Record Blogs

With the permanent sealing of its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico perhaps just days away, BP is warning that it may not have the money to pay the colossal clean-up bill if Congress passes a law that would stop it obtaining permits for offshore drilling in US waters.

The new confrontation emerged yesterday as BP announced that total costs arising from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April, in which 11 workers died in one the worst environmental disasters in US history, rose by a further $2bn last month to around $8bn.

The law in question was passed by the House of Representatives just before Congress's summer recess but is still awaiting approval in the Senate. It would bar any company from drilling on the US outer continental shelf if more than 10 people had been killed in accidents at facilities it operates – either onshore or offshore – or if it has been fined $10m or more in the past seven years for violating US anti-pollution laws.

BP is not specifically mentioned in the measure but it is the only company that would qualify for such a ban. The Bill's chief sponsor, the California Democrat George Miller, has made it clear that BP was the intended target.

For the company, such a ban would strike at its biggest source of revenue and profits. BP is the biggest single oil company operating in the Gulf, and the 400,000 barrels a day it produces there represent 11 per cent of its total global output, accounting for an estimated 25 per cent of annual profits that reached $14bn in 2009.

"If we are unable to keep those fields going, that is going to have a substantial impact on our cash flow, David Nagel, the executive vice-president of BP America, told The New York Times, "and that makes it harder to fund things, fund these programmes."

BP insists it is standing by its promised $20bn clean-up fund, which would also pay government fines and meet compensation claims for the spill that spewed 206 million gallons of crude for three months until it was provisionally plugged in mid-August. But Mr Nagel's words are a heavy hint that other projects, including a $500m research programme on the impact of the spill, could be endangered if the Miller Bill became law.

Meanwhile, plans proceed for a final sealing of the rogue well. This week, engineers removed its temporary cap as a prelude to raising the massive blowout preventer whose failure caused the disaster. The preventer is now a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation of the calamity.

It will be replaced by a new one to deal with pressure that may be caused when a relief well BP has been drilling finally intersects its blown-out Macondo well. This will allow engineers to permanently seal the broken well from the bottom with mud and cement. The operation is expected some time next week after the Labor Day public holiday.

In another piece of good news, it seems clear that a second explosion on an oil platform in the Gulf on Thursday caused no long-term damage. Unlike the BP incident, the blast took place not on a rig but on a fixed platform, Vermillion 380, owned by the Mariner Energy group.

All 13 workers were rescued and there was no report of any spillage at the seabed. Moreover, the accident happened in waters only 300ft deep, compared with a sea depth of a mile in the case of BP's Macondo well, about 200 miles to the east.

The Coast Guard initially reported that an oil sheen a mile long and 100ft wide had begun to spread. Hours later, however, it said crews were unable to find any spill.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Germany's central bank agreed to dismiss a controversial board member yesterday amid a growing public outcry over his vitriolic criticism of Muslims and Jews in a new bestselling book that has been widely condemned as racist.

The Bundesbank's board said it had reached a unanimous decision to fire Social Democrat Thilo Sarrazin, 65, a former Berlin city government finance minister. Under German law, the step must be approved by the country's federal president, Christian Wulff.

Mr Sarrazin's dismissal appeared almost certain as the Bundesbank's statement came just hours after Mr Wulff had urged the bank to act, warning that the increasingly heated discussion about his remarks threatened to "damage Germany internationally".

Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the move, saying she had "great respect" for the decision. She had previously expressed her dismay over Mr Sarrazin's racial theories and condemned them as "completely unacceptable".

Mr Sarrazin, the son of a doctor and a Prussian aristocrat, outraged Germany's Jewish community by saying in an interview that "all Jews share a certain gene". The general secretary of the Central Council of Jews suggested afterwards that he should apply for a job as spokesman for race issues in the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party.

However, most of Mr Sarrazin's criticisms have been directed against Muslims living in Germany. In a book published on Monday entitled Deutschland Schafft Sich Ab (Germany is digging its own grave), he claims that Muslim immigrants will soon outnumber indigenous Germans because of their higher birth rates, and that they are disproportionately involved in crime and dependent on the welfare state.

"I don't want the country of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be largely Muslim or want Turkish or Arabic to be widely spoken," he argues in his book. "I don't want women wearing headscarves or the daily rhythm set by the call of the muezzin."

Yesterday, four days after its publication, Mr Sarrazin's book was topping Amazon Germany's bestseller list. His race theories have been published widely in the mass circulation Bild newspaper and featured as a debating topic on German television talkshows.

"With no other religion is there such a fluid connection between violence, dictatorship and terrorism as there is with Islam," Mr Sarrazin also claims. Germany's Muslim community has predictably condemned his remarks.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Dozens of maternity units are failing to provide adequate care for bereaved parents who have suffered a stillbirth, says a report out today.

