BBC ON THIS DAY | 3 | 1988: Egg industry fury over salmonella claim About This Site | Text Only 1988: Egg industry fury over salmonella claim Health minister Edwina Currie has provoked outrage by saying most of Britain's egg production is infected with the salmonella bacteria. Mrs Currie, MP for south Derbyshire, made her remarks during a television interview. She has angered farmers, politicians and egg producers, some of whom have been calling for her resignation and are threatening to sue. "Most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella," she told reporters. Ministry of Agriculture ministers are reported to be extremely "angry" at her comments. A spokesman said more than 30 million eggs were consumed every day last year. 'Highly irresponsible' This is compared to 26 outbreaks of salmonella reported during that time. Mrs Currie's officials in the Department of Health have been unable to provide evidence that most chickens are infected with salmonella. Her comments have incensed the farming industry and egg producers who are expecting a sharp fall in egg consumption as a result.

The British Egg Industry Council said it was seeking legal advice on whether it could sue Mrs Currie over "factually incorrect and highly irresponsible" remarks. A spokesman said the risk of an egg being infected with salmonella was less than 200 million to one. The National Farmers' Union said it might seek legal damages. Legal action Edwina Currie : definition of Edwina Currie and synonyms of Edwina Currie (English) 7 External links Early life Currie was born in South Liverpool , England to an Orthodox Jewish family and has identified herself as Jewish, although she has stated: "I find religious mumbo jumbo hard to swallow in any faith." [1] A pupil at Liverpool Institute High School for Girls , Liverpool's Historic Canning area, she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Anne's College , Oxford University where she was taught by Gabriele Taylor ; subsequently, she gained a MA in economic history from the London School of Economics . Member of Parliament From 1975 until 1986, she was a Birmingham City Councillor for Northfield . In 1983, she stood for parliament as a Conservative Party candidate, and was elected as the member for South Derbyshire .

Frequently outspoken, she was described as "a virtually permanent fixture on the nation's TV screen saying something outrageous about just about anything" and "the most outspoken and sexually interested woman of her political generation." [2] In September 1986, she became a Junior Health Minister. Among her comments over the next two years were - despite not being religious - that "good Christian people" don't get AIDS, [3] that old people who couldn't afford their heating bills should wrap up warm in winter, and that northerners die of "ignorance and chips". [4] Currie was forced to resign in December 1988 after she issued a warning about salmonella in British eggs . The statement that "most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella" [5] sparked outrage among farmers and egg producers, and caused egg sales in the country to rapidly decline. [6] Although the statement was widely interpreted as referring to "most eggs produced", in fact it related to the egg production flock; there was indeed evidence that a mid-1980s regulation change had allowed salmonella to get a hold in flocks.

[7] There was particular anger in Northern Ireland where egg production is a significant part of the economy. At the Christmas party of the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland that year the featured dish was curried eggs. To make amends, in 1990, she began the National Egg Awareness Campaign. The controversy gained her the nickname 'Eggwina'. Long after the furore died down, in 2001, it was revealed that a covered up Whitehall report produced months after Currie's resignation found that there had been a "salmonella epidemic of considerable proportions". [8] In 1991, she was the first Conservative MP to appear on the BBC topical panel show Have I Got News For You . Currie appeared again two years later, in a special episode commemorating the release of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs , opposite fellow Liverpudlian (and Liverpool Institute alumnus) Derek Hatton . During the 1992 General Election campaign, Currie poured a glass of orange juice over Labour 's Peter Snape shortly after an edition of the Midlands based television debate show Central Weekend had finished airing.

[9] Speaking about the incident later, Currie said "I just looked at my orange juice, and looked at this man from which this stream of abuse was emanating, and thought 'I know how to shut you up.' " [9] Snape subsequently won £15,000 after Currie "falsely suggested in her memoirs that it happened after Snape had been 'drinking vodka in a club with cronies'." [10] After the 1992 General Election , she declined a request from prime minister John Major to take up a position as Minister of State for the Home Office . [11] In February 1994, she tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill to lower the age of consent for male homosexual sexual acts to 16. This amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 280, although a subsequent amendment resulted in the reduction of the homosexual age of consent from 21 to 18; final equalisation was achieved in 2000. Currie voted in favour of the Death penalty for murder in 1983, but against it in 1994.

In June 1994, she contested the European Parliament seat of Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes , but lost the seat to Labour's Eryl McNally by 94,837 votes to 61,628 votes. Currie lost her parliamentary seat in the 1997 General Election . For five years (1998–2003), she hosted a late-evening talk show on BBC Radio Five Live , Late Night Currie. In October 2011, Currie took part in EurVoice, an event supported by the European Youth Parliament United Kingdom. [12] Other works Author Currie is the author of six novels: A Parliamentary Affair (1994), A Woman's Place (1996) She's Leaving Home (1997), The Ambassador (1999), Chasing Men (2000) and This Honourable House (2001). She has also written four works of non-fiction: Life Lines (1989), What Women Want (1990), Three Line Quips (1992) and Diaries 1987–92 (2002).

She remains an outspoken public figure, with a reputation for being "highly opinionated", [6] and currently earns her living as an author and media personality. Media From the time she lost her seat in 1997, Currie has maintained a presence in the media. For five years an eponymous phone-in programme ran on BBC Radio Five Live, Late Night Currie. [13] In 2002 she moved to HTV , presenting the television programme Currie Night until 2003. Since then, she has appeared in a string of reality television programmes, such as Wife Swap in which she and her second husband John swapped places with John McCririck and his wife, Jenny. She has also appeared in the reality cooking show Hell's Kitchen with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay , and Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes , both in 2006. [14] Currie was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory! . She won Celebrity Mastermind on 23 June 2004, specialising in the life of Marie Curie .

She also won All Star Family Fortunes on 3 January 2009. She appeared in Channel 4's Come Dine With Me in February 2009 where she finished third. She made a second appearance on the show during Channel 4's "Alternative Election Night" coverage, with Rod Liddle , Brian Paddick and Derek Hatton as her competitors. She also appeared in James May's Show James May's Toy Stories where she helped him build a bridge made entirely out of Meccano in Liverpool . Strictly Come Dancing On 6 September 2011 it was announced that Currie would take part in the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing . [15] On 10 September 2011 it was announced she would be dancing with Vincent Simone . She was the first dancer to be eliminated from the competition on 9 October 2011. Personal life In 1972, Edwina Cohen married accountant Ray Currie in Barnstaple ; they had two children and divorced in 1997.

During this marriage Edwina Currie had the four-year affair with John Major , later Prime Minister, which she revealed in 2002. On 24 May 2001, in Southwark , she married retired detective John Jones whom she had met when he was a guest on her radio programme in 1999. [16] Currie currently lives in Whaley Bridge , Derbyshire.[ citation needed ] Affair with John Major Currie's Diaries (1987–92), published in 2002, caused a sensation, as they revealed a four-year affair with John Major between 1984 and 1988 while both were married to other people. The affair started while she was a backbencher and Major was the government whip in Margaret Thatcher 's government. After Major's promotion to Chief Secretary to the Treasury , the relationship ended, but the two remained friends. Currie apparently ceased the affair when it became dangerous and impractical owing to the presence of bodyguards who had to be avoided. [11] After publication, John Major made a statement saying that he was ashamed of the affair and had privately revealed the matter to his wife.

