The Birmingham Post (England) back issues from March 2008:
Police in Jersey dig look for third room and find trapdoor.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Police searching a Jersey care home where more than 160 victims have claimed they were abused have uncovered a trap door in the cellar area, a senior officer said yesterday. The discovery seems to corroborate evidence provided by witnesses, Jersey Deputy Police Chief Lenny ...
Cover blown so Harry is pulled out of Afghanistan.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By John Bingham Prince Harry was last night preparing to return to Britain after being pulled out of his frontline deployment in Afghanistan for his own safety and that of his fellow soldiers. The 23-year-old Household Cavalry officer, who has been secretly ...
Contingency plan in place for extraction.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Here is the Ministry of Defence's full statement about Prince Harry's extraction from Afghanistan: "The decision by elements of the foreign media to report Prince Harry's presence in Afghanistan without any consultation with the Ministry of Defence is regrettable. ...
Queen's pride over grandson.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The Queen yesterday spoke with pride about Prince Harry's deployment to Afghanistan. She said her 23-year-old grandson had performed "a good job in a very difficult climate". It emerged earlier that the Queen, who was a strong supporter of Harry's desire to serve on ...
History and glamour as Post celebrates 150 years.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Tom Scotney It was a night of history, glitz and glamour as hundreds of the most important people from across the West Midlands celebrated the 150th anniversary of The Birmingham Post. More than 500 of the great and good gathered at Birmingham University ...
'Setting local information free is the future'.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Councils will be forced to publish information about their activities online in a standardised format under a future Conservative government, to give residents more power to hold them to account, David Cameron said yesterday. The Conservative leader said the future of local ...
Longer, more frequent trains for East Coast line.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Longer and more-frequent trains could soon be coming to a key London to Scotland line under plans published from rail infrastructure company Network Rail (NR). The improved services are proposed for the East Coast Main Line (ECML) under a route utilisation strategy document from ...
Judge seeks views on repossessions.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... One of the country's leading judges yesterday set out proposals on how the courts should deal with home repossession moves by banks and building societies. Sir Anthony Clarke, the Master of the Rolls who heads the civil Court of Appeal, called for comments from the legal ...
The best is yet to come, Cameron tells guests.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Birmingham needs a "city renaissance" to allow it to compete against cities in China and India, Conservative leader David Cameron has warned. He said: "Let's celebrate Birmingham and the success story it has become - but let us do so, knowing that Birmingham's best years are to ...
POLITICS: Speak with one voice, urges PM.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Jonathan Walker Political Editor The West Midlands must learn to "come together" and speak with one voice if it is to succeed, Gordon Brown has warned. The Prime Minister said councils and agencies must present a united front if they wanted to win funding ...
POLITICS: Conference pays tribute to city legacy left by Sir Richard Knowles.(News)(Conference news)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The Labour Party paid tribute to Birmingham's former council leader Sir Richard Knowles as delegates from across the country gathered in the city. Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary and a close ally of Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, praised the Labour stalwart, who died last ...
POLITICS: High-tech home will showcase 'assisted living'.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The Black Country is spearheading a move to develop high-tech houses that will help get dependent patients out of care homes and acute wards into their own homes, the Labour Party Spring Conference will be told today . The West Bromwich Building Society is part of a pounds ...
POLITICS: Overseas trips for youngsters from deprived backgrounds.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Young British adults from deprived backgrounds will be offered the chance to work as volunteers in developing countries, the Government announced yesterday. Over the next three years 2,500 people aged 18 to 25 will be sponsored under the pounds 10 million scheme, which also aims ...
POLITICS: Livingstone facing 'close fight' in London Mayor battle.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Labour activists were warned yesterday that the race for Mayor of London was the closest since the office was created eight years ago. The stark declaration came from Minister for London Tessa Jowell, speaking at the party's spring conference in Birmingham. ...
POLITICS: Bosses face jail for hiring illegal immigrants.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants could be jailed for two years under new measures unveiled in Birmingham yesterday. Unscrupulous bosses could also be hit with an unlimited fine, as part of changes which are now in force. The Home Office claims the moves ...
POLITICS: Clegg rapped over pounds 14,000 payment; DONATIONS.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has been rebuked for delays in declaring more than pounds 14,000 in donations, it was revealed yesterday. Mr Clegg did not notify the Electoral Commission of six cash gifts which he received between December 2006 and last November, according to the ...
