News replaced nudity, while debauchery was supplemented by documentaries.Along with the blunt-speaking Ms Airey, the award is presented to Kevin Lygo, Channel 5’s director of programming, and his team – many of whom he poached from Channel 4, allowing his former employer to fill the smut gap left by Channel 5 It was the shotgun wedding of the year. The takeover by marketing services giant WPP of media buying agency Tempus was a deal neither... 

Some of the obstacles were self- imposed, others were the result of Britain’s failure to invest in infrastructure and public services for more than 30 years. Supposedly mighty ministers pulled levers and nothing happened Sometimes they had no levers to pull Other times they chose not to pull them. The confusion became increasingly transparent, a significant shift in British political culture. As foot and mouth raged, the crisis in parts of... 

It is supported on the backbenches on the centre, to the left and to the right”.But Mr Byers has got himself in trouble too often to feel safe. As Secretary of State for Trade and Industry he notoriously failed to pick up the signs that BMW were planning to sell the Rover plant in Longbridge. That was a piece of cake compared to implementing the Railtrack policy. In the meantime the trains are not running on time and Ms Moore is still in place.... 

She still has the brisk, friendly manner of a primary school teacher in one of New Labour’s beacon schools and retains close ties with the unions and party activists. “She’s got a fantastic mastery of detail,” says one union leader. “She’s also very good at using it against you.”Ms Hunter could charm and intimidate, sometimes simultaneously. Visitors to Downing Street were known to melt or blush when confronted... 

An extra 1 per cent interest would cost £500m a year and, as these deals are typically financed over 15-year contracts, that would add up to £7.5bn.There is a perception among senior bankers in the City that investors have not been treated fairly, and this is leading banks to refuse to be involved in deals involving the Government.This will be tested in the next few weeks, when London Underground signs its first two PPP deals with two consortia,... 

And there was that juicy £300m engine order from Emirates this week. The shares have responded and I have bought a few more at 159p, simply because I still feel that, on a mean and miserable p/e ratio of 10, the value in this company remains unrecognised. It may take a long time for that perception to change, but if Rolls-Royce survives this downturn then perhaps the facts will be allowed to speak for themselves.Which is what seems to be happening,... 

Banking industry figures believe 7.6 million of the 16 million who claim benefits or state pensions already have the money paid into their bank accounts. Under the new rules, the remainder will be able to choose the basic, Post Office Card account, or apply for a “no-frills” bank account with one of the 10 banks and building societies backing the scheme. The Government hopes the Post Office Card account will be fully operational by the... 

They score badly and are considered bad prospects.”The rules of credit scoring can also be unpredictable for the average self-employed applicant. Divorcees win more credit points than single men or women, but a divorcee whose previous partner has run up large debts gets fewer. Although having a credit card makes you a winner in the credit-score world, changing it every six months to get a better APR usually turns you into a loser. They would... 

Table d’h?dinner was around €18 per person.We took the ferry to Dieppe. Hoverspeed now runs this route all year, which is useful, as most of the g?s are available throughout the year and are perfect for short breaks. Our aim was to relax, so we chose the chambres d’h? option, booking evening meals each time.Within half an hour of leaving Dieppe we found ourselves turning down a lane to the village of Chapelle sur Dun, where a sign... 

There was something else in those eyes, too, something indefinably wild and exotic, and it scared me a little. We hadn’t known each other long, yet here we were, moving as one, she responding to my every touch My clumsiness and inexperience were no problem for Viktoria. She knew exactly what she was doing and she did it wonderfully well. That time it ended badly: after careering blindly at full gallop down a Worcestershire lane, I’d ended...