20150122_Times

Deportation chaosPlans to deport nearly 2,000European prisoners are indisarray after several EU statesfailed to sign up for the deal,which was supposed to havebeen ratified in 2011. Page 5

NHS on critical listTwo hundred operations arecancelled each day andwaiting times are rising acrossthe board, according to areport which warns that theNHS is now critical. Page 6

No stopping jihadistsControlling Turkeys borderwith Syria to stop the flow offoreign fighters joining IslamicState is impossible, theTurkish prime minister hastold The Times. Page 24

Blow for BalfourBalfour Beatty, the companyworking on the 154 millionconversion of the OlympicStadium, is expected toannounce today that its losseshave nearly doubled. Page 31

Advantage SpursTottenham Hotspur defeatedSheffield United 1-0 in thefirst leg of the Capital OneCup semi-final at White HartLane, courtesy of an AndrosTownsend penalty. Pages 62-63

IN THE NEWS

Are you looking at us? Deer huddling together against the snow at Raby Castle in Co Durham yesterday. Sunny spells are expected to provide some respite in much of the country today. Full forecast, page 17

SNP tovote onEnglish lawsNationalists gear up to hold balance of power as poll points to Labour wipeout in Scotland

Scottish Nationalists would routinelyvote on English-only matters after thenext election, the leader of the SNPdeclared yesterday as the party posi-tioned itself to hold power in the nextparliament.Nicola Sturgeon said that her SNP

colleagues atWestminsterwould aban-don a self-imposed ban on taking partin votes on key English issues such astheNHS. Holyrood controls the health

service in Scotland. The move willintensify the row over English votesfor English laws and stoke cross-border resentment. It is timed tocoincide with the prime ministers visitto Scotland today, where he willannounce draft legislation deliveringthe promises made by the Smith Com-mission of more devolution.Ms Sturgeon justified the change by

claiming that, over time, decisions onthe role of theprivate sector in theNHSin England might have consequencesfor the Scottish budget. The move is

designed to reinforce the SNPs mes-sage that the party was willing to cometo the rescue of aminority Labour gov-ernment, and to blunt claimswithin EdMilibands party that a vote for the SNPwould put the Conservatives in No 10.Ms Sturgeons intervention came as

an Ipsos-Mori poll gave the SNP a leadof 28points inScotlandwhichwouldhand them 55 of the 59 Scottish seats,and mean wipeout for Labour north ofthe border. Labour holds 40 Scottishseats at Westminster and theSNP six.The poll for STV put the SNP on

52 per cent, Labour on 24 per cent, theTories on 12 per cent and the LiberalDemocrats and Greens on 4 per centeach. Three polls in four days have putthe SNP lead at between 10 and 28points.Last night Ed Balls stopped just short

of ruling out a coalition with the SNP ifthere were a hung parliament after theelection. Ive got as close to saying nowithout saying no, the shadow chan-cellor told LBC radio, claiming that thiswas a decision for MrMiliband.Ms Sturgeons latest comments,

made inan interviewon theBBC,delib-erately ignore the prime ministerspromise to restrict votes on English-only laws to English MPs, as pledgedafter the Scottish referendum last year.On health, for example, we are

signalling that wewould be prepared tovote on matters of English healthbecause that has a direct impactpotential on Scotlands budget, shesaid. So, if there was a vote in theHouse ofCommons to repeal the priva-tisation of the health service that hasContinued on page 2, col 5

Hands of Sentamu ignite rowoverwomanbishops ordinationOliver Moody

Claims that parishioners will be taint-ed are threatening to overshadow theconsecration of the Church of En-glands first female bishop next week.The Archbishop of York, the Most

Rev John Sentamu, will ordain the RevLibby Lane as the Bishop of Stockport

on Monday. A week later, he will takethe unprecedented step of declining tolay his hands on another bishop, theRev Philip North, it was said last night.The move, breaking centuries of

tradition, would avoid conservativeparishioners of Mr North seeing theirbishop as tainted. The fear is that theywill refuse to take communion fromMr

North if his ordination has also beencarried out by Dr Sentamu. The arch-bishops refusal to lay hands would bedesigned to appease traditionalists.Next weeks ordination of Mrs Lane,

at YorkMinster, is the first ceremony ofits kind in the churchs history.An influential groupcampaigning for

women in the church claimed yester-

day that the service could become asymbol of discord if a traditionalistbishop isnot touchedby thearchbishopat his own consecration a week later.The church has yet to confirm whe-

ther Dr Sentamu and the Bishop ofBlackburn, the Right Rev Julian Hen-derson, will join in the service.It is highly unusual for both the arch-

bishop of the candidates province andthe senior bishop in thediocese toavoidthe ceremony.Women and the Church (Watch)

said the two ceremonies would be apowerful visual signalof thedeepsplitin the churchbetweenprogressives andtraditionalists that obstructed theContinued on page 8, col 5

Sam Coates Deputy Political EditorFrancis Elliott, Lindsay McIntosh

OWEN HUMPHREYS / PA

OF LONDONthursdayjanuary 22 2015 | thetimes.co.uk | no 71412

Mybody is a temple Have you been brainwashedby theWellness cult?Pages 46-47

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2 FGM Thursday January 22 2015 | the times

News

INSIDE TODAY

Opinion 17Weather 17 Cartoon 19 Leading articles 20Letters 21World news 24 Business 31 Markets 40, 41Register 42 Times2 46 Sport 52 Crosswords 45, 64

Tim MontgomerieThe church is blighted byleft-wing bias andshould recognisethe benefits of thewealth-producingprivate sectorOpinion, page 19

Step to itIs our obsessionwith fitnessgetting outof hand?Times2,pages 46, 47

Wolf HallThe pack iscircling in theTV adaptationof HilaryMantels novelFirst night, page 9

Francesca HiltonDaughter of Conrad Hilton andZsa Zsa Gaborwho missedout on thefamilyfortuneObituary,page 43

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to itobsessionessout

ch is blighted bybias andcognisefits of theoducingctor

page 19

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Michael SavageChief Political Correspondent

Tobacco companies will be forced tosell cigarettes in unbranded packs fromnext year afterministers said theywerepressing ahead with the proposalbefore the election.Anti-smoking campaigners had

feared the government was backingaway fromavote on the introductionofstandardised packs before May.However, ministers said last night

that they had decided that the ban oncigarette pack advertisingwas propor-tionate and justified and pledged toholda freevoteon the issue. Support forthe measure among Labour, LiberalDemocrat and Tory MPs means it isalmost certain to pass.The cigarette branding ban would

come into force in May next year. Itpaves theway for hugehealthwarningson cigarette packs, warnings thatalready appear on packs in Australia.Jane Ellison, the public health minis-

ter, speaking in theCommons lastnight,said that smoking remained one of ourmost significant public health challen-

ges. It is amajor cause of cancer, heartand respiratory disease and almost80,000 people in England alone dieevery year from ill health related tosmoking, she said. It places an enor-mous strain on the NHS and holds usback in the battle against cancer. Mostsmokers start young and we want ourchildren to grow up free from theburden of disease that tobacco brings.Having considered all the evidence,

I believe that the policy is a proportion-ate and justified response to the con-siderable public health harm fromsmoking tobacco. The chief medicalofficer has confirmed this view.Sheadded: Inowpropose thatwe lay

regulations for standardised packagingin this parliament to allow for them tocome into force . . . in May 2016.DameSallyDavies, the chiefmedical

officer forEngland,welcomed the deci-sion. I have reviewed the evidence andagree that standardised packagingwould be a positive move for publichealth, particularly the role it couldplay in helping to prevent the uptake ofsmoking by children, she said.The move comes after MPs and

health professionals raised seriousdoubts over whether the governmentwould introduce its proposals beforethe election.While the government said last year

that it was minded to proceed, minis-ters in both the Commons and theLords had said in recent weeks thatthey were now undecided.This angered anti-smoking cam-

paigners andmedical groups, who havewarned that the delay meant hundredsof childrenwere taking up smoking. Al-most4,000healthprofessionalshadputtheir name to a letter expressing angerthat the government may not pass theproposals into law before the election.An independent review, headed by

the paediatrician Sir Cyril Chantler,found that standardised packaging waslikely to lead to a small reduction insmoking.He said that itwould alsohelplead to a fall in the number of childrenwho started smoking.Paul Burstow, the Lib Dem MP and

chairman of the all-party group onsmoking and health, said: The evi-dence from Australia is that the meas-ure is making a difference there.

