Latest UK news

'Fragrant Mary' seeks solar solace
Mary Archer today made her first public appearance since her husband was jailed, at a summer school on solar energy at the University of Strathclyde. Lady Archer, a visiting professor at the centre for energy policy at Imperial College, said: “I find work a great solace and getting back to it is terrific.”

First centres of excellence announced
The government has announced the first 16 further education college-based Centres of Vocational Excellence. £100 million is being invested over the next three years in the centres which will focus on meeting employers’ skills needs. The colleges are: Accrington and Rossendale (construction); South Tyneside College (nautical science and marine engineering); Bradford College (applied science); the Arts Institute at Bournemouth (lens-based media); Bishop Burton College (agriculture); Sparsholt College (game, wildlife and country management and fisheries studies); Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies (hospitality and catering); South East Essex College (media technology); Tameside College (mechanical and electrical engineering); Warwickshire College (general engineering); Lewisham College (computing); Barking and Havering Colleges with Ford Motor Company (auto engineering and mechanical production); South Birmingham College (childcare); Richmond Adult and Community College (businesss and information technology); Lancaster and Morecambe College (hospitality and catering); Leeds College of Technology (printing).

Institute explores wind power
The Royal Institute of British Architects is installing a wind-monitoring device on top of its headquarters in central London today. It is gathering information for its bid for planning permission to set up two power-generating wind turbines on the roof.

No-smoking campaigner in London
The man who spearheaded a campaign in California to ban smoking in public is today calling for London to become a public no-smoking zone. Stan Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, will be the first witness before the London Assembly’s investigation into the damage caused by smoking in public places.