POLITICS: Tories gain seat in Bromsgrove poll.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: BY-ELECTION Tories gained in the latest council by-elections despite a result which saw their vote halved. Their candidate Diane Campbell took a Slideslow seat at Worcestershire's Bromsgrove District from Liberal Democrats who failed to fight. But ...
POLITICS: Government stops plastic bag use; CLEAN-UP.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The Government's marketing arm yesterday announced it was stopping the use of plastic bags for promotional purposes, with immediate effect. The move came after Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned he was ready to force supermarkets to take action to cut their own use of disposable ...
Injunction on former SAS man extended by a week.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The High Court heard details yesterday of an injunction served on a former SAS soldier aimed at preventing him making further disclosures about the work of special forces in Iraq. Ben Griffin, 29, gave a press conference in London on Monday saying that Gordon Brown, Tony Blair ...
'Genius' banker used fake ID to sit exams for friend.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... A "genius" former City banker with Asperger's Syndrome and an economics student yesterday escaped jail for cheating in university exams. Jerome Drean, 34, and Elnar Askerov, 23, each received sentences of nine months imprisonment suspended for two years after Drean netted ...
Dave Clark Five front man Mike Smith dies at 64.(News)(Obituary)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Mike Smith of Sixties group The Dave Clark Five has died aged 64, it has been announced. He died on Thursday from pneumonia at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, agent Margo Lewis said. Smith, the band's lead singer and keyboardist, was admitted ...
Trial judge asked to give city election reassurance.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Paul Dale Public Affairs Editor A judge presiding over a trial into allegations that Labour won Aston ward in last year's Birmingham City Council elections by publishing lies about the Liberal Democrat candidate has been urged to give a public reassurance that the ...
'Powerless' police officers want to make their voices heard.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Police officers "feel powerless" in making their voices heard, it was claimed after a nationwide poll over whether they should have the right to strike was launched in Birmingham yesterday. More than 400 members of the Police Federation met at Bar Risa, outside the secure zone ...
Rugby-playing minister fought off raiders.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... A church minister and former scrum half who was left with a broken nose after he fought off two burglars in his own home yesterday said "worse had happened on the rugby field". The Rev Jon Morgan, minister of the United Reformed Churches in Cheltenham, punched and kicked the two ...
Transplant team grant gift of life for Villa fan Felix.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Emma Brady Health Correspondent A Ghanaian teenager given just weeks to live will receive a life-saving kidney transplant from his father at a Midland hospital tomorrow. Felix Yeboah was brought to Britain by Birmingham-based charity Transplant Links, ...
More agony for motorists as oil hits a not-so-sweet EUR103 a barrel.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The price of oil set another record yesterday after passing the 103 dollars a barrel mark. Light, sweet crude for April delivery continued a week of unprecedented rises after fetching EUR103.05 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It later fell ...
Disgraced media mogul loses fight to escape jail; INTERNATIONAL.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Wesley Johnson Disgraced media mogul Conrad Black has lost his bid to stay out of jail and must report to prison by Monday, a US federal appeals court ruled. Lord Black of Crossharbour was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after a jury found he ...
Ashes of Everest hero Hillary scattered at sea; INTERNATIONAL.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The ashes of Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary were scattered into the sea by his family yesterday in a private ceremony off his native New Zealand. The ceremony fulfilled the wishes of Hillary, who wrote he had spent so much of his life in mountains, he preferred to be ...
Global hunt after Singapore terrorist leader's escape; INTERNATIONAL.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... A worldwide hunt was under way yesterday for an al Qaida-linked Islamic terrorist leader who slipped from custody in Singapore. Interpol issued its top alert for Mas Selamat Kastari who once plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into the country's international airport. Mas ...
Reference work on Potter spells trouble for Rowling; INTERNATIONAL.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Harry Potter author JK Rowling claims she feels "deeply troubled" by an unauthorised reference work on her fictional boy wizard. Rowling has submitted legal papers in Manhattan outlining her stance on the Harry Potter Lexicon which is the brainchild of Steven Vander Ark. ...
Kenyan rivals agree to share power but real test lies ahead; INTERNATIONAL.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Governments gave strong backing yesterday to Kenya's power-sharing agreement and promised support to help the country emerge from two months of ethnic violence sparked by a disputed presidential election. Kenya's feuding politicians shook hands on Thursday, smiled for the ...
Mike, just keep looking over your shoulder; AGENDA.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Paul Dale H ow safe is Mike Whitby's position as the leader of Birmingham City Council? An odd question, you may feel, since Whitby is on something of a high at the moment. Approaching almost four years in charge and he has overseen ...