Pickles discriminatedagainst gypsy womenJohn Simpson

Eric Pickles, the communitiesminister,racially discriminated against gypsiesand travellerswhoapplied topitch theircaravans on green belt land, the HighCourt ruled yesterday.Mr Pickles broke human rights and

equality laws by using ministerial pow-ers to apply special scrutiny toplanningapplications made by the minoritygroups, Mr Justice Gilbart said.In a test case that could affect scores

more decisions, the judge said that theministers policies had indirectly dis-criminated unlawfully against a racialgroup despite warnings from his staff.Mr Pickles operated a legally flawed

policyof recovering forhis considera-tion appeals by travellers who claimedthere were exceptional circumstancesfor allowing them to live on green beltsites.The judge said that the case amount-

ed to a very substantial challenge tothe policy and the departments treat-ment of gypsies and travellers.These are not to be dismissed as

technical breaches, he added. Al-though the issue of unlawful discrimi-nation was put before the minister by

his officials, no attempt was made bytheminister to follow the steps requiredof him by statute.MrPickles andhisministersmadeno

attempt to follow steps required by the2010 Equality Act to avoid indirectdiscrimination, and substantial de-lays occurred in dealing with the ap-peals in violation of Article 6 of theEuropean Convention on HumanRights, the judge said.An inspectors decision would nor-

mally be receivedwithin eight weeks ofthe end of an inquiry, he said, but itcould take sixmonths ormore for a de-cision letter from Mr Pickles when thedecision was recovered or called in.The case was a victory for the Com-

munity Law Partnership, which repre-sented Charmaine Moore and SarahCoates, two Romany Gypsy womenfighting to remainclose to their familieson green belt land in the southeast.The judge quashed the decisions in

the cases ofMsMoore, a single motherwith three childrenwho is under threatof eviction from a site at North Cud-ham, in Bromley, andMs Coates, a dis-abled woman, also with three children,fighting to live temporarily on land atSutton-at-Hone near Dartford, Kent.

SNP accusedof fuellingresentmentContinued from page 1been seen in England, we would votefor that because that would help toprotect Scotlands budget.Alex Salmond, the former SNP

leaderwhowill stand for a seat atWest-minster inMay, is expected to be at thecoalface of negotiations under a hungparliament.Ms Sturgeon denied that his re-elec-

tionwouldmean thathewas effectivelyleading the SNP once more. The SNPoperates as a team, we always have andwe always will . . . Alex Salmond and Iare not in competition, she said.TheSNPvoteson someEnglish-only

issues, such as tuition fees, arguing thatthe decision has consequences for theScottish budget. Yesterdays commentsprepare the way for the party to extendthe number of votes in which it partici-pates. AngusMacNeil, the leader of theSNP at Westminster, has taken part in48 per cent of votes in this parliament,according to the website Public Whip.Anna Soubry, the Tory defence min-

ister, accused Ms Sturgeon of under-mining the Union. She is playing intothehandsof thosepeoplewhogetmuchmore irate than I do about Englishvotes for English laws. Youre just fuel-ling those people who want to see thisseparation in our parliament, she said.MrCamerons spokesman confirmed

that the governments proposals envis-aged Scottish MPs being barred fromvoting on tax issues affecting only Eng-land.However,SadiqKhan, theshadowjustice secretary, said that ScottishMPswere entitled to vote on all issues. It isreally important that they do so, hetold theWorld At One on BBCRadio 4.Mr Miliband has fuelled claims that

Labour could compromise on Britainsnuclear deterrent to secure a power-sharing deal with the SNP. Shadowministers were told by Labour whips tovote against an SNP motion to scrapthe renewal of Trident on Mondaynight, but Mr Miliband failed to showup. Moving or scrapping the nucleardeterrent is a red line for the SNP.Leading article, page 20

Peer switches cash to LabourLucy Fisher Political Correspondent

A former leading Liberal Democratpeer has donated 300,000 to Labourcandidates to boost the partysprospects of taking power in May.Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay has

handed the generous sum to 30 Labourcandidates and matched it with anequal donation to 15 left-leaning LibDem MPs and candidates. He told theFinancial Times that hewanted to stop aTory government cringing to Ukip.Anotherofhis central aims is toavoid

a referendum on Britains membershipof the EU. He believes an in-out votewould put millions of jobs and thenations security at risk.He gave 10,000 each to 30 Labour

candidates in marginal seats. Ed Mili-

band was aware of the donations, it isunderstood.Now an independent peer, Lord

Oakeshott was forced to resign fromthe Liberal Democrats last May amidgrowing tension with Nick Clegg. Theformer Treasury spokesman mounteda failed coup againstMrClegg after theEuropean elections, hoping to elevateVince Cable to the leadership.While the millionaire peer has

endeavoured to make the donationsdiscreetly over the past two months,they are expected to be made public bythe Electoral Commission shortly.Senior right-leaning Liberal Demo-

crats in marginal seats have been no-ticeablypassedover.DannyAlexander,Jo Swinson and David Laws have notreceived donations from the peer.

Cigarettes will be sold in plainpackaging from next spring

the times | Thursday January 22 2015 FGM 3

News

He liked it, soput a ringtoneon it: Govesgaffe revealed

Storm in a D-cup as demise of page 3 is greatly exaggeratedPatrick Kidd

The demise ofThe Suns page 3 girlmayhave been announced prematurely.After a (semi) cover-up that lastedthree days, the tabloid hasmade a cleanbreast of it and admitted that theresstill some nudes left to report.The appearance of Nicole, 22, from

Bournemouthonpage 3 today,wearinglittle but a smile, will outrage cam-paignerswhohadcelebrated theappar-ent end of topless models.It is unclear, though, if this is just a

flash in the pan or a return to old ways.Sources at the newspaper were beingcoy, refusing to say whetherNicole andthe 12 other page 3 models wouldappear topless in print again.The Sun is keen, though, to direct

readers to its page 3 website. TomJamieson, awriter forPrivate Eye, jokedonTwitter that the decision to take themodels behind an online paywall was aplot to make the newspaper money.Where else can you see naked womenon the internet? he asked innocently.The newspaper hadmade only small

concessions thisweek to thosewho feelthat the 45-year-old feature is outdatedand sexist. Page 3 on Monday had astory of debatable news value about alingerie model for Marks & Spencer.Tuesdays first edition had a photo-

graph of two bikini-wearing actressrunning on a beach. It was later re-placed by four pages on Anne Kirk-bride, the CoronationStreet actress,who had died the previous evening.Pages 2and3yesterdaywere takenup

with a Sainsburys advert, but on page 5therewas an assessment of the cosmetic

surgery undertakenby two CelebrityBigBrother contestants under the headlinethanks for themammaries. At the footof the page was a plug for the website.The No More Page 3 campaign

started in2012andattracted217,000sig-natures to a petition calling for a ban. Amore recent petition calling on theGer-man newspaper Bild to remove its nudemodels received 32,000 signatures.While the campaign was praised on

social media for its victory, somewrit-ers pointed out that little had changed.DeborahOrr wrote in The Guardian:

Replacing topless women with womenin bras only illustrates that The Sundoesnt understand whats wrong withits general approach to women.However, Katharine Whitehorn, 86,

a veteran commentator on attitudes towomen, wrote: Compared to most ofthe other ways women get exploited,someone getting paid for taking theirbra off just doesnt seem that importantnow. If you want to worry about some-thing, get worried about trafficking orFGM [female genital mutilation] orsomething similar.

For almost a week he has kept West-minster guessing, refusing repeatedrequests to reveal the name of theembarrassing ringtone unleashed onan unwitting cabinet during a meetinglast week.Despite badgering by colleagues and

journalists, Michael Gove, the Con-servative chief whip, refused to buckle,even joking at oneWestminster dinnerthat it would take a request under theFreedom of Information Act to get thispiece of harmless trivia out of him.Even the prime minister, quizzed in

Washington, tried and failed to namethat tune that riled him so much.Yesterday, however, Mr Goves wife

obliged and, with her revelation,took a good chunk of his street cred.Writing in the Daily Mail, Sarah Vinesaid that the ringtonewas a song by thehip-hop singer Beyonc.The Texas-born diva, who released

her latest album Beyonc, Platinum Edi-tion last year, is so ubiquitous that shehas entered Timemagazines list of theworlds 100 most influential people.The revelation heaps shame on the

rest of the cabinet,whose lackof collec-tive musical knowledge is laid bare.Oneof thosewhowitnessed the ringto-ne interruption last week called it JazzFM-style comedown music after a

heavy night out, while another de-scribed it as a female ballad.Vine wrote in her weekly column

that the ditty fromBeyonc earned herhusband a stern reprimand from theprime minister. It actually played outfrom a 100 Pebble smartwatch linkedto his phone, it emerged.She wrote: Last week, during quite

an important work meeting, an urgentemail poppedup inhis inbox.Notwish-ing to seem rude by looking at hisphone, he instead turned to his latestgadget, a Pebble smartwatch, which Ibought him for Christmas.Despite its unprepossessing appear-

ance, the Pebble is quite a powerful lit-tle thing. Not only can it tell the time, itcan also pick up emails and textmessa-ges, screen calls, check the weatherand, Im told, control the boiler.Oh, and it can also play music. The

trouble is that it takes a bit of gettingused to. For if you press the wrong but-ton, things can go disastrously wrong.The technological mishap oc-

curred during lastweeks cabinetmeeting when, asGeorge Osbornewas explaininga particularlycomplex pieceof fiscalpolicy, Mr

Gove mistakenly instructed his watchto play Beyoncs latest oeuvre.Vinewrote: Try as hemight, he sim-

ply couldnot silenceherwarblings. Themore buttons he pressed, the more ef-fusive she got. Eventually, he managedto switch her off, but not before he hadreceived a stern reprimand from theprime minister himself. Mr Goves ec-

lectic musical tastes had made theguessing game all the harder. In aninterview last March he revealed thathe was a fan of chap hop rapperMr BThe Gentleman Rhymer. He was alsocaptured on video performing WhamRap! to a group of schoolchildren.However a part of the mystery lives

onasVinedidnot reveal the songs title.

