WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BOMBARDIER JOBS BELIEVED SAFE
Workers at the UK’s last train maker are expected to hear this week that their jobs are safe, ending months of uncertainty about the future of the factory in Derby. Its owner, Bombardier, put the future of the site under review in the middle of last year, after the government awarded a £1.6bn order for trains for the cross-London Thameslink route to Siemens, a German rival.
COUNCILS THREATEN JUDICIAL REVIEW OF HS2
A group of 18 local authorities opposed to a £32.7bn high speed rail link between London and the north have threatened the government with a judicial review unless it withdraws approval for the scheme. A letter from the group to Justine Greening, transport secretary, cites five grounds on which it believes errors were made in reaching a decision it calls “unlawful.”
UNDERUSED AIRPORTS MAKE CASE FOR REGIONS
Justine Greening faces growing calls to support the development of regional airports rather than commit resources to building a hub in the Thames estuary, a scheme seen by many outside the south-east as a costly white elephant. The transport secretary this week met Birmingham airport officials who asked that she use a report next month on aviation policy formally to recognise the role regional facilities can play in easing crowding in the south east.
ANC REPORT REJECTS STATE-OWNED MINES
South Africa’s mining industry appears to have fended off calls for nationalisation as a report commissioned by the ruling African National Congress party proposed higher taxes for the sector but said state ownership was not feasible.
THE TIMES
CAMERON BACKS NHS REFORMS
David Cameron will set himself against most of the medical profession today as he vows to push through the government’s controversial health reforms against mounting public and professional hostility. The Prime Minister will defy critics by insisting that the reforms are necessary and throwing his weight behind Andrew Lansley, his embattled health secretary.
LITTLE CHEF OWNER’S PRE-PACK PLAN
The private equity owner of Little Chef is putting the chain through a pre-pack administration to offload a number of toxic leases. RCapital, the turnaround specialist that rescued the chain five years ago, said yesterday that its hand had been forced after landlords refused to renegotiate rents. Last month, RCapital announced plans to close 66 outlets.
The Daily Telegraph
PRESSURE ON NEWS CORP MOUNTS AS FBI STEPS UP BRIBERY PROBE
News Corporation is under intensifying pressure in the US after authorities stepped up their investigations into allegations of criminal activity, it has been reported by Reuters. The News of the World allegedly made payments to police officers, totalling more than £100,000. News Corp is cooperating with the investigations but declined to comment.
RUSSIA CLAIMS ASSAD PROMISED CESSATION OF VIOLENCE IN SYRIA
Russia’s foreign minister claimed to have won a promise of a “cessation” of violence yesterday after meeting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. But Sergei Lavrov’s words were immediately undermined by the Syrian interior ministry, which pledged to press on with the offensive against “armed terrorist gangs” in the city of Homs.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TIMES MISLED COURT ON EMAIL INCIDENT
The editor of The Times has acknowledged that the newspaper misled a High Court judge about a 2009 email hacking incident at the paper and has sent an apology to the judge. James Harding told a public inquiry probing press standards that the newspaper regrettably “paid insufficient attention” to a 2009 episode in which a reporter hacked into the email account of an anonymous blogger who wrote about police activities.
GM SEEKS CUTS AT OPEL
General Motors is preparing to disclose “horrendous” fourth quarter losses out of its European Opel / Vauxhall unit and is demanding deep cuts from labor unions there, a GM official said. The official said the auto maker’s patience with the money-losing operation is running out.