Diabetes drug to be withdrawn
A common insulin treatment used by thousands of diabetics is to be withdrawn in less than five months, threatening serious disruption to diabetes services.
Patients on Actrapid, a fast-acting insulin, will be forced to stop their medication or revert to antiquated regimens using bottles and syringes as a
result of the sudden announcement. The medicine has shown its efficacy in clinical tests and treatments for more than 20 years, but The Times has learnt that Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant, will cease providing Actrapid disposable injection pens and insulin cartridges imminently. The company, the world’s largest producer of diabetes medication, intends to focus on newer and more profitable insulin products.
Viggo Birch, the chief executive of Novo Nordisk’s UK business, said: “We wish to move towards newer insulins that are better supported by hard evidence and we wish to rationalise our portfolio.”
Doctor censured
The conduct of Camille De San Lazaro, 49, a consultant paediatrician from Newcastle upon Tyne whose reports in 1993 and 1994 led to two nursery nurses being falsely accused of leading a ring of paedophiles, fell short of that expected, the General Medical Council ruled. She admitted exaggerating the reports.
Tube strike set
London Underground drivers are threatening industrial action in protest at violence and antisocial behaviour. The union Aslef has called a walkout from May 23 among its members who work on the eastern end of the District Line, the past year.
eBay fraudster
Matthew Phillips, 19, from Bonvilston, near Cardiff, who tried to fund his university studies by defrauding customers on eBay, was ordered to pay £5,344.45 in compensation to his victims and do 150 hours’ community service. Cardiff Crown Court had heard that Phillips was “addicted” to his crime.
Teachers' boss slams discipline
Alan McKenzie, the president of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), had made a scathing attack on poor discipline in Scotland’s schools, saying that many staff concealed problems to protect the reputation of their schools.
He said that teachers did not have the tools to control classroom behaviour and that schools should be given more encouragement to exclude certain pupils.
Speaking before the SSTA conference in Peebles yesterday, Mr McKenzie said: “I have a grave fear that teachers, when talking about the problems of indiscipline and pupil misbehaviour in school, tend to cover up because of personal fears, and they think it puts the school in a bad light.”
He said that many teachers felt frustrated by the “showcase” mentality forced upon them.
Monk, 93, missing
A RAF helicopter joined 60 police officers, divers and dog handlers in a search for a missing 93-year-old monk from Pluscarden Abbey near Elgin yesterday. Father Marcus is deaf and partially sighted, but was said to be a regular walker in the hills around the abbey. He was last seen on Thursday night.
Tyre kills youth
A teenager died when a tyre that he was inflating at his workplace exploded. Strathclyde Police said that the unnamed 19-year-old was working at Auchinlea Tyres in Cleland, Lanarkshire, when the accident occurred. He was blown against a wall and died after being taken to Monklands Hospital.
Royal aide’s dismissal fair
A personal assistant who accused the Prince of Wales of running an elitist, Edwardian household has lost her case for unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination.
Elaine Day, 45, worked as a personal assistant at Clarence House for five years before asserting that she was hounded out of her job in April last year. She alleged that anyone who “didn’t know their place” risked victimisation.
A tribunal in Croydon, South London, was told that Ms Day had sent a letter to Prince Charles suggesting that personal assistants with university degrees be allowed to train for more senior positions. In a private memo to a senior aide, the Prince poured scorn on the notion.
Ms Day told the tribunal that she was one of three members of staff who had been sexually harassed by Paul Kefford, the Prince’s assistant private secretary.
Mr Kefford said: “I am delighted by the tribunal’s decision to exonerate me completely . . . I feel totally vindicated by the ruling.”
Abigail evidence
The girlfriend of the prime suspect in the attack on Abigail Witchalls in Little Bookham, Surrey, last month has given police information that strengthens their case against him. Officers travelled to Australia to meet Vanessa Mackenzie, 25, who returned to her home country days before Richard Cazaly, 23, killed himself in Scotland.
DNA test advance
A mobile laboratory that can analyse DNA at the scene of a crime and link via satellite to national DNA and fingerprint databases is being piloted by four police forces. Stuart Hyde, assistant chief constable of West Midlands Police, said: “This . . . will make it more likely that we will identify murderers and rapists earlier.”
Fears for falcon
Wildlife campaigners working to protect the peregrine falcon, one of Britain’s most endangered birds of prey, fear that a female may have been poisoned. The bird, after laying eggs at a disused quarry in Clee Hill, Shropshire, has not been seen for days. A male peregrine was poisoned in the same area last year.
'Angel' delivers cash to village
An anonymous “angel” has delivered cash gifts to houses in Duddingston Village in Edinburgh.
Envelopes filled with £5, £10 or £20 notes were pushed through letterboxes in the area last weekend, accompanied by the question: “Do you believe in angels?” One of the envelopes contained £70.
Jim Jack, the minister at Duddingston Kirk, was one of the beneficiaries.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, he said: “I got a flurry of phone calls from neighbours with a theological interest in angels, asking if I had received an envelope.
“There were quite a number of reactions. One of my neighbours thought she was being stalked. Another said: ‘Get the police,’ and somebody else said it must be counterfeit money. Somebody even thought it was a stunt by the bank.
“I think there is a lesson in all of this: here was a wonderful gesture, and we could only view it with scepticism and with doubt.”
Dr Jack said that he would donate his £20 to Christian Aid.
Good time lag
Douglas Lees, 39, a serial bank robber who struck four times after going on the run from Noranside open prison in Angus, has been sent to jail for seven years. Edinburgh High Court was told that he robbed two banks and two building societies in the city centre, stealing £4,000 so he that could have “a good time”.
Postmaster jailed for fraud
A postmaster who stole £500,000 was sentenced to three years in prison. Rikh Maharaj, who is confined to a wheelchair, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud after cashing hundreds of stolen benefits books at his sub-post office in Tottenham, North London. Southwark Crown Court in London was told that Maharaj, 45, was part of a gang who stole large numbers of benefits books.
Prison record
The population of the 139 prisons in England and Wales has hit a record high of 75,815. Fifty-seven per cent of sentenced male prisoners are serving terms of four years or longer, also a record, with the percentage expected to rise as a result of a new sentencing regime that came into force last month.
Man drowned
A man drowned after his girlfriend watched him being swept away by the rising tide off the Gower peninsula in South Wales. The couple, both outdoor pursuits instructors, were not named. They were crossing to the Gower from Worm’s Head island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway.
Reporter rumbled
A BBC reporter working undercover was sacked within hours of starting a job as a hospital housekeeper. Bosses at West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, will investigate the employment of Shabnam Grewal, who is a journalist for Panorama. She was suspended on her first day at work when staff became suspicious.
Briton shot dead
Madrid: A British man was shot dead during a burglary at his villa near Murcia in southeastern Spain, local officials said. The man, 67, apparently disturbed his killers, who had forced entry to his home in Gea y Trujols, as they carried out bags, including a sackful of money. (AFP)
Tube Lines failure
Tube Lines has failed to meet its availability targets for the three Underground lines it runs for January to March this year. Although the Piccadilly line was ahead of target, the Northern and Jubilee lines were not. Signal failures fell under the private company, however, and there were fewer escalator and lift faults.
Not fine with her
Tesco has apologised after fining a customer £30 for slow shopping. Gillian Couzens, 52, parked at her store in Faversham, Kent, but after shopping and eating at the in-store café, she discovered a ticket for breaching a two-hour limit. The company relented but Mrs Couzens now shops at Sainsbury’s.