Never mind the content - just give an A or I will sue; AGENDA.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... So how hard do students have to try nowadays with their coursework? With some plagiarism, insistent parents and a legal threat, not very hard, according to lecturer Charles Green. What has education come to? It seems that schools and colleges will go through any ...
REFLECTIONS; AGENDA.(News)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The Torah reading last Saturday (Exodus 30/11 to 34/35) commences with the Law of the Shekel. God forbids Moses to count the Children of Israel directly. Instead, every adult male must give a half-shekel by way of a 'ransom for his soul' - a census is then simply a matter of ...
Where are real socialist policies?(Letters)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: PAUL HIGGINS Dear Editor, I left school in 1974 with five 'O' levels. My aim was to work in a research laboratory, because I was good at science (which then was taught, properly in my opinion, as three separate subjects - chemistry, physics and biology). I took a job in ...
The best plan for rail in the West Midlands; LETTERS: postletters@mrn.co.uk.(Letters)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: CHRIS YOUETT Dear Editor, If Birmingham ever wants to know why it is classed as second rate then those who make the decisions need to read all the hot air generated over the so-called Metro (Post, February 28). Centro Director-General Geoff Inskip calls for ...
Vision for Birmingham.(Letters)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: ANTHONY TAYLOR Dear Editor, Congratulations to Mike "I have a Dream" Whitby-I assume that it is actually 2000 acres within the Inner Ring Road that we are talking about (Vision for Birmingham, Post February 28). I note that this vision/nightmare has been ...
Iconic Central Library.(Letters)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: GRAHAM WINTERINGHAM Dear Editor, 'The city needs a worldclass Central Library' (Post, Friday February 22). It has one now. It was commissioned by the city council, designed by a distinguished Birmingham architect and built in the best location. ...
BIRMINGHAM POST: Tory leader sees Birmingham in a more positive light.(Letters)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The arrival of both party leaders in Birmingham has highlighted the similarities - and the differences between them. Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron were full of praise for Birmingham, but warned that the city had far more to do before it could truly call itself one of the ...
BIRMINGHAM POST: Right to know.(Letters)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The 25 days of hearings in the Aston election petition trial, spread over five months, has again put the finger of suspicion on the quality of democracy in Birmingham. Coming two years after the infamous "banana republic" trial, in which the city's Labour Party was portrayed as a hot bed ...
BIRMINGHAM POST: Here endeth lesson.(Letters)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Burglars who targeted the house of Cheltenham vicar the Rev John Morgan might have imagined they would get little resistance from a man of the cloth. If so, they were wrong. Mr Morgan, a former student rugby player, fought the good fight and managed to land a few hefty blows, ...
Word Wizard.(Features)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Here is an unusual word with three definitions, only one of which is correct. Can you identify the right definition? KAME 1) A prickly evergreen shrub, related to the laurel; ...
Quiz of the Day.(Features)
Mar 01, 2008 ... 1. Which British institution, formed in 1675, had the initials RGO? 2. Which breakfast dish consists of rice, smoked haddock and hard-boiled eggs? 3. Which choral work by Handel features the Hallelujah Chorus? 4. What name is given to the three-dimensional ...
DID YOU KNOW?(Features)
Mar 01, 2008 ... A honey bee's wings beat at 11,400 strokes a minute. There are 100,000 muscles inside an elephant's trunk. A Tasmanian man, who swapped his car for a carpet python, has been fined for breaching wildlife laws. Matthew Stephen Stafford pleaded guilty to possessing a ...
ON THIS DAY; March 1.(Features)
Mar 01, 2008 ... 1928 Vitamin F was discovered. 1954 The USA conducted its first official hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll, in the Marshall Islands. 1968 Johnny Cash married June Carter. June was a distant cousin of American President ...
WEB LIFE.(Features)
Mar 01, 2008 ... If you want to discover new music but don't know where to start, visit www.thefilter.com This lazy guide to building a music collection gets you to enter your three favourite artists, and then the site will generate a playlist of music it thinks you'll love. You can also read ...
Bank bail-outs by sovereign funds raise ownership fears; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: TREVOR LAW When the effects of the credit crunch began to be felt by the global mega-banks towards the end of last year, there was serious concern that one of these giant companies would collapse and provoke even greater turmoil in the financial markets. The ...
