WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
STRIKE GETS RETAIL TILLS RINGING
This week’s strike proved a boon for Britain’s battered high streets, with official figures recording a 38 per cent increase in shopper numbers on Wednesday as public sector employees and parents of school-age children hit the stores. The fillip to trade was welcomed as the equivalent of “an extra Saturday” by retailers, who reported full car parks and large crowds.
MILIBAND SLAPS OSBORNE OVER WOMEN
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, accused George Osborne of orchestrating the “biggest attack on women in a generation” with his autumn statement, saying that the chancellor’s measures would hit women twice as hard as men. Labour said almost three-quarters of the £2.37bn raised by the chancellor from tax credit cuts and public sector pay caps would come from women
ATTORNEY-GENERAL WARNS PRESS
The attorney-general has sounded his concern over “the increasing tendency of the press to test the boundaries” over the reporting of criminal cases. Speaking at City University in London on Thursday, Dominic Grieve QC said it appeared at times that the press “had lost any sense of internal constraint and felt able to print what they wished”.
CARE INSPECTIONS CRITICISED
A catalogue of failures by the health and social care regulator has been highlighted in a damning report by the National Audit Office, published today. The spending watchdog reveals that the Care Quality Commission completed fewer than half the reviews of hospitals and care homes it had planned in the six months to April as it struggled with staff shortages and low morale. It also fell far short of its targets to register hospitals and care homes, the NAO says.
THE TIMES
3D MARILYN PICTURES GO ON SALE
She is one of the world’s most famous faces and a Hollywood legend. But thanks to a little-known sound engineer with a passion for photography, a set of images of Marilyn Monroe have been made public for the first time and are set to fetch more than £50,000 at auction in California.
SECOND EXPLODING IPHONE REPORTED
A second iPhone is reported to have exploded days after an iPhone 4S caught fire during a flight across Australia. The latest incident happened in Brazil where the owner, Ayla Paulo Mota, posted on a technology blog that: “At dawn, I woke up seconds before witnessing the burning of my iPhone when I saw a lot of sparks and black smoke coming from the battery. My room was filled with an unbearable smell of smoke. I was not hurt, but it was 15cm from my eyes.”
The Daily Telegraph
CLARKSON SHIFTS INTO REVERSE
Yesterday night, amid growing signs of nervousness at the BBC, Jeremy Clarkson uncharacteristically bowed to pressure and issued an apology – of sorts. He became public sector enemy number one after he was asked on Wednesday’s One Show what he thought of the strike over pension arrangements and said: “I’d have them all shot.”
TRIUMPH PROFITS ACCELERATE
British motorcycle maker Triumph sold almost 50,000 bikes in the last year as it increased sales despite global economic uncertainty. The company, which produces motorcycles from its base in Hinckley, Leicestershire, increased sales by seven per cent to 48,684 in the 12 months to June 30, despite the global market for premium motorcycles contracting. It is now Britain’s biggest motorcycle maker.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
RAJARATNAM ORDERED TO PRISON
Former hedge-fund titan Raj Rajaratnam must begin serving his 11-year prison term while he appeals his conviction on insider-trading charges, a federal appellate court ruled yesterday. In a one-page order, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied his request to remain free on bail while the court considers arguments on whether to overturn his conviction.
GM REASSURES CUSTOMERS
General Motors will buy back Chevrolet Volts from any owner who fears the car is a fire risk amid a US safety investigation of its lithium-ion battery, the auto maker said. The offer comes in addition to GM’s move this week to offer loaners to 6,000 Volt owners in an effort to reassure customers after three crash-tests resulted in fires or sparks weeks after the event.