Newscaster heads UK's Euro languages drive

Sir Trevor McDonald has become president of the United Kingdom national committee coordinating events for the European Year of Languages.

Veteran newscaster Sir Trevor said it was important for the UK to cast off its image as a monolingual society. He chaired the recent Nuffield Languages Inquiry, which highlighted the extent to which the UK will be disadvantaged if it relies on other peoples' knowledge of English rather than improving linguistic ability at home.