A survey of NHS trusts by the charity Sands found that just 45 per cent have a room where parents can go to avoid the sights and sounds of women in labour and healthy babies.

More than half have no dedicated midwife trained in bereavement, and less than a third run bereavement-training sessions for doctors.

An average of 17 babies a day are stillborn or die shortly after birth in the UK. However, the survey of 77 NHS trusts found that care is poorly resourced and organised in 20 per cent of them, and is patchy in others.

It also found that more than 50 per cent of units continue to use communal graves for babies, with just 35 per cent using lockable covers. Many hospitals offer burials for babies who die during or soon after birth. They typically place several babies in each grave and do not pack the ground down fully until the grave is full.

The report warns that if it is not properly covered, there is a "very real risk" that a grave may be disturbed and the baby's body harmed.

"Lockable grave covers should always be used on a shared grave until it is full and the ground can be reconstituted," it states.

Earlier this year, a London couple were told by police that the body of their five-day-old son had been taken by a fox after being placed in a communal grave.

Godwin and Emem Iferi said their son David's coffin was covered only by planks of wood, allowing the animal to remove the body, which has never been found.

Judith Schott, who is improving care manager at Sands, said: "The fact that care in most units is good is of no help or comfort to those parents whose baby dies in a unit where care and resources are poor.

"Good care cannot remove the pain of parents' loss, but poor care makes things worse and affects their short and long-term well-being," she added.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

With the transfer window drawing to a close we take a look at the best signings of the summer.
Which teams captured the best players? Who picked up a bargain? This is our guide to the best summer buys. But who do you think is the best buy of the summer? Let us know by commenting below...

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Ministers are to offer cash incentives to councils that build official sites for travellers in an attempt to persuade communities to allow travellers set up home on their doorsteps.

In a move that risks igniting a major row, the Government is to use powers to encourage home building to also offer "financial benefits" to local authorities that develop land for caravans and campers. The Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, wants to stamp out unlawful developments. This week he will launch a charm offensive with the traveller community, saying those who "play by the rules" will get more rights and be treated in the same way as other mobile home residents.

In January this year there were more than 1,800 caravans on sites "not tolerated" by officials. The figures showed an 11 per cent increase on the previous year, while the number of caravans on sites with permission rose by 4 per cent in the same period.

Earlier this month, the Government announced plans for a new homes bonus which would be paid to councils that built more houses. But this week Mr Pickles will announce that the scheme will also include authorised traveller sites to ensure "all types of authorised residential developments are treated equally". Travellers on official council sites will be given the same rights and responsibilities as residents on other mobile home sites, while those who abide by their pitch agreement will have greater protection against eviction.

At the same time, the Government is expected to revoke the Whitehall Planning Circulars on travellers which some councils say have forced them to build on the countryside and compulsorily purchase land. It has been estimated that councils spend £18m a year evicting travellers from unauthorised sites.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Surgery at the smallest children's heart unit in England should remain "suspended until or unless the service can safely be expanded", an independent review into the deaths of four babies at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford has concluded.

The unit has been shut since February after the four children died within weeks of one another having been operated on by a junior consultant, Caner Salih.

He had been appointed to raise patient numbers at the unit, which was under threat of closure, but was asked to stop operating after blowing the whistle on practices within the unit.

The review panel, commissioned by the South Central Strategic Health Authority (SHA), has been examining all aspects of patient care at the unit. The department carried out around 100 operations a year and was one of the smallest units in the country.

It has examined the systems in place and asked whether "appropriate, proportionate, and timely actions were taken by the right members of staff whenever concerns were raised".

The report says there were two distinct groups of patients that had "more deaths than would have been expected from national mortality rates for the procedures carried out", and these could not be explained by chance.

First were the 15 cases operated on by the new surgeon, for which the rate of mortality was 4.8 times higher than that expected from national rates.

Second were complex procedures undertaken under the supervision of the senior cosultant, Professor Stephen Westaby, between 2000 and 2008, for which the rate of mortality was 5.3 times that expected from national rates.

Westaby and Salih were the only two paediatric cardiac surgeons at the time of the suspension. Salih left shortly afterwards, having been appointed as a consultant at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust in London.

Bill Kirkup, director of clinical standards at the SHA, said it would be unsafe to allow any further children's heart surgery to take place unless the unit is expanded. Although the report states there were "no errors of judgment that directly led to any of the deaths", there were problems in the "induction" and "mentoring" of Salih.

Westaby also comes in for criticism for his "somewhat idiosyncratic approach". He had booked a three-week holiday at the time his new junior surgeon arrived – and expected him not to undertake any surgery.

