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Maria Miller quits, leaving PM weakened by sleaze row Scientists say UK wasted 560m on flu drugs that are not proven Lord Myners quits Co-operative Group PC Blakelock murder: family grief and questions for police as Nicky Jacobs acquitted Cabinet reshuffle: Osborne's long arm stretches from Amazon to No 10 Maria Miller: minister who got on the wrong side of MPs, public and press Maria Miller's resignation: cabinet loses a moderniser with inner steel New culture secretary is first MP from 2010 Tory intake to reach cabinet level Miller's tale fails to grind down David Cameron at despatch box
Maria Miller quits, leaving PM weakened by sleaze row

David Cameron said to have misjudged level of public anger over expenses claims
Patrick Wintour and Rajeev Syal The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 21.34 BST Jump to comments ()
Maria Miller drives away from parliament on the day she resigned as culture secretary. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
David Cameron will launch the Conservatives' European election campaign on Thursday hoping that the painful resignation of the culture secretary, Maria Miller, and the revived stench of sleaze, will not see his party driven into third place in the May poll, prompting a wider panic among Tory MPs in crucial marginal seats. Cameron's authority appeared weakened at Westminster as backbench MPs questioned his ability to read the public mood in supporting Miller for six days after she had been found guilty of wrongly claiming 5,800 in expenses. The prime minister put on a show of discipline last night by sacking the Tory vice-chairman Michael Fabricant for some injudicious tweets, including one welcoming Miller's departure. Cameron also knows that the Commons standards committee met yesterday to decide how severely to admonish a Tory former shadow minister, Patrick Mercer, for breaking parliamentary rules, raising the spectre of more sleaze to come. Miller resigned early on Wednesday morning, shattered emotionally by the scale of the week-long media and public attack on her expenses claims. She believed she had been the victim of a media witch-hunt that made it impossible to secure a public hearing for the fact that the standards committee had acquitted her of the main charges against her. Struggling to control herself, she said in a brief interview: "It is not right that I am distracting from the incredible achievements of the government." Downing Street insisted that the resignation was entirely her decision, but officials refused to deny that an emissary from No 10 believed to be the chief whip, Sir George Young went to see her to discuss the absence of support among the public and on the backbenches. Miller herself said she took "full responsibility" for her decision to resign. Conservatives including the education secretary, Michael Gove, acknowledged that public anger with the political class over the expenses issue remained more raw than his party had recognised. Labour also privately conceded that the immediate beneficiary of the past week in the European election is likely to be Ukip as the party of the outsider. Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, rushed to Miller's constituency in Basingstoke, Hampshire, last night to call for a proper law allowing voters to recall MPs, such as Miller, found guilty of serious misconduct. Hoping to come first in the popular vote in the European elections, he said: "All along you will find people in every political party who do things that are wrong. The question is what you do about it. The issue for the prime minister is he supported her all along." In a snap Comres/ITV poll an overwhelming majority of 88% said Miller was right to resign, while 82% said she should have resigned as soon as it emerged she overclaimed on expenses. This included 88% of Tory voters who agree she was right to resign. Almost two-thirds of those polled (63%) believe Cameron has handled the issue badly. With Miller announcing her departure only four hours before prime minister's questions, Ed Miliband used the occasion to accuse Cameron of "a terrible error of judgment" in keeping her, and more generally of not understanding the public's anger. He said: "If it had happened in any other business, there would have been no question about her staying in her job. Why were you the last person in the country to realise her position was untenable?" Cameron accused Miliband of playing party politics and took the risky step of defending parliament's reputation as full of "good and honest" MPs. He said to get rid of someone "at the first sign of trouble" would have been a sign of
weakness, not leadership. He added: "I hope the one lesson that won't be learnt is that the right thing to do as soon as someone has to answer allegations is to instantly remove them rather than give them a chance to clear their name and get on with job." But the prime minister acknowledged that the row showed public feeling about MPs' expenses was still raw and needed to be acted on. He offered cross-party talks on the regulation of MPs, but seems to have few ideas to advance. Miller was replaced as culture secretary by Sajid Javid, the Treasury financial secretary, reducing the number of women in the cabinet to three, the lowest figure since 1992. A bus driver's son and former banker only elected an MP in 2010, Javid's life story is an extraordinary tale of upward mobility, even if his cultural hinterland remains little known. The rapidity of his promotion led to a classic Whitehall muddle over how to handle Miller's additional brief of equalities and women's minister. It was announced that Nicky Morgan, the new financial secretary to the Treasury, would attend cabinet as the women's minister. No 10 said it would split the equalities and women's ministerial posts handing the first to the new culture secretary, Javid because Morgan had voted against legalising gay marriage. It also said since the women's brief fits within the "over-arching" equalities portfolio, Morgan would report to Javid making her the first women's minister to report to a man. No 10 later said, however, that she would report directly to Cameron over women's issues, while on issues such as equal pay, or women in the boardroom, Morgan and Javid would work as a team. The jumpy mood over MPs' behaviour was heightened when Fabricant was suddenly sacked for a series of injudicious tweets, including one saying it was about time Miller was sacked. Cameron is determined that the Miller episode does not lead to an outbreak of indiscipline, the last thing he needs in the European elections after weeks trying to bring some of the most prominent rebels back into the fold. But he is facing further embarrassment over sleaze allegations. The Guardian understands that Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, has completed a highly critical report into Patrick Mercer, who allegedly failed to declare thousands of pounds paid to him by a fake lobbying company set up by a BBC journalist. The report was sent earlier this week to the Commons standards committee, which is expected to release it with very few amendments in the near future. Sources have told the Guardian that the report will criticise Mercer for his conduct. Mercer, Tory MP for Newark, Nottinghamshire, stepped down from the party's whip after accepting 4,000 from undercover reporters posing as lobbyists. He reported himself to the commissioner for standards after being accused of failing to declare 2,000 of the money within parliamentary rules and appeared to offer to secure a Westminster security pass for the lobbyist.
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Scientists say UK wasted 560m on flu drugs that are not proven
Britain stockpiled drugs for predicted bird flu in 2005 and swine flu in 2009 that independent scientists say are no cure
Sarah Boseley, health editor The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014
Roche HQ: the company disputes a report by independent scientists questioning the effectiveness of Tamiflu. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty
The government has wasted half a billion pounds stockpiling two anti-flu drugs that have not been proved to stop the spread of infection or to prevent people becoming seriously ill, according to a team of scientists who have analysed the full clinical trials data, obtained after a four-year fight. The government has spent 424m buying stocks of Tamiflu and 136m on Relenza in case of a flu pandemic. During the swine flu outbreak of 2009, the World Health Organisation recommended that all countries should stock up on supplies. But the Cochrane Collaboration, a group of independent scientists who investigate the effectiveness of medicines, says that the best Tamiflu can do is shorten a bout of flu by approximately half a day from around seven to 6.3 days. They also found worrying side-effects in people taking it to prevent flu, which had not been fully disclosed, including psychiatric and kidney problems. "There is no credible way these drugs could prevent a pandemic," said Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University and one of the team. They are now calling for the WHO to review its advice to countries and for the UK government not to renew its stockpile when the drugs go out of date. Dr Fiona Godlee, editor of the British Medical Journal, which is publishing papers authored by Cochrane on Tamiflu and Relenza, said the decision to stockpile the drugs was politically understandable at the time, but added: "When one thinks of what half a billion pounds could have been spent on in the NHS, let alone around the world, one has to be pretty scathing about that decision." The findings come at the end of a gruelling battle with the drug companies to see the actual data produced during all the trials, rather than the often ghostwritten and always company-funded scientific papers selectively published in medical journals. In a watershed development, they have put all the company data online, to allow anybody to interrogate the source material. The team and the BMJ, which has backed their fight throughout, throw down a gauntlet to drug companies and to the regulators to be transparent about the benefits and harms of medicines. While the EU is bringing in new rules to ensure all future drug trials results are published in full, data relating to the effectiveness and safety of existing
ensure all future drug trials results are published in full, data relating to the effectiveness and safety of existing medicines is still shrouded in secrecy. "Future decisions to purchase and use drugs, particularly when on a mass scale, must be based on a complete picture of the evidence, both published and unpublished," said Godlee. "We need the commitment of organisations and drug companies to make all data available, even if it means going back 20 years. Otherwise we risk another knee-jerk reaction to a potential pandemic. And can we really afford it?" Heneghan and Dr Tom Jefferson, two of the Cochrane team, refused to lay blame solely on the drug companies GSK finally agreed to hand over all the data on Relenza without conditions last year and Roche, maker of Tamiflu, followed a few months later. "I'm not a conspiracy theorist," said Jefferson. The European Medicines Agency, which regulates medicines in Europe and grants licences, "have the legal power to demand the full set and access anything they want," he said. Yet it routinely considered only part of the dataset. The review found that although Tamiflu shortened an episode of flu slightly in adults, there was less certainty in children and none that the drugs helped children with asthma a group for whom flu can cause breathing problems. There was no evidence it reduced hospital admissions, pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis or ear infections in adults or children. The reporting of these events in the trial data was unreliable pneumonia cases were sometimes recorded only because the patient told the GP they had suffered from it, not as a result of tests. The Cochrane team found that the drugs could also cause harm. Some patients on Tamiflu suffered nausea and vomiting. When it was taken to prevent a bout of flu, it was sometimes linked to headaches, and kidney and psychiatric issues. No increased risk of adverse events for adults inhaling Relenza was reported and the evidence on harm in children was sparse. The Department of Health said it looked forward to receiving the report, but insisted that the stockpile was important. "The UK is recognised by the World Health Organisation as being one of the best-prepared countries in the world for a potential flu pandemic. Our stockpile of antivirals is a key part of this," said a spokesman. "Tamiflu is licensed around the world for the treatment of seasonal flu and is a licensed product with a proven record of safety, quality and efficacy." Some other scientific experts said that absence of proof did not necessarily mean that the drugs did not reduce complications or prevent hospitalisation. Prof Wendy Barclay, an influenza virologist at Imperial College London, said the drugs were not always given to people soon enough after infection to work. "It would be awful if, in trying to make a point about the way clinical trials are conducted and reported, the review ended up discouraging doctors from using the only effective anti-influenza drugs we currently have," Barclay said. Roche said it fundamentally disagreed with the review and maintained that the drugs were a vital treatment option for flu patients. Cochrane had got it wrong, the company said. "The report's methodology is often unclear and inappropriate, and their conclusions could potentially have serious public-health implications," said UK medical director Dr Daniel Thurley. "We'd absolutely defend [Tamiflu] for treatment and prevention." A recent study of 30,000 patients given Tamiflu in the swine-flu pandemic, published in the Lancet, found it saved lives. GSK said it was committed to transparency. "We continue to believe the data from Relenza's clinical trial programme support its effectiveness against flu and that when used appropriately, in the right patient, it can reduce duration of flu symptoms," said a spokesman.
Lord Myners quits Co-operative Group

Exclusive: Independent director's sudden exit follows barrage of opposition to his proposals to reform troubled mutual
Jill Treanor The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.25 BST Jump to comments ()
Lord Myners' departure leaves the Co-op Group in disarray. Photograph: Gary Calton for the Observer
The Co-operative Group was in chaos on Wednesday night after the man brought in only four months ago to reform the troubled chain of supermarkets, funeral homes and pharmacies quit the board. Lord Myners tendered his resignation in the face of mounting opposition to his plan to reform the way the country's biggest mutual is run. On course to report a 2bn loss next week, the Co-op has been mired in turmoil since it emerged its bank had a 1.5bn hole in its balance sheet last May and its former chairman, the Reverend Paul Flowers, was embroiled in a scandal involving class A drugs. Myners, who was chairman of the Guardian Media Group until 2008 when he joined the Labour government at the height of the financial crisis, was brought in with a mandate to draw up a blue print for a new-look Co-op. His resignation came hours after members of the Co-op voted to remove the three directors who approved the controversial 6.6m pay packet for chief executive Euan Sutherland who quit last month after the deal was leaked to the Observer. Myners has faced overwhelming opposition for his plans to reform the Group which include tearing up the existing boardroom structure and replacing it with a plc style model. He has referred to "bullying" tactics he has faced since joining the board in December and a warning from one influential member of the board that they could block his plans to reform the Group which need the backing of two thirds of the votes.
The former City minister is thought to be staying on to complete his controversial review, which is unlikely to be accepted by the regional boards and independent societies that run the organisation. The three directors who were voted off were Liz Moyle, Steven Bayes and Patrick Grange who all had seats on the remuneration committee that approved the 6.6m two-year pay deal for Sutherland, when he was appointed boss of the group 10 months ago. The three who lost their seats are also representatives of the regional boards which control 78% of the votes at annual meetings and will also have a major role in approving the reforms being proposed by Myners who is the only independent director on the board. The changes to the board are thought be the result of a vote by the 900 members who sit on the influential area committees that represent the views of the seven million owner-members of the UK's largest mutual and in turn feed in to the regional boards. Five new directorships were up for election, including filling the seat vacated by former chairman Len Wardle who quit at the height of the Group's troubles last year after Flowers was filmed handing over cash for illegal drugs. One position was vacant because Stuart Ramsay retired. Myners is proposing scrapping the current boardroom structure which currently comprises 15 representatives from the regions including a farmer, a university lecturer and a nurse and five from the independent societies. Until Wednesday night it also included Myners who only took on the role for a salary of 1 in December. He was first the non-executive independent director and is accustomed to financial crises, playing a central role in the government response to the banking crisis and in the removal of Fred Goodwin from the top of Royal Bank of Scotland when the bank was facing collapse. The largest independent Co-op, the Midcounties, had voted on Monday night against the reform package. The chair of the Co-op Group is also from an independent society, Ursula Lidbetter, and runs the Lincolnshire Co-operative. Other independent societies were not speaking publicly on Wednesday on whether they backed the stance of the influential Midcounties. But Myners remains under pressure to rewrite his reform plans following the intervention of Midcounties and the seven regional boards that held meetings last weekend at which concerns were raised about the proposals. Under his proposals rushed out in the wake of Sutherland's resignation and not yet finalised the members of the Co-op would no longer sit on the board but be represented by a members' council. Sutherland was one of eight members of the executive team to be handed "retention payments" equivalent to the size of their salaries. Sutherland was on a 1.5m salary and had been promised two retention payments of 1.5m for 2013 and 2014. His current stand-in, former WM Morrison's finance director Richard Pennycook, has a 900,000 salary and a retention package for 2013 and 2014. He is under pressure to reject the payouts. The bank is preparing to reveal the pay deal of the boss of its bank, Niall Booker, who was part of the team assembled by Sutherland when the financial problems in the bank were uncovered last May. Last month Booker admitted the Co-op bank needed another 400m to cover the cost of mis-selling scandals. But this means the debt-laden Group needs to find another 120m if it is to prevent its stake in the bank falling below 30%. But it is not yet clear if it will put up the cash as next week its expected to report losses of at least 2bn.
PC Blakelock murder: family grief and questions for police as Nicky Jacobs acquitted
Jacobs cleared of murder at Old Bailey, after being charged with involvement in mob brutality that inflicted 43 wounds
Vikram Dodd The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.23 BST
A court sketch shows Nicholas Jacobs (centre) at the Old Bailey in London, during his trial for the murder of PC Keith Blakelock Photograph: Elizabeth Cook/PA
Police and prosecutors are under pressure after a multimillion pound case against a man accused of joining the mob who butchered PC Keith Blakelock during riots 29 years ago was dismissed on Wednesday by a jury after just a day of deliberations. Nicky Jacobs, 45, was acquitted of murdering the officer during riots on the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham, north London, where up to 20 rioters inflicted 43 stab wounds and attempted to decapitate Blakelock, who was left with a knife embedded in his neck. The acquittal means that despite seven people being charged with the murder over the years, no one has been successfully and safely convicted. Blakelock's widow, Elizabeth, and three of her sons watched in court as a controversial strategy failed in the latest trial. Police and prosecutors had decided to build their case against Jacobs around two men who are the only ones to have admitted raining kicks and punches on the stricken Blakelock as they joined the attack. The two witnesses were granted immunity from prosecution in return for their testimony against Jacobs, after police
The two witnesses were granted immunity from prosecution in return for their testimony against Jacobs, after police and prosecutors adopted a strategy known as "kickers and stabbers" as they sought convictions. Kickers were to be recruited as witnesses and promised they would not be tried for murder for admitting punching or kicking the officer, if they testified against those who used knives or machetes to stab Blakelock. The jury heard two of the witnesses had received 5,000 from Scotland Yard in 1994 which the force claimed was to compensate them for inconvenience caused by their co-operation with police, and not as inducement to testify against Jacobs. Abuses by the first police investigation led to the case against three juveniles being thrown out by a judge in 1987. Later concerns over fabrication of evidence led to convictions gained against three men being overturned on appeal in 1991. One of those men, Winston Silcott, called for the two police witnesses who admitted attacking Blakelock to be prosecuted for the murder, rather than given legal protection: "The only people I know who were involved were the witnesses in court, the police witnesses, who were exempt from prosecution because they were paid." Silcott, who was pilloried for years after police became obsessed he was a ringleader of the riots and attack on Blakelock, said the force had failed the police officer's family: "I think they let the Blakelock family down. They should have pursued the proper people, instead of framing people, instead of [saying] any black man will do." The verdict came after just over six hours of deliberation by the jury. Jacobs's supporters cheered with one shouting "brother, see you in Tottenham". Jacobs sobbed in the dock. Blakelock's widow held her head in her hands on hearing the not guilty verdicts, with Jacobs also cleared of manslaughter. In a statement the family said they were left "extremely sad and disappointed" by the verdicts: "We appreciate the work and effort over the years since events on Broadwater Farm that night in trying to bring people to justice. "We hope that more people are able to come forward so that some of those guilty can be brought to justice in the future." Police spent millions of pounds on the case against Jacobs, who was 16 at the time of the murder and had previously been convicted of affray in 1986 for his part in the disturbances. He was photographed at the scene throwing petrol bombs at the police. The Broadwater Farm riots were some of the most vicious civil disturbances seen in Britain, with officers and rioters engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Violence erupted on Saturday 5 October 1985 after Cynthia Jarrett died following a police search of her home in Tottenham related to the arrest of her son. The death from a heart attack inflamed tensions and came a week after police had shot a black woman in Brixton, south London. By the Sunday evening, rioting broke out on Broadwater Farm estate. Blakelock was part of police serial 502, a unit drawn from Hornsey and Wood Green police stations, trying to protect firefighters who were tackling a blaze endangering flats on the estate. They were armed with just their shields and truncheons. A group of youths, some with weapons and masked, attacked them and the officers attempted to retreat. Blakelock was seen to slip by a grass verge where he was encircled and killed. Blakelock, while on the ground, suffered eight machete wounds to the scalp, a knife driven into the back of the mouth with only the handle visible, 13 knife wounds to the back of the body, and wounds to his hands and arms. The original murder investigation saw abuses by the police. The Met arrested more than 360 people, held children
The original murder investigation saw abuses by the police. The Met arrested more than 360 people, held children without access to a lawyer or parents, then charged six people with murder, all of whom were eventually cleared. While the savagery of the attack was not in doubt, the crown had to prove Jacobs had been part of the group that murdered the officer. The evidence against Jacobs included a rap poem which the prosecution claimed contained admissions that he had stabbed Blakelock. It was first discovered in 1988 while Jacobs was serving an eight-year term for affray. In the poem, Jacobs wrote, naming Blakelock: "Me have de chopper, we have intention to kill a police officer. PC Blakelock de unlucky fucker him dis an help de fireman. "We start chop him on his hand we chop him on him finger we chop him on him leg we chop him on his shoulder him head him chest him neck we chop him all over when we done kill him off lord er feel much better." Courtenay Griffiths QC, who defended Jacobs, said the police investigation and decision to put Jacobs on trial was deplorable. Of the allegedly incriminating rap lyrics he said: "Bob Marley wrote I Shot The Sheriff but I have not heard of him being put on trial for murder." Griffiths said the three alleged eyewitnesses, who testified anonymously, were liars or fantasists. The least problematic of the three witnesses was referred to as Q. He was not involved in the violence but claimed to have seen Jacobs stab Blakelock. He came forward in 2009. He is related to another witness called John Brown. Q, who admitted heroin use and heavy drinking, was watched by the jury as he testified. In an unusual move, jurors passed a note to the judge asking whether the witness had Korsakoff's syndrome, by which heavy drinkers suffer brain damage and subsequently invent things. According to the Alzheimer's Society, one symptom is that "a person invents events to fill the gaps in memory". Q wrongly claimed that the murder took place in a concrete car park area under a housing block, which he thought was called Martlesham. It happened on a grassy area by Tangmere block. John Brown, one of the two witnesses who admitted attacking Blakelock, was offered up by the prosecution as having identified Jacobs as an attacker armed with a machete or scythe. But in a 1993 police interview he said black people looked the same to him. "It's very hard for me because, like, I'm not a racist person but to me a black is a black, all right? I can't tell the difference between them. To me a black man is a black man." In the witness box this year he was pressed by Griffiths on whether this was still his view. Brown replied: "More or less." The third witness, known as Rhodes Levin, named Silcott as the ringleader of the attack in a 1985 police interview. Later he said he had made this up to tell police what he thought they wanted to hear. Levin said that during the attack on Blakelock he was stood next to Jacobs, who was armed with a knife less than six inches long, contradicting Brown's claims that the defendant was armed with a machete. Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC told the jury: "Were it not for the immunity, they [some of the witnesses] would have been prosecuted for murder." He said they had been "provided with some degree of financial assistance by police" for their "willingness to give evidence and co-operation". He said payments were "subject to a strict authorisation procedure and are limited". Another element of the crown's case was an alleged admission by Jacobs in 2000 when he was arrested for a separate
Another element of the crown's case was an alleged admission by Jacobs in 2000 when he was arrested for a separate matter. The jury heard that he was alleged to have told a police officer: "Fuck off, I was one of them who killed PC Blakelock." Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: "We will not give up on bringing Keith's killers to justice. There are people who know exactly who took part in the attack on Keith and people who took part themselves. It is not too late for you to come forward. Almost 30 years on, people's' lives are very different, their allegiances broken or shifted. Help us now. " Rowley also defended the use of the two witnesses who had attacked Blakelock: "It would be nice to have alternatives, witnesses of perfect character, but unfortunately you do not tend to get them at riots." He said the payments were made in 1994, after the men had assisted police, but only when prosecutors decide there would be no prosecution based on the two men's testimony. John Brown was 20 at the time of the riots, and had attended a special needs school. He associated with the Park Lane Gang, of whom Jacobs was an alleged member. In 1986 pleaded guilty to burglary and affray and received a 42 month sentence. By July 1986 he first named Jacobs to police. He also claimed Jacobs made admissions about attacking Blakelock and testified in Jacobs's trial for affray. In 1993 a new police inquiy into Blakelock's murder spoke to Brown. He named several people as being responsible. In June 1993 he was told by police about the immunity from prosecution. Now he told police Jacobs's had a machete or scythe which he lunged at the officer's shoulders. He claimed at the scene there were shouts of "kill the pig" and "get his fucking head on a pole". Later Brown admitted kicking Blakelock up to ten times and claimed he had waited eight years to give this latest account because he was scared and had been threatened. By August 1993 he made a statement that Jacobs had a scythe or machete some 20 cm long and cut Blakelock 4 or 5 times. Police say only after this was Brown told of rewards on offer from the Met and the News of the World. The witness known as Rhodes Levin was jailed for 12 months for affray during the riots fater pleading guilty in June 1987. From 1993 to 1994 he was interviewed extensively by detectives and placed in witness protections, but later removed because of bad behaviour. His offending continued as recently as July 2013 when he was convicted of intent to supply crack coaine and heroin. He received a suspended sentence. After his arrest over the riots he told police Winston Silcott had chopped at Blakelock's body. In 1992 he told detectives he had kicked Blakelock, after being told of the offer of immunity. Even the crown said that between 1992 to 1994 Levin was changing his story. He admitted having years earlier invented his account of Silcott being present, saying he had told police what they wanted to hear and was desperate to get out of the police station. By October 1993 he made what he said was his defintive statement.He said he was friends with Jacobs whom was
armed with a knife less than six inches in length as he attacked Blakelock. Levin said he stood next to Jacobs as he stabbed the fallen officer in the top half of the body. Levin said he saw Jacobs stab Blakelock twice. At one point in 1994 covertly taped Levin claiming to have brought PC Blakelock to the ground. In a latter interview he denied it. Jacobs is expected to be freed from Belmarsh prison, where he had been kept on remand, on Thursday. Police have contingency plans in place for any reaction on the streets to the verdict.
Cabinet reshuffle: Osborne's long arm stretches from Amazon to No 10

Chancellor's influence highlighted by several appointments and his role in resignation of Maria Miller
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.56 BST
'This was Georges reshuffle once again,' one experienced Tory remarked. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe
George Osborne thought he would be taking a trip down memory lane this week when he embarked on a trade mission to Brazil, a quarter of a century after his first boat trip along the Amazon. But the lasting impression of the chancellor's visit to Rio de Janeiro and Braslia, as he flew to Washington on Wednesday night for a meeting of the IMF, was not of warm memories of his gap year. It was, instead, the unmistakable sign of his iron grip back home on the government and his hold over David Cameron in a moment of crisis.
"This was George's reshuffle once again," one knowledgeable and experienced Tory remarked. "He always makes sure that, at moments like this, his people are summoned." The clear hand of Osborne in the reshuffle was demonstrated by the appointment of his former parliamentary aide Sajid Javid as the first member of the 2010 intake to the cabinet as culture secretary. Osborne soon spotted the former banker after his election as MP for Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and made him his parliamentary private secretary the following year. But the real sign of Osborne's influence came not so much with the appointment of Javid, who had been widely tipped as the next cabinet entrant. It was the promotion of Nicky Morgan as Javid's replacement as financial secretary to the Treasury with the added portfolio of minister for women with a non-voting seat at the cabinet table that showed his power. Morgan, 41, also elected in 2010, had been overlooked as greater bets were placed on Esther McVey and Elizabeth Truss as the next women to join the cabinet. But in private Osborne has been letting friends know he has been deeply impressed by Morgan. "George really feels comfortable with Nicky," one friend said. Another said: "Oh yes, Nicky has impressed Osborne in recent months." The final ministerial appointment of the day the promotion of Andrea Leadsom from the Downing Street policy board to replace Morgan as economic secretary to the Treasury was the most intriguing. Leadsom, a former director of the investment bank BZW, is one of the most talented members of the 2010 intake with interests ranging from a highly technical understanding of the EU to a deeply personal commitment to early childhood intervention. In recent weeks Osborne was suggesting in private that he was still troubled by Leadsom's decision in 2012 to call on him to apologise to Ed Balls for his attempts to link the shadow chancellor to the Libor-fixing scandal. But Osborne was beginning to indicate that it would be foolish to deny such a talented politician a break when the Tory benches are not overburdened with A-league politicians. "The appointment of Andrea shows George is not at all tribal," one friend said. "It shows that all he cares about is hiring the best talent." Osborne also played an important role in the resignation of Miller, it became clear as intriguing details emerged of a different emphasis between the chancellor and prime minister. David Cameron, who hates to be bounced into a reshuffle, was keen to allow Miller to hang on because she had been cleared of the main complaint against her over her expenses. Osborne, on the other hand, was clear that Miller was damaged goods. Speaking before her resignation, one friend said: "Maria Miller has not handled herself brilliantly. You can't sack her now but you could sack her in the next reshuffle." The chancellor, who hires people on merit rather than on whether they are regular members of his dinner party circle, takes a clinical view of politics. A tarnished politician damages the team and will eventually have to be despatched. Cameron, on the other hand, sets great store by personal loyalty and hates having to remove people. But the Osborne camp were clear that Miller had to go. One Tory said: "Maria has given a textbook example of how not to handle a crisis. At every stage she made the wrong call she made a complete pig's ear of it." As one of the most socially liberal MPs at Westminster, Osborne strongly agrees with Miller's greatest achievement the introduction of gay marriage. But that did not stop the chancellor thinking she was out of her depth in the cabinet. "Maria rose too quickly from minister for disabled people to the cabinet," one Tory said. "She didn't really have enough to build up relationships. So when she ran into trouble there was nothing in the bank. Maria was not comfortable in her department. She did not look like she commanded it."
Osborne will publicly at least loathe the talk about his dominant role in the reshuffle. But his critics are warning that the Osborne share price can occasionally rise too high. "Let's not forget George was responsible for promoting Chloe Smith," one Tory said of the former Treasury minister whose frontbench career ended after she was eaten alive on Newsnight by Jeremy Paxman.
Maria Miller: minister who got on the wrong side of MPs, public and press
Speculation whether culture secretary jumped or was pushed as she finally accepts defeat after five days of pressure
Rowena Mason, political correspondent The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 20.55 BST Jump to comments ()
Maria Miller, the culture secretary, drives away from Parliament on Wednesday after resigning. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Officially, Maria Miller graciously fell on her sword to save her party from the taint of a toxic row over her expenses. In this spin-doctored version of events, the prime minister was returning from a royal banquet at Windsor Castle, when he received an unexpected call to say his culture secretary was resigning. He was saddened by her decision, having backed her to the hilt, but very much hoped that she would return to government before long. Westminster therefore awoke to find the culture secretary's departure was a done deal, after five days of public fury about Miller wrongly claiming mortgage expenses and then offering a churlish apology to parliament for obstructing the inquiry. Although a string of senior Tories had undermined Cameron's support for Miller by calling for her head, the prime minister took to the dispatch box for his weekly questions at lunchtime to argue he had done a strong thing to stand by his culture secretary. The main fault was with the system, he argued. This meant the public and press
to stand by his culture secretary. The main fault was with the system, he argued. This meant the public and press still furious from the expenses scandal of 2009 were unable to accept Miller's attempts to say sorry and repay 5,800. "The biggest lesson I have learned is that that anger is still very raw and needs to be acted on," he said. It did not take long for the No 10 account to start unravelling. For a start, there were rumours of a mysterious emissary despatched by Downing Street to let Miller know her time was up. Soon, Tory MPs who had clamoured for her departure were speculating whether the assassin could have been Ed Llewellyn, Cameron's chief of staff, Sir George Young, the chief whip, or one of Miller's closest cabinet colleagues, Jeremy Hunt. George Osborne certainly saw his key allies promoted in the subsequent reshuffle, but he could not have personally wielded any knife while on a trade trip to Brazil. Tongues were still wagging that the chancellor and his friends were less than sorry to see Miller go, despite protestations from his aides that he was fully supportive. Tackled on the anonymous sacker, Cameron simply sidestepped the issue. "My right honorable friend has set out the reasons for her resignation in a letter today, and I think people should accept that," he said. His aides also stonewalled. Had anyone given Miller the sack? "Miller wrote her letter this morning and the PM said she took her own decision." Had anyone from No 10 given her some friendly advice beforehand? "She wrote a letter this morning and took her own decision." Did any member of the government go to Miller's house last night? "I don't know every single conversation she had yesterday, but the PM was very clear: she took her own decision." The idea that Miller knew her exit was on the cards was also undermined by events the night before, when she appeared to launch a fightback. She published a fuller apology, speaking of her "devastation", in the Basingstoke Gazette. Her parliamentary aide, Mary Macleod, then toured the television studios and sent texts to MPs pleading that "Maria would really appreciate your support". This, however, did not work in the culture secretary's favour after the parliamentary private secretary argued the press were pursuing the story in revenge for Miller's role in press regulation and gay marriage. Although Miller's camp said Macleod had been acting independently, it reflected badly on the embattled minister that she had either authorised the doomed defence or allowed her aide to go rogue. A couple of other interventions were crucial. Lady Boothroyd, a former speaker of the House of Commons, said Miller was bringing parliament into disrepute, while Andrew Lansley, the leader of the house, squirmed on Newsnight when asked whether her conduct passed the "smell test". Much more significant was the incremental sense that Tory MPs were turning against Miller never a notably popular member of the cabinet - including the influential 1922 committee of backbenchers. At least four Conservatives broke rank to cast doubt on her, while employment minister Esther McVey suggested the apology could have been better. Others were more direct: Lord Tebbit, a former Tory chairman, railed against the "spectre of Mrs Miller flaunting her twisting and bending of the rules for personal gain on a vastly greater scale" than benefit cheats. Another powerful factor was the anger of the public that swelled up about the audacity of Miller's claims. A ComRes poll for ITV on Tuesday night found eight in 10 people thought Miller should have resigned immediately. Almost two-thirds thought Cameron handled the affair badly. Michael Gove, the education secretary, appeared to be one of the few senior cabinet ministers to get the tone right when he concluded: "My take is that this is a judgment on the political class overall and on Westminster overall, and a warning to us to take these issues seriously." The argument from Cameron and Miller that she had been cleared of the central allegations by a committee of MPs but simply asked to repay 5,800 in accidental overpayments did not appear to wash with voters. What they omitted to mention was the conflicting opinion of the independent standards commissioner, Kathryn Hudson.
The original complaint was that Miller claimed second home expenses of between 21,000 and 25,000 a year for her five-bedroom south-east London home not only for her family, but for her parents. Meanwhile, she argued a smaller rented house in Basingstoke constituency was her main residence. Hudson found Miller should have designated the Wimbledon property as her main residence, and reduced her claims by two-sevenths to take account of her parents' presence, and had overclaimed for second home expenses by around 45,000 in total. There had been "inappropriate use of public money", Hudson found. She also criticised Miller for her obstructive and legalistic attitude. MPs on the Commons standards committee overruled all these points, except for the finding that she was not helpful enough. They also asked her to repay 5,800 she had mistakenly claimed for mortgage interest when she did not notice that interest rates were fluctuating in 2008. Many MPs from Labour and her own party felt it was a major political miscalculation for Miller not to show more contrition about this arrangement, regardless of the official judgment. Her apology to parliament was 32 seconds long, prompting criticism from Tory backbencher Mark Field that it was "unacceptably perfunctory". It was poor timing when Miller sold the taxpayer-subsidised London home for 1m earlier this year. Further questions about her judgment arose when the Daily Telegraph brought up her efforts to squash the story in the first place. In particular, her special adviser, Jo Hindley, tried to "flag up" to a reporter Miller's role in overseeing new press regulation, which was interpreted as a veiled threat. Overall, it appeared to be a textbook failure to bow out with dignity, in contrast with Mark Harper, the immigration minister who resigned without hesitation over his employment of a cleaner without the right to stay in the UK. The mood among the 2010 intake of MPs, who arrived after the expenses scandal, was yesterday summed up by Matthew Offord, a Conservative backbencher, in an email to party chairman Grant Shapps. "We are not all in this together some of us have refrained from making such claims," he said. "But the failure of Ms Miller to resign reflects badly on us all." Regardless of Miller's belated departure by her own hand or another's many MPs feel the damage to politics has already been done.
Maria Miller's resignation: cabinet loses a moderniser with inner steel

The 50-year-old's cautious and hesitating approach masked a tough character that was appreciated by David Cameron
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 09.57 BST
Maria Miller is seen as a staunch moderniser within the Conservative party. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
With a somewhat pedestrian manner and, little of the hinterland of a Michael Gove, Maria Miller often came across as one of the less remarkable members of the cabinet. The cautious and sometimes hesitating approach masked a tough inner steel that was noted and appreciated by David Cameron, who marked Miller out as cabinet material long before the Tories entered government. One veteran Tory noted Miller's toughness when she took charge of the response to the Leveson report in the autumn of 2012 shortly after her appointment to the cabinet as culture secretary. The Tory was struck by the way Miller took charge of a meeting with national newspaper editors in Downing Street, which was kicked off by the prime minister. "People have got Maria wrong," the Tory said. "She's very tough. She wasn't in the slightest bit intimidated by all the editors." Gove, who was elected to parliament on the same day as Miller in 2005, hailed her role in introducing gay marriage. He told the Today programme: "As minister for disabilities, as minister for women and as secretary of state for culture, media and sport, she worked incredibly hard as part of a team. She has done some brave and right things, not least making sure equal marriage is now on the statute book." Miller, a former advertising executive and LSE graduate, joined a strong intake of modernising Tory MPs in 2005 led by Gove and Jeremy Hunt. She likes to joke that her victory marked a Tory "gain" because the safe Conservative seat of Basingstoke was technically held by the Democratic Unionist Party after Andrew Hunter, her predecessor, defected to Ian Paisley's party. Miller was a middling member of the group of six Tory cabinet members elected in 2005, many of whom joined the Green Chip group established by Gove. The phrase, embodying the spirit of Cameron's latter Vote Blue Go Green slogan, was a modern version of the Blue Chip group established by the leading members of the 1979 Tory intake. Miller, 50, is a staunch moderniser in the mould of Gove and Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, who have stood by her in recent days. But she lacked the star quality of Gove and was not in the same league as Hunt, who is regarded in No 10 as a peerless administrator. In opposition, she worked with Gove in her role as shadow families minister when he started to draw up his school reforms. But she came to public prominence in government as minister for disabled people, which meant she appeared regularly on television during the preparations for the 2012 Paralympic Games. In the middle of the games in early September 2012, Miller was promoted to the cabinet as culture secretary, giving her overall responsibility for the Paralympics and the legacy of the Olympic Games, which had ended weeks earlier. But the appointment handed Miller two of the most politically sensitive hot potatoes of the parliament implementing the Leveson press reforms and introducing gay marriage.
Miller knew she would face a rough ride from the press and from traditionalist Tories at Westminster and beyond, who were horrified by the prospect of legalising gay marriage. But she had little idea that she had a more formidable opponent Tony Gallagher, then editor of the Daily Telegraph, who was opposed to implementing even a whiff of the Leveson reforms. A Catholic, Gallagher was also strongly opposed to gay marriage. The Telegraph, which had paid barely any attention to Miller's expenses, disclosed the details about her "second" home at Wimbledon in the middle of December 2012 a month after the publication of the Leveson report and a month before the introduction of the gay marriage bill. Miller's calm approach served her well as she piloted through the bill. But her detached manner did her no favours when she issued a peremptory apology to MPs last week after the standards committee criticised her for her conduct towards the parliamentary standards watchdog, which investigated expenses claims for her second home. The former culture secretary felt strongly she was right to fight her ground because the commissioner found no grounds for the initial complaint that she had wrongly profited by allowing her parents to live in a house subsidised, in part, by parliament. Miller felt it was right to challenge the watchdog Kathryn Hudson after she reopened an investigation to examine details of Miller's mortgage payments dating back to the years before her election to parliament. Some allies of Miller believe she relied too strongly on her husband, a lawyer, for what was described as a "lawyerly" approach. Gove gave voice to this thought when he told the Today programme, in remarks aimed at the political class as a whole: "The public are keener to see we get it. Re-litigating some of these past issues makes the public think you are being lawyerly and nit-picking and you don't get it emotionally." But Gove spoke warmly of his ally. Struggling with emotion, he said: "I find it sad...I just feel sad that someone that I like and admire personally has had to leave government."
New culture secretary is first MP from 2010 Tory intake to reach cabinet level
Maria Miller's successor boosts black and ethnic minority representation in ministerial ranks
Nicholas Watt and Patrick Wintour The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 23.22 BST Jump to comments ()
Sajid Javid, arrives in Downing Street to be confirmed as culture secretary. Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images
Sajid Javid, the Muslim son of a bus driver, was marked out as one of the most significant Tories of the 2010 intake on Wednesday when he became the first of that generation of MPs to be appointed to the cabinet. In a sign of David Cameron's determination to alter the image of the Tory party, which is depicted as white and upper class, the prime minister summoned Javid from the third most senior position in the Treasury to be the new culture secretary. Javid, 44, was also appointed equalities minister as he became the first member of Britain's black and minority ethnic communities to hold this portfolio in cabinet. Nicky Morgan, who moves up one slot in the Treasury to replace Javid as financial secretary, will take the role as women's minister with a non-voting seat in the cabinet. She will report directly to Cameron on women's issues as Downing Street moved to make clear that she was not subordinate to Javid on equalities. Javid had widely been seen as the next candidate to join the cabinet after impressing George Osborne and the prime minister with his confident performance at the Treasury. Osborne appointed the former Deutsche Bank director as his parliamentary private secretary in 2011. Within a year Javid became economic secretary to the Treasury as Osborne sought to improve his operation after the "omnishambles" budget of March 2012. Javid's promotion on Wednesday is another sign of the chancellor's decisive influence in government. Javid caused some surprise at Westminster when he let it be know that, even as the most junior member of the Osborne team as his PPS, he clocked most of the pitfalls in the 2012 "omnishambles" budget which became embroiled in a row over the pasty tax and the caravan tax. These concerns were overlooked as Osborne pressed ahead with what many Tories regard as one of his greatest mistakes cutting the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p when the economy had yet to recover. The prime minister will be hoping that Javid will take command of the culture department, in contrast to Maria Miller who was seen as hesitant and a weak communicator. She was, however, greatly admired for her bravery in piloting the legislation on gay marriage. Downing Street hopes that the appointment will send an important signal about the diversity of the Conservative party. The prime minister brushes off criticisms of the dominance of Etonians in his inner circle. But senior figures know that the relentless focus on the upper middle-class background of the Tory elite is damaging. Some Tory critics of Osborne, who raised eyebrows at the rapid promotion of Javid, believe he will be an accomplished communicator. But one wondered whether he would connect with the arts world. The promotion of Javid means that the so called Exeter Group could be on course in the future to replace the Etonian Group. Javid attended Exeter university with two highly influential Tories who became lifelong friends the founder
of the ConservativeHome website, Tim Montgomerie, and the campaigning Tory MP Robert Halfon. The reshuffle means there are three women in full cabinet posts: Theresa May, the home secretary, Justine Greening, the development secretary, and Theresa Villiers, the Northern Ireland secretary. The decision to replace Miller with a man meant that the number of women with full voting rights in cabinet has fallen to 13.6%, the lowest level in 15 years, the group Counting Women in Coalition said. Downing Street moved rapidly to show it regards women's issues as important by making clear that Morgan would report directly to the prime minister. No 10 initially indicated that she would report to Javid in his role as equalities minister. Andrea Leadsom, 50, the former BZW director, replaced Morgan as economic secretary to the Treasury. Leadsom is another respected member of the 2010 intake. But she fell foul of Osborne in 2012 when she said he should apologise to Ed Balls for attempting to link him to the Libor-fixing scandal.
Miller's tale fails to grind down David Cameron at despatch box

Ed Miliband avoids sifting through expenses controversy for a bit of mild PM kneading following culture secretary's resignation
John Crace The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 17.26 BST Jump to comments ()
Welcomed in: the new culture secretary, Sajid Javid, arrives at Downing Street on Wednesday. Photograph: Luke Macgregor/Reuters
The sound of ranks closing had begun even before David Cameron entered the chamber to loud cheers from his party. When the new culture secretary, Sajid Javid, had taken his place in the Commons minutes earlier, ministers and
backbenchers had been queuing up to offer their congratulations on his promotion. Maria who? For a man who must have spent the past couple of days smashing his head against a wall why oh why didn't I just get someone to coach Maria in the art of saying sorry as if she meant it? Why oh why didn't I just make her resign at the weekend? Cameron looked unbruised and unbothered at the prospect of having Maria Miller's entrails picked over. Partly that's because he's a slightly better actor than he's often given credit for: he's learned to stop his voice becoming too squeaky when flustered, and if he could exercise similar control over the speed with which his face reddens, he would have the makings of a half decent poker player. But it's mainly because he no longer fears his opposite number. Even if he were to have illegally invaded another country, bankrupted Britain and pocketed 50,000 in dodgy expense claims, Cameron probably reckons he has a better than even chance of coming out unscathed in any exchanges with Ed Miliband at the dispatch box. The Labour leader opened the last prime minister's questions before the Easter recess by keeping the focus on Cameron's mishandling of the situation rather than on the issues themselves a sensible move as Labour's own record on expenses is less than squeaky clean. In his reply to Miller's resignation letter, the prime minister had said the culture secretary had not done anything wrong, Miliband pointed out reasonably enough. "So it will be completely unclear to the country why the former culture secretary is not still in her job." Cameron sidestepped this. First he claimed what sounded very much like noblesse oblige "if a woman gives you her word she is innocent, a gentlemen is bound to accept it" was a loose translation and then countered with a question of his own. Why had the Labour leader not called for her resignation earlier in the week? "He seems to be the first leader of the opposition, probably in history, to come to this house and make his first suggestion that someone should resign after they have already resigned." The real answer was that it would have suited Labour best if the Miller's tale had been allowed to drag on for several more weeks, and her resignation had actually come as a huge disappointment. So Miliband was forced to a quick ad lib. "Now I have heard everything it is my job to fire members of his cabinet!" he said. Not bad, but not enough to raise even a slight flush to the prime ministerial cheeks. From there on in, Cameron was home free, taunting Labour that it was "joining the political bandwagon after the circus has left" while Miliband scratched himself andtried to look as if he hadn't turned what should have been a comfortable away win into a disappointing draw. The session ended with Cameron saying he might read Nadine Dorries' new novel on holiday. It was the closest parliament got to an admission of guilt.
UK news
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University students will be repaying loans into their 50s, say researchers Yvette Cooper: Exploitation of migrant workers will be crime under Labour Peaches Geldof initial postmortem proves 'inconclusive' Colin Kazim-Richards guilty of homophobic gesture at Brighton fans Inside the mummies' embalmed bodies courtesy of a hospital CT scanner Man who twice tried to kill gravely ill friend as act of mercy jailed High court overturns home secretary's freeze on payments for asylum seekers Record 26,000 reward for conviction as raptor deaths in Highlands rise to 19 HS2 homeowners offered improved compensation Science community dismayed at decision to axe lab work from A-levels Academy school in Birmingham is victim of 'witch-hunt', says governor Michael Nyman's Hillsborough tragedy tribute piece reworked for families Firework contractor had no worries over smoke on night of M5 pile-up Welsh NHS has worst waiting times in UK for life-saving diagnostic tests Police officers could face criminal charges over death of London musician Two early Peter Sellers films to get first showing at film festival Tamiflu: Britain spent 424m on a drug that shortens bouts but is no cure Britain's first cloned dog is born and described as 'ridiculous waste of money' Tory plan to limit onshore windfarms will raise energy bills, engineers warn Dylan Thomas centre awarded nearly 1m in poet's centenary year Trainee solicitor jailed after starving dog to death Stuart Parkin awarded prestigious Millennium technology prize Top-secret MI5 files released online to mark first world war centenary
University students will be repaying loans into their 50s, say researchers
Government urged to rethink fees and loans system after study finds average student will graduate more than 44,000 in debt
Richard Adams, education editor The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014
A middle-earning graduate will still owe about 32,000 by the time they reach 50, researchers found. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
A middle-earning graduate will still owe about 32,000 by the time they reach 50, researchers found. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
The majority of undergraduates now at university will be paying off their student loans well into their 40s and 50s, with three-quarters of them unable to clear the debt before it is written off after 30 years, according to an analysis published on Thursday. The report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Sutton Trust estimates that the average student will leave university more than 44,000 in debt. A middle-earning graduate will still owe about 39,000 at today's prices by the age of 40, and will still owe about 32,000 by 50. "For many professionals, such as teachers, this will mean having to find up to 2,500 extra a year to service loans at a time when their children are still at school and family and mortgage costs are at their most pressing," said Conor Ryan, the Sutton Trust's director of research. "We believe that the government needs to look again at fees, loans and teaching grants to get a fairer balance." In cash terms, the researchers estimate that graduates will now repay a total of 66,897 on average, equating in real terms to 35,446 on average in 2014 prices. Claire Crawford of the University of Warwick, one of the report's authors, said a perverse effect of the repayment scheme was that graduates who do less well in the labour market will end up paying back less than before, while middle and high earners will pay back much more. "The new higher education finance system will leave graduates with much more debt than before. But the effects of the changes will be quite different for different people and at different parts of their lives," she said. Although large numbers will repay more than they borrowed, most will not return their loan in full, the study says. "We estimate 73% will have some debt written off at the end of the repayment period, compared with 32% under the old system. The average amount written off will be substantial about 30,000." Liam Byrne, the shadow universities minister, said the student finance system had lost fiscal credibility. "Degree costs have trebled yet costs to the taxpayer have gone up, and now we learn our children and grandchildren will be paying off their student debt well into their 50s," he said. The report follows forecasts that 45% of the 10bn in loans made each year will have to be written off. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills defended the system and said more students from disadvantaged backgrounds were going to university. "Most students will not pay up front to study. There are more loans, grants and bursaries for those from poorer families. Our universities are now well funded for the long term," a spokeswoman said. Meanwhile, data published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England on Wednesday showed a steep decline in the number of students studying part-time at universities since the new fee regime was introduced. The figures showed that the number of new part-time undergraduates fell by 93,000 between 2010-11 and 2012-13, while there were 23,000 fewer part-time postgraduate entrants. The figures also showed a 22% fall in the number of undergraduates studying modern foreign languages between 2010 and 2012. "It's important to remember the difficult choice that participating in higher education entails. Students are forced to take on a huge burden of debt," said Rachel Wenstone of the National Union of Students.
Yvette Cooper: Exploitation of migrant workers will be crime under Labour