Currie admitted to having been in love with him for years after the end of the affair, [17] and that he had been "the love of her life". [18] However, only weeks after revealing the affair, she publicly criticised Major, accusing him of sexism and racism and of being "one of the less competent prime ministers". [19] The admission came after years of denial of any affair while in office and a successful libel action against playwright David Hare , who had said a sexually voracious murderer played by Charlotte Rampling in his film Paris by Night (1988) was an "Edwina Currie-like" figure. Currie had also produced several novels with explicitly erotic content - and political background - such as A Parliamentary Affair. [6] Following publication of her diaries, Express Newspapers lawyers re-examined documents in a libel case to see if there was anything in the diaries which would allow them to reopen the case and recoup damages. [20] In March 2000, Currie had been awarded £30,000 against them following a 1997 article entitled "How Edwina is now the vilest lady in Britain".

[20] [21] In October 1985, Currie had spoken harshly of Sara Keays , who had had an affair with Cecil Parkinson , calling her a "right cow" [22] for writing about the affair and her consequent pregnancy and, she claimed, ruining Parkinson's career. She had gone on to say, "I feel very, very sorry for Cecil and his family. Most of my thoughts on Sara Keays are unprintable." [23] In 1993, one of the key campaign slogans of John Major's time as Prime Minister, ' Back to Basics ', had been widely seen as a call for a return to traditional values in sexual morality as well as in education, law and order. Charity In 2004 she took part in a sponsored cycle ride across Poland , near to the area where ancestors of hers lived, for Marie Curie Cancer Care . [24] In 2005 in her role as a patron of the British Heart Foundation she championed a campaign to raise awareness of the effect of heart disease on women. [25] In May 2007 the patient charity MRSA Action UK announced Currie as their patron.

[26] Edwina Currie was quoted by the media championing the campaign against hospital superbugs. [27] In November 2011 she accepted the position of President of the Tideswell Male voice Choir. [28] Discography As part of the 2009 TV Show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway , Currie teamed up with Declan Donnelly and two other celebrities to release a cover version of the Wham hit song, "Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)". Her daughter, Debbie, had previously released a single. Year Owen Jones: Here's the question... could you live on £67 a week? | The Independent Owen Jones: Here's the question... could you live on £67 a week? Social contempt can appeal to low-paid workers who resent struggling while others 'milk the system' Tuesday 13 December 2011 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online In a church in Birmingham Ladywood, one of Britain's poorest communities, I recently sat next to Edwina Currie as she lectured poor people that they were not really poor if they owned a mobile phone.

Currie, a former Tory minister, had been sent there by the BBC to explain her fact-free assertion that no one had to choose between heating their homes and feeding themselves. She had form: in the 1980s, she claimed northerners were dying from "ignorance and chips". She refused to budge even when I pointed out the tragic case of Mark and Helen Mullins. Mark walked a 12-mile roundtrip every day to a soup kitchen; their desperate circumstances drove them to suicide. Here was a damning indictment of Britain in 2011, but still Currie demanded the poor pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I'm sure Currie felt vindicated by last week's Social Attitudes Survey. Even as the ranks of Britain's poor and unemployed have been swelled by economic crisis, social contempt has increased. 54 per cent of those surveyed felt that unemployment benefits were too high, compared with 35 per cent in 1983 – another era of dole queues.

If the question had been, "Could you live on £67.50 a week?" – the actual value of Jobseekers Allowance for those aged 25 or above – it's a safe bet the results would have been rather different. Nearly two-thirds believed that one factor for child poverty was parents who "don't want to work". Scroungers and work-shy freeloaders: these are Britain's poor as far as millions are concerned. It's a triumph for the Tory governments of the 1980s in which Currie served. Margaret Thatcher once argued that "there really is no primary poverty left in this country", putting some people's lack of money down to a "really hard fundamental character-personality defect". Unemployment and poverty were not social problems, they were individual failings – or so Thatcherism drummed into the minds of the British public. An integral part of the current Government's mission to turn a crisis of the market into a crisis of public spending has been to demonise benefit recipients. It was taken to its ugliest conclusion last week when a Government report suggested making chemotherapy patients prove they were too ill to work. Sections of the media happily fan this prejudice.

When unemployed people make an appearance, it's invariably as the "scrounger". Channel 4's grotesque TV series The Fairy Jobmother featured the "feckless" being harangued back into work. The BBC's John Humphrys fronted The Future State of Welfare, condemning Britain's "dependency culture" and a "sense that the state owes us a living". The reality of unemployed people desperate for work – like the 110,000 applications for Royal Mail's 18,000 temporary Christmas jobs – barely gets a mention. We don't even really talk about the unemployed any more: they're more likely to be "people on benefits", defining them not by lack of work, but by a reliance on taxpayers' money. But it is Labour that must accept a large slice of responsibility for growing social contempt. Since the mid 1990s it has opted not to challenge the Thatcherite mantra of individual responsibility for social problems. Ed Miliband used his Conference speech to call for those in work to be given priority in social housing. Forget the political rights or wrongs for a moment. It is a suicidal strategy for Labour to take.

Failing to challenge – and even fuelling – social contempt simply increases potential support for the Conservatives. Those who hate "scroungers" most will never trust Labour to crack down ruthlessly enough: that's what the Conservatives are for. If Labour won't take on the consensus, the reality of unemployment and poverty will disappear from the public domain – and ever hardening social attitudes will cripple the party at the ballot box. Social contempt can appeal to middle-class voters who resent spending their taxes on the undeserving, and low-paid workers who resent struggling to pay bills while others "milk the system". According to a survey by BritainThinks, it even includes benefit recipients who – belonging to a demonised group – are keen to distance themselves from "scroungers". A mass campaign revealing the reality of poverty and unemployment is desperately needed to shift public attitudes. Without such a crusade, there will be no political space to oppose benefit cuts or push for progressive policies like redistributing wealth. After all, if poverty is a product of individual failings, why have a welfare state at all?

The winners in all this will be the City firms who helped cause the crisis, and tax-dodging companies that deprive the Treasury of up to 60 times the amount lost through benefit fraud. How pleased they must be that those worse affected by their crisis are turning on each other, rather than on an ever-wealthier elite. As living standards plummet, misdirected anger could turn ugly. Unless there is a political game-changer, Canary Wharf will remain the glistening symbol of a City prospering while others suffer, a middle finger stuck up at the British public as they seethe with contempt for each other. Owen Jones is the author of 'Chavs: the Demonisation of the Working Class' Benefits Street: reviews and reactions - Telegraph TV and Radio reviews Benefits Street: reviews and reactions The controversial programme returned to our screens last night for a second series.

We gather the first reviews and reactions The divisive observational documentary is in Stockton-on-Tees for its second series Photo: Channel 4 By Siobhan Palmer 2:32PM BST 12 May 2015 The controversial Channel 4 documentary series Benefits Street, which follows the lives of welfare claimants in one British street, aired last night to a social media storm. The show, which last year focussed on the residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham, but has now moved to Kingston Road in Stockton-on-Tees, has always been divisive, some people believing it exploits the vulnerable and others that it rewards the unemployed. Telegraph critic Tom Rowley found the show's focus on the media storm surrounding the filming in Kingston Road self-absorbed : "All of this was an unnecessary distraction from a series that remains, despite the pejorative title, pretty fair.

Whatever their political bent, politicians could surely benefit from a week’s stay on Kingston Road experiencing the realities for Britain’s poorest – or should at least be prescribed the box set." Here's how the rest of the internet reviewed and reacted to the series's much anticipated return: Ian Hyland, The Mirror "I’m afraid poverty porn is what Benefits Street undeniably remains. From the opening shots of a washing machine in the street, to the tales of doorstep lenders, to jailbird drug dealer Maxwell outlining his other earnings – Income Support and Disability Benefit. Even taking into account the distinct lack of widescreen TVs and satellite dishes on show, there was enough material in last night’s first episode to keep Katie Hopkins yelping for a week." Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail "The truly ludicrous thing was that a Channel 4 crew was standing by, watching all this smugly, and all the residents were happy to be filmed. ‘We’ve given them our permission,’ explained a schoolchild on a bike.

