The chairman and chief executive of Burberry, the luxury fashion brand, are to be questioned by a parliamentary committee about plans to close a plant in South Wales. Campaigners fighting to keep the brand British claim that John Peace and Angela Ahrendts will be forced to justify their plans to switch production to China.
The 300 workers at the Treorchy plant have been told that it will shut in March. The Prince of Wales and Ioan Gruffudd, the actor recruited in 2005 as one of the brand’s “global faces”, have backed the campaign to keep the Welsh factory open.
Prison suicides fall
Suicides in jails in England and Wales fell to their lowest level for a decade in 2006, according to Home Office figures. Last year 64 male and three female prisoners committed suicide, compared with 78 in 2005, a 14 per cent fall. The number of suicides among young prisoners also fell, from ten to two.
Hunt for couple
Police are searching for an elderly deaf couple after they vanished together on New Year’s Eve. Police fear that Gordon Lodge, 80, and his wife Alison, 82, who both also suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, may have forgotten their way home. They left their home in Ealing, West London, on Sunday afternoon.
Warmest year
Last year was the warmest across England since records began nearly 350 years ago. The average daily temperature, based on readings from a number of meteorological stations, was 10.9C (51.62F). That bettered the previous warmest year on record — 1990, which had an average temperature of 10.67C (51.2F).
Litter pair shamed
Two youngsters suspected of dropping litter in Gloucester have become the first to have their pictures published on a city council website. They were filmed by the council’s city rangers, but ran off when challenged. The council said that their public shaming was part of its zero-tolerance approach to litter.
Four arrested after man is found dead
A man was found dead outside a pub in Bath early yesterday as revellers inside celebrated the new year.
The victim, who has not been named, was found lying on the pavement outside the Longacre Tavern just after 1am. He had suffered “abdomen injuries”, the police said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Four men, all from Bath, were later arrested on suspicion of murder and were being questioned by police.
Visa card glitch
Thousands of people trying to pay for dinner in restaurants across Britain found their Visa card payments blocked. Visa said the problems lasted for two hours from 9.30pm on New Year’s Eve. The British Hospitality Association, which represents hotels and restaurants, said similar problems had occurred before.
Murder charge
A wife accused of stabbing her husband to death has been remanded in custody by Bedford magistrates. Annmarie Gangzuk, who is in her thirties, from Arlesey, Bedfordshire, was charged with the murder of Steven Gangzuk, 30. She will appear at Luton Crown Court on January 8.
Firebomb attack
A former union leader dived for cover and called police after an armed man burst into his pub moments before a firebomb was thrown through the window. Shaun Brady, 44, former general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, runs the Castle Inn in Southampton. A youth aged 17 was helping with inquiries.
Plea for twins
The Government has been urged to halt or delay the deportation of Kamila and Karina Kaya, 18, twin sisters “adopted” by the Jewish community in Birmingham after their parents were murdered in Kyrgyzstan three years ago. Friends hope that they can take up an offer of safe haven in Israel.
Funerals online
Mourners unable to attend a funeral can watch the service online. Easthampstead Park Crematorium in Bracknell, Berkshire, has installed a camera that transmits services on a password-protected website. For £60 users can log on to broadcasts. Services have been viewed in Australia and New Zealand.
James Marshall, 12, who had refused to have a haircut for ten years, conquered his fear of the barber’s chair in aid of charity. James, of Tyne and Wear, relented after being teased about his 27in mane, and had it cut to raise funds for children with leukaemia. He said of his new Beckham style: “I quite like it, I admit.”
New treatment for pancreatic cancer
Clinical trials begin in London this month on what could be a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer of the pancreas.
Pancreatic cancer is hard to treat and mortality high. Now University College Hospital doctors are investigating Photo-Dynamic Therapy, in which a drug is absorbed into the tissue, and, when activated by laser light, starves the cells of oxygen and stops the blood supply, killing the cancer. This does not have the unpleasant side-effects of other treatments.
Woman missing
Police have appealed for information after a woman disappeared during a night out with friends. Joanne Duggan, 20, from Morganstown, near Cardiff, was last seen leaving a nightclub in the city early on Saturday. She has not been in touch with her family since. Officers are examining closed-circuit television.
Russian rescued
A Russian sailor who suffered serious burns in a small fire on a Russian merchant vessel off Beachy Head was rescued by lifeboat. When shipmates radioed for help at Portland, 150 miles along the coast, the Weymouth RNLI lifeboat went alongside to take him off. He has been transferred to a burns unit in Salisbury.
Magistrate rebuked
A magistrate received a warning from security guards for having a penknife in his pocket. He was entering Plymouth Magistrates Court on his way to preside over a case but had to be searched after he forgot to take his official identification. Security staff immediately confiscated the blade.
Murder suspects
Two men aged 25 and 39 have been arrested in connection with the murder of an elderly man during a break-in at his flat in Bethnal Green, East London. Ferozur Rahman, 83, was found on Friday by his 17-year-old grandson at his flat attached to Toynbee Hall. He was taken to hospital with head injuries, but died later.
Cello works found
The first known cello concertos to be written by an English composer are to be released on CD. The six Baroque pieces were published in 1759, only to vanish into obscurity, along with their composer, John Garth. They were discovered by Gordon Dixon, of the Avison Ensemble, which has recorded them.
Vintage yield
A collection of 135 bottles of the world’s most expensive white wine has been sold by a London company for £775,000. One of every vintage produced by Château d’Yquem in France since the mid-1850s were included, as were empty bottles for the years when the château did not produce any wine.
