News in Brief

Sharp sentences

Maximum sentences for the possession of all bladed weapons are to rise to four years under amendments to be tabled by the Government. John Reid, the Home Secretary, speaking in the Commons, said that he was looking at banning samurai swords and other weapons used in violent crime.

U-turn on sick pay

Ministers have bowed to the concerns of employers and dropped plans for the reform of statutory sick pay. John Hutton, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has announced that he is scrapping proposals requiring firms to pay benefits to staff from the first day of illness rather than after three days.

Reform first

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for Rhondda, resigned as parliamentary private secretary to Lord Falconer of Thoroton to speak out at a debate in Westminster Hall this morning in favour of reforming the House of Lords. Lord Falconer retains a role in any reform as Constitutional Affairs Secretary.

Livingstone clear

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has been cleared of anti-Semitism after he told two Jewish businessmen in March to “go back to Iran and try their luck with the ayatollahs”. A report released by the Greater London Authority found that Mr Livingstone had not breached its code of conduct.

Recipe cards

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Driver blames car for speeding

A man who drove at up to 130mph and said later that the accelerator on his car had jammed has been released on police bail. Kevin Nicolle, 26, of Southsea, Hampshire, raced along the A1 for 60 miles before crashing into a roundabout in Nottinghamshire in March. He was arrested last month on suspicion of dangerous driving. Police said that no mechanical defects to the car had been found.

‘Mercy killing’

A British man has been arrested in Spain on suspicion of strangling his wife in a “mercy killing”. Alan Quy, 65, is believed to have told police that his 70-year-old wife, Patricia, had asked him to kill her because she was in pain. The couple lived in a flat near the southeastern coastal town of Mazarron, Murcia.

Disease at fishery

Two trout farms were under surveillance after an inspection found bacterial kidney disease. The outbreaks are at Waldon Fish Farm and Fishery at Thornbury, near Holsworthy, in Devon, and Brongest Fish Farm, near Cardigan. Human beings are not at risk but the disease kills salmon and trout.

Carer banned

A social worker has been suspended for two years for advertising herself as an escort. Yvonne Doyle, who was a manager at a foster agency in Darlington, Co Durham, had registered with an internet escort agency that had links to prostitution. A tribunal in Newcastle found her guilty of misconduct.

Marmosets stolen

Police are looking for thieves who broke into Drusillas zoo at Alfriston, East Sussex, and stole five marmosets. They believe that the animals, on the worldwide list of endangered species and native to South America, may be sold on the black market, where they could fetch up to £3,000 each.

End of the pier

One of England’s last great Victorian wooden piers has been closed after safety experts said it could collapse. Five supporting metal trusses at the start of the privately owned 910ft (275m) Hastings Pier, home to a ballroom, bingo hall and shops, have given way. Failure of one is enough to render it unsafe.

All over? It is now

The BBC has cancelled its sports panel quiz They Think It’s All Over. The controller of BBC One, Peter Fincham, who developed the programme, said: “It rewrote the rule book by bringing comedy and sport together in a fresh and anarchic way.” The show began in 1995 but its ratings had fallen recently.

Children pay off debt to society

A child born as a result of fertility treatment pays for itself by the time it reaches 31 years of age, according to researchers.

Economists have calculated that IVF children pay far more in tax than it costs the NHS to treat their parents — so investing in fertility treatment could have big economic benefits.Bill Ledger, of the University of Sheffield, found that IVF children cost the taxpayer an average of £12,931, including unsuccessful cycles. But during their lives they would pay back an average of £147,138, in addition to any other contribution they might make in terms of wealth and job creation.

Conditions in lab may cause defects

The laboratory conditions in which embryos are grown in the early stages of IVF may be causing genetic abnormalities. A study by California University suggests that culture media used to nourish embryos and certain concentrations of oxygen could lead to developmental problems. These include Angelman syndrome, which can cause epilepsy, dumbness and severe learning difficulties, and Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome, which causes overgrowth in sufferers.

Study frees use of depression drug

Pregnant women who suffer from depression can continue to take paroxetine safely despite a warning from US regulators, scientists said. Concerns that the drug, sold in the UK as Seroxat, might raise the risk of birth defects prompted the US Food and Drug Administration to place an advisory notice on its packaging last year. A deeper study in Germany, however, has found no such results.

Two held over youth’s murder

[This article is subject to a legal complaint]

Police are holding two asylum-seekers over the murder of Michael Chapman, the teenager beaten to death at a cricket club. The two, brothers aged 18 and 16, have been living with a foster family in Sittingbourne, Kent. It is believed they are from India and have permission to stay in the country. Police are investigating whether a third suspect, said to be their foster brother, was involved.

Terror arrests

Two hundred police backed by soldiers arrested ten people in raids in Co Armagh and Co Fermanagh. Police said that they had disrupted a republican terrorist conspiracy. One of the suspects was also questioned about the Omagh bombing that killed 29 people in 1998.

‘Tax’ on cancer

Cancer patients pay an average of £325 in travel and parking charges over the course of their treatment, according to Macmillan Cancer Support. A survey of 1,100 patients showed that 91 per cent suffered a loss of income; effectively a “stealth tax on illness”, the charity said.

Middle East move

The BBC is to appoint a West Bank correspondent after an independent study said that its coverage of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians was unfavourable to the latter. Jeremy Bowen, the Middle East Editor, has also been given more responsibility for BBC coverage in the area.

Record art sale

A ravishing nude by Degas and a poignant portrait by Modigliani of his wife were among the 56 artworks sold in a record-breaking auction at Sotheby’s last night. The sale raised £88.7 million, the highest ever made by an art auction in Britain.