This high-handed attitude was once assumed only by Palace press secretaries — now it’s snotty kids playing truant." Gareth Lightfoot, Teeside Gazette "In depicting the street as exploited by the press and forgotten by politicians, Channel 4 appeared to answer its critics and stake its claim as the people’s champion. After months of debate, you got the feeling the broadcaster wanted to get something off its chest. It was entertaining, but it added little understanding. " Julie and Sue from Benefits Street appeared on Monday's This Morning ahead of the new series first broadcast Photo: Rex Features Ellen E Jones, The Independent "Benefits Street does make space for much-needed context but it still seems disingenuous of the show to declare itself entirely innocent. Lest we forget, this programme provides the press with the necessary fodder to demonise benefit claimants, then sits back and enjoys the resultant ratings." Sam Wollaston, Guardian "And, as a mere television viewer, you begin to wonder what this is about. So maybe it is broadly sympathetic of the community, but are they in danger of becoming lost in another story, a story more about the reaction to the previous series? Media Street.

I hope that in the remaining three episodes the focus returns to Julie and Sue and the rest and their lives." Ben Dowell, Radio Times "Despite the deliberately warmer and more intimate approach this time round, the series is not without its dark moments. One scene in the first programme shows Maxwell apparently weighing out a stash of drugs. Maxwell, who confesses in the programme to selling his wares, is currently serving time in prison, according to C4." Dorothy Taylor, was offended by The Sun dubbing 'Orange Dot', when she is in fact mixed race. Photo: Channel 4 Before the programme was over however, social media was alive with reactions to the contents of the programme.

Here's how the show played out on Twitter: How is this already making me angry and it hasn't even started yet #BenefitsStreet — Rich Mills (@richymills) May 11, 2015 It gets me angry Maxwell buys drugs and sun beds with his income, £200+ when people out there could really use that money #BenefitsStreet — Harry Bond (@officialharryb) May 11, 2015 Both the public and celebrity figures shared their reactions to the show on Twitter, and the ever-opinionated Katie Hopkins kept up a running commentary throughout. Residents of #BenefitsStreet Q. Whose fault is it? Hint. the answer is not someone else's. OWn YOUR PROBLEMS #BenefitsStreet — Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) May 11, 2015 When it came to the show broadcasting scenes of the press clashing with the residents, many people became confused as to whether this was ironic, hypocritical, brave ... or just ridiculous. This is literally reality TV eating itself! Record a tv prog that causes press to turn up then film them as part of doc!!!!

#BenefitsStreet — mike mulraney (@mikemulraney1) May 11, 2015 #benefitsstreet starts with someone reading coverage of the last BenefitsStreet - media eats itself? — Helen Barnard (@Helen_Barnard) May 11, 2015 In scenes depicting the far from law-abiding Maxwell dealing drugs, many viewers were confused as to how he could get away with having his actions broadcast. The kind folks at the local Police Authority cleared it up for everyone: — Cleveland Police UK (@ClevelandPolice) May 11, 2015 However, this didn't quell many people's indignation about Maxwell's drug-fuelled lifestyle and frequent sun-bed sessions: Good job trying not to get caught being a drug dealer, then bagging it up in front of a tv crew. Good job that.

#BenefitsStreet — 24th May (@behlul_official) May 11, 2015 'Starving kids' but at least there's still money for fags, drugs, booze, status dogs, motorbikes and ponies #BenefitsStreet #UKpoverty — Nic (@NMFK74) May 11, 2015 Many questioned the supposedly well-meaning intentions of the production company: #BenefitsStreet Approx 30 mins gap between "she hasn't worked in 15 years" voiceover and "she has a severely disabled 15-year-old son." — Ms Slide (@sliderulesyou) May 11, 2015 I wish Channel 4 would stop pretending #BenefitsStreet is an important social documentary. It's voyeurism for the metropolitan middle class. — Martin Evans (@evansma) May 11, 2015 Is it #BenefitsStreet or 'Lets take the piss out of people who haven't had the breaks / guidance and support that others have' street.

— Richard Harris (@cigarboyrick82) May 11, 2015 Benefits street does bring home how much poverty there is in Britain but it does also show how the media can make poverty into a side show! — Ryan Brammeld (@ryanbrammeld) May 11, 2015 Some drew our attention to areas of collateral damage not always considered: Loved Benefits Street but concerned about Maxwell's cat passive smoking weed :/ #BenefitsStreet @Channel4 — Sadie Price (@sadieprice90) May 11, 2015 Many viewers, including former Conservative junior health minister Edwina Currie (who during her tenure offended many Northerners by claiming they were dying of "ignorance and chips" ) empathised with Sue and Julie when they met their MP for the first time. He came to the street to demonstrate against the making of the programme, but had never met any of the residents before.

"He's a nice man, but why hasn't he ever been (to see us before)?" #BenefitsStreet resident's accurate upsum of her MP — Edwina Currie (@Edwina_Currie) May 11, 2015 Some people found this series more frustrating than the last: These losers have actually managed to out scrounge and out tramp the cast of series 1. Its like White Dee without the charm #BenefitsStreet — Zombie Princess (@MissBarbie69) May 11, 2015 Why is everyone on #BenefitsStreet so angry? I'm usually in a great mood when I'm not working — Jonathan Hewitt (@hewitt_jonathan) May 11, 2015 Some, however, didn't see the programme as exploitative, finding poignant aspects to the show: I bloody love benefits street. Genuinely. I love how the community come together! — Lee Mac ? (@mac_lee) May 11, 2015 Watching #BenefitsStreet is so sad. The boy worked half his life and ends up relying on food banks.

— lauren witherspoon (@STVLauren) May 11, 2015 The scenes with Julie and her son Regan are very moving. A real glimpse of the humanity and emotion. Best moment so far. #BenefitsStreet — Outside The Box (@EGOutsideTheBox) May 11, 2015 After being denied a crisis loan, and having his benefits sanctioned, Lee Nutley relied on food banks and the kindness of friends to get by Photo: Channel 4 Some people simply pointed out the divisive nature of the programme, without taking sides ... or necessarily making all that much sense. This person clearly voiced what everyone was thinking: #BenefitsStreet . Polarising opinion like a grizzly bear with a huge bottle of Tipp-ex. December 3 December 3 The MP could face legal action 1988: Egg industry fury over salmonella claim England have Health minister Edwina Currie has provoked outrage by saying most of Britain's egg production is infected with the salmonella bacteria. Mrs Currie, MP for south Derbyshire, made her remarks during a television interview. She has angered farmers, politicians and egg producers, some of whom have been calling for her resignation and are threatening to sue.

"Most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella," she told reporters. Ministry of Agriculture ministers are reported to be extremely "angry" at her comments. A spokesman said more than 30 million eggs were consumed every day last year. This is compared to 26 outbreaks of salmonella reported during that time. Mrs Currie's officials in the Department of Health have been unable to provide evidence that most chickens are infected with salmonella. Her comments have incensed the farming industry and egg producers who are expecting a sharp fall in egg consumption as a result. The British Egg Industry Council said it was seeking legal advice on whether it could sue Mrs Currie over "factually incorrect and highly irresponsible" remarks. A spokesman said the risk of an egg being infected with salmonella was less than 200 million to one. The National Farmers' Union said it might seek legal damages. Mrs Currie has been unavailable for comment since her remarks were made. She has represented her constituency since 1983 and was made junior health minister in 1986. During her short time at the Department of Health, Mrs Currie has courted controversy with her outspoken opinions.