Michael Gove accidentally played a song by Beyonc, above, in a cabinet meeting.His wife revealed that the disruption was caused by his Pebble smartwatch, left

INF PHOTO

Sam Coates Deputy Political Editor


News

Wages surge as joblessrate falls to six-year lowBritains jobless rate has tumbled to itslowest level since 2008 and wagegrowth ismore than three times higherthan inflation, but there are signsthat the rapid pace of recovery in theemployment market is starting to slow.The number of people out of work in

Britain fell by 58,000 to 1.91 million inthe threemonths toNovember, and theunemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent, official figures showed yesterday.A year ago the rate was 7.1 per cent.At the same time, average weekly

earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by1.8 per cent, the Office for NationalStatistics said. Including bonuses, thefigure was 1.7 per cent. Inflation grew at1 per cent inNovember before diving to0.5 per cent in December.Michael Saunders, UK economist at

Citigroup, estimated that Britains so-called Misery Index, which he calcu-lated by adding together consumerprice inflation and the jobless rate, wasnowat its lowest level inaboutadecade.The sharp drop in this gauge, along

with improving nominal wage growth,points to buoyant consumer confi-dence in comingmonths,MrSaunderssaid about the index, which was firstcoined by the economist Arthur Okunin the 1960s.However, there were signs of a slow-

down in the latest labourmarket report.If this trend persists, it could cause theConservatives a headache as Maysgeneral election approaches.In particular, the quarterly fall in

unemployment was the smallest sinceSeptember 2013. While the number ofpeople in employment roseby37,000 to30.8 million, it was the weakest pace ofgrowth since May 2013.The figures also showed that youth

unemployment had started to creep upagain, with the number of out-of-workpeople agedbetween 16and24 risingby30,000 to 764,000 in the three monthsto November. This pushed up theclosely watched youth unemploymentrate to 16.9 per cent, up from 16 per centin the previous three months.Nicola Smith, head of economics

at the TUC, said: There are now con-

cerning signs that young people arebeing left behind,with long-termyouthunemployment failing to improve. Farmore must be done to ensure thatyoung people are protected from thedamaging effects of long periods out ofwork.David Kern, chief economist at the

British Chambers of Commerce, saidthat the unexpected increase in youthunemploymentwasdisappointingaftera long period of steady decline.He added: While youth unemploy-

ment ismarkedly lower thanayear ago,we cannot ignore the fact that itremains consistently higher than theadult unemployment rate.Despite signs of a slowdown, the

figures were welcomed by GeorgeOsborne, who said: Britain is pullingahead with record numbers in work,fallingunemployment andwages risingsignificantly faster than inflation.Rachel Reeves, shadow work and

pensions secretary, criticised the cost ofliving, saying that wages remainsluggish andworking people are 1,600a year worse off since 2010.

Kathryn Hopkins, Alex Ralph

Camerons top mealDavid Cameron has snubbed thecelebrity chef Gordon Ramsay infavour of a high street chickenchain. When asked on CapitalXtra to select where he wouldtake world leaders for a meal aHarvester, a Gordon Ramsayrestaurant or Nandos hereplied that, having eaten at allthree, I think Nandos is the bestvalue for money. I had a verygood Nandos in Bristol.

Troops to train in JapanBritain could send troops to trainwith their Japanese counterpartsand vice versa after the firstmeeting between the defence andforeign ministers of the twocountries. Japan has alreadyconducted joint training with USand Australian troops. ShinzoAbe, the prime minister, isseeking to ease a constitutionalban from taking part in offensiveoperations overseas.

Facebook scam alertsSpam news posts on Facebook areto be tagged with warnings in aneffort to reduce the amount ofmisleading reports on the socialnetwork. Such posts will nowcome with the warning: Manypeople on Facebook have reportedthat this story contains falseinformation. Facebook said thatthis would discourage a small setof publishers who are frequentlyposting hoaxes and scams.

Abuse inquiry haltedThe governments inquiry intohistorical child sexual abuse hasbeen suspended. A statement onthe website of the inquiry, whichhas seen two chairwomen resignamid suggestions they were tooclose to figures likely to beinvolved in its investigation, saidit would not meet again untilTheresa May, the home secretary,either appoints a new head orsays if the panel will continue.

1 Heres why we all have reasonto be fearful of antisemitism

2 Hanoi Jane photo a mistake3 Boko Haram taunts leaders4 Jihadist faked own death5 I fought Page 3 and tits won6 Men shouldnt be at the birth7 Blunts glossary of insults8 Obamas attack on super-rich9 May blocking Tehran deal10 New rules for kids parties

will leave you unhinged

Most read atthetimes.co.uk

Reveal everytariff, energyprice sites told

Energy price comparison websites willhave to show all tariffs on the marketandnot just those that pay commission,the energy regulator has ruled.Ofgem finally bowed yesterday to

growing pressure for more transparen-cy in how comparisonwebsites presenttheir search results.At the moment the sites can, in their

default search, hide deals fromcompanies that dont pay them com-mission. This means that unless cus-tomers seek out the all available dealsoption, they may not see up toone third of the tariffs on the market,including some of the very bestavailable. This will now change in amove that marks a victory for TimesMoneys campaign for greater opennessamong energy switching sites.Two of the five biggest comparison

sites, Gocompare and Compare-themarket, are not accredited byOfgem are therefore under no obliga-tion to follow its guidelines. Both siteshave said, however, that they adherevoluntarily to Ofgems rulings and willcontinue to do so.

Frozen north Bowfell, in the Lake District, looked more like the Alps yesterday after heavy snowfall. The cold bright weather is set to continue. Full forecast, page 17

Rate rise unlikely after experts change theirminds

Theprospect of an interest rate rise thisyear recededyesterday after it emergedthat twoBankofEnglandpolicymakerswho had been supporting a rise sincelast summer had changed their minds.The disappointing news for savers

camewith thepublicationofminutesof

this months monetary policy commit-tee meeting which showed that IanMcCafferty and Martin Weale, whohad been pushing for a rise to 0.75 percent since August, were now calling forrates to be kept on hold.This was the first time since last July

that the nine-strong rate-setting com-mittee had been unanimous aboutkeeping policy unchanged. The change

of heart was driven by concerns thatlow inflation,whichhas been caused bythe falling oil price, will persist.The minutes suggested that there

was a roughly even chance that infla-tion would temporarily dip below zeroat some time during the first half of2015. Interest rates have stood at therecord low of 0.5 per cent since thedepths of the downturn in 2009 and

several economists have now pushedback their predictions of the first riseuntil 2016.A new report from Halifax showed

that the fall in inflation from 1 per centto0.5per cent lastmonthcorrespondedwith a steep drop in the proportion ofconsumers who viewed a potential risein interest rates as a barrier to buying aproperty.

Kathryn HopkinsEconomics Correspondent

JAMES GRANT / CATERS

Mark Atherton

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News

Detectives one-man war on drugs sends 37 dealers to jailAn undercover police officer who usesthe name Stan has been responsiblefor the jailing of 37 drug dealers in threemonths.The dealers who sold drugs on the

streets of Boscombe, a run-down sub-urb of Bournemouth, have been sent toprison for a total of 70 years thanks toevidence gathered by the detective.Stan tookpart inmore than 100deals,

buying heroin and crack cocaine fromstreet-corner dealers in scenes reminis-cent of the American series The Wire.

He queued up alongside drug users tomeet dealers in exchanges that tookplace in parks, phone boxes, churches,beside schools and at a crown greenbowling club, often in broad daylight.He usually agreed details on the tele-

phone with male dealers but found itwas a vulnerable female addicts whowould appear to complete the trade. Allthe time Stan was gathering evidenceagainst dealers and their suppliers thatled to a number of police raids.Among those caught by Operation

Moped was Christopher Morrison, 51,who was jailed for five years and eight

months for supplying heroin and crackcocaine.GeorgeByworth, 43,was jailedfor the same period for supplyingcocaine and diamorphine.The youngest dealer caughtwas a 16-

year-old boy who received a two-yearyouth rehabilitation order.Inspector Chris Weeks, of Dorset

police, said: Our communities told usthat on-street drug dealing and anti-social behaviour is a real day-to-dayconcern, and we acted.One of the results is the high num-

ber of arrests and convictions achievedthrough Operation Moped. This form

of police activity sends out a clearmessage that if you deal drugs you willbe arrested and any financial gainsachieved by individuals through crimewill be confiscated.The teams work to date has caused

significant disruption to those involvedin drug dealing and members of thecommunity have reported a reductionin on-street drug dealing.Since October Dorset police have

made 47 drugs-related arrests, seized35 vehicles and reported 120 people fortraffic offences in an attempt to disruptdrug-dealing activities. They have

seized 218 wraps of crack cocaine, 233wraps of heroin with an estimatedstreet value of more than 4,500 andconfiscated 10,000 in cash fromcriminals.MrWeeks added: This style of polic-

ing will continue throughout 2015, andwe want to reassure our communitiesthat drug dealing will not be tolerated.I urge members of the community

to report individuals who they believeare involved in drug dealing. The moreinformationwe receive themoreactionwe can take to disrupt and stop on-street drug dealing.

