Category: news

A food production company has been fined nearly £17,000 after a man found a dead mouse in a loaf of bread as he made sandwiches for his children.

Stephen Forse, of Kidlington, Oxfordshire, had already used some slices when he came across the mouse.

Mr Forse purchased the loaf online, through a Tesco branch in Bicester in January 2009.

The food production company Premier Foods was fined a total of £16,821.14 at Oxford Crown Court.

In July, the company, which makes Hovis bread, Branston pickle and Bisto gravy, admitted to having failed to maintain acceptable standards at its British Bakeries site in London.

Mr Forse said he had already used some of the bread when he noticed “a dark-coloured object embedded in the corner of three or four slices”.

“Initially I thought it was where the dough had not mixed properly prior to baking,” he said.

“As I looked closer I saw that the object had fur on it.”

Mr Forse said he continued to prepare some sandwiches for his children and their friends from another loaf of bread.

“I checked carefully each slice in turn as I felt quite shaken,” he added.

“As I was feeling ill I couldn’t face eating anything myself. I sat with the children as they ate theirs.”

Mr Forse contacted Cherwell District Council and environmental health officers visited the family’s home to collect evidence.

During the visit one of them identified it as a mouse minus its tail.

“Her comments made me feel ill once again as there was no indication as to where the tail was,” added Mr Forse.

“Had it fallen off prior to the bread being wrapped or had any of my family eaten it with another slice of bread on a previous day?”

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India’s president’s office says a decision has still not been taken on who will open the Commonwealth Games on Sunday.

But the Prince of Wales’s office said he, as the Queen’s representative, would open the event.

As head of the Commonwealth, the Queen would normally open the Games, but Buckingham Palace said in May that she was too busy to attend this year.

Delhi organisers have suggested the Indian president should open the Games.

India’s ANI news agency has also quoted unnamed government sources as saying that in protocol terms it should be President Pratibha Patil who inaugurates the event.

Archana Datta, secretary to the Indian president, said on Monday that the decision had not yet been taken.

But a spokeswoman for Clarence House told the BBC: “There is no row. Both the Prince of Wales and the president of India will have a prominent role in the opening ceremony in Delhi.

“The Queen has asked the Prince of Wales to represent her at the opening of the Commonwealth Games.

“We cannot be specific about the choreography, but the prince will read out the Queen’s baton message, ending by declaring the Games open.‪‪”

President Patil and the Queen together launched the Queen’s Baton Relay last October in a ceremony outside Buckingham Palace.

The baton – which has travelled to Commonwealth countries around the world – will arrive in Delhi for Sunday’s opening ceremony.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has denied criticising India for the setbacks that have overshadowed the build-up to the event.

CGF chief executive Mike Hooper told the BBC on Sunday his organisation was not to blame for the problems, adding: “These people just did not understand, or seem to accept the magnitude of the problem.”

On Monday, CGF president Mike Fennell defended his colleague’s comments.

In a statement, he said: “Far from any emotive commentary, Mr Hooper merely stated the fact that the responsibility for delivering and operating the Games lies with authorities in India, as per the host city contract.”

Mr Fennell also denied media claims that Mr Hooper had said there was a “population hazard” in Delhi, as he asked Indian officials for 24-hour Games traffic lanes to be operational on the city’s roads during the October 3 to 14 event.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said Mr Hooper had made “a very unkind and undiplomatic remark”.

Mr Fennell said Mr Hooper had been the victim of a “vicious and totally unwarranted attack” from the Indian media.

Several teams delayed their departures to India last week because of concerns over the poor state of the athletes’ village, while preparations have also been hit by failures in the construction of venues.

Last Tuesday a bridge at the Jawaharlal Nehru complex, the centrepiece of the Games, collapsed leaving more than 20 people injured. A day later, part of the ceiling at the weightlifting arena fell in.

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Canadian officials are warning that fully repairing the damage done by Hurricane Igor in Newfoundland last week is likely to take months.

Hundreds of government and military personnel are now providing food, medicine, water and fuel to thousands of people in the region.

But local minister Tom Hedderson said work on roads and bridges would not be complete “before winter sets in”.

The hurricane flooded towns, causing about $100m (£61m) of damage.

Mr Hedderson, the provincial transport minister, said that with colder temperatures quickly approaching only temporary fixes could be made to some infrastructure in the affected province.

“There’s no way we can start bridges now and have them completed before the winter sets in,” Mr Hedderson said.

