“We believe they should put in the best possible system as quickly as possible.”The Independent revealed on Monday that Railtrack had prepared itself for manslaughter charges because it had not introduced ATP nationally.. Regular pub-goers who despair at the price of beer in south-east England should head for Lancashire, where a hangover can be acquired for considerably less than a tenner. Regular pub-goers who despair at the price of beer in south-east England should head for Lancashire, where a hangover can be acquired for considerably less than a tenner.
The average price for a pint of beer there is just £1.59, while Londoners must shell out 52p more. Residents of Surrey and Berkshire have to spend 51p and 46p extra respectively.The new edition of The Good Pub Guide 2001 even unearthed one pub where the price of a pint is a mere £1.16. The Black Dog in Belmont, Lancashire, has been included in the book for the 16th year running and was recommended by a string of grateful customers.Researchers for the guide, who had the enviable task of sampling 1,335 pubs throughout Britain, did not only review the prices. The four-strong team also discovered that 18 per cent of readers surveyed for the new edition were fed up with being offered a narrow choice of beer, and with beer that had been badly kept.Many felt they were being short-changed by poor service, and 30 per cent found the food in pubs they visited unappetising or even unacceptable.When one family complained about the food they had ordered, the landlord of the pub, which was not named in the book, replied: “There are good days and there are bad days – this is your bad day.”In a separate incident, a landlady produced “reconstituted fish not properly cooked. She returned it to the kitchen and after a bit more microwaving it was inedible.”Rob Unsworth, the associate editor of the guide, commented: “The drinker is losing out.

Even with economic differences accounted for by the North-South divide there is no real explanation for such a discrepancy in beer prices.”Brewers of some of the pub chains are charging more for beer than they need to… The variation in the price seems to be dictated by what is available locally and if there is any competition.”James Pilkington, the landlord of the Black Dog, said the success of a pub depended mainly on atmosphere, rather than prices, although he admitted he was frequently aghast at the cost of a drink in London.Mr Pilkington, who is likely to be a whole lot busier in the near future, said: “I suppose I run this place to suit myself but others seem to like it as well and they keep coming back week after week after week.”I’m in here 18 hours a day and I train my staff properly. In so many pubs you go to, the landlord is never there and the place is run by kids who don’t know what they’re doing.”Mr Pilkington described himself as an old-fashioned landlord His customers are not allowed to drink out of bottles The music is classical. “It’s a more restful and calming influence and I don’t like all that background beat. The young [customers] like the classical music too.”Many readers of the guide would sympathise with that remark.

Twelve per cent of them said that visits to their local were blighted by the relentless noise from the television and games machines.. The chairman of the lottery operators Camelot is expected to demand the resignation of the head of the lottery commission over allegations she “gratuitously insulted” the company. The chairman of the lottery operators Camelot is expected to demand the resignation of the head of the lottery commission over allegations she “gratuitously insulted” the company.
In a statement to be issued tomorrow, Sir George Russell and the Camelot board will call for Dame Helena Shovelton to stand down as chair of the National Lottery Commission after it was heavily criticised by a High Court judge last month.Informed sources confirmed yesterday that Camelot has decided to declare open war on the commission in an attempt to force the Government to reopen the competition to take over the next lottery licence.Despite winning a High Court judicial review of the licence process last month, Camelot is still in second place behind Sir Richard Branson’s The People’s Lottery bid for the next seven year licence, due to begin on 1 October 2001.Sources close to Camelot revealed last night it believes it must get its original bid completely reassessed or even redrafted by a commission under a different chairman in order to beat TPL’s not-for-profit bid. It has even threatened further legal action to intensify pressure on the commission.TPL is said to have which outstripped Camelot’s money for good causes offer by up to 6.9 per cent. Camelot hopes that by repeatedly attacking Dame Helena’s credibility, she will be forced to resign or be asked to leave by the Government.Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, warned that the five commissioners should “consider their positions” and “were on notice” after their court defeat. He was speaking for the Government, although the Department of Culture, Media and Sport believes the commissioners should not resign until the licence is awarded.”Our best chance clearly is if the commissioners go and a new process is started,” the source close to Camelot said. “But the other opportunity, of course, isn’t for a rebidding process but just a fresh look at the existing bids, perhaps through eyes that are not biased towards a not-for-profit outlook.. We do think that the chairman should go.

After that, there could be a new process.Sir George and the board, which includes executives from Camelot’s shareholders Cadbury Schweppes, De La Rue, Racal-Thomson, and ICL, will also consider pulling out of the lottery bid at today’s meeting.This “nuclear option” is discounted by Camelot officials, but Sir George, as a former regulator in charge of the Independent Television Commission, could baulk at personally attacking another regulator. Camelot executives, however, expect he will support a formal demand for Dame Helena’s resignation in a statement to be released tomorrow.Camelot yesterday renewed their bitter complaints over the commission’s behaviour after Mr Justice Richards ruled it had been “conspicuously unfair” in starting exclusive talks with Sir Richard on 23 August.. The first of 15 female victims of an alleged two-man team who went on “hunting trips” to find women to rape and kill told the Old Bailey of her ordeal yesterday. The rape 18 years ago was followed by a series of sex assaults that ended four years later in three murders, the prosecution said.

The first of 15 female victims of an alleged two-man team who went on “hunting trips” to find women to rape and kill told the Old Bailey of her ordeal yesterday. The rape 18 years ago was followed by a series of sex assaults that ended four years later in three murders, the prosecution said.
David Mulcahy, 41, is accused of being the dominant force in the partnership with a convicted killer and rapist, John Duffy, 41. The childhood friends were said to have formed a “wicked and evil bond”.In a pattern that was to become familiar, the two hooded men dragged their first victim off the street, held a knife to her throat, gagged her and took turns to rape her. The woman, 21 at the time of the attack in north London, was walking toher boyfriend’s home carrying a teddy bear at about 4am.