Simon de Bruxelles

Worthless EUdeal means2,000 prisonersstay in BritainPlans to deport nearly 2,000 Europeanprisoners are in disarray after severalEU countries failed to sign up tothe deal.Ministers are also alarmed by a court

ruling that blocked the extradition of aprisoner to Lithuania because jail con-ditions there could breach humanrights.They fear it will set a precedent that

prevents the 460 other Lithuanians in

British jails from being returned to theBaltic state.Of the 10,500 foreigners in British

jails last year, nearly half 4,600 are citizens of other EU countries.All 28 EU states were supposed to

have ratified a deal allowing the com-pulsory transfer of prisoners to theirhome countries by December 2011, butonly 19 have done so.Despite failing to meet the deadline,

the European Commission has nottaken infringement action against theremaining nine but has instead giventhemuntilMarch to put the agreementinto their national laws.The nine states that have not ratified

the deal are Bulgaria, Estonia,Germany, Greece, the Irish Republic,Lithuania, Portugal, Spain andSweden,which together account for 1,600 of themore than4,600EUnationals in jails inEngland and Wales.A statement from the commission

said that no infringement proceedingshad begun against member states that

had failed to transpose the frameworkdecision. Infringement proceedingscould result in a country being taken tothe European Court of Justice.TheEuropeanCommission sentout

a letter to all member states beforeChristmas 2014 requesting them tonotify transposition of the frameworkdecision on transfer of prisoners byMarch 15, 2015, at the latest, the com-mission said in a statement.Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Com-

mons home affairs select committee,said: This EU agreement is not worththe paper it is written on. What is ex-traordinary is that those countries thathave not ratified have not faced anyaction from the commission. Urgentaction needs to be taken.The government believed that the

compulsory deal along with agree-ments with countries outside the EUwouldenable themto reduce the 10,300foreign national prisoners in jails, whocost 350 million a year.Officials hoped that compulsory

transfer would help to overcome theobstacles thathavepreventedprisonersbeing sent home to serve their sen-tence. Only 162 prisoners were sent toEU and non EU states under transferagreements between 2010 and 2013.A compulsory deal with Albania that

was brought into force a year ago hasresulted in threeof the334Albanians inprisons returning home.Officials have already warned that

compulsory prisoner transfers could bedelayed or blocked if offenders go tocourt claiming that their human rightswouldbebreachedbyprisonconditionsin their home state.A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman

said: We are pleased that the commis-sion has reiterated the requirement formember states to have an implemen-tation plan by March.Once fully in place the EU PTAwill

result in a significant increase in thenumber of prisoners transferred.Britain has alreadyhad to accept that

no Polish inmates will be transferreduntil at least next year under a dealgiving Poland time to provide extraprison places.The government is also in talks with

the Irish Republic to transfer prisonersdespite an agreement several years agothat Irish prisonerswouldnot bepart ofthe compulsory deal.

Richard Ford Home Correspondent

Worst offenders

Top 10 EU countries with prisonersin jails in England and Wales

Poland 901

Irish Republic 750

Romania 521

Lithuania 461

Portugal 205

Latvia 192

Netherlands 130

Slovakia 119

Czech Republic 109

France 102

They aresupposed to beready to actquickly and fightcrime with the

full force of the law, butwhen it comes to afive-minute fitness test involving walking andthen a gentle jog thepolice need to be cutsome slack (FionaHamilton writes).Officers who are

unable to cope with thetwists and turns of theback-and-forth shuttlerun could be allowed towalk on a treadmillinstead under plans beingconsidered by theirprofessional body.Although the fitness

test was only madecompulsory inSeptember, seniorofficers are alreadyexamining alternativesfor those age groups orweight groups presumably older,plumper members of thepolice who have ahigher rate of failure inthe 15-metre shuttle runs,or for injured officerswho cannot handle thequick turns.An alternative to the

so-called bleep testcould also tackleconcerns aboutdiscrimination, afterfemale officers performedworse. One alternative,the Chester test, involvesa graded walk on atreadmill where the speedwould not surpass 3.9miles per hour.The College of Policing,

the professional bodywhich introduced thecompulsory tests, deniedthat the alternative wouldbe easier. Officers wouldonly be able to take the

alternative for goodreason, such as a doctorsnote, it said.Hundreds of officers

across England andWales have failed thebleep test, which involvesa series of 15-metreshuttle runs in which thespeed, dictated by bleeps,is increased every 60seconds. Those who havecompleted the test saythat breaking into aproper run is notnecessary to pass.Every warranted officer

must pass in threeattempts, with a six-weekinterval between eachattempt to allow time totrain. Officers working inareas such as firearms,dog handling and searchand rescue must obtain ahigher level of fitness.In June, while the

scheme was being piloted,the College of Policingfound that the pass ratewas 99 per cent for menbut 92 per cent forwomen. A spokesman forthe professional body said

yesterday that the datawould continue to beassessed and otheroptions were underconsideration if this trendcontinued. In themeantime, forces havebeen encouraged to makepositive efforts toimprove fitness fordisadvantaged groupssuch as women and olderofficers, by offeringfitness and diet advice.Assistant Chief

Constable Rob Price,leader of the nationalfitness working group atthe College of Policing,told PoliceOracle.com:We will definitely haveto look at 12 months dataand assess who failed, interms of gender and age,and assess thecommunity impact. It issomething we have tomanage with the serviceto make sure we are notdiscriminating.

An alternative to the bleepfitness test could involve agraded walk on a treadmill

Test revealsfatter sideof the thinblue line

EDDIE MULHOLLAND / REX


News Health

Our misery and frustration is their budgeting toolBut why should he bear the brunt?This is a system imposed on him bymanagers who know that marchingnon-emergencies up the hill and thenback down again does not endangerlife; and costs nothing in comparisonto staffing sufficient beds. Our dailyprolongation of misery is theircalculated budgeting tool.We got home, wretched and weary,

just under 12 hours after we had left. Itried to imagine what it must feel likefor elderly people, or those who livealone, returning to a cold flat, no milkin the fridge and the dog to beretrieved from kennels. And the wait,anxious and still in pain, for the nextappointment months hence.NHS savings are necessary, but this

is a shoddy and underhand way oftrying to achieve them.

so nauseous from lack of fluids that Ibegan to retch (normally, I drinkthree litres of water a day; vital withan indwelling catheter). They allowedme a sip.At 10.15am, bad news. No HD beds

available. I thought my husband wasabout to suffer a coronary fromsuppressed rage. Then, suddenly,word came that a bed might be freeafter all. We sat back, empty andbeaten. The student, poor soul, wassent back with another tranche ofasinine questions. Never forget thatthe NHS is a parody-free zone. As Iwilted before her eyes, retchinggently, she asked me if a doctor hadever warned me I was at risk of CJD.By midday my surgeon arrived to

say that there was no bed so nooperation was possible. He apologised.

low-level discomfort.At 7.15, queasy from nil-by-mouth

for the anaesthetic, I joined a line ofthe bleary-eyed, lame and suffering atthe Southern General in Glasgow,one of the largest teaching hospitalsin the UK. I was told that my

operation would be late afternoon.Around 8am, the anaesthetistcame to discuss my case. Shewas concerned about my past

history and wanted a high-dependency (HD) bedavailable. A student nursearrived next, keen as

mustard, and startedasking me the samequestions I hadanswered in the pre-opassessment four daysearlier. By 10am I was

Increase

The proportion of Britonsworking in the NHS hasbeen growing in recentyears, contrary to popularperception. The Times has

obtained the largest everbreakdown of staff by nationalitywhich shows that by head count,hours worked and percentage, theNHS workforce is increasinglymade up of Britons.There has been a sharp rise in

workers from poorer Europeancountries but they have beendisplacing the overseas stafftraditionally recruited fromCommonwealth nations, ratherthan taking British peoples jobs.The official figures show:

6There was a sharp rise in workersfrom Portugal, Ireland, Greece andSpain, the countries sometimesnicknamed PIGS because theireconomies were the most badlybattered by the financial crisis.6 Indian and Pakistani doctors,stalwarts of the NHS since the

Hundreds of operationsare cancelled every dayas NHS crisis spreadsTwo hundred operations are cancelledeach day and waiting times are risingacross the board, according to anauthoritative report which warns thatthe NHS is now in critical condition.Patients face even longer waits as

many hospitals predict they will runout of money within months, withproblems spreading well beyondaccident & emergency units.Experts warned that more than a

decade of progress in the health servicewas now being thrown into reverse ashospitals were overwhelmed by risingnumbers of older, sicker patients.Patients are waiting longer than for

any time in seven years, with targetsmissed for routine operations andcancer treatments, as well as in A&E. Athird more operations are being can-celled at the lastminute comparedwithlast year, as hospitals resort to drasticmeasures to free up beds.Services are stretched to the limit.

