110 billion bailout package last year. As fears grew that Athens would fail to meet the austerity requirements, the cost of insuring Greek sovereign debt surged to more than EUR 1.3 million to protect every EUR 10 million of bonds. IMF and EU officials have taken longer than planned to inspect the country's finances and hope to complete the task next week. "Greece has moved forward but they are still not there," an insider said, adding that the Government must present a "plausible and credible plan", stating which companies will be privatised and which plots of land could be sold or leased. As the Greek Government desperately tried to get its finances in order, the German Government and European Central Bank were reportedly at loggerheads over a German plan to invite holders of Greek public debt to voluntarily extend the maturities of their bonds. Official creditors would then need to lend less money to Greece to redeem Greek bonds in the next few years. The ECB has remained vehemently opposed to any form of restructuring, warning that it would have catastrophic consequences for the eurozone. Reports last night said that eurozone governments had come up with a new plan to prevent a Greek default under which private investors would be asked to maintain their exposure to its debt. <Subject Politics; Prime ministers; Political parties; Elections; Parliaments Title The prime minister, his running shoes and fixed-term Parliaments Author Pannick, David Publication title The Times Publication date May 19, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Last week the House of Lords voted (by 190 to 184) to approve an amendment to the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill that will confine its application to this Parliament, unless both Houses of a future Parliament resolve to apply the terms to that Parliament. The amendment was tabled by myself and three other crossbenchers, Baroness Boothroyd (a former Speaker of the House of Commons), Lord Butler of Brockwell and Lord Armstrong of Ilminster (each of them a former Cabinet secretary). Its approval reflects the deep unease on all sides of the House of Lords about the substance and procedure of this constitutional change. The premise that drives this Bill is that the power of the prime minister to call an early general election (if the Queen consents) is an unfair political advantage to him or her. Ministers have quoted the comment of the late Lord Holme of Cheltenham that the general election is a race in which "the prime minister has his running shoes in one hand and his starting pistol in another". Even if the PM puts the running shoes on, the evidence is very weak that the power to call an election has assisted PMs who would otherwise have lost at the end of a fixed-term. Our political system has worked well in that the people can be trusted to decide whether to penalise a PM who calls an unnecessary general election. The Fixed-term Parliaments Bill is, in any event, not a Bill that will introduce fixed-term Parliaments. The Government accepts in clause 2 that it is essential to allow for early general elections if two thirds of MPs so decide or if there is a vote of no confidence in the government and a new administration cannot be formed within 14 days. But it is impossible satisfactorily to define in legislation the circumstances in which an early election is appropriate. These matters are far better left to convention and practical politics than to legalistic constraints. Professor Vernon Bogdanor explains in his recent guide, The Coalition and the Constitution (Hart Publishing, Pounds 20), that it is easy to envisage circumstances in which accountability justifies an early general election whether or not the criteria in clause 2 are satisfied: for example, a change of prime minister, a change of coalition partner or a mandate for a new policy (such as Asquith's wish in 1910 to gain popular approval of Lloyd George's Budget). Such is the splendid unpredictability of politics that no statutory scheme could adequately specify the relevant criteria for early elections in the future. The coalition Government has rightly emphasised the importance of the accountability of Parliament to the people. That goal is not advanced by limiting the circumstances in which general elections may be called. It is puzzling indeed that the Government's response to public concern about the insulation and remoteness of MPs should be to make dissolution of Parliament more difficult. Our political system faces serious challenges to promote trust, accountability and independence. Fixed-term Parliaments are the answer to none of these concerns. It is particularly important that a constitutional measure of this sort should be grounded in public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny. There was none. The Government should recognise that one of the reasons why the referendum campaign on AV (I say nothing about the result) was so unsatisfactory is that there was no proper process of prior analysis of the options for change, and the merits and defects of different voting systems. The absence of public consultation and pre- legislative scrutiny for the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill is even more troubling, because there will be no opportunity for the public to throw it out in a referendum. Why, then, is this Bill before Parliament? The Liberal Democrats have been arguing for fixed-term Parliaments for some time, but the inclusion of this measure in the coalition agreement was because of the desire of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats to ensure that their union lasts for five years and does not end in tears before then. That is why the Bill was brought forward at the beginning of this Parliament with no public consultation or pre-legislative scrutiny. The amendment approved in the Lords last week recognises the political reality that the coalition wants, and will get, a binding commitment for this Parliament. That short-term political need does not require or justify a long-term alteration to our constitution. I hope that a sufficient number of backbench Conservative MPs will rebel on this matter when it returns to the House of Commons. If not, the House of Lords should stand firm in its belief that the case for general constitutional change is not made out. <Subject Criminal investigations; Health services; Local elections; Competition Title Stop sniping at Tories, Laws warns Lib Dems: Exclusive Exiled coalition star breaks silence Stop sniping at Tories, Laws warns Lib Dems Author Hurst, Greg Publication title The Times Publication date May 18, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> David Laws today rebukes Chris Huhne and dissident Liberal Democrats for sniping at their Tory partners, warning that their grandstanding puts the success of the coalition at risk. In his first interview since quitting the Cabinet last year over his Commons expenses, he tells the Lib Dems that voters will not forgive them for sulking in a corner rather than seizing the opportunity of power. In a clear swipe at Mr Huhne, he says that throwing crockery or banging the Cabinet table will not win influence within the coalition. Mr Laws' reprimand comes as the Energy Secretary faces a police investigation into claims that he asked his wife to take his penalty points for speeding. It emerged yesterday that Essex Police may ask Mr Huhne's former wife to produce her driving licence as they try to establish who was behind the wheel on the day in March 2003. Mr Huhne challenged David Cameron and George Osborne at a Cabinet meeting two weeks ago over tactics used by the Tory-backed No to AV campaign in the voting referendum. Mr Laws, a key architect of the coalition for the Lib Dems , lasted only three weeks in the Cabinet before resigning over his expenses. But even though he suffered the humiliation last week of being barred from the Commons over the matter, Mr Laws is still prepared to speak frankly to his party about its responsibilities in government. "Our continued effective delivery of policies depends not just on shouting and our public profile, but on a trusting relationship between the key people in the coalition," Mr Laws told The Times. "We could get our way over one or two key issues by storming off, voting against them, briefing against them, whatever. But when the next key issue is on the table and we need the cooperation of everybody in the coalition, will we get it? Maybe we won't." The intervention can also be read as a critique of Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, who has attacked the Tories as ruthless, calculating and tribal. Mr Laws says that heavy Lib Dem losses in the local elections show that the party needs to demonstrate a clearer identity and highlight achievements in the Government. Nick Clegg will assert himself today on the NHS, demanding that the Prime Minister scale back plans to introduce competition into the health service. A leaked negotiating document reveals that the Liberal Democrats will insist that the NHS watchdog, Monitor, will not be allowed to promote competition or to act as an economic regulator. But Mr Laws says that while many Lib Dems feel bruised by the AV referendum result, they should accept that the voters have spoken and not allow the setback to become an obstacle to success in the Government. "My own view is that we didn't lose the election because of some sort of scurrilous behaviour by the No campaign," Mr Laws says. He also argues that the Lib Dems need to be more open about key policy disagreements with the Conservatives in the next phase of government but continue to influence all policy decisions. "The opportunity to make a difference in national politics is a very special one and we shouldn't be sitting around in the corner of the political room sulking about the fact that we are in government and looking forward to the opportunity when we can return to the splendid irrelevance of opposition," he says. Mr Laws was cool on the need for a second coalition agreement later in this Parliament, saying that a "laundry list" of 300 or 400 policies was insignificant compared with the coalition's core priorities, which would not change. Mr Laws, who must serve a sevenday suspension from the Commons, did not say if he wanted to return to the Government. He does speak to or e-mail Nick Clegg about once a week and submits occasional proposals for policy changes to Lib Dem ministers, but says that he has no wish to be a back-seat driver for the coalition. <Subject Royalty; Security personnel; Human rights Title Human rights lawyer arrested in Bahrain after criticising regime Author Tomlinson, Hugh Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 18, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> A prominent human rights lawyer has been arrested in Bahrain, marking a new turn in the Government's crackdown on perceived opposition throughout the Gulf kingdom. Mohammed al-Tajer was seized by Bahraini security forces in a raid on his home on Friday night. The lawyer has defended several high-profile political opponents of the regime and has spoken out against the use of torture in Bahraini jails. His wife, Huda, said more than 20 security personnel, most wearing masks, arrived at the family's home at 11pm on Friday. They confiscated laptops, phones and documents, before taking Mr al- Tajer with them. He is the first human-rights lawyer to be detained in Bahrain for more than a decade, according to Human Rights Watch. Speaking to The Times two weeks ago, he prefigured his own arrest in a fresh attack on the regime as the crackdown intensified. "The country is going backwards. There is no law here. People are disappearing in the night and we know that in jail they will be beaten and tortured," he said. Mr al-Tajer was the main defence lawyer for 23 Shia political prisoners arrested in September and charged with plotting to overthrow Bahrain's Sunni royal family. The men were released in February as a goodwill gesture while the Government tried to initiate talks with the Shia-led protesters, who demanded steps towards full democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Many of the detainees gave lurid accounts of their torture in custody, including being given electric shocks and being hung by their feet and beaten. When negotiations aimed at resolving the crisis collapsed in March, the regime launched a fresh crackdown. <Subject Prime ministers Title PM asks for second opinion to avoid Euro employment rules Author Gibb, Frances; Ford, Richard Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 17, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> David Cameron has gone over the head of his Attorney-General to try to flout a European law granting extra employment rights to 1.4 million temporary workers. The Prime Minister is unhappy with advice from Dominic Grieve, QC, and has approached independent lawyers for a second opinion, The Times has learnt. The move is the latest to expose tensions within the Government over Europe, and conflicting views over compliance with EU rulings or laws. Ministers clashed recently over a European Court of Human Rights ruling on granting prisoners the vote and allowing convicted paedophiles to appeal to be removed from the sex offenders register. The Prime Minister's decision to seek alternative advice has caused consternation in legal circles where some see it as playing "fast and loose" with the law. One QC said: "This is very, very unusual. The whole point of getting legal advice from the Attorney is that ministers are meant to follow it." Another lawyer said: "Cameron wants someone to tell him that he does not have to comply with this directive. He wants a way out." The Prime Minister has made known his opposition to the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, which are due to come into force in October. The costs and red tape in granting new rights to some 1.4 million temporary workers have aroused concerns among businesses and temping agencies. If the Government refuses to comply, it faces challenges in the courts from agency workers. Whitehall officials have told Mr Cameron that non- compliance is not an option. Implementation has been delayed as long as possible, but the deadline is now imminent. The final shape of the regulations in Britain was the result of years of tortuous bargaining. What was agreed, in a concession to business, was that the rights would not apply to agency workers until they had been with an employer for 12 weeks. After that, they could claim job protection ranging from annual leave to rest periods, overtime and bonuses and would be able to enforce rights at employment tribunals. <Subject Prime ministers Title Cherry blossom time for Ed and a banana skin for Dave Author Treneman, Ann Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 17, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Ed Miliband is learning fast. All that he needed to do yesterday to get a laugh was to say the words "Liberal Democrat conference". MPs began to giggle immediately. Except of course the Lib Dems, who always look like victims of bullying, possibly because they are. They just sat there, eyes wide, failing to block the blows. It was a good question. "Following the Liberal Democrat conference," asked Ed, "is the Prime Minister planning any new amendments to his Health and Social Care Bill?" Hilarity. In Sheffield last weekend the Libs (the Dems are so last Parliament) trashed the health Bill, demanding this and that. Nick Clegg sounded sympathetic without actually promising anything (perhaps that will be his epitaph: "He made all the right noises".) The result? Total confusion. Nick was in his place, right next to Dave, nodding dutifully, in a daze. Nick is like an updated version of a Stepford Wife. Actually that could explain a lot. Yesterday he reached down (over the new mini-paunch) and readjusted his socks. I wondered if he was hiding a prisoner release tag. Dave's answer was all about cherry picking. The Libs were against it, so was he. He accused Labour of being pro-cherry-picking. Ed, whose family have a thing about bananas, looked perplexed. The PM now claimed that there was an "anti-cherry-picking amendment". He gave no more details. I predict that, when found, it will be, like a maraschino in a pina colada, a garnish. Ed noted that Dave had not answered the question and asked it again. I watched Nick's face: was he in a trance? Dave claimed that Ed was asking "pre-scripted questions" (duh!) and rambled on about cherries before going on the attack. Ed sauntered up (OK, so it's only one step but it was an insouciant step). "The Prime Minister really must get away from these pre-scripted answers," he said, to jubilant cheers from his backbenchers. It may not sound much but, in the Commons, it was a moment. Ed M. is relaxing. Dave, whose broadbrush approach to facts is getting wilder and wilder, like those painters who just throw paint at canvases, should take note. Ed pressed on: it is the first time we have seen him stay the course, keeping up the pressure. They exchanged attacks, comparing apples and pears (we almost had a fruit salad now). Then Dave got personal. Gordon Brown had been the roadblock to reform and Ed Mili was the "son of Roadblock". Son of Roadblock? That is just soooo bad and not worthy of the Heir to Blair. Ed Mili hit back. Why didn't Dave listen to the BMA? "This Bill shows everything people do not like about this Government: broken promises, arrogance, incompetence, and ignoring people who know something about the health service." The PM threw down his binder (Nick Clegg, his face still dreamlike, blinked). "Is it not typical that, just as you have to back every other trade union, you just come here and read a BMA press release? How utterly feeble." Not one of Dave's better days. In cherry terms, it was the pits. <Subject Hospitals Title A public-private partnership Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> July 5, 1948 National Health Service launched by Aneurin Bevan. Most doctors work part-time, allowing them to continue in private practice Mid-1970s Barbara Castle introduces legislation to phase out pay beds -- NHS beds used by private patients -- leading to industrial action by doctors 1980 Margaret Thatcher abandons the reduction of pay beds and allows full-time NHS consultants to do up to a tenth of their work privately June 1990 New legislation allows health authorities and some GPs to choose between competing providers, including those from the private sector July 2000 Tony Blair's wide-ranging NHS Plan encourages hospitals to pay for NHS patients to use private facilities 2003 The first privately-run diagnostic and treatment centres on NHS premises are set up in an attempt to tackle lengthy waiting lists April 2003 A cap on private patient income is imposed on NHS foundation trusts -- it cannot exceed about 2 per cent of a trust's income November 2011 Circle to take over Hinchingbrooke hospital, Cambridgeshire, in February, the first company to run an entire NHS hospital December 2011 Ministers amend the Health and Social Care Bill allowing foundation trusts to raise 50 per cent of income from private work <Subject Dementia; Hospitals Title How early diagnosis can ease the pain of dementia: Charity Christmas Appeal More needs to be done by the NHS to recognise the tell-tale first signs of decline, writes Chris Smyth Author Smyth, Chris Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Dementia patients in England and Wales are worse off than those in Scotland, with the majority not having their illness diagnosed or treated, according to campaigners. About 60 per cent of people with dementia in England and Wales are undiagnosed, meaning they miss out on crucial treatment and support. In Scotland, 45 per cent are yet to receive a diagnosis, after the NHS north of the Border made spotting the symptoms a priority. Campaigners say the health service in England and Wales must do more. In the past year the proportion of Scottish dementia sufferers with a diagnosis has risen from 49.6 per cent to 55.6 per cent. There are now 40,195 registered dementia patients in the country. In England, by contrast, the rise was less than two percentage points, from 39.3 per cent to 41.1 per cent, or 266,697 registered sufferers. Wales fared even worse, with a rise of little more than one point, to 37.4 per cent, or 16,297 registered patients. "There's been a very disappointing rise in England," said Chris Quince, Policy Officer at the Alzheimer's Society. "More needs to be done on diagnosing early. When people have a diagnosis they can get practical care and they can plan for the future." The charity, chosen as one of the good causes in this year's Times Christmas appeal, is campaigning for better awareness among doctors and patients of the symptoms of the disease, after research emerged showing that many GPs do not feel well informed about the condition. "If we do push we will increase the diagnosis rates, but it needs resources and political commitment to make it happen," Mr Quince said. Dementia costs the NHS billions of pounds a year, but Mr Quince said earlier diagnosis would not necessarily cost more. "A lot of money is already spent, but it's spent very badly. It's spent in hospitals when people reach crisis point. People don't have the support and so they end up in hospital. If people do have support we can spend the same money more efficiently," he said. Northern Ireland fares better, with 61 per cent of sufferers getting diagnoses, in part through its better integration of the NHS with care homes and home carers, a goal that has long eluded policymakers in the rest of the United Kingdom. Scotland shows that better results are possible without structural reform, according to Kirsty Jardine of Alzheimer Scotland. "There was no magic technique. It was focusing effort and making it a priority," she said. "One of the ways was targets that required the NHS to improve diagnosis rates, which largely fell on GPs. There was an active drive to increase rates of diagnosis of people." Scottish health trusts were told four years ago to increase the number of people with a diagnosis by a third, and have broadly met this target. In England, MPs and peers launched an inquiry into how to improve diagnosis rates. Baroness Greengross, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia said: "We must take action to ensure everyone with dementia is given a diagnosis. Without a diagnosis people cannot access vital support, information and possible treatments. We need to find out why this is happening and investigate why some parts of the United Kingdom are lagging behind in improving diagnosis rates. It is essential that every country in the United Kingdom improves diagnosis rates for people with dementia. The reality is that they are not improving fast enough anywhere." Paul Burstow, the Care Services Minister, said: "Improving early diagnosis and support of dementia is a priority for this Government. We have already announced a new financial incentive for hospitals that identify patients at risk so they get the specialised care they need, and we have been working with health authorities to trial new dementia education and training for GPs and practice staff." Donations made to the Alzheimer's Society through The Times Christmas Appeal will be matched by Tesco up to Pounds 30,000. 