Shadow home secretary proposes stronger laws so business know where they stand
Patrick Wintour The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014
Yvette Cooper will claim the Conservative strategy of promising to get net immigration down below 10,000 has failed. Photograph: Chris Ison/PA
The exploitation of migrant workers in an attempt to undercut wages would be made a criminal offence under a Labour government, the shadow home secretary will say. Yvette Cooper will also propose minimum custodial sentences for wholesale employment of illegal immigrants. The measures are designed to reassure British workers that immigrant labour will not undercut their wages but the specific proposal is legally fraught since employers will be concerned that it could give the state greater control over the setting of wages in the private sector above and beyond the minimum wage. The current law on forced labour requires an element of coercion or deception between the defendant and the victim, such as unwarranted and perhaps unexplained deductions from wages, poor accommodation provided by the employer, the employer not paying the full tax or national insurance contributions for the worker. In a speech Cooper will say: "We want clearer, stronger laws so businesses know where they stand and responsible employers know they won't be undercut, but so that it is clear that employers who use pressure or force to exploit people and get round employment law are committing a crime. The truth is that for too long exploitation in the labour market a cause and effect of low-skilled immigration and illegal immigration has gone unchecked."
She will also commit to introduce proper exit checks as part of UK border policy as well as the taking of fingerprints of illegal immigrants caught at Calais to help further action if they try to re-enter the UK. She will also unveil an independent review by former chief constable and security expert Peter Neyroud into UK border controls. For the past year Cooper has tried to chart a distinctive path on immigration by arguing that part of the pull of overseas workers for employers is cheap wages that undercut the bargaining power of indigenous workers. Labour knows that immigration welfare and the economy are the three issues that are still hitting Labour in the polls . Cooper will also admit that "the last Labour government got things wrong on immigration. We should have had transitional controls in place for eastern Europe. The figures were wrong, and migration was far greater than we expected. As a result ,the pace and scale of immigration was too great and it is right to bring it down. And we should have recognised more quickly the impact on low skilled jobs, and the worries people had." But she will claim the Conservative approach of promising to get net immigration down below100,000 has patently failed, leaving the UK in the "worst of all worlds". She will implicitly attack the approach of UKIP, saying simplistic solutions ramp up the rhetoric, raise false promises and expectations, undermine trust and confidence, and create division and hostility. "It pretends we can build a wall and hide behind it, scared to look out." She will promise ahead of the European elections: " We won't engage in an arms race of rhetoric, and we reject the divisive politics of the right that promotes hostility instead of building consensus ."
Peaches Geldof initial postmortem proves 'inconclusive'

Toxicology analysis, which could take several weeks, is now under way on the body of 25-year-old who died suddenly on Monday
Robert Booth theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 13.21 BST
Peaches Geldof. In a piece in Mother and Baby magazine which went on sale on Wednesday, she described herself as 'happier than ever'. Photograph: Ian West/PA
The initial stages of a postmortem on the body of Peaches Geldof, 25, who died suddenly on Monday at her home, have proved "inconclusive", Kent police said on Wednesday. Toxicology analysis, which could take several weeks, is now under way after Peter Graham Jerreat, a Home Office forensic pathologist, began the examination at Darent Valley hospital in Dartford. Detectives have been treating the sudden death of the model and journalist as "unexplained" but "non-suspicious". They have declined to confirm or deny reports that no drugs or suicide note were found at the home. Geldof was a married mother of two boys approaching their first and second birthdays. In a piece in Mother and Baby magazine which went on sale on Wednesday, she wrote that she had found "bliss" in family life and described herself as "happier than ever". Her father, the Live Aid founder Bob Geldof, had described how his family was "beyond pain". Kent police said in a statement on Wednesday: "A postmortem examination held on Wednesday 9 April following the death of Peaches Geldof has proved inconclusive pending the result of toxicology analysis. Officers were called to the 25-year-old's home in Fairseat Lane, Wrotham, at 1.35pm on Monday, 7 April 2014. Peaches was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death in order to compile a report for the coroner. The result of a toxicology report can take several weeks."
Colin Kazim-Richards guilty of homophobic gesture at Brighton fans

Former Blackburn striker fined 750 plus costs over offence Incident occured during Championship match last year
Alexandra Topping theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 16.48 BST
Colin Kazim-Richards arriving at Brighton magistrates court where he was found guilty of making a homophobic gesture towards Brighton fans. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA
The former Premier League footballer Colin Kazim-Richards was found guilty in a landmark case on Wednesday of making an "utterly disgusting" homophobic gesture at Brighton and Hove Albion fans during a football match last year. The former Blackburn Rovers player, 27, denied the charge and claimed he was bantering with the crowd. But he was convicted of making the gesture to fans of his former club on several occasions during a Championship match on 12 February last year. He was fined 750 and ordered to pay costs which amounted to 1,445. In the first trial of a footballer accused of making a homophobic gesture, Brighton magistrates court heard from four witnesses who said Kazim-Richards had made a masturbatory gesture next to his backside after receiving abuse from the home crowd. Darren Hastings, a season ticket holder and lifelong fan of Brighton and Hove Albion, said a friend had alerted him to the gesture Kazim-Richards allegedly made. "He leaned behind him and pretended to insert something in his bottom," he told the court. "I was utterly disgusted, I am a season ticket holder I understand football players receive a number of gestures or comments from fans but I was clearly shocked to see a football player perform a gesture like that on a field of play." Retired police detective Michael Beard, also a season ticket holder at the Amex Community Stadium, said KazimRichards had been singled out for abuse. He described the footballer putting his hand behind his back, bending his knees and simulating pushing something towards his behind, while slightly thrusting his pelvis forward. "I thought it was a clear homophobic gesture in reaction to the chants of the crowd," he said. Asked by Simon Allen, prosecuting, what he thought of the gesture he said: "I was saddened by it actually." Stan Reiz, defending. said the footballer had been subjected to chants including "you fat bastard" and "you are fat, and you know you are". He questioned witnesses about homophobic chanting at Brighton and, in his closing speech suggested that the gesture was a matter of perception with Brighton fans "sensitive" to perceived homophobia because of abuse they had previously received from visiting fans. Kazim-Richards admitted making a "wanker gesture", but said it was behind his back so the referee did not see him and it was only "banter" with fans. "They were doing it to me and I was giving it back to them," he said. He denied that the gestures were intended to be homophobic or offensive. Kazim-Richards, who now plays for Turkish club Bursaspor after stints at Sheffield United, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, described being singled out for abuse by one woman with a piercing voice. "I was getting called, excuse my language, you fat bastard," he said, but added that he was "not at all offended". In the latter part of the game he had made two gestures, he said. "I was interacting with the fans, doing basically what they were doing to me, having a bit of banter back." Asked if he had made a homophobic gesture, he said: "At no time did I do as the witnesses described." The court heard that Kazim-Richards had been an ambassador for the FA's Kick It Out campaign that seeks to eliminate discrimination in football. "I don't agree with discrimination in any form or shape," he said. Sentencing Kazim-Richards, magistrate Darren Reynolds said that each of the witnesses had been very sure that the
gesture made was both homophobic and offensive, and had maintained that position despite "robust" crossexamination. "Each was clear about what they saw and we accept their account," he said. "We do not accept your account ... You used insulting behaviour in a situation that someone was likely to find offensive." Outside the court, Darren Balkham, football liaison officer for Sussex police, said it was a historic case which would warn others that homophobic abuse on the pitch or on the terraces would not be tolerated. "Brighton fans have been subjected to this abuse over many years," he said. "We are where we were 20 years ago with racism. Racism has largely been dealt with but homophobia still in some places seems to be a grey area. You wouldn't do it in an office, why do it on the terraces?" Balkham added that footballers who made similar gestures would be prosecuted. "We are taking steps forward but society, schools and parents also have to say because someone is different doesn't mean that is bad ... We want to make sure football is inclusive for all."
Inside the mummies' embalmed bodies courtesy of a hospital CT scanner

The British Museum's next big exhibition reveals secrets that experts have been able only to guess at until now
Mark Brown, arts correspondent theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 15.57 BST Jump to comments ()
A mummy undergoes a CT scan at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Scientists scanned eight mummies, turning the data into 3D images. Photograph: British Museum/PA
Spare a thought for the unknown adult mummified in a Theban necropolis more than 2,500 years go. Not only did he suffer the most excruciating, possibly life-threatening dental abscesses, but the embalmer botched the afterlife
suffer the most excruciating, possibly life-threatening dental abscesses, but the embalmer botched the afterlife preparation, leaving bits of brain in his skull as well as a broken section of the spatula he was using to remove it. Then there's Tamut, a temple singer with enough calcified plaque in her arteries to risk a heart attack or stroke. Tamut and the unknown adult male are two of the British Museum's 120 Egyptian and Sudanese mummies. Experts now know far more about them because of new "electronic excavations" using the latest generation of medical CT scanners. The museum on Wednesday revealed the fresh insights as it announced details of an interactive exhibition, Ancient lives, new discoveries, which will be 10 for adults and free for those particularly fascinated by brains being scooped out of skulls through the nose the under 16s. John Taylor, the museum's mummy curator, said the new techniques had allowed researchers to discover much more about life and death along the Nile more than 5,000 years ago. The museum has not unwrapped a body in 200 years. "We don't want to disturb what is inside these bodies," said Taylor. "They are incredibly fragile, and they are also human beings who actually lived." The museum has been x-raying mummies since the 1960s but, as the technology has improved, the results have dramatically improved. The latest finds have been uncovered thanks to the newest CT scanners which are used in hospitals, allowing researchers to discover more about age, lifestyle, health and what the people actually looked like. "It allows us to take a journey beneath the wrappings, beneath the skin to see what is inside," said Taylor. There will be eight mummies in the show. Details of two were revealed yesterday. The unknown Thebes man, mummified around 600BC, is particularly interesting because of the bits of tool that were left in the poor man's skull. Daniel Antoine, who is responsible for the museum's human remains collection, said embalmers had "great skill and knowledge of human anatomy", managing to extract a brain through a hole no bigger than 2cm by 2cm. In this case, something went wrong. The embalmer would probably have used a metal rod to break the bones at the top of the nose to then extract the brain with a wooden or perhaps reedy spatula it is this that somehow broke and remains in the man's skull along with brain. Antoine said they also found five dental abscesses which "would have caused significant discomfort and may have been a cause of death" because if the infection had got in to his bloodstream it could have caused septicaemia. Tamut lived in Thebes around 900BC and had a top job as a temple singer, or chantress, of the god Amun. Because of her high status she was given the best possible mummification. Researchers have scanned and made 3D copies of amulets that adorned her body. They have also detected a pair of small metal plates which cover the incision that the embalmer would have made in her left abdomen to drain out her internal organs. They have on them carvings of a protective eye, presumably to help heal the wound magically. Tamut went in to the latest dual-energy CT scanner at the Royal Brompton hospital, which allowed researchers to make images of her blood vessels, so visitors will be able to see calcified plaque in her femur artery, for which people would take statins today. Antoine said: "In her case it is a large deposit and, if a fragment had detached and moved away into the heart, she would have had a heart attack and if in the brain, she would have had a stroke. It is remarkable to be able to see plaque in such clarity."
The eight mummies in the show cover a period of 4,000 years, from 3,500BC to AD700. Taylor hopes even more secrets will be revealed in years to come, including being able to read hieroglyphic inscriptions on objects inside the mummies. "It is not by any means the end of the road because the technology is moving on rapidly all the time, and we're hoping in the next few years we'll be able to continue scanning more mummies and revealing more remarkable facts." Ancient lives, new discoveries is at the British Museum 22 May-30 November, sponsored by Julius Baer
Man who twice tried to kill gravely ill friend as act of mercy jailed
High court judge jails Wayne Norman for 20 months but accepts he found it difficult to see friend Michael Bryan suffering
Press Association The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.29 BST
Mrs Justice Thirlwall told Wayne Norman that what he did was wrong and in her judgment she must send him to prison. Photograph: Anthony Brown/Alamy
A man who twice tried to kill his gravely ill friend as an act of mercy has been jailed for 20 months by a high court judge. Mrs Justice Thirlwall accepted that Wayne Norman had found it difficult to see Michael Bryan, 61, suffering during the final days of his life. Nottingham crown court was told Norman could not go through with an initial attempt to smother his friend of more
than 35 years with a cushion after he saw him waving his arms. The 57-year-old from Rugby, Warwickshire, also aborted a second attempt to suffocate Bryan using insulating tape. The crown and the defence accepted that Norman's actions had not harmed Bryan, who died days later of liver failure caused by hepatitis. Norman, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder at a hearing at Warwick crown court in January, was told he must serve half of the 20-month sentence in custody. The judge told Norman: "I accept that you genuinely believed that to kill a friend was an act of mercy, and I accept that he had asked you on a previous occasion to do so. Certainly I accept that you found it difficult to see him suffering in the way that he was." But she added: "What you did was wrong. As you knew, it was against the law. Having reflected upon the whole of the circumstances in the case, in my judgment I must send you to prison immediately."
High court overturns home secretary's freeze on payments for asylum seekers
Charities welcome landmark verdict after judge rules Theresa May acted unlawfully and irrationally
Home secretary Theresa May was ordered to reach a new decision on financial support for asylum seekers by August. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Barcroft Media
The home secretary has acted unlawfully and irrationally by freezing the level of government financial support for
The home secretary has acted unlawfully and irrationally by freezing the level of government financial support for asylum seekers, the high court has ruled. A judge quashed Theresa May's decision not to increase cash payments for essential living needs while asylum applications are processed, a period when applicants are not allowed to work. Mr Justice Popplewell, sitting in London, ruled: "In my judgment, the information used by the secretary of state to set the rate of asylum support was simply insufficient to reach a rational decision to freeze rates." In what charities working with asylum seekers welcomed as "a landmark ruling", he ordered May to reach a new decision by 9 August, taking into account the guidance in his judgment. A Home Office spokesman said: "We are disappointed with the court's judgment. We are looking at all options, including appealing." A statement said increasing payments could encourage spurious asylum claims, which could clog up the system and make it harder for those with a genuine fear of persecution to obtain vital support. Payment levels were reviewed periodically to ensure they were adequate to meet essential living needs. A further look at payment levels about 36 a week for a single adult was planned and would take into account the court's findings and more up-to-date information, said the statement. The court heard parliament was told last June that the level of support for adult asylum seekers and their children would be frozen for the financial year 2013-14. There has been no increase since April 2011.
Record 26,000 reward for conviction as raptor deaths in Highlands rise to 19

Public boost reward as red kite and buzzard deaths build up to one of UK's biggest mass poisonings of protected birds of prey
Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.27 BST
The RSPB says public outrage will heighten demand for tough penalties against killers of protected birds, such as the buzzard, above. Photograph: Alamy/James Leonard
Rewards totalling 26,000 have been offered by Scottish bird lovers and landowners for the conviction of the perpetrators of one of the UK's largest mass poisonings of protected birds of prey. The rare alliance between landowners and ornithologists emerged on Wednesday as Police Scotland said the total number of birds killed had increased to 19, including five buzzards and 14 red kites the largest single killing of the species in modern times. The police confirmed 12 of the birds, all found within a two-mile square area south-east of Conon Bridge, north of Inverness, had been poisoned. Tests on the remaining seven are expected to confirm the same combination of poisons. Investigators are focusing on the baits and site where the attack occurred. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said its reward, which would be paid after a successful conviction, had increased to a record total of 14,000 after a public appeal raised 4,000 and an anonymous donor doubled the charity's initial 5,000 reward to 10,000 last week. Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotland's head of species and land management, said: "The public outrage over the deaths of these birds is clearly reflected in the comments posted by those donating. Many more will share their anger and frustration and back the repeated calls for tough penalties against the perpetrators." The influential landowners organisation Scottish Land and Estates, which has been in repeated conflict with the RSPB in the past over raptor persecution cases on grouse moors, said their members in Ross-shire had collected 12,000 as their own reward for a conviction. Alex Matheson, an SLE member who runs the Tollie Red Kites centre on his estate at Brahan near Conon Bridge, said: "We have been appalled by these tragic and senseless bird deaths. By pulling together as a community to do all we can to help we want to send a strong and clear message that any form of wildlife crime is totally unacceptable." Jim Whiteford, regional chairman for the National Farmers Union Scotland, said: "This is a horrifying and disgusting incident ... I hope that those who are responsible are found and prosecuted." Paul Wheelhouse, Scotland's environment minister, said he had been assured the police were taking the attacks extremely seriously. "Any poisoning of our beautiful birds of prey is a shameless and selfish act, carried out by a persistent minority," he said. "It is horrific that so many birds have been found dead." The scale of the donations towards new rewards, he added "not only shows the strong attachment that people have for Scotland's wildlife, but also their desire to put an end to these abhorrent acts."
HS2 homeowners offered improved compensation

Sellers within 60 metres of high-speed rail route will get 110% of property's value, but opponents say package remains unjust
Gwyn Topham, transport correspondent The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 16.54 BST
A anti-HS2 sign in a field. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
Homeowners living closest to the proposed route of HS2 will be able to sell their property to the government on improved terms in an express purchase scheme launched on Wednesday. mollified The scheme, which will pay people living within 60 metres of the high-speed rail line 110% of their property's unblighted market value plus expenses, is part of a revised compensation and assistance package announced after a public consultation. Other measures immediately available include a "rent-back" scheme for residents who want to sell but remain in their homes. Owner-occupiers up to 120 metres from the line will be able to sell to the government at full unblighted market value up to a year after trains start running, or receive a cash payment of 10% of the value of their home if they do not want to move. A "need-to-sell" scheme, for homeowners anywhere near the route who need to move for work or health reasons but cannot find buyers due to HS2, will replace the current, narrower emergency hardship scheme. Further compensation to rural homeowners living 120 to 300 metres from the line remains under consideration, with potential payments of 7,500 to 22,500. The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said: "I completely understand the concerns and anxieties of those
living near the line and it is only right that those people are properly looked after. HS2 will transform many people's lives for the better, but where its impacts are less positive we will do all we can to provide the right help and assistance." McLoughlin rejected calls for a property bond scheme, saying it would add to uncertainty. Hilary Wharf, of the opposition group HS2 Action Alliance, said the arrangements remained "unjust". She said: "Nearly 240,000 homes within one kilometre of phase one of the proposed line are impacted by HS2 and are likely to suffer losses. Almost all are ineligible for compensation under the current policy. Today's announcement means people may well go to their graves having been locked into homes made unsaleable by HS2." While the government has moved to compensate property owners, MPs and a London council have raised concerns that the poorest people along the route and those most directly affected will be deterred from raising objections to parliament by a planned fee. After the second reading of the HS2 hybrid bill in April, a standing committee of MPs will hear objections as part of the planning process. However, each resident who wants to petition against the bill will be charged 20. Hundreds of homes around HS2's London terminus at Euston face demolition, in neighbourhoods with the highest deprivation in the Britain, according to Camden council. The council and the local MPs Frank Dobson and Glenda Jackson have written to McLoughlin calling on him to waive the fee or exempt the poorest. They said: "It is a failure of democracy and fairness that parliament should charge residents to have their voices heard on HS2 when they stand to lose their homes, jobs and livelihoods. To many people 20 is not a large sum of money, but to some of our residents, many of whom face a decade of disruption or demolition of their homes, it is the choice between paying their electricity bill for a week or buying their children a new pair of school shoes. We believe the fee discourages some of the poorest people in society from participating in our democracy."
Science community dismayed at decision to axe lab work from A-levels

Plan to end coursework in science A-levels described as 'death knell for UK science education' by Physiological Society
Richard Adams, education editor theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.53 BST
Lab experiments will now count towards a separate qualification to be taken alongside science A-levels. Photograph: Martin Shields / Alamy/Alamy
The British scientific community has reacted with dismay to the decision to axe practical lab work from science Alevels in England. Ofqual, the exam regulator in England, announced that it would go ahead with its plans to end assessed coursework counting towards A-levels in biology, physics and chemistry a move the Physiological Society, representing biologists, described as "the death knell for UK science education". Instead, lab experiments will count towards a separate qualification tentatively entitled "practical endorsed certificate for science" that will be taken alongside science A-levels, consisting of a pass or fail grade assessed by teachers. The new course will be taught from 2015, with the first of the revised exams to be taken in 2017. Glynnis Stacey, Ofqual's chief regulator, said that to ensure the new certificate was rigorous, examination boards would be required to send staff into schools to provide a "live check" that a list of 12 tests and experiments such as dissecting plants or animals were being carried out properly, and to inspect coursework. Paul Dodd from the OCR exam board said sending monitors into science classes across the country could mean extra costs. But he cautioned that details of the science inspections remained to be finalised, and that the additional costs would depend on the number and length of visits required. The Association of School and College Leaders said it objected to the plans, and argued that more effort should be put into assessing practical work within exams. "The job of the awarding bodies is to assess how the student has performed, not to judge teachers or how they are teaching," said Sue Kirkham, ASCL's curriculum and assessment specialist. "We think this is dangerous territory for the awarding bodies to be getting into." The new certificate will not be included in school league tables, and Ofqual said it was possible for a student to be awarded the highest A* grade in a science exam while still receiving a failing grade in the practical certificate. "Separating practical work assessment from the grade could de-prioritise it and the awarding organisations and Ofqual will need to closely monitor this," said Jill Stokoe, policy adviser at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. Dr Sarah Main of the Campaign for Science and Engineering said that Ofqual had persisted with the reform despite objections from across the science community, industry, universities and the government's chief scientific advisor. "The changes will not help students who we know are inspired and motivated by doing science, not just learning about science. And they will not help universities, colleges and companies who already struggle to recruit people with the practical experience they need," Main said. Ofqual's earlier research had found that assessments for practical work in science A-levels often showed few differences between pupils. It argued that 15% of marks in the new exam would require pupils to explain practical work they had done.
In other changes, Ofqual announced that A-level English would still have 20% of its marks awarded through assessment, while the computer science grade would also include 20% of assessed coursework. The Department for Education also released details of revised content for GCSEs in science, history, geography and languages, to be taught in schools from 2016, and revised A-levels in English, sciences, psychology, history, economics, business, computer science, art and design, and sociology, for 2015. In GCSE history, British history will now take up 40% of the course, compared with the current 25%. "These changes will increase the rigour of qualifications, strengthening the respect in which they are held by employers and universities alike," the education secretary, Michael Gove, said.
Academy school in Birmingham is victim of 'witch-hunt', says governor

Park View school denies allegations of extremism after inspections triggered by 'serious' complaints
Helen Pidd, northern editor The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.32 BST
Liam Byrne, the local Labour MP, said: 'When allegations are made, they need investigating.' He and other Birmingham MPs are pushing for an inquiry into extremism in city schools. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA Wire/Press Association Images
A Muslim-majority academy at the centre of a row over alleged Islamic fundamentalism in Birmingham is the victim of a "witch-hunt", a governor at the school has claimed. David Hughes, a trustee and governor at Park View school in Birmingham for more than 15 years, said the secondary was under attack "under the pretext of concerns about extremism and threats to the education of pupils".
In recent weeks the school, in the Alum Rock area of the city, has been subject to emergency investigations by the schools inspectorate Ofsted and the Education Funding Agency (EFA). According to Liam Byrne, the local Labour MP, the inspections were triggered by "serious" complaints from former and present staff. There were reportedly concerns over financial mismanagement and alleged extremist preaching during assemblies. "When allegations are made, they need investigating. We can't just ignore them," Byrne said. But Hughes, who is a Christian, accused the Ofsted team of giving "every indication of having no wish other than to condemn the school even the outstanding features." Writing in the school's spring newsletter, Hughes claimed "in all my time as a governor we have not received a single complaint about 'extremism' or 'radicalism'. If we had we would have investigated it openly and thoroughly." Lee Donaghy, an assistant head at the academy, last month complained on Twitter about the allegedly inappropriate behaviour of the inspectors. Donaghy claimed Ofsted representatives asked teachers if they were "homophobic" and made jokes about the number of male Muslim staff members. This week he also hit out at Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood, who recently claimed "there has been a serious bid to take over most of the schools in the east and south of the city." Mahmood on Tuesday joined Byrne and the eight other Birmingham MPs demanding that the education secretary, Michael Gove, launch a rapid full inquiry into claims that extremists conspired to take over city schools. Donaghy asked on Twitter: "How can somebody so utterly lacking in judgement & fairness as Khalid Mahmood justify their position in public life?" An anonymous source told the Sunday Times in March that the school had spent 70,000 for "playground loudspeakers to summon pupils to Islamic prayers". An unnamed former teacher told the Sunday Telegraph that another senior teacher at the academy "repeatedly endorsed the terrorist ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki at school assemblies". The school maintains: "The speakers were 900 and part of a PA system in the school hall, the cost of which did not exceed 10,000. The speakers are primarily used for functions rather than call to prayer." Hughes said in the newsletter that Park View "strongly denies" any endorsement of al-Awlaki. Tahir Alam, chair of governors at the school, blames the snap inspections on an unsigned letter outlining an alleged Islamist plot to "take over" secular state schools in Birmingham. Dubbed "Operation Trojan Horse", the four-page document purported to be a "how to" guide for hardline Islamists wanting to commit jihad by overthrowing headteachers at state schools in Birmingham and beyond, and replacing them with compliant leaders who would run the schools on "strict Islamic principles". It also alleged that the Park View Trust which runs Park View and two other nearby schools, Nansen primary and Golden Hillock planned to take over further schools. Byrne told constituents in a blogpost : "It is important that you know [that] the allegations which triggered the latest inspections were made by former and present staff at Park View, along with parents, and were made BEFORE the so-called Trojan Horse letter appeared in the press." Park View denies any involvement in such a plot. Police are investigating whether it is a hoax connected to an employment tribunal involving one of the schools named in the letter. Writing to parents, Hughes defended the school, which he claimed is "the most successful school of its characteristics
Writing to parents, Hughes defended the school, which he claimed is "the most successful school of its characteristics in Birmingham". "Fifteen years ago, when I first became a governor, the school was a much different place," wrote Hughes. "Less than 20% of pupils were gaining five A*-Cs and in one year just one out of 90 pupils gained a grade C or above in maths. Just one! A lot of us found that completely unacceptable and made it our business to make a concerted, sustainable change." In 2013, 75% of pupils gained five A*-C grades at GCSE including English and maths, despite 72% of pupils being eligible for free school meals. He acknowledged that there was room for improvement at Park View, just as at any other school, and that the governors had initially hoped the inspectors would provide constructive criticism. "However, I strongly suspect that is now very unlikely," he said. "The revisit of the inspection team gave every indication of having no wish other than to condemn the school even the outstanding features."
Michael Nyman's Hillsborough tragedy tribute piece reworked for families

Composer creates new version of work he was recording on day of tragedy naming it Symphony Number 11: Hillsborough
Mark Brown, arts correspondent theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 09.00 BST
Nyman hopes his piece will make 'a small but significant' contribution to healing process of families. Photograph: Camilla Morandi / Rex Features
A newly arranged work by Michael Nyman offered as a memorial to those killed in the Hillsborough tragedy will be
performed at the opening weekend of the eighth Liverpool Biennial. Nyman has created a new version of the work he was recording on the afternoon of the tragedy in April 1989. It was called Memorial, although most people will recognise it as the distinctive music from Peter Greenaway's film The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Symphony Number 11: Hillsborough will be performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Liverpool-born mezzo soprano Kathryn Rudge singing the names of the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives. Nyman, who celebrated his 70th birthday last month, said he hoped it would make "a small but significant" contribution to the healing process still necessary for the families of those who died. The work was welcomed by Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool. "We will never forget those who lost their lives at Hillsborough, or the impact it had on their bereaved families," he said. "The anger, pain and sorrow they have felt for the past 25 years is shared by everyone in Liverpool, and by thousands of others across Merseyside, across the country and around the world. "Memorials are a symbol of our solidarity and support for the families, and Nyman's specially commissioned piece of music will be a moving and unforgettable tribute. It is certain to be a highlight of this year's Biennial and a fantastic example of art being used to help shine a light on the dignity and bravery of those who have strived for justice for the 96." The piece will be performed at Liverpool cathedral on 5 July. The Very Rev Dr Pete Wilcox, dean of Liverpool, said it would be a fitting venue. "My hope is that the magnificent acoustic and a sense of God's presence will enable this world-renowned composer's piece to offer us all space to reflect and find a further measure of healing, as the 96, the survivors and their families are remembered. It is poignant that the performance will have the fresh inquests as a backdrop." The performance was announced as part of a wider programme of events taking place across the city between 5 July and 26 October. The main visual arts element will be an exhibition called A Needle Walks into a Haystack, taking place across seven venues including the Trade Union Centre on Hardman Street and the city's galleries. At the Bluecoat, there will be an exhibition devoted to the 19th-century artist James McNeill Whistler, including a recreation of a work that was commissioned by the Liverpool ship owner FR Leyland Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room.
Firework contractor had no worries over smoke on night of M5 pile-up
Seven people died and 51 were injured during series of crashes on motorway just 60 metres from fireworks display
The M5 motorway close to Taunton in Somerset after the accident on 4 November 2011. Photograph: Chris Ison/PA
The man in charge of a firework display on the night of one of Britain's worst motorway pile-ups said he did not consider smoke to be a danger to motorists, an inquest has heard. Firework contractor Geoffrey Counsell insisted that smoke did not drift onto the M5 in Somerset from his display at a nearby rugby club on the evening of 4 November 2011. Counsell said he had completed courses run by both the British Pyrotechnic Association and Skyburst and no one had ever warned him that smoke created by a firework display could cause traffic disruption. Seven people died and 51 were injured during a series of crashes between 34 vehicles on the southbound carriageway of the motorway near junction 25. Motorists have told of entering a wall of thick fog - described by some as a "white curtain", "emulsion" or "custard being poured from a jug" - and were unable to prevent multiple collisions. Other drivers have described smelling smoke or gunpowder on the motorway. Grandparents Anthony, 73, and Pamela Adams,70, from Newport, South Wales; father and daughter Michael, 67, and Maggie Barton, 30, from Windsor, Berkshire; battle re-enactor Malcolm Beacham, 46, from Woolavington, Somerset; and lorry drivers Terry Brice, 55, from South Gloucestershire, and Kye Thomas, 38, from Cornwall all died. The collision happened at 8.20pm just five minutes after Counsell's 3,000 fireworks display concluded just 60 metres (200ft) away at Taunton rugby club. The 51-year-old, who works as a lorry driver, was speaking publicly for the first time since he was cleared last year of breaching health and safety laws on the night of the accident. He told the inquest at Shire Hall in Taunton that the build-up of smoke during the display did not give him any concern and there was "no reason whatsoever" to consider smoke as a potential hazard. "It is not something anybody has been trained in before or told to look for," he said. "There has never been any mention of it (in literature or training courses)."
Referring to the weather, Counsell said: "I was not concerned. I would say about a quarter of an hour before we started the display my fiance said to me 'look over there, you can't see the motorway it's black'. "But by the time we started the display it was clear and I could see the lights of the cars." Counsell, who lives at Thornfalcon, near Taunton, said he arrived at the rugby club at 3.30pm to set up the display and there was a breeze and fog was coming and going all afternoon. "One minute it was really thick fog and you could barely see the stand at the other side then 10 minutes later it was clear again. It was like that all afternoon," he said. Counsell insisted there was nothing unusual about the weather that night. "Obviously there was going to be smoke because there were fireworks but nothing that stood out to me," he said. Counsell, who was positioned between the display and the motorway, insisted no firework smoke passed him and that he could see the motorway at "virtually all times". "The only concern I had that the smoke was to hang around or drift towards the audience they might not have a good view of the display," he said. "I had no concerns otherwise. There was fog and mist around - it was never going to be a crystal clear night." Counsell said that both his 23-year-old daughter and his fiance were at the display and had they had any concerns about the smoke drifting they would have rung him. He said that he did not become aware of the crash until he was clearing up after the display. "When I sat in the back of my trailer, that's when we heard the first explosion," he said. "We had no idea what it was at the time. When we were aware what had happened, we could see lights that were hazy and could hear the bangs."
Welsh NHS has worst waiting times in UK for life-saving diagnostic tests
Official figures show 42% of patients in Wales wait six weeks to be seen compared with just 1.8% in England
Press Association theguardian.com, Thursday 10 April 2014
The Welsh Labour government has come under attack for its NHS record including ambulance waiting times and hospital death rates. Photograph: Photofusion/Rex Features
Wales has the worst UK waiting times record for life-saving tests, according to the latest figures. Government statistics show that around 42% of people in Wales waiting for diagnostic tests had to wait more than six weeks before they were finally seen. This compares with 1.8% in England and 3.8% in Scotland. The statistics also show that 16.6% of patients on the Welsh diagnostic waiting list wait longer than 12 weeks. In Northern Ireland, 15.5% on the list had to wait more than nine weeks. Doctors have described the statistics as incredibly worrying and further proof that the crisis in the NHS in Wales is worsening. A Carmarthen-based doctor, Dewi Evans, who has been working in the health service since 1971, said early diagnostic tests were important because they could be a matter of life and death. The checks such as MRI scans and cystoscopies can be used by medics to check whether a person has cancer. Evans said: "These investigations are the mainstay of early and accurate diagnoses of life-threatening conditions. In terms of significance, these are the most disturbing NHS statistics I have seen in many years." The Labour administration in Cardiff Bay has come under repeated attack for its NHS record since it returned to power in the Welsh assembly in 2011. As well as ambulance waiting times repeatedly failing to meet key targets, calls have been made for a public enquiry into death rates at Welsh hospitals. But the nationalist party Plaid Cymru said the situation was getting worse, after it collated official figures on diagnostic waiting times. The Welsh government said claims made by Plaid were a "complete distortion". A spokeswoman said: "Despite the pressures on the NHS, access to diagnostic tests is improving. "However, the health minister, Mark Drakeford, acknowledges waits are still too long in some cases, and last month announced 5m of new funding to help the NHS reduce waiting times for those scans and tests where there are particular challenges. "Speeding up access to these tests will mean that patients get the results faster and can start their full treatment sooner. We expect waiting times for diagnostic tests to come down."
Police officers could face criminal charges over death of London musician
Police constable and sergeant investigated after arrest on suspicion of perjury and perverting justice in case of Sean Rigg
Press Association theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 11.51 BST
Evidence given at Sean Rigg's inquest has been passed on to prosecutors to consider whether two officers should be brought to court. Photograph: Hickman & Rose Solicitors/PA
Two police officers could face criminal charges over evidence given at the inquest into the death of musician Sean Rigg, a watchdog has announced. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it has passed information to prosecutors to consider whether two serving Metropolitan police officers should be brought to court. A sergeant and a police constable were arrested in March last year on suspicion of perjury and perverting the course of justice. The watchdog said: "The IPCC has concluded its investigation into the evidence given at the inquest of Sean Rigg and has decided to provide its investigation report to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for consideration as to whether criminal charges should be brought against two serving Metropolitan police service officers." A third officer, who has retired, was also arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice but his actions have not been referred to the CPS. Rigg, who had schizophrenia, died in August 2008 while he was being held at Brixton police station, and an inquest later found that the officers involved had used "unsuitable force".
They had arrested the 40-year-old for attacking passers-by and police officers in Balham, south London. At the inquest into his death in 2012, evidence given about the actions of one officer on the night Rigg died was called into question by CCTV footage from the police station. This prompted an investigation by the IPCC, which has led to evidence being passed to the CPS. Separately, the IPCC probe into Rigg's death was condemned by his family as "extremely poor and ineffective", and last year a review of the investigation found that it should be looked at again. This included the conduct of the police officers involved in the arrest, restraint and detention of Mr Rigg, in relation to possible breaches of their duty of care and potential misconduct proceedings. It also recommended that the claims of four officers that they did not know Rigg was mentally ill when he had been acting strangely and was known to police, and a failure to run background checks when they found his passport, should be re-examined.
Two early Peter Sellers films to get first showing at film festival
Dearth of a Salesman and Insomnia is Good for You were not seen for almost 60 years and thought to be permanently lost
The 'lost' Peter Sellers films will be played at the opening gala of the Southend Film Festival. Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar/Cine Text
Two early Peter Sellers films that have not been seen for almost 60 years are to get their first showing at a film
Two early Peter Sellers films that have not been seen for almost 60 years are to get their first showing at a film festival. Dearth of a Salesman and Insomnia is Good for You had been thought permanently lost until rolls of celluloid were uncovered in a skip outside the offices of Park Lane Films. Film buff Robert Farrow had kept the reels among 21 film cans retrieved from the skip since 1996 when he finally opened them and discovered the lost gems. After undergoing a hi-tech scan the films are now ready to be shown and will be played at the opening gala of the Southend Film Festival in Essex on 1 May. Members of the Sellers family are expected to attend the event. The festival organiser, Paul Cotgrove, set up Dimwittie Films, named after Sellers' character in the rediscovered films, with Farrow and Stephen Podgorney in order to bring them to a wider audience. They hope to be able to fund a full restoration at a later date. Cotgrove said: "Due to Peter Sellers' iconic status with film fans around the world and the fact that he is sadly no longer with us, any 'new' material is bound to produce an enormous amount of interest. "As these films are from the time when he was looking to make the crossover from radio to screen, they represent an important and hitherto little known part of his career. "Consequently, I've had a lot of interest from members of the Sellers family, his friends and former colleagues and some are due to attend the gala. He almost appears to treat them as show reels to demonstrate to film producers his considerable talents." After the event, the films are expected to tour festivals around the world. Tickets for the festival are available through www.visitsouthend.co.uk
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Tamiflu: Britain spent 424m on a drug that shortens bouts but is no cure
The world started stockpiling in 2005 to avert a bird flu pandemic. Nine years later, Britain is considering buying more
Sarah Boseley, health editor The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014 Jump to comments ()
Tamiflu, the drug said to combat bird flu in humans. But independent researchers say it is has limited use and has side-effects, some worrying. Photograph: EPA
In March 2005, Liam Donaldson, then chief medical officer for the UK, struck fear into people's hearts, perhaps intentionally. The bird flu pandemic was heading our way, he announced. "We must assume we will be unable to prevent it reaching the UK. When it does, its impact will be severe in the number of illnesses and the disruption to everyday life." Predicting that up to 50,000 could die (12,000 die of flu in an average year), the government announced it would
Predicting that up to 50,000 could die (12,000 die of flu in an average year), the government announced it would spend 200m on 14.6m doses of Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug made by Roche. Later that year, Donaldson maintained the drug was Britain's best defence, even though, he said: "It doesn't cure flu; it simply reduces the severity of the attack." Bird flu did not prove to be the anticipated apocalypse and panic gradually died away. Nonetheless, with such a lot of public money in play, a small team of academics and doctors decided to take a close look at the evidence on Tamiflu and a second, inhaled drug, Relenza, made by GlaxoSmithKline. The team is the acute respiratory infections group of the Cochrane Collaboration, an esteemed organisation of independent scientists who review clinical trials data to give authoritative pronouncements on the usefulness of medicines. In 2006, Cochrane published a review of the trials of these neuraminidase inhibitors, as they are called, and found they reduced hospital admissions and complications. There seemed every reason to stockpile them, as every country in the world was doing. But by the time of swine flu, in 2009, Dr Tom Jefferson of Cochrane, who has been the chief thorn in the side of Roche, had doubts. A Japanese paediatrician had written to him, pointing out that the data Cochrane had analysed was incomplete. A key study was co-authored by Roche employees and eight of the 10 trials had not been published in peer-reviewed journals. "I don't like being made a fool," the former military physician, told the British Medical Journal (BMJ). "I trusted literature. I trusted people who were doctors and researchers. I trusted the archive. I trusted Roche." He and the rest of the Cochrane team asked Roche for the full, unpublished trials data. Roche said they could have it if they signed a confidentiality agreement, but they refused. They updated their review in 2009, omitting data they could not be sure of and concluded that the drug one ingredient is star anise, below may work no better than aspirin. That did not stop the World Health Organisation recommending its use and even listing it as an essential medicine that every country should have. It acknowledged the concerns of Jefferson and colleagues and the impossibility of evaluating the data, but it relied instead on observational studies and information from hospitals where the drugs have been given to patients with flu. The problem with that, as Jefferson and colleagues point out, is that it is hard to take account of patients' underlying health, whether they represent the population and whether or not the patients have dosed themselves with paracetamol or, indeed, Tamiflu at home. Clinical trials are much more rigorous. Swine flu triggered stockpiling and hoarding of Tamiflu. Big firms bought supplies for essential workers and those people who were able to lay their hands on a packet hid it at home. The UK government increased its stockpile it has bought 40m doses, at a cost of nearly 424m for Tamiflu alone and over 500m if you include Relenza. The US spent $1.3bn. But Jefferson and colleagues did not give up. They were outraged at the inaccessibility of the data on the drugs and were backed by the BMJ. It turned into a bigger fight still, helping to trigger a campaign for the publication of the results from all clinical trials, whatever their outcome and however small. The AllTrials campaign was launched in January 2013, calling for every trial, past and present, to be registered and published in full. The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly for new regulation which will cover all future trials from this month. However, past trials are still an issue. It took Jefferson and colleagues, aided by the BMJ, more than four years to get what they wanted: unrestricted access to all the data with no strings, so they could put it in the public domain as they now have. Last year GSK and then Roche handed over what the Cochrane team believes is the full set of clinical study reports: all the detailed results, although anonymised for the patients' sake. They had 160,000 pages of data on the drugs. That quantity is a major reason why regulators do not ask for this level of detail. The firms say they were not dragged kicking and screaming into concessions. They had never before been asked for this amount of detailed data and were concerned about legality and patient confidentiality. It was also a difficult business, Patrick Vallance, GSK's president of pharmaceuticals research and development, told the BMJ. "These are studies going back a long way, stored in all sorts of different parts, in all sorts of different places. People don't expect
studies going back a long way, stored in all sorts of different parts, in all sorts of different places. People don't expect to have to go and pull out everything again." GlaxoSmithKline estimates 15 to 20 people worked on the file part time over three years. "Because these workers were doing the tracking down in addition to their day jobs," said Vallance, "there may have been an element in sometimes not feeling this was the top of their priority list." Roche also said the Cochrane demand was unprecedented and says the company did not know how to respond. In the past, any requests had been from researchers who were prepared to sign confidentiality agreements. Jefferson, Carl Heneghan and Peter Doshi, the three Cochrane authors who worked so hard to obtain the data, now think they have the definitive picture of a drug that is marginally useful in shortening a bout of flu by half a day, but does not prevent complications, keep people out of hospital or reduce the spread of infection and does have sideeffects, some of which are worrying. Roche contests the findings. The UK government is not going to admit any mistake. But the chances of the Tamiflu stockpile being updated this year at a cost of 50m more must have diminished. The Commons public accounts committee said in January that the Department of Health needs to review its usefulness and, anyway, bear in mind that the patent runs out in 2016, which will make cheaper copies available.
Britain's first cloned dog is born and described as 'ridiculous waste of money'
Cloning of dachshund puppy Mini-Winnie by Korean company Sooam Biotech raises ethical issues, say scientists
Ian Sample, science correspondent The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.24 BST Jump to comments ()
Mini-Winnie, a dachshund puppy, was born in Seoul, South Korea after Rebecca Smith from west London won a competition to have her pet cloned. Photograph: Channel 4/PA
The birth of Britain's first cloned dog has been branded a "ridiculous waste of money" and scientists said the process raised serious ethical concerns. Sooam Biotech, a company based in Seoul, said it had cloned the puppy, named Mini-Winnie, from a 12-year-old dachshund belonging to Rebecca Smith, a caterer in west London. She had won a competition run by the company which hopes to sell the service to pet owners for 60,000 a time. Mini-Winnie was born after scientists took skin cells from Smith's pet and dropped them into donor eggs to make embryos that were carried by surrogate dogs. The puppy must remain in Korea for six months to satisfy British quarantine laws. But researchers warned that while a cloned dog might look similar to its biological parent, it will be a very different animal. "You would have about as much chance of replicating your favourite pet by choosing one from Battersea Dogs Home as you would from cloning it. And the former is likely to be loved more as it will not fail your expectations," said Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. "It is extremely unlikely that a puppy cloned from a favourite pet will grow up to behave the same way." Dusko Ilic, a stem cell scientist at King's College London, said: "As time passes by, the differences will be more and more pronounced, especially personality traits. It is an absolute waste of money." The cloning process is controversial because the animals are often born with abnormalities or die soon after birth. Dr Hwang Woo-suk, the lead scientist at Sooam Biotech, reported the first cloned dog in 2005. But Snuppy was the only healthy puppy to survive after 1,095 cloned embryos were implanted in 123 dogs. At least one was lost to a miscarriage, while another clone died at three weeks from respiratory problems. "I see no valid justification for cloning pets. It is a ridiculous waste of money and hope as well as being ethically very dubious." Lovell-Badge added. Dr Hwang was at the heart of one of the worst scandals in modern science in 2004, when he claimed to have made stem cells from patients' skin tissue. It emerged later that he had collected human eggs from female members of his research team. He was convicted of fraud and forced to resign from his job at Seoul University.
Tory plan to limit onshore windfarms will raise energy bills, engineers
Tory plan to limit onshore windfarms will raise energy bills, engineers warn
Royal Academy of Engineering report shows replacing onshore turbines with offshore wind would add extra cost to bills
Damian Carrington The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014 Jump to comments ()
The Royal Academy of Engineering said a cap on onshore wind turbines would make it harder to meet the UKs legally binding targets for renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe
A Conservative party plan to limit the number of onshore windfarms would drive up household energy bills, according to the UK's most eminent engineers. Replacing a single banned onshore turbine with offshore wind power, which is more expensive, would cost 300,000 a year more in subsidies, with the extra cost being added to bills, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) said. The engineers also said a cap on turbines would make it harder to meet the UK's legally binding targets for renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions. The intervention of the academy could undermine Tory plans to woo anti-windfarm campaigners at the general election and adds to criticism that David Cameron's energy policies are increasing bills. The new RAE report concludes that the UK energy system can easily accommodate a doubling of today's level of wind power, while acknowledging this would have an impact on local communities. It says the government should be "engaging honestly with stakeholders, setting out clearly both the impacts and the benefits". Rear Admiral John Trewby, the RAE fellow who led the report, said: "Just to say we are going to cap onshore wind without consultation with the industry and other stakeholders would be a difficult decision to cope with. We need to have a strategic vision for the energy sector as a whole, not just talking about onshore wind in isolation." Prof Richard Green at Imperial College London, who led the economic aspects of the report, said: "There would be some cost if you ended up not using onshore sites that would otherwise be suitable. For each large 3MW turbine that is capped out of existence on a fairly average onshore site, and is replaced by the appropriate fraction of a [larger] offshore turbine, that's about 300,000 per year per turbine. Those subsidies are recovered through electricity bills." Green said: "Onshore wind is one of the cheapest ways of getting low carbon electricity [but] it will need a political consensus that we want to use our wind resources." Another of the report's authors, Prof Gareth Harrison at University of Edinburgh, focused on the carbon emissions savings delivered by wind turbines. He said electricity from wind turbines resulted in emissions 40 times lower than gas and 80 times lower than coal, even when accounting for the entire life cycle of the turbine.
gas and 80 times lower than coal, even when accounting for the entire life cycle of the turbine. "Wind is a very good way of decarbonising [but] a cap will make that harder in many senses," he said. "You are pushed towards more expensive options and pushed towards more carbon-intensive sources. But my view appears to differ substantially from Cameron." Wind power is intermittent but the RAE report concludes that its electricity generating capacity could more than double from today's 11GW by 2020 without any changes to how the energy system is balanced. That is because the grid already has robust systems in place to deal with the variable demand driven by, for example, cold snaps or popular television shows. Onshore wind accounts for 7GW or 5% of electricity generation, and offshore 4GW, or 3.3% of capacity. The report also suggests wind power could double again by 2030, to about 58GW, but that this would require substantial changes to the way the grid is managed. "It is not going to be hugely expensive, but it does require a new look at how we manage the energy assets on the system," said Prof Roger Kemp at Lancaster University and another report author. But he added: "If you go much beyond 50GW, you would have a lot of wind power not doing much a lot of the time" because the grid could not accommodate it. On 4 April, a senior Conservative source told the Guardian the party was planning to include a moratorium on future onshore windfarms in its 2015 general election manifesto. "We want to control the number of onshore windfarms," he said. "We are mindful that uncontrolled expansion of onshore wind is alienating people from the whole clean energy debate. We think it is self-defeating." The work by the RAE experts adds to criticism that Conservative decisions on energy are actually causing bills to rise. In March, official figures revealed that cuts to green schemes after Cameron reportedly said he wanted rid of the "green crap" on energy bills will mean more than 400,000 badly insulated households miss out on help to reduce their energy costs. On Monday, former Liberal Democrat energy secretary Chris Huhne wrote in the Guardian: "The Conservatives have made a great play of trying to cut energy bills by axing the green levies that fund exactly the measures energysaving and cheap renewables that will do most to protect households long term." Around the world, the growth in installed wind power fell from 45GW to 35GW from 2012 to 2013, according to a report from the Global Wind Energy Council, also published on Thursday. However the GWEC expects that to rebound to 47GW in 2014, led by China, the US and record installations in Canada and Brazil. "The global market is back on track for 2014. Wind is now a mainstream technology, and a central part of electricity market development in an increasing number of countries," said Steve Sawyer, GWEC secretary general. "But for the industry to reach its full potential, it is essential that governments get serious about climate change, and soon." The global total of installed wind power grew by 12% in 2013 to 318GW.
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Dylan Thomas centre awarded nearly 1m in poet's centenary year

