Birmingham Post

City Will Need Extra Pounds 10m to Cope with Strain of Immigration

A third of children born in Birmingham are to mothers from outside the UK, one of the highest figures in the country. The city's schools have the highest number of pupils - 29,474 - who have English as a second language, an increase of 1,464 in three years.

Time for Birmingham to Show Its Style

Stourbridge Key to General Election

A small number of West Midlands constituencies could have handed victory to David Cameron's Conservatives if an election was held this week. According to research by the Electoral Reform Society, voters in seats such as Stourbridge, Edgbaston and Redditch hold the balance of power.

Liza Minnelli Coming to Symphony Hall

Singing legend Liza Minnelli is to play in Birmingham as part of her first UK concert tour for more than 20 years. The star of screen and stage will be performing at Symphony Hall on June 4 next year as part of a six-date tour which begins in June and also takes in London, Nottingham, Manchester and Glasgow.

Midlands Venues Adopt the Ban ; Health

Nearly 21,000 venues across the Midlands have complied with the smoking ban since July, making it the most compliant English region. Research by the Department of Health revealed nationally 98 per cent of bars, pubs, clubs, hotels and workplaces supported the law, with 20,569 of the 20,797 (98.9 per cent) venues across the West Midlands passing inspections.

Plastic Surgeon Labelled a Butcher ; Health

A surgeon botched several breast operations and "butchered" a patient, a disciplinary hearing heard yesterday. Brian Gwynn, 54, is accused by the General Medical Council of misconduct and deficient professional performance at Staffordshire General Hospital.

Sleuth Postie ; Social

A postman went above and beyond the call of duty when he delivered a letter to "a brilliant violinist in a village close to Tamworth, England". The name was on the envelope but with no address, Royal Mail employee Pete Armitage had little to go on.

Police Investigating Cash for Addicts' Votes Claim

Claims Labour officials in Birmingham paid drug addicts pounds 5 a time to impersonate voters at polling booths in Aston in this year's city council elections are being investigated by West Midlands Police. A spokesman for the Labour Party last night said the allegations, aired on a BBC TV Newsnight programme on Wednesday, were passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions when the party became aware of them for "a thorough investigation".

Labour Corrupt at Highest Level - Court Claim

A smear campaign to stop a Liberal Democrat candidate from being elected to Birmingham City Council was underpinned by corruption within the highest reaches of the West Midlands Labour Party, an election court was told yesterday. Labour officials operated an "institutional policy" of inventing false allegations as a device to justify sacking election candidates properly selected by local ward parties but who for one reason or another fell out of favour with the regional party, it was claimed.

Diana Coroner Pledges to Force Paparazzi to Give Evidence

The coroner in the Diana, Princess of Wales, inquest yesterday vowed to leave "no stone unturned" in his efforts to have the paparazzi who pursued her to the scene of her death give evidence. Lord Justice Scott Baker was speaking after contacting Justice Secretary Jack Straw over a decision by the French government not to force photographers to testify.

Cameron to Speak at Post Anniversary Event ; Post 150 Years

There's not many that can claim to have been around in the time of Charles Dickens, the sinking of the Titanic, both World Wars, the Moon landings and 9/11. But The Birmingham Post - if not its current reporting staff - can. Next month we will be celebrating our 150th anniversary with a number of high profile events to mark this major landmark.

Nine Facing Jail After Dudley Raid Found Pounds 100m Worth of Coke

Nine men were facing jail yesterday after pleading guilty to offences connected to the seizure of cocaine with a street value of up to pounds 100 million. The defendants, from the West Midlands, Wales, Nottinghamshire and Liverpool, will be sentenced in December after pleading guilty to a variety of offences at Birmingham Crown Court.

Pounds 20k Price for Mobile Phone

Kings and queens of bling can snap up a luxury pounds 20,000 gold and diamond encrusted mobile phone - as well as choosing a designer holder from next week. The iPhone is about to hit the UK, with Selfridges one of the main iPhone.

Met Chief Resists Calls to Resign After Yard Criticised

The Metropolitan Police was found guilty yesterday of serious failures leading to the death of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. But Sir Ian Blair, the Commissioner, resisted calls to resign despite claims his position had now become "untenable".

Transplants Suspended

Heart transplants were suspended yesterday at one of the UK's specialist hospitals following a rise in patient deaths. Papworth Hospital, near Cambridge, said an investigation had been launched after a "small increase in early mortality" following operations it carried out. This year, seven of the 20 adult heart transplant patients have died within 30 days, the hospital said.

Heart Doctor Father Back at Work ; Madeleine

Gerry McCann could be dealing directly with patients within weeks after his return to work as a consultant cardiologist yesterday. And the father of missing four-year-old Madeleine could be involved in full-time clinical care at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital in the New Year, said his boss. The heart specialist's phased return began after nearly six months away.

Rowling in Potter Rights Row ; Books

Harry Potter author JK Rowling accused the publisher of an upcoming reference book on the boy wizard series of infringing her intellectual property rights yesterday. Rowling and Warner Bros, the distributor of the films, launched a claim in the Southern District of New York federal court against RDR books over the forthcoming Harry Potter Lexicon book.

Police Fatality ; Accident

A man is his 60s died in a collision with a police motorcycle, Scotland Yard said yesterday. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene after the collision shortly after 11pm on Wednesday in Southend Road, Ilford. It is understood the marked police motorcycle was not responding to an emergency call.

Sas Legend Keeps Mobile As He Sets His Sites High ; During the First Gulf War, Chris Ryan and His Team Lost Contact with Their Base After the Failure of 17 Radios, Resulting in a Wipeout of Communication. Yesterday, He Came to Birmingham and Spoke to Rhona Ganguly On the Development Communication Technology and the Impact of Graphic Wartime Pictures On Society.

He has been described as one of the toughest men in the country having escaped death following an eight-day trek across Iraq and Syria in the early 1990s. By the time Chris Ryan completed his 200 mile journey, he had suffered sleep deprivation, starvation, diarrhoea, severe dehydration and countless physical injuries.

Town Hall Shines but Villa Retains Top Spot ; Aston Villa Is Holding Its Top-of-the-Table Position in the Reputation Monitor League. However, Good Profile Is About More Than Column Inches - Harriet Pearson, Managing Director at Communications Consultancy Ias Smarts Looks at Some of the Key Issues and Stories Affecting the Reputation Monitor League This Month . . . . . . . .

With talk of a new England manager being plucked from Aston Villa and Cadbury's drumming Gorilla hitting the headlines, there have certainly been some interesting stories in the press for the organisations in the Reputation Monitor league recently. The way in which Aston Villa handled the speculation about Martin O'Neill becoming the new England manager was an excellent example of turning what could have been a negative story into a positive profile opportunity for the club. Randy Lerner met ...