'I fell down a black hole of depression' Case study Derek Quinn It was the little things that Derek Quinn began forgetting first: appointments, or where he'd left things around the house (Chris Smyth writes). "I just thought I was getting a bit older," he said."Eventually I was getting more and more concerned." His work was affected when he began double-booking appointments at the office. He visited his GP, but to no avail. "He said to come back in 12 months." Mr Quinn, from Calne, Wiltshire, who was then in his early 60s, agreed, but a year later memory tests were inconclusive. It took a further four years before he finally received a diagnosis, after being given a brain scan. "They showed me the picture. There was a big white patch on the back of my head. They said: 'You definitely have Alzheimer's'." Mr Quinn, 70, said he did not take the news well. "I fell down a black hole of depression. It knocked me for six." His wife, Teresa, said that after the shock wore off, the diagnosis actually came as a relief, explaining why she had needed to keep repeating herself. "I would get frustrated and say: 'You just don't listen to anything I say'. In some ways it was almost a reassurance to know there was something wrong. I could stop getting upset," she said. Mrs Quinn has gradually taken charge of practical and financial matters. "For us, having a diagnosis was helpful because we were able to get our affairs in order, reorganise life and make the best of it," she said. "When we first got the diagnosis, we both felt that that was it; life was over. But we've had three years now." Mr Quinn was eventually able to get the drug Aricept to slow the progression of the disease, and was given support to stay active. "I got involved in a walking group. We meet in Swindon and decide where to go walking. That's great, because there's a range of people, from the just- diagnosed to those who are quite a way down the track, and they need a lot of help and guidance." After a career as an electronics engineer with the RAF, Mr Quinn had started a wood recycling company in retirement. As his condition progressed, he had to give up full-time work, but remained involved and now volunteers twice a week at the Salvation Army, which he enjoys enormously. "I just sit around talking to people," he said. "I'm not afraid to say I've got Alzheimer's and I'm having problems. Almost always people respond very supportively." As his short-term memory becomes increasingly unreliable, Mr Quinn says a sense of humour has helped him to cope with the gradual worsening of his condition. He has help from the NHS but says the most important source of care is his wife. "Her support is vital," he said. "If you've got Alzheimer's the best advice I'd give is to find a good partner." <Subject Colleges & universities; Record producers Title Happy Birthday Noelle Walsh, 47 Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Noelle Walsh, the editor of the Good Deal Directory, was spared having her birthday on Christmas Day by an exhausted midwife. She was delivered at three minutes before midnight but the midwife didn't fill in the paperwork until the following day. "It means I get two birthdays and everyone is still very nice to me on Boxing Day, my official birthday," she says. Before beginning her own business 20 years ago, she was the editor of Good Housekeeping and news editor of Cosmopolitan. RGT <Subject Dating services; Women; Books Title 'Formerly pretty' older woman with GSOH wins hearts with honest advert: United States Author Pavia, Will Publication title The Times Publication date Dec 24, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> In the personals column of The New York Review of Books this Christmas, a "youthful" and "still attractive" septuagenarian is listed above a "slim, athletic, really attractive" female and a "radiant, stunning, ever-likeable blonde, with sharp mind, style, substance and self-deprecation" who seeks a gentleman with a similar array of adjectives who is no older than "a fit 70". Amid the adverts for these extraordinarily blessed human beings there is a blunt notice, posted by a woman in Los Angeles. "Formerly pretty, formerly slender, 69 years, retired, out of shape, overweight, never married, terrified of commitment, blue-eyed, grey-and-brownhaired independent woman seeks independent man," it says, before adding: "I'd ask for fit and handsome but let's be real." This frank appeal provoked an extraordinary response: scores of men have written to the author, Fran Ruddick, begging for a date. "The messages keep coming," Ms Ruddick told The Times. Four men wrote from federal prisons, two more from their cells in state jails. Four came from women "saying they loved the ad and wishing me luck in finding someone, a few from men wishing the same and the rest were responses from men all over the country, including some very interesting men, on paper -- a poet, a publisher, a lawyer, a doctor and a song writer among them," she said. She had been inspired to place the advert by a friend, aged 70, who had recently found a man of 75 using an online dating service. "They have fallen in love; she says they feel like kids again," Ms Ruddick said. "I thought maybe it was still possible for me. I haven't been in love in many, many years but it gave me hope that all is not over." Aficionados of literary lonely hearts columns know that the American variety are utterly distinct from their British counterparts in the London Review of Books, where a culture of frank, if not alarming notices, has flourished. There, a 52-year-old woman sought a man of 25 "for whom the phrase 'beauty is only skin-deep' is both a lifestyle choice and a religious ethos" and another lady warned potential suitors that "if intense, post-fight sex scares you, I'm not the woman for you (amateur bigboned cage wrestler, 62)." The New York Review of Books dating column, by contrast, is full of energetic octogenarians and fit, youthfullooking pensioners. "I've always read the ads in the NYRB, often laughing to myself about all those 70-year-old stunning, slender, fit, high-energy men and women," said Ms Ruddick. The honesty of her advert appeared to have struck a chord with the literary readers of the magazine, who otherwise appreciate a wellcrafted piece of fiction. In the end, however, after exchanging letters and photographs with ten men in Los Angeles, Ms Ruddick lost her nerve, cancelled all the dates that she had arranged and stopped responding to the letters. "Despite my blunt honesty ... I was sure that they would be disappointed in my looks," she said. "I'm still 'attractive' but quite overweight." She never did get to talk with them about opera, her years working in East Timor, or her Tibetan terrier. "Women are not supposed to get chunkier," she said. "I was a slender person all my life. Once I hit menopause I got fat." She will spend Christmas with friends and still hopes that she may meet someone. "I've no regrets about the advert though," she said. "It's been very diverting". <Subject Councils Title BBC apologises over biased report on Dale Farm camp [Edition 2] Author Maclean, Ruth Publication title The Times Publication date Nov 25, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The BBC has been forced to apologise over a report about the Dale Farm travellers' site after an inquiry found that it was biased in favour of the residents. An investigation by the BBC Trust's editorial standards committee found that while the five-minute report on The One Show was "duly accurate" and "had not knowingly and materially misled its audiences" it had lacked clarity and had been "unfair" to Basildon Council which was seeking to evict travellers from Dale Farm. The report contained an interview with a resident of the site who claimed that they were being "thrown out on the road with nowhere to go", and that the reason they could not get planning permission was "because they were treated differently to other people". The committee said the programme, presented by Matt Baker and Alex Jones, had "failed to clarify that the site had been developed on green belt land", and implied that the council had not met its "statutory obligations" to house the travellers. It also failed to seek a response from the council. Tony Ball, leader of Basildon Council, said: "Dale Farm has always been about protection of the green belt, but this was not accurately portrayed, nor the fact that we had made several offers of housing to traveller families." The site has been cleared after a decade-long row over unauthorised plots. <Subject Travel agencies; Airlines Title Does anyone in 2011 really need a rep called Sandra meeting them with a clipboard at the airport? Author Midgley, Carol Publication title The Times Publication date Nov 24, 2011 Section T2 Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> So Thomas Cook is fighting for survival, with nearly Pounds 1 billion of debt around its neck. As a frequent Thomas Cook customer over the years, I'm truly sorry to hear that. But we know who to blame, don't we? Jamie and Louise Redknapp. Yes, it's true that unemployment, uprisings in Egypt and floods in Thailand played some part in dissuading people from Thomas Cook-ing it, but surely we all know the bigger truth. People saw the diabolical TV advert featuring Jamie and Louise as the most smug, narcissistic, punchable couple in Christendom and were so sickened they were unable to approach a travel agent without vomiting. I believe science will bear me out on that. I know. I shouldn't jest when an uncertain future looms for the company and its employees. With the internet offering global travel at a click, it's hard to say how for long any travel agent will endure -- how much longer people will be prepared to drive to the high street, find a parking space, then wait in line until a neckerchiefed woman clatters a keyboard and tells them that they can only fly Monday to Monday, from Luton. Does anyone in 2011 really need a rep called Sandra in a tight nylon skirt meeting them with a clipboard at the airport to tell them that the snorkelling trip is Pounds 85 and beware because pickpockets operate in the area? I'm not even sure why I've done it, except that you get a free bus from the airport and a glass of sangria as part of your "welcome package". The sad truth is -- and it is sad, because it's 170 years since Thomas Cook sold its first package holidays and companies don't last that long unless they are tried and trusted -- that before long, booking a holiday with a travel agent will seem as absurdly antiquated as chalking your front step. The internet and no-frills airlines have freed people to choose. Holiday brochures, with their pre-ordained flight options and limited hotels, require you to conform. Which makes the Redknapp ad campaign even more preposterous. In all the Thomas Cook holidays I've been on, I've never seen a couple as rich and beautiful as them on my flight and I've certainly never cavorted on an empty beach. If you haven't seen it -- in which case, well done -- hunky Jamie plays keepie uppie on the beach wearing a black lounge suit; dreamy Louise rides a horse in slow motion in the surf, they both get the prime spot (natch) beside the luxury pool, into which Jamie does a perfect dive. And all the while they leer at each other like public-toilet perverts, while saying: "We fantasise abaaaaad it", "We can't wait for it", using the glottal stop "i" to emphasise their normal-couple credentials. It is undoubtedly one of the most atrocious piles of horse crap I've ever had the misfortune to see. Travel agents have a hard enough job remaining relevant in the one-click age without trying to kid us that millionaire celebrities take cheap package holidays without their kids. I hope Thomas Cook bounces back because, actually, I've rarely had a bad experience with them and if something goes wrong they won't, like no-frills airlines, leave you high and dry. But if they do, and they consider booking Jamie and Louise for any future ads, may I offer three words of advice? Forget abaaaad it. <Subject Women; Equality; Earnings; Coalition governments Title Women graduates closing the pay divide: Private sector 'is holding back equality' [Edition 2] Author Ralph, Alex Publication title The Times Publication date Nov 24, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The pay gap between the sexes is smaller today than at any time since records began as successful graduates in the professional jobs market drive up women's incomes -- and women in their twenties now earn more than their male contemporaries. Women's full-time hourly pay came to within 9.1 per cent of men's pay in April, compared with 10.1 per cent the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics. The narrowing in pay means that the gender gap has fallen by almost half in the past decade. If average wages continue to converge at the same rate, women could earn more than men in 2020. Kay Carberry, a commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, welcomed the news and said that Britain had taken 40 years to get to its present position. "Today's figures are a step in the right direction. But we can't be complacent, as the gap is still there," she said. The changes were attributed largely to women's full-time hourly earnings rising by 1.9 per cent to Pounds 11.91 an hour, while male pay grew by 0.8 per cent to Pounds 13.11 an hour. Women do best early in their careers. Women in their twenties were paid more than men of the same age for the second year in a row. Fulltime median pay was 3.6 per cent higher for women aged between 22 and 29, double the gap in April last year. Gender equality experts said that young women had closed the gap over the past decade, in part because female graduates had achieved better degree results and were taking more top jobs with law and accountancy firms. The gender gap continued to widen among part-time workers, where women earned 5.6 per cent more than men, up from 4.3 per cent last year. Women's median part-time hourly earnings rose to Pounds 8.10, while men earned Pounds 7.67. When accounting for both full-time and part-time employment, men are still earning almost 20 per cent more than women because 42 per cent of women are in part-time employment compared with 12 per cent of men. Anna Bird, acting chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality, said that progress had stalled and blamed the gulf between private and public sector pay. "More than 40 years after the Dagenham machinists went on strike, in a move that triggered the Equal Pay Act, women can still expect to earn less than their male counterparts," she said. A spokeswoman for the society said women were still paying the "motherhood penalty". According to the ONS, the gender gap was twice as big in the private sector. In April men earned 18.4 per cent more than women, against 9.2 per cent in the public sector. "With the Government focus now on boosting enterprise and private sector growth, there is a real risk that the pay gap will widen in the years ahead unless there is concerted action to tackle pay inequality," Ms Bird said. The pay difference was greater among higher earners. The top fulltime male earners took home 19.6 per cent more per hour than higher female earners. The gap for lower earners was 5.6 per cent. The coalition Government has made clear that it wants more women in top jobs -- a report by Lord Davies of Abersoch, the former Standared Chartered chief executive, set out targets for more female executives this year. A spokesman for the Home Office said: "We welcome the reduction in the gender pay gap. We will continue to take action to ensure that women are able to fulfil their potential." <Subject Hotels & motels Title Visit the stately home, stay at the manor: Longleat aims to welcome weekend guests Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> His father may be famous for his wifelets, erotic paintings and colourful clothes, but Viscount Weymouth -- heir to the 7th Marquess of Bath -- is ploughing a more businesslike furrow. The Longleat Estate, where Lord Weymouth is chairman, yesterday announced the acquisition of Bishopstrow House Hotel, an 18th-century Wiltshire manor house, from the Von Essen administrators for an estimated Pounds 5 million. The 32-room hotel and spa, which will be the subject of investment in excess of Pounds 1 million, has been acquired as part of his strategy to turn the safari park and leisure attraction into an appealing destination for weekend breaks. David Bradley, the former Legoland managing director brought in as chief executive of Longleat last year, said that Bishopstrow House was one of two nearby hotels that Longleat had been trying to buy, alongside plans to build a new hotel on the 9,000-acre estate. Mr Bradley said that the addition of hotel accommodation was part of a wider investment programme aimed at turning Longleat into one of Britain's leading leisure attractions. The Elizabethan stately home, where the Marquess still lives, has secured a wedding licence and is trying to tap into the corporate market. Longleat, which attracts a million visitors a year, will for the first time this year be open over Christmas and work has started on an ice rink together with a giant singing Christmas tree, an idea imported from America. <Subject Internet; Internet access; Smartphones; Children & youth Title Internet protection for children is being ignored by parents Author Webster, Ben Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Most parents are failing to switch on internet controls that stop their children seeing violent and pornographic material, according to an Ofcom study. Fewer than four out of ten households (39 per cent) with a child aged 5 to 15 use filtering software to block access to inappropriate websites, down from 49 per cent in 2008. Parents are taking even less care over the material that their children could view via smart phones with internet access. Almost half of those aged 12 to 15 now own a smartphone but only 31 per cent of their parents have switched on free controls that block access to pornographic websites. The findings, based on four surveys this year involving more than 5,000 parents and children, suggest that the media industry's approach of offering free parental controls is failing to protect most children. The four big internet providers, BT, Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk, agreed this month a voluntary code under which new customers will be required to say "yes" or "no" to parental controls when signing up from next October. The great majority, however, will not be required to make the decision because more than three quarters of homes are already connected to the internet and only 7 per cent a year change providers. Claire Perry, the Conservative chairwoman of an all-party parliamentary inquiry into online child protection, said that the survey indicated the need for parental controls to be the default setting on devices. Adults who did not want them could then deactivate them. "This survey shows that the internet providers' view that parents can be trusted to do the right thing is flawed. The phone companies have made it relatively easy for controls to be activated but parents are not following up. Providers should work together to create a default 'clean' internet service." Mrs Perry said that retailers were also failing to ensure that parents were aware of the controls available. Ofcom found that 24 per cent of parents did not realise that they could block sites on a child's phone. The study also found that more teenagers would be more willing to give up TV than to stop using their mobiles or the internet. But the same study found that children were spending more time watching TV than at any time in Ofcom's records dating back to 2002. Those aged 4 to 15 watched a weekly average of 17 hours and 34 minutes last year, almost two hours more than the 15 hours and 37 minutes of 2007. The rise was even steeper for the 4 to 9 age group, with the weekly average up from 16 in 2007 to 18.2 last year. The proportion of those aged 12 to 15 going online in their bedroom has more than doubled from 20 per cent in 2007 to 43 per cent this year. Children appear to be becoming more aware of risks online, with the proportion of those aged 8 to 11 with a social networking profile saying that they talked to people not directly known to them falling from 22 per cent last year to 12 per cent. The figure for those aged 12 to 15 fell from 32 per cent to 24 per cent. Ed Richards, the chief executive of Ofcom, said that the wide use of the internet by children aged 12 to 15 was positive but that families needed a better understanding of how to protect against the dangers. <Subject Colleges & universities Title University applications fall by 12% Author Sugden, Joanna Publication title The Times Publication date Oct 25, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Document type News> University applications have fallen sharply in anticipation of fee rises with the number of UK candidates down 12 per cent on this time last year. It is the first concrete indicator of the initial impact of higher fees and a far steeper decline in early demand than in 2006, the last time that tuition costs soared. The deadline for most courses is not until January, but this is the first time that applications have sunk so far in the first few weeks since opening. The figures will worry ministers who have spent millions of pounds on a campaign to make the new system palatable to students and their parents. But interest has declined for even the most popular courses and universities for 2012, when fees will reach up to Pounds 9,000 a year, treble the current figure. Ministers and vice-chancellors tried to play down the figures, saying that it was too early to tell whether the decline in interest would continue. They also suggested that the drop in demand could be a result of population variations. Professor Les Ebdon, chairman of million+, which represents newer universities, said: "The Government should be investing much more in campaigns to ensure that prospective students understand the new loan system." Toni Pearce, vice-president of the National Union of Students, said: "Ministers must stop tinkering around the edges of their shambolic reforms [and] listen to students, teachers and universities." <Subject Breasts; Women; Physical fitness Title Cup is running over for the action women seeking a perfect bra Author Devlin, Hannah Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> For women whose search for a comfy bra has been long and fruitless, scientists believe they are close to an answer. Research has identified how the different parameters of breast movement -- distance, velocity and acceleration -- are linked to discomfort during exercise. Joanna Scurr, director of the Breast Health Unit at the University of Portsmouth, who led the project, said: "Until now bras have been designed in a completely ad hoc way. It's amazing that the science hasn't been done before." The study, published in The Journal of Sports Sciences, monitored the breast movements of 15 female volunteers with a D-cup bra size as they ran on a treadmill. Using infrared cameras, which monitored sensors attached to their chests, movement was tracked in 3-D while the women ran without a bra, with an ordinary bra and with a sports bra. The women then rated their discomfort on a 1-5 scale. "Up to 72 per cent of women experience pain or discomfort either during or after exercise," said Dr Scurr. "Whether for elite athletes or once-a-week joggers, this can have a negative effect on your performance and can also deter women from taking part in physical activity." Previously it was assumed that the distance moved by the breasts would be the most important factor, but the study showed that the speed of breast movement accounted for 56 per cent of pain during running. The distance the breast moved accounted for 43 per cent and acceleration 37 per cent. Dr Scurr's team also found that it was only the side-to-side motion of the breasts that hindered performance, suggesting that horizontal support was an important factor. The Portsmouth group is now working with manufacturers to draw up new criteria for the ideal sports bra. A second study of 100 women showed that breast pain in those who exercised once a week was not linked to breast size and was just as likely for women with an A-cup as an F-cup. Amanda Brasher, chief womenswear buyer for the retailer Sweatshop, predicted that sportswear companies would be quick to adopt new scientific criteria to gain a competitive advantage. "For years, sports companies have spent a lot of money developing technology for trainers and smart fabrics. It's only in the last five years that the focus for women's sportswear has shifted to bras," she said. "A good sports bra can make a huge difference to how much you enjoy your sport." A recent survey of 1,000 British women by Debenhams suggested that 85 per cent were wearing the wrong bra size -- in many cases, bras were too wide with too a small cup size, for instance wearing a 36A instead of a 32C. <Subject Nursing care; Health services Title Nurse degrees 'need more thought' [Edition 2] Author Smyth, Chris Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Patient care in the National Health Service is suffering because managers "haven't fully thought through the implications" of giving nurses degree-level training, the chairman of the Commons Health Select Committee said yesterday. Stephen Dorrell, a former Conservative Health Secretary, said that not enough attention had been paid to the question of "who does the basic care" which more highly qualified nurses often no longer carry out. His comments came after the head of the Royal College of Nursing, Peter Carter, told The Times last Thursday that many new nurses arrived in hospital incapable of caring for patients because they had spent too much time in the classroom and not enough on wards. Ann Keen, the former Health Minister who was responsible for making nursing a graduate-only profession, acknowledged that the curriculum on some courses needed to be reviewed. "If some graduates are not feeling comfortable in practice that must be taken seriously," she said. But Mrs Keen, herself a nurse, insisted that degree-level knowledge was needed to cope with modern drugs and treatments. "Nursing is incredibly complex," she said. "Why should the nurse be the only person round the hospital bed without a degree?" Both Mrs Keen and Mr Dorrell said that the NHS needed a change in its culture to make it acceptable to criticise poor practice. Mrs Keen said that the real issue was not a lack of compassion in nurses but an NHS culture which made it very hard for staff to speak out about failings. Mr Dorrell said: "People have grown to tolerate things that in earlier times they wouldn't have tolerated" Letters, page 23 <Subject Women Title This week I'm wearing Author