“Again, we’re looking at making sure as we go forward [that] it is strategic and planned. And any of the temporary fixes that we make, that we will be going back over them to make sure that they’re safe,” CBC News quoted him as saying.

Igor forced evacuations of flooded coastal towns in Canada’s island Newfoundland province and reportedly swept one man out to sea, before being downgraded to a tropical storm and moving offshore.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he had “never seen damage like that” after visiting Trouty and Britannia, two of the hardest hit towns in the province, last week.

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An ancient 16th Century archway at Scone Palace in Perthshire is destroyed after a van driver crashed into it.

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Kodjovi Obilale, the Togo goalkeeper shot at the Nations Cup in Angola, will receive much-needed funds from Fifa.

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Universities are struggling to find accommodation for record numbers of new students, according to student unions.

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Labour are warned hung parliaments are more likely in future – and they too will have to compromise on policy.

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China Airlines is to plead guilty and pay a $40m (£25m) fine for its role in fixing air-cargo prices, the US Department of Justice has said.

The Taiwan-based airline conspired to fix air-cargo rates from January 2001 to February 2006, the department said.

Northwest has agreed to plead guilty to a single offence, added the DoJ.

So far a total of 18 airlines have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so in an ongoing investigation into price-fixing in air cargo.

‘Resolve investigation’

“China Airlines engaged in a conspiracy to fix the cargo rates charged to customers for international air cargo shipments to and from the United States,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The carrier will pay the fine in annual installments over five years.

“If approved by the court, the agreement will resolve the DoJ investigation as to China Airlines,” the airline said in a statement.

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The personal details of thousands of Sky broadband customers have been leaked on to the internet, alongside a list of pornographic movies they are alleged to have shared online.

The list, seen by BBC News, details the full names and addresses of over 5,300 people thought by law firm ACS:Law to be illegally sharing adult films.

It appeared online following an attack on the ACS:Law website.

The UK’s Information Commissioner said it would investigate the leak.

Privacy expert Simon Davis has called it “one of the worst breaches” of the Data Protection Act he had ever seen.

The documents appeared online after users of the message-board 4chan attacked ACS:Law’s site in retaliation for its anti-piracy efforts.

The firm has made a business out of sending thousands of letters to alleged net pirates, asking them to pay compensation of about £500 per infringement or face court.

It uses third-party firms to scour the net looking for possible infringements of music and film copyright.

Armed with IP (internet protocol) addresses – which can identify the internet connection used in any copyright infringement – its lawyers can then apply for a court order to get the physical address of the PC from the service provider whose network has allegedly been used for the file-sharing.

A BBC investigation in August found a number of people saying they were wrongly accused by ACS:Law of illegal file-sharing. UK consumer group Which? says it has also received a number of complaints. Many contest that IP addresses can be spoofed.

The leak contains around 1,000 confidential e-mails, along with the list, which was an attachment on one of the messages.

The collection was then uploaded to file sharing website, The Pirate Baywhere it is being shared by hundreds of users.

The confidential e-mails include personal correspondence between Andrew Crossley – who runs ACS:Law – and work colleagues, as well as lists of potential file-sharers and information on how much the firm has made through its anti-file-sharing activities.

While some of the e-mails, detailing the internal workings of the company, may prove embarrassing, the leaking of an unencrypted document – that lists the personal details of more than 5,300 BSkyB Broadband subscribers alongside a list of adult videos they may have downloaded and shared online – could be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

Speaking to BBC News, Mr Crossley said there were “legal issues” surrounding the leak.

“We were the subject of a criminal attack to our systems. The business has and remains intact and is continuing to trade,” he added.

Mr Crossley said he would not comment directly on the contents of individual e-mails.

“All our evidence does is identify an internet connection that has been utilised to share copyright work,” he told BBC News when pressed about the BSkyB database.

“In relation to the individual names, these are just the names and addresses of the account owner and we make no claims that they themselves were sharing the files,” he added.

Mr Crossley said he had no further comment when asked why the Excel document was unencrypted.

Simon Davis, from the watchdog Privacy International, said he would be asking the Information Commissioner to “conduct a full investigation” and hoped it would be “a test case of the Information Commissioner’s new powers”.

“You rarely find an aspect where almost every aspect of the Data Protection Act (DPA) has been breached, but this is one of them,” said Mr Davies.

“It fits perfectly for the term ‘egregious misuse’ of personal data,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) told BBC News that it “takes all breaches of the DPA very seriously”.

“Any organisation processing personal data must ensure that it is kept safe and secure.

“The ICO will be contacting ACS:Law to establish further facts of the case and to identify what action, if any, needs to be taken.”

