Drivers’ details go missing in the post
A police investigation has started after two uncoded discs that contain the
personal details of more than 7,000 drivers were lost in the post (Adam
Fresco writes).
A total of 7,685 vehicle keepers’ addresses, names and car particulars of
Northern Ireland drivers disappeared at a Parcelforce sorting centre in
Coventry when they were being sent to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing
Agency in Swansea.
The confidential details about prisoners have been delivered to a private
company accidently and the personal details of 1,800 health authority staff
have also been sent to private companies.
U-turn on sight drug
Thousands of people at risk from blindness may have access to a sight-saving
drug after a U-turn by NICE, the body that decides whether NHS treatments
are cost effective. Reports last night said that NICE will change guidelines
that restrict the drug Lucentis to only a fifth of NHS patients. The
treatment helps those with wet age-related macular degeneration, the main
cause of blindness in Britain.
Official dies in cold
A British UN official was found dead on a park bench in Vienna after an
allnight drinking binge while representing the UK at a conference. John
McFadzean, 36, from Ayrshire, head of the UK office of the UN International
Development Organisation, died in September; cold weather was a factor. His
credit cards had been stolen and he may not have had enough money to get
home. A Polish man has been arrested.
Taxpayers’ penalty
Taxpayers face new fines from the European Commission over continued failings
in the system to make “green” payments to English farmers. The National
Audit Office reveals today that £292 million has already been set aside by
the Government to pay for cash penalties for late payments for the farm hand
outs in 2005 and 2006. It calls for an updating of the Rural Payments
Agency’s computer systems.
Threat to research
Physics and astronomy research at universities is under threat because of an
£80 million shortfall in the science budget. The Science and Technology
Facilities Council, which funds most of the studies, may have to reduce the
number of grants that it awards by 25 per cent, as it underestimated the
running costs of its research facilities over three years. Ministers have
been asked to address the shortfall.
Abuse claims review
The Church of England will review all claims of child abuse in an attempt to
deal with any cover-ups in the past and to send hidden abusers to court.
All of the 43 dioceses have been given 18 months to appoint an independent
reviewer and to carry out an investigation into all allegations of child
abuse. The review will cover cases involving clergy, employees, licensed lay
workers, readers and volunteers.
A turn for the worse
A Christmas shopping trip to Lille in France ended in the wrong country when
the coach driver mis-programmed his satellite navigation system. Instead of
the bustling market, 50 passengers went to the village of Lille in Belgium,
without any shops. Members of the former Cheltenham and Gloucester building
society social club want a refund. Pullman Coaches of Swansea is
investigating.
‘Give councils power to sack police chiefs’
Council leaders should be able to dismiss inadequate police chiefs and NHS
trust bosses, according to the chairman of the Local Government Association.
Sir Simon Milton, addressing the organisation at its assembly in London, will
say that such figures should be “totally accountable” to locally elected
representatives.
Sir Simon, 46, who is also the leader of Conservative-controlled Westminster
City Council, will tell council leaders and chief executives: “When people
in my area are demanding a change in the way their area is policed, or are
asking why hospital infections are going up, then I want the ability to put
the concerns of people first.”
Terrorist charges
Two men charged with inciting terrorism and murder in Pakistan will appear at
the Old Bailey next week after being remanded in custody at Westminster
Magistrates’ Court. Faiz Baluch, 25, of northwest London, and Hyrbyair
Marri, 39, of West London, say that they are human rights campaigners.
Sellafield bomb find
Police are looking for a Sellafield contract worker who is missing after a
bomb was found at his home. Darren Morris, 30, was recently employed at the
nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria. Bomb disposal experts made safe a “small, rudimentary device” at his home in Egremont, Cumbria, and took it
away to examine.
Killer’s pet mystery
The mass murderer Rose West has asked for an inquiry into her guinea-pig’s
death, accusing fellow inmates of poisoning him. West, who is serving
multiple life sentences at Bronzefield jail in Ashford, Middlesex, wants her
dead pet to be examined. The Ministry of Justice refused to say if her
demands would be met.
Military centres shut
The Government is to close eight military distribution centres, raising the
prospect of job losses. Bob Ainsworth, the Armed Forces Minister, said that
the centres at Longmoor, Shorncliffe, Llangennech, Bulford, Catterick,
Chilwell, Colchester and Stirling had been approved for closure.
DJ warned of prison
Andy Kershaw, the BBC Radio 3 presenter, has been told to expect a prison term
when he is sentenced next month for breaking an order stopping him from
contacting his ex-partner. Michael Moyle, the High Bailiff in Douglas on the
Isle of Man, said: “It might be advisable to have your bags packed.”