Teetotal ex-president Jimmy Carter hails funding for Swansea centre devoted to his hero the wildly alcoholic Welsh genius
Mark Brown, arts correspondent The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014
Dylan Thomas in 1946. The poet and playwright died seven years later, aged 39. Photograph: Francis Reiss/Getty Images
Jimmy Carter, the teetotal former president of the United States, has hailed an award of money that helps secure the legacy of one of his heroes the wildly alcoholic genius Dylan Thomas. The Heritage Lottery Fund will announce on Thursday that the Dylan Thomas centre in Swansea has been awarded almost 1m in the centenary year of the poet's birth. It effectively secures the centre's future and means a new-look and expanded exhibition can be opened in time to mark Thomas's birthday in October. Carter has been a lifelong fan and opened the centre in 1995. He said: "Dylan Thomas was one of the greatest poets of the past century and I have always felt an affinity to his poetry and literature. I have continuously advocated the importance of commemorating his life and work and it is great to see that this funding will ensure that the Dylan Thomas centre can continue to thrive in years to come." The centre hopes to put on display memorabilia normally kept in the archives such as a short, sweet love letter to his long-suffering wife, Caitlin, that was hastily scribbled on the back of a bank paying-in stub. He opens with "My darling own dear dear Cat, I love you for ever & ever" and goes on to apologise for the lateness of cheques he has sent her, blaming work. "I had no time, from the BBC, to get to bank between 10 & 3." Also, as part of the project, the centre plans to take on loan Thomas's notebooks which, in 1941, he sold to the University of Buffalo; and an oral histories project is planned to capture the memories of the few people still alive who knew Thomas. Thomas's granddaughter Hannah Ellis said the centre housed the largest collection of Thomas-related material in the world providing "a unique insight into who my grandfather truly was". She added: "I want young and new audiences to be able to learn about and discover my grandfather's poems, his stories and his plays. This grant from the HLF will bring the exhibition into the 21st century and open it up for future generations to enjoy." The money will help create a new learning space and expand the existing exhibition space.
The money will help create a new learning space and expand the existing exhibition space. The centenary of his birth has heightened interest in Thomas, the writer of Under Milk Wood and the man who created some of the finest poems in the English language ("Do not go gentle into that good night,/ Old age should burn and rave at close of day;/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light"). A Dylan Thomas season on the BBC will include a new Andrew Davies-scripted drama called A Poet in New York starring Tom Hollander which will explore how he died in November 1953, aged just 39. Wales's first minister, Carwyn Jones, said: "It's really important that young people are able to understand Dylan Thomas's legacy and to get inspiration from what he did. Here was a young man from Swansea who became one of the most well-known poets in the English-speaking world and it's important that young people draw inspiration from that and follow their own ambitions." The HLF is giving 935,700 to the Dylan Thomas centre which opened in the city's former Guildhall in 1995 and is run in partnership with the University of Wales.
Trainee solicitor jailed after starving dog to death

Bristol court hears dog shredded kitchen door in an attempt to escape and emptied mops and buckets to find water
Steven Morris and agency theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 14.34 BST
Roxy, the dog. RSPCA inspectors had to remove its remains from the kitchen floor with a snow shovel. Photograph: Adam Taylor/PA
A trainee solicitor who locked her pet dog in a kitchen and left it to suffer a prolonged and painful death over six days has been jailed for 18 weeks.
Katy Gammon, 27, moved out of her home in Bristol, leaving five-year-old boxer Roxy trapped inside without food or water, and the dog's remains were not discovered until 10 weeks later when neighbours reported a large amount of flies at the property. Bristol magistrates court heard that Roxy had shredded part of the kitchen door in an attempt to escape and had emptied mops and buckets from cupboards to find water. Gammon had piled tins of dog food and dog treats outside the kitchen - just metres away from where Roxy was trapped. RSPCA inspectors had to remove Roxy's remains from the kitchen floor with a snow shovel. Gammon, from Bristol, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog and failing to prevent causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. Dressed in a black suit, she remained emotionless in the dock as she was told her actions were deliberate. Rod Mayall, chair of the bench, told Gammon: "This was prolonged neglect of a dog where she was locked in a house and left to die of starvation and dehydration. "You have shown limited remorse. Although you were somewhat depressed, you failed to take up at least two offers of alternative housing for the dog. "You failed to act as any normal person would. This is the most serious incident of animal cruelty that we have encountered in these courts." Gammon was also banned from keeping animals for life. Prosecuting for the RSPCA, Lindi Meyer said Gammon had acquired Roxy while living with her boyfriend, Adam Taylor, in December 2012. The couple separated in April 2013 and Gammon kept Roxy, leaving her home alone during the day while she went to work. Initially, Roxy had roam of the house but Gammon later decided to lock her in the kitchen as she would urinate and defecate all over the house. In August 2013, Gammon began staying with her mother who lived a few streets away in Bristol. She returned each morning to feed Roxy but only walked her three times a week, otherwise leaving the dog confined to the kitchen. However, in late August, Gammon dislocated her knee and did not visit the property for a week meaning Roxy was completely unattended. Meyer said: "When anyone asked about Roxy, she lied and said her ex-boyfriend was looking after her." Neighbours called Avon and Somerset police after spotting flies in the window of the property, and officers attended on 3 November. Meyer said: "It was noted that there were unopened tins of dog food and an open pack of dog chews in the lounge but not in the kitchen for Roxy." A postmortem examination carried out by an RSPCA vet found: "Roxy suffered the distress and discomfort of a gradual death. This suffering was entirely avoidable and unnecessary." The court heard Roxy would have experienced abdominal pain, muscle spasms, blindness, an irregular heart rhythm and kidney failure before death. In interview, Gammon claimed she had tried to find a new home for Roxy by posting messages on Facebook but did
In interview, Gammon claimed she had tried to find a new home for Roxy by posting messages on Facebook but did not have any takers. She said she last attended to Roxy at the house on 30 August last year. However, she did not return leaving Roxy without food or water until a week later, on 6 September, when she found an awful smell. She claimed: "I didn't go into the house, I assumed she was dead. I never went back. I don't know what you want me to say. I can't change it. It's horrific." In a victim impact statement, Taylor said he had felt physically sick after seeing photographs of Roxy's remains in the kitchen. "Roxy was mistreated by her previous owner. She used to panic if she was left alone and would become distressed," he said. "I don't understand why Katy did this. She had so many friends and family who would have taken Roxy and would have helped her." Farah Rasid, representing Gammon, said her client had been targeted by animal campaigners following Roxy's death and wanted to go to prison to ease pressure on her family, who had also been criticised. Gammon had been training as a solicitor and was awaiting her first post when Roxy was discovered ending her career. Rasid said: "She is a young lady who has lost a career she was waiting to start." A group of protestors demonstrated outside court calling for tough sentences for those found guilty of animal cruelty.
Stuart Parkin awarded prestigious Millennium technology prize

British physicist wins award for breakthrough in magnetic disk drive storage capacity, heralding era of cloud computing
Nicola Davis The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 14.11 BST Jump to comments ()
Stuart Parkin joins previous prizewinners Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, and Linux creator Linus Torvalds. Photograph: Rick English/PA
British scientist Prof Stuart Parkin has won the 2014 Millennium technology prize worth !1m (824,400) for research that has led to a phenomenal increase in the storage capacity of digital devices and heralded the era of cloud computing. The Watford-born physicist told the Guardian he planned to use the money to buy a house in Halle, Germany, but was aiming for a low-key celebration. "I will celebrate the award by inviting my fiance to the Vendme restaurant in Schloss Bensberg, one of our favourite restaurants in Germany for very special occasions," he said. The physicist joins past winners including the inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Linux creator Linus Torvalds and pioneer of dye-sensitised solar cells Michael Grtzel. Launched in 2004 and presented every two years, the Millennium technology prize is awarded by Technology Academy Finland and is backed by Finnish industry and the Finnish state. This year's ceremony takes place in Helsinki on 7 May. "It's fantastic," said Parkin. "It's a great prize. Wonderful scientists and technologists won it before, so of course I am greatly honoured to have been chosen." An IBM Fellow based at the Almaden Research Centre in California and director of the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Parkin was selected as winner for his "pioneering contribution to the science and application o f spintronic materials, his work leading to a prodigious growth in the capacity to store digital information," the committee said. Reacting to the announcement, Prof Mark Miodownik, an engineer and materials scientist at University College London, said: "Music, literature, film and television have all become an important part of our digital lives, this has only been possible because of the brilliance of people like Stuart Parkin, who has pioneered the magnetic materials that squirrel it away into the interstices of atoms ... If you carry around your whole digital life in a portable hard drive you have people like Stuart Parkin to thank." Parkin's major achievement was the application of a phenomenon known as giant magnetoresistance (GMR) to create extremely sensitive devices that can detect tiny magnetic fields. This is of great importance in magnetic disk drives where information is stored as "bits" zeros or ones represented by regions of the disk magnetised differently. The more sensitive the detector is, the smaller the magnetic regions and fields need to be to store the information. This means more data can be packed on to a hard disk drive. "It's enabled us, essentially, to store all information that we have in digital form. And this wasn't possible before," said Parkin. "What this little sensing device enabled was a 1,000-fold improvement in the storage capacity of magnetic disk drives without changing their cost." GMR was independently discovered by physicists Albert Fert and Peter Grnberg in the late 1980s; they shared the Nobel prize for physics for their work in 2007. The phenomenon arises when atomically thin layers of magnetic and non-magnetic materials are stacked on top of each other. In a simple arrangement, a non-magnetic layer (typically copper) is sandwiched between two magnetic layers. These
magnetic layers behave like bar magnets pointing either north or south. When a current is induced in this sandwich, electrons move through the layers. The degree of hindrance they experience is different depending upon an intrinsic quantum mechanical property of them called "spin". This 'spin' can be aligned to the direction of the bar magnet or against it. Electrons with a spin in one direction will move more freely, so the flow of the current can be controlled by the relative arrangement of the bar magnets of the top and bottom layers. Parkin's achievement was to develop a device based on such "spintronic" effects in which tiny magnetic fields from magnetised regions that store data within the disk drive can rotate the direction of magnetisation in one of the layers of the sandwich. The result is a sensor that rapidly experiences large changes in resistance as it reads the disk drive. In contrast to the expensive and difficult techniques used by Fert and Grnberg to create the layers, Parkin made use of a simpler technique known as sputtering. "I showed that you didn't need these very exotic techniques but one could actually [use] a much simpler technique which was compatible with mass manufacturing," he said. Importantly Parkin also showed that GMR is a more common phenomenon than initially thought, and can be seen at room temperature. The spin-valve read head was commercialised by IBM in 1997, but Parkin went on to develop the technology further in the form of magnetic tunnelling magnetoresistance a closely related approach that is even more sensitive to tiny magnetic fields and is now replacing spin valves. The boom in storage capacity has facilitated the rise of numerous internet-based services, from Twitter to iPlayer, that make use of cloud storage based on magnetic disk drives. Parkin is keen to see nanotechnology yield further innovations. "I think atomic layer engineering will enable us to create interesting new technologies in the future not only for storing data but for computing and manipulating data," he said. "One of my main interests is in trying to build what I would call cognitive devices, devices that we could use for memory or logic that in some sense are inspired by how we compute in our own brain." Dr Andrew Ferguson of Cambridge University's Microelectronics Research Centre, said: "Prof Parkin is an outstanding experimental physicist who has pushed forward the frontier of spin-based electronics with numerous discoveries that are important for computer memory technology. The award of the Millennium technology prize will be extremely well received across scientific and industrial communities." The science minister, David Willetts, said: "Congratulations to Prof Parkin. The success of this British born scientist demonstrates how the world of science and innovation is a truly global endeavour. I hope his achievement will inspire and encourage others to support our work to stay ahead in the global science race."
Top-secret MI5 files released online to mark first world war centenary
Spies such as Mata Hari, heroic nurse Edith Cavell, suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst and the Boy Scouts feature in documents
Richard Norton-Taylor The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.43 BST
Mata Hari, spy and exotic dancer, features in the MI5 files released by the National Archives. Photograph: National Archives
Exotic spies, heroes, and known and suspected communists feature in top-secret MI5 files available online for the first time on Thursday to mark the 100th anniversary of the first world war. Mata Hari, Edith Cavell, Sir Roger Casement, Arthur Ransome, Sidney Reilly, a leading suffragette and the Boy Scouts were among those MI5 kept under surveillance in its early years as Britain's Security Service. Mata Hari, one of history's most celebrated honey-trap spies, first came to MI5's attention in December 1915 when she arrived at Folkestone on the Dieppe boat train. She admitted her destination was The Hague to be near her lover Baron Van der Capellen, a colonel in the Dutch Hussars. The following year, MI5's informant in The Hague, codenamed "T", reported: "Mata Hari is a demi-mondaine who is in relation with highly placed people and during her sojourn in France she made the acquaintance of many French and Belgian officers. She is suspected of having been to France on an important mission for the Germans." In November 1916, questioned by MI5, Mata Hari claimed that a French consul in Spain had subsequently asked her to go to Austria to spy on that country's forces. A renowned dancer, Mata Hari was a Dutch divorcee born Marguerite Gertrude Zelle in the Dutch East Indies. A French intelligence report dated 22 May 1917, shown to a MI5 officer in Paris, noted: "Mata Hari today confessed that she has been engaged by Consul Cremer of Amsterdam for the German Secret Service. She was paid 20,000 francs in advance." She was shot by a French firing squad in 1917. Edith Cavell, a British nurse at a Red Cross hospital in Belgium, was executed by a German firing squad in October 1915 for helping 200 allied soldiers to escape. The files in the National Archives show that British diplomats clung to the hope that Germany would not execute a woman who was regarded as a heroine. An MI5 agent in Lige said he had been told by a reliable source that "the two spies who denounced Nurse Cavell
An MI5 agent in Lige said he had been told by a reliable source that "the two spies who denounced Nurse Cavell have both been killed, one by a bullet in the head, the other by a dagger thrust in the chest". Sir Roger Casement, a British consul in Africa and South America knighted for his work in exposing the exploitation and slaughter of Africans and South American Indians, and Sidney Reilly, a naturalised Russian Jew dubbed the Ace of Spies, are other victims of espionage who feature among the 150 MI5 files. Casement was arrested on a beach in Co Kerry, three days before the 1916 Easter rising, after landing in a boat that had picked him up from a German submarine. A trawler accompanying the submarine and carrying 20,000 guns was scuttled after being intercepted. The MI5 documents show Casement knew the Easter rising was doomed to failure after Germany reneged on its promises to send troops to help the rebels. The UK government used his "black diaries" to smear him and sabotage a campaign to save his life. "I have done nothing dishonourable, as you will one day learn," he told Frank Hall, a senior MI5 officer. Casement was hanged in Pentonville prison on 3 August 1916. Reilly was recruited to work for the British secret intelligence service, MI6. When he died in 1925 the Russians claimed a guard had shot him as he crossed the border with Finland. MI5 documents suggest he was executed by Bolsheviks in 1925. Reilly had many wives, according to MI5. A Special Branch informer reported that his second wife, actress Pepita Bobadilla, went to the Russian embassy in Paris following his death. As she applied for a visa, she told the Russians her husband had been "spying for the British government". Arthur Ransome, author of Swallows and Amazons, caught MI5's attention as correspondent for the Manchester Guardian in Moscow who married Trotsky's secretary, Evgenia Petrovna Shelepina. British officials told MI5 that Ransome was "exceedingly clever and interesting fellow but an out and out Bolshevist". The British consul and MI6 officer in Moscow, Robert Bruce Lockhart, soon corrected them. Ransome, who was given the codename S76, was a valuable intelligence asset during the chaos of the Russian revolution, he said. The files include one on the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst, one of MI5's later targets. MI5 noted that in 1940 she wrote to Viscount Swinton, chairman of a committee investigating Fifth Columnists, sending him a list of active Fascists still at large and of anti-Fascists who had been interned. A copy of the letter includes a note by Swinton, saying: "I should think a most doubtful source of information." The files also show how MI5 was concerned that the Boy Scouts were being infiltrated by Communists after the first world war. The files can be accessed at the National Archives link - First World War 100.
International
Vladimir Putin professes high hopes for Ukraine summit As Indian politicians court the female vote, women still fear walking home Berlusconi community service offers range from care work to animal welfare Snowy Mountain painting sold for $3.7m 'thrown out by cleaners' French president bans mobile phones from cabinet meetings Saudi Arabia may review ban on girls' school sports Paris zoo to reopen after a !133m revamp and Grand Rocher facelift Bomb in Islamabad market kills at least 21
Vladimir Putin professes high hopes for Ukraine summit

But diplomats predict little chance of breakthrough as four powers meet for first time since President Yanukovych fled
Shaun Walker in Moscow and agencies The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.00 BST Jump to comments ()
Vladimir Putin: 'I hope that the initiative will have consequences, and that the outcome will be positive' Photograph: Itar-Tass/Barcroft Media
Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he hoped talks between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US due next week would have a "positive" outcome, but warned that Ukraine's interim government should not do anything that could not "be fixed later". The four-way talks, the first since the crisis, were announced on Tuesday night. "I hope that the initiative of Russian foreign ministry on adjusting the situation and changing it for the better will have consequences, and that the outcome will be positive," the Russian president told a televised government meeting. "At the very least, I hope that the acting [leaders] will not do anything that cannot be fixed later." John Kerry, the US secretary of state, and Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, discussed the meeting on the
phone on Wednesday, according to the Russian foreign ministry. It said the two men had urged all sides to refrain from violence in eastern and southern Ukraine. But diplomats said it was unlikely the talks would produce any major breakthroughs, given Russia and the west viewed the situation in Ukraine so differently, with both sides accusing the other of stoking tension. "We don't have high expectations for these talks, but we do believe it is very important to keep that diplomatic door open," said Victoria Nuland, the US assistant secretary of state. The situation in the east of Ukraine is tense, with Ukrainian authorities promising on Wednesday morning to end the occupation of administrative buildings by pro-Russian separatists within 48 hours, either by negotiations or force. "A resolution to this crisis will be found within the next 48 hours," said Arsen Avakov, interior minister, in Kiev, referring to the eastern cities of Luhansk and Donetsk where protesters remain in control of government buildings. "For those who want dialogue, we propose talks and a political solution. For the minority who want conflict, they will get a forceful answer from the Ukrainian authorities," he said. A group of pro-Russian protesters calling themselves the Army of the Southeast were occupying the security service headquarters in Luhansk. Members of the building's defence who identified themselves as former Berkut (special police) officers from other regions, said they would not fire first but if attacked would fight back until Russian forces arrived. The Kremlin has said it is prepared to intervene as in Crimea to protect ethnic Russians in other parts of Ukraine, amid reports of a Russian troop buildup along the border. The masked commander said the security service building's defence included him and 42 other former members of the elite Alpha division of the now-disbanded Berkut, who were known as former president Viktor Yanukovich's shock troops during the Euromaidan protests in Kiev. He said the former president, who fled to Russia in February, had betrayed them. A few hundred demonstrators stood in the square in front of the building, protesting against the new regime in Kiev, which many said had been installed by the US government. Tatiana Pogukai, a spokesperson of the Luhansk division of the interior ministry, told the Guardian that a group of security service and law enforcement officials and politicians continued to negotiate with the occupiers, who are demanding a referendum on "the region's economic independence from Kiev". Kiev has claimed the protesters are directed by Russian security services, and, on Tuesday, Kerry accused Moscow of stirring up unrest, possibly as a pretext for Crimea-style military intervention. There are concerns about the new government in Kiev, but support for actually joining Russia is not widespread among the population, unlike in Crimea. In Moscow, Putin met the cabinet on Wednesday and discussed possible economic responses to Ukraine. Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, says it has not received any money for March gas deliveries to Ukraine and still has a $2.2bn (1.6bn) debt outstanding. Kiev has said it will pay the debt but has protested at an 80% increase in gas prices announced last week. Putin said it was possible that Russia could make Ukraine pay up front for deliveries of gas, but he instructed the government to wait until "further consultations" with Kiev before introducing the measure. The gas dispute is another way for Moscow to put pressure on Kiev, and is likely to be another issue at the talks next week, which will be the first four-way meeting since Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine and the new government was
formed. Since then, Russia has annexed Crimea, and Kiev and Moscow have been engaged in a bitter war of words, with both sides accusing the other of sponsoring terrorism. The Kiev government claimed it had evidence that Russian security services were behind the violence that left more than 100 dead in Kiev in February, while Russian security services say they have arrested a number of Ukrainians acting on official orders and planning terror attacks inside Russia.
As Indian politicians court the female vote, women still fear walking home
Contesting leaders in India's elections are making political promises, but lack of security and basic services still a concern
Anu Anand and Jason Burke in Delhi The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014
An advert by the BJP party in a Delhi metro train promising greater safety for women. Photograph: Hindustan Times/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
The road is dark and there are men - drunk on cheap liquor sold in plastic bags - loitering along its length. But for the working women of Lakarpur village, a ramshackle collection of brick and cheap cement homes on the outskirts of Delhi, this forbidding ten-minute walk from the main highway is the only way home. "It's terrifying, I always say a prayer and walk as fast as I can," said 35-year-old Radhika, a cook and cleaner for a middle-class family.
On Thursday, 13m people in Delhi are eligible to vote for seven representatives from among 150 candidates in the second phases of India's protracted general election. A turn out of at least 65t% is expected. One key issue in the poll is the perceived failure of officials and policymakers to assure basic security. The gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapist student in December 2012 prompted massive protests and an unprecedented nationwide discussion on the causes of the recent surge in sexual violence in India's sprawling capital. The outrage forced the government into hasty reforms: punishments for rape and harassment were stiffened and new "fast track" criminal courts set up to try cases of sexual violence. There were also promises to overhaul the police force, seen as a bastion of misogyny. But women waiting yesterday at the bus stop where the victim and her friend were picked up by an unlicensed vehicle on her way back from a trip to the cinema said little had changed since the incident. "It just isn't safe. There is so much harassment. Men just call out comments or even touch you. I'm scared," said Malvika Singh, a 21-year-old university student. In this year's national campaign, parties are making an effort to win the "female vote". On Wednesday, front-page newspaper adverts paid for by the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised "empowerment of women". In his only major TV interview, Rahul Gandhi, the face of the outgoing Congress Party, repeatedly made the same pledge.
Indian women demonstrate outside the New Delhi police headquarters after the gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapist in December 2012. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP
All three parties contesting Delhi's polls, including the new Aam Admi (common man) party which briefly held power after a surprise success in local elections last year, have promised in their manifestos to set aside a third of all parliamentary seats for women, zero tolerance on sexual violence and better education and work opportunities for women. Yet of the 150 candidates standing, less than a tenth are women. "There is a sense of tokenism in how parties choose women to contest elections," said Swarna Rajagopalan, political scientist and founder of the Prajnya Trust in Chennai, which works for public awareness on gender issues. "I want to know why they are nominating a certain woman, how they are backing change? It shouldn't be just a case of tick the box, okay we're done." Although there are powerful women politicians in India - like the former film star Jayalalitha Jayaram, who has ruled the southern state of Tamil Nadu for eight years and the fiery Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal and a key regional powerbroker - India's national parliament ranks near the bottom worldwide for female representation, with only 11% of seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha, or lower house, taken by women.
"We want women leaders because we think women will have more sensitivity to gender issues. [But] the larger issue is not about men or women, it's about patriarchy," said Karuna Nandy, an Indian Supreme Court advocate and campaigner. In India, many women still vote in line with the men in their families and are considered to be only concerned about domestic issues like the price of cooking gas.
An elderly Indian couple hold hands as they walk through a waterlogged underpass following heavy monsoon rain in Delhi. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP
But this is no longer the whole story, said Varghese K George, the political editor of the Hindu. "Women are getting extremely important and much more aware and active across the whole of India. The conventional wisdom is they prefer Congress, but studies from the last [2009] election show no major difference in voting patterns from men," he said. Along with security, it is inflation that most bothers the women of Lakarpur village. Like millions of others across Delhi, they struggle with nearly7% inflation and a lack of basic services. Radhika's husband has stopped using his own motorbike to get to work as a driver because petrol is too expensive, doubling his commuting time. Her 17-year-old son attends school an hour's train journey away because there are no decent local options and the couple cannot afford medical treatment for their 12 year old daughter's skin condition. The family have recently begun to cut back on milk, eggs, butter and meat. What is still unclear is how far the anger of people like Radhika can change local politics, historically based on patronage, favouritism and opaque deal-making rather than development or governance. There are some signs of a shift: the AAP rode to power in Delhi last year largely because it appeared to be an alternative to corrupt, careerist establishment politicians. The party found support primarily among the poor and some parts of the liberal elite. But a short and chaotic stint in power disillusioned many. There was no indication, said George the journalist, that the AAP was more popular among women than men however. Radhika, who voted for the AAP last year in city polls, now plans to vote for the BJP because of its messages on creating jobs and economic growth. "I can never vote for the Congress again after the gang rape," she said. "They were in charge and did nothing. But I also think our government, whoever is in charge, wants all poor people to die so there will be no more problems for them. Delhi can never be safe for women."
Berlusconi community service offers range from care work to animal welfare
The former PM, convicted of tax fraud, may be 'entrusted to social services' and plenty want to help him redeem himself
Lizzy Davies Rome The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 16.20 BST
Silvio Berlusconi will shortly find out how he will serve his tax fraud sentence. Photograph: Ettore Ferrari/EPA
More than eight months after he was given his first definitive conviction in the Italian courts, Silvio Berlusconi is due to find out how he will serve his one-year sentence for tax fraud. At 77, the former prime minister is past the stage where he could be sent to prison for such a crime. So the question is whether Milan's Tribunale di sorveglianza, which is due to hear Berlusconi's case on Thursday and will have five days to issue a verdict, will opt to place him under house arrest or decide that he should be "entrusted to social services". The billionaire media tycoon, who is still the leader of Italy's biggest centre-right party and continues to play a huge role in the country's politics, is hoping against the former because of the drastic impact it would have on his freedom of movement. The alternative is hardly the stuff of a former statesman's dreams, though. According to the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire, probation officers in Milan have recommended that the court should it opt for community service order Berlusconi to work one day a week, morning or afternoon only, caring for the elderly and disabled at a home near Milan. Such a task would surely not be too onerous for the former premier, whose only other requirements would reportedly
Such a task would surely not be too onerous for the former premier, whose only other requirements would reportedly be to be at home by 11pm every night and not leave again until 6am. The recommendation is non-binding and the care home is far from the only place to have expressed interest in accommodating the rehabilitation needs of Italy's most famous condannato. Four would-be employers critics and defenders of Berlusconi have spoken to the Guardian about how they could help him on his journey of redemption. Don Antonio Mazzi has a mission for Berlusconi: "the dismantling of his 'personality'". At Exodus, an NGO that specialises in rehabilitation and reeducation programmes, the 84-year-old priest has a special programme for highprofile guests that revolves around self-reflection and "disciplined activity as if they were normal Christians, not extraordinary people". "They get up at 6.30am," he explains. "They do sporting activities like everyone else. Then there's breakfast and then they go and clean the bedrooms. They do five hours of work until 1pm." In the afternoons, Berlusconi would see a psychologist, or work on an obligatory journal. "The main work is reflection, a minimum amount of discipline and above all the dismantling of the 'personality' in order to let the person emerge," says Mazzi. "And it works." A shining example of this, he says, is none other than Lele Mora, a former talent scout who was found guilty last year of procuring prostitutes for Berlusconi's bunga bunga parties. (He denies the charges and is appealing against the first-grade conviction.) Following a previous conviction for bankruptcy fraud, the 59-year-old has been doing community service with Exodus since September 2012. Photographs have emerged in the press of a dishevelled-looking Mora gardening and manning a bric-a-brac stall in Milan. "He comes two days a week and does voluntary work," says Mazzi. "That's why I say the system works, because he is very changed from a personal point of view. He is very committed. And those two [Mora and Berlusconi] knew each other well. "I have to say that tranquillity, reflection and the progressive dismantling of the personality works at all ages." Including Berlusconi? "I don't know," he says, and laughs. When, last year, Berlusconi was described by news outlets and a German politician as a "clown", Giovanni Savino was offended. As a real clown, he doesn't appreciate what the former prime minister has done to the profession's reputation. Savino is the chairman of Il Tappeto di Iqbal (Iqbal's Carpet), an NGO operating in the mafia-dominated Naples neighbourhood of Barra to teach local children the art of the circus, and aims to show them an alternative path in life, or at least a social structure that is not the camorra. He has lodged an official request for Berlusconi to be entrusted to his care for community service. "As the whole world knows him as a joker, and maybe it's the only thing he still knows how to do, he can come and tell jokes to the children of Barra," he says. "As [he] has these characteristics, it seemed to me interesting to offer him this opportunity." Just last week, the former head of Berlusconi's old party in the region surrounding Naples, Nicola Cosentino, was arrested on suspicion of colluding with the mafia to favour his family business, allegations his lawyer has described as absurd. For Savino the road to redemption for Berlusconi is clear. "If he used Italy for 20 years for his own purposes, for once I want it to be me who uses him for the purposes of the children of Barra," he says. In recent months a new player has emerged on the Italian political scene, and he goes by the name of Dud. In the search for a new and susceptible electorate for Forza Italia, Berlusconi has sought to rebrand himself as a champion
of animal rights, pushing new policies to help abandoned pets at the same time as posting photographs of him and Dud, his pet dog. Whatever he makes of the new promises, Lorenzo Croce, chairman of the Italian association for the defence of animals and the environment (AIDAA), doesn't see why Berlusconi shouldn't build on them to "send a message" to the Italian public. AIDAA has outlined three options for Berlusconi: the first would see him feeding abandoned kittens, the second working with horses, and the third with the rescued animals on a farm its runs near Milan. "To me it doesn't matter what he's done or not done. That's for the judiciary to decide," says Croce. "He is, regardless, an Italian political leader, and he could in these months dedicate his leadership to the service of something concrete." As an extra carrot, AIDAA is offering Berlusconi food, bed and bath thrown in. Last August, in the days following his tax fraud conviction, Berlusconi was made an offer by Don Valentino Porcile, a priest in the north-western city of Genoa. "Will you come to serve your sentence with me?" he asked in a quietly angry letter. "I'll do you a nice little programme of socially useful services. I'll take you on a year of continuous trips for ten hours a day to see real poverty." Eight months later, Porcile who, despite his criticisms, is not unsympathetic to Berlusconi and says he is the victim of a unique judicial "rage" is still just as keen to receive him. What began as a "provocation", he says, has fused into a real desire to show not just the Forza Italia leader but all politicians the real world as it is. "It is not just him. I think the whole political class right, left, all of them - don't truly understand how people are living in despair," he says. "So many politicians including on the left do not understand how it is for people. So they should come and see how things are for people on the ground. People are not doing well. They are worn out by the crisis."
Snowy Mountain painting sold for $3.7m 'thrown out by cleaners'

The artwork was reported missing this week by auctioneers in Hong Kong and the finger was pointed at cleaning staff
Reuters in Hong Kong theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 08.33 BST
The painting was auctioned in Hong Kong this week. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
A painting auctioned for HK$28.8M ($3.7 million) two days ago has gone missing, with media reports suggesting cleaners may have inadvertently thrown out the artwork. The 2012 painting Snowy Mountain, by Chinese artist Cui Ruzhuo, was reported missing by auctioneers Poly Auction on Tuesday afternoon after the auction on Monday, police said. Ming Pao newspaper reported that police had checked CCTV footage at the Grand Hyatt hotel, where the auction took place, which showed cleaners removing the painting. That raised fears the painting had been sent out with the rubbish to the city's landfill. Poly Auction was not immediately available for comment. Gladis Young, the director of communications at the Grand Hyatt hotel, said hotel staff were not involved because organisers of events involving valuable items usually hired external staff to deal with security and handling goods.
French president bans mobile phones from cabinet meetings

Franois Hollande's government remains deeply unpopular as he struggles to revive France's stagnant economy
Agence France-Presse in Paris theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 15.59 BST Jump to comments ()
Franois Hollande has banned mobile phones from cabient meetings. Photograph: RUET STEPHANE/STORY BOX PHOT/REX
Keen to ensure his ministers are paying attention, the French president, Franois Hollande, has imposed a ban on mobile phones during cabinet sessions. Ministers will now be forced to leave their portable devices at the door when they join the French government's weekly cabinet meeting, government spokesman Stphane Le Foll told reporters. "To focus on what we must do, the president has decided that there will be no more mobile phones in cabinet," Le Foll said. "Each of us will now have to talk and listen to what is said and will no longer be able to tap away at this magnificent tool," he said. Asked if Hollande himself had handed in his phone, Le Foll said: "I didn't go and check." Hollande, whose government is deeply unpopular as he struggles to revive France's stagnant economy, last week reshuffled the cabinet with Manuel Valls, the dynamic former interior minister, named prime minister.
Saudi Arabia may review ban on girls' school sports

King Abdullah pushes cautious social reforms improving women's rights in the face of conservative resistance
Reuters in Riyadh theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 13.05 BST Jump to comments ()
Abdullahs moves to liberalise Saudi Arabia have faced opposition from powerful clerics and their supporters. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images
Saudi authorities have been asked to consider lifting a state school ban on sports for girls, according to the official SPA news agency. Under a strict interpretation of sharia law, Saudi women are banned from driving and must gain formal permission from a male relative to leave the country, start a job or open a bank account. But King Abdullah is pushing cautious social reforms improving women's rights in the face of conservative resistance. SPA said Saudi Arabia's Shura Council, which advises the government on policy, had asked the education ministry to look into including sports for girls in state-run schools with the proviso that they should conform to sharia rules on dress and gender segregation. Women were included in its Olympic team for the first time only two years ago. Although the council's decisions are not binding, they are seen as important in Saudi Arabia because it is the only official forum in which new laws and government policy on sensitive social issues are publicly discussed. Members who supported the decision pointed to an increase in obesity-related illnesses in Saudi Arabia, particularly among women. Those who opposed the decision said there were many schools that were not equipped to allow for girls' sports. Some members also questioned whether physical education lessons had decreased obesity in boys. A year ago, King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the 150-member chamber for the first time. The world's top oil exporter has maintained an official ban on sports classes for girls in state schools under pressure from religious conservatives. A ban on sports in private girls' schools was officially lifted last year, though some of those schools had already been providing physical education classes. When women were included for the first time in the Saudi Olympic team at the London 2012 Games, the move won support from many of its citizens, but it also prompted some to criticise the morals of the two female athletes, a runner and a judoka, on social media. Abdullah's moves to make it easier for Saudi women to work and study alongside men, and to promote more tolerant views of other religions have faced opposition from powerful clerics and their supporters, who fear the kingdom is losing its Islamic values in favour of western ideas.
Paris zoo to reopen after a !133m revamp and Grand Rocher facelift
Parc Zoologique de Paris opens this weekend after six-year rebuild aimed at giving visitors a 'journey around the planet'
Kim Willsher in Paris theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 11.23 BST
Giraffes walk past the huge fake boulder at the newly renovated Vincennes zoo in Paris. Photograph: Ian Langsdon/EPA
It is one of the most celebrated landmarks in eastern Paris. The Grand Rocher, a 65m fake boulder that dominates the skyline around the Bois de Vincennes, is the defining symbol of the French capital's zoo. Now, the renamed Parc Zoologique de Paris is ready to open its gates once more after being closed for nearly six years for a !133m renovation. Managers say it is the first time a zoo has been completely rebuilt. The 14.5-hectare site, with about four kilometres of walkways, has been designed with the animals in mind. They have been grouped by region rather than type: Madagascar, Patagonia, Guyana, Europe and Sahel-Sudan. "It's like a journey around the planet," Sophie Ferreira Le Morvan, the zoo director told journalists. Where possible, the animals cohabit. Giraffes with ostriches, a large, lethargic manatee with huge tropical fish, zebras with rhinos though there are strategically placed posts through which the zebras can, if necessary, flee. Not surprisingly, the lion, called Nero, who stubbornly refused to come out from behind a tree during an open day for the press on Saturday, has his own pen as he awaits the arrival of three lionesses. Most of the animals moved out for the renovations will not be returning, so zoo officials have had to find replacements. The herd of giraffes stayed throughout the work. There are 16 some with park lineage dating back to 1934 including three born during the transformation of their home. Clever landscaping, including fake rocks and boulders, acts as a trompe l'oeil to the fact that the 1,000 animals are in captivity. But officials say they have done their best to recreate the most natural habitat possible for the 180 species including 42 mammal, 21 reptile, 15 fish and 74 bird species. Even the Grand Rocher, which looks like a backdrop to a King Kong movie but was built to conceal two water reservoirs, has been patched up and given a makeover.
The zoo opens this weekend. Entrance tickets are !11 for children, !22 for adults.
Bomb in Islamabad market kills at least 21

Separatist group from the ethnic Baluch minority claim responsibility for the attack in outskirts of Pakistan's capital city
Associated Press in Islamabad theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.28 BST
Bomb disposal experts search the site of an explosion at a fruit and vegetable market in Islamabad, Pakistan. Photograph: M.Nadeem / Pacific Press / Barcr
A bomb has ripped through a fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of Islamabad killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens more in a new attack in the Pakistani capital, which until recently had remained relatively removed from the shootings and bombings that plague other parts of the country. A separatist group from the ethnic Baluch minority claimed responsibility for the attack. Baluch separatists have been fighting a bloody insurgency for years in their heartland in the southwest of the country. The bomb went off as morning shoppers were buying supplies at the outdoor market. Police quickly cordoned off the scene, which was littered with shoes and prayer caps. One fruit trader, Afzal Khan, said he saw dismembered victims. "People were dying. People were crying. People were running," he said. The approximately 5kg of explosives were hidden in a fruit carton, said a police official. Police and officers from the bomb disposal squad scanned the area for more devices.
The market is located near a makeshift camp for people displaced from fighting in Pakistan's northwest, as well as refugees from Afghanistan. It is also next to a supermarket frequented by middle class families. "The people were torn apart. Their body parts scattered," said Abdul Jalil, frantically searching for his brother who works at the market. Mobile phone calls to his brother were not going through. "Who are these people killing innocent people? What do they get out of it? God will not forgive them." While large bombings happen frequently in Pakistani cities such as the northwestern city of Peshawar or the southern port city of Karachi, they are relatively rare in the capital, which is home to diplomats, generals and top government officials. The toll was reported by two nearby hospitals. The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences received 19 dead from the blast and 56 wounded, according to emergency room doctor Zulfikar Ghauri. Two bodies and 31 wounded were taken to Holy Family hospital in the nearby city of Rawalpindi said Tahir Sharif, a doctor there. The symbolism of having such a deadly attack in Islamabad even in an area on the edge of the city and rarely frequented by its elite is a blow to a Pakistani government trying to increase foreign investment and project an air of security in the capital. For Islamabad, it was the most deadly day since a 3 March attack on a court complex killed 11 people. That attack was claimed by a little-known splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban called Ahrar-ul-Hind. The Pakistani Taliban quickly denied any involvement in Wednesday's incident, saying in a statement that they were sticking to a previously agreed ceasefire. Instead, a spokesman for the United Baluch Army claimed responsibility in a telephone call to an Associated Press reporter. The group, which emerged about a year and a half ago, is one of the newer factions among Baluch separatists fighting since the mid-2000s. The spokesman, Mureed Baluch, said the attack was in retaliation for the ongoing arrest and killings of their associates by the security forces in southwest Baluchistan province. Baluchistan is Pakistan's largest province and is plagued by violence from various factions. Separatists often attack the Pakistani military or other government targets. Sunni Muslim extremists have often targeted members of the Shia Muslim minority. Members of the Afghan Taliban fighting across the border in their homeland are also believed to be living in the province.
Financial
Greek return to financial markets attracts flock of investors Toyota recalls more than 6.5m cars over steering and seat problems Next boss to share 4m bonus with staff to create 1.5% payrise IMF warns Europe's banking system poses threat to global financial stability Tesco under pressure to win back customers with price cuts The eurozone's shaky banking system is still the biggest risk to recovery Trade figures show long road ahead to rebalance Britain's economy Britain's property market posts highest sales level in more than six years Hewlett-Packard to pay $108m to settle scandal over bribery of public officials UK trade deficit narrows in February Guinea to strip Beny Steinmetz company of mining concessions
Greek return to financial markets attracts flock of investors