BSkyB is yet to make an official statement on the matter, but said it was investigating the breach.

The attack on ACS:Law is the latest in a number of high-profile attacks by piracy activists.

Last week, hackers temporarily knocked out the websites of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The attacks were declared on notorious message-board 4chan and were reportedly in retaliation for anti-piracy efforts against file-sharing websites.

Users of 4chan are renowned for online activism and direct action. “Operation Payback”, as it was known, was reportedly revenge for the MPAA and RIAA’s action against The Pirate Bay.

The group has declared it will continue to target other sites involved in anti online piracy activity.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

By Hugh Pym

The car maker Ford is in the process of recruiting more than one hundred new staff at its British factories.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the company boss Alan Mulally said there may well be further new jobs created.

Mr Mulally was speaking before giving the CBI’s annual lecture in London on the subject of Ford’s “renaissance”.

He has been widely credited with turning the company around since taking over as chief executive in 2006.

Ford ploughed on through the recession and slump in world trade without needing a government bailout.

What’s more it was the only one of the big three US car giants which did not go bankrupt.

The secret, Mr Mulally said, was to reduce the number of brands in the company’s portolio and to concentrate on the core Ford marque.

A more limited range of models with more common parts is now being rolled out globally.

To that end, Aston Martin, Jaguar LandRover and Volvo were all sold.

He said it was “liberating” for the company’s management to have a “laser focus” on the key Ford brands.

To back the strategy, Ford borrowed about £15bn before the credit crunch to carry out the restructuring and develop new models.

It was in effect a war chest which supported the group through the recession. With hindsight, Mr Mulally’s timing on the loan decision could hardly have been bettered.

So what of the UK? Ford employs more than 15,000 workers.

Engines are manufactured at Dagenham and Bridgend and the Transit van is produced in Southampton. There is a joint venture transmission facility at Halewood.

Vehicle assembly stopped at Dagenham in 2002. There were gloomy predictions in some quarters about the long term prospects for the site.

But a new diesel centre was opened the following year and now over 50% of Ford’s diesel engines are supplied by Dagenham.

An engine made at the Essex plant is just as likely to power a car sold in Bangkok or Sydney as a vehicle sold in Brighton or Sunderland.

Mr Mulally was upbeat about his British operations, having recently confirmed £1.5 billion of investment over five years, partly underwritten by Government loan guarantees.

His officials later confirmed that the company was in the process of recruiting 120 new workers.

“Ford is now growing around the world,” he said.

“So we are going to grow our business here in the UK also and provide great jobs and great careers in technology and innovation.”

The Ford boss does not expect a double dip recession in the United States, though he acknowledges the recovery has been slow.

He expects “solid” profits in the current financial year.

It was not long ago that the only stories from the car industry were unrelentingly dismal.

Here is one industry chief ready to look on the bright side and to talk about expansion and recruitment rather than contraction and layoffs.

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Romanian Interior Minister Vasile Blaga has announced his resignation after last week’s strike by thousands of police officers.

Mr Blaga, who called the strike illegal, said he was resigning “as a gesture of honour”.

At least 5,000 police marched on Friday to the presidential palace in Bucharest to protest a 25% pay cut.

Romania’s government is facing strong opposition to sweeping austerity measures adopted in July.

Mr Blaga said the protesting police had broken their oath of office and dishonoured the interior ministry.

“This morning I have tendered my resignation, as a gesture of honour,” Mr Blaga told reporters.

“I respect the policemen’s right to demonstrate, but only in a legal framework.”

The striking police had shouted slogans outside the presidential palace on Friday, while some threw their caps down in disgust.

President Traian Basescu and and Prime Minister Emil Boc both dismissed their police security escorts on Friday, saying the protest and strike had undermined state authority.

Mr Boc has named Senator Traian Igas, from the governing Liberal Democrat Party, to replace Mr Blaga.

The nomination has been approved by President Basescu.

Mr Blaga’s resignation comes as the president attempts to cut government spending. Measures already announced include a 25% pay cuts for all public sector workers and tax rises.

More protests are planned for this week against the cuts.

The government is attempting to reduce the budget deficit to a level agreed last year with the International Monetary Fund and the EU in exchange for a $26bn (£16.4bn) bail-out loan.

Mr Blaga’s departure from the interior ministry leaves some doubt as to whether Romania will be able to complete the reforms needed for it to join the visa-free Schengen area as planned in March 2011.

Mr Blaga said this was the major challenge facing Romania after having joined the European Union in 2007.