Craik, Laura Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 24, 2011 Section Magazine Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Home on leave. Be ready, then, to greet him. Now, if ever, beauty is your duty." So quoth an article in a 1940 edition of Vogue. LOL! ROFL! If I greeted my husband in this week's get-up, after his long and harrowing day at war (aka writing in his shed at the bottom of the garden), he would say, "Why are you wearing that funny black bandage around your bottom? Was it injured in a fashion-related accident? I'm not surprised with that footwear. Why are you wearing hooves instead of shoes, like a normal woman?" Happily, I don't dress for my husband but for myself, as does any sane woman in 2011. I like to imagine that women in the Forties dressed for themselves, too, even if their magazines did entreat them to cheer up their war-weary husbands with a pretty dress. This being a recession and all, I suppose it could be deemed apposite that the Forties are back in fashion this season, though to my knowledge, there is no silk shortage this time around, and women aren't wringing their hands at the prospect of showcasing their thick woolly ankles in public. Autumn's elegant blouses, dresses and skirts exist not against a backdrop of coupon-cutting austerity but within a landscape bloated by disposable "fast fashion". It goes without saying that the fast-fashion outlets have pounced on this trend with alacrity. It was very kind of Miu Miu to lend me this lovely blue crepe silk dress, complete with bottom bandage (the correct term is "sash", though if we are being pedantic, there is a Japanese obi influence at play, too). To use the parlance of an X Factor judge, Miu Miu owns the Forties trend this season, baby: others are doing it, but not as convincingly, and not with such fillips of modernity. So while Mrs Prada has taken the strong shoulders, mutton sleeves and calf-length hems of the Forties as starting points, she has saved things from looking too retro by updating the silhouette with sequined fabrics and glitter shoes. What does this mean for you? "Nothing!" you might justifiably screech. "I can't afford Pounds 3,500 for an embroidered crepe dress! Are you mad?" Happily - though not for Mrs Prada - the British high street has decided that this season, it is she who wins the uncoveted title of Most Ripped-Off Designer, though of course we cannot say that with reference to any specific outlet, or we will be sued. Instead, let's just say that there are some lovely, affordable "homages" doing the rounds. New Look has a neat black satin dress embellished with a swallow print (Pounds 24.99, available end of October), while Asos has an orange floral-print tea dress for Pounds 35. That's the good news. Now for the bad. Or bad-ish. You will note that the dress falls to just below my knee: not my favourite length, nor that of many women, I'd wager. After wearing either very short or very long skirts, this new length can take some getting used to. As with most "meh" lengths that make calves look thicker than they really are, one solution is to wear it with vertiginous heels. I love the slight awkwardness of this Miu Miu pair, but there's no denying that they are bloody high. Alternatively, choose a hem that hits the knee: this will still look Forties, but be much easier to wear. It's worth tweaking the look until you are happy with it: get it right, and the Forties revival will serve you well. As Coronet magazine put it 64 years ago, "Unlike most wars, the women in 1947 cannot lose. What they lack in figure, they can recover in fashion." Heavens. And you thought today's fashion mags were blunt. [broken bar] 'If I greeted 'If I greeted my husband in this, he would say, "Why are "Why are you wearing that funny black bandage? And hooves instead of shoes?"' <Subject Leadership; Parks & recreation areas; Hotels & motels Title Living a life of luxury to talk about the poor Author Pavia, Will Publication title The Times Publication date Sep 23, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> This week at the United Nations the leaders of the world are addressing mankind's most fundamental problems -- how to end conflict, hunger and poverty. Each evening at least some of the assembled potentates are managing to address less basic concerns, such how much of Central Park they can see from their presidential suite, whether the bathroom has a Jacuzzi and whether to have the lobster or the tenderloin. President Kagame of Rwanda appears particularly well-placed to field such inquiries, having taken up residence at the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the edge of Central Park. The leader of one of the world's poorest nations is staying in one of the world's most expensive hotel rooms -- a $18,000-a-night presidential suite -- according to the New York Post. The nightly bill would be roughly 14 times the average annual income in Rwanda, a nation to which Britain donates Pounds 84 million a year in aid to improve governance, health and education and foster economic growth. Calls to the Rwandan delegation were not returned. Several other world leaders have taken similar measures in Manhattan to maintain the style to which they are accustomed. The Saudi Arabian delegation is said to be staying at the Plaza, while members of the Palestinian government, whose bid for recognition as a nation state has made them the focus of international attention, have been spotted dining at Cipriani, one of the city's grandest restaurants. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, is thought to be staying at the Warwick, a luxurious establishment built by William Randolph Hearst to host his lover, Marion Davies, and a great many prominent thespians. It is said to boast a "European-style elegance". Midtown Manhattan, which is still recovering from an invasion of fashionistas for New York Fashion week, is now occupied by a less handsome though equally colourful international cast. Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary- General, compared their coming to the hurricane which afflicted the city in the last days of summer. "Now a perfect storm of world leaders, creating a lot of traffic jams," he said, tendering his thanks to New Yorkers for suffering the disruptions at a luncheon for world leaders. A fleet of boats mounted with machineguns patrolled the East River. There are blockades, concrete barricades and several hundred police officers. Before Mr Ahmadinejad, Teodoro Mbasogo, the leader of Equatorial Guinea, spoke of the progress of democracy. Observers rank his government, which he has led for three decades, as one of the most brutal and corrupt in the world."The political situation in my country is optimal," he said, noting that "peace, reconciliation" and various sides "working together in harmony, on the same criteria" was the order of the day. Later he retired to his hotel. <Subject Foreign students; Closed end funds; Colleges & universities Title Appetite for student digs could push prices higher Author Hipwell, Deirdre Publication title The Times Publication date Aug 25, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Demand by competitive parents from Asia and the Far East to send their children to the best British universities could cause student rents to rise by at least 4 per cent in the coming academic year. Unite, the student accommodation provider, said yesterday as it reported its interim results that it had seen no drop-off in new students, despite the UK's largest increase in university tuition fees to date. Mark Allan, the chief executive of Unite, said: "Standing where we are now, we have sold 2,000 more rooms than this time last year. There has just been no let-up in demand." Rents at a Unite London scheme now average about Pounds 200 per week, inclusive of all costs, while outside of London they are about Pounds 100 per week. Mr Allan added that volume of traffic on its website in August was up 35 per cent and while UK student numbers were expected to drop off slightly there was no sign of foreign student demand waning. He said that applications from foreign students were up 5 per cent year-on-year: "There is incredible wealth in Asia and parents want to send their children to Western universities and Britain and America are the beneficiaries of that." The strong demand meant that Unite reported a strong first half, with its net asset value rising 5 per cent to 310p per share and its profit up 67 per cent at Pounds 7.2 million. Investors reacting positively sent Unite's price soaring to close up 10 1/2p, or 6.9 per cent, at 163 1/2p. It reversed a trend in which Unite's share price has underperformed the sector by 18 per cent in the year to date. Mr Allan said he felt that the market's perception of its gearing, which was high at 78 per cent, and its ability to fund its future pipeline had weighed on the share price. However, he said that he felt higher gearing was acceptable as student accommodation was more defensive because demand was less volatile than traditional commercial property and values held up better. <Subject Airline industry; Airlines; Air fares; Costs; Airports Title Speak to us first: Ryanair demands say in airport sale Author Robertson, David Publication title The Times Publication date Jul 26, 2011 Section News Publisher News International Trading Limited. Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Ryanair expects to act as "kingmaker" in the Pounds 1 billion sale of Stansted airport. The airline accounts for about two thirds of the airport's traffic and it wants a say in who buys it. The Competition Commission wants to break up BAA's monopoly control of airports in the South East and Scotland and last week reiterated a ruling that it should sell Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Howard Millar, Ryanair's deputy chief executive, said: "We see ourselves as kingmaker. Anybody who wants to buy Stansted needs to talk to us first. We see plenty of opportunity to grow at Stansted but we need lower charges." Stansted has a regulated value of Pounds 1.3 billion but analysts doubt that BAA will be able to recoup this amount because the airport has suffered a fall in passenger numbers in recent years. Potential bidders have warned that the price is likely to be affected by the dominance of Ryanair and easyJet at the airport. The two carriers represent nearly 90 per cent of traffic at Stansted. The Competition Commission has ordered BAA to begin the sale of Stansted within three months and it must be completed within two years. BAA has hinted that it will seek a judicial review to block the forced sale. Meanwhile, Ryanair has increased pressure on BAA by promising legal action against it for allegedly inflating charges at Stansted. Landing charges at Stansted are calculated by the Civil Aviation Authority based on BAA's costs of operating the airport. Ryanair said that it had found Pounds 18 million of "corporate recharges" in Stansted's accounts that had been imposed by the BAA head office. There were also utility costs that Ryanair said had been passed on to Stansted from BAA. Mr Millar said: "We think they have been increasing their costs so they can jack up the charges on us." BAA refuted the suggestion. Ryanair said that its average fares would increase by up to 15 per cent this summer as the budget carrier looks to offset higher fuel costs. The Irish airline said yesterday that its fares in the three months to the end of June had risen by 11 per cent to EUR 43 (Pounds 38), including bag charge. This was driven by fuel costs that rose by 50 per cent during the quarter. With the price of oil having settled at more than $110 a barrel this summer, Ryanair said that further fare increases had been necessary. Mr Millar said: "Once oil goes over $100 a barrel you reach a tipping point. We are working to reduce our cost base and our average fare will move up." Revenues rose by 29 per cent to EUR 1.1 billion but net profits were flat at EUR 139 million because of the higher fuel costs. Ryanair reiterated its expectation that full-year profits would be about EUR 400 million. Fuel costs and weak consumer demand have forced the airline to ground 80 aircraft this winter because many routes will not be profitable. As a result, Ryanair is expected to contract for the first time. <Subject Entrepreneurs; Children & youth; Parks & recreation areas; Music festivals Title Great days out this weekend Author Addison, Harriet Publication title The Times Publication date Jul 23, 2011 Section Weekend Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Time travellers Birdoswald Roman Fort, Cumbria Take part in Dark Ages-themed activities from colouring in to sword skills and hands-on excavation at this archaeology weekend at one of the 16 forts alongside Hadrian's Wall. Today until August 29, adult Pounds 6, child Pounds 4, www.english-heritage.org.uk Pirate academy Scarborough Castle, North Yorkshire Get a patch on your eye and parrot on your shoulder for a day of pirate activities. Watch the pirates have cutlass fights and take part in junior sword skills, arts and crafts and artefact handling. Today until August 29, adult Pounds 5.80, child Pounds 3.90, www.english-heritage.org.uk Gruesome weekend Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire Learn all about King Henry VIII in the Top of the Chops play, in which children interact to help decide the fates of the King's victims. There are also hands-on activities, crime and punishment trials and a Gruesome Trail around the abbey. Today and tomorrow, adult Pounds 6, children Pounds 3.60, www.english-heritage.org.uk Sundae Music Festival Manchester Heaton Park and London Clapham Common Ben & Jerry's is serving up a double scoop of music festivals, with Maximo Park and Ocean Colour Scene headlining a day at each venue, plus other acts such as Gary Numan and Ash. And then there is the unlimited free ice cream for everyone. Today and tomorrow (Saturday tickets in London sold out), Pounds 17, under-6s free, benjerry.co.uk/sundae Alice in Wonderland croquet Preston Manor, Brighton Play Alice-inspired croquet on the lawns of this mansion decorated in Edwardian style, with flamingos for mallets and playing cards for hoops. Until August 26, Tues-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 2pm-4pm, Pounds 10 for an hour slot, brighton-hove- rpml.org.uk Cycle circus Killerton, Exeter Families can ride on unicycles, trick bikes and all manner of weird and wonderful bicycles in the estate's parkland. Bring your own bikes to explore the cycle trail. Today and tomorrow 11am-4pm, adult Pounds 2.50, child Pounds 1.25, nationaltrust.org.uk Pipe band championships Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh Highland dancing, shot-putting and caber-tossing competitions sit alongside the pipe band championships. Tomorrow 9am-6pm, adult Pounds 7, child free, edinburghpipebandchampionship.com Blakemere Countryside Fair Cheshire Everything from chainsaw carving to dog shows, live music to clay pigeon shooting, plus plenty of food and a beer tent. Today and tomorrow, adult Pounds 1, child free, visitblakemere.co.uk Water zorbing Cribbs Causeway, Bristol Roll across the water in a giant inflatable ball (zorbing) in the outdoor inf latable pool of the Bristol Summertime Garden, relax on a deckchair, listen to live music or play a game of giant chess. Weekends until Aug 28, zorbing Pounds 5, other activities free, visitbristol.co.uk Hyper Japan Olympia 2, London Immerse yourself in Japanese culture with fashion stalls, food court, sushi rolling, stage shows, robot show and more. Today (10am-7pm) and tomorrow (6pm), adult Pounds 15, under-10s free, hyperjapan.co.uk Thomas the Tank Engine Kent & East Sussex Railway Meet Thomas at Tenterden station, go on a steam train ride and enjoy face painting, singalongs, roundabouts, bouncy castle and coal-cake presentation for Thomas daily at 2.40pm. Today and tomorrow, adult Pounds 13, child Pounds 10, kesr.org.uk Times Eureka Garden Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew The Times Eureka Garden, fresh from its silver medal success at the Chelsea Flower Show, is on display at Kew Gardens. Kids can also run along the treetop walkway. Open now, adult Pounds 13.90, children free, kew.org Harriet Addison <Subject Armed forces; Reforms; Military history Title Top brass face cull as power is ceded to joint command in efficiency drive: Defence Author Haynes, Deborah Publication title The Times Publication date Jun 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The Armed Forces of the future will not only be more integrated on the battlefield but also in the way they purchase equipment, plan exercises, order supplies and even gather intelligence, under reforms that will be proposed today. The headline recommendations from the Defence Reform Unit will include the transfer of all operations performed by each of the three Services -- such as logistics, planning and helicopter flights -- to a Joint Forces Command. The new tri-Service organisation will be headed by a four-star officer and will incorporate the military's Permanent Joint Headquarters, which already brings together the Army, Navy and RAF on operations overseas. Its creation, if given the level of importance recommended by Lord Levene of Portsoken, will make the second-in-command post for the Army, Navy and RAF redundant. The report recommends transferring the power of the Commander-in-Chief (Land), Commander- in-Chief (Air) and Commander-in-Chief (Fleet) to the heads of each Service, who will each take on more responsibilities for their respective branch of the military as a result. This would help to reduce the number of costly generals, admirals and air chief marshals, though the report does not spell out how many senior military and civil servant posts should be eliminated. It does not set out the amount of money that will be saved if all the reforms are implemented either. Hew Strachan, a professor of military history, felt the recommendations contained more good news than bad. "But it all depends on how the proposals are carried through. Whether it comes to be regarded as a missed opportunity will depend upon what happens on implementation," he said. A key gauge will be the calibre of commander appointed as the first Joint Forces Commander, who will sit under the Chief of Defence Staff, raising doubts over whether the post of Vice Chief of Defence Staff is still necessary. Similarly, there is doubt over the future of the job of the department's second Permanent Under-Secretary. Another focus is financial accountability. The proposals, if adopted, will make the heads of the Army, Navy and RAF more accountable for their own budgets. They will be able to decide how their resources are split between training, hiring new personnel or buying low to medium value equipment. Big ticket items, such as aircraft carriers and jets, will still be decided by the Defence Board, headed by Liam Fox, with Nick Harvey, the Minister for Armed Forces, also given a seat at the table. Until now, the Defence Board had no political members. The change in formation is designed to bring the MoD more closely under Government scrutiny. There will also be a proposal to end the practice of transferring key procurement personnel to new projects every 24 months, in an effort to ensure that senior staff take responsibility for their decisions up to the point at which work is completed. While trying to make the MoD function better as a department of state, Professor Strachan said the reform unit appeared less focused on improving its ability to work as an efficient military headquarters, which it also must be at a time of war. The Defence Secretary will speak at a think-tank tomorrow morning where he will stress the need for change and say Lord Levene "has proposed a more cost-effective model". <Subject Schools; Admissions policies Title Brownie points route into Church school is banned Author Sugden, Joanna Publication title The Times Publication date Jun 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Parents are to be barred from earning religious brownie points in order to secure places for their children at Church of England schools. Attendance at mid-week church meetings, helping with cleaning and other parish work will no longer count in favour. The Church of England's report into admissions to its schools calls for the present points-based system to be abolished. Critics, including the former Schools Adjudicator Ian Craig, had claimed that it entrenched middleclass advantage because such families were better able to play the system. "Church of England schools should be able to show how their admissions policy and practice demonstrate the school's commitment both to distinctiveness and inclusivity, to Church families and the wider community," says the report from the Church's Board of Education, to be presented to the General Synod in York by the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend John Pritchard, its chair, next month. The report says the National Society, the Church's schools body, "recommends that the only criterion to be taken into account is attendance at worship". The system of allocating extra points to families who play a more active role is discriminatory, the board says. "Points systems can discriminate against families unable for a variety of reasons to participate," it adds. The bishop caused anger this year when he suggested the number of Church families in CofE schools should be capped. The 4,841 schools should return to their mission of educating the poor and needy, he said. The report opens the door for schools to give places to ethnic minorities and immigrants who are not Christians in preference to local Church families. Religious education 4,841 Church of England schools 1m children attend 1 in 3 C of E voluntary aided secondaries admits more than half of its intake on the basis of church attendance 11 oversubscribed schools admit only pupils whose families attend church <Subject Older people; Health care; Councils Title Elderly will have to pay more for care as councils cut costs [Edition 2] Author Bennett, Rosemary Publication title The Times Publication date Jun 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Thousands of elderly people will be forced to find extra cash to pay for help with eating and dressing as local authorities slash spending on old-age care by almost 10 per cent this year. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that councils are planning to cut their spending on old-age care by an average of 8.4 per cent by next March. The figures come just a week before the economist Andrew Dilnot announces the proposals of the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support in old age. He will make clear that spending by both individuals and the Government must increase to avert a crisis. The new figures were collected by the charity Age UK, which received responses from 139 councils. It discovered that net expenditure on older people's social care is falling by Pounds 610 million this financial year. That is equivalent to a cut in spending per person over 65 from Pounds 864 last year to Pounds 791. There are 2.9 million people over the age of 65 living in England who currently need care. With the system already under enormous strain, only 1.15 million of them are receiving support from their council. The fall in spending is likely to limit the public provision of care even further. It means that only those considered to be in the most severe need will be offered care, and those who do receive support are likely to see it reduced, forcing them to find the cash to make up the difference. The research found that at least 61 councils are making savings by increasing or making new charges on the social care they arrange, such as home helps or places in day care centres. At least 27 councils are making savings by reducing personal budgets or home care packages, meaning that those who receive support will receive fewer hours of help. At least 25 councils are making savings by reducing the number of placements in care homes. About 76 councils have either frozen or decreased the rates they pay for residential homes for older people, leaving them and their families who pay to top up the fees from their own pockets. The cuts are being made despite the Government raiding the Department of Health budget so an extra Pounds 1 billion can be spent on social care by local authorities by 2014. However, local authorities also rely on funding from other government departments, which will be cut by 27 per cent over the next four years. Michelle Mitchell, charity director for Age UK, said that the effect of this year's cuts could be "devastating". "Funding for social care is already inadequate and the system today is failing many older people at the time when they really need help," she said. "The consequences of cutting expenditure further to 8.4 per cent, indicated by our research, could be devastating. "We are fearful that even more vulnerable older people will be left to struggle alone and in some cases lives will be put at risk. We anticipate these cuts will condemn many more older people to a miserable existence behind closed doors struggling to keep safe and well." Age UK is calling for the Government to commit itself to a minimum Pounds 3 billion additional spending, to guarantee essential services for those older people with the highest needs and the lowest incomes. In the review of long-term funding, the Dilnot Commission is set to recommend that individuals pay for the first Pounds 50,000 or so of care themselves, after which the Government will pay. That will enable banks and insurance companies to develop new products allowing people to draw down some of the value of their house, or insure against the cost. 