First sale of government bonds since eurozone crisis flared up brings than !11bn of bids despite first general strike of 2014
Graeme Wearden and Helena Smith in Athens theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 17.59 BST Jump to comments ()
Greece's return to the financial market has attracted healthy bond investment despite the country being in a the grip of an anti-austerity general strike. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty
Greece will make a successful return to the financial markets on Thursday after investors flocked to its first sale of government bonds since the eurozone crisis flared up four years ago. There was strong demand for a new five-year bond, despite the country being gripped by its first anti-austerity general strike of 2014. By early evening Athens had received more than !11bn (9bn) of bids, pushing down the interest rate it will pay on the debt at Thursday's sale towards just 5%. The general strike disrupted transport services, schools and hospitals in Greece, with thousands of people marching past the parliament building. The private sector GSEE union urged Antonis Samaras's government to change its austerity programme, and ditch the "dead-end policies that have squeezed workers and made Greek people miserable". Greece could raise as much as !2.5bn from the bond sale, those close to the deal say, a sign of confidence two years
Greece could raise as much as !2.5bn from the bond sale, those close to the deal say, a sign of confidence two years after Greece came close to crashing out of the euro. The country received bailouts totalling more than !200bn from the IMF and EU. The strong demand sparked a rally in eurozone sovereign debt in the bond markets, driving up the price at which Greece's 10-year bonds were changing hands and therefore driving down the yield. Some fund managers warned, though, that Greece still faces serious challenges in the years ahead. Paul McNamara, investment director at fund manager GAM, cautioned that Greece will only be able to repay the bonds in 2019 if it sticks with the economic reform plans agreed with international lenders. "For Greece to be paying in full and on time in five years is dependent on them staying on good terms with the Troika and sticking with the (IMF) programme. A yield of around 5% feels low for what, for us, seems like a speculative investment," said McNamara. Jon Jonsson, a senior portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, told the Wall Street Journal that he was "unlikely" to take part in the sale, as the low yields did not reflect the risk of buying Greek debt. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley have all been hired to handle the debt auction. Danske Bank's dealer Owen Callan has predicted that a successful sale will help other eurozone countries, telling Reuters: "Yields in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland are no longer just compared to what is below them, but also now to what is above them. As Greek yields fall, that should help provide further momentum in these markets." On Friday, German chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Athens in a show of solidarity with the country which has suffered the most since the eurozone debt crisis began. Odysseus Trivalas, president of the public sector union Adedy, said civil servants will hold a protest rally to mark Merkel's visit. "What everyone has to know is that unions in Greece are going to intensify protest action in the run-up to the European elections," Trivalas added.
Toyota recalls more than 6.5m cars over steering and seat problems
Stream of recalls continues to damage the reputation of Toyota, which since 2012 has recalled around 20m vehicles and sold 18.7m
Jennifer Rankin theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 14.49 BST
theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 14.49 BST Jump to comments ()
Toyota recalls cars again. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA
Toyota is recalling more than 6.5m cars worldwide to fix a variety of problems, including faulty steering wheels and seats. The company said there had been no reported accidents or injuries relating to the problems identified. Some 27 Toyota models are affected, including the Corolla, RAV4, Hilux, Yaris, Tacoma, Urban Cruiser and Scion xD. The global recall tally is a huge blow to the world's biggest selling carmaker that has seen its reputation battered by a string of damaging recalls. Since early 2012, the company has recalled around 20m vehicles and sold 18.7m. The latest recall is not even the biggest in a single day: in October 2012 it was forced to call back 7.43m cars, mostly the Yaris and Corolla models to fix faulty window switches. Toyota's reputation has not fully recovered since a faulty accelerator pedal led to it taking 10m cars off the road in 2009-10. The company later admitted the faults were caused by over-hasty expansion, and last month was fined $1.2bn (720m) by US regulators over an investigation into misleading statements the company had made about safety problems with its cars. "Each announcement puts another dent in Toyota's efforts to recover its reputation and resurrects questions about the impact of its strategy of rapid expansion on previously enviable standards of design and production quality," said Peter Shervington, an associate specialising in product liability and recall at Eversheds law firm.
More responsive?
David Bailey, a car industry expert at Aston Business School in Coventry said Toyota was being more responsive after being "badly scarred" by not being seen to respond fast enough to the pedal problems in 2009-10. "The scale of the [current] recall is a big one but if they can identify a fix and communicate it to customers, customers aren't going to be too bothered." Most of the affected cars in the current recall are in North America, with 825,000 in Europe (35,000 in the UK), and 300,000 in Australia, where the recall affects the Hilux "utes" and Yaris city cars. In the UK, the recall affects some 25,000 RAV4 and Hilux models bought between June 2004 and December 2010; these cars have a faulty connection from the steering wheel to the airbag, meaning that a certain turn of the wheel could cause the airbag to deactivate. "If connectivity is lost, the airbag warning light will illuminate on the instrument
panel and the driver's airbag may be deactivated," the company said. In the US, that problem affects 1.3m vehicles, including certain models of the Corolla. Toyota has also found a problem with the sliding mechanism in the front passenger seat of some models of the Yaris and the Urban Cruiser sold in the US as the Scion xD meaning they could break with repeated use. "Should the spring break, the seat may not lock into its adjusted position, and could move in the event of a crash," the company said. This problem with the seat mechanism affects 10,263 UK-registered vehicles built between January 2005 and August 2010. Toyota said the recall figure rises to 6.76m when the some models of the Pontiac Vibe and the Subaru Trezia are taken into account. The Pontiac Vibe, a General Motors model, is involved because Toyota and GM made cars at the same plant in California and the recalled model is the same as the Toyota Matrix. Subaru is partly owned by Toyota, and the model was the same as the Toyota Ractis. The company said it would contact customers in the coming weeks to make an appointment for the free repairs. Drivers can check if their vehicle is affected by using a registration number search function on the Toyota website.
GM under-fire too
The latest recall comes one day after General Motors was accused of "a culture of cover-up" by a US senator for failing to own up fast enough to faulty ignition switches implicated in 13 deaths. A source who advises the car industry on recalls, said recalls were getting bigger because car manufacturers were using common components across their range of models. "The consumer is starting to twig this strategy: they believe they have bought a unique car, but it is actually quite similar to 18 others." Transparency over recalls could be improved, the source said, by requiring carmakers in their annual reports "to discuss their processes and mechanisms to make sure consumers are protected by the highest degree", as well as better information sharing between international regulators. "Our drivers are just the same as American drivers, as Japanese drivers, and there is a need for national regulators to agree forceful action on a global footing." The car industry's quest for the cheapest components, was also a factor in the recent spate of recalls, said professor Bailey. "Some companies went for a low-cost, aggressive cost-cutting strategy which went for looking for different components across different parts of the world that may be lowest cost but exposes you to more risk when things go wrong." Several companies, especially Japanese carmakers, were now reassessing where they source car parts and make their vehicles, Bailey said. "This offers an opportunity for the UK to re-shore some of its activity and bring it back."
Next boss to share 4m bonus with staff to create 1.5% payrise

Lord Wolfson writes to 20,000 company staff to announce windfall, but CEO still likely to collect 4m in pay and bonuses
Rupert Neate The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.48 BST Jump to comments ()
Lord Wolfson, Next chief executive. Photograph: Rex Features
The chief executive of Next is to share his 4m bonus among the retailer's staff in the equivalent of a 1.5% pay rise for employees. On Wednesday Simon Wolfson wrote to the company's 20,000 staff to tell them he would share one of his bonuses with employees who had worked for the company since April 2011. The retailer's financial performance is set to overtake Marks & Spencer for the first time after it announced annual profits of 695m. Next's multimillionaire boss is in line for a further windfall of more than 4m when his annual pay and bonuses are revealed on Friday. It is the second year running that Lord Wolfson, who was paid 4.6m last year and holds 100m worth of Next shares, has shared his "Share Matching Plan" bonus with staff. "In 2011, the board awarded me an incentive scheme called a share matching plan. The value of this bonus was closely linked to the value of the company's shares," he said in the letter. "In the last three years, thanks to everybody's hard work, Next has grown its profits per share 65% and the company's shares have trebled." The bonus, which staff will collect in their May pay will be paid on a pro rata basis equivalent to 1.5% of salary. It means shopfloor workers who are paid 6.33 per hour 2p more than the minimum wage will collect an extra 197.49 if they work a 40-hour week. From June, Next's minimum pay will increase by 37p to 6.70. Despite the pay rise, staff are planning protests demanding that Next pay the living wage of 7.65 an hour, or 8.80 in London. Mick Rix, national officer of the GMB union, which represents Next shopfloor staff, said: "This pay rise, while welcome, will place Next staff 0.18p above national minimum rate of 6.50 from 1 October. This is well below a living wage." On Friday, the company is likely to reveal in its annual report that Wolfson, 46, who has run Next since he was 33 when he became the youngest chief executive of a FTSE 100 company, will collect two bonuses worth more than
when he became the youngest chief executive of a FTSE 100 company, will collect two bonuses worth more than 1m. Wolfson, who is married to Eleanor Shawcross, George Osborne's economic adviser, could collect an "annual bonus" of up to 150% of his 715,000 basic salary, and millions more under the company's long-term incentive plan (LTIP). Last year, after forsaking his share matching plan bonus, he still collected total pay of 4.6m because of a 1m annual bonus and a 2.5m LTIP. Despite his fortune, Wolfson is said to spurn expensive City lunches in favour of "a plate of boiled potatoes with some greens".
IMF warns Europe's banking system poses threat to global financial stability
International Monetary Fund says end of low US interest rates and sharp slowdown in China could also derail recovery
Phillip Inman in Washington theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 14.43 BST Jump to comments ()
The eurozone's creaking banking system poses a threat to global financial stability, the IMF has warned. Photograph: Oliver Berg/EPA
The eurozone's creaking banking system poses a serious threat to global financial stability, according to the International Monetary Fund, which warned European leaders to accelerate plans to support weak banks and create a banking union.
In a report that forecasts a "Goldilocks" outcome of stable growth, IMF financial counsellor Jos Vials said the end of low interest rates in the US, coupled with a failure by the Obama administration to monitor risky lending, a sharp slowdown in China and disruption to emerging markets could all upset expectations of a smooth recovery. "Can the US make a smooth exit from unconventional policies? I call this the 'Goldilocks exit' not too hot, not too cold, just right. "This is our base line, most likely outcome. After a turbulent start, the normalisation of monetary policy has begun. But a bumpy exit is possible." He said the eurozone's incomplete repair of bank and corporate balance sheets continued to place a drag on the recovery, while the widening gap between Germany and the poorest of the 18 member states was restricting the flow of funds around the currency zone and hampering the growth of smaller businesses. "Thus, further efforts must be made to strengthen bank balance sheets, through the European comprehensive bank assessment and follow-up, and to tackle the corporate debt overhang," he said. The IMF, which published the global financial stability report on Wednesday, acts as lender of last resort to bankrupt countries and is one of many economic organisations to worry about the effects on global growth of the US attempting to behave as if the recovery is complete when many countries are still struggling to cope with the aftershocks. Since last May's signal from the US Federal Reserve that interest rates would soon begin to rise, policymakers have been wary of the knock-on effects of a return to more normal rates in the US. The hint by former Fed boss Ben Bernanke caused a flight of investor capital from Turkey, Brazil and South Africa back to the US in the expectation of better returns. Willem Buiter, chief economist at US bank Citi, told an audience at the IMF's spring conference that the US central bank was irresponsible to predict higher interest rates without putting in place insurance plans for countries that will be hit by the increased costs. Buiter said greater co-operation was needed to insulate weaker countries from the ripple effects of policy changes in the US. A refusal by the European Central Bank and its boss Mario Draghi to make borrowing cheaper for local banks was also a concern, he said. "We talk about the US exiting loose monetary policy and low interest rates, but the eurozone has not yet even entered. Europe is too confident that everything will be OK when its banks are still in need of massive support," he said. "The markets are strong, but investors are still sniffing the glue provided by Draghi and his declaration to do whatever it takes to rescue the euro." Buiter said the banking union needed a !1tn fund to underwrite European banks and not the !55bn proposed by Brussels. Alistair Darling, the Labour MP and former chancellor of the exchequer, said the banking union was desperately under-capitalised. "In my experience !55bn only rescues one bank," he said. "We kid ourselves into believing that it is all over and a banking crisis could never happen again. This is very dangerous. "
Vials also explained that a repeat of the sub-prime loans disaster that sparked the financial crisis was also possible, though less in the housing market and more in the sale of corporate bonds. He said the value of low quality bonds, issued by companies with a high risk of going bust, was more than double the level over the last three years as the amount recorded before the crash. While commending US regulators for being "on top of this", he said a panic could increase the costs of financing company debts and trigger a flurry of defaults and a second crisis. Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, argued that the US economy was still fragile and in need of huge support from the central bank. Signalling that many members of the Fed board support chair Janet Yellen's doveish stance, he said: "US unemployment is higher now than it was at its peak in the last recession. US workers are not in as strong a position to withstand shocks and face many obstacles to higher productivity and wages from technological and structural changes." Vials said emerging markets from Turkey to Indonesia could struggle in the face of rising interest rates, weakening corporate earnings, and depreciating exchange rates. "Indeed, in this scenario, emerging market corporates owing almost 35% of outstanding debt could find it hard to service their obligations. While the situation varies widely across countries, those economies under recent pressure also share some vulnerabilities in their corporate sectors," he said. To solve issues that reveal the inter-connectedness of national economies, he said: "We need greater global policy cooperation as we are all in this together. This extends to monetary policy, financial regulation and supervision, and ensuring orderly market conditions."
Tesco under pressure to win back customers with price cuts

In the latest blow to chief executive Philip Clarke, City analysts say the supermarket chain needs a radical new strategy
Sarah Butler The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.01 BST
Philip Clarke is expected to unveil another grim set of Tesco results next week. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Tesco is facing renewed pressure from the City to cut its prices as analysts say it needs to invest 450m in improving value for shoppers because it has become more expensive than Waitrose on many products. In the latest blow to the chief executive, Philip Clarke, who is expected to reveal another grim round of results next week, analysts said Tesco needed to reveal a radical new strategy to attract shoppers' attention and that his current plan to improve the look of stores and improve service amounted to "fiddling while Rome burns". Analysts at Espirito Santo said Tesco was perceived as the worst of the big four supermarkets on produce quality and value for money, the two most important factors when shoppers decide where to fill their baskets. The Espirito Santo SpendTrend survey covers 2,000 shoppers. The City bank found Tesco was heavily reliant on a "baffling" array of multi-buy promotions, which sometimes mean shoppers pay more per kilogram than if they had bought a single item. Of 17 fruit and vegetable products assessed by analysts, it was cheaper to buy loose items rather than multi-packs in 10 instances including onions, leeks and closed cup mushrooms. But elsewhere, such as on plums, baking potatoes and oranges, shoppers must buy a bag or pack to get the best deal. While basic prices have moved up, Tesco shoppers are more reliant on such multi-pack deals to get the best value, with Tesco offering four times the number of such promotions as its peers. "We think Tesco could be dissuading customers to shop at the store because they end up wasting food and spending more than they initially planned due to this questionable promotional architecture," the analysts say. "We think Tesco needs to immediately address its pricing architecture to improve its price perception with customers." They believe shoppers are increasingly concerned about wasting food and are taking that into account when they assess whether they are getting value for money, making multi-buys less appealing. Tesco said there was little in the analysts' note that it recognised. "Six weeks ago we described how we are accelerating our plans to deliver the most compelling offer for customers, and we are doing exactly that. This includes bringing down the prices of products that matter most to our customers and keeping them down." However, the latest critical note echoes research released late last year by analysts at the US broker Bernstein, which said Tesco had put up prices at a faster pace than any other British grocer. It found that Tesco's prices were closer to Sainsbury's than the more value-conscious Asda. "Tesco is now in an impossible position: it is neither value nor quality, it is simply everywhere, and can't compete with either the quality or value retailers," said the analyst Bruno Monteyne at the time. Clarke is under considerable pressure to take action as Tesco continues to lose market share to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl as well as more upmarket stores such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer in an increasingly divided British food market. This week it was revealed that Tesco's sales fell 3% in the 12 weeks to March 30, according to analysts at Kantar, with only their struggling rival Morrisons worse off.
That disappointing performance came despite Clarke's saying in February that he had speeded up his turnaround plan for Tesco with more store refurbishments in prospect and 200m of price cuts planned for staple groceries. On Wednesday analysts at Oriel said the prospect of an upbeat story from management when Tesco publishes its full year profits next week "has been reduced to almost zero by what appears to be terrible current UK trading". Britain's biggest grocer is expected to announce a 10% decline in trading profit to 3.2bn, and analysts at Shore Capital forecast there will be another decline next year to less than 3bn for the first time since 2009. Oriel called on Clarke to come up with new ways to truly differentiate Tesco from its peers: "The strategy at the moment involves finessing the own-label product whilst retraining the staff and giving the stores a lick of paint. This is fiddling while Rome burns." The pressure on Clarke increased last week when the finance director, Laurie McIlwee, quit. His departure came after weeks of speculation about a bust-up over strategy between the two men and murmurs of McIlwee's difficult relationship with some in the City.
The eurozone's shaky banking system is still the biggest risk to recovery
The IMF's Global Financial Stability Report also provided some sobering statistcics on potential emerging market weaknesses
Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB). Greece's bond market return is a tribut to their work but suppressing a crisis and tackling its legacy are different things. Photograph: Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images
Where will the next financial crisis come from? Events of the past year suggest emerging markets are the place to
look. We've seen two wobbles already, first in May last year when the US Federal Reserve started talking about reining in quantitative easing, then in January this year when the "taper" actually started. Sure enough, the International Monetary Fund's biannual Global Financial Stability Report provided some scary statistics on potential frailties. In the IMF's "severe and adverse" scenario meaning steep rises in borrowing costs, perhaps triggered by capital rushing towards the US, and sharp falls in profits the corporate debt classed as "at risk" in emerging markets could increase by $740bn. Put another way, companies could struggle to service 35% of total debt. That's an average: in some countries, such as Brazil, the ratio would be higher. But the top risk? The IMF report is actually more alarming on the state of the eurozone banking system. Six years after the start of the financial crisis, the IMF reports that the stock of non-performing loans has doubled from the start of 2009 and now stands at !800bn. The bulk of this is corporate debt. The "weak tail" of exposures, defined as loans to firms whose pre-interest earnings are less than their interest expenses, is 20-30% of corporate debt in Italy and 3040% in Spain and Portugal, according to 2012 data. Thus the plea from the IMF to the eurozone to "complete the job" of repairing banks' balance sheets to lessen the weight of bad loans and encourage credit to flow, especially to smaller companies. If anything, though, the problem is getting worse. "Deleveraging has been accelerating in recent months as institutions have shored up their balance sheets ahead of the ECA [the regulator's comprehensive assessment, or stress test]," says the IMF report. Do eurozone politicians and bank regulators have the will to break the cycle? As many, including former chancellor Alistair Darling, point out, the eurozone banking union looks desperately under-powered given the size of need for fresh capital. These may seem churlishly gloomy thoughts on a day that Greece was able to borrow money in the bond markets for the first time in four years. Yes, that event is definitely a tribute to Mario Draghi and European Central Bank's firefighting powers. But suppressing a crisis, and tackling its legacy, are different things. The hard fact is that the eurozone, or a large part of it, still lacks a banking system capable of supporting growth. That still looks to be the big risk out there.
Trade figures show long road ahead to rebalance Britain's economy

Office for National Statistics show trade deficit has narrowed, but the recovery remains domestically focused
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has been in Brazil this week with an eye to opening the market up to British exporters. Photograph: John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images
George Osborne has been in Brazil this week with an eye to opening up one of the world's bigger emerging markets to British exporters. Not before time, if the latest trade figures are anything to go by. The headline news from the Office for National Statistics is that the monthly trade deficit in February narrowed a bit, down to 2.1bn from the 2.2bn in January. But scratch beneath the surface and the reason for being less in the red was that imports fell by more than exports. As Samuel Tombs at Capital Economics noted, the value of goods exports was the lowest since October 2010, while the goods deficit excluding oil and so-called erratics items such as precious stones and aircraft widened from 8bn to 8.5bn. None of this suggests that there is much rebalancing of the economy going on. In essence, any benefits that might have been gained from the 30% depreciation in sterling from 2007 to 2009 has been wiped out by the stagnation in Europe, comfortably the UK's biggest export market. The modest recovery in the eurozone since the middle of last year is likely to provide less of a boost to UK firms than might be imagined. Countries such as Spain are seeing stronger growth because savage deflation has made their exports more competitive. They are not importing much. In addition, the pound has appreciated by 10% over the past 12 months, enough to make life a bit more difficult for British exporters. It is right for the government to be thinking about ways to break into markets growing far more rapidly than Europe is likely to do over the decades to come. But a degree of realism is required. The union jack is arriving in China, India and Brazil long after exporters from rival countries planted their flags. And Britain's big export sectors pharmaceuticals, financial services, education will only come into their own when the emerging economies have matured a bit more. The recovery in the UK has been domestically based; it is likely to remain so.
Britain's property market posts highest sales level in more than six years
But Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warns rising prices will put home ownership out of reach of many
Angela Monaghan The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has warned urgent action was needed to address a shortage of properties. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
Britain's property market recorded the highest level of sales in more six years over the first three months of this year but the surge came with a health warning from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Surveyors sold an average of 22.7 homes each in the three months to March the highest number since February 2008 with strength in the market spread throughout the UK, according to the Rics. However, Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, said that rising prices would put home ownership out of reach for those hoping to get on the ladder unless a shortage of properties was urgently addressed: "We desperately need more homes in areas where people want to buy and want to live. Until this happens we're likely to see prices to continue to increase and it is going to be ever harder for many first time buyers to conceive of ever owning their own home." The number of properties coming on to agents' books fell marginally for a third consecutive month in March. He added: "Now that the housing market recovery is well and truly underway and mortgage finance is more readily available, buyers seem to be looking to test the market right across the country, not just in the usual hot spots of the south-east." The Rics reported a rise in house prices across all regions in March, with 57% more surveyors reporting an increase in prices than a fall. Outside London and the south-east the sharpest rise in prices was in the south-west and the east midlands. The report will refuel concerns that a house price bubble is building in the UK. Last week Nationwide reported an 18% rise in London house prices over the past year, with prices up more than 9% in the rest of the country. Responding to the Rics survey, Labour's shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds, said: "It is welcome that we are seeing a recovery in house sales but it is clear that home ownership is increasingly unaffordable for many low to middle income families and this government has failed to take the action needed to tackle the cause a massive housing shortage. Under this government house building has fallen to its lowest levels in peacetime since the 1920s." With no indication that the imbalance between buyer demand and homes on the market is going to change any time
soon, surveyors expected house prices to continue to rise into the summer months. They predicted average house prices would rise by about 6% a year over the next five years. The number of buyer enquiries increased across the whole of the UK with the exception of Wales where interest levels were flat.
Hewlett-Packard to pay $108m to settle scandal over bribery of public officials

US settlement follows international investigation which found corruption involving IT contracts in Poland, Russia and Mexico
Juliette Garside The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.28 BST
Hewlett-Packard subsidiaries in Poland, Russia and Mexico were charged with bribing government officials to gain lucrative public contracts. Photograph: Marcus Brandt/EPA
Computing multinational Hewlett-Packard (HP) is to pay US regulators $108m to settle a corruption scandal involving employees at subsidiaries in three countries, who were charged with bribing government officials to win and retain lucrative public contracts. The case piles further pressure on the HP boss, Meg Whitman, who is already managing the fallout from her company's disastrous acquisition of the British software group Autonomy, while losing ground commercially to Samsung, Apple and Chinese rival Lenovo. Corruption was unearthed in relation to contracts worth $40m to install IT equipment at the national police headquarters in Poland, !35m of work for government prosecutors in Russia, and a deal to supply Mexico's state-
headquarters in Poland, !35m of work for government prosecutors in Russia, and a deal to supply Mexico's stateowned petroleum company. The investigation has involved regulators in Poland and Germany, the US Department of Justice (DoJ), its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the FBI. A parallel criminal case has now been announced by the DoJ. In Poland, prosecutors on Wednesday charged a former HP executive, named in accordance with local law only as Tomasz Z, with handing over cash, computers and audio and video equipment worth more than $600,000 to the head of IT at the country's police headquarters. Meanwhile the SEC said HP's subsidiary in Russia had also paid more than $2m through agents and various shell companies to a Russian government official to retain a multimillion-dollar contract with the federal prosecutor's office. The corruption is said to have occurred from 2000 to 2007. In Mexico, as part of a bid to win a software sale to the state petroleum company, an HP subsidiary paid more than $1m in inflated commissions to a consultant with close ties to company officials, and the money, referred to internally as an "influencer fee", is said to have been funnelled to one of those officials. Kara Brockmeyer, of the SEC enforcement division, said: "Hewlett-Packard lacked the internal controls to stop a pattern of illegal payments to win business in Mexico and Eastern Europe. The company's books and records reflected the payments as legitimate commissions and expenses. "Companies have a fundamental obligation to ensure that their internal controls are both reasonably designed and appropriately implemented across their entire business operations, and they should take a hard look at the agents conducting business on their behalf." US regulators have launched a wide-ranging probe into the behaviour of US IT companies abroad. IBM said last year it was under investigation in Poland and four other countries, and the company paid $10m, also in 2013, to settle a corruption case involving China and South Korea. Cisco said last month the company and its resellers in Russia, eastern Europe and central Asia are being investigated. Poland has been pursuing allegations of corruption against a group of multinational IT companies, covering a period from 2007 to 2009. The probe is now drawing to a head, with officials saying on Wednesday that 41 people, including IT company executives, government officials and former police officers, had been charged with almost 70 offences. The interior minister, Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, took to the radio to hail a "breakthrough moment in Poland when a great international company acknowledges its corrupt activities in Poland". Under the US's Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it illegal to bribe foreign government officials, HP or individuals involved in the case could be subject to penalties of up to $725,000 per violation and the company could be forced to hand back any profits. If found guilty of criminal offences, the penalty could rise to $25m per violation. John Schultz, an executive vice-president and general counsel at HP, said: "The misconduct described in the settlement was limited to a small number of people who are no longer employed by the company. HP fully cooperated with both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the investigation of these matters."
UK trade deficit narrows in February

Despite improved figures analysts warn of negative drag and UK is 'not making enough things that other countries want to buy'
Angela Monaghan theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 11.38 BST Jump to comments ()
Aerial view of the Royal Albert Docks and London's City Airport. The government is hoping to rebalance the UK economy towards a greater reliance on manufacturing and exports, away from spending and financial services. Photograph: Jason Hawkes/Getty Images
Britain's trade deficit narrowed in February as imports fell more sharply than exports, but signs of the government's desired economic rebalancing remained elusive. Exports fell by 1.6% on the previous month to 23.5bn, the lowest level in more than three years, while imports fell by a sharper 2.2% to 32.6bn. That left a goods deficit of 9.1bn in February, smaller than January's 9.5bn deficit and slightly smaller than the 9.3bn predicted by the City. The overall trade deficit fell to 2.1bn in February, down from 2.2bn in January. Despite a shrinking deficit, economists said the figures suggested trade would be a negative drag on the economy in the first quarter. Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Berenberg, said: "Fundamentally, the UK is running a trade deficit because we do not make enough things that other countries want to buy perhaps as a result of the many years of an overvalued exchange rate before the crisis. And also because the authorities are stimulating a stronger domestic recovery than our main trading partner, the euro-area. That is unlikely to be a recipe for a dramatic rebalancing of the UK." The government is hoping to rebalance the UK economy towards a greater reliance on manufacturing and exports, away from spending and financial services. George Osborne set a target in 2012 of doubling UK exports to 1tn by 2020, and announced measures in last month's budget aimed at helping to achieve that goal. However, trade is not expected to be a driver of UK growth over the next five years according to the government's
However, trade is not expected to be a driver of UK growth over the next five years according to the government's independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility. The trade picture in February worsened when the impact of erratic goods such as aircraft accounting for a large proportion of the fall in imports was stripped out. Imports were down by just 0.6% on that basis, a smaller drop than the fall in exports. The fall in UK exports was most pronounced in goods shipped to countries within the European Union, Britain's biggest trading partner, down by 300m to 11.7bn. In more positive news for the government, exports outside the EU performed slightly better, down by less than 100m to 11.9bn. UK exports have been hit by weak demand from the eurozone during the financial crisis, and policymakers believe that increased trade with fast growing emerging markets will be key if the long term rebalancing of the economy is to be achieved. The ONS said that a better understanding of Britain's trade position could be gleaned from quarterly rather than monthly data. Again the goods deficit narrowed by 3bn to 26.2bn in the three months to February compared with the previous three months, as imports fell more sharply than exports. The broader trade in goods and services deficit also narrowed modestly, to 2.1bn in February from 2.2bn in January. Data from the UK manufacturing sector on Tuesday showed a much stronger than expected increase in output in February, providing some hope that exports of British goods might start to pick up. "Strong manufacturing growth and a recently improving trade balance hold out some hope that the UK economy will not suffer too much of a drag from net trade this year and next," Wood said.
Guinea to strip Beny Steinmetz company of mining concessions

Decision marks turning point in two-year battle between billionaire and Guinea's first democratically-elected government
Ian Cobain, Juliette Garside and Anne Penketh The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 23.06 BST
Steinmetz had acquired the rights to a giant iron ore deposit beneath the Simandou mountains. Photograph: Guardian
One of the world's wealthiest men was dealt a blow by one of the world's poorest countries on Wednesday when an investigation by the government of Guinea concluded that a company run by billionaire Beny Steinmetz should be stripped of lucrative mining concessions because it had obtained them through corruption. The decision is a turning point in the two-year battle between Steinmetz and the first-ever democratically-elected government of the impoverished west African country of Guinea for control of the world's riches untapped iron ore deposits. Steinmetz had acquired the rights to a giant deposit beneath the Simandou mountains in a deal that was widely regarded as remarkable, even within the buccaneering world of African mining: his company BSG Resources (BSGR) said it had won two mining concessions as a result of a $165m (98.5m) investment in the exploration of the area. It then sold 51% of its prize to the Brazilian mining giant Vale for $2.5bn. However, a government committee in the Guinean capital of Conakry now says it possesses what it describes as "precise and coherent evidence" that BSGR used intermediaries to pay bribes to Mamadie Tour, the wife of Lansana Cont, the dictatorial ruler of the country until his death in 2008. She claims to have received a series of payments totalling over $3m from BSGR representatives starting in 2006, and to have signed a contract for a further $5m in 2010. "Such corrupt practices nullify the mining titles and the mining convention," the committee said in its 33-page report. Much of the evidence was gathered in the US by the FBI during an inquiry into the activities of Frederic Cilins, an associate of Steinmetz, and handed over to the government of Guinea. Cilins is said to have offered further bribes to Tour, totalling $150,000, to persuade her to destroy documents that allegedly detail the corrupt payments said to have secured the mining concessions. He was arrested in Florida after the FBI recorded a series of meetings with Tour, and faces four years in prison after pleading guilty last month to obstructing a criminal investigation. The US investigation into alleged breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is continuing. The committee in Conakry published some of the evidence gathered by the FBI, including transcripts of conversations recorded covertly when Cilins and Tour met at Jacksonville airport in Florida on several occasions last year. Cilins was recorded telling Tour that Steinmetz had authorised the bribes. "OK? Everything I'm telling you, it's directly from Beny," he was recorded saying. The committee recommended that a joint venture company established by BSGR and Vale be stripped of the concessions, which will now be put out to tender. The committee said that it was likely that Vale had not been involved in corrupt practices, and recommended that it be permitted to re-tender for the iron ore concessions, but said that BSGR should be barred. Vale has already paid over $500m to BSGR and invested further sums in the venture. The company said it had entered into the joint venture on the basis of its understanding that the concessions had been "obtained lawfully and without any improper promises or payments". Vale is understood to now be planning legal action against BSGR.
Guinea possesses abundant reserves of diamonds, bauxite, gold and uranium, as well as iron ore. Despite this, it is one of the world's most impoverished countries, and much of its population live without clean water, electricity or education. Responsibility for this state of affairs has been attributed to Cont and the small number of relatives and other associates who surrounded him during the years of his rule. One Human Rights Watch report described this group as being to blame for the "criminalisation of the state". In 2010, however, following the election of Alpha Cond as president, the government began to re-examine past mining contracts, including the deeply-controversial BSGR iron ore deal. Steinmetz, 58, is an Israeli citizen and is said to be that country's richest businessmen, with an estimated wealth of around $6.7bn. He controls BSGR through family trusts. The company is registered in Guernsey and has offices in London and Geneva. His business is also under investigation by Swiss authorities. Last year, following a request by the government of Guinea, Swiss police raided the Geneva offices of a company that provides management services for BSGR, and searched a private plane used by the tycoon. Steinmetz's spokesman said BSGR denied any wrongdoing and would disprove the allegations. "The Guinean government is relying on fabricated claims, compromised witnesses and illegitimate processes," he said. He also alleged that the concessions had been acquired lawfully and were being taken away in order to reward the government's political allies, a claim that the government of Guinea denies. In the past, Steinmetz has claimed that the allegations against him are rooted in envy at his success. He is widely expected to attempt to recover the rights to the Simandou deposit by bringing proceedings in an international court of arbitration. There was no immediate comment from his spokesman about the transcript of the FBI recording in which Cilins claimed that Steinmetz had authorised the payment of bribes.
Beny Steinmetz: losing his sparkle?

According to the official website of Beny Steinmetz, the Israeli diamond, finance and property tycoon, the expression "the sky's the limit" could never be applied to his business ambitions. "To him," the website says, "the sky is only the beginning." Given the nature of his ambition, it is perhaps not surprising that when he decided to branch out into African iron ore mining, he struck not just a deal, but the deal "the jackpot" in the words of one industry observer. The deal in which Steinmetz acquired an iron ore concession in Guinea, west Africa, that was worth at least $5bn, through an investment of $165m, is coming back to haunt him. One corruption probe in Guinea has resulted in him being stripped of the iron ore concession, while a second, conducted by the FBI, is grinding on in the US. Steinmetz was born in April 1956 in Netanya, Israel, the fourth child of Rubin Steinmetz, who had established a successful family diamond trading business. After completing his military service, he left for Belgium at the age of 21 to work for a leading diamond dealer. Later he joined forces with his brother, Daniel, to create Steinmetz Diamonds Group and subsequently the Beny Steinmetz Group. Today, estimates of his wealth vary from $4bn to $6.7bn. Steinmetz holds a French passport along with his Israeli citizenship and described himself as an "international
Steinmetz holds a French passport along with his Israeli citizenship and described himself as an "international Israeli". He divides his time between Israel, Geneva and the south of France. He and his wife Agnes met as teenagers and have four children. Ian Cobain
Comment & debate
The Queen's lunch with Martin McGuinness was an act of trust After Maria Miller, the good news is that MPs can change PC Blakelock murder trial: the case against Nicky Jacobs was flawed from the start Martin Rowson on Maria Miller's resignation Diary: Yes, it's Nigel Farage's United Kingdom Expenses party Venezuela shows that protest can be a defence of privilege
The Queen's lunch with Martin McGuinness was an act of trust

The Troubles and its horrors are impossible to forget, but in order to move on we have to put them behind us
Mary Warnock The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.42 BST Jump to comments ()
'There is nothing more futile than now expressing regret for our ancestors actions that were then regarded as normal.' Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
So, the Queen entertained for lunch at Windsor not only the amiable president of the Republic of Ireland, Michael Higgins (who came straight on to address both houses of parliament), but the former IRA commander Martin McGuinness. Predictably, and understandably, relatives of people who had been killed by the IRA, in Birmingham and elsewhere, protested outside Windsor Castle, claiming that this was a manifest act of injustice and an insult to those who had been murdered. Justice demanded that McGuinness should now be behind bars. This comes after the discovery in February that around 200 letters had been sent out by the Northern Ireland Office to people previously wanted as IRA members, telling them that they were no longer being sought. Has there been a general amnesty for ex-IRA members? "Amnesty" literally means a deliberate act of forgetfulness of the past, but it is used almost exclusively in political contexts, to mean that no further action will be taken against previous enemies or as if the incident had not occurred. And of course one cannot deliberately forget things, though one can deliberately behave as if one had forgotten, or even as if they had never occurred. But there are deeply difficult problems in deciding what should be the official and public attitude to the past. There is nothing easier or less significant than apologising to former colonies for, centuries ago, having colonised them; nothing more futile than now expressing regret for our ancestors' actions that were then regarded as normal, though would now be condemned. But there are some events so horrible that it is impossible to say, in effect "we'll say no more about it". We need think no further than the Holocaust, and the difficulty the German people have had in facing their own past, let alone that of the Jewish community in not regarding themselves as for ever a special case because of their then appalling sufferings. Most recently, Rwanda deliberately and bravely chose the attitude it was going to adopt towards the massacres of 20 years ago. Of course those vast numbers whose lives had been affected, whether as perpetrators or as orphans, would not forget; but a public decision had been taken; a joint performative act carried out. And because it was an act it will have consequences. In the case of the Windsor lunch, I believe the Queen was right. I happened to have been in Ireland on the day after McGuinness became minister for education and, meeting him at an educational conference, I was astonished at that time to be shaking hands with someone I still thought of as a senior member of the IRA, a man who had probably carried a gun. But times have changed; and this was indeed the burden of President Higgins's remarks to parliament on Tuesday. It was after all part of the Good Friday agreement, that if both the north and the south of Ireland so wished, in future there might be unification. And I have noticed an increasing tendency for people in conversation to speak of the two as one. Of course, we cannot overlook the horrors of the Orange marches, nor the continuing hatred between Catholics and Protestants. Though people sometimes talk as if the Troubles began in the 1970s, this is far from true. They were centuries old; and the Irish have extraordinarily long memories. (I did not live for nearly 50 years with an atheist but fanatically Protestant Ulsterman without becoming aware of this.) If we still feel a bit queasy about Gerry Adams we should pretend that we do not, and trust McGuinness to have changed his ways.
changed his ways.
After Maria Miller, the good news is that MPs can change
The culture secretary's thoroughly modern departure will prompt reform, although mistrust in politics still presents a wider problem
Martin Kettle The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 20.10 BST Jump to comments ()
'Resignations happen under every government. But it is not until the postwar period that personal scandals, including financial scandals, become the trigger.' Illustration by Matt Kenyon
Maria Miller's resignation is a modern parable of political weakness. She was determined to stay as culture secretary. The prime minister was determined to keep her. They both came under attack. David Cameron held the line even more doggedly. Then Miller had to go. Far from looking strong, as he intended, Cameron now looks weak. And there are elections in six weeks' time. The template for Miller's demise is now a very familiar one. It's essentially the same template that fits Cameron's long, drawn-out attempt to keep Liam Fox in 2011. Further back, it closely resembles Gordon Brown's attempts to hang on to Jacqui Smith, and Tony Blair's struggles to keep David Blunkett and Peter Mandelson, the first time around at least. John Major's battle to retain David Mellor back in 1992 also has many of the same characteristics as the Miller case. All of them lost. Quite often, it is true, ministers manage to ride out calls to quit. Between 1976 and 2007, 55 ministers were forced out of office under Conservative and Labour governments alike. In the same period, however, 168 ministers managed to hang on in spite of calls for them to quit. Sometimes they survived very sustained pressure indeed, as Stephen Byers did after the "good day to bury bad news" furore in 2001, though Byers was never the same politician
Stephen Byers did after the "good day to bury bad news" furore in 2001, though Byers was never the same politician after that. Look down the list of historical ministerial resignations in the political reference books and one thing strikes you about the pattern. Ministerial resignations happen under every government. But it is not until the postwar period that personal scandals, including financial scandals, become the trigger. Now they have become almost the norm. In the first half of the 20th century, ministers by and large resigned over public policy from Joseph Chamberlain over imperial preference in 1903, to Enoch Powell over economic strategy in 1958. In all those years not a single minister is listed as resigning over a private scandal of any kind, sexual or financial. Today resignation as a result of scandals or indiscretions is closer to the rule. There are, of course, honourable modern exceptions such as Michael Heseltine over Westland, or Robin Cook over Iraq. But most of the recent entries in the reference books have the words "private scandal" alongside them as Miller's name will now have too. None of this means modern parliamentarians are more scandalous or corrupt than their predecessors. If anything, the reverse is almost certainly the case. William Gladstone, HH Asquith and David Lloyd George are only the betterknown leaders whose private lives would have been unsustainable in the social media era. What has changed is that we know much more about their affairs, partly because of greater transparency and accountability, and in part because the media has changed from being respectful, to hostile. This largely explains why there are more ministerial resignations now than in the past. It also explains why calls for resignation are much more common. In the words of the main academic survey of postwar ministerial resignations: "The rise in the number of calls for resignation almost certainly demonstrates the increased scrutiny by the press of governments, and the increasing lack of respect paid to politicians by the mass media." All of which is even more true in the Twittersphere era. In the end, it is not true that Miller has been given such a hard time because she was trying, albeit rather limply, to implement the Leveson report. Having said that, it is worth noting that, along with Mellor, she is the second culture secretary to be forced out in the last 25 years, and that two others, Tessa Jowell and Jeremy Hunt, came close to sharing her fate too. It would be truer to say that Miller went because she was a wounded politician at a time when the public has contempt for politicians, and because the media, to paraphrase a character in King Lear, like to kill politicians for their sport. Always remember that the British press, with or without Leveson, has a collective selfinterest in weak government and weak politicians. Miller is another victim of that, though she certainly contributed to her own downfall too. The easy conclusion from Miller's tale is that parliament has to make the expenses system even tighter and even more accountable. It is 20 years since the committee on standards in public life began to get a grip on the Westminster culture. But still MPs, through the standards committee, can put their finger on the scales of justice, as they did so destructively in Miller's case. Cameron made clear today that this will all be revisited. Self-regulation clearly has to end. MPs could also do worse than consider a suggestion made by one of Miller's Basingstoke constituents on the Today programme on Wednesday: that out-of-London MPs are housed in government-owned halls of residence, thus taking housing claims off the board altogether. The much tougher and longer-term issue is how to tackle public mistrust. Unfortunately there is no simple button to reset the dials. Restoring trust in politics is a many-layered and diverse task, involving everything from changing the look and sound of politics, to reforming the electoral and parliamentary systems. It would also benefit from a better media than we have now. Maria Miller was a fool. She mishandled her own case and she paid the price. Nigel Farage's Ukip, with its disgraceful record on EU parliament expenses, may well be the winner. But there is some good news. Unlike other groups despised by the public such as bankers and journalists MPs mostly understand the problem. Most are up for change. It just requires leadership.
PC Blakelock murder trial: the case against Nicky Jacobs was flawed from the start
As in the Tottenham Three trial in 1987, the prosecution was driven by desperation. But this time, thankfully, justice was done
Stafford Scott The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.25 BST Jump to comments ()
Police officers in riot gear on the Broadwater Farm estate the morning after the riot of October 6 1985. Photograph: Julian Herbert/Getty Images
The trial of Nicky Jacobs for the murder of PC Blakelock should never have taken place it had no chance whatsoever of securing a conviction. This is not because of the passage of time, but because of the paucity and reliability of the evidence. While many commentators have tried to draw parallels between this case and that of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, in that many years have elapsed between the killing and the trial, no such parallels exist. In the Lawrence case evidence existed but police failed to gather it or act on it; in the Jacobs case no such evidence ever existed. This was a trial in which the state relied heavily on the testimony of three alleged witnesses. However, their testimony contradicted the facts of the case established almost 29 years ago; and they also contradicted each other. Let's remember that the first two witnesses given the pseudonyms John Brown and Rhodes Levin to protect their identities had previously been paid thousands as a "reward" for their help to the Metropolitan police during the first re-investigation in the early 1990s. They were also granted immunity from prosecution, having confessed to being part of the mob that attacked and killed Blakelock and to kicking and punching the officer up to 10 times each.
In 1994 the DPP agreed that the kickers and punchers could receive immunity if testifying against the stabbers and choppers. However in 1985, when the crime occurred, anyone in and around the mob would have been charged with murder under the doctrine of common purpose and joint enterprise. In July 2013 Levin pleaded guilty to possession of 63 bags of class A drugs with intent to supply. Having already been to prison for drug-related offences, he should have expected a lengthy prison sentence, but because of his role in this trial he received merely a 12-month community service order. He was given relocation costs and at least one plane ticket, to return from holiday in Spain, by the Met. Brown was also given money to pay off his rent arrears and phone bills. The prosecution, and the officers giving testimony in this trial, claimed in court that these were not inducements to encourage their testimony. But those of us who had been listening in the public gallery find this hard to understand. Especially my friends Winston Silcott and Mark Braithwaite, two of the Tottenham Three who had previously been wrongly convicted and subsequently acquitted of Blakelock's murder. For them this trial felt like deja vu. Not only had it begun in the same courtroom in which they had been wrongfully convicted in March 1987 court two of the Old Bailey but the lack of any forensic or scientific evidence to corroborate the testimony, and the reliance on vulnerable individuals to shore up a case built on emotion and desperation, mirrored exactly what happened 27 years ago. Both Brown and Levin admitted on numerous occasions to having lied to the police. Levin accepted that he had originally named Silcott as the ringleader until after the acquittal in 1991. He then named two other individuals as the "big man" who had led the attack on the officer. He also supplied a further 10 names of members of the mob that he later withdrew, leaving Jacobs as the fall guy. Curiously Brown put the location of the murder at the wrong end of Broadwater Farm. This is interesting because the third witness, "Q", also got the location of the murder totally wrong, but maybe it's not quite as strange as it sounds, as Q is the cousin of Brown. The three "witnesses" each described Jacobs as having a different weapon on the night, Brown said it was a "two-foot scythe," Levin a "six-inch lock blade", and Q a "machete or sharpened piece of scaffold". Levin also admitted to naming others as key players simply because he did not like them. And, alarmingly, Brown told the police in a statement he gave in 1993: "It's very hard for me because I can't tell the difference between them. To me a black man is a black man." In court he accepted that this perspective is "pretty much the same today". Nicky Jacobs is a black man. That the crown has chosen to rely on evidence of this quality to achieve a conviction beggars belief especially after the embarrassment of the original murder trial that eventually saw all six charged with Blakelock's killing acquitted. This trial had more similarities with an attempted legal lynching then it did with the pursuit for truth and justice. Those responsible for allowing this trial to take place should now be held to account. This isn't simply about the actions of the police alone; the Crown Prosecution Service must also share responsibility for this debacle. Courtenay Griffiths QC, representing Jacobs, described the decision to charge him as deplorable. But what is even more deplorable is that the family of PC Blakelock has had to endure the agony of yet another trial where the police have sought to make the evidence fit the suspect rather than the other way round.
Series: The Guardian comment cartoon