She upset northerners when she claimed they were dying of "ignorance and chips". And she was branded patronising and callous for advising the elderly to broach the winter months with a pair of long-johns. One of her most controversial remarks was on the subject of Aids. She said: "Good Christian people who would not dream of misbehaving will not catch Aids." The factory was closed immediately after the accident 1984: Hundreds die in Bhopal chemical accident Artificially 1969: The Hundreds of people have died from the effects of toxic gases which leaked from a chemical factory near the central Indian city of Bhopal. The accident happened in the early hours of this morning at the American-owned Union Carbide Pesticide Plant three miles (4.8 km) from Bhopal. Mr Y P Gokhale, managing director of Union Carbide in India, said that methyl isocyanate gas (MIC) had escaped when a valve in the plant's underground storage tank broke under pressure.

This caused a deadly cloud of lethal gas to float from the factory over Bhopal, which is home to more than 900,000 people - many of whom live in slums. Chaos and panic broke out in the city and surrounding areas as tens of thousands of people attempted to escape. More than 20,000 people have required hospital treatment for symptoms including swollen eyes, frothing at the mouth and breathing difficulties. Thousands of dead cats, dogs, cows and birds litter the streets and the city's mortuaries are filling up fast. Bhopal resident, Ahmed Khan, said: "We were choking and our eyes were burning. We could barely see the road through the fog, and sirens were blaring. "We didn't know which way to run. Everybody was very confused. "Mothers didn't know their children had died, children didn't know their mothers had died and men didn't know their whole families had died." The Union Carbide factory was closed immediately after the accident and three senior members of staff arrested. Medical and scientific experts have been dispatched to the scene and the Indian government has ordered a judicial inquiry.

It is understood the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, will be flying to the area within the next few days. Vocabulary: salmonella: rod-shaped gram-negative enterobacteria; cause typhoid fever and food poisoning; can be used as a bioweapon锟斤拷沙锟斤拷锟较撅拷锟斤拷 Edwina Currie thrown out of Mothercare | Daily Mail Online Edwina Currie thrown out of Mothercare By GLEN OWEN Last updated at 21:12 07 April 2007 She's famous for sparking an eggs crisis and jumping into bed with John Major - activities that hardly endeared her to the public. But now Edwina Currie has found a new role as a people's champion in the war against indifferent shop assistants. The former Junior Health Minister was stirred to action after being thrown out of a Mothercare branch when she complained that three girls stood chatting instead of serving her. Tell us about your experiences with shop assistants in readers' comments below. Where do you get the best service? Mrs Currie, 61, had gone into the store with daughter Debbie, 31, to buy a travel cot.

The pair were already struggling with a large case and Debbie had her 13-month-old daughter Zoe in a baby carrier on her back. But instead of finding staff prepared to help them, Mrs Currie says they could hardly be bothered to interrupt their gossiping and regarded her as a 'nuisance'. More here... • Debbie Currie: Like mother, like daughter? More follows... The former Tory MP said: "It was the Friday before Mother's Day and we were looking for a travel cot. There were three members of staff, all bent over chatting, who briefly interrupted their conversation to point to a cot. "We had to get the box down from the top shelf ourselves and carry it to the desk because all three were serving one customer. "The box didn't have any handles, so we then asked for a piece of string to tie round it. They said they didn't have one and suggested a piece of plastic instead. I was annoyed about all this because we were about to spend £50. Their attitude was the opposite of helpful." Mrs Currie, who is now an author, paid for the cot with her credit card, which she said was thrown back at her once the transaction at the branch in Redhill, Surrey, was complete.

She added: "One of the girls said something about being on the minimum wage, and I'm afraid I said, "I'm not surprised." "They don't deserve a penny those girls, they were a waste of space. All we needed to hear were four words - "Can we help you?" "Someone then asked if we would mind leaving. Never mind Mothercare, what about their care of mothers in their shops?' And in a three-page letter of complaint to the High Street chain, Mrs Currie wrote: "The staff of this store behave as if customers are a nuisance. I am very sorry that we interrupted their chummy chat, and I am sad to hear that they regard themselves as underpaid. Perhaps if they hoped for commission on sales they might make more effort to look after customers and ensure satisfaction." Mrs Currie, who left politics in 1997, said she has received a letter from Mothercare apologising for the behaviour of the staff. The chain refused to comment. But one of the staff members denied they were unhelpful to the former MP. Emma Hayes, 19, claims Mrs Currie and Debbie started behaving 'aggressively' as soon as they entered the store.

"They were walking through the shop. I didn't realise they needed help, but they started shouting at me, "Hello, can we have some service?"' she said. "I apologised, but the reply I got was, "There are three people down there. We don't see why you can't serve us." ' Ms Hayes said the tension increased when Mrs Currie asked for a plastic bag for the travel cot. "While I explained we didn't have one big enough - and would have to wrap a number of bags around it and tie it up - her daughter put her hand up to indicate I was talking too much,' she said. "I told them they should not be so rude because I felt upset. They were also upsetting other customers." When the manager threatened to call security, Debbie is said to have interjected: "It's not their fault - they are on the minimum wage." Ms Hayes, who says she had to be comforted by customers, added: "I didn't even know who Edwina Currie was. Her behaviour was not acceptable.

I felt she and her daughter were looking down on us because we work in a shop." Mrs Currie responded to the claim of mocking the assistants' salaries by saying: "I don't remember Debbie saying anything about the minimum wage - I doubt she would, as she is a gas-meter reader." During her 14 years in the House of Commons, Mrs Currie was no stranger to controversy. As Junior Health Minister, her comment in 1988 that 'most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella' caused sales to plummet and led to her resignation from the post. She had previously upset Northerners when she claimed they were dying of 'ignorance and chips' and was branded patronising for advising the elderly to wear long johns during the winter. But it was her revelation in 2002 that she had a four-year affair with former Prime Minister John Major that rocked even her most ardent supporters. She gave lurid details of the fling in her book Diaries 1987-1992, discussing her lover's blue underwear and bathtime conversations.

The affair was while she was a backbencher and Major was a whip in Margaret Thatcher's Government. These you have loved scampaignremain these you have loved Gosh a lot of fogey has beens have been wheeled out, mostly on the Remain side. Good to see that you’re going for the dynamic young option guys. Look to the future and all that. Sir John Major In an extraordinary attack on his fellow Conservatives, John Major produced a withering assessment of leading members of Vote Leave, calling their campaign deceitful, untrue, depressing, awful and “verging on the squalid”. This is a person you should believe, for he knows much about deceit, truth (lack of), and squalid. In 1984 he began a four year affair with Edwina Curry. At the time, he was Conservative M.P. for Huntingdon: she was Conservative M.P. for South Derbyshire. At the time, he was married to Norma: she was married to Ray. At the time, neither spouse knew of the affair.

