Government
- Tony Blair yesterday argued that competitive pressures on newspapers and broadcasters meant stories were chosen for their potential impact on the public rather than their accuracy. Voicing for the first time his long-standing anguish over the way in which the UK media operate, Mr Blair conceded: "We paid inordinate attention in the early days of New Labour to courting, assuaging, and persuading the media." But he went on: "In our own defence, after 18 years of opposition and the, at times, ferocious hostility of parts of the media, it was hard to see any alternative." However, the bulk of a reflective speech was taken up with the argument that the relationship between politicians and journalists was worsening - and that some way must be found to boost public respect for both professions. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/427ec686-194b-11dc-a961-000b5df10621.html
- London Olympic organisers defended their controversial logo, saying they had no intention of replacing it, as a team from the International Olympic Committee began a three-day visit to discuss preparations for the 2012 games. A week after unveiling the £400,000 graffiti-style logo to a chorus of disapproval, Tessa Jowell, culture secretary, said: "You want a logo which is adaptable and which can be used in a variety of different contexts. I know it has caused a storm.'' Ms Jowell added that it had at least got people talking, while Ken Livingstone, London's mayor who was thought to have been lukewarm about the design, said the public would come to accept it. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/702da1d4-194a-11dc-a961-000b5df10621.html
- Jurors of all races are more lenient to ethnic minority defendants in court in an attempt to compensate for perceived bias in the criminal justice system, according to a report published today. Black and ethnic minority jurors are significantly less likely to convict a black or Asian defendant than a white defendant in certain cases. "Race leniency" appeared to reflect a belief among black and Asian jurors that the courts treat defendants more harshly if they are from an ethnic minority, the report said. It said that jurors attempted to deal with the perceived bias in the criminal justice system by trying to create a "level playing field" for ethnic minority defendants. But the report, by the Ministry of Justice, said that such bias appeared to operate only in cases where race was not a factor in the prosecution. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article1923647.ece
- The teaching of happiness should take its place alongside core subjects like maths and English as part of an "educational revolution" that puts compassionate values at the heart of the education system, a government adviser has recommended. In an article to be published today by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, Richard Layard, LSE professor and a Labour peer, said schools had a central role to play in countering a large rise in emotional disturbance by teaching children how to be happy. He called for a new cadre of teachers trained to impart values. "How can we do this? I think it requires an educational revolution in which a central purpose of our schools is to teach young people about the main secrets of happiness for which we have empirical evidence," he wrote. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ae4fe98a-194b-11dc-a961-000b5df10621.html
Conservatives
- The row over academic selection was reignited last night after a study concluded that more grammar schools would boost the results of working class pupils and raise education standards nationwide. Researchers said that expanding the number of selective places was just as likely to benefit children from poor homes. David Cameron, the Tory leader, has infuriated some MPs and grassroots supporters in recent weeks by claiming that selection at 11 condemns underprivileged children to an inferior education. His stance has triggered the most damaging row of his leadership to date and sparked a revolt from backbenchers. The controversy is likely to be stoked further today, with the publication of a study by the London School of Economics which suggests children from working class backgrounds benefit from a grammar school education. It shows that an expansion of grammars in Northern Ireland - the only country in the British Isles to retain a wholly selective system - has helped poor pupils as much as those from wealthy backgrounds. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/13/ngrammar113.xml
- A new, more transparent process for appointments to the monetary policy committee would be introduced by the Conservatives, as they seek to end the "complete secrecy" that shrouds members' selection, George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, will pledge today. Interest rate decisions should be taken by people appointed in a "systematic process", he will argue, in his clearest comments yet on how monetary policy would be conducted under a Tory government. He will also reiterate earlier pledges to reform fiscal rules and commit a future Conservative government to reinstating the Treasury's role as a spending watchdog rather than a department "obsessed with finding the next bright idea". http://www.ft.com/cms/s/522abf6e-194a-11dc-a961-000b5df10621.html
EU
- The definition of GM-free food was relaxed last night as European ministers decided to allow a greater proportion of genetically-modified material into products that could still be labelled "GM free". EU agriculture ministers decided that food could include up to 0.9 per cent of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) instead of the 0.1 per cent currently used as the gold standard by leading supermarkets. Ministers also agreed a Europe-wide system for labelling foods as organic so long as they contained at least 95 per cent organically-produced material - the same threshold already in use in Britain. The 0.1 per cent figure for GMOs represents the lowest trace detectable and green campaigners believe that it forces producers to do all they can to keep their food "pure". Although it will remain prohibited to use GMOs knowingly in organic farming, adopting a 0.9 per cent threshold for labelling food "GM free" will encourage lower standards in keeping produce truly organic, they argued. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article1923770.ece