Martin Rowson The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014 Jump to comments ()
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Martin Rowson on Maria Miller's resignation Diary: Yes, it's Nigel Farage's United Kingdom Expenses party
From Brussels to Yorkshire, the Kippers have shown that at heart they are a traditional bunch of commonsense trough gobblers
Michael White The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 23.00 BST
The new Ukip symbol? Photograph: David Gray/REUTERS
So get rid of Maria Miller and vote Ukip for an end to political hypocrisy and expenses greed? Not exactly. Nigel Farage cheerfully admits to his participation in the Great Euro-Gravy Train robbery to the tune of 2m of expenses since 1999 far more than Ronnie Biggs managed from his 1963 caper. Some fellow-Kipper MEPs do even better, and all this on top of their 79k salaries in a job they all despise, especially the work bit. One was jailed for fraud (36k diverted to cars and wine), another for benefit fiddling (65k). That's an even higher proportion than Labour considering Ukip currently has seven MEPs, after losing six to pub sulks and defections since 2009. Not convinced? Then take a look at the online battle raging at Cupwith reservoir, on the moorland outside Huddersfield, between locals and William Legge, aka the 10th Earl of Dartmouth (which makes him Princess Di's stepbrother). A Kipper MEP for South West England, he's also a Yorkshire landowner. At stake is a planning application to build a windfarm (each turbine worth 20k a year in rent to its landlord), which critics say makes Legge a hypocrite since Ukip opposes wind nonsense. Harried by activists and a tenacious blogger called Autonomous Mind (they keep finding Legge's name linked to labyrinthine company structures involved), Legge finally abandoned his Maria Miller posture this week. "The land is owned by a relative," he conceded. But who? A less controversial peer, Labour's Viscount Simon, asked yesterday if it is true (the BBC reported it, so it must be) that Britain has "the largest production and consumption of baked beans in the world", and whether what Lord S called "the smelly emission resulting therefrom" formed part of the government's climate change calculations? An important point, replied Lady Verma cryptically: "We need to moderate our behaviour." Wot? No windfarm?
When our celeb culture sustains a casualty like Peaches Geldof, the media behaves like a rubbernecking motorist at an M1 crash rather than the lorry near the front of the pile-up whose driver has escaped unhurt (again). Yet some celebs survive it all. After eight wives, three bankruptcies, drink, drugs and 340 films, Mickey Rooney was prematurely carried off this week at 93. He even survived playing Baron Hardup in panto at 89 in Milton Keynes too. The Daily Mail, which rarely leaves a feud untended, joined forces this week with the Real IRA to deplore (over five pages) the decision to make the Queen dine with ex-IRA gunman Martin (White Tie) McGuinness, in honour of Ireland's pixie president Michael D Higgins, at Windsor. The spirit of reconciliation has not yet permeated Catholic Voices, a Vatican-backed social media enterprise, where an activist who tweets as Madame Ratzinger (naughty, that's Pope Benedict's surname) has just belatedly resigned after remarking that "all fags are mentally ill", and that the IRA might care to bomb a Northern Ireland abortion centre. Also unmoved by the Windsor love-in and the McGuinness white tie is the National Trust for Ireland. It has just won the right to challenge the new nuclear power station across the water at Hinkley Point. Doesn't Dublin realise it's Chinese investors they're taking on now? The backlash begins. Steve Pound, the lovable Labour MP for Ealing North, remembers Maria Miller as "top Tory totty" (and a moderate) in their LSE days. Nor is she the first Tory highflying MP for Basingstoke to come a cropper. Denzil Freeth (1924-2010) quietly resigned a promising ministerial career in 1964 after being classed a possible security risk in the wake of the Profumo scandal and panic. Gay? Possibly. The past is another country. Irrepressible ex-MP and HMP Brixton graduate Denis MacShane, is telling French 'acks that he introduced his exassistant Axelle Lemaire, new digital economy minister in Paris, to Franois Hollande in 2007 as a future president. "Not before me, I hope, Denis," the scooter lover quipped. MacShame on her CV may be a barrier. Twitter: @michaelwhite
Venezuela shows that protest can be a defence of privilege

Street action is now regularly used with western backing to target elected governments in the interests of elites
Seumas Milne in Caracas The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 21.30 BST Jump to comments ()
'Despite claims that the government is waging a terror campaign, the evidence suggests a majority have been killed by opposition supporters.' Photograph: Carlos Becerra/AFP/Getty Images
If we didn't know it before, the upsurge in global protest in the past couple of years has driven home the lesson that mass demonstrations can have entirely different social and political meanings. Just because they wear bandannas and build barricades and have genuine grievances doesn't automatically mean protesters are fighting for democracy or social justice. From Ukraine to Thailand and Egypt to Venezuela, large-scale protests have aimed at, or succeeded in, ousting elected governments in the past year. In some countries, mass protests have been led by working class organisations, targeting austerity and corporate power. In others, predominantly middle class unrest has been the lever to restore ousted elites. Sometimes, in the absence of political organisation, they can straddle the two. But whoever they represent, they tend to look similar on TV. And so effective have street demonstrations been in changing governments over the past 25 years that global powers have piled into the protest business in a major way. From the overthrow of the elected Mossadegh government in Iran in the 1950s, when the CIA and MI6 paid antigovernment demonstrators, the US and its allies have led the field: sponsoring "colour revolutions", funding client NGOs and training student activists, fuelling social media protest and denouncing or ignoring violent police crackdowns as it suits them. And after a period when they preened themselves on promoting democracy, they are reverting to their antidemocratic ways. Take Venezuela, which for the past two months has been racked by anti-government protests aimed at overthrowing the socialist government of Nicolas Maduro, elected president last year to succeed Hugo Chvez. The rightwing Venezuelan opposition has long had a problem with the democracy business, having lost 18 out of 19 elections or referendums since Chvez was first elected in 1998 in an electoral process described by former US president Jimmy Carter as "the best in the world". Their hopes were raised last April when the opposition candidate lost to Maduro by only 1.5%. But in December, nationwide elections gave the Chavista coalition a 10-point lead. So the following month, US-linked opposition leaders several of whom were involved in the failed US-backed coup against Chvez in 2002 launched a campaign to oust Maduro, calling on their supporters to "light up the streets with struggle". With high inflation, violent crime and shortages of basic goods, there was plenty to fuel the campaign and protesters responded, literally. For eight weeks, they have burned universities, public buildings and bus stations, while up to 39 people have died. Despite claims by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, that the government is waging a "terror campaign" against its citizens, the evidence suggests a majority have been killed by opposition supporters, including eight members of the security forces and three motorcyclists garrotted by wire strung across street barricades. Four opposition supporters have been killed by police, for which several officers have been arrested. What are portrayed as peaceful protests have all the hallmarks of an anti-democratic rebellion, shot through with class privilege and racism. Overwhelmingly middle class and confined to wealthy white areas, the protests have now shrunk to firebombings and ritual fights with the police, while parts of the opposition have agreed to peace talks.
Support for the government, meanwhile, remains solid in working class areas. As Anacauna Marin, a local activist in the 23 January barrio in Caracas puts it: "Historically protests are a way for the poor to demand an improvement in their conditions. But here the rich are protesting and the poor are working." It's hardly surprising in the circumstances that Maduro regards what's been going on as Ukraine-style US-backed destabilisation, as he told me. The US claim that this is an unfounded "excuse" is absurd. Evidence for the US subversion of Venezuela from the 2002 coup through WikiLeaks-revealed cables outlining US plans to "penetrate", "isolate" and "divide" the Venezuelan government, to continuing large-scale funding of opposition groups is voluminous. That's not only because Venezuela sits on the world's largest oil reserves, but because it has spearheaded the progressive tide that has swept Latin America over the past decade: challenging US domination, taking back resources from corporate control and redistributing wealth and power. Despite its current economic problems, revolutionary Venezuela's achievements are indisputable. Since regaining control of its oil, Venezuela has used it to slash poverty by half and extreme poverty by 70%, massively expanded public health, housing, education and women's rights, boosted pensions and the minimum wage, established tens of thousands of co-ops and public enterprises, put resources in the hands of a grassroots participatory democracy, and funded health and development programmes across Latin American and the Caribbean. So it's not surprising that Maduro's Chavistas still have majority support. To maintain that, the government will have to get a grip on shortages and inflation which it has the means to do. Prices spiked after it cut the supply of dollars to the private sector, which dominates food imports and supply, while a large proportion of price-controlled goods are smuggled into Colombia to sell at far higher prices. A recent easing of currency controls has already had an impact. For all its problems, the economy has continued to grow and unemployment and poverty fall. Venezuela is very far from being the basket case of its enemies' hopes. But the risk is that as the protests run out of steam, sections of the opposition turn to greater violence to compensate for their failure at the ballot box. Venezuela and its progressive allies in Latin America matter to the rest of the world not because they offer a readymade political and economic model, but because they have demonstrated that there are multiple social and economic alternatives to the failed neoliberal system that still has the west and its allies in its grip. Their opponents hope that the impetus for regional change has exhausted itself with Chvez's death. The recent election of the left-leaning Michelle Bachelet in Chile and the former leftwing rebel leader Snchez Cern in El Salvador suggests the tide is still flowing. But powerful interests at home and abroad are determined that it fails which means there will be more Venezuela-style protests to come. Twitter: @SeumasMilne
Editorials & reply
In praise of the three-toed sloth Politics after Maria Miller: resigned to business as usual Drug trials: test match Corrections and clarifications Praise is off key Domestic workers' rights and slavery We need more open-access rail competition Public-private partnerships can help improve healthcare in Africa A close encounter with a hare sparks a moment of pure joy Ageing and the NHS Blair legacy so much more than Iraq
In praise of the three-toed sloth

Now it emerges there is even more to these rainforest-dwelling Americans than cute features
Editorial The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 23.43 BST Jump to comments ()
Sloth is so often used as an abusive term for idleness that it is easy to overlook the anthropomorphic charm of the sloth face. Now it emerges there is even more to these rainforest-dwelling Americans than cute features. Take new research into the habits of the three-toed sloth, not on any account to be confused with its very distant relation, the two-toed sloth. In order to support an almost totally immobile lifestyle, the Bradypus family appears to have evolved a personal ecosystem. Scientists believe it ingests an algae that lives within grooves on individual hairs in its fur. The algae is fertilised by a moth which also lives cosily next to the skin. The more moths, the more nitrogen, the more algae and the better-fed the sloth. That explains one last puzzle of the sloth way of living the weekly dice with death when they come down from the tree for a poo. It's to make a home for moth eggs. Good for the moths, though all too often not for the sloth.
Politics after Maria Miller: resigned to business as usual

Her own air of insouciance was less remarkable than that of all those who left her in dangling discomfort for so long
Her own air of insouciance was less remarkable than that of all those who left her in dangling discomfort for so long
Editorial The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 23.16 BST Jump to comments ()
She wasn't the worst exploiter of expenses, and was cleared of some of the things she had been accused of. But Maria Miller pushed rules that were already rotten, and later resisted the probes tasked with putting things straight. More fatefully still, she offered an "apology" which conveyed no contrition. Married to a solicitor, the woman who was culture secretary until yesterday managed the crisis with the narrowest focus on what was possible within the law, with no thought about what could be presented to the public. The Miller missteps might have been survivable had they concerned anything other than parliamentary expenses, the issue that stirred the whole country into a flaming rage five years ago, yet one which has faded more rapidly from the minds of many MPs than from the minds of those they represent. Although a cabinet minister, Mrs Miller had risen without trace, and had no experience of the full glare of the spotlight, when the press pack and at least some of its readers are up in arms. With a career to defend, her own air of insouciance was less remarkable than that of all those who left her in dangling discomfort for so long. MPs of all parties on the standards committee believed that it would wash to override the verdict of an independent commissioner, and reduce the repayment required from Mrs Miller by around 90%. The Labour party, which has had more than its share of expenses problems, was so slow to call on the culture secretary to step down that Ed Miliband, on Wednesday, was unable to hit home at prime minister's questions, on what should have been an easy day. And then there was David Cameron himself, who, as the row about the semiapology deepened, suggested that enough was enough, and "people should leave it at that". It was a striking misjudgment from a man who made such ruthless capital out of the original expenses crisis. In 2009, Mr Cameron sensed that the mood required him to make a very public sacrifice of knights of the shire, like Sir Peter Viggers (who unsuccessfully passed on the receipt for his duck island), without worrying too much about how seriously (or not) the technical rules had been breached. But even as Mr Cameron pledged himself to A New Politics at this mercurial time, the old power games continued under the surface. George Osborne's remortgage, which popped up as a comparator in the commissioner's report on Mrs Miller, was played down rather than hammed up, as indeed was the reported "flipping" of home designations of another core Cameron ally, Michael Gove. Four years on, the education secretary recalls the rage and perhaps his own brush with disaster. He yesterday gave a shrewdly pitched interview, which effectively acknowledged that "raw" public feelings about expenses doomed the culture secretary. The contrast with the more bullish PM was stark, even though this leader, who has always had a knack for clinging on to his officers, had just lost a very public battle for one of them. Fresh from losing his minister, he went to the Commons defiant, and told the house that it was "a good and honest parliament, with good and hardworking people in it". Mr Cameron's claim is probably true: few at Westminster are chiefly driven by venal motives. In a world where "Well, I'm not a politician" wins an easy Question Time cheer, there is certain admirable chutzpah in having come out and said it. After four years as prime minister, he calculates he can no longer play the insurgent. That might seem reasonable if Mrs Miller's tale about a committee of MPs looking after one of their own had not just revealed how unreformed Westminster remains. By making it his role to defend parliament as it is, rather than to pretend he is going to change it, Mr Cameron is gambling that no new scandal about sleaze or string-pulling will dog any more of his ministers soon. Should he be proven wrong about that, he could begin to look less like the defender of the faith in parliament as a whole and more like the shop steward of a hated Westminster club.
Drug trials: test match

The government has spent more than 500m stockpiling drugs against a flu pandemic. On the face of it, a bad call
Editorial The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014 Jump to comments ()
Taking medication is, for most people, an act of faith supported by confidence in if not understanding of the trials and approvals that lie behind the launch of every treatment. That puts a unique burden on those who do them. For the pharmaceutical companies that will have invested millions of pounds taking their product to the brink of the market, failure is disastrous. The incentive is to be as economical with the data as the rules allow. The results also create tough dilemmas for policymakers who have to make fine judgments about cost and benefit of one drug over another, and weigh the political uses of a drug that may be of limited benefit to the patient when it is the only treatment available. The row over antiviral drugs for treating flu raises all these questions. The usefulness of Tamiflu and its rival Relenza is a long-running debate. As we report, on Thursday the Cochrane collaboration, a group of independent scientists which investigates drug effectiveness, releases its meta-analysis of all the trials rather than the partial evidence published by the industry. They found that in the normal outbreaks of flu the drug was designed to ease, it did not appear to do much good. It did not keep people out of hospital, and it did not help asthmatic children. The government has spent more than 500m stockpiling the drugs against a flu pandemic. On the face of it, that was a bad call. Only the politics of public reassurance to have some kind of treatment rather than none could justify it. But there is more to it than that. The man who advised the government during the 2009 flu pandemic, Professor Peter Openshaw, says antivirals did reduce the risk of illness and death. This is not evidence derived from randomised, double-blind clinical trials, but the professor argues that since flu viruses are becoming increasingly virulent, these drugs are clearly better than none. In a pandemic, pragmatism trumps all. The only way to resolve the argument is proper science. That means transforming clinical trials, harmonising the way they are carried out. It has happened with malaria drugs, and it is happening with HIV. The industry must allow access to their data. Confident that like is compared with like, trials can then be subjected to meta-analysis, allowing statisticians to drill down into sub-populations to establish when a drug performs most effectively. The protocols surrounding trials need to be streamlined so that in short-lived pandemics, where a huge cohort is suddenly available, they can be rapidly authorised, as the new director of the Wellcome Trust, Jeremy Farrar, suggested in the Guardian last month. Like all great science, it is an idea with the beauty of simplicity.
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Corrections and clarifications

Peaches Geldof | Daniel O'Connell | Anne Perkins
Corrections and clarifications column editor The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 21.00 BST
Peaches Geldof's full name was given as Peaches Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof in an article in Tuesday's paper (She was the wildest, funniest, cleverest, wittiest. Writing 'was' destroys me afresh, page 3). In fact, as she pointed out on Twitter in 2010, she was simply Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof: "The rest of the added names have never been mine." In early editions, a picture caption with the same story was wrong to say she had two daughters. Both her children are boys. The parliamentary sketch on the first state visit of an Irish president to London (From Ireland to give a lesson in popularity, 9 April, page 4) said that Michael D Higgins had "name-checked the Magna Carta, Daniel O'Donnell [and] Constance Markiewicz, the first woman elected to parliament". It was not Daniel O'Donnell, the Irish singer and television presenter, he namechecked but Daniel O'Connell, the 19th-century Irish nationalist leader. A letter published in Tuesday's paper (Housing: the black hole at the centre of society, 8 April, page 31) omitted the E from the forename of the Guardian journalist Anne Perkins.
Praise is off key

The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 21.00 BST
Kensington Palace Gardens. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Your editorial (Faith in the figures, 9 April) speculates on whether the changes to the national accounts methodology to be applied this autumn amount to coincidence or conspiracy. They are neither. The changes are the result of new international standards which have been discussed and agreed by experts, over many years. In the case of European Union countries such as the UK, both the substance and timing of the changes are specified in European law. The Office for National Statistics has no discretion to vary either. Joe Grice Chief economic adviser, Office for National Statistics " I see the residents of London's Kensington Park Gardens are protected by armed police officers at each end of the street (No benefits street, G2, 8 April). I wonder how many of the aforementioned residents are actually contributing taxes to pay for policing and any other public services they enjoy. Margaret Farnworth Liverpool " If you're going to attempt musical analysis (In praise of... The Winner Takes It All , 7 April) it's always better to actually understand the meaning of the musical terms employed. The predominant piano theme in Abba's song comprises various descending scales of five notes, not arpeggios. Yours, pedantically. Bill Hawkes Canterbury, Kent Annie Murray, a "saga writer", objects to your reporter writing that the saga genre is "much maligned" ( Letters, 8 April). I suspect that Snorri Sturluson would be turning in his grave at the usage of "saga" by both of them. Bruce Holman Waterlooville, Hampshire " Travelling with friends through Wrynose Bottom in Cumbria, I didn't realise the unpleasant implications until one of the company read the name from the map (Letters, 9 April). Tim Boardman Stafford It is possible to be smartly dressed in Matching Tye in Essex. I'm still trying to find Handkerchief somewhere close by. John Hunter Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire
Letters
Domestic workers' rights and slavery

Director Steve McQueen poses with his Oscar after winning best picture award for 12 Years a Slave. Photograph: Xinhua/Landov/Barcroft Media
Two hundred years ago slavery was socially acceptable it was part of life. It was only when it became part of a political agenda that this changed. As you report (8 April) that film director Steve McQueen and others throw their support behind demands for planned anti-slavery laws to be toughened up, Care also demands that the focus goes beyond that of organised criminals and "victims" to the estimated 68 million domestic workers who dwell behind the closed doors of people's homes. Globally, one in 13 female wage workers is a domestic worker. More than half have no established working hours or the legal right to a minimum salary and more than a third have no right to maternity leave. All people should be entitled to decent working conditions, and yet paid domestic workers around the world have been historically excluded from these provisions. This exclusion is a breach of their human rights and has left millions working in exploitative conditions, hidden from view and unregulated. No one is saying we should put an end to this work. Our new report on decent work for domestic workers highlights just how vitally important it is to the economy. States need to enforce the rights of domestic workers and recognise the key role they play in the wider global economy. John Plastow Chief executive, Care International UK Maybe the reason why the UK's growth will exceed the rest of Europe (Britain will lead world's growth, says IMF, 9 April) is that we have a workforce that is very poorly paid more or less slave labour. Was that in Cameron's mind when he strenuously bargained away the European social contract some years ago, and is that the reason overseas companies set up operations here? D Wharton West Kirby, Wirral
Letters
We need more open-access rail competition

East Coast has been able to pay a year on year increase in its premium to government. Photograph: Alamy
Ed Miliband's desire to see future state-run rail companies competing alongside existing rail franchises fails to understand that there already exists a working model for viable and innovative rail competition, but still on too small a scale (Labour may take rail franchises back into public ownership, April 4). Crucially, the state-run east coast mainline franchise, between London King's Cross and Scotland, is the only line where the franchise holder, East Coast, has to compete on part of the line with non-franchised private railway companies, known as "open access". Research from the Centre for Policy Studies, Rail's Second Chance: Putting Competition Back on Track, shows east coast mainline passenger journeys increased by 42% at stations that enjoy rail competition, compared with 27% for those without competition; revenue increased by 57% where competition occurs, compared to 48% for those without; and average fares increased by only 11% at those stations with competition, compared to 17% at those stations without. Those open-access companies which compete with East Coast Grand Central and First Hull Trains also consistently record the highest passenger satisfaction statistics of UK train companies. They receive no money from the government. As a result of this competition more passengers have been attracted to the railway overall and, consequently, East Coast has been able to pay a year-on-year increase in its premium to government. But while there is some openaccess rail competition on the east coast mainline, the west coast mainline long-distance rail franchise, operated by Virgin, still faces none. More rail competition is in the interests of the passenger, the taxpayer, the government and the regions, particularly the north. The Labour party should support more open-access rail competition, alongside franchises, and not support a policy that risks delivering a more subsidy-hungry railway. Tony Lodge
Research fellow, Centre for Policy Studies, and author of Rail's Second Chance
Letters
Public-private partnerships can help improve healthcare in Africa

It is shocking, but perhaps not surprising, to read of the impact of the public-private partnership between the Lesotho government and Netcare on healthcare across Lesotho (Finance deal threatens Lesotho's hospitals, says Oxfam, 7 April). However, public-private partnership can work in an African healthcare setting, and this has been demonstrated over the last six years by the success of the Health Improvement Project Zanzibar (HIPZ) in transforming services on the island. Since 2006, an innovative model of collaboration between HIPZ and the Zanzibar government has seen a huge improvement in care at Makunduchi and Kivunge hospitals. This partnership improves healthcare provision without commercial gain for individuals or corporations, or the accruement of debt, with an ultimate aim of long-term sustainability. The success of this model has required a number of crucial factors: a commitment to fully understand local needs, an open-minded and pragmatic approach by the HIPZ team (recognising the importance of listening to local staff), consistent investment in local staff, and transparent monitoring of outcomes, but with the acceptance that improvement is slow and often difficult to demonstrate in the short term. This largely unknown model of collaboration demonstrates a stark contrast to that seen in Lesotho. Dr Jon Rees, Mr Ru MacDonagh, Roma Walker, Dr Nick Campain On behalf of the HIPZ Trustees " Your article rightly raised concerns about healthcare costs in Lesotho. The World Bank Group is working closely with the government to identify cost-effective solutions to improve health for the people of Lesotho. We would like to clarify a few key points. The public-private partnership health network which serves a quarter of the population accounted for nearly 35% of the total health budget. While this is a significant allocation of the budget, it is about the same percentage spent on the facilities under the old system. Most important, the network is delivering better results. As the article noted, maternal and infant mortality rates have declined and the quality of care provided has improved at the new health facilities. These important achievements have driven greater-than-expected demand at the network which includes four primary clinics and the only referral hospital open to all citizens. We are working in several areas to help the government of Lesotho to further expand access to high-quality health
services for women and children, especially those living in remote areas. We welcome the opportunity to work with all stakeholders so that everyone in Lesotho, especially the poorest, is able to access the essential health services they deserve. Laurence Carter Director, PPP transaction advisory services, International Finance Corporation "The letter you published referring to the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (9 April) is misleading. We are an independent UK-registered charity and Mr Blair, as our founder and patron, carries out his work in Rwanda on a probono basis. As such he is well placed to comment on the country its progress and its challenges. AGI derives no profit from its partnership with the government of Rwanda. A quick look at our website ( www.africagovernance.org) will tell you that we work with several African governments to help them drive the development that lifts their people out of poverty. Nick Thompson Chief executive, Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative
A close encounter with a hare sparks a moment of pure joy

Chapel Fell, Weardale: I expected the hare to turn and race away. Instead it loped straight towards us
Phil Gates The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 20.59 BST Jump to comments ()
'Its yellow-eyed gaze met ours and its long ears swivelled to focus on the exact spot where we stood.' Photograph: Phil Gates
If the truth be told, I'd stopped to rest and regain my breath, not to admire the view. It had been a long plod up the steep bridleway.
When we turned to look back, the panorama that had opened up since we left the valley bottom was breathtaking. While our side of the valley was flooded with sunshine, the northern slopes were dissolving from view as clouds trailing long grey beards of hail swept across the high pastures. Behind us the fell summit still carried pockets of snow in shady hollows. Under our feet on the moorland edge there was just the merest hint of new grass growth, but the sounds of Pennine spring were all around: curlews' bubbling trills; mournful whistles of golden plover; squeaky cries of lapwings engaged in aerobatic courtship. Then, as we turned to resume the climb, a hare appeared from behind a hummock, just 20 metres away. It hadn't seen us and the wind had carried away our scent. It ambled forward then sat on its haunches. I raised my camera and clicked the shutter. Now it had seen us. Its yellow-eyed gaze met ours and its long ears swivelled to focus on the exact spot where we stood, not daring to move. I expected it to turn and race away. Instead it loped straight towards us, stopped to sniff the rush tussocks as if searching for the scent of other hares, then jumped on to the top of the wall and down on to the track where we stood. Ignoring us, it nibbled the grassy verge before leaping with effortless grace on to the far wall and dropping down into the next pasture. The encounter may have lasted 20 seconds. I realised that I had been holding my breath throughout, and at last dared to exhale. We looked at each other and laughed: a moment of pure joy. When we crossed the track and peered over the wall, the hare had vanished among the rushes.
Letters
Ageing and the NHS

Most of us use the NHS mainly in our last two years of life. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA
Most of us use the NHS mainly in our last two years of life. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA
Your analysis ( A public admission of what many are saying in private, 5 April) repeats the assertion that "ageing alone [is] estimated to add 1bn a year to the NHS's costs", but then adds that "most of us use the NHS mainly in our last two years of life". Those two years are the same whether one is in one's 70s, 80s, 90s or beyond. There is no sudden additional burden on the NHS that can justify current handwringing and claims as to its unaffordability. Our "ageing population" is reducible to two causes: adults are living healthier lives for longer and are having fewer children. Most parents take their children to the GP more often than they take themselves, but no one complains that child health is an unsustainable burden on the taxpayer. Please can we have fewer spurious arguments against universal public provision, and less ageism? It's bad enough being accused of hoovering up all the houses without being forced to apologise for wilfully continuing to breathe. Dr Anne Summers (aged 70, as it happens) London
Letters
Blair legacy so much more than Iraq

Former PM Tony Blair. 'Perhaps the difficulty lies in Blairs tendency to be self-righteous, in his unwillingness to apologise unequivocally for anything,' writes Bruce Ross-Smith. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
Zoe Williams's touching plea to reconfigure the legacy of the former PM (We need to talk about the legacy of Tony Blair, 9 April) only serves to reinforce the widely held view that even the "liberal" media is incapable of offering the radical analysis of our current woeful condition that the times demand. It was Blair's first lieutenant Peter Mandelson who offered the view he was "intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich", and so the deregulation of the City
continued apace while the Tory assault upon trade union rights and their ability to protect the wages of the poor went unaddressed. The eroded minimum wage has now become the standard wage for almost all those newly employed in the manual sector (many graduates) and they now have no way to protect themselves. They won't starve, but their capacity to wrest some just reward from the obscene growth of capital returns for the powerful has been swept away. The increased investment in public services under Blair was entirely founded upon the naive belief that deregulation of the markets and their introduction into the public sphere would lead to unending growth no more boom and bust! It was Blair's mantra that people did not care who provided their services, only that they received them, as though the health professional working to maximise profits for private investors was no different from a public servant. The current Labour party has inherited, and continues, this embrace of the neoliberal agenda and that is why it now seems so irrelevant to that huge section of the populace on the left now effectively disenfranchised. Tim Towers Chichester, West Sussex As Polly Toynbee has often stressed on these pages, the achievements of Tony Blair's New Labour governments were considerable and durable, and Gordon Brown's three-year administration added to those achievements. Zoe Williams is also right to say we shouldn't judge Blair only on the basis of his military interventions (etc) and foreign policy. Perhaps the difficulty lies in Blair's tendency to be self-righteous, in his unwillingness to apologise unequivocally for anything which happened on his watch, in his no doubt unintended habit of speaking in Pharisaical "voices", both orally and in print. Humility is not Blair's strong point. It is, however, a virtue. Bruce Ross-Smith Oxford It is both commendable and accurate for Zoe Williams to insist that the legacy of the Blair years should not be smothered by the war-crime notions of Iraq. Unfortunately, little of great political courage or imagination was done during these years to match the expectation of many of Labour's grassroots supporters. For these women and men, pride is taken that their party created the NHS, the Open University, national parks, affordable and shame-free social housing, the first arts minister and much more. Civilising ideas were made concrete. Sadly, New Labour appeared to many to cave in to the hostile media on the one hand and doubtful economism on the other. That's when "they're all the same" took hold. The state of the nation today would suggest that a dynamic surge of political courage, imagination and creativity could restore Labour's magnetism. Without it the future of Britain looks like a tedious shopping mall with "offers that must end" repeated ad nauseam, and with nothing beyond. Ian Flintoff Oxford Zoe Williams exhorts us to be fair and remember that there was more to Tony Blair than just Iraq. Well, yes: he also tried to turn Britain into an authoritarian state with identity cards, vast government detention powers and mass surveillance. Economically, he renewed the drive for privatisation and commercialisation of public services. Since leaving power he has toured around preaching war against everyone in sight, and earning multimillions from vaguely defined services to various dictators he had got to know. On Blair's credit side, Williams mentions the peace process in Northern Ireland, and claims that the present government wouldn't have done it. But it would. It was caused by the IRA leadership finally accepting after 25 years that they weren't winning, and any government in London would have welcomed it and responded in the same way. All Williams can really say is that the national minimum wage dates to his time. But any Labour government at this time would have done it, and the only thing remarkable is how out of character this particular act was to everything else Blair did; it must have been forced on him by overwhelming party pressure. But all right: the national minimum wage. Anything else to be said for him? Roger Schafir London
London
Reviews
Salif Keita and Seckou Keita review Les Ballets C de la B: Tauberbach review 'Erratic fantasy worlds' A Small Family Business review revival sells Ayckbourn short A Taste of Honey review 'Rebecca Ryan's Jo keeps the drama alive' Pam Ann review 'Comedy of casual smut and insult'
Salif Keita and Seckou Keita review

Barbican, London Salif Keita was in magnificent, powerful voice, spurred on by solos from kora and electric guitar, while Seckou Keita provided the most hypnotic instrumental work of the night
Robin Denselow The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.47 BST Jump to comments ()
Old favourites Salif Keita at the Barbican. Photograph: Annabel Staff/Redferns via Getty Images
Salif Keita has the finest, most distinctive male voice in Africa, but it has not always been used to the best advantage.
Salif Keita has the finest, most distinctive male voice in Africa, but it has not always been used to the best advantage. He has constantly changed styles, making use of anything from traditional Malian instrumentation to electronics, and last year's album, Tal, was a low point, with its attempted foray into the dance music market. No surprise, then, that he should quickly retreat to the safety of his classic songs for what was billed as an "acoustic" show. He came on stage wearing a white shirt and black hat, rather than traditional robes, and announced that he was "king". Pointing at his band, he added "and these are my griots". He was indeed backed by a distinguished lineup drawn from Mali's celebrated musical families, including a kora and n'goni (lute) player as well as electric guitar work from the great Ousmane Kouyate, who worked with Keita in Les Ambassadeurs in the late 70s. They began the set sitting down, as did the two female backing singers, and hurtled into a full-tilt treatment of old favourites that included the rousing M'Bemba, Yamore and the epic Mandjou. Keita was in magnificent, powerful voice, spurred on by solos from kora and electric guitar; all that was lacking in his thrilling performance was variety. It was unfortunate that the kora player added programmed keyboard and percussion just when a genuinely acoustic song would have been welcome. Six years ago, on the African Soul Rebels tour, Keita played memorable acoustic guitar with n'goni backing. It's a shame he didn't repeat that here. Seckou Keita, who opened the show, is a British-based kora player who recorded one of the finest albums of last year with the Welsh harpist Catrin Finch. Here playing solo, he sang well and provided the most delicate and hypnotic instrumental work of the night.
Les Ballets C de la B: Tauberbach review 'Erratic fantasy worlds'

Sadler's Wells, London Alain Platel vividly illuminates the true story of a Brazilian schizophrenic who lives on a rubbish dump, combining Bach with curiously tender choreography
Judith Mackrell The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.50 BST Jump to comments ()
Crumpled formations Tauberbach by Les Ballets C de la B. Photograph: Bettina Strenske/LNP
Les Ballets C de la B Tauberbach Sadler's Wells, London
Until 9 April Box office: 0844 412 4300 Venue website Alain Platel has always made work about the damaged and the dispossessed, and in Tauberbach he takes his material from one of the grimmest of true stories: that of a Brazilian schizophrenic named Estamira who ekes out her existence on a rubbish dump. Yet Platel has a gift for illuminating the emotional logic as well as the beauty of his characters' lives, and in Tauberbach he does so without a hint of fakery or mawkishness. The work opens to a stage piled high with old clothes, and to the aggressively amplified sound of a buzzing fly. Five dancers move in crumpled, creased formations, their limbs tangling with the discarded garments. In their midst, actor Elsie de Brauw launches into the monologue that will continue, on and off, for the next 90 minutes. Her fragmented observations offer glimmers of truth about why she is there, yet this quasi-sane and hopeful voice is continually disrupted by the bad cop inside Estamira's head, a man's (recorded) voice that spews out insults and abuse. As Estamira picks her way through the sense and the rubbish in her mind, the dancers reveal their own erratic fantasy worlds: one man's dress-up games with the clothes around him, another's childish sex play yanking at a woman's knickers, baring his own bottom evolves into a dysfunctional but curiously tender imitation of an erotic duet. Fragments of recorded Bach, some of them sung by a choir of deaf children, drift across the stage, irradiating these derelict scenes. It's a shame that Platel allows sections of the work to drift into generic dance theatre, his material insufficiently nailed to his characters and their situation. Nonetheless, this is a world that Platel imagines as no other choreographer can.
A Small Family Business review revival sells Ayckbourn short

Olivier, London Nigel Lindsay hits the right note, but this production lacks the farce that unlocks the pain within Alan Ayckbourn's fable Ayckbourn: 'I've never been a political writer: I'm a social writer'
Michael Billington The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 12.23 BST Jump to comments ()
Show of integrity Nigel Lindsay and Debra Gillett in A Small Family Business. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian
No play of the 1980s pins down better than Alan Ayckbourn 's A Small Family Business the essential contradiction of Thatcherism: that a worship of family values sits ill with a sanctification of individual greed. But, good as it is to see the play back at the National where it began in 1987, Adam Penford's capable revival lacks the comic elan that unlocks Ayckbourn's larger theme. A Small Family Business Olivier, London
Until 27 August Box office: 020-7452 3000 Venue website Ayckbourn's brilliance lies in showing how minor compromises lead to moral disaster. His hero, Jack McCracken, is a decent man appalled to discover, on inheriting the family furniture firm, that it is a network of illegal racketeering. But Jack's public probity is undermined by his decision to save his daughter from a petty shoplifting charge by hiring the private eye who has detected her. From that moment on, Jack is doomed. What we see as he frantically commutes between the various houses contained within Tim Hatley's single-unit set is a good man succumbing to the corrupted values of a criminally entrepreneurial family. Penford is so concerned to take the play seriously, however, that he misses the fact that this is a moral fable that makes its points through farce.
To be fair, he choreographs the opening scene, in which the randy Jack returns home to find himself in the middle of a surprise party, with total precision. And a handful of the performances hit the right note. Nigel Lindsay as Jack shows how a facade of rock-solid integrity conceals weakness and bluster. Matthew Cottle as the private eye, with his lank hair and furtive lechery, is a model of Dickensian creepiness. And Alice Sykes as Jack's daughter, a taciturn goth, and Gawn Grainger as his rambling father-in-law are totally in the groove. But there is a special gift to playing Ayckbourn which gets slightly lost here. Many of his characters are in the grip of a Jonsonian obsession that makes them funny first and sad later. Jack's brother, Cliff, is a complaisant cuckold happy to sacrifice his wife on the altar of material gain so why cast a ruggedly virile actor in the role? There is also the astonishingly monomaniac Harriet, whose hatred of her husband's cookery fetish leads her to believe that "eating is an obscene act" but who here is played as tragic. Marianne Elliott's 2010 revival of Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings made the mistake of casting too many accomplished comedians. Penford has gone in the opposite direction but, while his production highlights Ayckbourn's extraordinary political perception, it is short on the laughter that reveals pain. Alan Ayckbourn: 'I've never been a political writer: I'm a social writer'
A Taste of Honey review 'Rebecca Ryan's Jo keeps the drama alive'

Mark Babych's first production as Hull Truck's artistic director embraces the enormous heart of Shelagh Delaney's debut play without flinching from its vulgarity Shameless's Rebecca Ryan takes on Shelagh Delaney twice Morrissey or Shelagh Delaney? quiz
Alfred Hickling The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 15.09 BST Jump to comments ()
Alive to the moment Rebecca Ryan (left) and Julie Riley in A Taste of Honey
Shelagh Delaney's debut play packed such a punch that more than half a century later we are still experiencing the concussion. A swab taken from the squalid Salford boarding house in which it is set might reveal DNA samples for every episode of Coronation Street, the complete works of Jim Cartwright and the musical identity of Morrissey. But the play's immortality was ultimately assured by Delaney's creation of Jo, a mouthy 15-year-old mother-to-be who effectively declares herself to be future-proof: "Me, I'm a contemporary. I really do live in the same time as myself." A Taste of Honey Hull Truck
Until 19 April Box office: 01482 323638 Venue website That's as true as it ever was: in 1958 the Daily Mail detected "a whiff of exercise books and marmalade" about the character; today it might question her entitlement to benefits. But it is the absolute determination of Rebecca Ryan's ebullient Jo to live in the moment that keeps the drama alive, even as the bulbs she plants in a characteristic surge of optimism die a sorry death. Mark Babych's first production as Hull Truck artistic director embraces the play's enormous heart without flinching from its vulgarity. Julie Riley's brazen Helen is a chain-smoking, spiritual antecedent of Elsie Tanner; James Weaver, as her drunken lover, pushes loucheness to new extremes. And there's fine work from Lekan Lawal as a fly-by-night sailor who leaves Jo pregnant, and Christopher Hancock as the gentle, gay art student who volunteers to hold the baby. Babych adds some raucous, street-corner skiffle to the jazz tunes originally introduced by Delaney's first director, Joan Littlewood, to give the meandering script a sense of cohesion. But it remains one of those rare, uninhibited pieces that actually seems to be enhanced by its imperfections. Littlewood later advised Delaney that "playwriting is a craft, not just inspiration". It was one of the few occasions in which Littlewood was possibly wrong. Shameless's Rebecca Ryan takes on Shelagh Delaney twice Morrissey or Shelagh Delaney? quiz
Pam Ann review 'Comedy of casual smut and insult'

Leicester Square theatre Her misanthropic nymphomaniac shtick may be purposefully provocative, but Pam Ann's lewd talk, Asian accents and airline industry stereotypes make for deadening humour
Brian Logan The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 17.54 BST Jump to comments ()
Tenuous innuendo Pam Ann
"I blame you for me," Pam Ann (aka Caroline Reid) tells her fans. "You created this." You can see why Reid might try to dodge responsibility, and talk blame rather than gratitude: her camp, bitchy flight-attendant alter ego supplies comedy of the crudest and most obvious variety. Her crowd lap it up, but pickings are slim for the uninitiated, as Pam Ann offers endless lewd talk, does some funny Asian accents and labours to reanimate the corpses of airline industry stereotypes Air France are snooty, flight attendants are promiscuous, easyJet passengers are riff-raff, and so on. Pam Ann Leicester Square theatre, London
Until 26 April Box office: 08448 733433 Venue website Tonight's running joke trades on the recent disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 mainly to goad Asian (or Asian-looking) audience members and to milk the tenuous sexual innuendo of the phrase "black box". True, the misanthropic nymphomaniac shtick is purposefully provocative and Reid does raise a few smiles at the effrontery of her rudeness. Her dominatrix high-handedness, as she lavishes abuse on this punter or that imaginary passenger, can be striking, and her video interludes such as the version of The Sound of Music into which she crudely inserts herself land a few low blows. But her humour is a blunt instrument, and two hours on its receiving end gets to be a deadening experience. There's a
But her humour is a blunt instrument, and two hours on its receiving end gets to be a deadening experience. There's a section, in the guise of flight attendant Lily, that offers a comedy oriental accent as its sole joke. This isn't so much global travel as time travel back to the days of Love Thy Neighbour. Latterly, there's a Kylie Minogue dance-along to flatter Pam Ann's mainly gay crowd. There are changes of costume and fabulous wigs but the change the show most needs, to Reid's comedy of casual smut and insult, never arrives.
Obituaries
Lucius Shepard obituary John Shirley-Quirk obituary Aileen Dekker obituary
Lucius Shepard obituary

Author of fiction that defied classification
Christopher Priest The Guardian, Wednesday 26 March 2014 18.31 GMT Jump to comments ()
Lucius Shepard had a preference for the novella which almost certainly held back the recognition he deserved. Photograph: Harmonia Amanda
Lucius Shepard, an American writer whose elegant style and idiosyncratic imagination made his fiction more or less unclassifiable, was often identified with the magic realists of South America. He was also accepted in the US as a
more conventional science fiction and fantasy author. But, essentially, his beautiful writing set him apart from any genre that might have had claims to adopt him. Shepard, who has died aged 70 of complications from a stroke, came late to writing and was nearly 40 before his first work was published. Although he wrote several novels, his favoured format was the novella, a difficult and uneconomic vehicle for publishers; this preference almost certainly held back the recognition he deserved. Nonetheless he was a multiple award-winner and his work was of a consistently high order. Soon after his first publication in 1983, he won the John W Campbell award for best new writer in science fiction (1985), and claimed a Nebula award the following year for a novella, called R&R, that was later incorporated into his second novel, Life During Wartime (1987). He also won the Shirley Jackson award for his novella Vacancy (2009). Shephard's death leaves the sense that his best work had not yet been done. His writing has hardly been published in the UK, although ebooks have recently become available and one of his best works, The Dragon Griaule, was issued in 2013 in Britain. His writing was shielded from wider appreciation because of its association with the science fiction genre. Shepard was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, but was raised in the resort town of Daytona, Florida. His parents, Lucy and William, were both teachers. Lucy, who taught Spanish, took the family to Latin America several times, which had a lasting influence on Lucius's work. In Florida, he grew up taking the presence of the ocean for granted, but was fascinated by the closeness of the tracts of bush behind the strip malls and racetracks of Daytona. He claimed to have seen a wild black panther in the forest, which he suspected might have been the last one alive in the US. His father used threats and violence to force him to read the classics, ensuring that he grew up familiar with Thucydides and Shakespeare but also with an abiding fear and hatred of home life. Well-read but traumatised, he left at the first opportunity, boarding a freighter for Ireland at the age of 15. It was the beginning of a long period of restless travel, and for years he crisscrossed Europe, Asia and North Africa. Returning to the US, Shepard entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he met and married Joy Wolf. They dropped out of college several times to travel, often to Latin America. During one journey to California in 1967, their car broke down in Detroit, and to pay for the repairs they were forced to stay in the city and take jobs. There Lucius joined the first of several rock bands he found the itinerant lifestyle and drugs culture compatible with his own outlook. His son Gullivar was born at this time. Later he returned to Chapel Hill to complete his course. In 1980, as a turbulent marriage was coming to an end, Shepard attended a Clarion writers' workshop at Michigan State University. He felt at the time that his life was in ruins, and writing gave him a purpose. He responded well to the literary guidance offered by visiting authors such as Damon Knight, Kate Wilhelm and Kit Reed. Although he had long been writing for his own interest, after the workshop he began creating in earnest for publication. Politically, Shepard was an American liberal, a stance recognisable in his journalism as well as his fiction. He was enthusiastic about American football and boxing, and was a regular film reviewer for the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction making clear whenever possible his dislike of mainstream Hollywood films. He is survived by Gullivar. Lucius Shepard, writer, born 21 August 1943; died 18 March 2014 BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Shepard's story Delta Sly Honey
John Shirley-Quirk obituary