"It should have been clear from the outset that the two surgeons had significant differences of outlook and personality, and neither surgeon expressed any enthusiasm for joint working," said the report.

The panel makes it clear that although "the results between 2000 and 2008 were almost within the bounds of expected variation", this was because of the staff's determination to make an "unsatisfactory situation work despite its inherent flaws".

It adds: "That they did so is a reflection of their efforts, but we do not believe that it is right to rely on this to deliver a safe service in future: the risks for patients and parents are too high".

drive from www.guardian.co.uk

The publishing world is somewhat bewildered by a set of paparazzi shots that's doing the rounds. At first glance, the photos seem relatively standard: a world-famous film star performing a scene for his/her new movie. Unfortunately, these particular pictures, from the London set of One Day, a Hollywood adaptation of David Nicholls' novel, contain a glaring plot spoiler – which I shan't reveal here, film fans. On Monday, the pictures appeared on gossip website Gawker; then they were in yesterday's Daily Telegraph. Publishers Hodder are justifiably perplexed. Nicholls, appearing at the Edinburgh Book Festival yesterday, preferred not to comment. Luckily, plenty of people already know what happens in One Day: the rom-dram has sold 300,000 paperbacks in the UK, and is currently fifth on The New York Times bestseller list. Rather than ruin any endings here, I've picked a nice photo of one of the film's stars, Anne Hathaway (who may or may not appear in the aforementioned paparazzi shots) looking gorgeous at some premiere instead.

* I hear the Coalition has earned a rather more formidable critic than the brothers Miliband. Burma's Democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is upset about cuts to the BBC World Service – particularly the BBC Burmese Service, which celebrates its 70th birthday on 2 September. According to her lawyer, Kyi Win, who met her this week, Ms Suu Kyi, 65, "heard that the BBC could be facing some funding problems due to the current economic situation in Britain and the BBC Burmese Service might be facing cuts rather than expansion. She is very concerned about the situation as the people in Burma are relying on [the] BBC... for news and information." Not a view to be taken lightly, Mr Culture Secretary. (Tomorrow: Nelson Mandela slams the schools budget.)

* Proof the police and media are co-operating in a cover-up: the famous revolving sign outside Scotland Yard hasn't turned since Sunday, yet stock footage of the triangular totem in action continues to roll on the TV news channels. Hearing of the stoppage, I called the Scotland Yard press office, only to find them a tad miffed that I was the first to enquire about it. "We prepared [a response] on Sunday, and TV cameras have been filming outside since then, but no one seems to have noticed that the sign isn't moving!" After a spot of essential maintenance work, I'm told, it ought to be spinning again by the end of the week.

* The police have also taken a close interest in this year's Edinburgh Fringe. Last week, comic Dave Whitney was arrested for allegedly head-butting a heckler. Now there's the small matter of under-age nudity. In his show Taking Liberties, stand-up Sanderson Jones, aged 28, displays an image of a naked Brooke Shields, aged 10. The photograph, by Garry Gross, was removed from Tate Modern last year over fears that it broke obscenity laws. Jones, whose theme is freedom of expression, advertises his show as for over-16s only. But a stray listing misprint suggested it was suitable for 12-year-olds. One punter brought along her 14-year-old daughter, and subsequently complained to the police. "I also do some live Chat Roulette," Jones explains sheepishly. "During this particular show, an exhibitionist couple on the website had filmed themselves very up close and personal whilst, er... 'going at it'. The policeman I spoke to was understanding; I hope his colleagues come to the show as part of the investigation. Then I could sell out the weekend."

drive from www.independent.co.uk

What links exquisitely cooked young leeks, girolle mushrooms and roasted guinea fowl, and factory-farmed turkey breasts? The chef-turned-stock-cube-salesman Marco Pierre White.

The hot-tempered Yorkshireman, who became the youngest recipient of the gastronomic world's highest prize, three Michelin stars, is to become an "ambassador" for Britain's biggest turkey farmer, Bernard Matthews.

In return for an undisclosed sum, he will promote the East Anglian poultry giant and help devise a new range of processed products aimed at giving turkey all-year-round appeal.

The money from the move away from fine dining, where White made his name in the 1980s, may come in handy during his long-running divorce battle with his wife Mati. It also makes him an advocate of a firm whose most famous product, the nutritionally dubious (and now defunct) Turkey Twizzler, was vilified by his fellow chef Jamie Oliver in his campaign to improve school dinners.

For the £335m-turnover-a-year Bernard Matthews Farms, the high-profile endorsement may help it achieve its goal of shifting the UK away from its "turkey is just for Christmas" psyche and upgrade its tarnished image.

