Beer storm brewing

The University of Bradford has defended its curriculum after being accused of offering a "course on beer drinking" in the House of Lords this week. Former Tory minister Lord Trefgarne said that universities packed their prospectuses "with absurd courses like this one" to maintain student numbers and public funding.

A spokeswoman at the university said the course on "drinking and society" examined the place and significance of alcoholic drinks in society in the period 1750 to 1920, principally in England. She said it had been part of a module that had counted towards a part-time degree in local and regional studies.