With financial problems also endemicamong hospitals and staff morale a sig-nificant cause for concern, the situationisnowcritical, said JohnAppleby, chiefeconomist of the Kings Fund, whichtoday publishes its quarterly overviewof NHS performance. The [govern-ments] big effort is to get through to theelection without things blowing apartand what happens after that is in thefog. I dont think its working.TheNHS has done better than any-

body expected for quite a few years, butin the last nine months its becomeserious, he said. Its really hard to finda statistic that is published byNHSEn-glandor theDepartmentofHealth thatis looking good.Already almost two thirds of hospi-

tals are being forced to rely on emer-gency bailouts from central govern-ment, andwith budgets facing a furthersqueeze from April, Professor Applebywarned: You can expect towait longer,in A&E, for elective operations andprobably at all stages of the service.Since November, 12,345 routine

operations have been cancelled at thelastminute, comparedwith 9,320 in the

same period last year. A further 626urgent operations have been cancelled,58 of them twice, as hospitals struggleto cope.Thats clearly a sign of the pressure

on beds. Its not as if they are not tryingto get the elective patients in, they justneed theoperating theatres andbeds foremergencies, Professor Appleby said.Mark Porter, chairman of the British

Medical Association, said: Every partof the system from general practice,to hospitals, to community care isstruggling to keep up with demand,leaving some patients facing unaccept-able delays for treatment. In somecases, this means patients who havebeenwaitingweeksormonths for treat-ment having their operation cancelledas theyareabout tobe taken to theatre.Only 83.5 per cent of cancer patients

start treatment within twomonths of aGP referral, theworst figure since an 85per cent target was introduced fiveyears ago. ProfessorAppleby saidmiss-ing targets has become normalised,and its not because people are sitting

around with their feet on the desks. Itsso hard to make it.More than 12 per cent of people wait

more than 18 weeks for routine opera-tions, well beyond the governmentstarget of 10 per cent. Although thefigures include a push in the autumn totreat more people who have beenwaitingmonths for treatment, therearestill more than three million onwaiting lists. Professor Appleby said:There is no way the NHS can get thatdown to within the target within amonth.Peter Carter, the chief executive of

theRoyalCollegeofNursing, said: TheNHS is struggling and stretched far toothinly . . . A&E departments are wherethe pressures are most visible, but thisreport shows that a lack of investment,poor workforce planning and frag-mented services have affected patientsacross the whole NHS.Bed blocking is at a six-year high,

with beds occupied 140,000 nights amonthbypatientswhoarewell enoughto leave. Two thirds of this is down toproblems with transport, prescriptionsandother delayswithin theNHS,whilethe rest is due to problems getting olderpeople support at home.Professor Appleby warns that waits

for home-care support have jumped by50 per cent in a year and waits fornursing home places by 42 per cent, ascouncils cut back on social care.Jamie Reed, a shadow health minis-

ter, said: TheA&Ecrisis is intensifyingand spreading to other parts of theNHS. This is down to the governmentsfailure to get a grip on it. People arehaving their operations cancelledbecause A&E needs more and morebeds this helps to explain whywaiting lists are at a six-year highA Department of Health spokes-

woman said: The NHS is busier thaneverwhich iswhywehave given almost1billion this year for almost 800 moredoctors, 4,700morenurses, 6,400morebeds and treatment for an extra100,000 patients. We are backing theNHSs plan for the future and have pro-vided an extra 2 billion next year totransform out-of-hospital care.

Chris Smyth Health Editor

Total percentage of NHS staff

British

Irish

Spanish

Portuguese

Greek

2009 2014

0.2%

0.4%

0.4%

0.1%

0.1%

0.2%

89.1%

88.9%

1.1%%

1.2%%

Nations Health Service

Luckily for the NHS, nobodydies of misery. Thats whyhospital administratorsget away with theinhumane and cynical

practice of overbookingoperations.In my case, to be in hospital at

7.15am on the day of myoperation, as requested, I had toget up at 5am. I needed aparastomal hernia repair and,like most people waiting forelective surgery, Id beenin the queue for sixmonths, in grinding,

Cancelled operationsNov 4 to Jan 3

Under pressure

Urgent ops 2or more times

Urgent opswithin 24hrs

Elective opswithin 24hrs

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

Maximum62-daywait for firsttreatment: all cancersurgent GP referral to treatment

12,345

9,320

62658

50622

8,595594

36

88.0

87.0

86.0

85.0

84.0

83.02009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

%

85% target

Source:T

heKing

sFund

The problems overwhelming the health service now stretch well beyond A&E

New data revealschanging anatomyof the workforce,Dominic Kennedyand Kat Laywrite

First personMelanie Reid


Health News

in British doctors and nursesqualifications are regarded asequivalent across nationalboundaries but Dr Kanneganti wasuncertain if that was the case. Wedont know whether it is equivalentstandard and quality. There are somany European countries.The General Medical Council

used to allow European doctors towork in Britain without provingtheir English language skills until aGerman locum accidentally gave afatal dose of painkillers to a Britishpatient. Language competence isnow required.Joydeep Grover, of the British

Association of Physicians of IndianOrigin, said: The NHS has reliedheavily on imported doctors sinceits inception. The UK has benefitedimmensely, as not only would it beinconceivable for the NHS to havesurvived without such numbers tocontribute to it, but also as it gotthese doctors free of medical schoolcost!Dr Peter Carter, chief executive

of the Royal College of Nursing,said: Although nurses coming fromabroad have always made a valuablecontribution to the NHS, the healthservice has developed anastounding over-reliance onoverseas nurses in the past fewyears. The NHS is now panic-buyingnurses from overseas.

Indian, Vivek Murthy, achieved thehighest post of surgeon general in2013, he said. Sometimes peopleare saying they [western nations]are brain-draining India but its nota developing country any more. Inmy state there used to be ninemedical schools, now there are 36.Patient groups and unions tend to

call for more training of Britons toplug gaps in the NHS rather thanimporting people from overseas.

However, Dr Kanneganti said:The public spend 200,000 or300,000 to train individuals butmany UK graduates go to Australia,New Zealand, Canada or Dubai.They look for positions somewhereelse where there is sunshine, abetter work-life balance and themedia are not always complainingabout greedy GPs.Southern European recruits face

the extra challenges of havingEnglish as a second language andbeing new to Anglo-Saxon culture.The European Union insists that

where there is a particular need torely on overseas recruits.There has been a dramatic rise in

health workers from the austerity-hit nations since the economic crisisof 2008.Spanish and Portuguese nurses

have risen from only 406 and 210respectively five years ago, to 2,725and 2,423 now. There has also beenan unexpectedly sharp rise in Greekdoctors from 697 to 1,458.Indian and Pakistani doctors but

also nurses from Zimbabwe andNigeria have fallen in numbers, ashave nurses from the Philippines.There has been a significant rise

in the number of Irish peopleparticularly among therapists,scientific and technical staff wheretheir numbers have risensignificantly from 1,522 to 2,513.The number of Poles has nearly

doubled. Many of them work in theinfrastructure jobs which keep theNHS clean and well fed.Chandra Kanneganti, chairman

of the British International DoctorsAssociation, said the service hadbeen relying on the Indiansubcontinent since the 1960s.However, ambitious Indian

medical students now prefer to settheir sights on America where thereis a perception that they can gofurther, especially since an ethnic

1960s, are dwindling in number.6 Poles have been making anincreased contribution, mainly inthe infrastructure jobs whichinclude catering and maintenance.The figures are from a huge

database of 1.2 million NHSworkers. It was often noted that thehealth service was the worldslargest employer apart from theIndian railways and the Red Army,and it still remains one of thebiggest workforces.Politicians and trade unions in

recent years have seized on figuresshowing sharp rises in Europeanhealth workers to demand theimposition of barriers againstoverseas recruits or increasedinvestment in training in Britain.However, the numbers show that

the proportion of Britons has risenfrom 88.9 to 89.1 per cent since2009.During this period, records show

an increase in doctors with Britishnationality of 17,000, and nurses of36,000.The NHS has become better at

recording employees nationalitybut the rate of the rise of Britonscannot be put down to that change.Britons tend to be employed in

larger proportions in job sectorssuch as therapy. Medicine andambulance work remain fields

India

Pakistan

Ireland

Malaysia

Greece

10,265

2,218

1,389

1,122

697

6,880

1,945

1,458

1,330

1,458

Philippines

Zimbabwe

Spain

Portugal

Nigeria

9,239

3,822

406

210

1,849

8,006

1,521

2,994

2,725

2,423

Top 10 nationalitiesDoctors

Nurses

British 850,084 926,326

Indian 20,833 17,923

Philippines 12,839 13,096

Irish 10,346 13,062

Polish 3,508 6,148

Nigerian 4,555 4,979

Spanish 1,561 4,563

Zimbabwean 5,034 4,343

Portuguese 1,175 4,312

Pakistani 3,208 2,928

Britain2009

61,0332014

78,115

Britain2009

237,3692014

274,709

2009 2014

So where do hospital staff come from? The goodnews: fall inchildhoodcancer tollChris Smyth

Childhood cancer deaths have droppedby more than half in recent decades.Huge strides and modern drugs

mean that the number of people under24 dying of cancer each year has fallenfrom 1,300 in the 1970s to 550 now, ac-cording to Cancer Research UK.The biggest reduction has been in

deaths from leukaemia. The disease,whichoncekillednineout of ten suffer-ers, now has a 90 per cent survival rate,thanks to a new generation of targeteddrugs such as Glivec.However, campaigners warned that

there had been very little progress inother types of cancers, with a big re-search gap opening up between com-mon and rarer cancers.Pam Kearns, director of the Cancer

ResearchUKClinical Trials Unit in Bir-mingham, said: These figures are testa-ment to the real progress were makingin treating children and young peoplewith cancer. But hundreds of youngpeople are dying from cancer each yearin the UK, which means theres stillmuch more we need to do.Cancer is the most deadly illness in

childhood, but about three quarters ofpatients now survive. In the mid-1970s,57 in every million children under 14died of cancer; this has fallen to 23 in amillion.Children still face the traumaof

gruelling treatmentand long-termside-effects such as infertility and disability.Research published last summer foundthat almost all childhood cancer survi-vorswillhaveat leastonechronichealthcondition by the age of 45.ProfessorKearns added: Every day I

see the extremebraveryof childrenandyoung people going through difficulttreatments. Whilst many go on to livefull lives, theymayhave todealwith theside-effects of treatment for years tocome. So it is vital that we continue toincrease funding for research intokinder and better treatments.SimonFuller, director at theTeenage

Cancer Trust, said: Its heartening tosee significant improvements in surviv-al. However, these figures still showteenagers and young adults continuingto have higher cancer mortality ratesthan children. For teenagers and youngadults, survival varies by cancer type,and treatments for some of their com-mon cancers have barely changed in 30years. Much more research is urgentlyneeded to improve treatments.FionaBarnett, ofWimbledon, south-

west London, whose son Rufus was di-agnosed with leukaemia aged six, said:When they told me it was leukaemiamy first question was, is he going todie?. Treatment started immediatelyandover that first yearRufus had to en-dure seemingly non-stop lumbar punc-tures, injectionsandgeneral anaesthet-ics, not to mention infections, horriblemedicines and hideous side-effects.It felt like itwouldneverend,butone

year after diagnosiswewere so relievedto hear that Rufuswas respondingwell,which indicated thathehadaverygoodchance of complete recovery.