Indeed, Currie would later boast “We never got caught.” In 1986, when she was Junior Health Minister, Currie said that “Good Christian people don’t get aids,” “Old people who couldn't afford their heating bills should wrap up warm in winter”, and that “Northerners die of ignorance and chips." In December 1988, she said that "Most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella,” and was forced to resign. What a lovely person to have as your M.P. and what great judgment from Major to link up with such an erudite, self-seeking hypocrite. His judgement never faltered, and he took The United Kingdom into the Exchange Rate Mechanism in October 1990. The U.K. was forced to exit within two years after the pound sterling came under major pressure from currency speculators and the economy began to collapse. The E.R.M. was a precursor to European Monetary Union, i.e. member states were expected to join the euro, on fulfilment of certain criteria. His judgement came to the fore again in 1991, when he signed the Maastricht Treaty and gave the U.K.

pretty much over to Brussel’s control. Incidentally, the Maastricht Treaty requires member states to join the euro. If this man was happy to deceive his wife, lie to his wife, and conduct a squalid little affair with a married woman, he sure as hell doesn’t care about lying to you or deceiving you. Indeed, it seems to be a requirement for modern day prime ministers. It is estimated that Major has a personal fortune of £50 million. Of course he wants to stay. Jeremy Corbyn “The Labour Party is overwhelmingly for staying in because we believe the European Union has brought: investment, jobs and protection for workers, consumers and the environment, and offers the best chance of meeting the challenges we face in the 21st century. Labour is convinced that a vote to remain is in the best interests of the people of this country.” This is a person you should believe, for he also knows much about deceit, truth, and squalid. In 1974, Corbyn married Jane Chapman, a fellow Labour Councillor for Haringey; they divorced in 1979.

In 1987, Corbyn married Chilean-born Claudia Bracchitta, by whom he has three sons. Following a difference of opinion about sending their son to a grammar school – Corbyn opposes selective education – they divorced in 1999. In 2013 he married Laura Alvarez. In the 1970’s Corbyn began an affair with left wing M.P. Diane Abbott, whilst still married to Jane Chapman. Chapman alleges that Abbott gate-crashed her home and told her to “get out of town.” A biography of Corbyn, by Rosa Prince, claims that he showed off a naked Abbott in his home, to impress his left wing friends. Corbyn is anti-monarchy, and would disband it if he could. The following is from The Telegraph, on 18th July 2015: This does go on a bit chaps, but it gives a nice flavour of what the man is about. Between 2004 and 2008, the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army militia, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, killed at least 70 British soldiers, not to mention thousands of Iraqi civilians.

Last February, the man who is now leader of the Labour Party shared a platform with al-Sadr’s British representative. Jeremy Corbyn was helping Sayyed Hassan al-Sadr celebrate “the all-encompassing revolution,” the 35th anniversary of the ayatollahs’ takeover in Iran. In his talk, entitled “The Case for Iran,” he called for the immediate scrapping of sanctions on the country, which had not then promised to restrict its nuclear programme, attacked its colonial exploitation by British business and called for an end to its “demonisation” by the West. Labour is in the extraordinary position of having as its leader a man with among the most extensive links in Parliament to terrorists, extremists and hardline regimes." Mr Corbyn, The Telegraph can reveal, has taken thousands of pounds in gifts from organisations closely linked to the terror group Hamas, whose operatives he once described as “friends”. He has travelled to Tehran at the expense of a secretive British-Iranian multi-millionaire who has employed a number of other British parliamentarians as consultants to build business links with the country. He has hosted, promoted and vigorously defended vicious anti-Semites and racists.

Nor, of course, was the al-Sadr talk the first time that Mr Corbyn came a little too close to killers of British troops. From the mid-Eighties, a decade before the IRA ceasefire, he worked hard to build links between Labour and the Provos, regularly hosting senior figures from their political wing in Parliament, calling for British withdrawal from Northern Ireland and paying tribute to deceased terrorists.His defenders call him ahead of his time; his opponents say that, by giving the IRA hope that the armed struggle was working, he and others on the Left actually prolonged the conflict. These days, however, it is Islamist causes that claim more of Mr Corbyn’s attention. Others on the Left may support negotiating with Hamas, whose aim remains the complete destruction of Israel and which continues to kill civilians, but no other MP does so with quite the frequency and fervour of Mr Corbyn. In February 2013, he and his wife travelled to Gaza thanks to a £2,800 gift from Interpal, a British charity banned by the US government as “part of the funding network of Hamas” and as a terrorist organisation in its own right.

Interpal is allowed to operate in the UK after claiming it has broken its links with Hamas, a claim accepted by the Charity Commission. However, Interpal’s managing trustee, Essam Mustafa, was pictured eighteen months ago accompanying the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on an official visit in Gaza. The two were filmed clapping and singing an anti-Israeli song in praise of Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and Hamas “martyrs.” Dr Mustafa also paid his respects at the shrine for Ahmed Said Khalil, the head of the al-Qassam Brigades killed in an Israeli airstrike. Dr Mustafa is a former member of Hamas’s executive committee. In 2012, Mr Haniyeh and Dr Mustafa visited the homes of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, a senior Hamas leader who once promised he would "kill Jews everywhere," and Sheikh Said Seyam, who commanded Hamas's Executive Force, a militia that tortured and murdered Palestinian supporters of Fatah during Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2006.

Mr Corbyn has received at least two further free trips, worth £2,450, from the Palestinian Return Centre and its subsidiary the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza, based at the PRC office in Crown House, Wembley. The PRC is said by the Israeli government to be “Hamas’s organisational branch in Europe” whose members are “senior Hamas leaders who promote the movement’s agenda in Europe.” The PRC denies this. However, it takes a strongly pro-Hamas position and has regularly hosted Hamas leaders, including Mr Haniyeh, at its annual conferences. The Telegraph has obtained evidence from security sources showing that at least one senior PRC leader in Europe has recruited individuals to Hamas. The PRC’s current head of media in the UK, Sameh Habeeb, founded and edited a virulently anti-Semitic website, Palestine Telegraph, which published a video by the former head of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke and numerous conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the world. Next month, Mr Corbyn is due to speak at a conference organised by Middle East Monitor (MEMO), another group based at Crown House with strong sympathies for Hamas.

MEMO’s director, Daud Abdullah, is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked British Muslim Initiative, set up and run by the Brotherhood activist Anas al-Tikriti and two senior figures in Hamas. MEMO’s “senior editor”, Ibrahim Hewitt, an extremist who believes that adulterers should be stoned to death, is chairman of Interpal, the Hamas-linked charity. MEMO has organised several meetings featuring Hamas leaders and terrorist sympathisers; its website also repeatedly peddles conspiracy theories about Jews in articles such as “How money from Israeli donors controls Westminster.” How strange; Corbyn counts as friend a man who believes adulterers should be stoned to death. Does this mean that Corbyn must stone himself to death? Mr Corbyn and MEMO co-sponsored the visit to Britain and to Parliament of an Israel-based anti-Semitic extremist, Sheikh Raed Saleh, found by a British court to have spread the classic “blood libel” against Jews, the claim that they use the blood of gentile children to make their bread.

Mr Saleh, who also describes Jews as “monkeys” and “bacteria,” claims that 9/11 was a Jewish plot and that the Jews employed at the World Trade Center were warned not to come into work that day. But he was strongly defended by Mr Corbyn, who congratulated him on defeating Government moves to exclude him from Britain, called him “a very honoured citizen who represents his people extremely well” and said he “looked forward to giving you tea on the [House of Commons]terrace.” Mr Corbyn has met the leadership of Hamas, including Mr Haniyeh, several times, but they are not the only terror group he has had dealings with. He has also praised, and spoken on platforms with, representatives of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, and once shared a platform with the Black September hijacker, Leila Khaled. In November 2012, Mr Corbyn hosted a meeting in Parliament with Mousa Abu Maria, a member of the banned terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Mr Abu Maria claimed at the time that he was no longer involved in the group, but was photographed as recently as May of that year holding a poster of support for PIJ terrorists.