Leading bass-baritone whose distinctive delivery was suffused with great humanity
Barry Millington The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.28 BST Jump to comments ()
John Shirley-Quirk, left, rehearsing the stage premiere of Benjamin Britten's Owen Wingrave in 1973. Photograph: Antonia Hille/Getty Images
John Shirley-Quirk, who has died at the age of 82, established a niche for himself as the bass-baritone of choice in countless performances, both live and recorded, not least in the English-language repertoire in which he excelled. A close colleague of Benjamin Britten, he sang with the English Opera Group from 1964, creating roles in a number of Britten's dramatic works. His first assignment was the Ferryman in Curlew River and he went on to create Ananias in The Burning Fiery Furnace (1966), the Father in The Prodigal Son (1968), Mr Coyle in Owen Wingrave (BBC TV 1971, Royal Opera 1973) and the multiple baritone roles in Death in Venice (1973). He also gave the premiere at Aldeburgh in 1969, accompanied by Britten, of the newly revised Tit for Tat cycle (five settings of Walter de la Mare), and sang in the first performance of Journey of the Magi (Aldeburgh, 1971), of which he was a dedicatee. The major choral works of Elgar, Walton and Delius, the songs of Vaughan Williams and the oratorios of Handel were particular strengths, but his repertoire also included Bach's Passions, Brahms's German Requiem, and German and French song, as well as operas from Mozart to Henze. He entered the musical profession comparatively late. Born in Liverpool to Joseph and Amelia, he went to Holt school and gained a chemistry degree at Liverpool University (1952). After national service in the RAF, he taught chemistry at Acton Technical college, west London, and studied singing, first with Austen Carnegie, later with Roy Henderson. In 1961 he became a vicar choral at St Paul's Cathedral. The following year he made his operatic debut at Glyndebourne as the Doctor in Pellas et Mlisande. After a performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in Ipswich in 1963 he was congratulated by a stranger who had particularly admired his singing of "the D major aria". Unknown to him, Britten had been invited to hear him and this was effectively his audition for joining the English Opera Group, which he did the following year. That successful
and creative relationship culminated in Britten's final opera, Death in Venice, in which he played The Traveller (who additionally takes the part of six "nemesis" roles: Elderly Fop, Old Gondolier, Hotel Manager, Hotel Barber, Leader of the Players and Voice of Dionysus). Fashioning the latter roles all harbingers of death for Shirley-Quirk, Britten created a series of deft cameos with which the singer was eloquently to engage. Shortly after the composer's death he wrote affectionately of his time with Britten and his colleagues at Aldeburgh, remembering "vicious games of croquet, played to Red House rules, whirlwind table tennis which I was not quite quick enough to watch, Indian or China tea to choose from, and rich cakes for young and non-slimmers alike". The recording he took part in of Schumann's Scenes from Faust (1972) was the last made under Britten's baton. In 1975 Shirley-Quirk was able to offer the physically ailing composer a short holiday along the canals of Oxfordshire on his narrowboat. His extensive discography also included many of the staples of the English repertoire: Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Handel's Messiah, Tippett's A Child of Our Time, Vaughan Williams's A Pilgrim's Progress and Delius's A Village Romeo and Juliet, as well as many of Britten's works and numerous songs. Elgar too loomed large in his career. In Adrian Boult's classic 1969 recording of The Kingdom, he brings to the role of St Peter an appropriately rock-like authority but blended with humanity and warmth. Elgar's earlier oratorio The Light of Life he recorded twice, under Charles Groves and Richard Hickox. In both, his "I am the Light of the World" is a glorious affirmation, confirmed shortly after with a ringing top G where he fearlessly takes the higher option. To his operatic incarnations he brought musical and dramatic intelligence. His Golaud in Pellas et Mlisande, for example, explored the warmth of the character as well as his sadistic displays of jealousy. The genius figure of Gregor Mittenhofer in Henze's Elegy for Young Lovers he projected not as a "great man" but as an absurd, pretentious "little man". His Count in Le Nozze di Figaro (Scottish Opera, 1972) was curiously self-effacing, while in Basil Coleman's production for television (1974) he was less the aristocratic seducer than a thoughtful, frustrated intellectual a portrayal that won considerable sympathy for the count. In Fidelio (Scottish Opera, 1977) his individual interpretation presented the prison governor Don Pizarro as neurotic rather than conventionally villainous. His Metropolitan Opera debut came in Death in Venice in 1974, and three years later he created the role of Lev in Tippett's The Ice Break at Covent Garden. To his music-making in all genres he brought elegant phrasing and a superbly schooled tone, combining them to produce a distinctive delivery suffused with humanity. He was appointed CBE in 1975 and made associate artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival in 1982. He taught at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland (1991-2012), and then at Bath Spa University. His first wife, Patricia Hastie, died in 1981 and his second wife, Sara Van Horn Watkins, in 1997. He is survived by his third wife, Teresa May Perez (nee Cardoza), whom he married in 2009, and by two sons and two daughters. Another daughter predeceased him. John Stanton Shirley-Quirk, bass-baritone, born 28 August 1931; died 7 April 2014
Aileen Dekker obituary

Rosalind Dekker The Guardian, Monday 24 March 2014 13.40 GMT
Aileen Dekker specialised in teaching drama and religious education
My mother, Aileen Dekker, who has died aged 76, was a teacher and organiser who continued to inspire others long after she retired. She was born in Northenden, Manchester, to Margaret and Alf Gill. Both loved music, and Alf, who worked in a munitions factory, was a talented violinist. The eldest of three daughters, Aileen won a scholarship to Withington high school for girls (now Withington Girls' school) and studied English literature at Manchester University, where she met her husband, John Dekker, who later became a BBC current affairs producer. Aileen and John raised their children in a vibrant household filled with cats, dogs and books. Aileen taught in many schools and colleges in Salford, Manchester and London, notably at John Chilton school for children with physical and medical difficulties, in Northolt, north-west London. An outstanding teacher, she specialised in drama and religious education. Aileen had incredible resources of energy, saw life as a precious gift, never wasted time and always put others first. In retirement she kept up her hectic pace. She studied opera, taught English as a second language to adults, volunteered in the community and cared for her grandchildren. She was a volunteer for the Richmond Association for the Blind, organising readers for the talking newspaper. Aileen's love of music took her all over the world, particularly in pursuit of great opera. She instilled this love in others, with her popular opera appreciation group for the University of the Third Age. Her other passion was Shakespeare and she played an influential part in the education programme at Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare, in Hampton, west London, passing on her enthusiasm through her workshops for children. The beautiful Palladian temple by the Thames became her spiritual home and she was thrilled when, just before she died, other Garrick volunteers gave a special concert to thank her for all her hard work. Aileen took her organising skills as far as the finer details of her own funeral, but she would have been amazed to see the entire congregation singing Va' pensiero from Nabucco by her hero, Verdi. She is survived by John, me and my sisters, Sophie and Sarah, and seven grandchildren.
Sport: News & features
Augusta chairman endorses Royal & Ancient's move to admit women David Moyes insists Manchester United can bounce back from Bayern blow Bayern Munich blow Manchester United away after Patrice Evra's strike Borussia Dortmund sign Adrin Ramos from Hertha Berlin Wayne Rooney's all-action role fails to reward United's David Moyes Bayern Munich tactics clever but, boy, Pep Guardiola likes to show it Atltico Madrid get lift from Koke and push past Barcelona into the semis Laurent Blanc exposed as rich owners of Paris Saint-Germain ponder future Chelsea await full medical verdict on Eden Hazard's calf strain Chelsea's Jos Mourinho, a master with many gameplans in his back pocket Hull City's Steve Bruce backs owners' name-change idea despite FA rejection Arsenal need to shape up in order to win things, says Santi Cazorla FA proposes ban on football betting by those in game's top eight tiers Masters 2014: Rory McIlroy's three key holes at Augusta National Perfect place for Rory McIlroy and his peers to open a gap on Tiger Woods Masters 2014: Kevin Stadler's big chance to get one over pa Craig Augusta National, where change occurs only at the pace its members want James DeGale move to Matchroom may lead to George Groves fight Paulina Gretzky's sexy golf mag shoot is off-putting on eve of the Masters Ulster's Jared Payne banned after red card against Saracens Derby hope Hydrogen set to make his track debut in the next month Salford's Marwan Koukash gives Brian Noble 48 hours to accept new role Red Bull bring back Dan Fallows as head of aerodynamics in Formula One Mo Farah plots London Marathon victory based on running slowly Steven Finn is Middlesex's only bright spark as Sussex win by an innings Nottinghamshire ease to victory but Ashwell Prince gives Lancashire hope Wisden 2014 review: Stunningly inclusive with a strong line on politics
Augusta chairman endorses Royal & Ancient's move to admit women

Billy Payne says he will vote in favour of equality at St Andrews 'We miss Tiger,' he says as ticket prices for 78th Masters fall
Ewan Murray at Augusta The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 20.48 BST
The chairman of the Augusta National golf club, Billy Payne, gives his traditional address before the Masters tournament. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
Augusta certainly took time to open its doors to women it was men only as recently as August 2012 but in the spirit of sporting equality Billy Payne, the club's 66-year-old chairman, has endorsed the Royal & Ancient's decision to begin moves to admit female members by stating he will vote in favour of their admission. It was announced last month that the Royal & Ancient, a club that has been male only throughout its 260-year history in St Andrews, will hold a September vote aimed at allowing women to join. Augusta National had a similarly restrictive policy until Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore were confirmed as its first female members. "As I have said before, we readily and joyously welcomed our lady members when that happened a couple of years ago and it remains a very good decision on our part," said Payne. "We are so delighted, and I know I speak for everyone, that they are members. I'm proud to be a member of the R&A and I bet you can guess how I'm going to vote. "Other than that, I would respect their process, their requirement to conduct a vote, and so the process will culminate in a decision. As I have said, I know where one vote is going to be cast." Payne also contemplated the impact of Tiger Woods' absence from the 78th Masters, which starts on Thursday. Woods has not missed the opening major of the season since first competing in 1995 but back surgery has sidelined the world No1. The resale price of Masters tickets dropped sharply in price from the moment it was confirmed that Woods would not participate. The 38-year-old remains a star attraction, despite not claiming a Green Jacket since 2005. "We miss Tiger, as does the entire golf world," Payne said. "What I like best about Tiger is, no matter where he is on a specific day, he is such a competitor. He is always a threat to make a run and do well and win here at Augusta National. I've told him in person many times that he could putt the greens blindfolded; he knows the course that well. So we miss him very much. "Nevertheless, this is the Masters. This is what we hope is the best golf tournament in the world, one of the greatest sporting events, and I think we will have a very impressive audience and have another great champion to crown this year." Augusta National's chairman also used his annual pre-tournament address to explain addressed the scale of storm damage to the course this winter. The golf course was battered by an ice storm in February, which prompted the enforced removal of the famous Eisenhower Tree from the 17th fairway. Elsewhere, the effect that weather had on
trees and foliage is noticeable. "We do not yet have a definitive plan as to what, if anything, we will do to the 17th hole beyond this year's tournament," Payne said. "We are closely examining play and scoring on the hole this week, and will make a decision after careful observation and consideration. "The ice damage was essentially limited to our trees and required a herculean effort to trim and remove branches and significant debris. Thankfully, the course itself, was not damaged. "For this year's tournament, despite some of the worst weather conditions anyone can remember, we have never been more ready to host our tournament. Historic amounts of summer rain and a catastrophic ice storm less than 60 days ago have all significantly challenged our incredibly talented grounds and facilities staff."
David Moyes insists Manchester United can bounce back from Bayern blow
'We won't have Champions League football,' Scot concedes 'But I don't think it is far away We need to rebuild' In pictures: the best images from the Allianz Arena
Jamie Jackson at the Allianz Arena The Guardian, Thursday 10 April 2014
David Moyes shouts instructions during Manchester United's Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
A defiant David Moyes insisted Manchester United will bounce back to qualify for the Champions League at the first opportunity after Bayern Munich knocked them out at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern's 3-1 victory in the quarter-final second leg gave them a 4-2 aggregate win to leave United facing the prospect of not being in the Champions League next season for the first time since 1995-6. United are seven points from fourth position with only five games remaining, so the chances of Moyes leading the club into next season's Champions League are remote. After Patrice Evra's 57th-minute strike had taken United 2-1 ahead in the tie, Mario Mandzukic's equaliser less than two minutes later, plus further goals from Thomas Mller and Arjen Robben, consigned United to elimination. Yet Moyes was bullish about hopes of qualifying for the competition soon. "We won't have Champions League football [next season] but I don't think it is far away," he said. "We need to rebuild, and our focus now is to get a team that can get back in this competition. My job is just to get on with it. [This] is disappointing but the focus now is that we get a team ready to get back in there. It's a great competition, we've really enjoyed it and we need to get back in it." Michael Carrick insisted that next year United can mount a Premier League challenge despite a defence that has them 17 points behind the leaders, Liverpool. "It was always going to be tough tonight and we're not in the Champions League next season, not necessarily because of tonight but because we have been weak and haven't been good enough over the season," he said. "We need to finish the season as best we can and come back believing we can win the title and qualify for the Champions League." Moyes has previously talked of the major rebuilding job he has to do. But having seen United go toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola's side for the majority of the tie, he may have revised his opinion. "Our team has improved," he said. "There have been games when you might say it has not, but there have been signs of improvement. I thought the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling were outstanding. They were terrific. Shinji Kagawa played very well. There were a lot of positives." Nemanja Vidic will leave the club in the summer, while Patrice Evra may also disappear. But Moyes would not be drawn on the chances of this being their European farewell. "The players you are talking about are great players and they showed it," he said. "Vida and Pat showed that tonight." Moyes criticised the defending that allowed Mandzukic to score less than two minutes after Evra's strike. "If you are a schoolboy you get told that if you score, make sure you don't concede right away," he said. "We didn't do an awful lot wrong tonight but it was just a couple of sloppy errors. The only crime was conceding a goal [so soon] after we had scored. That was the biggest crime." Moyes admitted that his team might have been caught up in the euphoria of Evra's goal. "Possibly, but I do also think that I have a team full of experienced players and it is the sort of the thing you learn as a schoolboy that once you score a goal make sure you don't concede and be in your position and do your job." Wayne Rooney had two clear chances to score during each half of the match, but the striker spurned both. The 28year-old was only able to play on the night due to an injection to kill the pain of a chipped bone in his left foot. Moyes believes this affected his performance. "I was concerned that Wayne had not trained all week and he had taken an injection," he said. "At times it looked like it was a struggle striking the ball. But he is such a vital player to us. He is so important, especially with Robin van Persie out just now. He had a couple of opportunities but couldn't quite take them."
Bayern Munich blow Manchester United away after Patrice Evra's strike
In pictures: the best images from the Allianz Arena
Guardian report Min-by-min Match facts
Bayern 3 Man Utd 1

Champions League Mario Mandzukic 59, Bayern Thomas Muller 67, Arjen Robben 76 Man Utd Patrice Evra 57
Daniel Taylor at the Allianz Arena The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 21.58 BST Jump to comments ()
Bayern's Mario Mandzukic celebrates after scoring the equaliser against Manchester United. Photograph: Matthias Schrader/AP
Among all the disappointments for Manchester United, nothing will jar so much as the knowledge that, briefly, they had this game under their control. They will be anguished about the speed at which everything unravelled, leaving them with an uncomfortable gap before they reacquaint themselves with this competition. September 2015, at the earliest. Bayern certainly showed their competitive courage once Patrice Evra had opened the scoring with that cannonball of a shot in the 57th minute but there was still the unmistakable sense, looking back at the way the game immediately
swung back in favour of Pep Guardiola's side, that United played a considerable part in their own downfall. This was not Bayern at their formidable best, or even particularly close, but David Moyes's team sagged when they needed authority. A more accomplished side would have been buoyed by the wonder of Evra's goal and braced for the response. A team of Bayern's stature always respond and these were the moments when it needed Moyes's players to stand up to that challenge. What happened instead was close to being a full-on capitulation. The lead was wiped out in the next attack and United lost all their defensive poise in those moments when Thomas Mller and Arjen Robben added to Mario Mandzukic's header. Three goals had arrived in 17 minutes and the most maddening thing of all was that Bayern had been vulnerable. For long spells they showed why Arsne Wenger had observed that they were maybe not quite as brilliantly accomplished now as when Jupp Heynckes was in charge, winning this competition as part of a treble last season. A lot of people put that down to sour grapes from the Arsenal manager after his side had been eliminated but there were times here when Bayern were close to predictable, the default setting being to feed the ball to Robben and rely on his ability to run at defenders, cutting in from the right. Robben, in fairness, is an exhilarating player and had worn down Evra before he finished the scoring with a typical run and shot in the 76th minute. That was the moment Bayern's crowd knew the "Kings of the Cup" mosaic they had unveiled behind one of the goals, in thousands of pieces of red, purple and white, was not going to look out of place. Yet United had held them off with relative ease. Or, at least, until they actually had the temerity to take the lead. The structure of Moyes's team was good, with two midfielders in deep-lying positions and wingers who were willing to double up as full-backs, and the players in support of Wayne Rooney were quick to join him on the occasions when they did have the ball in promising areas. It was just a pity for United, perhaps, that Rooney was still troubled by a chipped bone in his toe. When he did have a sight of goal, he did not strike the ball convincingly and Moyes attributed that directly to his injury. What the manager could not explain was the moment he repeatedly described as a "crime", namely the way Bayern were immediately let back into the game after conceding the opening goal. Moyes has not previously used that word in his nine months at United and his emotive language "I've got a team of experienced players and it's the sort of thing you learn as a schoolboy" revealed a measure of anger that nobody could conclude was inappropriate. Until that point Nemanja Vidic had played as though determined to remind everyone he will be badly missed next season. Chris Smalling had justified his selection ahead of Rio Ferdinand and, for the most part, Phil Jones had not allowed Franck Ribry to play with the usual menace. Now Ribry had the ball, with the space to look up and pick out Mandzukic. The Croat had a clear height advantage on Evra and directed his header into David de Gea's bottom left corner. It was a soft goal to concede but, then again so were the next two. Evra's goal, barely a minute earlier, was an absolute peach, running on to a cross from Antonio Valencia and letting fly from 25 yards. It was an audacious, unstoppable finish, still rising as it flew into the top left!hand corner of Manuel Neuer's net and, at that stage, De Gea had been protected so well it did not feel reckless to believe the Premier League's seventh-placed side were capable of seeing it through. Unfortunately for United, it was quickly shown to be an illusion and Evra was among the guilty. Moyes mentioned only the equaliser but the next two goals were both avoidable. Mller got away from Vidic to slip his shot past De
only the equaliser but the next two goals were both avoidable. Mller got away from Vidic to slip his shot past De Gea after Robben's cross from the right. Then Robben cut inside from that side of the pitch again, eluded Evra and Vidic and took aim. A slight deflection off Vidic took the ball into the net and soothed any lingering nerves in the home crowd. For Bayern, a third successive semi-final awaits, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martnez available again after suspension. United can be encouraged by parts of what happened but the overall picture is bleak and, even in defeat, they will miss these occasions.
Borussia Dortmund sign Adrin Ramos from Hertha Berlin

Colombian will join on four-year contract at end of season Champions League action is player's main spur in 8m deal
Reuters The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.51 BST
Hertha Berlin's Adrin Ramos will join Borussia Dortmund in the summer as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski. Photograph: Action Press/Rex
Borussia Dortmund have given themselves a filip following their Champions League exit to Real Madrid with the signing of the Hertha Berlin striker Adrin Ramos on a four-year deal to replace Robert Lewandowski, who is leaving to join Bayern Munich at the end of the season. The 28-year-old from Colombia, who will join the club in the summer, has scored 32 goals in 89 Bundesliga appearances for Hertha, 16 of which have come this season. There were no financial details available on the transfer but German media reported the deal to be worth about !10m (8.2m). "It was my wish to take the next step in my career and play in the Champions League," said Ramos, who is expected
"It was my wish to take the next step in my career and play in the Champions League," said Ramos, who is expected to feature for his country in the World Cup. Dortmund have struggled to keep up with Bayern's relentless pace in the Bundesliga and departed the Champions League on Tuesday after a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Real. But their manager Jrgen Klopp was delighted with his side's display at the Westfalenstadion, where a 2-0 win was not quite enough to topple the Spanish side. "I could not be more proud of this team and the way they played," Klopp said after the match in Germany. "The players who came in it was Milos Jojic's first game for Dortmund in the starting lineup were extremely strong." "The game today was so good that we just cannot say anything else about it or accuse anyone. We have not made it easy for our fans this season but we offered them the best in this match." Much of the post-match focus fell on the former Liverpool target Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who missed several fine chances to add to Dortmund's tally. "He put in an outstanding performance," said Klopp in his defence. "He had two moments that every player has to go through in his career especially in a phase where scoring goals doesn't come easily. "It would be great if we could look at the game as a whole, and not only at the two missed chances. We had a few others and five clear-cut opportunities in the first leg. Had we scored there, a 2-0 result would have seen us through. Out of a million possibilities to go out of the competition, this was still the best." For Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti's 50th match in charge proved his most nerve-racking but after surviving the scare his side retain a chance of a rare treble. They are third in La Liga, three points behind the leaders Atltico Madrid with six games left, and also through to the Copa del Rey final, where they will face Barcelona. Bara are the only Spanish side to have won the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa del Rey in one season, in 2009 under Pep Guardiola. A relieved Ancelotti said the match in Dortmund had turned when Angel Di Mara's 17th-minute penalty was saved by Roman Weidenfeller. "We gifted them a lot, above all in the first half," said the Italian, who has 39 wins, six draws and five defeats in his first 50 Real games. "In the second we didn't lose our heads, we defended better and we had chances to score. I am pleased to get to the semi-finals, which was an important goal, but not with the way in which we did it." Real's lethargic and error-strewn performance almost wrecked their chances of a fourth consecutive appearance in the semi-finals of Europe's elite club competition and they will have to improve if they are to reach the final in Lisbon. "The key was the penalty, which gave Borussia a big lift, and at that moment an element of fear affected the team," Ancelotti admitted. "We didn't play after that moment and we only defended. We needed to have control of the game and possession and in the first half we just didn't manage it." Cristiano Ronaldo, who sat out the game in Germany on the Real bench with a knee problem, should be fit for Saturday's game at home to Almeria.
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Wayne Rooney's all-action role fails to reward United's David Moyes

Manchester United asked their main man to play total football, but it was not enough to swing the tie against Bayern In pictures: the best images from the Allianz Arena
Jamie Jackson at the Allianz Arena The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.01 BST Jump to comments ()
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney was asked by David Moyes to play as a hybrid striker-midfielder against Bayern Munich. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
The tie was poised tantalisingly at 2-2 when Wayne Rooney had the chance to upset Bayern Munich and rip up the expected narrative of this Champions League quarter-final. Danny Welbeck had the ball inside Bayern's area, yet when he rolled it across to Rooney, despite the forward having copious time and space, he fluffed the shot. That was on 64 minutes. Moments later Thomas Mller scored to make it 3-2 on aggregate to the competition holders and Rooney was consigned to wondering what might have been if he had slotted home the opportunity. For this night in Bavaria Rooney had been asked to be a different kind of total footballer. The all-action hybrid of striker-midfielder often seen on the fields of the Premier League has Rooney as the pivotal actor, the ball either leaving or coming to him as he seeks to punch holes where it hurts the opposition. Here he was asked to be the first defender at the tip of David Moyes's 4-5-1 formation while being ready to instantly transform into the predator who might score or create the goal that would dump Bayern out. The blistering start Pep Guardiola's men fashioned suggested that attack-mode Rooney would indeed be feeding off scraps all evening. While Arjen Robben took up ownership of the ball in those opening moments, Rooney was operating near the centre circle or joining team-mates deeper inside United territory. Taking up occupancy at corners Bayern had two inside the opening five minutes or trying to step on Toni Kroos or Philipp Lahm to snuff out the Germans' attack at birth were his chief occupations. This detail had been on Rooney's mind during the build-up. Of the Bayern captain, the forward said: "The most important player for me is Philipp Lahm. They've got [Franck] Ribry, Robben and Toni Kroos who are great players but Lahm is the one who makes everything tick. He is the one you have to stop."
players but Lahm is the one who makes everything tick. He is the one you have to stop." Yet as he settled into this role, United began to assert themselves, and Rooney was given his first gilded opportunity. What appeared a speculative Darren Fletcher effort dropped perfectly into Rooney's path. Instant control allowed a surge towards Manuel Neuer's goal. But instead of using his left to shoot, Rooney dallied, Dante blocked him, and when Shinji Kagawa then became available the option was refused. The threat therefore fizzled out. Guardiola had described Rooney as one of the best players he has ever seen in his career before this match. From a man who has coached Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernndez it was some compliment. If there was a touch of exaggeration in this, there is no doubt Guardiola feared what Rooney might do as the hub of United. An illustration came in the chance he made for Antonio Valencia's disallowed goal. Floating out to the left where Kagawa's natural inclination can also take him, Rooney played in the cross for a strike rightly chalked-off for offside.Kagawa's inclusion had been a headline selection from Moyes. At last he was handed the No10 role in a bigtime game to show what he could do. The manager had been missing out by limiting him to only 13 starts before this one in his first season in charge. Kagawa's four appearances for Borussia Dortmund against Bayern had all ended with the 25-year-old on the winning side. Perhaps that was a factor in Moyes's decision, and some of United's brightest moments scant as they were due to Bayern's superb ball-retention were created by Kagawa as he found pockets of space and plenty of team-mates as he had done so successfully for Dortmund before his 17.5m move two years ago. Rooney, booed all night for the incident that had Bastian Schweinsteiger sent off in the first leg at Old Trafford, began the second half by taking the collector's item of a United corner. The next corner, inevitably, was Bayern's. And, it was Rooney who rose to head the danger away as he continued to fulfil the disciplined role required by his manager. To get to the break with Bayern not scoring had been a success, though Schweinsteiger's finish at Old Trafford meant that as the clock ticked towards the hour mark, and this game remained goalless, Bayern were probably the happier. Yet the sense grew that this had become the kind of scrappy contest that United wanted, while Bayern were struggling to find the rhythm that can often be so hypnotic. This was confirmed when Patrice Evra let fly for a 57th-minute goal that had United ahead in the tie for the second time and believing. Before kick-off Moyes said: "If we can make them chase the game that will suit us because we don't want to be chasing it." For less than two minutes the Scot had his wish. With United's players still engulfed by euphoria, Bayern swept downfield and Franck Ribry's ball was headed home expertly by Mario Mandzukic beyond David de Gea, Evra far too slow to make the challenge. Now, after Rooney's chance came and was messed up, first Mller then the excellent Robben showed the 28-yearold how to finish, to give Bayern a 3-1 lead on the night that meant an unassailable 4-2 advantage on aggregate and Manchester United, seventh in the Premier League, were going out of the Champions League. That position means it will be 2015, at the earliest, that they and Rooney will be back in the competition.
Bayern Munich tactics clever but, boy, Pep Guardiola likes to show it
Bayern Munich did not need a surprise tactical approach to defeat this mediocre Manchester United side In pictures: the best images from the Allianz Arena
Michael Cox The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 23.10 BST Jump to comments ()
Bayern Munich's Pep Guardiola during the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester United in Munich. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty
Pep Guardiola is obsessed with evolving his side, tinkering with players and experimenting with new formations to keep opponents guessing. Here, he started with the most unusual formation you'll see in European competition this year although it caused his own players more problems than it did the opposition. On paper it appeared Guardiola had pushed Philipp Lahm back to his traditional right-back position, rather than in the central midfield role he has usually played this season. From the outset, however, Lahm was playing in the centre of midfield. Who was at right-back? Well, no one was. Lahm's responsibility was to cover the right-back zone as well, a dual role the German international, who Guardiola has described as the most intelligent player he has ever worked with, was capable of playing considering Manchester United were not playing a true left-winger.
The central positioning of Bayerns full-backs allowed the United forwards Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck space to break into in the channels. Illustration: Graphic
Even more intriguingly, David Alaba was playing exactly the same role on the opposite side, despite being up against Antonio Valencia, a proper winger. On the rare occasions United enjoyed spells of possession, those two shuffled back to defend the wide areas like conventional full-backs, but in possession they were simply extra midfielders, ensuring Bayern dominated the centre with something akin to a 1950s-style W-W formation, or a 2-3-2-3. It did not work. With Bayern packing the centre of the pitch, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribry were forced to hug the touchlines, providing width for the entire team. This nullified the strengths of Bayern's wingers they are most dangerous when cutting inside powerfully and shooting, but without full-backs overlapping, this became extremely difficult. The unusual approach also played into the hands of United, who were playing on the counterattack and had oceans of space to break into, because Bayern's centre-backs had no support in wide areas. Danny Welbeck worked the channels dangerously and Wayne Rooney also found space following direct attacks. After the sides exchanged goals to make it 1-1 on the night, and 2-2 on aggregate, Bayern's best spell of the tie came after Guardiola switched to an orthodox system. A conventional right-back, Rafinha, replaced Mario Gtze with Lahm returning to the centre of midfield. Bayern were, by then, in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which was not really reverting to the Guardiola blueprint, but instead reverting to last season's treble-winning system of Jupp Heynckes. Thomas Mller moved higher up the pitch to grab the second goal, while Robben and Ribry had more licence to cut inside, with the former completing the scoring. Guardiola is unquestionably an extremely clever manager, but sometimes he can be rather too clever for his own good. Bayern Munich did not require a surprise tactical approach to defeat this mediocre Manchester United side, and this tie should not have been quite so difficult for the European champions.
Atltico Madrid get lift from Koke and push past Barcelona into the semis
Guardian report Min-by-min Match facts
Atltico 1 Barcelona 0
Champions League Atltico Jorge Koke 6 Barcelona
Sid Lowe at Vicente Caldern The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 21.51 BST Jump to comments ()
Atltico's Koke, right, celebrates after scoring with Tiago, left, during the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Barcelona. Photograph: Andres Kudacki/AP
These really are the best days of their lives. Atltico Madrid are in the semi-final of the European Cup for the first time in 40 years and it is no fluke. How appropriate that the man who scored the goal that took Atltico to a 1-0 victory over Barcelona should be called Koke Resurreccin. Atltico were Spain's losers, remember. They called them El Pupas, the jinxed ones. No more. A manager may never have had such an immediate and complete an impact on a club as Diego Simeone has at the Vicente Caldern. Football's Robin Hood, as the midfielder Tiago called them, continue to rob from the rich. Here, they took from Barcelona, who will be absent from a Champions League semi-final for the first time in seven years. "We can envy the economic power of other teams, but when it comes to competitiveness we don't envy anyone," Simeone said.
"Sometimes it's not the better team that wins but the team that's more convinced." Atltico's conviction was complete. Victory, met with a roar that almost made your ears bleed, was entirely deserved; the only surprise was that Barcelona lasted as long as they did. A goal down after five minutes, they were still a goal down after ninety. They had chances, sure, but not as many as their hosts who left the posts shuddering three times. Barcelona too will shudder when they look back on this. "Win, win, win and win again," declared the mosaic stretched across one side of the stadium. The phrase honoured its author, Luis Aragons, and so did supporters. Yet Atltico did not necessarily need to win. A 0-0 draw would take them through and that seemed plausible four times these teams had met this season, four times they had drawn. All the more so as injured top scorer Diego Costa wasn't even on the bench, a fact that makes this feat all the more fantastic. In his absence Atltico, who were also without Arda Turan, started with Adrin and David Villa. Adrin had scored just twice this season and had not even made the squad in five of the last six games. But his contribution was immense from the start. And far from seeking the draw, Atltico tore into the visitors. It started with Ral Garca shooting over. Then Adrin smashed a shot against the crossbar. The ball dropped to Villa whose cross reached Adrin and he found Koke free near the other post to score. The roar was deafening and the clock showed just five minutes. It would be tempting to say that Barcelona were soon hanging on for dear life except they were barely hanging on at all. They did not protect themselves, just hoped the storm would pass. They looked terrified and overrun, a team with virtually no defence and a goalkeeper who frightened them almost as much as the forwards running beyond them. "There was a very big difference between one team and the other in the first twenty minutes," Gerardo Martino, the Barcelona manager, admitted. "We couldn't put together four or five passes." Atltico sensed the weakness and pushed Barcelona on to the ropes, pounding away. The amazing thing was that they did not land the knock out blow. Villa shot over, Pinto was nearly caught by Adrin and twice more they hit the post inside 20 minutes. Both times it was Villa, from left then right. The score may have been different but this was as much a hammering as last season's semi-final against Bayern Munich. At half time the fact that they were losing only 1-0 was the best thing Barcelona could say. There had been a lovely nutmeg from Neymar and a Messi header wide but survival was all they could have expected. More, in fact. If Barcelona had been given a second chance, they appeared determined to take it but the sensation was a fleeting one. The second half started with Xavi and Messi combining to play in Neymar. Thibaut Courtois was quick and the loose ball dropped to Messi, who was suffocated by a pack of defenders. A moment later, Xavi scooped over five yards out. Xavi had the next chance, too, and it was a good one. But he headed Dani Alves's cross wide. Martino took off Cesc Fabregas, who did not even wait to see the board before departing: he knew his number was up. But the better chances remained Atltico's, dashing forward when tiredness permitted and into the space Barcelona allowed them. Adrin left to a standing ovation and Diego came on, immediately drawing a near-post save from Pinto. The Barcelona goalkeeper made another stop from Gabi when Atltico broke through on the other side. And a minute later Howard Webb ignored Villa tumbling. Neymar put a diving header wide from Alexis's cross, but this was desperate now. Barcelona lacked imagination, still less inspiration. Martino made the surprising admission that he wanted Messi to be involved less often but more decisively. He was neither. When the best opportunity fell in the final minute, it fell to Cristian Rodrguez, an Atltico
decisively. He was neither. When the best opportunity fell in the final minute, it fell to Cristian Rodrguez, an Atltico substitute. Pinto saved the chance but no one saved Barcelona. Atltico's incredible story continues.
Laurent Blanc exposed as rich owners of Paris Saint-Germain ponder future

The Frenchman may pay the price for his limitations after PSG's Champions League elimination at the hands of Chelsea
Dominic Fifield The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 13.39 BST Jump to comments ()
Laurent Blanc's future as manager of PSG looks fragile after his side's elimination from the Champions League. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
The inevitable question was fired at Laurent Blanc towards the end of his numbed post-match media duties at Stamford Bridge. He knew it was coming. Any manager overseeing a team constructed at lavish expense by owners who expect swift returns on their outlay would be ready for a grilling following elimination from the Champions League, a fate Paris Saint-Germain had just suffered. The same would happen at Chelsea or Manchester City, Real Madrid or maybe even Barcelona. "Have you spoken to the owner since the final whistle?" "Yes." "And what did he say to you?"
"That is of no concern to you." It was a brief exchange, the manager too submerged in his own disappointment to bite back with any real snarl, but the weeks ahead may be littered with similar exchanges until some certainty is provided over the manager's future at Parc des Princes. Blanc was not Qatar Sports Investments' first choice to succeed Carlo Ancelotti last summer. He was not even their seventh choice, with Jos Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Arsne Wenger, Guus Hiddink, Andr Villas-Boas, Frank Rijkaard and Manuel Pellegrini all sounded out once it was known Ancelotti was keen on a move to Madrid. When Blanc was unveiled the sense was that, even as a former France international of considerable standing, he was a last resort for an increasingly desperate recruitment drive having failed to secure one of the glitzier candidates. The 48-year-old signed a one-year deal with an option for a further season. Given his team have gone 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, with successive domestic titles in sight, and had triumphed 3-1 in the first leg of the quarter-final against Chelsea, the assumption had been that, at some point over the next two weeks, confirmation would emerge that the PSG president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, had taken up the second season and Blanc's stay would be extended. The noises were all positive. Now, the hierarchy may pause and consider their options before committing. Tuesday night was a reality check. PSG have grown used to success they had been beaten only three times in their 46 games this season up to the trip to Chelsea, and were on a club record 11-match winning streak in all competitions. They had gone into the second leg confident they had the individual quality and collective resilience to retain their comfortable advantage from the first match. A glance at their official Twitter feed in the buildup was enough to confirm their confidence. Indeed, Blanc had fronted his pre-match press conference by insisting their "footballing philosophy" would not change, even if Zlatan Ibrahimovic was hamstrung. They would weather the hosts' early storm, hog the ball, impose their own attacking qualities and, all being well, secure a first Champions League semi-final since 1995. Yet, as the script was ripped up in the frenzy at Stamford Bridge, Blanc's limitations appeared to be exposed. While he could not be held culpable for Edinson Cavani's profligacy in front of goal the !64m Uruguayan appears fragile after a season played in Ibrahimovic's shadow other elements of his evening's work were baffling. The decision to start with Marco Verratti, undoubtedly a classy player when his passes pay off but far too careless in possession in both legs, ahead of Yohan Cabaye, a midfielder who knows the Premier League and was surely better suited to this frantic occasion, felt unnecessarily risky. If PSG were going to prosper, they had to tap into the pace of Ezequiel Lavezzi and Lucas Moura down the flanks, but the ball tended to stick with Verratti as he over-elaborated. Cabaye might have liberated the visitors' on the counterattack more productively. Blanc's body language on the touchline was far too anxious and his exasperation transmitted to his players. The substitutions were too reactive: Chelsea flung on three forwards (none of whom has been prolific this term), so on came Marquinhos for the outlet that had been Lucas, with Thiago Motta forced ever into retreat. Lavezzi, a constant thorn in Chelsea's side, had departed early for Javier Pastore. Cabaye's introduction for Verratti came too late. "We didn't manage to play our game' tonight," said Motta, "and I don't know why. The way we played, it's not the same as we did to get to this stage of the competition. Our philosophy is to play our football but we didn't do that out there." That felt damning, all those bold pre-match pledges having come to nothing. Blanc spoke of Chelsea's greater experience at this level, suggesting they were more streetwise when the tie came to its defining moments, but his own naivety felt exposed at times, certainly when contrasted with Mourinho. His brushes with this competition as a manager are limited to two campaigns with Bordeaux, when they failed to emerge from a group that contained Chelsea in 2008-09 and then stumbled out to Lyon in the quarter-finals a year later. "This is the highest level," said the full-back, Christophe Jallet. "Every team goes through a little lull in a game but we didn't negotiate ours well enough. We leave here really frustrated and very disappointed."
PSG's training session Wednesday was cancelled, with players and staff granted time off to lick their wounds. They travel to Lyon on Sunday seeking respite in their dominance of Ligue 1, with Khelaifi offering up positive noises in public. "We are disappointed not to be going into the semi-finals but we are accumulating plenty of experience," he said. "We were very close to qualifying, it's true. We would like to thank the fans who were magnificent [at Stamford Bridge], and I am sorry for them. We did all we could, but that is football and you have accept these things happen. We move on and continue to pursue our objective." Ultimately, that is to become the best in Europe though elimination at the same stage as last season Ancelotti had drawn both legs against Barcelona only to exit on away goals will inevitably leave the hierarchy contemplating whether they boast the right manager to oversee that progress. They will wonder still about Wenger while the uncertainty surrounds his future at Arsenal. They will be intrigued by Diego Simeone's progress with Atltico Madrid, or even Louis van Gaal's clear desire to coach a high-profile club side, whether in the Premier League or the Champions League. They may have options, candidates who might seem better bets to ensure success in Europe. This did not feel like progress. Blanc may just have fluffed his lines at precisely the wrong time.
Chelsea await full medical verdict on Eden Hazard's calf strain

Belgian had complained of tightness during warm-up Hazard underwent scan on Wednesday evening
Dominic Fifield The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.30 BST
Chelsea's Eden Hazard, right, leaves the pitch after 18 minutes of the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA
Chelsea will discover the extent of the calf strain suffered by Eden Hazard against Paris Saint-Germain amid fears the Belgium international may be ruled out for at least a fortnight, an absence which would jeopardise his participation in both the Champions League semi-final and the potentially critical Premier League game at Liverpool. Hazard, who had complained of tightness in the muscle during the warm-up, limped out of the contest on Tuesday after only 18 minutes to be replaced by Andr Schrrle. Jos Mourinho confirmed post-match that the forward had suffered a "muscular injury" which might rule him out for a few weeks, though the 23-year-old underwent scans on Wednesday evening which will now be scrutinised by the medical staff at Cobham. The player was in pain as he walked but had told French television when he was leaving Stamford Bridge that he had departed the pitch mainly as a precautionary measure. "I'd already felt some pain in my calf during the warm-up and I didn't want to take a risk," he said. "We'll see how it feels from now on." That had been considered cause for optimism, though a two-week absence would be considered standard and would leave Chelsea's leading scorer doubtful for the first leg of the European semi-final, to be played on either 22 or 23 April. The London club are due to play at the current league leaders, Liverpool, the following weekend, before the return leg. His replacement, Schrrle, scored the opening goal before Demba Ba's late second jettisoned the French club and saw Chelsea into a seventh Champions League semi-final in the last 11 years. "There's something in this team, it's hard to describe, but it's amazing," said the Germany winger. "I've never played in a team like that before. I came here to be involved in games like this and to be with a team who have what it takes to go through." The Premier League, so often criticised by Mourinho this season, will move one of Chelsea's televised Sunday fixtures to a Saturday to grant them more time to prepare for the Champions League ties. At present they are due to play Sunderland at home on Sunday, 20 April 20 and at Anfield on Sunday, 27 April, with the scheduling to be set in stone once the draw has taken place in Nyon. Mourinho who is not expected to be sanctioned by Uefa for leaving his technical area during the game against PSG was at Wembley on Wednesday attending his personal hearing after denying an improper conduct charge for reentering the playing surface having been sent to the stands in last month's Premier League defeat at Aston Villa. The Portuguese will find out on Thursday whether he has been found guilty or not by an independent commission he would face a fine of around 10,000 having opted to protest his innocence as a point of principle.
Hazard awaits verdict
Chelsea's Jos Mourinho, a master with many gameplans in his back
pocket
Give him a side who will do as he says, and there is no better manager for inspiring a very good team to beat a better one. His Champions League switch to direct football was a triumph
Barney Ronay The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 17.05 BST Jump to comments ()
The Chelsea manager Jos Mourinho gets the upper hand over Laurent Blanc in the Champions League. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
One of the striking aspects of Chelsea's progress to the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night was the demeanour of Laurent Blanc during and after Paris Saint-Germain's 2-0 defeat in the second leg at Stamford Bridge. In the opening quarter of the match Blanc was the most visible presence on the touchline, patrolling his rectangle with a reassuring strut. When Eden Hazard left the pitch after 18 minutes Blanc was first to offer him a consolatory handshake. He even gave Andr Schrrle a paternal pat as he ran on in Hazard's place. Two goals up, two thirds of the tie gone. Blanc was winning this. The change in his manner by the end was striking. As Chelsea began to drive PSG back with a well-practised switch to accurate, muscular, direct football Blanc seemed to slump. At one point he rubbed furiously at his temples with both hands. He made changes, waving his players on energetically, but none that made any real difference to the game's altered momentum. By the time Mourinho made his dash down the touchline to the corner flag there was no need to dodge his fellow manager. Blanc had sat down; or rather been sat down. Afterwards PSG's manager seemed unusually meek; not just disappointed but with the chastened air of a managerial Salieri who has just spent the last two hours plonking gamely at his chords while next to him some traumatically gifted improviser tinkles away with terrifying alacrity. There has already been a great deal of praise for Mourinho's role in Chelsea's victory, his success in bundling a depleted team past lavishly appointed and gratingly over-confident A-list opponents. If football is a combination of tactics and emotion, then Mourinho got both right. He made his plan. And he made up a story to go with it, the well-pitched motivational underdog schtick that dovetailed perfectly with tactics designed to expose PSG's most accessible weakness, discomfort in the face of relentless muscular pressure at the heart of their defence. This was both a tactical success and a coup de thtre, not to mention a first notch on the all-time Mourinho hit list in his Chelsea 2.0 period, an Elvis in Vegas moment for a well-worn favourite now into his middle years. For all the emotion of the moment, though, what really stood out was the sense of meticulous planning behind Chelsea's victory. "We worked a lot all week on scenarios one-nil, two-nil, three-one," Terry said at the final whistle. "For every scenario, we had a gameplan and once again we got it right." And this really is Mourinho's defining quality on these occasions. His habit of staging practice matches to replicate
And this really is Mourinho's defining quality on these occasions. His habit of staging practice matches to replicate having men sent off or chasing a game is well documented. To see such thoroughness in action at this level, Mourinho changing the course of the game with his best player injured and powerful opponents already in control, was fascinating. It may even have been salutary for those competing Premier League managers who seem to come out match after match with a single tactical plan in mind, where Mourinho has two or three contingencies lurking in his back pocket. In the event Chelsea's tactics were basic but effective: from about the 25-minute mark they began to pass the ball longer from midfield and full-back. Initially this was a response to Schrrle's willingness to use his speed cutting in behind the right side of PSG's defence. By the end, with three centre-forwards on the pitch, it had become outright, well-executed direct football. Chelsea were robust too, committing 18 fouls to PSG's 11 as the champions of France shrivelled a little, making just 129 passes in the second half and wasting a succession of chances on the break. In the process Mourinho turned weaknesses into strengths. A midfield that looked underpowered in the absence of Ramires and Nemanja Matic became at times a shuttle service, David Luiz and Frank Lampard making 21 long passes between them. Strikers Mourinho feels lack the highest qualities were allowed to use the ones they do have. Demba Ba can batter with the best of them. The loss of Hazard, which might have been a catastrophe, became an opportunity for Schrrle to use his speed and energy, while in the second half Chelsea's left wing was effectively abandoned altogether as Csar Azpilicueta made nine long passes from that side, more than anyone in the PSG team bar the goalkeeper. On top of which there was a striking sense of togetherness about Chelsea's players that grew from a slow start. Schrrle was again a key player in this. The German has an endearing public relationship with Mourinho, who seems to treat him a little bit like a promising, coltish young horse. Chelsea's manager refers to him in a sightly offhand way as simply "Schrrle". On Tuesday he ordered the German to warm up with a furious wave of the arm, and ordered him back in with another. Schrrle in return seems utterly willing, chasteningly professional, a player intent on drawing the most out of himself. As Chelsea did on the night. This match was in many ways made for Mourinho, who has always seemed most comfortable in a very distinct niche among the tiers of elite level football. Give the Portuguese a side who will do exactly as he says, and there is no better manager for inspiring a very good team to beat an exceptional one. This is the best of Mourinho: one level below the very top, an underdog among the overdogs, as he was again at 3-1 down to PSG. His best achievements, the European Cup wins with Porto and Internazionale, Chelsea's first Premier League title, have followed this pattern, just as Mourinho at Real Madrid never quite seemed the ideal fit. By contrast with Blanc, Mourinho was laughably at ease talking to the press after making the semi-finals. Asked if this was one of his finest nights in football Mourinho shrugged theatrically, curled his lip and made a dismissive kind of "Pffffffffftt " noise. There are no easy draws in the semi-finals but Chelsea will fear no one.
Hull City's Steve Bruce backs owners' name-change idea despite FA rejection
FA council turn down the club's proposed rebranding Bruce: Things change and we must embrace change
Louise Taylor The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.30 BST
The Hull City manager, Steve Bruce, trusts the owners and believes it is time to 'embrace change' over the possible name change. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images
The Football Association council rejected Hull City's proposed rebranding to Hull Tigers on Wednesday but the club's owners, Assem and Ehab Allam, will be delighted by the endorsements their idea has received from Curtis Davies and Steve Bruce. There is no appeal mechanism against a decision made by a 63.5% majority of the FA council but a new bid can be made in 12 months' time. After a ballot of Hull season-ticket holders suggested a narrow majority supported the name change, the Allams are likely to try again. "I'm a traditionalist," said Davies, Bruce's key centre-half and a strong candidate for Hull's player of the season. "But I agree with the chairman, the global market is massive for football. If we are able to draw more sponsors through the name change I understand that. "It doesn't affect the players at all. The name doesn't matter to us. It's not like Cardiff City. They changed their whole brand from the Bluebirds to the Red Dragons, we're not doing that. We wear the Tiger on our badge already. The chairman just wants to change the name to our nickname. That's why, as a player, I can't really see the problem but I do understand why some fans are upset. "I also understand why people do things for the global market. Hull City doesn't stand out as much as Hull Tigers if you're watching games in China and the far east. Hull Tigers will make us stand out more in those places and gives us more sponsorship potential." As the team's manager, Bruce has more pressing worries as he prepares for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United at Wembley. "I understand both sets of arguments, but without the owner we wouldn't be preparing to play in an FA Cup semi-final," Bruce said. "He honestly believes the name change will have a positive impact and we have to respect that. I understand history and tradition but if you look at the owner's tenure, reaching the semi-final, getting promoted and looking like staying
in the Premier League, his decisions have been good. "I never thought the FA Cup would be called the Budweiser FA Cup. Things change and we have to embrace that change. That's my philosophy." Although Assem Allam who will not comment on the decision until after the weekend had previously threatened to sell Hull were the FA to reject his proposal that was never regarded as a serious option. While the ballot of season-ticket holders has enabled Hull's owners to save face, the fact that just over a third of FA council members backed their proposal is likely to prompt a fresh application next year.
Arsenal need to shape up in order to win things, says Santi Cazorla