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EastEnders wins six trophies at the Inside Soap awards, including best soap and a fifth successive best actress gong for Lacey Turner.

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At least four people are standing to become the next leader of the UK Independence Party, as the deadline for nominations passes.

Candidates had until 1700 BST to get the support of 51 party members needed to take part in the contest.

Former leader Nigel Farage, fellow MEPs David Campbell-Bannerman and Gerard Batten and economist Tim Congdon have already got enough backing to stand.

The result of the election will be announced in November.

It will be the second leadership contest in less than a year after Lord Pearson of Rannoch stood down earlier this month after only nine months in the role.

He said he was not cut out for the job and a younger man was needed to take the party forward.

Mr Farage, who led the party between 2006 and 2009, is regarded as the favourite to take the job for a second time.

The leader of the party in the European Parliament, Mr Farage was injured in a light aircraft crash on 6 May – the day of the general election.

After the accident Mr Farage – who failed in his attempt to get elected to Westminster in the seat of the Commons Speaker John Bercow – said he planned to spend more time with his family.

But he announced his decision to stand for the leadership at the party’s conference earlier this month, saying he believed he was best placed to campaign on the key issue of Europe and help win seats at council level.

Both Mr Campbell-Bannerman and Mr Batten have stood in previous leadership contests.

Mr Campbell-Bannerman, who wrote the party’s 2010 election manifesto, came third behind Mr Farage in 2006. Mr Batten came second in the 2009 contest, in which Lord Pearson was elected, with 25% of the vote.

Each has argued that the party’s organisation needs to be overhauled, with a focus on a wider range of policies.

Professor Tim Congdon, the founder of economic analysts Lombard Street Research and a losing UKIP candidate in May’s general election, has also qualified to stand.

Other possible contenders include MEP Mike Nattrass, who stood last year, and Viscount Monckton, a senior party figure who was once head of the No 10 Policy Unit during the 1980s.

Ballot papers will be sent out to the party’s 18,000 members next week – with the outcome to be announced on 5 November.

The UK Independence Party, which has long campaigned for the UK to pull out of the European Union, failed to make its hoped-for breakthrough in May’s election.

However, its share of the vote did increase by nearly 1% as it polled more than 919,000 votes.

Former MEP Jeffrey Titford was named acting leader earlier this month.

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An Iranian court has banned two leading reformist parties, judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie has said.

The Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Islamic Revolution Mujahideen Organisation were “dissolved”, he said.

Both supported opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, the main challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in last year’s disputed election.

Members of both parties were jailed during the government’s efforts to stifle the mass protests that followed.

Earlier this year, a political watchdog affiliated with Iran’s interior ministry accused the parties of undermining national security.

“Their case was sent to the court which dissolved both parties and they are not allowed to have any activities,” Mr Ejeie was quoted as saying by the ILNA news agency.

In recent weeks, Iranian security forces have stepped up attacks on opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mr Mousavi, with attacks on their homes and offices.

The two reformist leaders maintain that Mr Ahmadinejad’s re-election last year was the result of massive vote rigging.

Thousands of opposition supporters were rounded up after the mass street protests following the June 2009 vote. Scores remain in prison.

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Pakistan has voiced anger at Nato-led raids against insurgents which crossed over its border from Afghanistan.

Apache helicopters are said to have taken part in the operations at the weekend which killed 50 insurgents.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the raids were a clear violation of sovereignty.

But the BBC’s Adam Mynott in Islamabad says the comments were mainly aimed at a domestic audience, among which US military activity is often unpopular.

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said it had crossed over the border into Pakistan after coming under fire in the Khost region of Afghanistan. It said 49 insurgents had been killed.

On Saturday, two Apache helicopters came under small-arms fire from the same area and again crossed the border, killing four to six insurgents, said Isaf.

In the statement, Pakistani officials said the incidents had been “a clear violation and breach of the UN mandate under which Isaf operates”.

It said the mandate ended at the Afghan border and there were “no agreed ‘hot pursuit’ rules” allowing Isaf troops to cross the border.

“Any impression to the contrary is not factually correct. Such violations are unacceptable,” said the statement.

“In the absence of immediate corrective measures, Pakistan will be constrained to consider response options.”

The Pakistan government backs much of the military action taking place against insurgents operating around the border region in Afghanistan, says our correspondent.

So the strong statement is largely directed at a domestic audience in Pakistan, he adds, among whom anti-American sentiment has been fuelled by the escalating numbers of drone attacks on targets in the country.

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