The same year, Mr Corbyn also agreed to speak alongside two of Britain’s leading domestic bigots, Abdurraheem Green and Wasim Kempson, at a conference held at Arsenal FC’s Emirates stadium. The club barred Mr Green from its premises at the last minute after learning that he advocates a husband’s right to beat his wife. Gosh, Corbyn could have got Diane Abbott to beat his wife. Green has also stated that “whoever claims that the Jew and the Christian are our brethren in faith has without doubt made a statement of clear kufr [disbelief]” and quotes a saying of the Prophet that “if you find a Jew or Christian walking down the street, push them to the side.” Mr Corbyn’s visit to Iran, in January last year, was partly financed by Ardeshir Naghshineh, a British-based Iranian property entrepeneur who once owned Centre Point but lost most of his fortune after many of his businesses were placed into administration with massive debts to Lloyds Bank.

He still has substantial wealth, but is described by the chief executive of his Targetfollow Group, Corin Thoday, as someone who is “very keen to keep [his sources of finance] confidential.” For all Mr Corbyn’s strictures against the West’s past commercial exploitation of Iran, his patron, Mr Naghshineh, is at the heart of attempts by Western oil and resource companies to re-enter the Iranian market. Also on the trip paid for by Mr Naghshineh were Jack Straw, the former Foreign Secretary, now consultant to ED&F Man, one of the world’s biggest commodities traders, and Lord Lamont, the former Chancellor, then a consultant to Targetfollow and to the British-Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi, long a key Middle East intermediary for the oil industry. Mr Corbyn has no such commercial ties, but it must be earnestly hoped that he was not being used as left-wing cover in an operation to reclaim Iran for global capitalism. It is estimated that Corbyn’s net worth is £850,000. Why does he want to stay in? Well... actually... Corbyn voted against membership of the EU during the 1975 referendum on whether Britain should remain part of the Common Market.

Corbyn voted against the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 and spoke out against the treaty in Parliament. He said: “It takes away from national Parliaments the power to set economic policy and hands it over to an unelected set of bankers who will impose the economic policies of price stability, deflation and high unemployment throughout the European Community.” Corbyn voted against the Lisbon Treaty which, in 2008, gave the EU a legal personality and sweeping new powers. In an article, since deleted from his website, he claimed there is a “strong socialist argument against the Lisbon Treaty and the economic consequences that flow from it”. In an article from 2009, Mr Corbyn said that the EU had “always suffered a serious democratic deficit”. He said: “The project has always been to create a huge free-market Europe, with ever-limiting powers for national parliaments and an increasingly powerful common foreign and security policy." An article, which has also been removed from Corbyn’s website, blamed the EU for the abuse of human rights in the Western Sahara. Corbyn said: “The EU, to its shame, concluded a special trade agreement with Morocco for fishing rights that includes the waters off the Western Sahara.

In doing so, it authorised the plunder of natural resources on a grand scale with no benefit at all the Saharawi people." What changed your mind, Corbyn babe? It couldn’t have been the money. Here’s Jeremy, Newslinks for Thursday 20th November 2014 | Conservative Home Newslinks for Thursday 20th November 2014 Rochester 1) Farage denies that UKIP would repatriate EU migrants, after Reckless comments… “Nigel Farage has dismissed claims that Ukip backs the repatriation of EU migrants who have lived and worked in Britain for years. … He insists the party would allow lawful migrants to stay – even if the UK leaves the European Union. … His intervention follows a storm of protest after Ukip candidate Mark Reckless, who is set to win the party’s second parliamentary seat in the Rochester and Strood by-election tomorrow night, was accused of advocating the repatriation of existing migrants.” – Daily Mail “…the Tory candidate, Kelly Tolhurst refused to condemn the comments and merely accused Mr Reckless of changing his tune.

Ukip then accused the Tories of running a ‘BNP-lite campaign’.” – The Independent “The astonishing scale of Eastern European migration to Britain is revealed today in figures uncovered by the Daily Mail. … They show that 1.3 per cent of Eastern Europeans living anywhere in Europe – including in their native countries – are now in the UK.” – Daily Mail “A self-styled ‘pick-up coach’ accused of encouraging violence against women has been banned from Britain today.” – Daily Mail And comment: “The failure to control immigration is a disgrace to all those who have governed us through the past generation. It is scarcely surprising that they should be punished for it at the polls.” – Max Hastings, Daily Mail “It’s no good saying ‘Farage is right on immigration but don’t vote for him’. His rivals need a broader appeal to voters.” – Peter Kellner, The Times (£) Rochester 2) …and targets “cocky” Cameron “Nigel Farage reckons Ukip will romp home in today’s by-election in Rochester and Strood – because of ‘cocky’ David Cameron. … The Ukip chief said the Conservatives had made a massive mistake in basing their campaign around the PM.

… He told The Sun: ‘They thought their trump card was David Cameron. They couldn’t be more wrong. This will be a massive personal rebuke for him.'” – The Sun (£) “Nick Clegg was left red-faced after mistaking Stroud in Gloucestershire as the site of tomorrow’s by-election – 120 miles away in Kent.” – The Sun (£) Rochester 3) Will there be more defections after today’s vote? “Two Conservative MPs are considering jumping ship to Nigel Farage’s party if it wins the Rochester and Strood byelection, Ukip candidate Mark Reckless said on Wednesday. … Further defections would be likely to prompt a crisis in Downing Street about the haemorrhaging of the Tory vote six months before the general election, and potentially a move on David Cameron’s leadership.” – The Guardian “With Conservative HQ on high alert ahead of an expected byelection defeat to Ukip tomorrow, it emerged that staunch Eurosceptics Peter Bone, Philip Hollobone and Martin Vickers are canvassing constituents on whether they want to be in or out of the EU.

… Both of the Conservatives who have jumped ship to Ukip, Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless, conducted similar exercises before announcing their defections.” – Daily Mail And comment: “The greatest damage will be if it emboldens other Tory MPs to become ’kippers. … David Cameron must talk them round. Then he must talk more to ordinary people.” – Sun editorial (£) “No sign yet of a solution to the shambles within the Tory party.” – Peter Oborne, Daily Telegraph “Nigel Farage’s party can no longer get away with simply behaving like the outsiders of British politics.” – Daily Telegraph e ditorial Rochester 4) Lord Ashcroft warns against insulting UKIP voters “Lord Ashcroft, the Conservatives’ former deputy chairman, has accused David Cameron of putting ‘two fingers’ up to natural Tory supporters who are now supporting Ukip. … In a private meeting with fellow Tories, the businessman and former party donor warned that Mr Cameron’s ‘vote Miliband, get Ukip’ message would backfire.

He said the Tories had decided to ‘scream abuse’ at ‘decent’ former supporters and were telling them they were ‘dumb’.” – The Independent Letwin speaks out against Europe, suggesting that he could vote to leave… “The Tory policy chief claims he will vote to leave Europe unless Brussels hands powers over border controls and justice back to Britain. … He added it was not clear that PM David Cameron could secure the necessary reform – but said the odds were ‘better than 50-50’. … Mr Letwin – who penned the party’s 2010 Manifesto – said: ‘If we don’t get the sort of position I was describing then I wouldn’t want to recommend anything.