Exclusive to members

Read our series on thefuture of the NHS

thetimes.co.uk/futurenhs


News

Parents must checkmosques, says MPAMuslimMPhas revealed thatheoncepulledhisyoungdaughteroutof classesat a local mosque because of concernfor her wellbeing. Khalid Mahmood,who represents theBirminghamseat ofPerry Barr, said that parents must takecharge of their childrens religious edu-cation and the guidance they receive.He made the disclosure about his

family during a forum on counteringextremism and radicalisation orga-nised by Hazel Blears, the former La-bour communities secretary.After the event, the MP told The

Times that, when his daughter wasabout eight, he went to inspect the all-female religious education class she at-tended. I didnt feel comfortable, hesaid. There werent any child protec-tion policies in place. I didnt think that50 or 60 young children in class sittingon a floor were able to learn.He decid-ed to take his daughter, now a 21-year-old student, out of the lessons.Mr Mahmood warned that privately

run religious classes inBritainwere un-regulated, but said it was no use forparents to blame imams or communityleaders for failing to prevent teenagersbecoming radicalised. Where is theirresponsibility in this?he said. Dotheygo to the mosque and ask questions? Ifthey dont, what do they expect?This week, the communities secre-

tary, Eric Pickles, and the communitiesminister, Lord Ahmad, wrote to imams

urging them to demonstrate how faithin Islam can be part of British identity.However, The Times understands

that their letter was sent only to abouttwo thirds of English mosques andprayer rooms because ministers haveno contact with the remainder.The department of communities and

local government, which is responsiblefor promoting integration and cohe-sion, has about 1,000 mosques that itactively engages with. By contrast, thewebsite Muslims in Britain, run by anexpert on Islam in the UK who has ad-vised the Metropolitan police, recordsthe existence of 1,625 mosques andprayer rooms. Mr Mahmood said hewas surprised the department heldsuch limited information. If you arelooking at these issues of engagementwith the wider Muslim communitythen there should be regular collectionof information and data that allows usthat access to these people, he said.Speaking at yesterdays event, Sara

Khan, who runs a counter-extremismgroup called Inspire, said that she wasworried about the lack of suitable op-tions for young Muslims seeking an-swers about their religion.Mothers toldher that mosques and religious organi-sations had fundamentally failed toteach their children a narrative aboutBritish Islam.Shesaid: If youhavea 16-year-oldMuslim in this country, wheredo they go to learn about a contextual-ised, moderate British Islam?Letters, page 21

Laura Pitel Political Correspondent

CATERS NEWS

Penguin suit Ralph, a Humboldt penguin who loses his feathers when he moults,has been given a coat to protect him from the cold at Marwell Wildlife, Hampshire

Sentamu toavoid layinghands onnew bishopContinued from page 1ordination of women bishops for twodecades.We are dismayed that it seems that

the Archbishop of York will not layhands on Philip North at his consecra-tion as Bishop of Burnley, a spokes-woman said.We believe it is unprecedented that

an archbishop should be present at aconsecration in his own province andnot lay hands on a candidate, and notpreside at the Eucharist.Watch said that the controversy

risked detracting from the churchsachievement in naming its first womanbishop, two decades after the ordina-tion of the first women priests.We have known about the arrange-

ments for the consecration of theBishop of Burnley for some time, buthave not commented publicly out ofcourtesy to the individuals involved, itsaid. Our focus has been on the earlierconsecration as the fulfilment of a longand deeply held desire by so many, andas a source of good news from thechurch.The churchs main office in London

declined to comment. The Archbishopof Yorks office and the diocese ofBlackburn did not respond to emails ortelephone calls last night.


News

Rylance reigns in King Henrys courtas a new chapter opens for Wolf HallTelevision Andrew Billen

Wolf HallBBC TwoHHHHH

Some say that Hilary Mantels novelWolf Hall is hard to get into and thenimpossible to withdraw from: in forthe books 650 pages, in then for the430 pages of its sequel. There is nosuch difficulty in entering this TVadaptation of both parts of theBooker Prize winners retelling of thestory of Thomas Cromwell, the legalhack from nowhere who becameHenry VIIIs chief minister anddesigner of Anglicanism.It began last night with those words

we all fear and can therefore relateto but those in power fear most:Youre out. They were gleefullyhurled by the kings messengers,Norfolk and Suffolk, at CardinalWolsey. In the role of the over-mighty

lord chancellor, Jonathan Prycereplied with insolent benevolence:Youll have supper? From thismoment viewers knew that theywere in for a riot of British characteracting of the type reserved for BBCclassic serials, a category that thisWolf Hall transcends by itsintellectual and emotionalintelligence.For a while Pryces portrayal of

liminal resignation is so seductive youwonder why the pre-publicity was somuch about Damian Lewis as the king and you keep wondering becauseHenry does not appear until theopening episodes final four minutes.The real action is in the shadows,however, where Mark Rylances eyes,glistening with sadness and acuity,produce a Bafta-winningperformance by themselves. Whenhis Cromwell finally encountersthe king in a court garden weenjoy not only a clash ofpersonalities but of acting styles.

Lewis, the old Etonian, is an actor athis best when playing men, who, likeBrody in Homeland, play themselves.Rylance, an outsider brought upmodestly by teachers abroad, replieswith devastating authenticity.The blacksmiths lad from Putney

may be a mystery to his rivals suchas Thomas More (Anton Lesser,another great foil for Rylance). Athome, we already know Cromwell.A few deft scenes with his familyestablish him as a man stubbornly

unbrutalised by his fathers violenceand, beneath the cynicism, loving.The deaths of his wife and two girlsfrom fever is one of the mostupsetting things I have seen on TVfor a while. We need to know howCromwell can possibly carry on, andwhere his grief will take him.This is such a festival of thesps

Bernard Hill, Richard Dillane, MarkGatiss, Claire Foy who can resistplaying spot-the-actor? The Boleyngirls father? David Robb, the good

doctor from Downton, of course. It isalso, despite, perhaps, one time-shifttoo many, an exemplary work ofclarity by the screenwriter PeterStraughan, who has reduced 1,100pages to six hours. Yet what isremarkable is that although the actorsand the story are so celebrated, thisaccount, directed by Peter Kosminsky,feels as real and visceral as if thewolves of Henrys court were pantingdown our own necks.Letters, page 21

Why standing up to bully bosses works

Browbeaten employees take note:those who have hostile bosses tend tobe better off if they fight back andreturn the hostility.The news may come as a relief to

thosewho have spent years respondingcordially to unwarranted outbursts orpassive-aggressive emails from theirsuperiors. Rather than responding tohostility with deference and grace,researchers found that employees whofought back experienced less psycho-logical distress, greater job satisfactionas well as more commitment to theiremployer.Bennett Tepper, who led the study at

Ohio State University, said: Before wedid this study, I thought there would beno upside to employees who retaliatedagainst their bosses, but thats not whatwe found. Employees felt better about

themselves because they didnt just sitback and take the abuse.In the study, published in the journal

Personnel Psychology, 169 people com-pleted twopostal surveys sevenmonthsapart. In the first, participants ratedhow often their supervisors did thingssuch as ridicule themand tell them thattheir thoughts and feelings werestupid, and reported their responses tohostile treatment.Seven months later, the same

respondents completed measures ofjob satisfaction, commitment to theiremployer, psychological distress andnegative feelings.Results showed that when bosses

were hostile but employees didnt retal-iate the workers had higher levels ofpsychological distress, less satisfactionwith their jobs and less commitment totheir employer. These negative conse-quences did not appear to be suffered

by those who returned the hostility mostly by ignoring their boss or givingjust a half-hearted effort.These are things that bosses dont

like and that fit the definition of hostili-ty, but in a passive-aggressive form,DrTepper said. I expect that you donthave too many employees yelling andscreaming at their bosses.In a second survey of 371 people, the

researchers found that returninghostility did not appear to worsen thechances of a promotion or a pay rise.Dr Tepper said he believed that

employees who fought backmight earnthe admiration and respect of col-leagues. There is a norm of reciprocityinoursociety,hesaid. Wehaverespectfor someone who fights back, whodoesnt just take abuse. Having therespectofco-workersmayhelpemploy-ees feel more committed to their orga-nisation and happy about their job.