'I'm concerned nobody's listening' Case study David Gower, 75, relies on carers four times a day to help him with getting up, dressing and eating (Rosemary Bennett writes). Mr Gower, who lives in Luton, has a neurological disorder that severely restricts his mobility. He believes that Luton Council is about to make cuts, though the council said it has still not finalised its plans. The retired railway engineer pays up to Pounds 240 a month towards his care, with the council paying the rest. "I've been careful with money all my life," he said. "Now I feel like an outcast." He has discovered that his 20-minute lunchtime care has been cut by five minutes, although the council has not told him officially yet. "I am concerned that care services are just collapsing and nobody is listening. The Government said frontline services would not be affected by the cuts. That was highly misleading." 2.9m people over the age of 65 living in England currently need care <Subject Hotels & motels Title Don't put up with this: Poor facilities at five-star hotel Author Anonymous Publication title The Times Publication date Jun 25, 2011 Section Weekend Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> In October my wife and I booked a week's holiday with Cadogan Holidays at the five-star Dubrovnik Palace in Croatia. The brochure confirmed that the hotel had five restaurants. However, when we arrived only two were open; the hotel was coming to the end of its season and would be closing on November 1. In addition, all external equipment such as chairs and sun loungers had been stored. We feel let down by Cadogan. We spent more than Pounds 2,000 and had we known that the hotel would be offering limited facilities we would not have made the booking. Tony Evans, via e-mail It's annoying when a hotel fails to deliver on the facilities, but at least Cadogan and the hotel didn't dismiss your complaint. The hotel manager offered you a weekend's B&B to make up for the disappointment, which you rejected. You were also not satisfied with the Pounds 375 subsequently offered. However, after my intervention, Cadogan had a rethink and increased this to Pounds 500, which you have accepted. "While we felt that our original offer was fair and reasonable, we were prepared to make a slight increase to demonstrate our goodwill and commitment to good service," a spokesman said. It is always worth checking if and when hotels will be closing for the winter and what impact this might have. <Subject Councils; Prosperity; Studies Title Local councils of the future must shape communities Author Hasdell, Iain; Tizard, John Publication title The Times Publication date May 27, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> As localism collides with unprecedented financial constraint, local government will undergo dramatic change in the next few years. Local authorities will address new realities and find new roles as commissioners and "place shapers" in a future where innovation, smaller budgets and greater accountability take precidence. The best local councils of the future will be politically led, setting clear priorities for the place and services for citizens through clear business plans. These will inform strategic commissioning and partnerships in the public, third and private sectors which, alongside brokering joint ventures and securing fresh finance, will promote prosperity and well being, according to our new report: The Brilliant Local Authority of the Future. Leading councils will be transparent organisations with a clear vision of their role in the community. Their political leaders will be more accountable to citizens; as will chief executives and officers who will be motivated to deliver maximum value. Such councils will understand that prioritising and "rationing" of services is essential amid austerity and rising customer demand. They will therefore have absolute clarity on outcomes. The best local authorities are likely to focus on outcomes for their citizens, being more agnostic on how service is delivered, and by whom, provided that they secure public value. A consequence of this will be excellence in commissioning, procurement, operational and contract management and a supply chain that operates in a culture of payment by results. Financial scrutiny will not be restricted to external partners as commercially savvy leaders and finance directors will have an iron-like grip over all finances. The operating models, through which business plans will be delivered, will have at their heart return on social and financial investment, targets, cost drivers and cashflows. The focus will be on the strategic imperative to both deliver and prove value to local stakeholders. This is likely to mean considerably more granular analysis of costs, targets and performance. The most innovative local authorities will be leveraging capital investment, exploiting all available funding and revenue generation. The potential funding from private sector partnerships, private equity, regional growth funds, EU and social investment will be robustly explored. And prosperity will also be enhanced through income streams generated by the selling of services, including to other local authorities. The way brilliant councils of the future interact with their citizens may be fundamentally different. They will operate as "community organisers". We expect to see a greater degree of accessibility, with new media employed to enable interactivity with stakeholders and more participatory democracy. Our report suggests that reforms can bring about a new approach and deliver a better experience directly to citizens when councils deliver a clear vision and play a key role in achieving locality aspirations. <Subject Social networks; Contempt of court Title Twitter promises to tell users if forced to reveal identities [Edition 2] Publication title The Times Publication date May 26, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Twitter has said that if it were compelled to disclose information to authorities investigating breaches of legal orders it would notify users first. Tony Wang, the internet company's European general manager, said that while Twitter could not defend users, it had a responsibility "to protect that user's rights". His comments, at the e-G8 forum in Paris, followed a dispute over the naming of Ryan Giggs on Twitter as the subject of a privacy injunction. While media organisations in Britain were prevented from revealing that he had an affair, thousands of Twitter users were spreading the information. Breaching the injunction would put an individual in contempt of court, liable to an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison. Before John Hemming, a Liberal Democrat MP, used parliamentary privilege to name Giggs, the footballer's lawyers had asked Twitter for information on users who had published his name. <Subject Water quality; Councils; Tourism; Beaches Title Sewerage cover-up on British beaches: Environment Councillors try to avoid Jaws effect on tourists Author Webster, Ben Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 28, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Some of Britain's most popular seaside resorts are trying to have their beaches removed from an official list of "bathing waters" to conceal from visitors that raw sewage spills into the sea. Local authorities want to avoid weekly water quality tests by the Environment Agency, which each year names beaches that have failed to reach a minimum standard for cleanliness. The tests are carried out only on beaches designated as bathing waters. The authorities believe that the publicity that results from failing the tests is damaging tourism. They also want to avoid a European rule that comes into effect in 2015 that will require those beaches that fail the tests to erect signs warning visitors that there is a risk of sewage in the water. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is secretly helping authorities with their applications to remove their beaches from the list. Environmental groups have accused the authorities of trying to hide the truth about pollution from sewer outflows, which can spill into bathing water dozens of times a year at some beaches. The spills tend to happen after heavy rain and tests show that they result in bathing water containing up to 200 times the legal limit for faecal bacteria. Instow Beach in Devon, and Church Beach in Lyme Regis, Dorset, are affected by sewer overflows and were named last year by the agency as failing to meet the minimum standard. Wildersmouth Beach in Ilfracombe, Devon, scraped a pass but its water quality was rated as poor. Roger Jacob, clerk to Instow Parish Council, said that it would be counting bathers on some days this summer to make the case to Defra that the beach should no longer be listed as a bathing beach. "We are just trying to avoid the bad publicity, especially with the European legislation becoming more stringent," he said. "It's like the Jaws effect, putting people off going to the beach. Failing three or four tests a year could tarnish the whole place. People read into it that the whole beach is unsafe when in fact it's a golden sandy beach good for playing on." Mr Jacob said that the council had been advised by Defra that its case would be helped by putting up signs saying bathing was "potentially hazardous" because of strong currents and soft sands. The signs will go up next month. Mike Edmunds, a district councillor in Ilfracombe, said that the authority wanted to avoid having to erect notices at Wildersmouth. "It could be damaging to the tourism industry if people walked along the seafront and saw those signs," he said. "If we de-designate the beach the testing isn't done and the signs don't have to go up. Wildersmouth isn't really a swimming beach, though you do occasionally see children paddling there." David Cozens, chairman of the tourism committee on Lyme Regis Town Council, is backing a move to have Church Beach taken off the list. "Hoteliers are worried about the adverse publicity from failing the tests. Tourism is the main industry." He said that the council was split on the issue, with some members arguing that it would be better to carry on informing people of the potential dangers from contaminated water. "Some people say we would get worse publicity if someone caught an infection in the water and died." Andy Cummins, campaign director for Surfers Against Sewage, said: "They should be trying to solve the problem rather than hiding the information. The shame of turning up on the list of failures is the only driver we have for getting the investments by water companies that would stop sewage running into the water in the first place. If beaches are dedesignated and no longer tested, we would lose that influence." He said that it was wrong to claim that people did not bathe at beaches seeking de-designation. "If the sun's out, people will go in the water, and they deserve to be told whether it's safe." Defra said it had been approached by several authorities interested in being delisted. A spokesman said: "We can't name the beaches as this could lead to publicity that could temporarily increase user numbers and distort the true picture of usage at the site." He said the European directive allowed beaches to be delisted where there were "low numbers of bathers". Asked how many bathers a beach needed in a season to be considered a bathing water, he said: "The directive itself doesn't set out what constitutes a large number of bathers and this decision is best made locally." Police closed a three-mile stretch of beach in North Yorkshire yesterday after a large number of unidentified white granules washed ashore. A specialist unit has been sent to test the substance found at Hunmanby, near Filey. "Until we have established the nature of the granules and are satisfied that they are not harmful to anyone, the beach will remain closed," a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said. Officers were called by the coastguard at about 1.45pm after the granules were washed up on the shoreline. Great bathing, so long as it hasn't rained The beach Simon de Bruxelles The notice by Church Beach, in Lyme Regis, Dorset, warns of the dangers of the incoming tide, slippery rocks and sunburn. What it does not tell bathers is that the sea can be contaminated with raw sewage. Simon Bien, from Coventry, was keeping a careful eye yesterday on his son Alaric, 3, who was filling a bucket in the waves. He had no idea that there were unseen dangers lurking. "If we'd known we probably wouldn't have come here," Mr Bien said. The pollution is particularly bad after heavy rain, when storm drains, agricultural run-off and domestic sewage run into the River Lim, which flows into the sea at Church Beach. Some councillors are keen to avoid a European rule that will require all official "bathing waters" to put up signs saying if they have failed water quality tests, and so are proposing to apply for the beach to be removed from the list of bathing waters. Niki Probert, manager of the Terrace Cafe, said that swimmers regularly used the beach. "Lyme relies on the tourist trade. If people see that one beach is unfit for swimming there's a risk they'll think the rest are the same and they will go somewhere else," she said. Michael Lewis, the town clerk, said that surveys would be conducted this summer to establish how many people use Church Beach before a decision is made to remove its designation as a bathing beach. He said: "Discharge has been a problem for years and dedesignation would be one solution." Church Beach is at the opposite end of the front to the Cobb, where the French lieutenant's woman in John Fowles's novel braved the raging sea and where Jane Austen had Louisa Musgrave fall in Persuasion. Nearly all Lyme's sewage is disinfected with ultraviolet light before it is discharged 600 metres offshore. A multimillion-pound sewerage project was completed in 1995. But a report by the Environment Agency said that misconnected domestic sewage pipes may have contributed to the poor water quality at Church Beach. Tests are being carried out to establish whether the sewage is of animal or human origin. Alaric, below, busy filling his bucket, may not have been aware of what the fuss is about, but he was probably lucky that it has not rained recently. We are just trying to avoid the bad " publicity. Failing three or four tests could tarnish the whole place " <Subject Boarding schools; Fees & charges; Schools Title Small independent schools hit as parents feel squeeze Author Hurst, Greg Publication title The Times Publication date Apr 28, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The impact of the tough economic climate on independent schools became clearer today with confirmation that 14 schools closed in the past year for lack of pupils. The number at leading independent schools fell by 5,386, just over 1 per cent, as fees rose by an average of 4.5 per cent across the sector. This was offset by a rise of 5.5 per cent in children from overseas attending schools in Britain. There are now 24,554 overseas pupils at British boarding schools, 36 per cent of the total. The figure excludes expatriates. Average fees for boarding schools are Pounds 25,152 a year, with further rises ahead as several schools, such as Winchester College, charge above Pounds 30,000 for the first time. Day school fees average Pounds 11,208 a year. Independent schools said consumer prices rose 4 per cent but the education component of the inflation index -- which reflects university tuition fees, international student fees and evening class charges as well as school fees -- rose by 5.3 per cent. The figures, from an annual census of 1,234 independent schools, will not reflect the true scale of falling rolls as it comprises only the larger and stronger schools. About 1,200 other independent schools, mostly very small, family-owned prep schools that tend to be more vulnerable, do not take part in the census. Neil Roskilly, chief executive officer of the Independent Schools Association, said: "We normally have two or three closures a year, often proprietary schools when the proprietor retires or [there is] an amalgamation or federation. This year there has been more. It seemed that small girls' schools have been affected." The 14 schools that have closed, or will close at the end of the summer term, do not include those whose closure has been announced since the survey in January. The rise in fees was defended by Richard Harman, headmaster of Uppingham School, Rutland. "Schools are to be congratulated on keeping their boarding fee increases below the level of general inflation and also below the average of independent school fee rises," said Mr Harman, who is vice-president of the Boarding Schools Association. Parents of 164,105 pupils paid discounted fees. They included children of school staff, members of the Armed Forces and clergy. More than 7 per cent received means-tested help because of lower incomes. The total value of such discounts was almost Pounds 150 million.About 9 per cent were scholarships for talented children. Closed in the past year St Colette's Prep, Cambridge; Sunnymede School, Southport; Stowford College, Croydon; Cliff School, Wakefield; Hurworth House, Darlington; Mostyn House, Wirral; Crown House, High Wycombe; Elvian School, Reading; Manor House School, Honiton; part of Lodge School, Purley; Bodiam Manor, East Sussex; St Margaret's School, Edinburgh; Arundale School, West Sussex; Brantwood Ind School for Girls, Sheffield <Subject Weddings Title Royal wedding grandstand: entry Pounds 100,000 Author Ralph, Alex; Kennedy, Dominic Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 26, 2011 Section News Publisher News International Trading Limited. Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Viewing spots within confetti-throwing range of where Kate Middleton and Prince William will emerge from Westminster Abbey as a royal couple are being sold for up to Pounds 100,000, The Times has learnt. Such is the clamour for a ringside seat along the processional route to and from Buckingham Palace, businesses, religious groups, charities, and even the judiciary are hiring out roof-tops, balconies and banqueting suites that afford the best views of the wedding day. It follows a long tradition dating back to at least 1863, where classified adverts were taken out in The Times a week before the wedding of Albert Edward, the future Edward VII, to Princess Alexandra. On March 10, 1863, windows accommodating 6 to 12 persons were let for 30 shillings. In more recent times, Westminster views have been put on sale for the visits of President George W. Bush, Pope Benedict XVI, and the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales, and more recently Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The closest view to the wedding on Friday, April 29, short of having a seat inside the Abbey, is on the balconies at the front of The Sanctuary. The 19thcentury gothic building overlooks the West Entrance of the Abbey. It is here that the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI taking Miss Middleton to the ceremony and before that, the royal family motorcade, will arrive. Having walked down the nave, the couple will then emerge together from the West Entrance before they are driven by horse-drawn carriage to Buckingham Palace. On previous occasions, spectators have not been allowed on the balconies for security reasons. However, they are being sold on this occasion. A meeting was held on Thursday evening with the Metropolitan Police and The Sanctuary's tenants to discuss the security implications. The Faculty Office for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is officiating at the ceremony, is housed in The Sanctuary. It is administering the couple's "special licence", which gives them the legal right to marry in Westminster Abbey. The couple need a licence because the Queen has to give her written consent for royal weddings. The long freehold of The Sanctuary is owned by the Church Commissioners for England, which manages the investment portfolio of the Church of England, until the next century. The Commissioners are relaxed about their tenants entering into commercial arrangements. "It is up to them what informal arrangements they come to," a church spokesman said. One Japanese company was said to have been interested in hiring a floor but pulled out following the earthquake in Japan. The next best view on offer is also going for Pounds 100,000. Like The Sanctuary, it is being sold through nearby Tuckerman Estate Agents. At floors two and three of NIOC House, 4 Victoria Street, guests can look directly down on the West Entrance, with views extending towards Parliament Square Gardens. According to the Land Registry, the National Iranian Oil Company owns the freehold on the building, where potential clients were this week shown around. Among those thought to be interested are Japanese and Thai businessmen with a view to holding a function. The Iranians' paying guests will be able to watch the couple proceed around Parliament Square Gardens towards Whitehall after the ceremony. Other organisations are also capitalising on their views across the square and the Houses of Parliament. Methodist Central Hall is offering a champagne breakfast for up to 500 guests in its lecture hall. At just Pounds 60 a head, the offer reflects the fact it is in a windowless room. On its left, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will erect a 12-foot platform for the world's media on the front lawn of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. The DCMS said that it was compensating the centre because it would impair the views from some of its function rooms, which look directly over the West Entrance. The Supreme Court offers The Lobby and The Lawyers' Suite at Pounds 2,500 a room, although its views do not extend to the Abbey's West Entrance. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has leased its fifth-floor terrace to RTL Television, a commercial German television company, for an undisclosed fee. Embankment St James's Park Houses of Parliament Westminster Abbey Buckingham Palace Admiralty Arch St James's Park St James's Palace The wedding route Green Park River Thames Victoria St Birdcage Walk BuckinghamGate Whitehall The Mall Victoria Embankment iralt amen HM Treasury View for sale Methodist Central Hall The facility Lecture hall with champagne breakfast for 500 guests. Great Hall accommodating 1,000 people The view Lecture Hall has no windows; Rooftops have bird's eye view of the West Entrance of Westminster Abbey The owner Methodist Church The facility Media platform on its front lawn and fifth-floor function room looking out at the Abbey available The view opposite the West Entrance of Westminster Abbey The owner Crown Estate The facility Watson & Crick Room The view Balcony overlooking The Mall The owner Crown Estate Royal College of Pathologists The facility Function room upstairs and bar on ground floor The View Abbey obscured by neighbouring buildings The owner Shepherd Neame brewery Westminster Arms QEII Conference Centre 2 8 11 12 13 3 3 2 1 1 4 5 The facility Offices overlooking Parliament Street The view of the procession leading up to Horse Guards The owner Department for Communities and Local Government Cabinet Office 5 6 The facility Offices overlooking Horse Guards Parade The view of the procession leading towards The Mall from balconies The owner Foreign and Commonwealth Office Foreign and Commonwealth Office 6 7 The facility Champagne breakfast for 25 guests on first floor, pub open to punters in basement and ground floor The view Over processional route The owner Fullers brewery Red Lion 7 The facility Offices overlooking Parliament Square The view of the procession leading round to Parliament Street The owner Run under PFI The Treasury 8 9 10 13 The Sanctuary NIOC House Supreme Court Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The facility Nine rooms, four balconies The view West Entrance of Westminster Abbey and the motorcade stop The owner Church Commissioners for England, investment portfolio held for the Church of England The facility Two vast, gutted offices on floors two and three The view Windows overlook the West entrance to Westminster Abbey The owner The National Iranian Oil Company The facility The Lobby and The Lawyers' Suite The view Parliament Square Gardens The owner Crown Estate The facility fifth floor roof terrace The view Bird's eye view of Parliament Square Gardens and Westminster Abbey The owner RTL Television, a commercial German company, has rented space from RICS 9 10 11 12 Not disclosed Pounds 60 per head* *Great Hall free of charge Pounds 510 for full day The facility Main Hall champagne breakfast for 100 guests and screening The view kneeling stools in front of windows opposite Horse Guards The owner Historic Royal Palaces Banqueting House 4 Not disclosed Not disclosed Pounds 100,000 Pounds 100,000 Pounds 2,500 a room Not disclosed Not disclosed <Subject Attention deficit disorder; Children & youth; Premature birth Title Schools struggle with attention disorder 'avalanche' Author Sugden, Joanna Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 25, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Two pupils in every primary school classroom have a new form of attention deficit disorder that affects children born prematurely, according to experts. The Government published guides for teachers yesterday on how to deal with rising numbers of children with profound and complex learning difficulties including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Research commissioned by ministers warns that maths and literacy teaching must be transformed to accommodate a new generation with types and combinations of special needs never seen before, rather than relying on drugs such as Ritalin. Barry Carpenter, director of a twoyear review into the teaching of children with special needs, said that schools were using outdated methods to cope in the face of an "avalanche of pupils" with learning difficulties caused mainly by very premature birth. "This new generation of children are wired differently to those we saw in the 20th century," Professor Carpenter said. "They learn in a different way." There was a 29 per cent increase in pupils with profound learning difficulties between 2004 and 2009. "Much of that rise was due to the better survival rates in premature babies," Professor Carpenter said. More than 80,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK each year, and 95 per cent of those born after a gestation of 28 to 31 weeks survive. Children born very early were more likely to struggle with maths, reading and behavioural problems in later life because their brains had developed outside of the womb, Professor Carpenter said. Half of them went on to suffer from a form of ADHD that made it difficult to remain focused on a task. "It's not the banging off the walls and shouting type of ADHD," he added. "Premature children are showing ADHD of the inattention variety where there is no focus or concentration." Pupils with this sort of ADHD will typically appear not to be listening when spoken to, become easily distracted and forgetful, and have difficulty organising themselves. They are also more likely to make careless mistakes in work and other activities. Teachers need training to learn to differentiate between the various disabilities and how to deal with them to ensure that pupils can learn. Professor Carpenter has published guides based on his research to help teachers to cope with pupils with these new forms of ADHD and other complex and overlapping special needs. Four children in a standard primary class will have been born prematurely on average, he said. Figures suggest that 50 per cent of those will develop ADHD. The condition has increasingly been treated with methylphenidate drugs such as Ritalin rather than educational intervention. "Can we do no better than the pharmaceutical cosh?" Professor Carpenter said. "It's successful for some children but we need to consider whether it is the way for all pupils." NHS figures show a rise in methylphenidate prescriptions in all age groups by nearly 60 per cent in five years between 2004 and 2009, from 389,200 to 610,200. The guidance encourages teachers to vary activities for children with ADHD, "allowing short breaks for physical activities interspersed with times when they are expected to remain seated". Those born very prematurely can also have difficulty remembering or comprehending instructions. The guidance advises teachers to break down instructions so that there is not too much to take in or remember. "If in doubt, ask the pupil to repeat back what they have been asked to do." Sarah Teather, the Children's Minister, said: "The findings of this research offer very important insights into a new generation of children with complex learning difficulties. It offers imaginative and practical guidance on how teachers can support children in their learning." <Subject Attention deficit disorder; Medical treatment; Children & youth Title Does ADHD exist? It depends who you talk to Author Anonymous Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 24, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Sir, As a community paediatrician who regularly diagnoses and treats children and young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), I was dismayed by Libby Purves's article ( "Please, sir, don't give them any more Ritalin", Mar 21). She implies that the diagnosis is a medical label for naughtiness, poor parenting and an ill-equipped education system. She states "it is not difficult to get a diagnosis of the 'disorder'... there is no blood test or brain scan, merely a checklist of symptoms not unfamiliar to parents". There is a huge amount of scientific research evidence to show that ADHD is a valid diagnosis, that drug treatment has been safely used for years and can have an extremely positive effect. It is not about treating disruption caused by their behaviour, it is about improving these children's lives educationally, emotionally and socially. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence, in its 2008 guidelines, recommends a robust assessment process which requires information to be sought from agencies other than just the child's parents, and the vast majority of clinicians adhere to this process before a diagnosis is made. Ms Purves also cites "reliable reports of children in nursery being medicated". While there will always be doctors who don't adhere to the guidelines, the vast majority of us do, and would not prescribe ADHD medication to pre-school children. Just because there is not a diagnostic test available does not mean the condition does not exist; depression does not have one either. dr sally morgan Meopham, Kent Sir, As a father of a child with the condition, let me assure Libby Purves that ADHD does exist. I'm sure parents in our position would all much rather they were dealing with "naughtiness", as she puts it, rather than the extremes of behaviour to which ADHD can give rise. We do not have a choice. Also, medication, responsibly diagnosed, undeniably has a place in treatment. Where she does have a point is in relation to therapy. As far as I can tell, in contrast to the situation in other European countries, therapy is not widely used and that is a great pity. As children with the condition get older they become better at coping with its symptoms. Without therapy, there is a real risk that the patterns of behaviour learnt to cope with ADHD themselves become a greater problem than would otherwise be the case. henry sherman Teddington, Middx Sir, Some authorities believe there to exist no such phenomenon as "ADHD" as a scientifically legitimate diagnostic condition, and a wealth of literature has exposed the methodological and philosophical flaws in the "research" claiming to have discovered its neurological and genetic causes. ADHD is far better understood as a culturally constructed and vested interest-driven diagnostic category, whose alleged existence serves professional psychiatric and pharmaceutical interests. Why else would the incidence of ADHD have risen so dramatically, so quickly? The disturbed symptoms that some children exhibit are far better understood as their understandable and, paradoxically, even healthy response to the routine violence that modern technocratic culture and schooling systems routinely do to them -- and not least, the ubiquity of televisual culture in most young children's lives. Until we possess the insight to recognise, learn from and then respond appropriately to this malaise at a cultural level, children's behavioural difficulties will inevitably continue to escalate -- Ritalin or no Ritalin. <Subject Airlines; Airline industry; Pilots; Students; Fatalities Title Pilots 'made up their flying hours' to qualify Author Elliott, Francis Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 24, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> Two pilots who had flown hundreds of passenger flights for an Indian budget airline have been arrested on suspicion of faking logs used to gain their licences. Ten months after 160 people were killed in a crash caused by pilot error, news of the arrests increased a crisis of confidence in the country's airline industry. One police official told The Times that instructors had been selling faked logs to students to help them to secure commercial licences. An experienced pilot said that forged documents were "rampant" among newly qualified crew as carriers scrambled to meet booming demand. The arrested men were named as Anuj Kumar Choudhary and Amit Mundra. Both worked for SpiceJet, a budget carrier. They were former students of a flying school that is under investigation. Ajit Singh, the head of the Rajasthan anti-corruption bureau, claimed that instructors at the school had charged students 3,000 rupees (Pounds 40) for each false flying hour logged. Police said that they had identified one trainee pilot who provided a faked flight record showing 200 hours of experience despite never having been enrolled in the school. The scandal emerged last week when a separate scam was uncovered where pilots were accused of doctoring their examination scores. That was the result of an investigation into how Parminder Gulati -- a pilot who landed an aircraft on its nose wheel this year -- had secured her licence. Indian airlines are desperate to play down the scale of the problem, and the Director-General of Civil Aviation has gone on record to say that the incidence of "fake pilots" is "very rare". However, one veteran pilot said: "It's particularly bad with co-pilots where a lot of young chaps in a rush came in with the boom several years ago. On airlines like Emirates you have to have 5,000 flying hours to sit in the co-pilot's seat. In India all that's required is 250 -- and sometimes you can't be sure those hours are genuine." The 61-year-old flies with one of the profusion of low-cost carriers that have sprung up in recent years. An investigation into the Air India Express Flight 812 crash last May found that the pilot had spent a large portion of the journey asleep -- his snoring could be heard on the cockpit recording -- and that the fatally misjudged landing at Manglaore was entirely due to human error. INDEX FIELDS ------------ <Subject Corporate profiles; Weddings Title Success thanks to Wills, Kate -- and Paddington? Author Fildes, Nic Publication title The Times Publication date Mar 24, 2011 Section News Place of publication London (UK) Source type Newspapers Document type News> The company behind the Spode and Royal Worcester crockery brands expects the royal wedding and Paddington Bear to boost demand for its fine china plates and cups this year. Portmeirion, based in Stoke-on-Trent, acquired Spode and Royal Worcester in 2009 when the brands were in administration. It has proved a smart move: a revitalised range of products brought a 19 per cent increase in revenue to Pounds 51.2 million last year, while pre-tax profit rose 41 per cent to Pounds 5.2 million. Dick Steele, its chief executive, said that sales in the first two months of 2011 were up 15 per cent and that he expects its eight royal wedding lines, which range from a Pounds 400 vase to a Pounds 15 mug, to bring in Pounds 500,000. "It's all fine bone china and done in good taste, compared to some of the stuff I've seen out there," Mr Steele said. Portmeirion, which derives 45 per cent of its sales from North America and 10 per cent from South Korea, will also launch a new range of Paddington Bear-themed Spode crockery in the coming weeks, following on from the success of the Snowman and the Very Hungry Caterpillar. "Paddington is a very wise bear and knows his crockery well. It goes to show we can have our toast and eat it, too," Mr Steele said. The company's factories have been running at full capacity, producing 115,000 items a week. "Our kilns are burning 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is not efficient." Portmeirion, which added 50 workers in Stoke last year, will focus on improving the efficiency of its factories this year. It has increased its weekly production by 35 per cent over the past two years, compared with a 10 per cent rise in staff. The company is also looking forward to the Olympic Games and Diamond Jubilee next year. <Times Sport> The cost of sending the Lions to Australia in 2013 will be more than Pounds 13 million but such is the appeal of arguably the biggest brand in the world game, the tour should still generate substantial seven-figure profits for the four home unions. As the ten-match itinerary was revealed yesterday, a schedule that includes three internationals, John Feehan, the Lions chief executive, said that the tour, financially at least, will be the most successful ever. "Not so long ago people were writing off the Lions in the professional era," he said. "It is a unique concept which has mass appeal and its rarity only adds to that. It links rugby's old traditions, values and ethos." The party for the tour, who will play a Barbarians side in Hong Kong on the way to Australia, will be between 35 and 37-strong with a backroom team of at least 20. Feehan said the tour will be profitable because of significant sponsorship from HSBC and adidas, and First Cape Wines will cover at least two thirds of the cost. Television rights and official travel will also contribute significantly. The Lions have previously only undertaken two full tours to Australia. In 1989, under Finlay Calder, the Scotland flanker, they won 2-1 and 12 years later they suffered a 2-1 defeat when captained by Martin Johnson. The tour in 2013 will feature matches against each of Australia's five Super 15 franchises as well as a Combined New South Wales and Queensland Country XV. The internationals will be held in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Andy Irvine, the team manager, said that an open mind was being kept as to who may coach the Lions. An appointment is likely to be made in April after the completion of the RBS Six Nations Championship and the successful candidate would be expected to commit the next 18 months to the role. This would not rule out Warren Gatland, Andy Robinson or Declan Kidney, the three leading British Isles-based coaches in charge of Wales, Scotland and Ireland respectively. An overseas candidate would not be ruled out, nor would Sir Ian McGeechan, who led the Lions to South Africa in 2009. Gatland has a sabbatical built into the four-year contract that he signed with the Welsh Rugby Union before the World Cup at which his and Wales's stock rose considerably. He is the bookmakers' favourite but Robinson, the former England coach now looking to revitalise Scotland, is considered to be the early front-runner. "The coach does not have to come from the home unions and we could look worldwide," Irvine said. "Ian McGeechan has not ruled himself out. He did indicate that 2009 would be his last tour, but he has said nothing definitive and he has to be an option. It's such a highly prized job that we will not be short of candidates. To play for the Lions is the ultimate, and to coach the Lions is pretty close to that. "The Lions coach will not be involved in the 2013 Six Nations. He will need to be free of international commitments so he can look at players from the four home unions and be at different matches, and that would include the 2012 autumn series." More than 40,000 fans are expected to travel to Australia for the tour. The prospect of facing the Lions was one of the factors behind the decision of several players to extend their international careers in Australia, Robbie Deans, the Wallabies coach, said. Itinerary June 1, 2013: Barbarians (Hong Kong). June 5: Western Force (Perth). June 8: Reds (Brisbane). June 12: Combined NSW & Queensland Country XV (Newcastle). June 15: Waratahs (Sydney). June 18: Brumbies (Canberra). June 22: Australia (Brisbane). June 25: Melbourne Rebels (Melbourne). June 29: Australia (Melbourne). July 6: Australia (Sydney). There has been precious little of it in recent months, but some good news emanated from Twickenham yesterday.Among England rugby supporters, there has been an understandable fear that the present turmoil at the RFU would deter the game's finest brains from straying anywhere near such a crackpot organisation. In a conference room in the South Stand at Twickenham yesterday, though, Nick Mallett and Wayne Smith indicated that they would be willing to consider working with England, providing that the RFU is able to restore some semblance of stability in the coming months. That is a considerable caveat in the present circumstances, but their words were reassuring nonetheless. It was just about possible, if you sat back with your eyes half-closed, to imagine all England's problems being solved in a trice by the recruitment of two such worldly-wise figures. It will not be that simple, of course. Most of the leading candidates to succeed Martin Johnson, who resigned as team manager 13 days ago, want to wait and see whether the RFU's state of chaos can be resolved before officially advertising their availability. Mallett is included in that number and he reiterated yesterday that he is not interested in a short- term role during the RBS Six Nations Championship, but said that he would consider an approach in the longer term. "I'd never count it out; it's one of the top five coaching jobs in the world," he said. "In terms of how English rugby is viewed at the moment, there's a lot of progress that can be made. It's not a disadvantage as a coach to take on a side that's seen as being at rock-bottom. It's when they've just won a World Cup that it's difficult. Whoever takes over New Zealand has a really tough job. But whoever takes over England has got a really big opportunity." Mallett was approached by the RFU recently about the possibility of replacing Johnson, but, having completed a four-year term as Italy coach last month, he wants to spend time with his family in South Africa. He would consider a position as head coach of England only if he reported directly to the chief executive, rather than to a figure such as Rob Andrew, the RFU's elite rugby director. "England didn't come out of the World Cup with credit, either on or off the field, so there's a massive job to do off the field as well as on the field," Mallett said. "That's not something that would frighten me." Mallett and Smith are pooling their considerable expertise to coach the Southern Hemisphere team in the Heroes Rugby Challenge at the headquarters of English rugby on Saturday. Smith, one of Graham Henry's assistants when New Zealand won the World Cup last month, will work with the Chiefs in the Super 15 competition next year, but has a clause in a twoyear contract that could release him next summer. Asked whether he wanted to coach an international team again, he said: "You want to coach the best. I've got an interest in coming back to the UK. I had my time with Northampton [as head coach, from 2001 to 2004] and loved that. It's something I've always wanted to do, to come back." Mallett was scathing about the performance of the Barbarians in their 60-11 defeat by Australia at Twickenham on Saturday. Having coached the Barbarians to victories over New Zealand and South Africa in recent seasons, he was appalled by the standard of their defending. "If players don't defend wholeheartedly, they are selling the public short," he said. "In the second half, people were falling off tackles and that demeans the reputation of the Barbarians." I was pleased to see the IAAF award the 2017 World Athletics Championships to London a few weeks back. London has tried before but failed to secure the championships. It was set to stage the 2005 edition until plans for the stadium to host it were deemed too expensive and the event was ultimately moved to Helsinki. That was obviously a huge embarrassment and hurt any chances of the championships being staged in the capital for some time. But now, five years after the Olympic Games, the biggest event in sport, take place in London, the city will host the second-most prized event in athletics, the World Championships. Two weeks ago I sat with Sebastian Coe, the Locog chairman and good friend, not long after London had secured the championships. Coe explained to me that this was the natural continuation of the work being done on 2012, thus cementing the vision he explained in 2005 when he led the successful London bid for the 2012 Olympics. It wasn't easy for London to win the bid for 2017. It came down to a straight fight against Doha, Qatar, which last year won the right to host the 2022 football World Cup finals. Qatar has invested significantly in sport over the past few years and desperately wanted to host the World Athletics Championships. In a last-minute attempt to upstage London's bid, Qatar offered Pounds 5 million to the IAAF to cover prize money, if it was awarded the championships. London made the same offer and predicted record-breaking revenue from sponsorship. Present IAAF sponsors already cover the World Championships prize money, so this additional revenue actually goes to the world governing body's bottom line. In the world of professional sport, Pounds 5 million isn't really a lot of money, but in athletics it absolutely is. So it made me wonder what will become of the additional Pounds 5 million? I doubt it will go to the athletes in the form of increased prize money. The prize money for the World Championships starts at $60,000 (about Pounds 40,000) for the champion down to $4,000 for the eighth-place finisher. That's an embarrassingly low figure for athletes who are the best in the world and for the third-largest sporting event in the world. In professional sport, more money is associated with better talent and the prize money in athletics does not reflect the talent, skill, and hard work of the athletes. I hear comment all the time from people who are actually confused about athletics as a sport, not knowing whether it is still amateur -- as it was until the early Eighties -- or if it is a professional sport. If the eighth-place finisher in the 100 metres world championship, which makes him arguably the eighth-fastest man in the world, earns only $4,000 for that accomplishment, what message does it send about the sport and the athletes? The sport would be better served not to publicise or promote the prize money associated with its championships. Despite the continued problems athletics has had in remaining relevant and pulling itself out of relative obscurity outside the Olympic Games, Great Britain has the opportunity over the next few years to help the sport to help itself. But that will call for co-operation and vision from the IAAF, something that has been missing for decades. With a new Olympic Stadium that will retain its track after hosting the Games next year, and the World Athletics Championships in 2017, London is now in position to host European championships, European junior championships and world junior championships. The two-day London Grand Prix, one of the best-organised Diamond League events, should move to the new Olympic Stadium from Crystal Palace after next year's Games. Britain has some of the most loyal and knowledgeable athletics fans in the world and BBC Television coverage is seen as a model around the world. Nowhere in the world will you find athletics better covered or appreciated. And now, with the promise of a world-class stadium and track, London should become a prime target for the IAAF to work with to grow athletics. I would love to see this, but unfortunately I have lost all confidence in the organisation that runs the sport. 