… I would want to recommend leaving.'” – The Sun (£) “Mr Letwin is a key ally of the Prime Minister and his comments will be seen as a sign that Mr Cameron and other senior Conservatives are preparing to harden considerably the party’s line on the possibility of an EU exit.” – Daily Telegraph “Germany will not grant Britain a temporary moratorium or brake on EU migrant numbers, according to a close ally of Angela Merkel.” – The Times (£) > Today: The Deep End: Oh good, the EU’s got a project to build an artificial human brain …whereas Clarke speaks up for it “Kenneth Clarke has launched a frontal assault on David Cameron’s EU reform plans, declaring that he was seeking to dismantle one of Margaret Thatcher’s greatest legacies by challenging the free movement of people in the EU. … In a provocative intervention on the eve of the Rochester and Strood byelection, the former Conservative chancellor also accused John Major of encouraging people to vote Ukip, after he floated plans to reform free movement on behalf of No 10.” – The Guardian Prime Minister’s Putdowns “We no longer have Prime Minister’s Questions but Prime Minister’s Putdowns – pre-packaged insults both aimed and delivered by David Cameron.

… He enjoys this more than he should. His opponent (or punchbag) has plainly come to loathe the weekly ordeal and is increasingly terrible at it. … Mr Cameron, with unseemly alacrity, jested about Mr Miliband’s television clash with Myleene Klass. ‘He had a pasting from a pop star!’ Loud laughter.” – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail “Labour supporters have demanded Myleene Klass is dropped as the face of Littlewoods after she tore into Ed Miliband.” – The Sun (£) “Labour MPs in London are urging Ed Miliband to revise his plan for a mansion tax amid fears that it will cost the party votes at next May’s general election.

… Instead, they want Labour to bring in new council tax bands for the most expensive properties.” – The Independent And comment: “Myleene Klass and a telling insight into the vacuity and class envy of Miliband’s Labour Party.” – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail “Mansion tax: most voters are with Ed Miliband, not Myleene Klass.” – Polly Toynbee, The Guardian > Yesterday: WATCH: PMQs: More people in Scotland believe in Nessie than in Miliband’s leadership Cameron accused of neglecting the Big Society “The Big Society has failed, according to charity chiefs who have accused David Cameron of ‘stifling civil society’ by preventing them from speaking out about service failures.

… The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo) has attacked the government, saying that some of its measures have been ‘constitutionally and morally disastrous’.” – The Times (£) “The cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, has David Cameron ‘by the balls’ and the prime minister does nothing without Heywood’s permission, according to the former Conservative special adviser Dominic Cummings.” – The Guardian Pay levels remain flat, but Morgan hails the closing gender gap “Weekly pay packets increased by just a pound last year – the lowest rise since 1997, official stats show. … But the Government hailed the pay gap between men and women falling to a record low level of 9.4 per cent – down from 17.4 per cent in 1997.

… Women Minister Nicky Morgan said: ‘I am delighted that the gender pay gap has reduced to its lowest point in history.'” – The Sun (£) “Women in their thirties are earning more than men for the first time on record, new figures show.” – Daily Mail “Only a tiny minority of the people who use food banks work for a living, a study said.” – Daily Mail “Westminster, London’s biggest borough for employment, has lost enough office space for 78,000 workers as a result of the government making it easier for developers to convert offices into homes.” – Financial Times “Half of the British public expects another global financial crisis at some point in the next year, with corruption considered the most likely trigger.” – Financial Times And comment: “The rise of women in the workplace is welcome news.” – Daily Telegraph editorial “It may not be all down to government policy, but it is the poorer half of society who have suffered most in recent years.” – Independent editorial “Real wages are significantly lower, and younger workers are suffering.” – Chris Giles, Financial Times “Austerity has clearly failed.

So why don’t they ditch it?” – Seumas Milne, The Guardian Hammond talks down the prospects of an Iranian nuclear deal by next Monday “A nuclear deal with Iran is unlikely to be completed on schedule by next Monday but there may be enough progress to warrant extending the deadline, Britain’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, has said. … Talks between Iran and six world powers on the future of the country’s nuclear programme are in their last week in Vienna, with significant gaps remaining between the negotiating positions on how much capacity for enriching uranium Tehran should have, and the speed at which international sanctions should be removed.” – The Guardian Pickles: Commemorate the First World War by volunteering “The First World War was defined by those who volunteered for the greater good – millions of Britons who believed in fighting to make the world a better place. That’s why our ‘Remember WW1’ campaign is about much more than reflection.

… We are encouraging people to pledge an hour of their time – in whatever sphere – to show just a small token of gratitude to those who fought for our liberty.” – Eric Pickles, Daily Telegraph Gibb wants schools to return to textbooks “Ministers will today urge schools to bring back traditional textbooks to end a growing reliance on worksheets and the internet. … They will say that an ‘anti-textbook ethos’ has contributed to England’s slide in international rankings of pupils’ performance in key academic subjects. … In a speech to the Publishers Association, School Reform Minister Nick Gibb will call on all schools – both primary and secondary – to reintroduce good quality textbooks in most subjects.” – Daily Mail “Riot police clashed with student protesters today as campaigners attempted to break into Conservative Party headquarters in central London.” – The Independent East London school faces extremism accusations “A leading state school will be put into special measures by Ofsted today amid claims that pupils have been exposed to Islamic extremism. … Inspectors visiting the Church of England school in East London discovered girls and boys were being segregated in the playground.

… They also found that an Islamic society set up by sixth formers had posted links on its Facebook page to hardline Islamist preachers.” – Daily Mail “A school missed out on a top grade — for having too few black or Asian pupils.” – The Sun (£) And comment: “Ofsted’s criticism of a primary school for not being multicultural enough is a triumph of idiotic political correctness.” – Sun editorial (£) Was there a Westminster paedophile ring and police cover-up? Clegg demands an investigation “Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today called on Scotland Yard to investigate ‘grotesque’ claims police helped to ‘cover up’ the death of an eight-year-old boy at the hands of a Westminster paedophile ring.

… Vishambar Mehrotra claims his son Vishal was murdered by a Westminster-based abusers after disappearing on the day of the Royal wedding in 1981.” – Daily Mail “The detective who led the investigation into Britain’s most notorious child abusers said its files could provide evidence for Scotland Yard’s investigation of an alleged Westminster paedophile ring.” – The Times (£) “Children suffering abuse and exploitation would have the right to take their governments to an international human rights court under proposals announced by Gordon Brown on Wednesday.” – The Guardian And comment: “There is no justice for those falsely accused of abuse.” – Libby Purves, The Times (£) Hughes calls for jail sentences of under one year to be scrapped “Simon Hughes said there should be a legal presumption that no one goes to jail for less than 12 months, with criminals given community or suspended sentences instead.

… But figures show such a move would mean 60,000 fewer criminals going to prison every year, including thousands of violent thugs, burglars, sex attackers and robbers.” – Daily Mail “A Lib Dem minister has risked a fresh Coalition drugs row by attacking the Conservatives’ failure to back major reforms.” – The Sun (£) “The number of children being hospitalised with stab wounds has nearly doubled in just four years, The Sun can reveal.” – The Sun (£) “An astonishing arsenal of 15,429 knives, guns and other potential weapons has been seized by security staff in crown and magistrates courts in England and Wales in just over two years, the government has revealed.” – The Guardian “A retired English judge has opened a new front in the war on waffle, saying his former colleagues “echo in a different universe” with their use of legal terminology.” – Financial Times “Cuts to the civil legal aid budget are not delivering better value for money for the taxpayer, the UK’s top spending watchdog has found.” – Financial Times And comment: “As another hung parliament looms, the Tories and Labour are contemplating minority rule.” – George Eaton, New Statesman > Today: Peter Riddell on Comment –

 What would a minority government be like?