Smart scarf heats up tosoothe stressed wearersJames DeanTechnology Correspondent

Hannah Devlin Science Editor

A mood-enhancing smart scarf thatwarms or cools its owner according totheir emotional state is being devel-oped by researchers at Microsoft.The prototype scarf, which is linked

to a smartphone app, plays music anddisplays lights to help to improve thedisposition of its wearer.If the scarf detects stress, it tries to

cool its wearer and plays soothingmusic. If a wearer is sad, the scarf playscheery music and tries to warm themwhile flashing soothing light visualisa-tions. If they reach a happy state, it triesto maintain their body temperatureand plays upbeat music. When excited,the scarf tries to cool the wearer down.

It is also designed to detect the feelingsof others nearby, which the researchersbelieve could help autism sufferers tounderstand the emotional cues ofothers.The scarf is composed of hexagonal

modules that contain lights, vibrationmotors, heating coils, cooling fabrics,computing units and batteries.The scarf responds to cues from bio-

sensors, such as heart rate monitors,which it receives over wireless Blue-tooth connections.An owner could also adapt the scarfs

features to suit his or her preferences,the researchers said. If they decidedthat they wanted to hear downbeatmusic when they were sad, they couldprogramme it to play a piano concertocomposed in a minor key, for example.

Damian Lewis as Henry VIII and Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn; Mark Rylance, left, is devastatingly realistic as Thomas Cromwell

Inside today

Why Mark Wahlbergwants to be pardonedTimes2, pages 50-51


News

BBC head office costs 14,000 per workerThe BBC is spending three times asmuch on its headquarters in London asother comparable buildings cost tooperate, at almost 14,000 per employ-ee, the National Audit Office has said.NewBroadcastingHouse, the corpo-

rations 1 billion flagship premises,costs 89 million a year to run, theequivalent of a third of the BBCsannual property budget, the publicspendingwatchdog said in a report yes-terday.Margaret Hodge, chairwoman of the

Commons public accounts committee,said it was staggering that the BBCwas spending so much every year andcalled on executives to give evidence inparliament next month.The two-year-old building, which

was lampooned in the BBCTwo satireW1A, has been criticised by staff for itspoor facilities.Oneemployee said in a letter toAriel,

the BBCs in-house magazine, thisweek: I couldmention broken taps, theconstantly out-of-order lifts, or auto-mated doors that no longer open. Butthe single most annoying and embar-rassing issue has got to be the toilets. Isthere a single toilet anywhere in [thebuilding] that hasnt been out of orderfor an extended period during the last12 months?A reporter complained toAriel about

faulty telephone and internet systems,writing: Howdid a brand new buildingwith brand new equipment end upwithso many of its fixtures and fittings notworking properly?And is anyone beingheld accountable for this? The NAO

said that Broadcasting House costs theBBC 1,422 per square metre everyyear, nearly three times as much as theUKaverage for similar buildings and49per cent higher than the benchmark forcentral London.Broadcasting House is not compa-

rable to other buildings, said a spokes-man for the BBC. Itmakes around half

of all BBC output, houses the biggestnewsroom in Europe and broadcastsglobally 24hours a day, every day of theweek, which requires unique levels oftechnology and security.However, the NAO said that the

comparison with other buildings incentral London, including the offices ofDeloitte, Royal Bank of Scotland and

Transport for London, had taken ac-count of specialist costs relating tobroadcasting operations.The BBC has 154 buildings around

the UK which cost 273 million a yearto run, equivalent to 7.3 per cent of itsincome from the licence fee. The totalarea that the properties cover has beenreduced by 29 per cent since 1999. The

NAO said that the BBC had upgradedmanybuildings, improved efficiency byreducing the size of its estate and wasusing less space per employee.Anne Bulford, the BBCs finance

chief, said: This report shows thatbetter buildings have made the BBC abetter, more efficient broadcasterwhich gives licence fee payers more fortheir money.MrsHodge also attacked theBBC for

doing a 200million deal for its formerheadquarters with a consortium ofinvestors that used a Luxembourg-based financial structure.She said it was inappropriate for the

publicly-funded broadcaster to sell theproperty atWhiteCity,west London, toan offshore investment company,which are frequently used in commer-cial property transactions to legallyminimise tax liabilities.Insiders dismissed her criticism yes-

terday, arguing that such structures arecommon in commercial property deals.BBCexecutives will nevertheless haveto explain the transaction at the PAChearing next month.The BBC sold Television Centre, its

distinctive doughnut-shaped head-quarters, in 2012 to a consortium ofStanhope, a property developmentcompany, Mitsui Fudosan, a Japaneseinvestment manager, and Alberta In-vestment Management Corporation,one of Canadas biggest pension funds.Having obtained planning permis-

sion, the developers intend to trans-form the former BBC site into a devel-opment with 950 homes, offices, hotel,leisure facility and a branch of SohoHouse, the members club.

Alex Spence Media Editor

BBC staff complain that lifts and toilets at New Broadcasting House are out of order. Running costs are 89 million a year


News

Tipple tax

UK56%

Germany19%

Greece23%

Spain21%

Italy22%

Portugal23%

France21%

Percentage of duty andVAT paid on an averageprice bottle of wine

Prepare for agold rush asRoyal Mintbullion is back

Valentine Low

It is news which would bring a smile tothe face of Auric Goldfinger, andanyone else who ever felt that theirmoneywas not safe in the bank. For thefirst time members of the public canbuy gold bars direct from the RoyalMint.The move has revived a bullion

brand, Royal Mint Refinery, which hasnot been seen for nearly 50 years. Thehistoric initials RMR have not beenseen on newly minted bars since thebrand ceased production in 1968.However, if anyone had their eyes on

buying the sort of 13kg bar that fill thevaults of the Bank of England, theywould be out of luck.The silver minted bars are available

in 100g units, while the gold bars rangefrom 1g to 100g in weight.The price of the bars fluctuates as it is

linked to the constantly changing priceof gold and silver. Last night a 1g bar ofgoldwas pricedupat 42.84,with a 100gbar on offer for 2,843.97.Thisweekgold rose to its highest level

since August as investors sought safe

places to put their cash amid fears aboutfurther weakening of the euro. Priced ineuros, gold is at its highest level sinceearly 2013.The Royal Mint Refinery marque

datesback to 1852andthebrandbecameknown for handling much of the goldand silver bullion sent to London fromacross the world. The name survivedthe First and Second World Wars untilproduction ceased in 1968.The gold bars are likely to appeal

to people looking for a cost-effectiveway to buy bullion, as they have theadded appeal of being VAT-free, theMint said.UK citizens looking to enhance

their self-invested personal pension orsmall self-administered scheme canget up to 45 per cent tax relief on theirpurchase of gold RMR bars if theyare bought through their pensionscheme.Lisa Elward, theRoyalMints head of

international sales, said: We arethrilled to be able to add minted barsbearing the historic Royal Mint Refin-ery marque to our bullion range.The RMR bars are available directly

through royalmintbullion.com, theMints online bullion trading platformwhichwas set up last September to helppeople to buy and sell gold.

Out-of-date software in shops puts your credit card at risk

Retailers are putting their customerscredit card details at themercy of com-puter hackers because they have failedto upgrade an obsolete version of theWindows operating system on theirmachines, a leading online security re-searcher has warned.A significant number of stores con-

tinue to runWindows XP even thoughMicrosoft stopped providing security

updates for the software almost ninemonths ago, James Lyne, the head ofresearch at Sophos, said.Windows XP, which was released in

2001,was oneof themost popular oper-ating systems in the world and manycompanies built their computer net-works around it. However, Microsoftsaid last April that it would stop provid-ing software updates for XP in order toconcentrate on developing new soft-ware instead. When operating systemsstop receiving security updates, they

become more vulnerable to new typesof cyberattack.Most retailers in the UK are either

completely unprepared or unaware ofthe danger,MrLyne said. Or, they areover-confident. For a very smallamount of money, it is possible to getyour hands on kit that canwreak havocin their systems. And, becauseXP is notbeing updated, it is way easier to infectwith malware.Mr Lyne demonstrated how to per-

form a hacking attack onWindows XP

thatwas able to extract a stringof creditcarddetails in less thanaminute.He setup a website, reallysaferetail.com, forwhichhe bought an SSL [Secure SocketLayer] security certificate for 30 on-line. These certificates activate a pad-lock icon that appears next to the ad-dress bar on a web browser, indicatingto auser that their connection is secure.From a cloud computing service

based in Ireland, he first infected theWindows XP system with malware, ormalicious software, byexploitingoneof

James DeanTechnology Correspondent

Bon-vivant Britain splashes outmore than France on top winesValentine LowAdam Sage Paris