Soaring petrol prices driving motorists mad; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... British drivers are having to dig deep to pay record prices for diesel and petrol following a surge in oil prices to all-time highs, motoring group the AA said this week. Britain's petrol prices are the fourth most expensive in Europe and more than double those in the United ...
Cutting capped balance transfer fees on cards; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The number of credit cards with capped balance transfer fees has more than halved during the past year, figures have shown. Just seven credit cards, offered by five different providers, now put a limit on the fee consumers can be charged to transfer money from another card, ...
Finding energy for cheaper bills; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Jeremy Gates Special Correspondent It isn't only the 13 million customers of British Gas (BG) who will keenly await the findings of an investigation into soaring energy prices announced recently by the regulator Ofgem. Many older homeowners are likely to ...
Beat Budget and make inheritance tax changes now; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Recent Budgets have introduced sweeping changes to the inheritance tax (IHT) system, due to come into full force on April 6. Although the doubling of the nil rate band for married couples and civil partners in the pre-Budget report last year fails to save the prudent a penny - ...
Parents fork out pounds 6k to help first-time buyers; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Parents hand over an average of nearly pounds 6,000 to help their children get on to the property ladder, research has shown. One in seven first-time buyers are given money by their parents towards a deposit or other costs associated with buying a house, with parents parting ...
Savers not maximising tax-free allowances; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... More than nine out of 10 people are not using their full tax-free savings allowance, according to new research from Lloyds TSB Savings. The findings reveal that just eight per cent of Britons are taking advantage of both cash and stock and shares ISAs, with almost half (46 per ...
Family health issues could enhance payout on retirement; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... How many people approaching retirement with a DC (defined contribution) pension in the private sector realise that they could get an enhanced annuity paying a bigger retirement income on account of their partner's ill-health? Someone who smokes 10 cigarettes a day in 10 years ...
Market cull sees mortgages trimmed; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... It isn't only 125 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages which are disappearing fast, says Julia Harris at Moneyfacts.co.uk. Some 41 of a total 123 lenders offered 100 per cent mortgages in November, but that is down to just 28, and some of ...
Reaping benefits for child's future; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Child benefit is worth pounds 18.10 each week, says Norwich & Peterborough - and parents who choose to stash the sum away - in a generous account like N&P's new Family Regular Savings Account which promises eight per cent in year one and six per cent from year two onwards, ...
Care costs soar; PERSONAL FINANCE.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Elderly people can expect soaring rises in the cost of staying in a care home, says Annie Stevenson at ...
Capita 'hitting targets' to save city council pounds 565m; OUTSOURCING.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By John Cranage Business Staff Outsourcing group Capita said yesterday it was hitting its targets with its costcutting joint venture programme with Birmingham City Council. Service Birmingham, a 10-year, multi-million pound project to streamline the ...
pounds 100,000 to blow whistle on cartels; CARTELS.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Whistleblowers will be offered up to pounds 100,000 to come forward with cartel-busting information, the Office of Fair Trading said yesterday. The watchdog's incentive scheme forms part of its latest crackdown on anti-competitive collusion between businesses. The ...
Hard year forecast by WH Ireland; STOCKBROKING.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Stockbroker WH Ireland sees little sign of an improvement in the financial markets. Presenting the company's annual financial results, chief executive Lawrie Beevers said conditions deteriorated in the second half of the year to November 30. Ireland is "yet to see ...
Laird singled out for Lupus praise; MANUFACTURING.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Lupus Capital is lauding the West Midlands interests it acquired last year. It told the Stock Market yesterday that it sees a satisfactory set of results for the year ended December 31 in line with analysts' expectations, adding it expects another year of growth and development ...
Lloyds opts out of 100pc mortgages; LENDING.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The UK's fourth biggest lender yesterday became the latest firm to withdraw from the 100 per cent mortgage market. Lloyds TSB said it was pulling all of its products that will lend 100 per cent of a property's value with immediate effect. It added that people who took ...
Close Bros ends talks with bidders; BANKING.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Investment banking group Close Brothers said yesterday that talks with potential bidders for the company had ended. Close Bros received a pounds 1.5 billion joint takeover offer from stockbroker Cenkos Securities and ...
Rock deputy out; BANKING.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... The deputy chief executive of Northern Rock is to take early retirement. David Baker is to ...
Home prices fall for fourth month; HOUSING.(Business)
Mar 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Nicky Burridge Special Correspondent House prices fell for the fourth month in a row during February, dropping by 0.5 per cent, according to Britain's biggest building society. The fall helped pull the annual rate of price growth down to just 2.7 per cent, ...