Oxford wins animal rights injunction
Oxford University has been granted a temporary High Court injunction to protect staff and students from animal rights extremists
after violent demonstrations halted the construction of an £18 million laboratory for rodent and primate experiments.
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The university wants to ban activists from entering various areas and from using threatening or abusive behaviour towards students and staff. Similar injunctions have been granted to an animal testing centre, Huntingdon Life Sciences, and 12 of its customers.
The hearing was adjourned until October 5 to give ten named defendents time to prepare their evidence. Mr Justice Simon, sitting in London, granted the university a holding injunction, but said that weekly demonstrations would be allowed to continue.
Al Fayed’s photographs appeal fails
A French appeals court upheld the acquittal of three photographers accused of breaking privacy laws by photographing Diana, Princess of Wales, before the fatal crash in the Paris underpass in 1997 and as she lay in the wrecked Mercedes.
The judgment was a defeat for Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of the Princess’s companion, Dodi, who also died in the crash, and for the French state prosecutor’s office, both of whom had argued that the vehicle constituted a private space protected from the photographers’ cameras. Mr Al Fayed had lodged the appeal on the privacy issue.
Mr Al Fayed’s lawyer, Fabrice Dubest, said that he would take the case to the Cour de Cassation, France’s highest appeals court.
Kabbalah verdict
A devotee of the mystical Jewish Kabbalah sect who stabbed her boyfriend and great-grandmother to death has been found not guilty of murder on the grounds of insanity. Phiona Davis, 25, of Palmers Green, North London, was returned to Broadmoor hospital under the Mental Health Act. She cannot be freed without Home Office permission.
Don’t be afraid
A coronary awareness advert by the British Heart Foundation that singled out savoury pies as a source of heart attacks did not mislead the public, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled. It said that readers would see Fear the Pie as a light-hearted warning about processed foods and it did not imply that all pies were unhealthy.
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Shy boy hanged
A shy public schoolboy who worried about his looks and self-image and who was bullied was found hanged in woods near his home, an inquest in Leeds heard. Luke Newton-Appleby, 16, had left two independent schools before he died. David Hinchliff, the West Yorkshire coroner, recorded a verdict of misadventure.
Keane ‘in row’
The Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, refused to comment on allegations that he was involved in a scuffle with a 16-year-old boy. It has been alleged that Keane, 33, had a dispute with the youth while walking his dog near his £1.4 million home in Hale on September 4. Greater Manchester Police said that inquiries into the incident were continuing.
Regional vote
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The organisations that will run the official “no” and “yes” campaigns in the build-up to the referendum on the North East Regional Assembly have been announced. North East Says No and Yes4theNorthEast will each be given £100,000 by the Government for their campaigns before voters take part in the all-postal ballot on November 4.
Toni-Ann reward
An unidentified sample of DNA was found at the scene where Toni-Ann Byfield, 7, was murdered, police said on the first anniversary of her death. Police also offered a reward of £25,000 to catch the killers as part of a renewed appeal over the murders of Toni-Ann and Bertram Byfield, 41, a convicted crack dealer, in northwest London.
Drink warning
People born with a sweet tooth and a taste for adventure have a high risk of becoming alcoholics, an American study has found. Doctors who tested 165 middle-aged patients being treated for drink and drug abuse said neither trait alone was enough to distinguish alcoholics, but a person with both was more likely to become alcohol-dependent.
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Bill Foggitt dies
Amateur weatherman Bill Foggitt, whose unusual methods of predicting rain and sunshine won him national acclaim, has died aged 91. Mr Foggitt, from Thirsk, who was a widower with no children, died in hospital after a short illness. He was renowned for forecasting the weather based on observing birds, plants and other wildlife.
TB truth test
Birmingham University scientists have developed a urine test to determine whether tuberculosis patients are taking their drugs. Strict adherence to the treatment is vital if TB is to be eliminated. Any deviation can lead to drug-resistant strains of TB that are far harder to treat.
Farmer murder
A farmer found shot dead in his home may have been killed in a feud over sheep, police said. Patrick Devine’s body was found near Claudy, Co Londonderry. Police were also investigating whether there was a link to an attack on the dead man’s brother or paramilitary involvement.
Screening pitfall
Limiting travel or screening people as they arrive in British airports would be a poor way of slowing the spread of epidemics of flu or Sars, the Health Protection Agency concluded. At best, it would delay the arrival of such outbreaks only by a week or two.
Glasses raised
Price rises almost double the rate of inflation have hit the cost of a pint of ale, with the £3 mark broken in London. Pub companies are blamed for not passing bulk purchase discounts on to customers. The Good Beer Guide survey shows the price of a pint rose 4.19 per cent, or 10p, last year.