'Prize money does not reflect the talent and skill of the athletes' best race canadian grand prix In a year of outstanding contenders, who could forget Montreal? A rainstorm forced a two-hour postponement. At the restart, with the rain still pouring, Jenson Button came from the back of the grid to hunt down Sebastian Vettel, who had led from the off, on the last lap. With the chequered flag almost in sight, Vettel made almost his only error of the season, slid wide and Button took a famous victory. Stunning. worst race european grand prix, valencia Millions of pounds spent on designer tyres, huge investment in the Kinetic Energy Recovery System and the rewards of lots of action thanks to the Drag Reduction System overtaking device and Valencia still served up a dud. The racetrack is useless, as it proved with this bore by the shore. best driver a three-way tie Vettel obviously was stupendous. Then there is Button, who has been in imperious form. But Fernando Alonso also stakes a claim for his sheer determination not to let a bad car keep him down. They have all been splendid. worst tantrum felipe massa He turned a bad season (with fewer than half the points of his team- mate) into a calamity because of his obsession with Lewis Hamilton. Instead of letting it go and getting on with life, he allowed a series of incidents to turn into a feud. Plain daft. man of the year paul hembrey, pirelli director Designed tyres made effectively to fall apart -- not an easy sell for any business. But Pirelli entered the spirit of Formula One with gusto, Hembrey emerging as a bright and articulate spokesman. best track interlagos The view across Interlagos is staggering, the track dropping dramatically into a natural bowl against the backdrop of Sao Paulo's skyscrapers before rising again to the famous, final banked turn into the pit straight. Brazil still has that special atmosphere in a sport gradually moving towards sanitised circuits that look more like hospitals than racetracks. worst track south korea It marked a new low, a year-old track that looked as though it was disintegrating before our eyes. It is in the middle of nowhere, the locals are not interested and the teams do not want to be there. Oh, and the circuit is running out of money. Apart from that, it is all right. most points on his licence lewis hamilton He seemed to spend more time with the stewards than he did with his team. Started as he meant to go on with a penalty in Malaysia, the second race, and even went for a win double in Monaco, earning two drive-through penalties before angering the stewards and having to make a public apology. Formula One's bad boy. highlight lewis hamilton's mother, carmen Beaming up at her son after he turned around a rubbish season with victory in Abu Dhabi. She looked proud enough to burst. lowlight the ridiculous procrastination over whether to cancel the bahrain grand prix Formula One is often accused of being greedy, out of touch and arrogant. On this occasion it was greedy, out of touch and arrogant. longest fall from grace williams team Their worst performance since Sir Frank set up his team in 1978. An extraordinary drop for the one-time dominant force in Formula One. So farewell then ... Turkey The grand prix that had everything -- except people. bahrain Abandoned after horrifying riots and then the torture of doctors. new american grand prix in austin, texas Killed off before it started in 2012. bbc As the sole live Formula One broadcaster. Executives decided they could not afford the Pounds 40 million rights fee. rubens barrichello After 19 years and a record 322 grands prix, racing at Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn and finally -- probably -- Williams. hello and welcome ... sky sports It broadcasts all 20 races next season live for the first time on a dedicated Formula One channel. bahrain grand prix It is restored to the calendar (apparently, Formula One has not heard about the torture). and, er, turkey It could be brought back to fill the gap left by the ill-fated American Grand Prix. special mention dan wheldon The driver on whom Formula One missed out. He outraced contemporaries such as Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson but did not make it to Formula One, instead winning the IndyCar title and the Indy 500 twice. His death in a 15-car IndyCar crash last month shocked Formula One, in which he had many friends. A sad loss for British sport. Sir Ian McGeechan is not usually taken to issuing ultimatums or making unreasonable demands. The Bath director of rugby has forged his coaching career on a razor-sharp mind, sound man- management, and the ability to take in the wider picture before placing his own team's fortunes into context. So when McGeechan questions how level the Aviva Premiership playing field can be while the uneven availability of video technology at matches remains, it is worth listening. A board meeting of chief executives from the 12 Premiership clubs will discuss the issue, under which almost half the 135 games over the season are played without recourse to a television match official (TMO), a week tomorrow. At present ESPN and Sky, the television companies, who between them screen 69 matches, provide footage at live games that allows referees to refer decisions "upstairs", while the remaining fixtures are left in the hands of the on-field officials. Bath benefited from ESPN's presence in their 13-12 win over London Irish at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday, when Dave Attwood was awarded a second-half try by David Grashoff, the TMO, that otherwise might not have been given. "What isn't fair is that we have lost two games this season that, had a TMO been there, we would have won," McGeechan said. "The decision to award Attwood's try was a terrific one, but either you have a TMO at every game or you need to look at it. At the moment, it favours some games but not others. "For the Premiership, we should have the wherewithal to be in a position when we can give a try or not. We have cameras at every game, so why not? That's the only change I would make. Put enough cameras in place so that it's available at minimum level, minimum standard for all our Premiership games." Attwood's try, for which the 18st lock dotted down the ball in the right corner with all the skill of a wing, put the visiting team 10-6 in front after Tom Homer had earlier kicked two penalty goals for the exiles in response to Sam Vesty's try in the 35th minute. Vesty took advantage of Delon Armitage's visit to the sin-bin for another dangerous tackle -- a challenge similar to the one on Chris Paterson, against Scotland at the World Cup, which earned him a one-match ban -- to scoot over for the only score of a drab first half. Homer looked to have sealed victory with two late penalties before Vesty, who missed his first three kicks at goal, was handed a chance to secure a win in the 77th minute. The penalty kick opportunity arose after Shontayne Hape was penalised by David Rose, the referee, for playing the ball on the floor. Vesty kept his composure to stroke the ball between the posts from 25 metres out as Hape's second game for the exiles, against his former club, turned sour. "If the referee says 'release', then it's a penalty," Toby Booth, the London Irish director of rugby, said. "I'm bitterly disappointed because it's a key element. You want consistency as players." Despite his heroics, Vesty may soon have to settle for a place on the bench because Stephen Donald, the surprise World Cup hero for the All Blacks, is expected to arrive at the Recreation Ground this week. The fly half was granted permission to stay in New Zealand to celebrate his unexpected starring role in the All Blacks' triumph eight days ago, but McGeechan expects him to be available for the Heineken Cup fixture away to Glasgow Warriors on November 13. "Quite rightly Stephen's been celebrating a little bit," McGeechan said. "Now we're just doing medicals, clearance and all the paperwork. He'll be with us next week." It is not just parochialism that forces me to conclude that the recently finished rugby World Cup was really rather a tedious old slog. We can be thankful for the dwarfs and snogging and the ferry- leaping: at least these things kept us distracted from the actual rugby. Some of it was OK, an awful lot of it was pretty dire. I have a letter from Dermot Coleman, who traces rugby union's continuing indebtedness to rugby league. He points to the rugby league coaching in union, notably that of Les Kiss, Ireland's defence coach, who masterminded the defeat of Australia. He quotes the rugby league terminology that is now part of the way union thinks: big hit, offload, tackle count. Rugby league's flexible substitutions and use of the sin-bin has been borrowed by union. As rugby union turned professional, so it has borrowed more and more from league, which went the same way almost a century earlier. It's emphatically not an exchange: "The flow is all one way," Coleman says. But here's the real point: it hasn't gone far enough. As Coleman points out, there are two areas that, try as they might, rugby union simply can't get right. The first is the set scrum, which must be reset time and again. The second is the breakdown, which is chaotic, incomprehensible and ungovernable. Rule tweak after rule tweak attempts to solve these problems -- problems that are, at base, insoluble. Unless you do what rugby league did years ago and get rid of them both. They simply don't work in a game played by professionals. But, of course, rugby union will take for ever before they consider that. That would make them look like rugby league, and that would never do. Post-World Cup, rugby union cries: bring back the artists! Bring back the artistry! Arsene Wenger believes that the present focus on racism because of the allegations against John Terry should not obscure the need for the English game to eradicate all forms of abuse. Wenger's Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge in the Barclays Premier League today with Terry, the Chelsea captain, set to play despite claims that he aimed a racial slur at Anton Ferdinand, the Queens Park Rangers defender, during a match on Sunday. The manager wants Terry to be punished if he is found guilty by an FA investigation, but would like to see a similar level of effort devoted to exposing and ending other forms of reprehensible conduct that he feels infect the sport more frequently. Wenger has often been the subject of vile chants from the stands, especially when Arsenal have faced Tottenham Hotspur. "Yes, there is an issue," he said. "But there is an issue of all kinds of abuse. I've worked for 15 years in England and I have been abused how many times? And that doesn't shock anybody. And the media has a part to play as well. It is not only about racism. Any abuse. And what is done in football against abuse? Nothing. I would like to see people sitting on my seat for one day and hear what people chant. And you know it's completely wrong. It's the same as racism. This is an important subject, racism, but it's not the only one. Any kind of violence, or abuse, you have to fight against." Wenger found himself involved in a racism row between players in 1996, his first year in charge of Arsenal. Peter Schmeichel, the Manchester United goalkeeper at the time, was accused of racially abusing Ian Wright, the former Arsenal striker. Schmeichel denied the allegation and the charge was dismissed by the FA because of a lack of evidence. The Frenchman believes that racism today is less prevalent than in the past. "Football has become much more international, England has become much more international, a lot more tolerant, a lot more open-minded," he said. "It's a massive improvement. At the start, I had Ian Wright. How many times did we have problems on that front? It has improved tremendously. We have to continue to do work but the situation is much better than 15 years ago." The 62-year-old said that words uttered in the heat of the moment should not automatically be taken as an indication of ingrained attitudes, although they should not be excused. "I don't know what [Terry] said and I haven't followed the story, but it came to me: how much credit can you give to something that is said on the pitch in a passionate situation? How deep do you read?" Wenger said. "If you have played football, you have said something to your friends sometimes, 'You are an idiot', but you do not really think that he's an idiot. In a passionate situation inside the game it doesn't mean that you can say anything, but you are not always politically correct on the football pitch." He added that the omnipresence of television cameras means that misdeeds that would once have gone unnoticed and been resolved privately are now public matters. "I played football and people spat in my face," he said. "I never did it. But it is a terrible insult, to spit in somebody's face. But when we played, it happened a lot but nobody did anything ... you made justice on your own or you have to accept it. The debate is: do you want every player to be followed by a camera? And analysed completely what he said after the game?" Full time in the Harlequins dressing room four weeks ago and the mood was bleak. The southwest London club had just put 48 points past Sale Sharks in winning their Aviva Premiership match, yet Conor O'Shea, the director of rugby, could see only glum faces. He did not need to criticise his players for conceding three tries in the last six minutes; they were doing it themselves. When you score almost 50 points and still feel frustrated, you know that things must be going well. "Last year, we lost lots of tight games because we lost our discipline," O'Shea said. "We are a year older now and a year wiser. The mood after the Sale game was abject and that's good. They realise how hard they have to work for their wins now." Harlequins have made a perfect start to this season with eight wins in a row, but O'Shea is not about to start banking on silverware. "It's only a start," he said. "No one is getting carried away thinking we are great." They have risen to the top of the Premiership with a young, primarily home-grown squad, which plays an attractive game, with 26 tries so far, a throwback to the champagne rugby of the club's heyday in the 1980s. "They play at a high tempo, with a heck of a lot of ambition," O'Shea said. "Quins have a heritage in this style of rugby, but I would like to think there is a harder edge now. It is testament to the work that Colin Osborne and Tony Diprose have done with the academy that we have developed a group of guys who want to play this way. Because they have grown up together, they give an extra 10 to 15 per cent because they really care about each other. "The big thing for me as a coach is to see how much they enjoy themselves. They realised that they couldn't do that by chasing down kicks all day." Harlequins have been without only two players because of World Cup duty, plus Danny Care, who is due to return next week after recovering from the broken toe that prevented him playing for England. Among the less familiar names to have excelled are George Robson, the 25-year-old lock who signed a three-year contract yesterday and will make his 100th appearance against Exeter Chiefs tomorrow, Sam Smith and Seb Stegmann, the wings, and Joe Gray and Chris Brooker, who are enjoying their battle for the starting place at hooker. Yet the key player remains Nick Evans, the fly half, who was named Premiership Player of the Month for September. Many remain perplexed that he was not in New Zealand wearing an All Blacks shirt. Evans was Dan Carter's understudy at the 2007 World Cup, but decided to play in Europe rather than remain second choice, which led to him falling foul of the All Blacks' stringent policy of selecting only locally based players. As fly half after fly half fell by the wayside at the World Cup, Evans might have been forgiven for kicking himself, but O'Shea says that he has got on with being a good club man. "There is not an egotistical bone in his body," he said. "If you ask someone to carry a tackle bag or pick up a bottle, he will be there first and the work he has put in with Rory Clegg [the 21-year-old reserve fly half] is invaluable. " Harlequins are doing well off the field as well. David Ellis, the new chief executive, has been in the job for only two months and says that it is "an absolute joy" to come to work each day. "I'm still learning, but my mission at this stage is very simple," Ellis said. "It is for us to be the best club we can be. On the field, that means becoming the best playing side in Europe. Off it, we need a culture of continuous improvement to improve the fans' experience and the commercial side of the club." A former director of a social housing company and lifelong Harlequins supporter who used to train at Twickenham Stoop as a teenager before realising that he lacked the talent as a backrow forward, he pays tribute to the groundwork laid by Mark Evans and David Morgan, his predecessors. He and Morgan, who is now the club chairman, met a group of supporters last week to discuss their needs. He also wants to introduce a "heartlands campaign" to revive Harlequins' place in the local community. "I saw a survey that most people round here don't know where the Stoop is," he said. "We are across the road from the home of world rugby and yet much of southwest London isn't aware of us. We need to work on that." The club have 7,400 season ticketholders, third behind Leicester and Northampton, but they are the only side whose fanbase has grown since last season. Indeed, the number of season ticket- holders has grown every year in the Premiership. It suggests that the "Bloodgate" scandal two years ago had little adverse effect. "The club has drawn a line under that," Ellis said. "It will always be part of our history, but it has not had an effect on the commercial side, and on the field we are on the way up." Gabriele Marcotti, who led the podcast panel, shares his views on one of the key debates at last night's roadshow. In February, the Premier League celebrates its twentieth anniversary. A generation of football fans have grown up knowing no other version of domestic top-flight football. The Premier League is an easy whipping boy. Partly for its goofy ideas such as the "39th game" proposal. Partly because it is a constant hype machine fuelled incessantly by Sky. Mostly, though, the criticism levelled at it stems from the sense that the game has spun off into some kind of commercialised, antiseptic, expensive, soulless form of "entertainment" played by distant spoilt brats for the benefit of even more distant uberwealthy profiteers who leech off the passions of supporters. But there are two important caveats here when deciding whether this anniversary deserves a celebration or a wake. The first is that some voices are louder than others (possibly rightly so) but they do not necessarily represent the majority. Or, rather, the majority has shifted. In 1991-92 the average attendance in the English top flight was 21,622. Last season it was 35,294. That's an increase of more than 63 per cent. While the older voices who view the pre-Premier League past with nostalgia have their reasons, they represent a much smaller proportion of the football-going public these days. About 5.4 million more people attend games each season than they did before 1992 and those folks, presumably, aren't put off by the Premier League. The other thing to remember is that many of the less savoury developments in football that are often associated with the Premier League may well have come about regardless of its creation. Greedy players? Bung-taking managers and agents? Foreign owners? Teams packed with overseas players? Dave Richards? Health-and-safety fascists who don't allow fans to stand at matches? Extortionate ticket prices that have alienated working-class supporters and, especially, youngsters? Unfriendly kick-off times to suit TV? How many of the above are the product of societal shifts and the evolution of football, and how many a direct result of the creation of the Premier League? The truth is that most of the above are the result of market forces, globalisation and a changing world. You can't blame the Premier League for all -- or even most -- of it. Just as the Premier League can't take credit for all the good things that have happened to English football, although it often tries to. The decline in hooliganism. The boom in interest (want to have a giggle? Look in the archives of this newspaper -- or any other broadsheet -- and check out how much coverage the sport received in the 1980s). The rise in non-Premier League attendances, which are up 65 per cent in the second tier, 39 per cent in the third, and 23 per cent in the fourth. That many of the best players from all over the world have chosen to come to England. That most stadiums have toilets, rather than gutters in which to relieve yourself. While there are a number of ills afflicting football today in this country -- and some of them the Premier League admittedly seems unwilling or unable to deal with -- overall the situation is healthier than 20 years ago. And some of that is down to the Premier League, which has been able to exploit the game commercially, particularly abroad, in ways other leagues have failed to, while also packaging it in a way most -- although not all -- find very attractive. At the same time, it has managed to make the game truly global: the owners, the managers, the players, the fans and, yes, people such as me who are guests in this country and make a living off it. 'Overall the situation in football is healthier than 20 years ago' A chaotic evening of red cards, goalkeeping catastrophes, two missed penalties and high drama at Goodison Park ended with Daniel Sturridge scoring late in extra time to secure victory for Chelsea and spark the kind of jubilation that rarely accompanies a Carling Cup fourth-round tie. As Chelsea's Portuguese manager leapt for joy on the touchline and his players ripped off their shirts and threw them to their travelling supporters, you were transported back to Ewood Park in February 2005 and one of the club's defining victories of the Jose Mourinho era. Last night at Goodison Park looked and felt nothing like as symbolic at first glance, but to Andre Villas-Boas it was evidence of a trophywinning spirit. This, against a typically determined Everton team, was a significant test for Chelsea, with so many of their senior players given the night off (John Terry, Raul Meireles, Ashley Cole), suspended (Didier Drogba, Jose Bosingwa) or named on the substitutes' bench (Petr Cech, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres). They were fortuitous in the manner that they took a first-half lead, with an awful goalkeeping error by Jan Mucha, but, ultimately, the manner of victory was far from straightforward. The night began with two reserve goalkeepers eager to take their opportunity . But Mucha gave a gift of a goal to Salomon Kalou, Ross Turnbull was sent off for the professional foul that led to an Everton penalty on the hour and Cech came off the bench to save the ensuing spot-kick from Leighton Baines. It was that sort of evening. A young Chelsea team seemed to be in control until Turnbull's red card, their third in their past two matches. Recovering from the penalty miss, Everton pressed home their numerical advantage for the rest of normal time, Louis Saha equalising with an adroit 83rd- minute header, but, with the lively Royston Drenthe sent off for a second bookable offence in extra time, Chelsea seized victory when Sturridge followed up Florent Malouda's shot with a penalty shoot-out looming. Villas-Boas was joyous. After the recriminations of Sunday, when his team had two players sent off and ended up defeated by Queens Park Rangers, Chelsea's young coach looked as happy last night as he has done at any time since his arrival from Porto. There was pleasure in individual performances, but the greater satisfaction came in what he called the "commitment to winning trophies" after the acrimonious defeat at Loftus Road, which resulted in an FA disciplinary charge for him as well as an investigation into allegations that Terry racially abused an opponent. For a time, after Turnbull's red card gave them a one-man advantage, Everton looked far the more likely winners, but David Moyes felt that his team had themselves to blame. He mentioned missed chances and the red card for Drenthe, who had already been booked when he lunged at Ryan Bertrand, but if there was one moment that left Everton with a mountain to climb, it was Mucha's contribution to Kalou's goal. Chelsea deserved their half-time lead, having produced the better football, with their youngsters relishing the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to perform against top-flight opposition. Josh McEachran, Oriol Romeu and Romelu Lukaku have respectively played 7, 24 and 29 minutes of football in the Barclays Premier League so far this season, but all took the opportunity to stake a claim, with Romeu perhaps the most impressive of the trio After 16 minutes Chelsea should have taken the lead. After playing a part in a measured build-up, McEachran took a pass from Nicolas Anelka on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and attempted a shot that was blocked by Sylvain Distin. McEachran was first to the loose ball, only to be knocked out of his stride by John Heitinga's challenge. Lee Mason, the referee, immediately awarded the penalty, but Anelka was far too casual, sending his shot wide of Mucha's left-hand post. Then came the moment that will appear on football blooper DVDs for years to come. Kalou's left- foot shot, from the edge of the penalty area, was almost lazy in its execution as it looped up towards Mucha, but the Everton goalkeeper held out his hands and somehow helped the ball on its way into the net at the Gwladys Street End. Everton had been heavily reliant on Drenthe for inspiration, but just before the hour mark they came to life, with Tim Cahill sending Saha clear of the Chelsea defence. Saha knocked the ball past Turnbull and was brought down by the goalkeeper's outstretched leg. As Mason pointed to the