Wigan lie in wait for Gunners in FA Cup semi-final Arsenal keen to avenge 2011 League Cup final loss
David Hytner The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.44 BST
Arsenal's Santi Cazorla escapes James McCarthy's attentions to set up the first goal in their 4-1 sixth-round win against Everton. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian
Santi Cazorla says that Arsenal lack a "winning mentality" and "have to improve at crucial moments" as the club prepare for another of them the FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic on Saturday. The Spain midfielder also feels that they must follow the 42.5m signing of Mezut zil with another big splash in the summer transfer market in order to avoid slipping behind their Premier League rivals. Arsenal head to Wembley having taken nine points from nine league fixtures, a run of form that has effectively ended
their title hopes and the bigger battle appears to be to preserve their membership of the Champions League elite. Fifth-placed Everton, who beat them last Sunday, trail them by one point but they have a game in hand. It is a nervous time for Arsenal and they take on Wigan with bad memories of their previous visit to the national stadium. They were hotly tipped to beat Birmingham City in the 2011 Carling Cup final only to lose 21 after a lastminute mix-up between Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny allowed Obafemi Martins to score the winning goal. They are even stronger favourites to beat Wigan and then either Hull City or Sheffield United in the FA Cup final and so end a nine-year run without a trophy. The consequences of failure could be grave and they might have an impact on Arsne Wenger, who is out of contract in the summer and procrastinating over re-signing. "We haven't got a winning mentality and we have to believe in ourselves more," Cazorla said. "Sometimes you can get used to not fighting but we can't do that. Arsenal is and always will be a historic club. "We've been unlucky in several games. We had a lot of chances to win against Manchester United [0-0] and there was zil's penalty miss [in the last-16 tie] against Bayern Munich. We couldn't recover after going out against Bayern in the Champions League. And the [10] defeat against Stoke finished us [in the league]. You can't lose against Stoke if you aspire to be the next champion." The club intend to spend heavily again in the summer, after breaking their transfer record for zil last autumn. "Arsenal has everything to win," Cazorla added. "History, infrastructure, an incredible stadium and great players but we have to improve at crucial moments and sign the best players because if you don't do that, you may lag behind others. "That is what makes it different at other clubs. You've a good example in Manchester City, who signed Fernandinho, [lvaro] Negredo or even Manchester United with [Robin] van Persie and [Juan] Mata. Arsenal know what they need next season but it's almost impossible to win a title if we haven't got these kind of things." Szczesny believes that Arsenal are ready to take a decisive step against Wigan in what is, for him, a shot at redemption. "We had a bad experience in the League Cup final," the Polish goalkeeper said. "But we've matured a lot and we've got a lot more experienced players. I think that the likes of Jack [Wilshere] and Aaron Ramsey and myself were only 18 or 19 at the time. We know how important it is and I hope it's going to be a very positive day for the club."
FA proposes ban on football betting by those in game's top eight tiers

FA council proposal will be voted on during 21 May AGM Ban would apply down to Southern, Northern and Isthmian
Ronnie Moore broke FA betting rules and has been sacked as manager of Tranmere. More stringent rules may be introduced. Photograph: Pete Norton/Getty Images
The Football Association has proposed that from next season anyone involved in the top eight tiers of the English league system will be subject to a worldwide betting ban. The FA council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to the recommendation and the proposed rule will go before FA shareholders at the annual general meeting on 21 May. If passed it would mean any participant from the Premier League down to the regional divisions of the Northern, Southern and Isthmian Leagues (step four of the FA pyramid) would be prohibited from any football-related gambling. An FA statement read: "The FA has proposed that from next season, participants at Step 4 and above of the English league system will be banned from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition anywhere in the world." A blanket ban was suggested by the then FA chairman, Lord Triesman, in 2009 and now is within weeks of becoming a reality. The proposal follows consultation with the Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Footballers' Association, the League Managers Association and the Football Conference. Currently, FA rules state that no participant can bet on a match or competition in which they are involved that season, while they are also prohibited from using or passing on inside information. The statement added: "The changes to FA rules from the start of the 2014-15 season would also see a worldwide prohibition on betting on any other football-related matter, for example, the transfer of players, employment of managers or team selection. The passing of inside information to somebody that uses the information for betting remains prohibited." The news came on the day that Tranmere Rovers sacked Ronnie Moore after he became the latest high-profile figure to breach existing betting rules. Moore was suspended from his job as manager by the League One club on 17 February after an investigation was launched by the FA's football integrity unit and the 61-year-old was last week charged over "multiple breaches" of betting rules. The Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend, Dan Gosling of Newcastle United and Cameron Jerome, who is on loan at Crystal Palace from Stoke City, are among those to have been found to have breached current betting regulations.
Masters 2014: Rory McIlroy's three key holes at Augusta National

The world No7 believes holes 1, 5 and 18 must be conquered if he is to win the Masters at the sixth attempt
Rory McIlroy The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 21.59 BST
Rory McIlroy tees off during a practice session at Augusta National ahead of the Masters. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
Hole 1
Hole 1: Tea Olive
It is imperative to get off to a good start and this is a tough hole to try to do that. You want to make a four there every round and get going. There are some easier par fours, the 3rd for example, but others like the 1st are completely
different. It is not like you are hitting in here with a wedge, you will have a mid-short iron in your hand. You don't want to get too bold on the 1st. If the pin is on the left and you miss it left, for example, it is going to be a good effort to get away with a five.
Hole 5
Hole 5: Magnolia
I feel like the front nine is the tougher half and this, the 1st and the 7th are the toughest ones where par is very good. It is not the hardest tee shot on the course, you just hit it up the right side. But the second shot is so tough no matter where the pin is because you have to try to get the ball on the right level of the green. The green itself is so sloppy and full of little hollows. If you misjudge one a little and it comes up short then you have that massive hill to play over before even reaching the putting surface.
Hole 18
Hole 18: Holly
Hole 18: Holly
There are plenty of reasons why this is an important hole. You don't want to finish your round badly or you could be playing it on Sunday with a chance to win the tournament. You have to try to get the ball on the right level of the green and you cannot afford to miss the green. It is a really strong hole. You hit a good drive up there and are still left with a seven iron or eight iron into a narrow green where anything left will end up in the sand.
Masters 2014, Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 April
Perfect place for Rory McIlroy and his peers to open a gap on Tiger Woods
The world No1 is missing his first Masters since 1994 and has provided the game with a revelatory glimpse of the future
Ewan Murray at Augusta The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.46 BST Jump to comments ()
Adam Scot, left, the 2013 champion, and his compatriot Matt Jones head to the 14th. Scott can make history this weekend by becoming only the fourth man to retain the title. Photograph: Jim Young/Reuters
It seems faintly ludicrous to have the preamble to one of the most significant sporting occasions of the year dominated by someone who is not even a part of it. That, however, is the reality of Tiger Woods. Iconic status casts its shadow when golf's world No1 is not on the premises. What can also be said without fear of contradiction is that there has been no finer time for the game's pretenders to topple Woods from his throne. Permanently, that is. They would almost admit as much themselves.
Rory McIlroy asserted last week that golf would benefit from a dominant figure as Woods once was or the kind of top-level duel which the 14-times major winner previously revelled in. Woods' impact on his sport will not be matched anytime soon but his professional fallibility opens doors for others to at least aspire to greatness. McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, say, have genuine chances to complete a grand slam of majors before their careers end. It would be unfair to belittle surprise major champions. Nonetheless, the key four events of the year should provide the canvas upon which the finest players display their work. These must be special occasions producing special winners, when too often in a modern era they culminate with a whimper rather than a roar. Augusta, thankfully, has not witnessed many such denouements in further demonstrating its unique appeal. Any string of obscure triumphs does little to emphasise the status of majors as the tournaments which appropriately reward the best. Major wins count, more than anything else, by the end of a career. It should never be good enough to cite financial reward or ranking status as a viable alternative. The harsh reality for Woods is that his battle to win another major, let alone match Jack Nicklaus' record of 18, is a more significant one than people realised until recently. Writing off Woods has proved a dangerous business but there is a growing sense of inevitability and sadness surrounding the physical decline of a great sportsman. Whatever Woods' past problems, personal or physical, he always turned up for the Masters. Not this time. Those organising the event would never admit it, but this week provides a glimpse of things to come as and when Woods removes himself from the competitive scene entirely. Some black humour has arisen around Augusta National this week at the sight of Woods' coach, Sean Foley, hobbling around the range on crutches as he recovers from an injury of his own. Insight into the upcoming Woods struggle arrived from a man who knows a thing or two about the major scene, Arnold Palmer. "Tiger is going to have to overcome the fact that he won as much as he did; he is going to have to refresh that in his mind and his psychological approach to the game," he said. This, in theory, should offer hope to others. Augusta National is the perfect venue for McIlroy and his peers to put promise into practice, thereby creating a gap for Woods to bridge when he makes his return from back surgery. Woods may have won five times last year but his run without a major, stretching back to 2008 at Torrey Pines, has never seriously looked like ending. If McIlroy does not soon end his own period without a victory in the United States, dating from September 2012, the Northern Irishman will not have any cause to resent criticism. In fact, McIlroy would lead that analysis himself. Even as an amateur, McIlroy has never resembled Woods in terms of sheer volume of tournament success but he remains one of precious few players in this field who can capture the imagination of a fresh generation. Put simply, a McIlroy win this weekend would be a terrific thing for modern golf. Considering his level of ability, it is ridiculous to see McIlroy lying No9 in the world. He remains in everyone's thoughts but McIlroy knows perfectly well that a high-profile success, and particularly the donning of a Green Jacket, would blast him back into the golfing forefront he was earlier accustomed to. At 24, McIlroy's peak years may be all ahead of him but he is anxious for tangible success, which represents an impressive scenario in itself. He is not alone. Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose are relative veterans in comparison to Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Harris English and Patrick Reed. Scott has a legitimate opportunity to etch an indelible mark in history by successfully defending his title. Rose finally knows what it takes to triumph in a major after doing precisely that in terrific fashion at Merion last June. Stenson's epic success in 2013 identified him as a player who has fully recovered from the demons which once undermined his career. Those more youthful have already proven at various stages that they care little for standing on ceremony. Given
Woods' situation, they should also eye the potential to play their part in a fresh legacy. Before even contemplating that, competitors must handle Augusta's distinct challenges. This is a seductive if spooky venue, a place which for all its beauty gives the impression that even walls and trees could have ears. Average holes of which, believe it or not, there are a few are made to look terrific. The best ones really are outstanding. None of them could ever be deemed easy. Players quiver at the prospect of missing greens on the wrong side. A strong mentality is essential for any leading player but at Augusta that draining intensity grips them from the moment they enter Magnolia Lane. Not everyone can handle that. Woods could. Discussion over that mindset has formed part of this, the 78th Masters week. It is a conversation which routinely takes place in the past tense, though; thereby providing impetus to others.
Masters 2014: Kevin Stadler's big chance to get one over pa Craig
Craig Stadler knew he would end up playing in the same major field as his son. Relations have been strained but the 'Walrus' clan are looking forward to an emotional occasion at Augusta
Ewan Murray at Augusta The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 10.41 BST
Kevin Stadler, left, listens to his father Craig on the second fairway during a practice round for the Masters at Augusta. Photograph: Darron Cummings/AP
Craig and Kevin Stadler will play four groups apart during the opening two rounds of the Masters. There have been occasions when the duo were far more distant than that. The Stadlers will make history as the first father and son to play in the same Masters. It is this year's early and
endearing Masters tale and they are instantly identifiable as a pairing; Craig, of "Walrus" fame, has been a golfing mainstay for four decades, with his son bearing a striking resemblance Kevin hasn't been labelled "Junior Walrus" since his youth for nothing. The break-up of Stadler's marriage to Kevin's mother, however, has placed strain on the family. "I'm not as close with him now as I used to be," Kevin said, "but he's still my dad. It's fine." This week provides the perfect opportunity to remedy that. "It's emotional in a very good way," Craig said. "I have just kind of envisioned this and knew it would happen some day. I was hoping it would happen some day. I was pretty sure. The rest was up to Kevin. "It was very cool on Saturday evening, registering and then walked down; two names next to each other on the scoreboard, that got me a little bit. That was very cool. "It's going to be just a wonderful week and I hope he plays really well and I hope I don't embarrass myself. It's wonderful to be a dad, to be his dad, and the youngest son, as well. "I get people every other week that say: 'I saw your boy at Phoenix or at Muirfield and what a great kid. Chatted with him, wonderful guy.' And everything I have ever heard about Kevin on the golf course is positive from everybody. As a dad, you can't get any better than that. They are just wonderful comments about what a wonderful guy he is, and he is. He always has been." Craig's Masters exemption is secured for a lifetime by his victory in 1982. The 60-year-old, who banked $64,000 for his win, suggests this may be his last Augusta appearance: "If and when I do, which probably will be this year, bow out, I can't think of a better way to do it than playing with your son in the same tournament. I mean, it's awesome." The 34-year-old Kevin's place in the 78th Masters was booked by victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the start of February. He first visited Augusta earlier than even he can remember; it was inevitable from that point that he would follow his father's footsteps into golf. "I couldn't wait for April every year when I was a kid, to come out here and just run rampant around the course and just watch him play," Kevin said. "I used to love tagging around at tournaments, just watching the golf. It was what I got the most enjoyment out of when I was a kid. "I've never really thought of doing anything else but it's also been all I've done since I was about five years old, so my dad has got a whole lot to do with that obviously. There's no way to know if I would have done it if he would have been a doctor or a plumber or whatever."
Masters 2014, Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 April
Augusta National, where change occurs only at the pace its members want
Ike's tree may be missing this year but Augusta National patrons are quietly moving countryside closer to the Georgia course
Andy Bull at Augusta The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 20.30 BST
The Eisenhower Tree standing on the left of the fairway and 210 yards or so from the 17th tee, was removed last month after being irreparably damaged in an ice storm. Photograph: Shaun Best/Reuters
First, a story about sandwiches. At Augusta National they serve eight types, each sealed in its own plastic green jacket. The most popular is the pimento cheese, a blend of sharp cheddar, monterey jack, cream cheese, onion, mayo, garlic, and cayenne. They have been selling it here since the 1940s. Now, knowing the ingredients is one thing. Knocking them together is another. When the club switched the catering contract from one local firm to another in the early 2000s, the new chef spent months trying to perfect the piquant blend, which his piqued predecessor refused to pass on. The new man had to sneakily seek out the ingredients from a wholesale supplier and reverse engineer it from a frozen batch before the club's catering committee finally felt he had got it right. The club has brought the catering in-house but a few years later it had the same problem all over again. The catering team have spent a lot of time and effort trying to get it right. Still, some say the sandwich is too spicy, others that it is too moist. Which is irksome. Because at Augusta everything, even the sandwiches, is supposed to be just so, as it always has been, and as the founders would have wanted it. "This is follow the leader around here, and the leaders were Bob Jones and Clifford Roberts," says the current chairman, Billy Payne. They follow that lead so far as is feasible, anyway. After all, Roberts is supposed to have said: "As long as I'm alive, golfers will be white and caddies will be black." It was 1975 before a black player, Lee Elder, first played in the Masters. That was two years before Roberts shot himself beside the pond on the par-three course. It was 1990 before Augusta admitted its first black member, Ron Townsend, after the brouhaha sparked by the odious remarks of Hall Thompson at the Shoal Creek club "We don't discriminate in every other area except blacks" the previous year. For several years Townsend was the only black member. And it was only in 2012 ago that it let two female members join, a decade after the dispute between Martha Burk and the then chairman, Hootie Johnson. You could say that the club has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 1970s but that wouldn't quite be right. Change isn't necessarily slow in coming at Augusta, it's just that, like everything else, it happens exactly as fast as the
Change isn't necessarily slow in coming at Augusta, it's just that, like everything else, it happens exactly as fast as the members want it to, and no faster. When Burk's campaign put the pressure on the tournament's corporate sponsors, the club simply decided to run its broadcasts without commercials. This is its fiefdom, and it won't be told what to do. Which is why it was so proud of the Eisenhower tree on the 17th. "Famous and beloved," Payne called it. "Much more than a strategic factor in the playing of this hole during the Masters, the Eisenhower tree represented one of our membership's most important links to President Eisenhower." More than that, though he didn't say it, the old loblolly pine was a symbol of the club's absolute autonomy. Eisenhower hit his drive into its branches so many times that he asked the club to cut it down. It refused. The president's word didn't carry enough weight to make Roberts act against his will. Eisenhower had his own cabin at Augusta. Likewise, during Eisenhower's presidency, Roberts stayed over at the White House so often that the staff referred to one suite as "Mr Roberts' room". Even Roberts couldn't dictate terms to the almighty, which may have been why he was an atheist. That way he never had to bow down before him either. Last winter Eisenhower's tree had to come down after what the insurers call an "act of God" a severe ice storm swept across the course. Payne was away bonefishing in the Bahamas at the time but this was such an emergency that he flew straight back. Nothing could be done. Now, a single pine cone marks the spot where it stood. The club is going to make a decision about how to replace it "after careful observation and consideration. I think quite apart from the playability of the 17th hole itself, we are in the process of determining how to permanently commemorate and remember this wonderful part of our history," Payne said. "Once again, we will take our time, and hopefully we will get it right." By Augusta standards, Payne has been a positively enlightened chairman, introducing the Drive, Chip, and Putt championship to give young golfers a chance to play on the 18th green, and implementing the Asia-Pacific and Latin America Amateur Championships. That's all part of what Payne describes as "the duty and obligation" Roberts and Jones felt "to give back to the game". He has also overseen changes around the course, some of which the club is keener to publicise than others. It recently built $13m worth of cabins and corporate entertainment facilities, all in what Payne calls the "architectural style of the Augusta look, which we believe our patrons expect and appreciate". The club has been a little cagier about the land purchases they have made around the perimeter. It bought one adjoining apartment complex in 2012 so it could knock it down to make room for a car park. One local businessman told Bloomberg that the club "are going to grab whatever they can to further isolate themselves and keep themselves from being bordered by homes. They ideally would like to move to the country. If they can't move to the country, they are moving the country to the course." The Augusta Chronicle reported the club has been buying up nearby houses for eight times their value to make room for a wider approach road. Payne says the club "kind of told" the city: "Don't worry about the money, that we will advance it, loan it to you, and so it helps us because the road gets built more quickly." As ever, what the club wants, goes. And the more things change, the more they stay the same.
James DeGale move to Matchroom may lead to George Groves fight

Switch away from Mick Hennessy could provoke lawsuit Groves could sign promotional deal with Matchroom
Kevin Mitchell The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.18 BST
James DeGale will sign for Matchroom Boxing on Thursday, increasing the chances of a bout with long-time rival George Groves. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian
James DeGale will sign with Matchroom Boxing on Thursday, shortening the odds of a rematch with his long-time rival George Groves. That could be in a world title fight if Groves beats the WBA and IBF champion Carl Froch at Wembley Stadium on 31 May. DeGale will fight on the undercard. Eddie Hearn announced on Wednesday morning "a major new signing" would be unveiled in London on Thursday. Within hours, DeGale's promoter, Mick Hennessy, confirmed the fighter had terminated their agreement. "We are extremely surprised and disappointed," Hennessy said. "The agreement had several years to run and we had put him into an excellent position on the world super-middleweight stage. Unfortunately the company has been given no alternative but to put the matter into the hands of its lawyers and we are currently considering our legal options against DeGale. "We are also extremely concerned about the possible involvement of any other parties in DeGale's decision to terminate our contract and if necessary we will take the appropriate legal action against any other promoter, broadcaster or sanctioning body that is found to have been involved in this decision." DeGale was a member of Dale Youth ABC boxing club alongside Groves who is self-managed but who could sign a long-term promotional deal with Matchroom and lost to him in a close contest over 12 rounds for the British and Commonwealth titles in May 2011 under Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions banner. Two fights and 16 months later, he signed with Hennessy. DeGale was unbeaten in six fights for Hennessy, shown live on Channel 5, but expressed frustration that his career was not moving more quickly. Hennessy argued he had brought him to the brink of a world title shot, as he had recently been made mandatory challenger for the WBC world belt and was named in a final eliminator to become mandatory challenger for the IBF title. It is that version of the championship, Hennessy contended, that would have led to a domestic super fight against the winner of Groves-Froch.
Paulina Gretzky's sexy golf mag shoot is off-putting on eve of the Masters
Golf Digest defends its cover on the basis that Paulina 'might get some new people interested in the game'. But who? Maybe men who like sex but haven't heard of golf?
Marina Hyde The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 11.57 BST Jump to comments ()
Paulina Gretzky's pose on the cover of Golf Digest has been described by the LPGA as little more than sexism. Photograph: Golf Digest
Barely a day out from the Masters and I am stunned that no hellfire minister has yet claimed the storms which rained off Monday's practice round at Augusta were God's belated punishment for the club admitting female members. Happily though, a birds' angle has presented itself, in the form of Golf Digest magazine's current cover, which depicts a bra-wearing Paulina Gretzky posing seductively with a putter. Apparently Condoleezza Rice was unavailable, or has a topless-only clause or something. Paulina daughter of the hockey legend Wayne is the fiancee of real-life PGA golfer Dustin Johnson, and if those credentials don't speak for themselves, then let Paulina take up the slack. "I was laughing about this the other day with mom," she explains about what we might call the whole golf thingy. "I was like, 'Mom, I caught myself watching the Golf Channel.' I've done it so many times now. But I enjoy it. I really do. I'll watch the tournaments." Unfortunately, this sort of commitment to the sport has failed to impress the LPGA (surely it should be the WPGA by now?), who last saw one of their players featured on the magazine's cover an encouraging six years ago, and feel that Paulina's elevation is little more than sexism. "It's frustrating for female golfers," opined the two-times major winner Stacy Lewis. "It's kind of the state of where we've always been." Golf Digest defends its cover on the basis that Paulina "might get some new people interested in the game". But who? Maybe men who like sex but haven't heard of golf? The cover certainly seems more designed to appeal to that obscure demographic than the rather larger and potentially infinitely more lucrative long-term constituency women who like golf. (That said, no sooner do I see a greased honey in a bra looking like she can't buy a putt than I think:
who like golf. (That said, no sooner do I see a greased honey in a bra looking like she can't buy a putt than I think: patch me through to subscriptions, NOW.) Instead, the mag's editor-in-chief declares: "Paulina ranks at the high end of the golf celebrity scene today, and she has a compelling story to tell." What a shame she didn't tell it in Golf Digest, then. Having read the feature, I think he must have meant Paulina has a compelling body, which she does. And hey as Spinal Tap lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel's legendary inquiry should always remind us: what's wrong with being sexy? Yet I can only hope that being sexy isn't what Golf Digest is trying to achieve with virtually every other cover of their magazine, which mostly features a stylish action shot of a male golfer, in the traditional self-parodically hideous outfit, who doubtless spends his evenings doing something hot and heavy like attending Tour Bible study group or dreaming of smaller government. The message seems to be that you absolutely don't have to be sexy to make the cover useful in a sport where bulky middle-aged men can still compete at the highest level unless of course you're the wrong sex, in which case your sportiness seems to have rendered you so unsexy that a model gets your spot instead. Casting our eyes back to that rare exception of six years ago, the female player featured was Lorena Ochoa, and her cover line ran: "5' 6". 127lbs. 290 yards. How does she do it?" I don't know, is the answer, but I love how she's petitely feminine AND good at golf. In fact, the whole angle reminds me of a favourite Onion TV sketch, in which two breakfast TV presenters discuss the previous night's Fifth Annual Strong Women in Television Awards, at which Evangeline Lilly of Lost had won Best Fight Scene in a Wet T-Shirt or Shorts. "That's a woman who can be tough and independent while wearing a wet shirt!" one remarks approvingly. "Jennifer Love Hewitt was there," the other prattles on. "We chatted away about how great it is that female characters can be sexy AND tough, sexy AND smart, sexy AND professional It was a great night for women and for the men who write for them." And so with sportswomen's adventures in magazines, where we know that cover photos of female stars have to be sexy AND sporty. Although sexy and in lingerie or evening wear is even better. Perhaps a more candid answer from the chaps at Golf Digest would have been something along the lines that all they are doing is trying to sell magazines. And that, indisputably, is their job. But whether sex is the fail-safe, long-term marketing tool it is always credited as is less clear. After all, on our shores, Nuts magazine is to close. A baffling demise and to think it was only a couple of years ago that the mag was included on the committee of publications which decided the (all-male) shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year. In the end, I always felt that Nuts demeaned men far more than it demeaned women a sentiment the market has perhaps now confirmed and the same might be said of Golf Digest's cover. There is even a whiff of Freudian poignancy to the cover lines on the very same issue, which read like a cross between penis enhancement spam and the sort of thought bubble you might find floating above the head of a 280lb car salesman who prays nightly to Jesus to help him with portion control. "Why Golf Makes You Live Longer", reads one. "Your Secret to 45 More Yards", runs another. I'm only sorry Golf Digest missed the chance to complete the trilogy with "Conquering Bedroom Yips". Still, there's always next year's Valentine's issue.
Ulster's Jared Payne banned after red card against Saracens

Full-back sent off for foul on Alex Goode at Ravenhill Payne banned for three games until 21 April
Paul Rees The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 15.45 BST
Saracens' Alex Goode is challenged by an airborne Jared Payne in the Heinekn Cup quarter-final at Ravenhill. Photograph: Huw Evans Agency/REX
The Ulster full-back Jared Payne has been banned for two weeks following his red card for a reckless challenge on the Saracens full-back Alex Goode in the opening minutes of Saturday's Heineken Cup quarter-final in Belfast. Ulster felt the offence warranted no harsher punishment than a yellow card but the referee, Jrme Garces, argued the full-back had to be sent off because of the injury suffered by Goode, who was taken out in the air while trying to catch a kick and had to be replaced after treatment. Payne's case was heard by an independent judicial officer, Simon Thomas, at a hearing in Dublin on Wednesday. His judgment will be made public when it has been received by Ulster and he said that he had found the case particularly challenging. Thomas ruled that the offence was at the lower end of the punishment scale. Payne, who is a New Zealander but will qualify for Ireland later this year, said that he had eyes on the ball as he went to catch it and that the contact with Goode was unintentional. The player was given the minimum ban of three weeks, with seven days deducted because of his previously unblemished disciplinary record and his conduct at the hearing. The Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg was banned for three weeks for a similar offence in the final round of the Six Nations when he smashed into the Wales full-back Dan Biggar and was sent off. The referee was again the Frenchman Garces, and in Cardiff he made his decision after looking at a replay of the incident on a big screen. As both of his red card decisions have been upheld by the disciplinary process, the International Rugby Board can be expected to issue a directive on players being taken out in the air, not least because one of the potential injuries suffered by the victim is concussion, the reason Goode did not return to the field at Ravenhill. Goode will be on England's tour to New Zealand, fitness permitting, but the international door has been closed to Danny Cipriani since he returned to England last season after a stint in the Super 15 with Melbourne Rebels.
Cipriani has been named the Aviva Premiership player of the month after helping Sale make a late push for a play-off position. He has yet to be chosen in one of the senior squads by the England head coach Stuart Lancaster, who has no established back-up to Owen Farrell at fly-half, but the next month will present him with an opportunity. Cipirani has subordinated his celebrity lifestyle to rugby, as has Gavin Henson who is set to sign a new contract with Bath. Newport Gwent Dragons had hoped to lure the centre back to Wales, but have given up the pursuit.
Derby hope Hydrogen set to make his track debut in the next month
Peter Chapple-Hyam has hyped colt ready to run Nicholls likely to declare Tidal Bay in Scottish National
Chris Cook The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.17 BST
Trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam is planning to run his Derby hopeful Hydrogen in the next month. Photograph: Julian Herbert/Action Images
The much-anticipated debut of Hydrogen, who cost his owner 2.6m, should be no more than two or three weeks away, his trainer said on Wednesday. Peter Chapple-Hyam, who looks after the colt at his Newmarket stables, added that the Derby remains a possible target if everything goes smoothly. "It's all good with him," said Chapple-Hyam, sounding cheerful as the new Flat season begins to hit its stride. "He came in late, though. He was turned out at Tweenhills Stud [in Gloucester] through the winter and he didn't get back until mid-to-end February." For that reason, Hydrogen will not be on show next week when racing returns to his local track for the influential Craven meeting. He holds entries in two races there but Chapple-Hyam feels they will come marginally too soon.
Instead, the horse will make his first appearance in a maiden race "in about two or three weeks' time. He's done fantastically well through the winter," the trainer continued. "He was so immature last year. But we won't know how good he is until he runs. The Derby is a possible, I wouldn't say more than that. Sheikh Fahad [the colt's Qatari owner] is a patient man and he doesn't want him rushed." The Sheikh went to 2.5m guineas to buy Hydrogen in October 2012, the world record price paid for any yearling sold at auction that year. Part of the attraction was that Hydrogen is a full-brother to Authorized, the 2007 Derby winner, also trained by Chapple-Hyam, though the pair have a less illustrious brother in Sirgarfieldsobers, a failed hurdler. It was never anticipated that Hydrogen would be the sort of fast, precocious type to be racing in the summer of his juvenile year but there was some disappointment that he did not make it to the track at all, an October outing at Newbury becoming impossible when he returned a dirty scope days beforehand. Chapple-Hyam will have done well if he gets him to the Derby in just eight weeks' time and bookmakers currently offer his charge at 50-1. "I believe and hope that he's a stakes horse," the trainer said. "He's been cantering every day, he's just started back on grass with a lead horse. He's doing everything right. He's a beautiful-looking horse and very kind-natured." Tidal Bay appears set to have his final run of the season in Saturday's Scottish Grand National. His trainer, Paul Nicholls, said a decision would be made on Thursday morning after a final schooling session, aimed at establishing whether the horse is entirely over his Grand National exertions from last weekend. "It's a difficult decision," Nicholls said. "If it was fast ground at Ayr, I'd be happy to miss it. And if I could be sure there would be some give at Sandown in a fortnight's time, I'd wait for the Bet365 Gold Cup there. But it's soft at Ayr and there's every indication that the ground may have dried up by the time we get to Sandown. So if he pleases me tomorrow, he'll run [on Saturday]." Tidal Bay was among the market-leaders for Aintree's big race last weekend but could not avoid a fallen horse at the Canal Turn and lost his jockey, Sam Twiston-Davies. He was caught after completing just one circuit of the track, though not before himself hampering the leader, Across The Bay, effectively taking him out of the race. Nicholls believes that series of unfortunate events did not take much out of Tidal Bay, but wants to be satisfied of that before committing the 13-year-old to Ayr. The horse is a 20-1 shot but most of his rivals will be running from out of the handicap if he is left in at Thursday's final entry stage.
Salford's Marwan Koukash gives Brian Noble 48 hours to accept new role
Deposed coach Noble offered director of football post 'I can't wait forever,' says Salford owner Koukash
Press Association
Press Association theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 12.06 BST Jump to comments ()
Brian Noble, left, with Marwan Koukash before the upheaval at Salford Red Devils. Photograph: Simon Wilkinson/Rex Features
Marwan Koukash has given Brian Noble 48 hours to accept his offer to become the Salford Red Devils' director of football. Noble has made way for the appointment of Iestyn Harris as head coach but has been offered an alternative role and has until 5pm on Friday to give his answer. "I want to make it clear that Brian has not been sacked," Koukash, the club's owner, said. "He's been moved from one part of the organisation to another. It's a genuine offer and it's up to Brian whether he wants to accept the job. If he doesn't and I can't wait forever there are other candidates I want to speak to. I will bring somebody else in to help us build a club." Harris, the Wales head coach who left his job as Wigan assistant last Friday, took up the reins on Monday and has been given a contract to the end of 2016. "I'm obviously really excited about the opportunity to be here," Harris said. "There are some challenges ahead which I'm looking forward to. The players been really responsive to some of my philosophies and visions and they've trained exceptionally hard." Martin Vickers, the Salford chief executive, said that the rest of the coaching staff would remain unchanged and that an agreement has been reached with Sean Long for him to go full-time after initially rejoining them on a part-time consultancy basis. Vickers added that the Australian Shane Flanagan was expected to arrive next week to take up a three-month consultancy role and that Salford are hoping to create a partnership with Flanagan's NRL club, Cronulla.
Red Bull bring back Dan Fallows as head of aerodynamics in Formula One
Fallows, who left Red Bull last year, starts job immediately McLaren-bound Peter Prodromou is put on gardening leave
Reuters The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.40 BST
McLaren-bound Peter Prodromou has now been put on gardening leave by Red Bull. Photograph: Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images
Dan Fallows has been appointed the head of aerodynamics at Red Bull with the McLaren-bound Peter Prodromou now on gardening leave. The Formula One world champions said Fallows, who left the team last year after working as aerodynamics team leader, had returned and was starting his new job with immediate effect. McLaren announced last October they had signed Prodromou but Red Bull, the contructors' champions for the past four years, were determined to hold the much sought-after Briton to his contract. They did not say when his leave would formally end. Prodromou was McLaren's head of aerodynamics until 2006, having joined them in 1991, when he followed Adrian Newey to Red Bull. The next F1 grand prix is in Shanghai on 20 April.
Mo Farah plots London Marathon victory based on running slowly

Briton believes steadier start will give him best chance of a win Race strategy will put him 30 seconds behind at halfway point
Sean Ingle The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 22.24 BST
Mo Farah believes playing the waiting game will give him his best chance of a London Marathon win. Photograph: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images
Mo Farah plans to run more slowly than his rivals for the first half of Sunday's London Marathon in the hope of picking them off when they tire. While the Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie will take six elite athletes to the 13.1 mile mark at close to world record pace, Farah has chosen to go with a slower, as yet unnamed, pacemaker who will take him and six others through halfway at 62min 15sec 30 seconds behind. The decision is understood to have been taken by Farah's coach, Alberto Salazar, who believes that a steadier start will give the Londoner the best chance of victory. Assuming he maintains that pace, Farah would finish in around 2hr 04min 30sec a time that would smash Steve Jones' British record of 2:07.13 by nearly three minutes. Farah's plan was confirmed by Dave Bedford, London Marathon's head of international relations, who told the Guardian: "We ask the athletes what they want. We then come up with bands where we can put pacemakers. Mo is running 62.15min." But Bedford denied suggestions that Farah had requested his own pacemaker. "None of the pacemakers have been asked for by Mo or put there by Mo," he said. "We have never done that. And in reality, the small gap between the two groups means they may come together. But nonetheless, that is what we have been asked to do." The decision may prove very smart. Last year the leading men came through halfway in 61min 34sec and while Farah bailed out at that stage, the field went from world record pace at 20 miles to blowing up. The Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede picked off his rivals to win in 2:06.04, but even his time for the second half of the race was almost three minutes slower than the first. However, Bedford believes it would be "daft" for Farah to base his plans solely on last year's race. "They were on world record pace with six miles to go, then the wind turned," he said. "If that wind hadn't come up I don't believe Kebede would have won it." Gebrselassie was sanguine when asked about Farah's decision to ignore his pacemaking. "Ah, as he likes," he said. "For me it doesn't matter. I'm telling you, I just keep what's important for the athlete. I don't want to bring them very fast, not too slow. I just want to keep them at a steady pace." Steady is not the way most people would describe it. Gebrselassie says he will run 58 minutes for the first 20km
(12.4 miles). That is seriously quick 20 seconds faster, in fact, than at the same stage during Wilson Kipsang's world marathon record of 2:03.23 in Berlin last year. But as Gebrselassie is prepared to concede, Farah's strategy to play the waiting game could prove to be a prudent one."At the beginning Farah has to be patient and just wait," he said. "When I ran my first marathon, at the beginning, at 10 or 15 kilometres, my body was saying to me: 'Why is this so slow? I have to go faster'. But the price is paid after 35 kilometres. After 35km the body starts to react. That's the hard part. Any marathon race always starts after 30km." Yet while Farah is making his first attempt at 26.2 miles, Gebrselassie believes that he is a major contender in Sunday's race, which he believes is "the best marathon ever". "I've never seen such big names in one race, both men and women," he said. "According to what I've heard about his preparations, the east Africans are facing a big challenge from Mo. Look at what happened last week with Kenenisa Bekele winning in Paris. Athletes like Mo and Kenenisa, who come from the track, are used to speed. Two minutes, 55 seconds for each kilometre is not difficult. Athletes like Mo and Kenenisa are used to running 2.20 or 2.30 per kilometre, so for them to run 2.55 is just jogging. If they allow Farah to be with them for the last five kilometres, he can win easily. His kick is so amazing." However, Farah's rivals are not overly concerned, despite Gebrselassie's warning. Most say they don't fear him. The 18-year-old Ethiopian Tsegaye Mekonnen, who ran 2:04.32 in Dubai in January, went further by saying he did not expect Farah to win. Asked to explain his view, Mekonnen said: "Farah's best time for the half-marathon is just over 60 minutes. Others in the field have run around 59 minutes. He can make it in the marathon if he has prepared properly, but he is mainly a middle-distance runner." Meanwhile Kebede, who has won this race twice, displayed the easy confidence of a champion. "I am in shape," he claimed. "There is no way I am not winning again."
Day four
Steven Finn is Middlesex's only bright spark as Sussex win by an innings

Middlesex 105 & 154; Sussex 386 Sussex win by an innings and 127 runs
Bruce Talbot at Hove The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 17.10 BST Jump to comments ()
Jump to comments ()
Middlesex's Chris Rogers attempted a rearguard action at Hove but was dismissed for 41 as Sussex strode to victory. Photograph: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images
Sympathy for English bowlers has been in short supply among Australian batsmen recently but Steven Finn's performance here after a wretched winter gave his county captain, Chris Rogers, some comfort as his Middlesex side were dismantled by Sussex's seam attack. Finn was the only player who did not deserve to be on the end of an innings defeat after taking six wickets before delaying Sussex's handsome victory with some futile slogging at the end after Middlesex lost nine second-innings wickets in 80 minutes during a spectacular morning collapse. It will take a few more performances like this before Finn is ready to be reintegrated into the England team but Rogers is encouraged by his progress. "Steve was a massive plus for us," he said. "For me he would be in the best England team but he's still only operating at 60-70% of what he is capable of. He showed a huge amount of character to come back and take six wickets.He needs to keep producing these sorts of performances, but I think he's heading in the right direction." The problem for Rogers here was that the rest of his bowlers failed to back up Finn when Sussex were establishing their 281-run lead on the third day and collectively they bowled so slowly that they were docked two points, cutting their return for the match from three to one. By contrast, Sussex's three seamers dovetailed superbly in admittedly helpful conditions, sharing 18 wickets. Rogers had been named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year before play started and for a while, as he mixed watchful defence with the occasional attacking flourish, it looked as if his arrival at Lord's for Wednesday night's launch dinner might be delayed. He put on 80 with Dawid Malan for the second wicket but then James Anyon squared him up with the fourth ball of his spell and the rest of his team-mates showed little of the gumption that Wisden had recognised in Rogers when making their choice. Like Finn, Eoin Morgan is hoping that early-season runs will earn him an England Test recall but after collecting a golden duck in the first innings he became Anyon's second victim with an indeterminate waft to the wicketkeeper. The rest went quietly, with Steve Magoffin taking the last four wickets to completefor a match return of eight for 77. This was an impressive performance by a Sussex side without three players Chris Nash, Luke Wright and Chris Jordan who would probably get into their strongest XI. Their captain, Ed Joyce, has targeted improved home form they won only once at Hove last season as the key their hopes of a first Championship since 2008 and on this evidence they looked as well this was pretty much a perfect start. equipped as any of their rivals. "Winning the toss gave us an advantage, but I thought we outplayed them," said Joyce. "Matt Prior's hundred made a big difference and we had the right attack for that pitch. As Durham showed last year you need to win your home games if you are going to challenge for the Championship, so this was the right start for us."Meanwhile, Jonny
games if you are going to challenge for the Championship, so this was the right start for us."Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow's hopes of retaining his place in the England team this summer have been dealt a blow after the wicketkeeper was ruled out for up to six weeks after breaking a finger attempting to catch a delivery from Liam Plunkett in Yorkshire's three-day friendly against Northamptonshire.
Day four
Nottinghamshire ease to victory but Ashwell Prince gives Lancashire hope

Nottinghamshire 272 & 220; Lancashire 144 & 303 Nottinghamshire win by 45 runs
Richard Gibson at Trent Bridge The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 20.18 BST Jump to comments ()
Lancashire's Ashwell Prince drives the ball on the way to his century against Nottinghamshire. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images
In the end it was the hope that killed them. Lancashire, on their return to the top flight, had been second best to Nottinghamshire for nine-tenths of the contest; only when victory became a possibility did they taste defeat. Nottinghamshire's 45-run victory was confirmed at 5.45pm when centurion Ashwell Prince lost his leg-stump to Harry Gurney, trying to improvise a single to farm the strike. So clean was his ball striking that even with only James Anderson for company, the improbable had remained on. Four hours earlier, Lancashire's initial fourth morning resistance appeared academic when they were reduced to 112 for six. Peter Siddle, Nottinghamshire's newly-arrived overseas player, looked on approvingly at the impressive
for six. Peter Siddle, Nottinghamshire's newly-arrived overseas player, looked on approvingly at the impressive greenhorn home pace attack as he jogged around the boundary. But South African Prince and his fellow southpaw Tom Smith counterpunched with a seventh-wicket stand worth 147. A spate of five boundaries in 10 deliveries in mid-afternoon including an audacious reverse sweep by Smith off Samit Patel signalled the shift in momentum. Indeed, the requirement had been whittled down to 90 when the Notts captain, Chris Read, hurled Luke Fletcher the new ball. It made its decisive dent two deliveries later when Smith nicked behind for 76. "We did feel on top, we just needed to get through the new ball but once they got Tom out they became the favourites," reflected Prince. "Even when Wayne White came in we still had a chance because he is capable. It was only later that we had to think about blocking a few and hitting a few boundaries off the last few balls of overs, to try to get close." Having lost White and Kabir Ali in a rush, Prince became more expansive, top-edging a hook off Gurney into no man's land at long leg when into the 90s, and drilling a pull for six off Andy Carter to move to 99. At the other end, Anderson's timing reaped three boundaries to keep the asking rate at around four runs per over. But opening up the on-side with a sideways shuffle across the crease to work a single proved fatal for Prince as he missed a full toss, and Nottinghamshire departed the field in the knowledge they are already halfway to their two championship wins of 2013. "Terrific," was Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell's assessment of a bowling unit missing Stuart Broad and Andre Adams through injury, and frustrated for the first 80 minutes by the overnight pair of Paul Horton and Simon Kerrigan, the nightwatchman. With the pitch flatter than on the three previous days it took two snorters from the Championship debutant Jake Ball and double reward for Samit Patel's probing spell of left-arm spin to send the innings south in a 45-minute period either side of lunch. But Lancashire showed the fighting qualities typical of Peter Moores teams to take the game into the final hour. With a groundswell of support in the corridors of power for his return to the England coaching position he vacated in 2008, and a willingness by the Old Trafford hierarchy to grant an immediate release should he be reappointed, it may just possibly have been their last fight under him. Lancashire do not play next week, when the interviews for the job are taking place. Asked whether he has found the recent weeks of speculation unsettling, Moores diplomatically replied: "It's easy to focus on Lancashire because I, like everybody else, have put in a lot of time and effort to set up the season. I have a responsibility to focus on the job in hand, and that's what I am trying to do."
Wisden 2014 review: Stunningly inclusive with a strong line on politics
Wisden 2014 review: Stunningly inclusive with a strong line on politics

