Birmingham Post

Pounds 100m Price On Saving Ironbridge

We'll Stop Young Guns with an Asbo Says Police Chief

Police last night insisted gun crime in Birmingham was not out of control. But as a senior officer admitted there was "a problem" with young people increasingly carrying guns, officials outlined measures such as Asbos and exclusion orders to try and change offenders' behaviour without criminalising them.

Birmingham Airport Will Pay Pensions of Canadian Teachers

The successful bidders for Birmingham International Airport have insisted they will be investing for the long haul and are not looking from immediate returns from their pounds 420 million deal. They defended their purchase after some analysts suggested the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan from Canada and Victorian Funds Management from Australia had paid over the odds and would be unlikely to make a decent return at that price.

Cameron Challenges Brown to Tv Showdown

David Cameron last night challenged Gordon Brown to take part in a televised showdown once he becomes Prime Minister. The Tory leader insisted a head-to-head debate would "bring politics to life" after the Chancellor was declared Tony Blair's successor without a single vote being cast.

Millions Visit Madeleine Website to Show Support

Millions of people around the world expressed their support for the family of abducted Madeleine McCann yesterday by visiting their official website as serious questions remained about her disappearance. The number of visitors to the newly-launched www.findmadeleine.com site hit more than 60 million last night, more than the total UK population.

Estranged Wife Defends Suspect

The estranged wife of the only suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal said he was "not capable of hurting anybody". Dawn Murat, of Hockering, Norfolk, said she had "no doubt at all" that Robert Murat was innocent.

Armed Officers Seal Off Street During House Raid

Families were warned to stay indoors yesterday as armed police sealed off a Birmingham street to arrest a man suspected of a firearms offence. Drivers and parents trying to take their children to school yesterday found their usual routes in Yardley blocked as up to 30 police officers moved in.

Desperately Seeking

This is the story of Robert Elliott, a young Ulsterman, who went to Birmingham in the 1930s to look for work. He stayed in the Sparkbrook area and was later joined by his wife and daughter. When the Second World War started, he was drafted into the Royal Leicestershire regiment and saw active service in Normandy. His wife and child returned home to Northern Ireland. Robert Elliott was my Uncle Bob, my mother's brother. He had a son out of wedlock, presumably in the Sparkbrook area around 1942...

Teachers Takes the Long View On Pension Provision ; Background

The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (Teachers) is one of Canada's largest public pension plans with EUR96 billion (pounds 48.4 million) in net assets. Teachers is an independent corporation responsible for investing the pension fund's assets.

Sikhs in Peaceful Birmingham Protest

More than 100 Sikh demonstrators gathered yesterday outside the Consulate General of India in Birmingham to protest against the actions of a controversial Indian cult leader. At the peaceful protest and prayer vigil, the Midland Sikh community called for swift action from the Indian government to prevent the Dera Sacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim from publishing what they described as "anti-Sikh propaganda".

Historic Ironbridge Gorge Teetering On Slippery Slope ; It Is the Cradle of the Industrial Revolution and a World Heritage Site, but Ironbridge Gorge Could Be Devastated by Natural Disaster Unless Action Is Taken.

The cost of protecting one of the UK's most valuable sites? An estimated pounds 100 million. The alternative is, possibly, devastation by landslides which would destroy not only the natural landscape of the Ironbridge Gorge, but property and lives.

Birmingham Could Set Road Pricing Model ; It's Time to Have Your Say

Local road pricing which will be used to assess the feasibility of a national scheme could be given the go-ahead in the near future, Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said. Interested local authorities will submit proposals to the Department for Transport this summer, he told politics.co.uk

Drugs Success for New 'British Fbi'

The new "British FBI" seized 73 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of more than pounds 3 billion in its first year. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said the haul, most of which was intercepted at sea, represents a fifth of Europe's entire annual supply.

Man Had Day Out After Killing ; Crime

A man who spent the day at Alton Towers with friends after beating a woman and then strangling her with a belt has been jailed for life at Birmingham Crown Court. The battered body of 24-year- old Chantelle Nursey was discovered at her flat in Earlsdon, Coventry, in August last year. Stephen Clinton (24) from Dublin, who was staying in Coventry, was found guilty of murdering Miss Nursey following a week-long trial.

Drivers Fined for Noisy Stereos ; Courts

Two drivers have been fined by Birmingham magistrates following a crackdown by the city council on noisy car stereos. Basharat Mahmood, 34, of Tarry Road, Alum Rock, and Qamran Rehman, 26, of Woodcote Drive, Ward End, were each fined pounds 300 and ordered to pay pounds 80 costs. Both were found guilty in their absence of operating speakers outside permitted hours.

Mourinho Dog Gone ; Legal

Football manager Jose Mourinho's pet dog, at the centre of a legal wrangle, has returned to Portugal with his wife Tami, family lawyers said. Claims that the Yorkshire terrier Leya had been taken in and out of the country breaking quarantine rules led to police arresting the Chelsea boss at his London home.

Neighbours Move ; Showbiz

Neighboursis switching from BBC1 to Five. The Australian soap has been at the centre of a bidding war and BBC bosses pulled out yesterday afternoon, refusing to pay the pounds 300 million demanded by distributors to secure the Australian soap for the next eight years.

Brain-Damaged Player Cannot Claim ; Courts

A fit amateur rugby player who went into hospital for a routine knee operation and ended up permanently brain-damaged cannot claim compensation, the Court of Appeal ruled. Lord Justice May, hearing the appeal, said it was "a truly tragic case" but he and two other appeal judges found that Julie Sutcliffe could not make a claim against a private hospital over the treatment they gave to her husband, Barry.

Armed Police in M6 Arrests ; Crime

Armed police arrested four people at a motorway junction following a pursuit after reports of a robbery, it was revealed yesterday. Three men and a woman were detained on Thursday at junction 10 of the M6, north of Birmingham, after the Volkswagen Golf they were driving was picked out by an automatic number plate recognition system.

Curtis Honour ; Entertainment

Writer and producer Richard Curtis is to receive the Academy Fellowship at this year's TV Baftas. The creator of The Vicar Of Dibley and movie hits Love Actually, Notting Hill and Four Weddings And A Funeral will be honoured at tomorrow's ceremony.