penalty spot and produced a red card for Turnbull, Goodison Park roared and then shuddered at the sight of Cech coming on from the bench. True enough, Cech not only saved Baines's penalty but also repelled the follow-up. That was the cue for an Everton onslaught and the home team finally equalised when a right-wing cross from Seamus Coleman was met with a perfect header by Saha to put Everton level. In the minutes that followed, Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi narrowly missed chances to give Everton victory in normal time. Chelsea, though, would not be denied. They were the better side in extra time and, with Drenthe sent off, they went in search of the winning goal. When Malouda's shot was pushed away by Mucha, Sturridge calmly took the opportunity to convert the rebound and send Chelsea and their supporters home happy after a turbulent few days. A chaotic evening of red cards, goalkeeping mishaps and high drama at Goodison Park ended with Daniel Sturridge scoring late in extra time to secure Chelsea's place in the Carling Cup quarter- finals. The night began with two reserve goalkeepers eager to take the opportunity to prove to their managers that they can be more than just reliable understudies.But Jan Mucha was responsible for the embarrassing mistake that led to Chelsea's first-half goal, Ross Turnbull was sent off for the professional foul that led to an Everton penalty and Petr Cech came off the bench to save the ensuing kick from Leighton Baines. It was that sort of night. A young Chelsea team, who led through the Salomon Kalou shot that was helped on its way by Mucha, seemed to be in control until Turnbull's red card, their third in their last two matches. Recovering from the penalty miss, Everton pressed home their numerical advantage for the remainder of normal time, Louis Saha equalising with an adroit 84th-minute header. Chelsea, though, would not be denied. They were the better side in extra time and, with the hitherto impressive Royston Drenthe sent off for a second bookable offence when he fouled Ryan Bertrand, Andre Villas-Boas's team went in search of the winning goal. Anelka saw a close-range shot cleared off the line in spectacular fashion by Baines, but when Florent Malouda's shot was pushed away by Mucha, Sturridge, the Chelsea substitute, calmly took the opportunity to convert the rebound. Kalou's goal, in contrast, was one of those destined to appear on football blooper DVDs for many years. The Ivory Coast forward's left-foot shot, from the edge of the penalty area, was almost lazy in its execution as it looped up towards Mucha, but the Everton goalkeeper held out his hands and somehow helped the ball on its way into the net at the Gwladys Street End. It was an inauspicious moment for Mucha, whose only appearances for Everton have come in the Carling Cup and who, on this evidence, is not likely to be troubling Tim Howard any time soon. It is possible that he lost track of the ball in the glare of the floodlights, but this might be giving him too much credit. It was a horrible goal to concede. Chelsea deserved their half-time lead, having produced the better football, with their youngsters relishing the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to perform against top-flight opposition.Josh McEachran, Oriol Romeu and Romelu Lukaku have respectively played seven, 24 and 29 minutes of football in the Premier League this season, but all appeared eager and ready to seize the opportunity to impress Villas-Boas. McEachran was the quietest of those three, but the 18-year-old has a pleasing tendency to demand the ball from his team-mates and to find the pass that helps to turn a plodding move into a brisk counter-attack. He did just that in the third minute, allowing the ball to roll across him before passing into space ahead of Florent Malouda, who played Lukaku through for a halfchance that the forward sent into the side-netting as he fell off balance. Given his lack of football, Lukaku would be forgiven for rustiness -- and what a shame it is that the imbalance of Chelsea's squad has denied him participation in the Champions League group stage, which looks ripe for experimentation, -- but there were times when he threatened to terrorise John Heitinga as he burst away from the defender through the inside-left channel three times in the first half. On 16 minutes Chelsea should have taken the lead. After playing a part in a measured build-up, McEachran took a pass from Anelka on the left-hand edge of the Everton penalty area and attempted a shot, which was blocked by Sylvain Distin. McEachran was first to the loose ball, only to be knocked out of his stride by Heitinga's challenge. Lee Mason, the referee, did not hesitate to award the penalty, but Anelka, as in the Champions League final in 2008, was far too casual, in this instance sending his shot wide of Mucha's left-hand post. Everton were competing well enough in midfield, but if they were to find a breakthrough, it seemed most likely to come down the flanks. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov got behind Branislav Ivanovic in the opening stages to pick out Louis Saha, whose shot was saved by Turnbull, before Royston Drenthe worked his way back from the touchline on the right-hand side to set up Bilyaletdinov, who was also frustrated by the goalkeeper. At that point, Turnbull must have felt it was all going swimmingly. Then came the start of the goalkeeping calamities, Mucha contriving to gift Chelsea a 1-0 lead as he failed to deal with Kalou's looping shot seven minutes before half-time. It was an awful moment to witness, but Mucha at least redeemed himself in a small way early in the second half, standing up to Anelka and saving his shot when the forward had looked certain to score. Everton had been heavily reliant on Drenthe, but just before the hour mark they came to life, with Saha sent clear of the Chelsea defence. Saha knocked the ball past Turnbull and was brought down by the goalkeeper's outstretched leg. Goodison Park roared and then shuddered at the sight of Cech coming on from the bench. True enough, Cech not only saved Baines's penalty but also repelled the follow-up from the same player. That, with Chelsea down to ten men, was the cue for an Everton onslaught. After repeatedly threatening to stretch the visiting defence, particularly through Drenthe, the home team finally equalised on 84 minutes when a right-wing cross from Seamus Coleman, a lively substitute, was met with a perfect header by Saha to earn Everton an extra half-hour. As it was, Chelsea emerged the stronger in the extra period, meaning that, even after a turbulent few days, with the fallout from defeat at Loftus Road, John Terry, who was given the night off along with Frank Lampard, had something to smile about. Fabio Capello has consulted with England players over the team's likely Euro 2012 base in Cracow in the hope of avoiding the problems that flared up at last year's World Cup finals. Players complained of being stuck in "the sticks" of Rustenburg during the tournament in South Africa. They wanted more freedom to explore and to see their wives and families. While Capello was not very sympathetic to complaints of boredom, believing that professionals should have enough to occupy them at a World Cup finals (especially given many played half a dozen rounds of golf at nearby Sun City), he is willing to compromise if it can make the players happier. England had initially favoured a base outside Warsaw but, after discussions with the players, the FA is expected to confirm a central hotel in Cracow. Criticised for putting the players in remote hotels in recent tournaments, the FA hopes that an urban location will also help the squad to become "good tourists". Cracow will not be hosting any matches during Euro 2012 so the Polish city should not be awash with fans, English or otherwise -- although the arrival of players and WAGs will ensure that the paparazzi descend en masse. Cracow has plenty to offer England players, from the Jewish quarter to a house once used by Lenin and the castle that was the base for Poland's rulers -- although they may be more interested in what shops the city has to offer. The FA hierarchy is determined that England are seen to mix with the locals and to appreciate their surroundings, but the pragmatic Capello knows that only one thing matters. "Everything when you win is good, the perfect choice, the best choice if you drink or go with women," he said. "When you lose, it's a disaster. The results are the most important thing." The presence of friends and family in Baden-Baden during the 2006 World Cup finals was seen by many, including senior players, as a big distraction. "There were people who saw a tournament not as a series of football matches but as a photo opportunity ... It put me in a bad mood every time I heard players talking about how they had to catch up with their wife or girlfriend or kids," Gary Neville wrote in his autobiography. It remains to be seen whether England can avoid a repeat of that circus as Capello seeks to allow the players more freedom and the FA encourages them to show more appreciation of their surroundings. As the England rugby union team discovered to their cost at the World Cup, behaviour will be closely scrutinised. Capello's most significant alteration to tournament preparations is likely to mean the players are given a week of rest at the end of the domestic season. The Italian accepts that he worked the players too hard at an altitude camp in Austria before the World Cup when many were already tired. The Boston Red Sox began the season tipped as the best team in Major League Baseball. They ended it as the greatest chokers in the sport's history. A month-long collapse culminated in astonishing drama in the early hours of yesterday as the franchise controlled by John W. Henry, the Liverpool principal owner, failed to make the play-offs despite looking safe with only minutes of the campaign remaining. Seeking the American League wild card, Boston held a nine-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays on the morning of September 4. But the Red Sox lost 18 of their final 24 games as the Rays found form to become the first team to overcome such a large deficit and reach the post-season. The narrative had every ingredient for an epic: a build-up over several weeks as the risk of disaster appeared on the horizon; one team's gutless fall and another's courageous rise; underdogs battling the rich; momentum shifting minute by minute as a 162-game season was defined by the final few pitches in matches 1,000 miles apart. The Red Sox and Rays began the night level in the American League East table behind Boston's great enemies, the New York Yankees, who had already won the division. A onegame play-off to determine qualification was a possibility but Boston's berth appeared secure as late as 10pm local time. They led the hapless Baltimore Orioles 3-2 while the Rays were down 7-0 to the Yankees. A rain delay in Maryland forced Boston to watch with growing alarm as the Rays rallied to score six runs in the penultimate inning. Then, down to their final batter, who was down to his final strike, the Rays hit a home run to tie the game. The saviour? Dan Johnson, a struggling back-up whose previous hit came on April 27. Eleven minutes later, play resumed in Baltimore. Boston's usually-dominant closing pitcher, Jonathan Papelbon, coughed up two runs in the ninth inning to hand a shock 4-3 victory to the Orioles at 12.02am. Three minutes later, Evan Longoria hit his second home run of the game in the third extra inning to give the Rays an 8-7 victory and spark ecstasy in Florida and horror among the Red Sox Nation. Nor was it the only classic comeback of the evening. In the National League, the St Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros while the Atlanta Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. That meant that St Louis took the wild card at Atlanta's expense, yet on September 1 they had been 8.5 games adrift. With the second-lowest payroll in baseball, the Rays revelled in the sense that they had destiny on their side. "We were dead. You couldn't write this. You couldn't say it because no one would believe you," Joe Maddon, the Rays manager, said. "This is just maybe the worst situation that I ever have been involved in my whole career," David Ortiz, the Boston slugger, said. "It's going to stay in a lot of people's minds for a while." Under Henry's leadership, Boston shook off their reputation as a "cursed" club to win the World Series in 2004 and 2007. In a month -- in a night -- the old neuroses, the mistakes and the fatalistic self-flagellation were back. This was not just a collapse, it was a haunting. American League division series (best of five, starts tonight): Texas Rangers v Tampa Bay Rays; New York Yankees v Detroit Tigers. National League division series (best of five, starts tomorrow): Milwaukee Brewers v Arizona Diamondbacks; Philadelphia Phillies v St Louis Cardinals. Harbhajan Singh has been left out of India's squad to play the first two oneday internationals in the five-match series with England next month. His absence, along with several players who have lingering injuries, means that India have named only four members of the team who won the World Cup final in Mumbai in April. Harbhajan bowled poorly at the start of India's tour to England this summer before being sent home with a stomach injury but is fit again. Among those on the sick list are Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh. Rahul Sharma, a leg spinner, has been selected for the first time. England fly to Hyderabad on Monday, with the first international on October 14. The next generation of England players learnt their fate for this winter yesterday. A 17-man England Performance Programme (EPP) squad will train at Loughborough in November before the batsmen and spin bowlers attend a camp in India and the fast bowlers visit South Africa. Seven of the EPP have played international cricket, including Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes, while the likes of Tom Maynard and Jason Roy, the Surrey batsmen, are given a first summons. Simon Kerrigan, a left-arm spinner, is rewarded for playing his part in Lancashire winning the LV= County Championship. A 13-man squad of players less far along the path to international cricket will also train in Loughborough before visiting Sri Lanka. An England Lions squad to tour Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the new year will be named before Christmas. LaShawn Merritt returned from his ban with a host of bizarre tweets and a more telling message to the global elite. The world and Olympic 400 metres champion has been freed to run at next month's World Championships after having his two-year ban reduced to a convenient 21 months. He may well get to run in London in 2012, too, if the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agrees that the International Olympic Committee has imposed an additional sanction by barring all dopers from the following Games. Merritt's defence for testing positive for DHEA was he had taken penileenhancement pills. Cue mirth about girth and dropped jaws at what was either admirable candour or a shameless shock tactic. Merritt went into his comeback race without giving interviews, restricting himself to pithy posts on Twitter. "Fight night," was followed by "blessed" and "lion heart", though given his obvious vanity, "inner beauty is key" strained the straightest face. However, his time of 44.74sec at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm last night proves a ban is not the end of the world. It was good enough only for second behind Jermaine Gonzales, of Jamaica, but it was the fourth fastest run in the world this year. Clearly, Meritt will be among the favourites at next month's World Championships in South Korea. Meanwhile, Dwain Chambers remains banned by his National Olympic Committee. Given that the United States Olympic Committee has taken Merritt's case to the CAS, the incongruity is striking. "I''m just going to concentrate on what I've got to do here," Chambers said after breezing through the 100 metres heats at the Aviva UK Trials and Championships in Birmingham last night. "There's nothing I can do." The world's greatest sprinter, Usain Bolt, was also in action in Stockholm and he had another easy victory in the 200 metres. The time was not great, at 20.03, but neither were the conditions, and it would be a fool to bet against him retaining two world titles next month. One world champion who looks less assured was Caster Semenya, who was only eighth in the 800 metres, while Yelena Isinbayeva was far from her best as she won the pole vault with 4.76 metres. The Russian legend's comeback from a year off to recharge burnt-out batteries has been a stuttering affair. In the past fortnight she has failed to post a height in one meet and missed the crash mat in another. At the same time the British teenager Holly Bleasdale, fresh from posting a new domestic record of 4.70, was winning a European Under-23 medal. At least Isinbayeva won in Sweden. David Oliver was surprisingly beaten by his American compatriot, Jason Richardson, in the 110 metres hurdles in 13.17sec. Dayron Robles, of Cuba, pulled out with an injury, but said he will be ready for the World Championships. Merritt did not give interviews before his comeback race Middlesex v Derbyshire Lord's (first day of four; Derbyshire won toss): Middlesex, with all first-innings wickets in hand, are 147 runs behind Derbyshire The outstanding Lord's Test match that finished so enthrallingly on Monday has apparently set standards that counties at headquarters seem honour-bound to follow. Certainly yesterday's play, at a ground where three of the four championship matches this year have finished in three days, seemed only to involve wickets in breathless clusters or rousing batting ripostes. Given that Tim Murtagh turns 30 on Tuesday, his hopes of a belated Test cap have probably gone, but for the past five summers, he has been a formidable county bowler. Until David Masters's evening glory for Essex down the river at Southend, he was briefly the season's leading championship wicket-taker, with three more scalps in his first 16 balls. Derbyshire, reeling, their openers gone for nought, were 14 for three. On a pitch used for the previous night's floodlit game, there was high expectation of turn, amply confirmed by Tom Smith's three scalps in 20 balls towards the innings's close. But Murtagh found lift, enough movement off a full length and sporadic swing to knock over Martin Guptill with the match's first ball, Wayne Madsen, for his fourth duck in six innings, and Chesney Hughes. Happily for Derbyshire, Steven Finn, all the while, was driving down from Trent Bridge. Given that he was released by England before the match began at noon, the letter of the law made him ineligible for a bowling substitute. But, arriving 18 minutes before lunch, and into the attack five minutes later, he struck with his third ball, a full inswinger. Undoing Wes Durston for 61, it ended a counter-attack that had added 114 at five per over. But, when Murtagh's swing then halted Greg Smith's racing 57 from 70 balls, Derbyshire were 132 for five. However, Ross Whiteley, a 22-yearold Yorkshireman at No 6 in only his seventh championship game, followed a maiden century and an unbeaten 52 last week with a splendid 56 that brought a second resurgence until Smith's left-arm spin, with a careerbest three for 38, peremptorily hastened the end by tea. Every year since 2007, when Middlesex failed to go up because of their paltry number of batting points alone, they have boasted an attack to merit promotion. At last this year, their batsmen have provided support, the signing of Chris Rogers proving quite crucial. He could happily watch, padded up, as the openers, Scott Newman, with a halfcentury, and Sam Robson, who finished on 48, put on an untroubled three-figure stand. To meet Manu Tuilagi in person, or to watch him exploding into action with the ball in hand, it is hard to think of him as a little brother. At 6ft 1in and more than 16 1/2 stone, it would be stretching a point to call him the runt of the litter, but this gifted outside centre grew up as the youngest of seven Samoan brothers in the most remarkable of rugby-playing families. Six of the brothers have played professional rugby, and all of them are immense physical specimens. So what exactly did Mrs Tuilagi feed them on? "A lot of people ask me that," Manu said, with a broad grin. "My mum cooked meat, lots of it. Pork, chicken, lamb, corned beef. She just put it on the table and said, 'There you go, boys.' If you got there last, you weren't going to get much to eat." The youngest of the brood, it is fair to say, does not look as though he went short. Now 20, it took only a handful of games in his debut season for Leicester for his bristling physical presence to attract wider attention. For the past few weeks, he has been at Pennyhill Park, in Bagshot, Surrey, as one of the 45-man preliminary World Cup squad chosen by Martin Johnson, the England team manager. A week tomorrow, Tuilagi could make his international debut against Wales at Twickenham, the first of England's three warm-up internationals before they travel to New Zealand. "If anybody said I'd be here a year ago, I'd have said, 'Good joke,' " he said. "I was only thinking about getting in the first team at Leicester. Now I'm involved with some of the best players in the world. It's unreal." Not many England players can talk of spending their formative years playing rugby on the beach. The preliminary World Cup squad -- which will be trimmed to 30 on August 22 -- includes players raised in New Zealand (Dylan Hartley, Shontayne Hape, Riki Flutey and Thomas Waldrom) and South Africa (Matt Stevens, Mouritz Botha and Hendre Fourie), but Tuilagi's early years, in the village of Fogapoa on the island of Savai'i, were something different. "We'd play every day on the beach, about 100 metres from our house," he said. "The sand was soft, so you could really smash people. You also get a lot of power in your legs from running on soft sand. We had evening prayers back in the house, but I was always late because I was playing rugby. My dad wasn't happy." Freddie, the oldest brother, was the first to play for Leicester, a path that five of his brothers would follow. Manu came to England aged 13, joined Hinckley Rugby Club in Leicestershire and was soon surprising under-14 teams across the East Midlands. "He wasn't actually that big at the time, but the power was there," Neil Haagensen, the Hinckley colts' coach, said. "He was very polite, he called all the coaches 'sir' and he learned the game quickly. "He played on the wing and soon started terrorising defences. There was one school game when his opposite number walked off the field because he couldn't take any more." Although four of his brothers have played for Samoa, Tuilagi has always believed that he would play for England, if the opportunity arose. "All my friends are here and I've played for England at under-16, under-18 and under-20," he said. That did not stop him celebrating wildly when Samoa beat Australia 32-23 in Sydney 12 days ago, a famous victory that featured a 75-metre try from Alesana, a brother with whom he plays for Leicester. If Tuilagi does play for England against Wales, it will be a significant test. His talent is not in doubt, but the previous time he played in a highly charged atmosphere, he lost his cool in spectacular fashion. The vicious right hook that sent Chris Ashton's head juddering backwards during the Aviva Premiership semi-final against Northampton earned Tuilagi a five-week ban and forced him to miss the Premiership Final. Along with more than half a million who have watched the incident on YouTube, Wales will have taken note. "That was a massive lesson for me," Tuilagi said. "Chris is a good guy and it was all sweet when we got together with England. I just hope I get to play in the same team as him now." The platform announcer gave details of the incoming train and added that London had just won the race to stage the 2012 Games. "There was no reaction," Perri Shakes-Drayton said of that far- off day. "I wanted to shout or something, but it was eerie, really quiet." Since then the volume has been cranked up and the local girl from Bow has become a big noise, leaving the periphery to land a bronze medal in the 400 metres hurdles at last year's European Championships. From outside the top 40 at the end of the previous Olympic year, she enters this one in the top ten. Sally Gunnell says she is good enough for gold and she should know. A journey that started at All Saints tube station looks increasingly likely to reach its final destination in the Olympic Stadium. "A lot of people have good things to say about me, but the world stage is the next level," Shakes- Drayton said before the Aviva UK Trials and Championships that start today in Birmingham. "The medal was a bit of a surprise and that's the best place to be. I don't really mind what people's expectations are, as I know what I'm aiming at and so does my