Birmingham Post

Election Court to Hear New Claim of Dirty Tricks

An Election Court is to convene in Birmingham, for the second time in two years, to consider allegations of 'dirty tricks' at a city council poll. A High Court judge will sit in October to consider claims that Liberal Democrat candidate Saeed Aehmed was beaten by Labour's Muhammed Afzal in Aston as the result of a smear campaign.

Cardiac Specialist's Skills Stunted by Ban

A Coventry heart specialist suspended for more than five years on full pay has been allowed to return to work - but will have to be retrained. Dr Raj Mattu was suspended in February 2002 amid allegations of bullying at Walsgrave Hospital, after he spoke out about conditions of overcrowding in the hospital's wards.

Parents Make Desperate Plea As Erin Waits for Second Donor

The parents of a toddler waiting for a second life-saving transplant made a desperate plea yesterday for more organ donors. Erin Nicks (above) was born with biliary atresia, which can lead to the liver becoming poisoned, and received her first transplant at Birmingham Children's Hospital in 2005. However, she now faces the prospect of a second transplant after a severe infection.

Mp Calls for Council Housing Boss On Gardening Leave to Be Reinstated

An MP has called for the full reinstatement of Tamworth Council's pounds 74,000 a year housing boss - who has been on gardening leave for the last eight months. Tamworth MP Brian Jenkins called on the Staffordshire town's council chiefs to allow Mark Andrew back to work after he recently won an appeal into his sacking. Mr Andrew was suspended in January amid allegations of mis-management and then sacked in March. He has recently been reinstated but not allowed back to work yet.

Barrymore Awaits Police Decision ; Death

Michael Barrymore may have to wait another six weeks before discovering whether he is to be charged in connection with the death of a man whose body was found in his swimming pool. The entertainer was arrested in June on suspicion of murdering 31- year-old butcher Stuart Lubbock.

Hunt for Televised Bottom Pincher ; Assault

Police yesterday were hunting a man seen pinching Channel 4 News presenter Sue Turton's bottom as she was reporting live on television. Although she does not wish to pursue the matter, police said they intend to issue the man with an pounds 80 fine.

Double Winner ; Lottery

A lottery winner has become the first to win two jackpots in the same draw after accidentally buying two tickets. The man, who will not be identified until a news conference today but is from Redruth, Cornwall, is understood to have forgotten he had already bought a ticket for the Lotto draw on July 11.

Powers Put 'Impossible' Pressure On Coroners

The Birmingham coroner has hit out at the "impossible" pressure which will be placed on him by Government reforms which he criticised as an assault on civil liberties. Aiden Cotter, who was president of the Coroners' Society last year, said he feared organisations and individuals might increasingly try to persuade him to hold inquests behind closed doors.

Plea to Help Save Little Erin As Transplanted Liver Fails ; Two Years After Receiving a Liver Transplant, Little Erin Nicks Faces Another Battle for Life, As Health Correspondent Emma Brady Explains

Playing with her parents in the sunshine, Erin Nicks looks like any happy toddler should - except for her jaundiced complexion. While she may appear to be carefree, the youngster - who will be three next month - and who has spent the past month at Birmingham Children's Hospital recovering from a serious infection, is waiting for a second liver transplant.

Mixed Reaction to Street-Racing

Plans to stage high-speed street-racing in Birmingham next year have drawn a mixed reaction in the city. Officials who promote the city and opposition members at Birmingham City Council have thrown their weight behind the plans for a new Super Prix.

Rapist Bailed After Jury's Tests

A convicted rapist walked free from court yesterday after it emerged the jury carried out experiments on pairs of women's knickers. Paul Boseley was sentenced to six-a-half years' jail for the offence, but was granted conditional bail minutes later after Judge David McEvoy said the 22-year-old had good grounds for an appeal against his conviction.

Business As Usual for Junior Doctors ; Health

Claims that today's influx of new junior doctors into Midland hospitals would cause chaos was refuted by health bosses yesterday, who said it would be "business as usual". Critics of the Government's Modernising Medical Careers programme feared routine, elective operations would be cancelled as trusts would struggle to cope with 30,000 junior doctors starting work on the same day.

Prison Detentions Deemed Unlawful ; Prisons

The detention of hundreds of prisoners serving indeterminate "public protection" sentences with no facilities to assess their suitability for release was condemned by the High Court yesterday as "arbitrary, unreasonable and unlawful". The ruling adds to the Government's problems in trying to tackle the prisons crisis and, if upheld on appeal, could leave ministers facing a multi-million pound bill as they are forced to plough cash into the prison training and assessment programmes which were ...

Ozzy Recovers ; Rock

Ozzy Osbourne was yesterday recovering from an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from his leg. The 58-year-old rock icon from Birmingham became unwell after a show in Denver, USA, on Saturday, during the annual Ozzfest tour.

Actor Chris Langham's Son 'Resented Girl' During Family Get- Togethers

Actor Chris Langham's son told a jury yesterday he resented the girl with whom his father is accused of having underage sex. Siencyn Langham, 30, the oldest of the actor's five children, told Maidstone Crown Court he could not recall the alleged victim, who cannot be named, accompanying him and his father on a trip to Glasgow to film The Big Tease in 1998.

Figureheads Back Group Calling for Lower Taxes

Prominent Midland business figures are backing a new pressure group campaigning for lower taxes and against wasteful spending by public bodies. Multi-millionaire car importer Bob Edmiston, chairman of the IM Group and said to be worth pounds 520 million, is the best-known face among a list of recruits to the West Midlands Taxpayers' Alliance - a regional off-shoot of the national TPA.

Couples Who Split 'Should Have Financial Support'

Unmarried couples who split up should have the right to claim financial support from their former partners, under recommendations released yesterday. The Law Commission has concluded that cohabiting couples with children or those who have lived together for a minimum period should have more protection if the relationship ends.

Un Backs Brown Proposal to Curb Darfur Bloodshed

The UN Security Council last night endorsed a British-backed plan for a peacekeeping force in Darfur, as Prime Minister Gordon Brown travelled back from his US tour. Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York before he boarded a plane home, Mr Brown endorsed a draft Anglo-French resolution that would send a force of 26,000 to curb the bloodshed in the western region of Sudan.

War Is 'Struggle for the Soul'

The "war on terror" is a "struggle for the soul of the 21st century", Gordon Brown declared yesterday. He said the world was facing major campaigns by "al Qaida- inspired terrorists" bent on destroying life and wrecking countries' infrastructures.

Blair Made 'Huge Contribution'

Gordon Brown still talks regularly to Tony Blair, he disclosed yesterday. The Prime Minister praised his predecessor's contribution to public life but said he "always wanted to go on to do other things".