There is much to admire in Wisden, including excellent contributions on women's cricket and a focus on India
Michael Billington The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 13.59 BST Jump to comments ()
Australia's Mitchell Johnson stuck with his moustache after doing so well with the facial hair during the charity month of Mo-vember. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA
A new Wisden (1,584 pages this year) thudding on to the doormat is always a sign of hope: even the famous daffodil-yellow cover seems like a symbol of renewal but what is most striking about the new edition, given the omnishambles of England's international cricket, is the reminder that there is a world elsewhere. Endless arguments about KP (and we really do need to stop talking about Kevin) pale into insignificance when seen in a global context. The shifting gender-balance in the game is acknowledged by the inclusion of Charlotte Edwards as one of the five cricketers of the year as well as by Tanya Aldred's excellent piece on five women legends and by an astonishing report from Iran on the ability of women's cricket to defy international sanctions and Muslim conservatism. Both Makhaya Ntini and Ali Bacher pay moving tribute to Nelson Mandela and his powerful influence on South African cricket. And paeans to Sachin Tendulkar, whose phenomenal talents were nurtured by collaborative, middleclass parents, are accompanied by an informative piece by James Astill about why Twenty20 has such a huge hold on the impoverished young in the Mumbai slum of Dharavi. As Astill says of T20: "It's the closest approximation to the street games played by millions of Indians." India inevitably occupies a lot of space in this Wisden. The big issue in world cricket is the revamping of the International Cricket Council in February when it was decreed that money raised from major events should be distributed according to the size of the "contribution" made by the relevant member. Lawrence Booth leads off the editor's notes with a ferocious attack on the boards of the Big Three (India, England and Australia) who pushed this through on the guiding principle that the rich get richer. Gideon Haigh has a supportive piece (The great carve-up of world cricket) suggesting that India has profited from the empire's ethos of divide and rule. Presumably for reasons of balance, Giles Clarke is given space to argue that Test cricket will ultimately benefit. For a more nuanced view I recommend reading Mike Selvey's Guardian article which claimed "the proposals might just be the best there is to be had at present". Whichever side you are on in the big debate, it is good to see Wisden stoking the argument by taking a strong editorial line. But the joy of Wisden, aside from the comprehensive reportage, lies in the quality of the comment pieces and this
year there is a bumper crop. Martin Crowe has an eloquent attack on sledging, which he sees as a mask adopted to conceal fears. Ed Smith also writes about masks and faces in a thoughtful piece on cricket's extroverts and introverts in which he intriguingly places Kevin Pietersen (that man again) among the latter. And theatrical masks dominate a piece by Liam Cromar, the winner of Wisden's second writing competition, that imagines a Shakespearean XI. I think Cromar is guilty of dodgy selection, however, in omitting Henry V who tells his followers at Harfleur: "I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips." As a devotee of county cricket, who spent much of his boyhood watching Tom Dollery's Warwickshire side in the early 1950s, I am delighted to see the domestic game still getting its due. Space and money restrictions mean there is less reporting of the county game today in the national press but Wisden covers every match. There is an especially witty summary of the 2013 County Championship by Alan Gardner that refers to Durham's mid-season upswing as a "peripeteia" (the Aristotelian word for a reversal of fortune), that wryly announces Sussex's Monty Panesar "relieved himself of his duties in August" and that astutely claims that for Kent "mediocrity was something to aspire to". Is there anything to complain of? Very little. I personally think Joe Root is a bit lucky to be among the cricketers of the year at the expense of Brendon McCullum, though I guess the latter is a shoo-in for next year after his recent triple century. And I think George Dobell, in reporting on the recent Ashes series, flatters Mitchell Johnson in referring to his "handlebar" moustache: a panto-villain description that properly belongs to Merv Hughes. Otherwise, the new Wisden is a stunningly inclusive affair that takes a strong line on cricket politics and reflects both the game's global diversity and England's woes. There are also the usual tempting titbits such as the news that in September this year a Church of England XI will play a Vatican City team at (where else?) Lord's. Presumably both sides will be praying for a miracle. The 2014 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is published on Thursday 10 April by John Wisden & Co at 50 for the standard hardback and softcover editions. It is also available as an abridged ebook, The Shorter Wisden, containing the best writing from the Almanack, at 12.99. www.wisden.com
G2: Comment & features
Maria Miller's resignation letter if it were 100% honest When the French clock off at 6pm, they really mean it
Al Sharpton and the 'FBI informant' allegations: keep it under your hat The Ultimate Warrior: five career-defining moments Westminster's elite can't be trusted, so make room for Bez the anti-politician The Voice's Jermain Jackman: 'David Cameron is a good guy, but I don't like his policies' Fine dining's identity crisis: is this the end of posh restaurants? Jack Monroe's sticky banana loaf with salted caramel recipe
Maria Miller's resignation letter if it were 100% honest

Stuart Heritage reimagines the exchange of letters between the former culture secretary and David Cameron relating to her resignation following her expenses scandal Read Maria Miller's real letter of resignation, and David Cameron's reply, here
Maria Miller has resigned as culture secretary following a scandal over her expenses. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER

9 April 2014 Dear Prime Minister, It is with the thinnest possible veneer of synthesised guilt that I have been convinced to tender my resignation as a member of the cabinet. I am very grateful to you for inexplicably having my back throughout this mess, but the present situation has become a distraction from the vital work this government is doing to distract the public from the ongoing abuse of government expenses. I have been a member of the Conservative party for more than 30 years. I know that our party understands the importance of giving everyone the opportunity to succeed regardless of where they come from, so long as they come from my immediate family and prefer having a nicely decorated house to being able to sleep at night. I am immensely proud of what my team have been able to achieve during my time in government: uniting our great arts and cultural institutions in unanimous agreement that I should resign; putting women front and centre of the continuing expenses scandal; putting in place the legislation to enable all couples to have the opportunity to marry regardless of their sexuality. I mean, there was that time I voted against a move to allow ministers to introduce
regardless of their sexuality. I mean, there was that time I voted against a move to allow ministers to introduce regulations banning harassment on grounds of sexual orientation, but that was way before you made me look after gay people. Besides, accurate recollections have never exactly been my strong point, have they? Did I mention that I went to a comprehensive? Because I totally did. Implementing the recommendations made by Sir Brian Leveson on the future of media regulation wasn't the success I'd hoped it to be, either. I mean, seriously, what's the point of limiting the freedom of the press if I can't even bully editors into shutting up about my dodgy mortgage? Still, whatever. I get the message. I'll lie low for a bit. I will continue to support you and the work of the government as you move forward. Ensuring the best future for people of Basingstoke who I'm directly related to has been my priority throughout the past nine years. Whether on the front or back benches, I will continue this work. But, who are we kidding, it'll probably be the front benches, right? I did mention I went to a comprehensive, didn't I? The only reason I became an MP was that I wanted to give something back. Sadly, there was some disagreement about the exact amount. I owe my husband, my mother, my father and my three children a great deal. Less than I owe everyone else, admittedly, but a great deal nonetheless. I haven't actually said sorry for anything here, have I? Never mind! Maria Miller
REPLY FROM THE PRIME MINISTER

9 April 2014 Dear Maria, Thank you for your letter. About bloody time, too. Now, keep your mouth shut and we'll have you back here in a month or two. Still on for cocktails next week? PS: Stop saying "distraction" on TV. You have no idea how annoying it is. David Cameron
When the French clock off at 6pm, they really mean it

A new labour agreement in France means that employees must ignore their bosses' work emails once they are out of
the office and relaxing at home even on their smartphones
Relaxing in a French cafe, untroubled by work emails. Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features
Just in case you weren't jealous enough of the French already, what with their effortless style, lovely accents and collective will to calorie control, they have now just made it illegal to work after 6pm. Well, sort of. Aprs noticing that the ability of bosses to invade their employees' home lives via smartphone at any heure of the day or night was enabling real work hours to extend further and further beyond the 35-hour week the country famously introduced in 1999, workers' unions have been fighting back. Now employers' federations and unions have signed a new, legally binding labour agreement that will require staff to switch off their phones after 6pm. Under the deal, which affects a million employees in the technology and consultancy sectors (including the French arms of Google, Facebook, Deloitte and PwC), employees will also have to resist the temptation to look at workrelated material on their computers or smartphones or any other kind of malevolent intrusion into the time they have been nationally mandated to spend on whatever the French call la dolce vita. And companies must ensure that their employees come under no pressure to do so. Thus the spirit of the law and of France as well as the letter shall be observed. That's right. While we poor, pallid, cowering Brits scurry about, increasingly cowed by the threat of recession-based redundancy and government measures that privilege bosses' and shareholder comfort over workers' rights, the continentals are clocking off. While we're staring down the barrel of another late one/extra shift/all-nighter, across the Channel they're sipping sancerre and contemplating at least the second half of a cinq sept before going home to enjoy the rest of that lovely "work/133-hours-per-week-of-life" balance. C'est all right pour some, quoi?
No 3,297
Al Sharpton and the 'FBI informant' allegations: keep it under your hat
Not surprisingly, the well-known US activist doesn't like to talk about accusations that he informed on the mafia to the FBI, but now the Smoking Gun has dredged it all up again
Al Sharpton: 'I was an American citizen with every right to call law enforcement.' Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
Name: Al Sharpton. Age: 59. Appearance: Thinner. Occupation: Civil rights activist, Baptist minister, TV and radio host, friend of President Obama Those are some interesting jobs. and FBI informant. OK, that wins. Although wouldn't you normally keep that a secret? You would. And Sharpton did, but other people keep bringing it up. Who? In 1988, Newsday said he helped the FBI to catch crack dealers within black community groups. In 2002, HBO aired a secret video, apparently showing Sharpton and an undercover agent discussing a big cocaine deal with a mafioso (Sharpton's the one in the silly hat). And now Yes? Now the Smoking Gun website reports that Sharpton worked for the FBI for several years in the 80s, providing piles of valuable information on the criminal underworld. They allegedly gave him the code name CI-7. Cool. Apparently "one Gambino crime family figure became so comfortable with the protest leader that he spoke openly during 10 wired face-to-face meetings about a wide range of mob business, from shylocking and extortions to death threats and the sanity of Vincent 'Chin' Gigante, the Genovese boss who long feigned mental illness". Meanwhile Sharpton was allegedly recording everything with a bugged briefcase. This sounds so exciting! How do I get to be a government informant? Ah. Well that's pretty much the nub of the matter. Normally you'd start by working as a criminal, then win the trust of some more important criminals, then get caught by the police, and finally agree to share incriminating information about others in exchange for leniency in your own case.
Oh. I hoped you'd say evening classes. Sadly no. So is that what Sharpton did? The Smoking Gun goes into a lot of detail about his allegedly murky background. Sharpton admits he helped the authorities at times, but strenuously denies all wrongdoing. He even denies that the word "informant" describes his role. He says he was threatened for trying to help black people work in music promotion, which the mob controlled, and merely reported what he knew to the authorities. "I did the right thing," he said on his show. "I was an American citizen with every right to call law enforcement." Do say: "This is allegedly like episode two, season two of the Sopranos!" Don't say: "I'd do anything to hush up a video of myself wearing that hat."
The Ultimate Warrior: five career-defining moments

The pro wrestling star who died this week was celebrated for his outrageous look, his wild moves in the ring and some legendarily outspoken promos. Remember the good times here
The Ultimate Warrior: he stood out from the crowd. Photograph: WWE
The pounding 80s power rock theme music. The eye-melting ring attire and fluorescent facepaint. The monstrously large physique and the frenetic, breakneck-speed ring entrances. Even in the brilliantly bonkers world of professional wrestling, the Ultimate Warrior stood out from the crowd. The legendary performer, who was born James Brian Hellwig before legally changing his name to Warrior in 1993, has died aged 54, just three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
He may have later fallen out with the WWE and quit the ring for a career as a rightwing motivational speaker, but to millions of fans in the late 80s and early 90s he was a marquee star. Here are five of the Ultimate Warrior's most memorable moments.
The Ultimate Challenge

1 April 1990. The SkyDome in Toronto. The Warrior, who at the time held the Intercontinental title, put his belt on the line against Hulk Hogan's WWF Championship in an epic winner-takes-all encounter. Hogan at that point was the company's biggest draw and wrestling's highest profile performer but the Warrior's triumph heralded a passing of the torch. Wrestling bible Pro Wrestling Ilustrated named it 1990's Match of the Year.
WrestleMania VII's career-ending match

Wrestling purists have a point when they say Warrior notorious for his clumsy and awkward style wasn't much of a ring technician. But even the squared-circle cognoscenti regard his victory over Macho Man Randy Savage in a Loser-Must-Retire match at WrestleMania VII in 1991 as a classic. The bout swung back and forth, with Savage regarded as one of the most technically gifted performers in pro-wrestling history at one point dropping five flying elbow drops from the top rope on to his opponent.
Those promos
The ability to talk the talk in promo interviews can make or break a wrestler's career, and what Warrior lacked in technical ability he more than made up for in smack talk. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper may have once smashed a glass bottle over his own head in an interview, but even that couldn't top the Ultimate Warrior's intense and frankly baffling monologues. "Load the spaceship with the rocket fuel," he demands in this clip; given the later steroid abuse allegations, we hope that's not a euphemism.
Papa Shango's curse

By 1992 the WWE was floundering. The mid-80s boom, which attracted celebrities such as Cyndi Lauper and Mr T, had fizzled out. Behind the scenes Vince McMahon's company was mired in a steroid abuse scandal engulfing top stars including Warrior. McMahon was later found not guilty, but while the allegations loomed, storylines became increasingly absurd, and a new low point was reached when scriptwriters pitted the Warrior against Papa Shango, a mysterious witchdoctor character supposedly blessed with voodoo powers. Here, Shango places a spell on the Warrior, causing him to convulse and vomit green blood. "This is unfortunate," comments McMahon, apparently without irony.
The name change and his final appearance

A series of disputes with the WWE over the Ultimate Warrior name and image led to Hellwig legally changing his name to Warrior. This soured relations between Warrior and the company, and the WWE released a less-thancomplimentary career retrospective DVD, The Self-Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior. More recently, however, the two settled their differences, with the Warrior appearing at WrestleMania 30 and being inducted into its Hall Of Fame. He made his final appearance on WWE Raw on Monday night.
Westminster's elite can't be trusted, so make room for Bez the antipolitician
It's not just the Tories who are breaking trust in politicians a decade of Labour rule didn't change anything either. So is it any wonder that the public crave alternative voices?
Suzanne Moore The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 20.00 BST Jump to comments ()
Turn to the left: Bez onstage with the Happy Mondays in 2012. Photograph: Simone Joyner/Redferns via Getty Images
How short the journey from striver to scrounger turns out to be. How great the gap between benefit cheat and misunderstanding over MPs' expenses remains. The Department of Work and Pensions website is clear: "Deliberately withholding information that affects your claim is stealing." I am not going to rehearse the strange accounting of Maria Miller (including claiming her parents' council tax) again, suffice to say that Michael Gove was right: the public are very angry about expenses. They see rules bent at the top, and brutally enforced at the bottom. Tears are not enough. Never mind a 30-second apology. It was obvious she was already gone when Andrew Lansley, a man with the charisma of a toenail clipping, was sent out to defend her. This charade feeds into the anti-politics mood that is everywhere. Miller, it is said, had to go because of rows over Leveson. Nonsense. Most people do not give a damn about Leveson. This just reflects how the political and media classes are conjoined twins who act as if one has to die to save the other. It's a stupid act, no longer fooling most of the people most of the time. Hence lies, untruths and halfbaked apologies. Miller clearly didn't think she had much to apologise for though the interior decor of her barn was worth a proper explanation, if you ask me. "Trust" not yet bottled by Richard Branson is a precious commodity. Once it's gone, it's gone. My colleague Zoe Williams's heartfelt plea to forgive Tony Blair, so the left can reunite and just get rid of this dreadful government, is also to do with trust and accountability.
We can't "move on" without a proper apology and Labour won't do it. It may be near Easter, but the resurrection of Tony Blair is not going to happen. Labour did some good stuff, sure. They also did some bad things. It still amazes me to see seasoned pros saying Miller's resignation would have been better handled by Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson. Are we to respect these high priests of manipulation after all the damage they did? The left looking to Blair is like the right looking back to Thatcher: desperate stuff, for desperate times. During the high days of New Labour I often got invited to local Labour party meetings and decent folk would ask how to get their message across to Blair and his pals on the sofa. It was like being with a friend who asks if their partner is being unfaithful. You both know they are but it's a hard thing to actually say: "They are cheating on you." Last weekend, I was at a festival in Laugharne to see David Icke interviewed by Keith Allen. (I do these things, dear reader, so you don't have to.) Icke didn't turn up (that's reptiles for you), but Bez, "crazy dancer" of Happy Mondays, went on stage as he wants to become MP for Salford. Bez is very much a striver I would say, and some of what he said made sense. He is into permaculture and antifracking. He doesn't appear to know what a manifesto is, but he wants "to stand up and be counted". Later, when I was speaking, someone asked me: "So if it's not Labour, do we just have ex-drug addicts then?" They meant, does the anti-politics alternative mean the likes of Russell Brand and Bez? Politics "done differently" was how the Lib Dems got in; it is how Ukip functions; it is how the far right gains. So I well understand that an abused electorate feels as if the Labour party is the only refuge available. The message is that "this is as good as it gets", that the system is flawed and party politics means compromise. Get real. Stop dreaming. Collectivity is over. The actual problems of care, of climate change, of inequality, of the limits of the state and the collapse of global markets are actually problems of collectivity. This should be fertile territory for the left, but is hardly reflected in our decrepit party system. It is not a question, then, of Labour just apologising for its war-mongering but also for its spinning, its failure to stem widening inequality. If all political careers end in failure, renewal starts with accountability. For Blair and his cronies destroyed trust in a much more fundamental way than do fembots such as Miller. As a result, we inhabit a centralised omnishambles, anger recast as apathy, with a media that pretend politicians are more powerful than they actually are. The anti-politicians' ideas appear childlike, faux-radical and unworkable because they are too big. Or have our politics got so small? For this is Blair's legacy too, a reluctance to act, a generation which saw that voting didn't change anything. Nor did the biggest demonstration this country had ever seen. It is idealistic to think anything could have been different. That is why we had a Tory coup and why Labour is better than nothing for many. That's hardly a mandate. Still, it's better than nothing. This is the context in which a man who shakes maracas makes as much or as little sense as anything that comes out of the tin ear that is Westminster. Sorry people.
The Voice's Jermain Jackman: 'David Cameron is a good guy, but I don't like his policies'
Jermain Jackman stormed to victory on The Voice, but the 19-year-old singer isn't stopping there. He talks about being the new face of Hackney, his plan to add youthful energy to party politics and why he's a leftie for life
Sophie Heawood The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 19.02 BST Jump to comments ()
Jackman captivated the nation on The Voice and now he wants to change the world. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
Is Jermain Jackman the first winner of a TV talent contest more interested in politics than pop? The 19-year-old from Hackney gripped 6.6m viewers on Saturday, when he won the third series of The Voice. Unlike James Arthur or One Direction, though, Jackman mentioned his work with the Labour Party within seconds of addressing the judges. He is a member of the youth party and his ambition to become, as he put it, "the nation's first singing black prime minister" is unheard of in light entertainment, usually so removed from party politics that voting is something that happens only on premium-rate phonelines. Watching the teenage activist capture the nation with Ed Miliband, Diane Abbott and Stella Creasy all cheering him on via Twitter and Hackney exploding with delight on a weekly basis well, it was quite a thing. And then he won! And now he refuses to limit his ambitions to the debut album he is recording. Jackman who was elected to Hackney's Youth Parliament, representing Stoke Newington wants to make a difference. Can he be for real? I meet him in his publicist's office, where framed photos of clients Paul McCartney and Gary Barlow line the walls. Within moments, Jackman is proudly showing me his phone, with texts from Keith Vaz saying: "You're going to be a great, great star," and missed calls from Ed Miliband trying to set up a lunch date this week. "He wouldn't have known my name before, now he's calling me on my mobile the leader of the Labour Party!" says Jackman, chuffed to bits. The Tories have been after him too in the morning he is due to meet Boris Johnson for the second time, to launch a busking initiative in King's Cross. And he has already met David Cameron, at Number 10, when he won a citizenship award three years ago. Clearly, the power brokers know how much they could do with a young black man already schooled in community politics and social justice on their team.
"Someone said: 'Jermain, you're too nice to be a politician, you need to have something radical to say that shakes everything up, you're too general.' I said: 'Sometimes that's good!'. You have to side with the public, you have to seem normal." In fact, his greatest desire, as he repeats often, is "to inspire others". Jackman still lives on the council estate where he grew up, in a fairly deprived part of east London. Gentrification and the Olympics have ploughed money into his area but not for everyone. Cuts have affected his neighbourhood greatly, but crucially for the middle-of-the-road politicos courting him, Jackman can do bland rhetoric well. "Everyone's saying to me: 'You're the new face of Hackney.' Hackney got attention for all the wrong reasons after the riots. Now it's getting it for all the right reasons. When people are asked what they think of it, people are gonna say: 'Jermain Jackman.' I want to inspire young people and make them believe that these things are possible. That's why I said I want to be the first black prime minister. Who else aims that high?" But when pushed, he doesn't pretend everything is fine. The borough has just recorded the highest property price leap in the whole of the UK and the impact on its residents has been severe. "The Olympics were just down the road but we didn't feel like we could get involved the door wasn't open. Now it feels like they never happened. Where's the legacy? Have you seen it?" We talk about the rows of local authority estates that have seen mass evictions to make way for luxury waterfront developments. "Some people call it ethnic cleansing," he says, but then stops short, with a politician's diplomacy. "I just call it mean. Those unaffordable homes that's the Olympic legacy. I said to the Radio 1 producers, who set up workshops here: 'Don't just come into Hackney for a couple of weeks for good publicity, say you're coming back and just then leave.' But they never came back. Which is why I want to use my success to make things happen for the community myself." Not everything about the new East London is bad. "There's a Premier Inn in Dalston! Five years ago if you'd told me there was a Premier Inn in Dalston I would have said: 'Shoot yourself, you sound stupid!' It's revitalising."
Jermain with Will.i.am on The Voice. Photograph: BBC
Jackman was raised in a very close Christian family, his mum a dental nurse, his dad a bus driver, and their granny on hand to tell tales of how hard it was growing up on the family farm in Guyana where there is still no phone. The children were all raised with scrupulous manners. "When my mum comes home we always say: 'Good evening' and ask how her day has been. I was never allowed a sleepover, ever. Richard Branson's son Sam has asked me to do an amazing project with him but it's overseas and my mum worries I'm going to get hurt. I know she's going to have to let go soon and I have had girlfriends, but to this day I have never stayed the night at anyone's house apart from my own family." Jackman worked with MPs in 2012 on a project to dissuade young people from getting involved in gang culture. I ask what his tactic was. "Opportunity. Giving something that appeals to them. People who may get into gun and
I ask what his tactic was. "Opportunity. Giving something that appeals to them. People who may get into gun and knife crime are on the street, not seeing that they have any worth. I guarantee, if they saw what they were good at, they would be pursuing that and making jobs out of that. But they don't know what they're good at." At school, he says, he was the guy who got along with everyone else and the one who teachers would ask to talk to difficult kids. "If there was an incident, I would approach the student and say: 'You need to let go of that knife, you need to throw it away.' There's an [amnesty] knife bin down the road from my school and they would throw them in there." No doubt his brief spell in community politics has rubbed off Jackman is a smooth operator. "When I met David Cameron, he was talking so eloquently about how to inspire young people that I was inspired. I said: 'This is a great guy. I don't like his policies, but I like his personality.' I know how to separate policies from personality. I don't agree with Boris's policies, but he is a funny guy. If it's for young people in music, I will support it." Jackman is so encouraging about Johnson and Cameron, his own plans to open a free school and his conviction that you make your own opportunities in life that I find myself asking if he's sure he's not, you know, a secret Tory. "Nooo! I'm a leftie leftie for life!" he laughs, humming the Beyonce lyric "to the left, to the left". But is he not in thrall, somewhat, to their charm? "What I noticed about Boris is that he purposely combs his hair like that to look 'normal' you can see the comblines in his hair. I don't know what he's trying to say about normal people because we do groom ourselves. I was like: 'Boris, what are you trying to say? Nobody looks like that.' [And] David Cameron's trying to cover up his bald patch by doing a combover and it isn't working. Prime Minister, just embrace your age. Hopefully I can go into politics and bring some youthful energy to the commons." For now, though, Jackman's priority is on recording his album. But as the show is glorified karaoke, one wonders what is his own musical style going to be? He can't entirely answer. He wants the record to be called Genesis. I point out he wants to make sure people don't think it's by Phil Collins. He looks blank. "I only know Phil Collins from the Disney Channel movies." It's a sentiment his fans will echo tweenage girls who voted him the first black male winner of a UK TV talent show and Cheryl Cole, who tweeted Jemain asking him to call her. So, will he? "Why does everyone ask me that question?! She wasn't talking to me in that tweet, she was talking to Will.i.am! How can I call her when I don't have her number?" He thinks about this. "Cheryl needs to call me."
Fine dining's identity crisis: is this the end of posh restaurants?

Haughty waiters, hushed rooms and and starched tablecloths are a thing of the past; today's top chefs are all about casual dining. But don't expect burgers and chips or rock-bottom prices
Tony Naylor The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 13.10 BST Jump to comments ()
Crab, courgette flower, rouille and chicory at Marcus, Marcus Wareing's new restaurant.
Mayfair restaurants are many things; fashionable is rarely one of them. By introducing a new, informal style of service, however, Marcus Wareing's once buttoned-up, two Michelin star restaurant newly reopened and renamed Marcus is bang on the prevailing trend of casual dining. It is a trend that, some argue, sounds the death knell for traditional high-end restaurants. That may be overstating it, but it certainly seems that fine dining is having an identity crisis. Top chefs have rarely questioned the oppressive, buttock-clenching theatre: haughty waiters; hushed rooms; starched table linen; endless interruptions to pour wine and water. But from Gordon Ramsay's former wingman Mark Sargeant to Nathan Outlaw, suddenly they are lining up to throw off the shackles of fussy service. Wareing's eponymous restaurant is but the most recent, high-profile example. This change has been forced upon such chefs. In recent years, the rise of street food, upmarket fast food and quality casual restaurants such as Polpo have triggered a marked casualisation of good food. You no longer have to book ahead or spend big to eat well in Britain and to compete, Michelin-starred restaurants must now offer quicker, cheaper dining options. Not that Wareing will be serving burgers and chips. Instead, following a 1.4m refit, he is promising a warmer, New York-style service ("A great welcome, a different type of hospitality") and more menu flexibility. Marcus will still serve a 120 tasting menu, but diners will be spared lengthy descriptions of each dish ("It's boring. I'm sorry. It is."). Lunch dishes will be priced individually, and guests can eat as few as two courses at dinner, albeit priced at a whopping 60. "You can come at lunch and have one course for 8, if you wish, which is very unusual for a restaurant like this," says Wareing. In Newcastle, at Kenny Atkinson's new House of Tides, this modernisation of fine dining is more dramatic. Keen to keep prices down, the previously Michelin-starred chef has dispensed with a sommelier and tablecloths ("I can't spend 13,000 a year on laundry"), there are no hovering waiters, customers pour their own wine. Atkinson says: "The food's at a very high level, but everything else isn't. When people think of fine dining, they think of waiters in suits, tons of cutlery, being expensive. We tried to break all that down. We want guests to have a laugh and enjoy the food. We have to be accessible. If people come in jeans and trainers, their money is as good as anybody else's." HoT is hardly cheap, but its nine-course 55-65 tasting menu is good value for cooking of this calibre: "People think of fine dining as 'posh', but it's quality ingredients, attention to detail in the cooking, finesse."
Galloway beef, potato and cabbage at Marcus.
Whether any of this amounts to the death of fine dining is a moot point. "There is certainly a move away from stuffy, traditional French fine dining," says Stefan Chomka, the editor of Restaurant magazine, "but I'd argue that what has replaced it is still fine dining. At Dabbous, there are no tablecloths, no fussy service, but it's still fine dining. It's not somewhere you have a quick bite to eat, and it's still bloody expensive." Restaurateur Russell Norman, who, when he isn't running restaurants (including the aforementioned Polpo), dishes out advice on BBC2's The Restaurant Man, agrees: "It's evolved. Trailblazers such as Pollen Street Social have shown it's possible to serve exceptional food in casual surroundings, without the dated fine dining elements." Nonetheless, fine dining's identity crisis highlights a significant change in the mentality around British food. Five years ago, food seemed to be on an ever more daring, complex and costly trajectory. Upmarket restaurants defined food's pinnacle of achievement for young chefs and diners alike. That is no longer a given, says Chomka: "Before people would look at Michelin and the Good Food Guide as the ultimate benchmark; now they're happy to go to places that aren't feted by the guides." Likewise, chefs are reassessing their priorities. Just as nouvelle cuisine was replaced by the relative simplicity of modern British cooking, there is, arguably, a similar recalibration under way now. Instead of expensive molecular techniques, older skills such as foraging, smoking and pickling are making a splash. Atkinson is acutely aware that he cannot serve food "where you don't know what the hell it is." Similarly, at the soon to launch Coast in Pembrokeshire, former Michelin-starred chef Will Holland wants to do brilliant, affordable things with cheaper ingredients (mains, 12-20), rather than falling back on fine dining's truffles and technical wizardry. "I can hold my hand up," says Holland, "and say, sometimes, you forget who you're actually cooking for." Back at Marcus, Wareing says the customer will dictate how his staff behave: "If they want the wine on the table, that's what we'll do. If they want it done the old-fashioned way, we'll do that. We all need to chill out. Relax. Look after the client. Simple." Customer-focused restaurants, eh? What will they think of next?
Jack Monroe's sticky banana loaf with salted caramel recipe

This quick, simple fruit loaf is great for lunchboxes, and really sings when paired with the salted caramel sauce and all for 38p a slice
Jack Monroe theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 10.57 BST Jump to comments ()
Seriously special sticky banana loaf with salted caramel and toasted cashew nuts. Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris for the Guardian
The caramel sauce isn't essential for this soft, sticky banana cake leave it out if you want a handy portable snack for kids' lunchboxes. But the sauce does add a seriously special twist for a grownup dessert. (Serves 6) 38p each 100g butter, softened, 48p 200g sugar, 20p 4 eggs, 88p 200g natural yoghurt, 22p 2 bananas, broken, 22p 200g flour, 9p 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 5p " tsp cinnamon, 3p For the sauce: 100g sugar, 10p Pinch of salt, 1p Pre-heat the oven to 140C/275F/gas mark one and beat together the butter and sugar, before mixing in the eggs and yoghurt. Mash the bananas in and combine. Pour in the flour, add the bicarb and cinnamon, and mix well. Bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce. Pour the sugar into a heavy-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat for a few minutes. As it starts to soften and melt at the edges, stir and leave for another few minutes. Watch it carefully one minute you have a pile of sugar that looks like it isn't doing anything, the next minute you have a soft, silky liquid.
Add a pinch of salt, remove from the heat and add a splash of tepid water (it will hiss and bubble a little, so don't get too close), stirring in quickly. Return to a gentle heat to keep soft and warm, and dribble over the top of the loaf when it's ready.
Jack's tips
You can use any sugar you like to make this, but if you use white, it makes it easier to see the change in colour when it's cooking. One optional extra: toast a few cashew nuts and scatter them on top before serving. For more recipe ideas, including using up remaining ingredients, see agirlcalledjack.com or follow @MsJackMonroe on Twitter.
G2: Arts
Maria Miller: why culture secretaries should actually enjoy the arts
Maria Miller: why culture secretaries should actually enjoy the arts
Can no one now last more than two years as culture secretary? Let's hope the next one has art in his heart for a change
Mark Lawson The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2014 18.30 BST Jump to comments ()
Maria Miller at the National Gallery, London, with a Corot painting given for exhibition by the estate of Lucian Freud. Photograph: London News Pictures/Rex
When Tony Blair, on his first day as premier in 1997, created a new super-ministry to replace the previous Conservative administration's Department of National Heritage, he called it Culture, Media and Sport. But, although the c-word was given first place on the letterhead, it has been the other two responsibilities that have most preoccupied DCMS secretaries of state, for good or ill. Sport, in the form of the securing and then execution of the 2012 Olympics, provided the post's crowning glory so far while the media have proved to be its crown of thorns. Maria Miller, who resigned yesterday after facing sustained pressure over an excessive expenses claim, is the second holder of the position in a row to depart with their head caught in journalistic cross-hairs. Just 18 months ago, Jeremy Hunt was moved to health following controversy over his alleged over-closeness to the Murdoch empire, in an industry it was his responsibility to regulate. Because both newspapers and games are generally noisier creatures than culture, an incumbent's efforts on behalf of the first word in their brief are often overlooked. But, even so, Miller has made notably little impact on the arts. Whereas the first secretary of state at the DCMS, Chris Smith, was (like the first heritage secretary, David Mellor) someone frequently to be seen at theatres or in CD shops, Miller always felt more of a media figure. Most cultural initiatives during her time at the DCMS appeals to keep rare paintings or books in Britain, grants to museums and galleries, reform of the heritage rules have been presented to the public by Ed Vaizey, her very able minister for culture. Miller herself led the press releases and conferences relating to a new cultural agreement with China and the nomination of the Forth bridge for World Heritage Site status, but both those campaigns felt more driven by wider politics David Cameron's desire to keep China and Scotland, for different reasons, sweet than by any personal artistic vision. To be fair to her, the aspect of the cultural portfolio that attracts most attention, the provision of funds to the Arts Council, is an almost impossible game to win. If the figure is lower than theatres and museums hoped for, the DCMS takes the blame; but if it is higher, then the prime minister and chancellor of the exchequer are prone to claim the credit. Serving in a time of cuts, Miller became the target for angry rhetoric from National Theatre boss Nicholas Hytner and other cultural leaders about what they saw as her refusal to understand the economic value of the arts to Britain. But if Miller appears to have achieved little at the DCMS, she might argue that she had no time to complete, or even really start, her work. Her departure solidifies the department's reputation for having an ejector seat behind its biggest desk. Although it is the Home Office that traditionally has the reputation as the riskiest cabinet position, the DCMS has now had eight bosses since 1997. And, as Tessa Jowell accounted for six of those 17 years, none of Miller's five other Labour or coalition predecessors completed two years in the post. Continuing this trend, even if he avoids trouble, her successor, Sajid Javid, will have barely 12 months before parliament is dissolved ahead of the May 2015 election. One brief incumbent Labour's Andy Burnham left in 2009 because he was fast-tracked for promotion, but the majority have gone unwillingly and/or unpleasantly. You don't have to believe in post-Leveson " media witch hunts", as some of Miller's supporters apparently do, to see that the holder of a cabinet position that includes oversight of the press may invite particularly brutal scrutiny of their conduct. Even the department's great survivor, Tessa Jowell (2001-07), experienced a lengthy scandal over her husband's business affairs. But the mayfly careers that have become common in this position have also had consequences for the department's political responsibilities. Given the general estimate that it takes at least a year for a fresh secretary of state to impose
political responsibilities. Given the general estimate that it takes at least a year for a fresh secretary of state to impose their will, the DCMS has been under full control for less than half of this parliament and, by the time Javid gets his feet properly under the desk, he may also be out. It is little wonder that some of the ministry's clients, especially in the arts, complain of a lack of continuity and achievement. If the DCMS is retained by the next government, the PM may find it tough to select secretaries of state who are sufficiently newspaper-proof to survive. But in the cause of improving relations with the cultural community, they might also be wise to choose someone who, like Mellor and Smith, gives the impression of having art in their heart. Miller always felt more at home with the media, even though they eventually made her ministerially homeless.
Table of Contents
The Guardian and The Observer Top stories Maria Miller quits, leaving PM weakened by sleaze row Scientists say UK wasted 560m on flu drugs that are not proven Lord Myners quits Co-operative Group PC Blakelock murder: family grief and questions for police as Nicky Jacobs acquitted Cabinet reshuffle: Osborne's long arm stretches from Amazon to No 10 Maria Miller: minister who got on the wrong side of MPs, public and press Maria Miller's resignation: cabinet loses a moderniser with inner steel New culture secretary is first MP from 2010 Tory intake to reach cabinet level Miller's tale fails to grind down David Cameron at despatch box UK news University students will be repaying loans into their 50s, say researchers Yvette Cooper: Exploitation of migrant workers will be crime under Labour Peaches Geldof initial postmortem proves 'inconclusive' Colin Kazim-Richards guilty of homophobic gesture at Brighton fans Inside the mummies' embalmed bodies courtesy of a hospital CT scanner Man who twice tried to kill gravely ill friend as act of mercy jailed High court overturns home secretary's freeze on payments for asylum seekers Record 26,000 reward for conviction as raptor deaths in Highlands rise to 19 HS2 homeowners offered improved compensation Science community dismayed at decision to axe lab work from A-levels Academy school in Birmingham is victim of 'witch-hunt', says governor Michael Nyman's Hillsborough tragedy tribute piece reworked for families Firework contractor had no worries over smoke on night of M5 pile-up Welsh NHS has worst waiting times in UK for life-saving diagnostic tests Police officers could face criminal charges over death of London musician Two early Peter Sellers films to get first showing at film festival
Two early Peter Sellers films to get first showing at film festival Tamiflu: Britain spent 424m on a drug that shortens bouts but is no cure Britain's first cloned dog is born and described as 'ridiculous waste of money' Tory plan to limit onshore windfarms will raise energy bills, engineers warn Dylan Thomas centre awarded nearly 1m in poet's centenary year Trainee solicitor jailed after starving dog to death Stuart Parkin awarded prestigious Millennium technology prize Top-secret MI5 files released online to mark first world war centenary International Vladimir Putin professes high hopes for Ukraine summit As Indian politicians court the female vote, women still fear walking home Berlusconi community service offers range from care work to animal welfare Snowy Mountain painting sold for $3.7m 'thrown out by cleaners' French president bans mobile phones from cabinet meetings Saudi Arabia may review ban on girls' school sports Paris zoo to reopen after a !133m revamp and Grand Rocher facelift Bomb in Islamabad market kills at least 21 Financial Greek return to financial markets attracts flock of investors Toyota recalls more than 6.5m cars over steering and seat problems Next boss to share 4m bonus with staff to create 1.5% payrise IMF warns Europe's banking system poses threat to global financial stability Tesco under pressure to win back customers with price cuts The eurozone's shaky banking system is still the biggest risk to recovery Trade figures show long road ahead to rebalance Britain's economy Britain's property market posts highest sales level in more than six years Hewlett-Packard to pay $108m to settle scandal over bribery of public officials UK trade deficit narrows in February Guinea to strip Beny Steinmetz company of mining concessions Comment & debate The Queen's lunch with Martin McGuinness was an act of trust After Maria Miller, the good news is that MPs can change PC Blakelock murder trial: the case against Nicky Jacobs was flawed from the start Martin Rowson on Maria Miller's resignation Diary: Yes, it's Nigel Farage's United Kingdom Expenses party Venezuela shows that protest can be a defence of privilege Editorials & reply In praise of the three-toed sloth Politics after Maria Miller: resigned to business as usual Drug trials: test match Corrections and clarifications Praise is off key Domestic workers' rights and slavery We need more open-access rail competition Public-private partnerships can help improve healthcare in Africa A close encounter with a hare sparks a moment of pure joy Ageing and the NHS Blair legacy so much more than Iraq Reviews Salif Keita and Seckou Keita review Les Ballets C de la B: Tauberbach review 'Erratic fantasy worlds' A Small Family Business review revival sells Ayckbourn short
A Taste of Honey review 'Rebecca Ryan's Jo keeps the drama alive' Pam Ann review 'Comedy of casual smut and insult' Obituaries Lucius Shepard obituary John Shirley-Quirk obituary Aileen Dekker obituary Sport: News & features Augusta chairman endorses Royal & Ancient's move to admit women David Moyes insists Manchester United can bounce back from Bayern blow Bayern Munich blow Manchester United away after Patrice Evra's strike Borussia Dortmund sign Adrin Ramos from Hertha Berlin Wayne Rooney's all-action role fails to reward United's David Moyes Bayern Munich tactics clever but, boy, Pep Guardiola likes to show it Atltico Madrid get lift from Koke and push past Barcelona into the semis Laurent Blanc exposed as rich owners of Paris Saint-Germain ponder future Chelsea await full medical verdict on Eden Hazard's calf strain Chelsea's Jos Mourinho, a master with many gameplans in his back pocket Hull City's Steve Bruce backs owners' name-change idea despite FA rejection Arsenal need to shape up in order to win things, says Santi Cazorla FA proposes ban on football betting by those in game's top eight tiers Masters 2014: Rory McIlroy's three key holes at Augusta National Perfect place for Rory McIlroy and his peers to open a gap on Tiger Woods Masters 2014: Kevin Stadler's big chance to get one over pa Craig Augusta National, where change occurs only at the pace its members want James DeGale move to Matchroom may lead to George Groves fight Paulina Gretzky's sexy golf mag shoot is off-putting on eve of the Masters Ulster's Jared Payne banned after red card against Saracens Derby hope Hydrogen set to make his track debut in the next month Salford's Marwan Koukash gives Brian Noble 48 hours to accept new role Red Bull bring back Dan Fallows as head of aerodynamics in Formula One Mo Farah plots London Marathon victory based on running slowly Steven Finn is Middlesex's only bright spark as Sussex win by an innings Nottinghamshire ease to victory but Ashwell Prince gives Lancashire hope Wisden 2014 review: Stunningly inclusive with a strong line on politics G2: Comment & features Maria Miller's resignation letter if it were 100% honest When the French clock off at 6pm, they really mean it Al Sharpton and the 'FBI informant' allegations: keep it under your hat The Ultimate Warrior: five career-defining moments Westminster's elite can't be trusted, so make room for Bez the anti-politician The Voice's Jermain Jackman: 'David Cameron is a good guy, but I don't like his policies' Fine dining's identity crisis: is this the end of posh restaurants? Jack Monroe's sticky banana loaf with salted caramel recipe G2: Arts Maria Miller: why culture secretaries should actually enjoy the arts

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Top stories UK news International Financial Comment & debate Editorials & reply Reviews Obituaries Sport: News

& features G2: Comment & features G2: Arts

Maria Miller quits, leaving PM weakened by sleaze row

Lord Myners quits Co-operative Group

Cabinet reshuffle: Osborne's long arm stretches from Amazon to No 10

Maria Miller's resignation: cabinet loses a moderniser with inner steel

Miller's tale fails to grind down David Cameron at despatch box

Yvette Cooper: Exploitation of migrant workers will be crime under Labour

Peaches Geldof initial postmortem proves 'inconclusive'

Colin Kazim-Richards guilty of homophobic gesture at Brighton fans

Inside the mummies' embalmed bodies courtesy of a hospital CT scanner

Record 26,000 reward for conviction as raptor deaths in Highlands rise to 19

HS2 homeowners offered improved compensation

A anti-HS2 sign in a field. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

Science community dismayed at decision to axe lab work from A-levels

Academy school in Birmingham is victim of 'witch-hunt', says governor

Michael Nyman's Hillsborough tragedy tribute piece reworked for families

Firework contractor had no worries over smoke on night of M5 pile-up

Best and worst in cinema

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Dylan Thomas centre awarded nearly 1m in poet's centenary year

Trainee solicitor jailed after starving dog to death

Stuart Parkin awarded prestigious Millennium technology prize

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Vladimir Putin professes high hopes for Ukraine summit

Snowy Mountain painting sold for $3.7m 'thrown out by cleaners'

French president bans mobile phones from cabinet meetings

Saudi Arabia may review ban on girls' school sports

Bomb in Islamabad market kills at least 21

Greek return to financial markets attracts flock of investors

theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 14.49 BST Jump to comments ()

Toyota recalls cars again. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

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Lord Wolfson, Next chief executive. Photograph: Rex Features

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Trade figures show long road ahead to rebalance Britain's economy

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Comment & debate

The Queen's lunch with Martin McGuinness was an act of trust

changed his ways.

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Series: The Guardian comment cartoon

The new Ukip symbol? Photograph: David Gray/REUTERS

Venezuela shows that protest can be a defence of privilege

Editorials & reply

In praise of the three-toed sloth

Politics after Maria Miller: resigned to business as usual

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Corrections and clarifications

Praise is off key

Kensington Palace Gardens. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Domestic workers' rights and slavery

We need more open-access rail competition

Public-private partnerships can help improve healthcare in Africa

A close encounter with a hare sparks a moment of pure joy

Ageing and the NHS

Blair legacy so much more than Iraq

Salif Keita and Seckou Keita review