There is, as yet, no suggestion thatBritons have started eating frogs legs,or wearing berets, or doing anythingelse that distinguishes the Frenchfrom us.There is, however, oneareaprevious-

ly regarded as their specialist subjectin which we are about to catch upwith our neighbours: the amount wespend on wine.According to new figures, wine

spending in Britain is recovering fromthe downturn triggered by the financialcrisis and is set to overtake that ofFrance within four years.The increased spending, say experts,

is partly because people are turning tomore expensive, quality wines, andpartly because Britons pay one of thehighest ratesofduty inEuropeonabot-tle of wine.According toVinexpo, awine exhibi-

tion, annual wine sales in Britain areexpected to increase between 2014 and2018 by 6.2 per cent to hit 11.24billion.That will make the UK market the

second biggest in the world, behind theUnitedStatesat 21.83billionbutaheadof France at 10.85billion.However, the French still drink

more by volume266million cases ofwine last year, compared with 123 mil-lion in Britain.Pierpaolo Petrassi, head wine buyer

at Waitrose, said: Over the past fewyears some of the wine-consumingpopulation has engaged with wine tothe point where they can see the sense

of spending more because they can getmore enjoyment from it.He admitted that British drinkers

may not be getting as good a bargain astheir French counterparts. Some of itwill come down to simply more taxbeing paid. Whether they are drinkingbetter wine, or paying more for thesame wine, I dont know.Guy Woodward, former editor of

Decantermagazine, said that he wouldnot buy a 5 bottle of wine in Britainbecause so much of the price went onduty a fixed rate of 2.05 per bottleand VAT at 20 per cent. Onceyouve taken into account the tax, themargins, the packaging and the mar-keting, youwould be lucky if 50pof thatis in the wine.Orianne Nouailhac, editor of

Frances Vigneron magazine, said that

the Frenchwere drinking less wine andbuying cheaper bottles.The French had an extraordinary

consumption of wine 50 years ago, butit is falling because society has evolvedand people no longer drink wine likethey used to, she said. I first sippedwinewithmy grandparents when I was14, but young people today drink sodasand that kind of thing.The English, on the other hand,

have become passionate connoisseurs.I think theBritishnowdrinkbetter bot-tles than the French because there iswealth in Britain, whereas the Frenchare impoverished by high taxes and theeconomic situation. This means peopledrink less expensively, less Bordeauxand Burgundy and more from placeslike Ctes du Rhne and Provence.Alex Linsley, head of market insight

at the wine merchant Bibendum, said:Rather than 5 bottles people are buy-ing 6 to 9 bottles of wine, where vol-umes are up about 20 per cent. Andthere is a big growth in volumes beingsold above 10.TheVinexpo figures, provided by the

InternationalWine and Spirits Record,show that Britons are also drinkingmore sparkling wine than ever.In the ten years from 2008 to 2018,

British drinkers are forecast to increaseconsumption per person from 1.6 litresto 2.2 litres a year.Prosecco is particularly popular. In

2013 alone, there was a 43 per centgrown in UK imports of the Italiansparklingwine. Between 2008 and 2013imports doubled from1.38millioncasesto 3.57million cases.

Bacchus is moving to Britain; annual consumption of wine in this country is expected to top 11.2billion by 2018, pushing France into third place in the world rankings

A 1oz bar of goldcould be yours forjust under 890

Analysis Chris Orr, wine consultant

So were set toovertake theFrench inwine-drinking or at least

wine-spending. Greatnews. Question is, dowe drink better winesor do we simply getcharged more?Well, if youre

drinking ChteauLatour or Lafite, thenthe price is prettymuch the same all

round the world. Butis it the same at 6 or7 a bottle? When youstrip away tax, duty,shipping etc, then themoney being spent onthe juice in thebottle is going to begreater in France. Butdoes that mean every6 or 7 bottle of winein the UK is inferior?Not at all. The benefitof living in Britain isyou get wine from all

around the world.Hell, we pretty muchmade the market forAustralia, SouthAfrica and Chile inthe 1990s. Whatsmore, try seeing whatyou get in a Frenchsupermarket if yourebored with burgundyor bordeaux. Needlesand haystacks springto mind, if yourelooking for anythingfrom the NewWorld.

its security holes. He then instructedthe malware to download everythingthat was held on the computersmemory in what is known as a RAM[random-access memory] scraperattack, something that is very difficultto detect. Mr Lyne was then able tosearch for credit card numbers in thedownloaded file.He said that it was was also possible

to attack non-Windows XP machines,although it was far harder to carry outthe initial infection with malware.


News

Women students shun sciencesStudents choice of degree is becomingincreasingly polarised along genderlines, in a trend that has profoundimplications for universities andemployers.Women outnumber men in two

thirds of degree subjects after a steadyrise in the number of girls winninguniversity places.However, male students have

tightened their grip on technology andscience courses that are key to Britainseconomic growth, according to theUniversities and Colleges AdmissionsService, which for each of the pastseven years analysed places allocatedby degree subject according to gender.More than 85 per cent of candidates

accepted on engineering or computerscience courses last year were men.Overall, out of 512,370 acceptances

by candidates last year, womenoutnumbered men by 57,800. Womenfavouredsubjectsallied tomedicine, artand design courses, education andsocial sciences.In psychology, for example, 82.5 per

cent (15,950) were women, up from81 per cent in 2008. In English, womenoutnumbered men by 7,175 to 2,380,compared with 6,125 women and 2,255men seven years ago.However, there was even greater

polarisation in the courses where malestudents were in the majority.Some20,460menacceptedplaces on

computer sciences courses last yearand only 3,125 women, a rise of 2 per-centage points to 87 per cent comparedwith seven years ago, when 14,700weremen and 2,580 women.Across all engineering courses, there

were 24,710 new male students and

only 4,405 women, although theproportion, at 85 per cent, was slightlylower than in 2008 when 88 per centwere men.Boyswere farmore likely thangirls to

study maths, outnumbering them by4,890 to 2,880, and physics (3,850 to1,045) and chemistry (3,045 to 2,225).Biologywas the only sciencewithmore

female than male undergraduates(3,715 women and 2,720 men).The figures will disappoint those in

government, industry and universitieswho campaigned for a decade toencourage more women to pursuedegrees and careers in STEM sub-jects: science, technology, engineeringandmaths. EdwinaDunn, chairwoman

of Your Life, an industry-led campaignto boost uptake in these subjects,said: Too many young people,especially girls, think of maths andphysics as inaccessible and difficult,specialist subjects for a brainy few.We want them to have better and

more current access to jobs of thefuture . . . and know that studying thesesubjects is a route to a rewarding careerin almost any field.The broader pattern of more girls

going to university than boys is sharedacross the developed world. Girls inEngland do better than boys in primaryschool tests, GCSE results and A-levelgrades and soarebetter qualified towinuniversity places.NickHillman, director of theHigher

Education Policy Institute think-tank,said: Certain professions, particularlypublic service jobs like teaching andnursing, have long recruited morewomen thanmen and they now recruitmore university graduates . . . but the

gap also reflects the culture of someschools and wider society, where somedisciplines and some jobs are seen asbest suited to one gender or the other.This is proving resistant to change

and my worry is todays figures will bepart of a self-perpetuating cycle. If lownumbers of men opt for nursing andlownumbersofwomenopt for comput-er science, then there will be a shortageof future mould-breaking role models.Mike Boxall, a higher education

adviser at PAConsulting, accuseduniversities of failing to grasp how theincreasing proportion of womenundergraduates could re-shape thesector. He said: I suspect that girls andgirls parents are more likely to favourcampus universities in nice, safe placesrather than urban campuses in cities.There certainly will be some impact ondemand for courses and it will changethe nature of the student body andlearning experience.Leading article, page 20

Analysis Greg Hurst

Does itmatter ifyou go touniversityto study

engineering and findthat 85 per cent ofyour fellowundergraduates onthe course are male?Or, if you chooseEnglish literature,that women willoutnumber men bythree to one?In disciplines such

as science andtechnology thisgender polarisationon degree courses isincreasing. This is anunexpectedconsequence ofreforms that weredesigned to empowerstudent choice toreshape our universitysystem.The early signs are

that many applicantsand their parents have

risen to the challenge,researching coursesand universities morecarefully and thinkinghard aboutemploymentprospects ongraduating. Yet thereare signs, too, of thelimits of a supply-and-demand model forhigher education.Language degrees,

for example, haveslumped in popularitydespite their value toemployers. Lesscompetition andlower entry tariffshave not reviveddemand.There are big

implications if studentchoice entrenchesgender domination insome subjects. It maybe a good thing, forinstance, if male-dominatedprofessions such aslaw are feminised

(15,375 women startedlaw degrees last yearand 8,320 men).Yet in many

instances, applicantschoices entrenchrather than challengethe status quo boysgo for the hardsciences and geekydegrees, girls forsubjects involvingcreativity andempathy.The question is

whether this reflectsreal choice or, inmany state schools, alack of expert advicein how best tonavigate universityapplications.This advice starts

with GCSE optionsand then A-levelsubject choices.Without it, teenagerscan unconsciouslylimit their choice ofdegree without evenrealising it.

University choices

Difference in numberof acceptances, 2014

Moremen

Morewomen

EngineeringComputer sciencesPhysical sciences

Architecture, build and planMathematical sciences

TechnologiesBusiness and admin studies

20,30517,335

1,6001,435

3,8252,2752,155

13,13013,080

12,02018,130

7,0506,060

4,4053,1652,940

1,5351,225 Medicine and dentistry

European languages, literature and relatedVeterinary science, agriculture and relatedSocial sciences combined with artsCombined artsLinguistics, classics and relatedLawBiological sciencesSocial studiesEducationCreative arts and design Source: UCAS

Greg Hurst Education Editor

The family ofAnn Gloag, theStagecoachtycoon, wererecovering last

night after being tied upby masked men in theirhome and robbed of500,000 worth

20150122_Times

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