Drug deal ‘could cost NHS millions extra’
The NHS could pay hundreds of millions of pounds extra for drugs if a deal
between manufacturers and distributors is extended, the Office of Fair
Trading said. Its verdict came after a study of the US manufacturer Pfizer’s
exclusive “direct to pharmacy” arrangement with the wholesaler UniChem, now
merged with Boots. Under the deal there is no conventional discount for
pharmacies, and no competition between wholesalers.
The OFT said there was a significant risk of rising costs and longer waiting
times for patients to get drugs if such deals spread. Pfizer said it had
increased confidence in the secure supply of its drugs at no extra cost.
Minister denies solo paramedics are a risk
The Government has denied that plans to send single paramedics out on
emergency calls will put patients at risk.
Ben Bradshaw, the junior Health Minister, said that sending a “single
responder” rather than a double-crewed ambulance in certain cases could help
to free up resources and mean that emergency calls were responded to more
quickly.
Jonathan Fox, from the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel, said:
“You cannot manage the patient if you are driving.”
The Unison union said that the plan was an attempt to provide cheap emergency
cover and to hit new response-time targets.
Shops’ allergy tests don’t help in eczema
Parents are being warned not to waste money on high-street allergy tests for
children with eczema (David Rose writes).
The tests can give false results and will not help most of those with the skin
condition, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
says. It also says that “the effectiveness and safety of complementary
therapies and food supplements for eczema have not been adequately
assessed”, advising caution over herbal products. Some contain steroids, so
a child also prescribed steroids could receive an excessive dose. “Liver
toxicity has been associated with some Chinese herbal medicines.”
Emollients, which GPs prescribe, do help, NICE says.
Obese women lessen chance of conceiving
Obesity can seriously affect a women’s chances of becoming pregnant naturally,
with conception rates falling significantly with rising body weight (Mark
Henderson writes).
Scientists found that for every unit of body mass index (BMI) above the
threshold for obesity, the probability of a woman conceiving spontaneously
falls by 4 per cent. The effect on fertility of a single point increase in
BMI is as pronounced as getting a year older. Very obese women are up to 43
per cent less likely to become pregnant, said a team led by Jan Willem van
der Steeg, of the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, in a report
published in Human Reproduction.
Thieves pose as police in £2m computer raid
Robbers posing as police have stolen up to £2 million worth of computer
equipment from a global IT company.
The bogus officers, with an Alsatian “police dog”, talked their way into
Verizon Business’s data centre in King’s Cross, Central London, by telling
security guards that they were investigating reports of intruders on the
roof. They then tied up five members of staff and stole computer hardware
thought to be worth about £2 million.
Verizon said that its business operations were not affected by the raid last
Thursday. It is not thought that any sensitive information was stolen.
Girl on conveyor belt
A two-year-old girl suffered cuts and bruises as she was carried down a
four-mile baggage conveyor belt at Manchester Airport. She toddled through
an empty check-in desk as her parents queued for a flight to Pakistan and
was whisked down the tunnel before she became trapped. She was rescued by an
engineer investigating a blockage in the first of the system’s three tiers.
The airport is investigating.
Baby ‘held hostage’
Two teenagers have been arrested after a robbery in which a kitchen knife was
held to a baby’s throat. Two youths broke into a flat in the Grangetown area
of Cardiff at about 6.30pm on Sunday and forced the mother of the
four-week-old girl to hand over £20 in cash and some US dollars. The two
male suspects, aged 17 and 18, both from Cardiff, were being held in
custody.
Mental gymnastics
A human calculator set a new world record by working out the 13th root of a
200-digit number in 70.2 seconds. At the Science Museum in London, Alexis
Lemaire, 27, from France, correctly calculated that 2,407,899,893,032,210
multiplied by itself 13 times was equal to the randomly generated number
given to him by a computer. Mr Lemaire’s previous record for the feat was
72.4 seconds.
Fancy dress ban
A school crossing patrol woman who has done her job in fancy dress at
Christmas for the past 20 years has been banned from doing so this year.
Southampton City Council said that Margaret Russell, 54, would not be able
to wear reflective clothing while dresed as a bell. Her manager stood in for
one day while she dressed up and collected money for charity. She said: “It
just seems a bit daft.”
A turn for the better
A horse that refused to turn left can now turn in both directions after a
course of aromatherapy. Revels, a five-year-old gelding, had scarred tissue
on his back that was restricting his movement but a blend of oils, black
pepper and massage from Penny Palmer, a horse therapist from Hucknall,
Nottinghamshire, has solved the problem. She set up her business with help
from the New Deal for single parents.
Lab rats’ red tape
Excessive red tape governing animal experiments is compromising the
welfare of laboratory mice and rats as well as hindering medical progress, a
group of leading scientists in the field said. Researchers must seek
approval from the Home Office when they want to vary an experimental
technique – even if it is to reduce pain and suffering – and approval often
takes months, they said.