Davey leads Britain into a £700 million donation “Britain will donate a stunning £700 million of taxpayers’ cash to a global green fund – £100 million more than thought. … Sources said the pledge would come at a ‘donors meeting’ in Berlin – despite fury from Tory backbenchers. … The Government refused to comment ahead of the summit. Energy secretary Ed Davey – a Lib Dem green campaigner – has been leading the talks.” – The Sun (£) “A review into the £24.5 billion project to build the country’s first nuclear reactor for a generation has been ordered secretly by the government amid fears that its completion will be delayed for years, threatening the secure supply of energy.” – The Times (£) “The Government’s £11bn plan to install ‘smart’ energy meters in every home is being delayed by up to a year, after the company in charge of the communications system for the devices warned it would not be ready in time.” – Daily Telegraph And comment: “Flood defence?

Sure… but only overseas.” – Rod Liddle, The Sun (£) “The Green Blob believes in science – except when scientists disagree with it.” – James Delingpole, The Spectator Former Lib Dem treasurer: People tried to buy seats in the Lords “A senior Liberal Democrat has revealed that he was approached dozens of times by wealthy supporters who offered £1million or more to buy seats in the House of Lords. … In remarks that threaten a new cash for honours controversy, the party’s former treasurer Lord Razzall admitted yesterday he told business people who made such approaches ‘several times a year’ to ‘keep quiet’.” – Daily Mail Labour wants the Lottery to be more transparent “Labour are to force lotto bosses to reveal whether poorer ticket buyers are getting their fair share of cash back for good causes, The Sun can reveal. … The intervention over the long-running scandal came as the National Lottery last night marked its 20th birthday. … Owners Camelot detail where all lottery grants go to geographically.

… But they have refused to publish any breakdown of ticket sales by area or region for the last 15 years.” – The Sun (£) “Harriet Harman held talks with the Charity Commission before it decided to launch an investigation against George Galloway.” – The Times (£) “We live in a new era of Scottish democracy.” Sturgeon succeeds Salmond “Nicola Sturgeon has been voted in as the first female First Minister of Scotland,sealed with a hug from outgoing leader Alex Salmond. … Watched from the sidelines by her proud family, Ms Sturgeon achieved her lifelong ambition to become Scotland’s first female leader yesterday as she vowed to ‘open the gate to greater opportunity’ for all women.

… The SNP leader was elected First Minister by MSPs in a historic vote as Salmond’s seven-and-a-half-year reign officially came to an end.” – Daily Mail “Ruth Davidson has used the election of a new First Minister to set out a powerful Tory agenda for Scotland that contrasted her belief in individual freedom with the other parties’ obsession with ‘hectoring’ people.” – Daily Telegraph And comment: > Yesterday: Henry Hill’s column – L abour’s Scottish meltdown continues NHS 1) Waiting times for new drugs to be cut “Waiting times for cutting-edge drugs will be cut in half under government plans to rip up a ‘broken’ system that has denied many NHS patients life-extending treatments. … Ministers want to bypass traditional clinical trials by using patients as a ‘test-bed’ for promising new drugs, linking their health service data to pharmaceutical company records to discover much more quickly how effective treatments are.” – The Times (£) “Jeremy Hunt is under severe pressure from the Prime Minister to explain why his department has failed to agree a deal with the makers of a new life-saving meningitis vaccine.” – The Independent And comment: “Britain’s drug approval system is beyond repair.

It is time to start again.” – Times editorial (£) > Yesterday: Jeremy Hunt MP on Comment – Why NHS culture still needs to change NHS 2) Hospitals told to publish cancer survival rates “All hospitals have been ordered to publish their cancer survival rates, as part of plans to give patients a legal right to information comparing standards across the country, the Health Secretary has announced. … Jeremy Hunt told The Telegraph he will propose new powers – enshrined in law – in a bid to move away from the ‘dark days’ of Labour, which he said had left the public with no idea which hospitals were safe.” – Daily Telegraph “For the first time, GPs have been told to refer patients with seemingly banal symptoms, such as a cough or tiredness, for urgent tests within 48 hours. … NICE, the NHS watchdog which has issued the guidelines, warns that delays in spotting signs of cancer is ‘costing the lives of thousands of people’ every year.” – Daily Mail NHS 3) Obesity costs the country £47 billion a year, claims report “Obesity is a greater burden on the UK’s economy than armed violence, war and terrorism, costing the country nearly £47bn a year, a report has found.

… The study, commissioned by consultancy firm McKinsey and Company, reveals obesity has the second-largest economic impact on the UK behind smoking, generating an annual loss equivalent to 3% of GDP.” – The Guardian “Private health firms are on course to win more than £9bn of NHS contracts to look after patients as a result of the coalition’s ramping up of competition in the health service, research shows.” – The Guardian “The amount the NHS spends per patient would fall between £98 and £191 – a real term drop in spending of at least £5.5bn – by 2020 under the main political parties’ funding pledges, analysis reveals.” – Financial Times And comment: “There are better ways to improve the NHS than this online ratings system.” – Jane Merrick, The Independent “Integrating hospital and community care is right, but it won’t save money.” – Guardian editorial Millions will have to retune their TV sets, following sell-off “Millions of households will have to retune their TV sets and up to 300,000 will need to move their aerial or install a new one following a decision to sell off the broadcasting frequencies used by Freeview.

… Regulator Ofcom yesterday announced the decision, which will create space on the nation’s airwaves to expand high-speed mobile phone services.” – Daily Mail “Britain’s mobile operators will offer to invest tens of millions of pounds to boost rural coverage and eliminate so-called ‘partial notspots’, The Telegraph can reveal.” – Daily Telegraph And comment: “The BBC has been accused of celebrating drugs culture in its news reports about the launch of a Bob Marley cannabis company.” – Daily Mail Beer to cost less! “Britain’s drinkers could see the price of a pint fall in the biggest shake-up of the pub industry in centuries. … MPs have voted to scrap the ‘beer tie’ under which breweries that rented out pubs to landlords locked them into selling their beer. … The surprise move means landlords will now be able to shop around to get the best deals when ordering beer.” – Daily Mail “Rebel MPs have wrong-footed ministers and passed a measure that could help to revive the pub trade.

Cheers to that.” – Times editorial (£) “The best reason to free landlords from the big pub companies is how empty the bars are.” – Financial Times editorial News in brief RAF jets destroy ISIS bunker in Iraq – Daily Mail ISIS suicide attack in Kurdish capital – The Independent Five dead in New York snowstorms – The Independent New ash cloud crisis could be imminent, according to scientists – Daily Telegraph Prince Harry visits one of world’s largest mosques – Daily Telegraph Being King won’t prevent Charles from speaking his mind, say sources – The Guardian Schumacher is paralysed, claims one of his friends – The Guardian And finally 1) Catty remarks “Business minister Matthew Hancock, a protege of George Osborne, has named his new cat Gideon – after the Chancellor’s hated real first name. Osborne is unamused.

… Telling journalists over lunch Hancock had ruefully confessed he had called the feline ‘after the name my mother gave me’, the Chancellor rages: ‘It’s about the most disloyal thing Matt has ever done.’” – Ephraim Hardcastle column, Daily Mail “George Osborne has denied Danny Alexander’s claim that he padlocks his personal fridge to keep out milk thieves.” – The Sun (£) And finally 2) Currie in the jungle “She had an affair with a Prime Minister and claimed Northerners were dying of ‘ignorance and chips’. … Edwina Currie isn’t for the faint-hearted and has warned her soon-to-be jungle chums that she ‘will drive them crazy.'” – The Sun (£) Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven’t been given their own blog. Read our comments policy .

Question: Which British former Junior Health Minister claimed that  Northerners were dying of ‘ignorance and chips’?
Answer: Edwina Curry