Miliband rules out EU treaty referendum
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that the European Union treaty
represented a good deal for Britain and ruled out a referendum, despite a
Spanish claim that it contained 98 per cent of the constitution that was
rejected by French and Dutch voters (David Charter writes).
“The constitutional concept has been abandoned and not reformed or
ameliorated,” Mr Miliband said in Brussels, where the treaty was published
in French yesterday. “We think that since there is not a constitution, there
does not need to be a referendum.” However, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the
Spanish Foreign Minister, told El País newspaper yesterday: “The wrapping
has been changed but not the content.”
TB test extension
Visitors from India and China could soon be tested for tuberculosis. Baroness
Royall of Blaisdon, for ministers, told the Lords that, under a pilot
scheme, people from seven countries were now tested for TB before visas were
issued, adding: “I think we will probably roll it out to more countries,
like China and India.”
Pupils fingerprinted
Schools will be able to fingerprint pupils for the dinner queue, library and
registration, in accordance with data protection guidance issued yesterday.
Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, said the move would clarify matters for
head teachers. Parents will be able to exclude their children from the
system.
'Yob zones' attack
Armies of yobs are turning town centres into night-time “no-go areas”,
according to Edward Leigh, MP, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts
Committee. The committee’s report accuses the Home Office of not properly
evaluating which measures are effective in tackling antisocial behaviour.
Extra-long trains
Passengers will get longer trains, and a handful of rail lines will be
upgraded but the Government will not commit to any big increase in rail
capacity in a 30-year strategy being published today. The White Paper will
also be silent on the issue of funding for the Crossrail scheme for Central
London.
Underage drink casualties rising
The number of children taken to hospital after excessive drinking is at a
five-year high, government figures show. Last year 3,939 under15s were
admitted, up from 3,716 the year before, and 62 per cent were girls. A
separate survey found that nearly a quarter of girls aged between 14 and 15
get drunk at least once a week, compared with a fifth of boys.
Paedophile jailed for eight years
A paedophile was jailed for eight years for ritually abusing a boy. John
Hazelton, 59, of Pimlico, London, had groomed the boy with pornography,
Blackfriars Crown Court was told. His victim took his revenge decades later
by stabbing him with a samurai sword.
Speaker orders Galloway out
George Galloway was suspended from the House of Commons for 18 days last
night. Before MPs took the decision over the Respect MP’s links to an Iraq
children’s charity, he had clashed with Michael Martin, the Speaker, who
threw him out of the chamber.
New hope over Alzheimer’s
The prospect of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease came a step closer after
researchers at the University of St Andrews said they had developed a
compound that prevents the condition destroying brain cells and helps to
repair damaged memory and learning ability.
Smoke alarm was covered
William Wood, 50, who died after being pulled from a fire by a neighbour, had
covered his smoke alarm so that he could have a cigarette undisturbed, an
inquest in Newcastle upon Tyne was told. A verdict of death by misadventure
was recorded.
War veteran pays for lifeboat
A 109-year-old veteran of the First World War has paid £29,000 for a new
lifeboat. Harry Patch funded the boat with proceeds of a book about his war
recollections. He named her The Doris and Harry, after himself and his late
partner, at a ceremony in Poole.
2.6m Harry Potter books sold in a day
The seventh and final Harry Potter novel has become the fastest-selling book
in history. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold more than 2.65 million
copies in Britain in its first 24 hours, the book-trade monitoring service
Nielsen BookScan said. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had sold just
over 2 million copies in its initial 24 hours. J.K. Rowling’s publisher,
Bloomsbury, released the book in the English language in more than 90
countries at the weekend. In America, sales hit an estimated 8.3 million in
the first 24 hours. Bloomsbury, said: “The response has been wonderful.”
Delusional killer
A Tunisian immigrant beat a man to death while believing that Allah was
telling him how to bring about world peace, a court was told. Suryakant
Patel, 60, was killed as he tried to help six people being attacked by Laidi
Benomor, 30, in Harlington High Street, near Heathrow, last November.
Benomor, of no fixed address, admitted manslaughter due to diminished
responsibility. He was detained indefinitely.
Hospital accused
An aid worker who developed septicaemia after treatment in an Oxford hospital
began an action for damages. Rosalind Colwill, 54, who worked with lepers in
Nigeria and founded a charity to help the destitute there, was left with
paralysis and brain damage after a cannula was inserted into her arm at the
Churchill Hospital, the High Court was told. Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS
Trust denies liability.
Lover jailed for lying
A woman was jailed for three years for perjury after trying to trick an Old
Bailey murder trial jury into clearing her teenage lover. Fatima Cardoso,
26, of East London, said 18-year-old Rico Tracey was with her on the night
that care worker Charles Anoyke was stabbed outside a club. Tracey was
convicted of disorder and jailed for two years in December. A codefendant
was found guilty of murder.
Cleared youth jailed
A youth who was cleared on appeal of taking part in the killing of Ben
Bellamy, 17, a sixth-form student, in Swansea in September 2005, was jailed
for seven years for robbing the victim of his bank debit card. Andrew
Rafferty, 19, was convicted of manslaughter at Swansea Crown Court a year
ago, but his conviction was quashed. There will be no retrial for the
manslaughter charge.
Witches win battle
A coven of witches is claiming victory in its battle to get the name of a £350
million shopping centre changed. The coven in Leicester objected when
Hammerson, the developer, gave the name Highcross Quarter to the extension
of a shopping centre. The title is used to mark sacred times in the wicca
calendar. Hammerson has now changed the development’s name to Highcross
Leicester.
Yet again the UK government appears willing to deny the people of the UK any say in whether we remain an independant country or whether we become part of a United States of Europe. Why am I not surprised?
The UK agreed to become a member of the Common Market, not a poitical union. It is about time the Government gave the voters a chance to express an unambiguous preference on the issue of the European Union. Presumably, however, they are worried that the choice would not be the one they think we should chose.
Richard, Manchester,