Fertility doctor’s appeal postponed
Disciplinary procedures against Mohammed Taranissi, Britain’s most successful
fertility doctor, were suspended after he challenged the impartiality of a
panel considering his appeal against an earlier decision that he was unfit
to run his London clinic, the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre
(Mark Henderson writes).
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority panel accepted that it might
appear to have a conflict of interest because it had previously been
involved in disciplinary procedures against him. It might now ask the Health
Secretary, to appoint new members.
Nanotechnology fear
Nanotechnologies, which are used in a range of products from tennis balls to
cosmetic creams, need public scrutiny to protect human health and prevent
damage to the environment, the consumer organisation Which? says. It is also
calling for a national register of such products so that consumers can
easily find out what they are buying and for clear information on packaging
and labels.
River car tragedy
Another two of the seven children who were trapped under water after a car
crash have died. They were with their parents, Nigel Gresham, 36, and Sarah
Bolland, 31, in a Land Rover that went into the River Witham at Coningsby,
Lincolnshire, on Sunday. The deaths of Angel, 5, and Thor, 5, at Leicester
Royal Infirmary follow those of Keivey, 8, on Monday, and Willow, 2, on
Sunday. A fifth child is critical.
Harman speed case
Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, has avoided a court
appearance after pleading guilty by post to a speeding offence. The Crown
Prosecution Service withdrew the summons yesterday, soon before the case
against the Leader of the Commons was due to be heard by magistrates in
Ipswich. Ms Harman, 57, admitted exceeding a temporary speed limit in April.
Boy held over blaze
A 16-year-old boy was being questioned on suspicion of murder after a massive
fire at a block of flats killed one man and left another seriously hurt. A
man, aged 20, has been released on bail pending further inquiries into the
blaze at the four-storey block of flats in Portsmouth. More than 50
firefighters tackled the blaze, rescuing 19 people. A man in his forties
died from smoke inhalation.
Dentist in Islamic row
A dentist is accused of refusing to treat a woman unless she wore Islamic
dress. Omer Butt allegedly instructed a dental nurse to give the woman,
known only as Patient A, her headscarf when she was registering as a patient
at Unsworth Smile Clinic in Bury, Greater Manchester. He will appear before
the General Dental Council on Monday to face a charge of serious
professional misconduct.
Brown dilutes union power at conference
Union leaders have backed off from a confrontation with Gordon Brown at his
first Labour conference as Prime Minister.
Mr Brown has apparently secured victory over the unions in his attempt to
dilute their influence at the conference. After this year’s gathering at
Bournemouth they will no longer be able to table topical motions and inflict
embarrassing defeats on the leadership in the full glare of national
publicity.
Union leaders had threatened to stop Mr Brown ending the system of votes on
“contemporary resolutions”, which have often caused the leadership trouble.
After talks at Downing Street on Monday, however, they have agreed to allow
his plans to go ahead, with a review in two years. Union and party sources
said that they could have defeated Mr Brown but did not want to sour his
first conference as leader.
At yesterday’s preconference meeting Mr Brown’s proposals were carried by 26
to 4, with backing from the key unions. One union source claimed that the
outcome was a “two-all draw”.
Northern rail needs
Northern cities are in danger of being starved of investment in their
transport networks because so much money is being spent on projects in
London such as Crossrail, the Northern Way group of development agencies
said. It called for new high-speed rail lines on either side of the country.
David Begg, chairman of Northern Way’s transport group, said: “Crossrail is
one hungry elephant.”
NHS transformation
Gordon Brown called for the NHS to transform itself from a health service into
a “well-being” service, saying that more needed to be done to help people to
avoid illness by leading healthy lives. Speaking on a surprise visit to a
“citizens’ jury” of NHS staff and patients in Birmingham, the Prime Minister
added: “We need to build heathcare around the needs of the family and the
individual.”
More London homes
Plans have been announced to build 50,000 more affordable homes in London over
the next three years. Ken Livingstone, the mayor, said that he would use his
new housing and planning powers to drive up the supply of new homes. The
50,000 target by 2011 would be a 50 per cent increase in the delivery of
affordable homes and a doubling in the supply of homes for social rent, he
said.
Broadcaster’s plea
The BBC broadcaster Andy Kershaw made an emotional plea for clemency after
pleading guilty to drink-driving and breaching a restraining order banning
him from approaching his former partner, Juliette Banner. Kershaw, 48, who
presents a music programme on Radio 3, admitted the offences on appearing in
court in Douglas in the Isle of Man. He was bailed to be sentenced next
month.
McCann spokeswoman calls for port exit check
The former spokeswoman of the parents of Madeleine McCann, the four-year-old
missing in Portugal, intervened in an immigration debate to back exit checks
at ports (Alice Fordham writes).
Justine McGuiness said that the checks would protect children. Ms McGuinness,
previously a Liberal Democrat candidate, told the conference: “If we want to
protect our children, we have to make sure that children cannot be moved out
of Europe, as well as in.”
She added: “We have to know who is coming into our country, but also who is
leaving. Free movement of people within Europe does present problems. While
we know it is a very good thing to have free movement and we would protect
that right very strongly – there are problems when it comes to child
protection.”
Kennedy on poverty
Charles Kennedy made a surprise platform appearance, speaking in a debate on
poverty. He urged Lib Dems to stand firm on their tax policy. The former
leader received several bursts of warm applause as he said that Liberal
Democrats should go on the attack and press for for an “all-out assault on
poverty and growing social inequalities in our country”. He told delegates
to have confidence in the face of scepticism, and described the party’s
critics as “all the usual suspects and all the usual sources”, but made no
mention of Sir Menzies Campbell.
Land auction defeat
A motion to allow communities to auction land has been defeated. The motion,
brought by the MP Jo Swinson, aimed to reduce land values and house prices,
but was criticised by several delegates as shallow and vague. John Smithson,
from Huddersfield, said: “It is the way forward for the right-wing
madhouse-type policy.” Penny Ewens, from Leeds, said that the policy bore no
relationship at all to a very large number of people who live in
inner-cities. It was referred back to the party policy committee for further
work.
