HMV calls in administrators
ENTERTAINMENT store HMV has become the latest high street casualty as it called in administrators.
Following discussions among the music retailer’s directors, the company last night released a statement announcing it was ceasing trading in ordinary shares immediately – and appointing accountancy giant Deloitte to take control.
HMV, which employs more than 4,000 people, said in a statement: “The board regrets to announce that it has been unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection, and in the circumstances therefore intends to file notice to appoint administrators to the company and certain of its subsidiaries with immediate effect.
PM defiant after boundaries defeat
DAVID Cameron is to press on with a Commons vote to redraw the parliamentary boundaries, despite suffering a bruising defeat in the House of Lords.
Tories rounded angrily on Liberal Democrat peers last night after they combined with Labour to back an amendment delaying plans for a boundary review and to cut the number of MPs until after the next general election.
Six of the seven Lib Dem frontbenchers in the upper chamber joined the revolt – the first time in this Parliament that ministers in either House have voted against the Government.
Dementia going untested - minister
DOCTORS are refusing to carry out tests for dementia as they believe it is pointless as there is no effective cure available, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
Mr Hunt said the country should be “ashamed” that so many people were being denied treatment which could stave off the condition for years.
His comments came as the Alzheimer’s Society warned dementia sufferers were facing a postcode lottery of diagnosis rates.
Inflation fears over energy bills
STEEP energy bill hikes are expected to have kept inflation painfully high in the latest official figures due out later today.
Most economists predict that benchmark Consumer Prices Index (ONS) will remain at 2.7% for the third month in a row in December after a wave of energy tariff hikes came into effect.
But some experts believe inflation may have even increased further away from the Government’s 2% target, highlighting yet more pain for hard-up households.
Judges to rule on Christian cases
JUDGES will rule today on a landmark case brought by four British Christians who claim to have suffered discrimination at work because of their faith.
British Airways employee Nadia Eweida, 60, and nurse Shirley Chaplin, 57, took their battle to the European Court of Human Rights after they were forced out of their jobs for wearing crosses in breach of company uniform codes.
A judgment will be handed down today in relation to their cases and those of marriage counsellor Gary McFarlane, 51, who was sacked for saying he might object to offering sex therapy to homosexuals, and registrar Lillian Ladele, who was disciplined when she refused to conduct same-sex civil partnership ceremonies.
