Birmingham Post

Mandelson Offers Hope to Midlands Car Industry

Lord Mandelson offered a small crumb of hope to the ailing West Midland automotive sector when he addressed last night's CBI manufacturing dinner at the Hilton Metropole in Solihull. The Business Secretary, while accepting there were tough times ahead for manufacturers, told the audience that they were looking at a number of initiatives to help car makers in the region.

The Hair Wizard ; Profile Hair Colourist Lisa Shepherd has Become One of the Best- Known Names in the Business. Ros Dodd Caught Up with Her

When Lisa Shepherd used to colour Claire Sweeney's hair, she would visit the former Brookside star at home and the two of them would share girlie gossip, open a bottle of wine and paint their nails. It is this kind of ambience Lisa has built into her hugely successful salon group. Clients sit in relaxed surroundings, colour foils layered into their hair, flicking through magazines, sipping complimentary latte coffees or mini-bottles of wine, experimenting with different shades of blusher at f...

Nurses Refuse to Answer Patient Death Questions

A junior doctor and two nurses at the centre of a toxic drug error that caused two cancer patients to die from an overdose at a Birmingham hospital have refused to answer questions in the coroner's court. Dr Kiran Tawana and nurses Vongai Gondo and Catherine Kunatsa yesterday invoked Rule 22 of the Coroner's Rules, which gives witnesses the right to decline to answer questions if they believe it may incriminate them in a court case.

Controversial Bid to Sell Part of the Highbury Estate

Community activists are up in arms at plans by Birmingham City Council to sell part of Joseph Chamberlain's historic Highbury estate. The move, which could raise up to pounds 1million, has been described as a betrayal of the city's duty to keep the 31 acres of land and Victorian buildings intact for the people of Birmingham.

Villa Coin Tosser a 'Drunken Lunatic'

A managing director who hurled a coin which hit a linesman during an Aston Villa game has been fined pounds 2,300 and branded by a magistrate as a "stupid drunken lunatic". John Billington, who drank six pints before the incident, was given a five-year order banning him from football matches.

College Pay Pledge After Teachers Start Strike

Senior officials at a Black Country college yesterday rejected claims they had no plans to resolve a long-standing pay dispute which has led to strike action. Scott Upton, vice-principal at Sand-well College which operates campuses in Oldbury, Smethwick and West Bromwich, says management had every intention to move its teachers across to a national pay scale which would net a mid-ranking lecturer an extra pounds 4,511 a year.

Priest Answers Calling From the Queen

A priest who made the West Midlands his second home is set to leave the region after being head-hunted by the Queen to take up one of the UK's most prestigious clerical posts. The Rev Dr James Woodward was selected by Her Majesty and the Church of England ahead of thousands of potential candidates because of his positive impact on vulnerable people's lives in ten years as Master of the Foundation of the Lady Katherine Leveson Foundation at Temple Balsall near Knowle.

Midlands Business Counts Cost of Snow

Business leaders say Birmingham suffered another major loss in productivity as heavy snowfall forced schools and roads to shut. John Lamb, spokesman for Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, estimated up to pounds 50million could have been lost as parents stayed at home to look after children yesterday.

Banning Orders in Fight Against Gangs

Crimefighters are to be given new gang busting powers in a bid to help stamp out a culture of gang violence blighting parts of Birmingham. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, the MP for Redditch, announced the new measures for so-called "gang bos" would be added as amendments to the Policing and Crime Bill, which is passing through Parliament.

Final Farewell to 'Well-Liked' Po Worker

Hundreds of mourners braved the snow to pay their respects to a "well-liked and much-loved" Post Office worker shot dead in an attempted armed robbery. Craig Hodson-Walker's family walked to the church from their store in Fairfield, Worcestershire, to say a final farewell to the 29-year-old who was shot in the chest during a raid at the family's post office on January 9.

Miliband Rejects Call to Press Obama ; Politics

Foreign Secretary David Miliband rejected calls to press the new US administration of Barack Obama to release intelligence material relating to the alleged torture of a former British resident held in Guantanamo Bay. In a Commons statement, Mr Miliband defended his decision to ask the High Court to block the release of the material relating to Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian national who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002.

Eco-Friendly Base Approved ; Planning Politics

A six-storey office block for more than 2,000 Birmingham City Council staff at Aston Science Park has won planning approval. Councillors backed the Woodcock Street project, one of the most eco friendly buildings in the city centre.

Gym for Free Plans Hit by Unpaid Repair Bills ; Politics

Confusion surrounds the cause of an invoice problem which has threatened to stop a pioneering get fit scheme in its tracks. It emerged last week that broken rowing machines, treadmills and exercise bikes at inner city leisure centres have not been repaired or maintained after Birmingham City Council failed to pay the contractor.

Read Between Cameron Lines Says Balls ; Politics

The secretary of state for education has urged people to look behind the "warm words" of Conservative leader David Cameron at the detail of his proposals to raise standards in schools. Ed Balls, speaking on a visit to Perry Beeches Secondary School in Great Barr yesterday, said Mr Cameron and the Conservatives seemed more interested in talking down education.

Hoon Adamant That High Speed Rail Service Will Be Built by 2020 ; Politics

The Government is committed to building a high speed rail service between London and the West Midlands by 2020, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon says. Speaking to the Birmingham Post, Mr Hoon said: "I leave you in no doubt, I want to build a high speed railway."

Illness Claimed Most Wanted Nazi in 1992 ; Egypt

Asprin Link in Cancer Fight ; Health

People who have taken aspirinor ibuprofenat least once in the last year could be protecting themselves against stomach cancer, research showed. A study of more than 300,000 people found that those who took aspirin in the previous 12 months were 36 per cent less likely to develop cancer in the middle or lower parts of the stomach compared with people who had taken none.

Us Protectionism Climbdown ; Trade

Europe's Trade Commissioner Baroness Ashton welcomed a US climb- down on protectionism - and urged President Barack Obama to concentrate now on completing a world trade deal. She said a global accord this year - after eight years of negotiations and delays - could shorten the deepening recession by injecting confidence into global markets and keeping protection is mat bay.

Lindsey Workers Strike Labour Deal

Union leaders welcomed a decision by oil refinery workers to return to work after a deal was reached in a bitter row over foreign labour. Hundreds of workers at the Lindsey Oil Refinery, North Lincolnshire, voted to end unofficial industrial action after accepting a deal drawn up by union officials and companies.

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