coach. I'm not really concerned whether people see me as a contender." She is a contender, though, and is one of the most ebullient members of the Great Britain team, all scattergun speech and "wacky interviews". There seems to be something about the hurdles that produces characters. Before Shakes-Drayton there was Tasha Danvers, who recalled how she was so incensed by a girl "cussing her mum" on a mobile phone that she rebuked her in public, then took her to meet Usain Bolt. Danvers also sang, painted and wrote a self-help book called Keep Ya Peckah Up. A surprise bronze medal-winner in Beijing in 2008, she says that she can "inspire the hell out of anyone" and, certainly, she is a role model for her successor. With Danvers ruling herself out of next month's World Championships, the onus is on Shakes- Drayton to deliver. Given that her mother works in mental health and her father was part of Lennox Lewis's backroom team, she seems to have the right combination of brain and brawn. "My dad was involved in the running aspect of Lewis's training," she said. "I met him at his house once, a big mansion." She is not quite a heavyweight yet. Her best is only 54.18sec, compared with Gunnell's 52.74. "These girls are running 52 and I haven't broken the 53 barrier yet," she said. "But hopefully it will come. I want to get to the World Championship final at least and run a PB. If I can nail those two, I know I'm on the ball progression- wise." Shakes-Drayton is only 22 but already seems weary of the stories about her living next door to the Olympic Stadium. The good bit about playing at home is that her family will be able to come to watch. "I applied for tickets for my auntie and I got none," she said. "But I get two for each round I am in. So no pressure, then. The family comes to local meets, but they don't see me abroad. They've got to work and can't take the time off to travel." Her coach, Chris Zah, has been with her since he spotted her at Tower Hamlets Athletics Club as a 13-yearold. "He's a bit of a geek and just loves the sport, but I push him as well because he knows how much I want it," she said. Together, they are making progress. It has already been a long journey towards London 2012, even if the road to the stadium is a two-minute trip. The kids are all right, but the middle-aged are better. That is the conclusion to be drawn from deepest Devon, where a bucolic idyll of home-made buttered biscuits and braying donkeys is home to the most enduring of Olympic dreamers. Forget the teenage prodigies and fast-tracked fame, this is the age of experience. Mary King has the scars and stories to prove it. She is heading to her sixth Olympic Games, an equestrian without equal and a British record matched only by Tessa Sanderson. "You feel committed," she said when asked why she still does something so dangerous. "You just have to do it, even though your brain is telling you that you shouldn't and you should be a secretary. You just go on." She was 50 this month, the new world No 1, and a convincing debunker of ageist myths. "I'm not aerobically fit," she insisted as she headed to Greenwich Park to watch Monday's Olympic test event. "At the end of the day it's drive. I've got something inside me making me want to keep doing this. I was born with it." With it, but not born into it, King's story is intriguing because she was an outsider. When her father was found in the road after a motorbike crash, it was the end of his naval career. He moved to Salcombe Regis, became the village verger and King developed her love of horses via the vicar's pony. It all sounds incredibly nice and King's innate politeness does little to betray that image, but the past is also marred by death, danger and the cruelty of sport. In 2001 King broke her neck. Four years later Caroline Pratt was killed in an accident and King took over the ride on Call Again Cavalier. But you just go on, even when damned for competing when five months pregnant. "He was a very good cross-country horse, it was his forte and he was reliable," she says of that "hoo-ha". She added: "I'm sure people were shocked, but it felt the right thing to do. My aunt sent me a snippet from The Argus in Brighton with the headline: 'Brave or Stupid?' They thought I was stupid. "There have been some deaths. That's horrendous, but you have to think that those riders who have been killed were doing what they loved. And you could get killed anywhere. If your time's up, your time's up." The nearest King came to quitting was when she left school and went to work for Sheila Willcox, a former European champion who had broken her back in a fall. "We had to Windolene the stable windows inside and out, twice a week, and the horses had to be turned out to perfection," she said. "She would come along with a white glove and run her hand over them. If there was a piece of straw in its tail, you were fined. And it was all done to the clock. Bloomin' hard work, but if I hadn't gone there, I wouldn't be where I am today." King also struggled when riding Willcox's horses. "She'd tell me I was not good enough and I knew she was right," she said. "It nearly broke my competitive spirit." They did not part on good terms, but when King and King William won Badminton for the first time in 1992, the first phone call came from a delighted Willcox. By the time the Kings went to Barcelona for the Olympics that year, things had changed. "Something had happened to him between the spring and autumn," she said. "When the photographers were gathering around at Badminton, he started to kick out and I think that affected him mentally. He had been so polite and easy to ride at Badminton, but in Barcelona it felt like being shot up a tunnel." For all the talent in the Great Britain team, King had to wait until Athens in 2004 to win a medal. She was only a travelling reserve, but got a last-minute call-up when one of her team-mates' horses went lame. "I took the call and nearly crashed the car," she said. "We had to swap places, the other rider coming out of the Olympic Village in floods of tears and me and my groom trying not to look too excited." She won a team silver. Bronze in Beijing followed. King is diplomatic about 2012 selection, but her present status, leading the HSBC FEI Classics international series and with a third place at Badminton and victory in Kentucky this year, suggests she will be making history. Three horses are in the frame, but Imperial Cavalier, or Archie, is the boss of the rebuilt yard near Sidmouth's donkey sanctuary. "He's such a good-looking chap; if he was a man, he'd have women flocking after him," King said. "If he performs at his best, he is just about unbeatable, but he's very enthusiastic about life and thinks he's the best in the world. That can go to his head sometimes." Ultimately, the selectors will decide on both riders and horses, but a place in London would cap a long and winding journey conducted at breakneck speed. Literally. King remembers lying in the nextdoor field, unable to lift her head. Diagnosed with whiplash, she almost did not bother with the check-up a week later. Luckily, she did because the consultant told her: "This is a good broken neck. Your C5 [cervical vertebra] is in half. I hope you haven't been riding." She wore a stiff collar for three weeks and then looked in horror at her X-rays. Her career was in danger. After a complicated operation, King asked about riding. "How many times have you fallen?" Daniel Chan, the surgeon, asked. "Oh, hundreds," King replied. "Well, don't ride for eight weeks and don't fall off for ten." When she has fallen since, the first thing that pulses through her brain is "my neck". It is a legacy she can live with and so she will carry on risking her neck as London looms. With the organisers building a new course, rather than exploiting the familiar turf of Burghley or Badminton, there is little advantage for the British. King, though, is flushed with a youthful optimism. "GB deserves a gold medal," she said. "I mean, we're really good at this and we haven't won one for years." Donkey's years, even. Five Games into an Olympic odyssey and it may be that the best is yet to come. Ahead of the game ? The HSBC FEI Classics is an international series that includes five of the world's four-star three-day events. King is top of the table 1, M King (GB), 28pts 2, P French (GB), 20 3, M Todd (NZ), 15 4, A Dibowski (Ger), 15 5, S Auffarth (Ger), 12 Previous events in 2011 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, April 22-25 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, April 30-May 3 Luhmuhlen CCI, June 16-19 Remaining 2011 events Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, September 1- 4 Les Etoiles de Pau, October 12-16 'Those riders who have been killed were doing what they loved to do' The Fed -- gone. Unthinkable, distressing, but true. Defeated 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, of France, who afterwards gleefully pirouetted across the court, as you would if you had just taken down the Fed on the Fed's favourite turf and, furthermore, had done so the difficult way, by giving him a two sets start. Let's face it, this is like challenging Usain Bolt to a sprint and saying, "I'll count to five." To lose one set to Roger Federer in a Wimbledon quarter-final may be accounted unfortunate. To lose two is just plain dumb. History amply demonstrates that there is no coming back from two sets down to the Fed in a grand-slam event -- until yesterday. And it wasn't just any old two-set start, either. The first of those sets lasted a piffling 27 minutes, featured a break of Tsonga's serve in the opening game and otherwise required Federer to call on no more energy than he must expend sitting in chairs with an enigmatic expression on his face for those Credit Suisse advertisements. The six-times champion seemed to be finding it monumentally easy to pressurise Tsonga's backhand and force him to over hit. Entirely comfortable in that first half-hour, Federer was also ominously beginning to dip at his leisure into his super-smooth shot catalogue, including a volley cut so fine that it seemed to use just one string of the racket and a cross-court lob so minutely tailored that it appeared to have been hand-crafted overnight by elves. Tsonga settled slightly in the second set, possibly helped by the crowd's growing warmth for him. (The Centre Court crowd doesn't really like to see anyone dragged around by their hair, even if it's the Fed doing the dragging.) Nevertheless, at 6-6, Tsonga was still prone enough to jumpiness to make him the wild outsider in any tie-break. Sure enough, Federer was very quickly only one set away from ordering a fresh pullover for the semi-finals. A fair few people got up and headed for lunch at that point, assuming that it was all over. Yet, during the third set, the signs were clear: Tsonga was getting stronger. He was clobbering down the serves and he was hitting harder and moving faster than his opponent. He broke serve in the third game, pausing only to make possibly the worst Hawk-Eye challenge in the championships' history on a ball that was visibly out to the naked eye from as far away as Roehampton. Federer, on the other hand, was having what Carlo Ancelotti, the former Chelsea manager, would have referred to as "a bad moment" -- the moment in question amounting to well over an hour. He was seeing his first serves come beaming back at his feet, missing top-spun backhands that he would commonly have crushed and watching Tsonga pull off incredible running drives. Federer was broken again in the third game of the fourth set and, with terminal damage to his spirit and momentum, in the first game of the fifth. Should we have been so surprised by Tsonga? Only the other week he had beaten Rafael Nadal at Queen's. Against that, though, was the weight of knowledge that Frenchmen tend to do well at Wimbledon these days about as often as Elvis Presley releases singles and then tours in support of them. Asked where this performance came from, Tsonga replied: "From France, from Congo, from my family, from my house, from everywhere. From here. That's it." Federer's post-defeat praise for his opponent -- subtly equivocal as it often tends to be -- mentioned that he had "never seen him play as well". Still, Federer consoled himself that he had not gone out as a result of "some stupid match" and maintained that "except for the score, many, many things went right". He leaves the tournament as he entered it -- one shy of Pete Sampras's Wimbledon seven. Can Federer, nearing 30, still contend for grand-slam titles? He insists he can. "I thought my game this year was plenty good enough to win the tournament," he said. "Though I took a tough loss today, I don't feel discouraged. I played too good." These words sounded like they were designed to reassure Federer himself as much as anyone else, but it has got to be a worrying time in a player's career when too good turns out to be not good enough. How the match was won and lost Remarkably, Roger Federer lost a match from two sets up with a better first service percentage than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with only one fewer ace, fewer double faults and fewer unforced errors "Come on Rafa, batter him." You know your hopes are slim when bad puns are thrown your way. Quite simply this was not, as a contest, taken quite seriously enough. Very few out on No 1 Court believed Mardy Fish could defeat Rafael Nadal, but the tension will be racked up come the defending champion's semi-final against Andy Murray tomorrow. The lack of any doubt about the outcome had a lot to do with the fact that the defending champion broke Fish's serve in the first game. This was highly significant. The American had dropped serve just the once in his 65 service games at this year's tournament. He was as on course to trouble Nadal as he would ever be. Instead, the No 10 seed chose this particular match to be the one where his serve let him down. He did not, he said, serve "even remotely" as well as he had done previously in the tournament. "I've served exceptionally well this week," Fish said. What a time to stop doing so. For all those American fans secretly hoping that Nadal's foot injury scare might give Fish a bye through to a meeting with Murray, the real injury was to their man's service game. Would Fish have taken an injured Nadal giving him a clear route to the semi-final? Of course he would, he said, smiling. And yes, it gives him a smidgin of consolation to believe Nadal will probably win the tournament. It is now the turn of Murray's fans to wonder about the significance of Nadal's left foot, but it would be wiser for them not to. There were no visible signs of discomfort and, according to Nadal, no secret inner trauma either. He was scared, he said, during his previous match, against Juan Martin del Potro, because he was not at all sure what had happened to his foot. But now he knows nothing is seriously wrong and the anaesthetic works, he is not at all tentative. This was Nadal's nineteenth successive win at Wimbledon and now that Roger Federer is out all the talk of setting records can switch to the No 1 seed. With Federer it had been all about chasing Pete Sampras and his record of seven Wimbledon titles. By defeating Fish, Nadal has become the second youngest man to reach a sixteenth grand-slam semi-final. Frustratingly for him, Bjorn Borg takes the gong by being two days younger when he did so. So what, if not the foot, can Murray take from this encounter? Nadal dropped his second set of the tournament, which seems encouraging. But although Fish certainly improved and got, as he put it, "my teeth into the match a little bit", Nadal did, as he admitted, lose intensity during his 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory. It is hard to imagine he would allow that to happen against Murray. The 25-year-old made mistakes and volunteered that he had done so, and some wild forehands were uncharacteristic and even foolish, but although two of the wildest came as Fish served at 5-3 down in the fourth set to stay in the match, they did not create a ripple of uncertainty about the outcome. During the eighth game of the second set Fish slipped and fell in ungainly fashion. He scrambled to his feet while giving the thumbs-up sign to his opponent. It was as if he was apologising for any inconvenience his tumble may have caused. Perhaps Fish is just terribly well brought up. Perhaps this is what the aura of Nadal does to you. Certainly the Majorcan possesses an imperiousness that is often overlooked, firstly because he is not Federer, and secondly because he is young and exciting and swooned over. He takes his time at the changeover, impervious to how long he is supposed to take as if he owns the court, the club, the county even. Nadal would not be drawn on whether Murray has improved over the past 12 months but was very happy to more or less slaughter the Scot's abilities at PlayStation games. In terms of real, live tennis, Murray is "having a very successful season in my opinion", Nadal, who beat the British No 1 in the semi-finals last season, said. He was just as nice about him a year ago. LV= County Championship Durham v Lancashire Emirates Durham (second day of four): Durham, with seven first-innings wickets in hand, are 34 runs behind Lancashire Seven weeks after knee surgery, Paul Collingwood is about to return to domestic cricket. But an interesting question is who he could supplant in the Durham team that gained a clear upper hand against Lancashire, the first division leaders, yesterday. Could it perhaps be Gordon Muchall at No 3, a problem spot for Durham in the recent past? But Muchall, who is having a good year, made a forthright 54 yesterday and averages more than 40, as do all of Durham's top seven batsmen. Could it be another all-rounder, so as to gain the advantage of Collingwood's nagging, economical medium-pace bowling? But a young all-rounder, Ben Stokes, showed off his talents yet again, reaching a measured hundred off the day's last ball. It was his third this season and the fifteenth by a Durham batsman -- a staggering total that is far higher than any rival's, and five more than they made last season. While rain took away the morning session, Collingwood talked of his hopes for a return via the Friends Provident t20, which starts on Thursday. He had suffered a "barren" last year, he said, but the enforced break had freshened him and "taken all the negatives out of my mind". He described the next four weeks as "crucial" in deciding whether he still had an international future. "I am still ambitious to play for England in one-day cricket, but if they decided time was up, I'd be happy with the career I've had," he said. "If that was that, then great." Bowling on a pitch offering little of the early life of the first day, Glen Chapple seized a good early wicket when he brought one back to the left-handed Michael Di Venuto, who could not avoid a touch off his glove. But Durham's progress after that underlined the confidence of a line-up undeterred by occasional setbacks. At 94 for three, questions were being asked, but then followed quiet, steady progress by a pair in which the elder man, Dale Benkenstein, is nearly twice the age of the younger, Stokes. They took an identical number of balls over their fifties -- 94 -- which indicated that the calm authority of age was rubbing off on the junior partner. But the latter upped the tempo after that, forging clear in a partnership which by the end had reached 185. Stokes was dropped at slip on 84. There were also a couple of airy drives that almost led him to play on. That was in marked contrast to the lack of chances from the wall that Benkenstein represented; a barrier that must depress all bowlers. But, of course, it was Stokes who showed the out-of-the-ordinary class and timing. His real eye- opener came not from one of several drives through extra cover and mid-wicket, but from a ball that Stokes pushed back with little bat movement but tremendous short-arm force -- the ball beat mid-off and sped to the fence. There was a time when 11 medals for Great Britain at a World Cup regatta would be regarded as something special, but there was a slight sense in Munich yesterday of opportunities missed. Five gold medals in the 14 Olympic classes is still not to be sniffed at, but arguably that was expected in events in which some of the leading contenders, largely from Australia and New Zealand, were absent. Three of Britain's four world championship-winning crews from 2010 failed even to come second yesterday, while the men's double scull and eight will feel frustrated with their silver medals. That is how it should be in a team with ambition a year before an Olympics. They still won the opening World Cup regatta of the season by a country mile from Germany, but it is the colour of the medals that matters most, not strength in depth. Helen Glover and Heather Stanning got finals day off to an excellent start with victory in the women's pair and more golds soon followed in the men's pair, women's double, men's four and women's lightweight double, in which Britain also won silver. The victory by the women's open double, a length ahead of the United States, was particularly pleasing, for while Katherine Grainger has been winning World Cups since 2000, it was only the second time that Mel Wilson, who replaced the injured Anna Watkins, had competed. Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter, the world and Olympic champions in the lightweight double scull, were fourth yesterday after slipping back a length in the middle kilometre. A disappointed Hunter stopped rowing a few metres from the end, allowing Denmark to snatch the bronze medal, and blamed complacency for assuming victory was there for the taking. "We didn't expect it would be that fast," he said. "We know what we have to work on now for Hamburg [the second World Cup regatta, in a fortnight]." A West Ham United supporter, he has had his fair share of frustration in the past few weeks, but they have the experience to bounce back. Of the other fallen world champions, the women's quad were similarly caught cold and no better than third at any point in their final, while the men's lightweight four took bronze in a sprint for the line, 0.29sec behind Denmark, the winners, who had recalled Eskild Ebbesen, the three-times Olympic champion in this event, at the age of 39. Speaking of old men, the second coming of Greg Searle, who is two months older than Ebbesen, continues to impress. He won a silver in the eight at last year's World Championships in his comeback year and the crew occupied the same position yesterday, but were within a dozen strokes of overhauling Germany. The world champions were ahead by clear water with 500 metres to go, but Britain finished so strongly that they were only half a length down at the end. "There seems to be a pattern of racing that they start faster but we finish better," Searle said. "Next time we have to make it hard for them to build up that sort of lead." The men's double scull of Marcus Bateman and Matt Wells finished as the bratwurst in a German sandwich, caught between two local crews. They were seven hundredths of a second behind Eric Knittel and Stephan Krueger, the 2009 world champions. Britain also won two golds, for Tom Aggar in the single scull and the coxed four, and two bronzes in the Paralympic-class regatta, and two silvers in the lightweight non-Olympic men's pair and women's single scull. On May 20, the leaders of the FA will meet to decide whether to vote for Sepp Blatter or Mohamed bin Hammam in the Fifa presidential election on June 1. I have a suggestion for the FA and for any of the world's 208 federations that care about Fifa's tarnished reputation: abstain. Take the moral high ground, endorse nobody and be entirely open to the public about stating your reasons. When I decided to run for Fifa president in February, my rationale had nothing to do with Fifa's reserve fund of $1.2 billion (about Pounds 721 million) and the obvious economic gains that Blatter is using as the basis of his re-election campaign. My reason was simple: neither Blatter nor bin Hammam is willing to make the sweeping changes necessary to show that world football's governing body is a clean organisation. How do we know this? Because both have openly stated that they are certain that Fifa is not corrupt. It is unclear how they can be so resolute in these opinions, not least because the evidence casts them in doubt. Only last autumn, Fifa suspended one member of its executive committee after The Sunday Times caught him trying to sell his World Cup votes and five other officials were suspended as a result of the same investigation. The tiny emirate of Qatar won the right to host the World Cup in 2022, even though Fifa's inspection team had deemed the country a health risk for anyone attending the event. And, of course, England was the first nation eliminated in the voting for the 2018 World Cup host, even though, by most accounts, it had the most persuasive bid. Then there is Jack Warner, the Fifa vice-president, who has been dogged by allegations of selling World Cup tickets for personal