The private firm slumped to a £77m loss three years ago after an outbreak of avian flu at a plant in Holton, Suffolk that was closely related to a strain in Hungary, from where it had been importing turkey. An official government report found gulls could pick up turkey waste in the Holton compound and rodents could sneak through holes in turkey sheds. Bernard Matthews later announced it would farm only British birds in a corporate rebranding, for which White's tie-up appears to be the latest manifestation.

White, 48, who has a similar deal with Knorr chicken stock cubes, declined a request for an interview. However, in a statement put out by Bernard Matthews, he said he was "honoured and privileged" to be working with the firm "to promote the great bird and put turkey back on menus across the UK". "Ever since I was a young boy, I've been an admirer of turkey and particularly Bernard Matthews, because he is without question one of the great farmers of the last five decades," said White, who retired from the stove in 1999. "Turkey is the nation's favourite roast on the most important family day of the year, so why not all year round?"

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Everyone's got their own Something Nasty In The Woodshed, and mine is Madonna's muff. Not in the flesh, you understand – rather, hand-held in black-and-white, glimpsed a whopping EIGHTEEN YEARS ago when some commissioning clown thought it would be a right laugh to give sensitive, sheltered me her book SEX to review. Visions of that greasy muff, which one could easily have fried an egg on without the benefit of oil, haunt me till this very day. However in recent years I've started to come round to the old bird. She hangs out in Israel, and now she's allegedly been seen with booze in one hand and a fag in the other as she celebrated her 52nd birthday.

BOOZE AND FAGS! The twins pillars of hedonism, demonised as heartless killers in the press, Booze and Fags are like a pair of fugitives who need each other but don't really like each other. I envision them on the run from the PC Police, each blaming the other for their pariah status.

"It's all your fault for giving people cancer!" yells Booze, fair chucking it back as they run. "You fat ignorant brute," replies Fags, stopping to light up. "If you hadn't got all those kids chugging down alcopops and beating each other up in the town centre of a Saturday night, we'd be laughing. Oh no, but YOU had to go and create an 8.5 per cent-proof low-calorie lager, didn't you?"

"You lowered the nation's sperm count and made my nan's breath stink!" retorts Booze. And on they go... together yet apart.

As a non-smoker who loves to drink and whose friends all smoke, I can see both sides of the story. There's no doubt that Fags gets the worst rap when it comes to shunning. I've just received an e-mail telling me that One Aldwych hotel, for a decade my home-from-home in London – a place where over 10 years I've probably spent enough money to literally buy a house – will get rid of its small number of designated smoking rooms from 1 September.

Meanwhile, down in the Lobby Bar where I've spent so many happy hours, people will continue to pay handsomely to ruin their health, as they will be doing in pubs and clubs all across the country. These drinkers may or may not go on to wreak havoc in cars, or they may take it into their heads to beat up or murder some innocent bystander – yet we still see adverts in which alcohol is portrayed as some magic potion, one sip of which will bid us enter some sexy, sparkly wonderland of fun and games. No one shows you photos of ruined livers on bottles of booze – yet no one ever went and mowed down a pedestrian or urinated on a war memorial because they'd smoked a whole packet of Benson & Hedges in one go.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

The South African government has been accused of resorting to censorship policies reminiscent of the Apartheid era in a bid to silence its critics in the media.

The ruling African National Congress is pushing a series of measures which would, opponents say, undermine freedom of speech, criminalise investigative reporting and threaten whistleblowers in the civil service with lengthy prison sentences.

The Protection of Information Bill, currently before parliament, where the ANC holds a two-thirds majority, is part of two-pronged effort to bring the media under closer control. The second stage is a proposed Media Tribunal which would make South Africa's press – often accused by the government of being anti-ANC – answerable to parliament.
In a petition launched on Friday opposing the measures a host of South Africa's leading writers, including Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer, hit out at a return to Apartheid-era censorship.

"The signatures below are those of writers whose work was banned under the Apartheid regime," read an open letter drafted by Gordimer, André Brink, Njabulo Ndebele, John Kani and Achmat Dangor. "We are threatened again, now with a gag over the word processor."

The writers described the tribunal as the "descent of a shutter over the dialogue of the arts" and the creation of the "Word Police".

In recent years South Africa's press has been increasingly occupied by the rise of the "tenderpreneurs" – a new, wealthy elite who use their political connections to benefit from state contracts.

Many of the sweetheart deals have come through the largely discredited Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programme that was meant to improve the lot of disadvantaged blacks but has helped to create a new, narrow elite.

Earlier this month a company headed by Jacob Zuma's 28-year-old son Duduzane was shown to have received more than £80m in shares from Arcelor-Mittal. The company said the stake in the South African arm of the steel giant was allocated for "strategic assistance" with meeting its BEE requirements.

Other beneficiaries included the reported girlfriend of the deputy president and an "empowerment advisory counsel" to the President.

drive from www.independent.co.uk