Wednesday, 6th May 2015

INDUSTRY

Litigation funder raises £200m for new cases

Litigation funder Therium Capital Management has raised £200m to invest in big ticket litigation. Therium is currently invested in more than 30 legal cases in the UK and US including the high-profile shareholder claim against former directors of Lloyds Group for allegedly misleading investors over the 2008 merger with HBOS. Neil Purslow, founder and chief investment officer of Therium said: "We are seeing a lot of money coming into established litigation funders, and large institutional funds are coming into this space. There is a greater track record on legal cases and it is becoming more predictable. Law firms also have more and more interest in litigation funding.”

Financial Times, Page: 21

Catch-up court TV

Frances Gibb reports on the new on-demand archive of court hearings in the Times. The online service, dubbed “Court Catch-up”, will cover all last year's Supreme Court hearings, along with those of the Privy Council. The footage will be available free for a year after the hearing before being removed to make way for new cases. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, president of the Supreme Court, said: "The archive will…be useful to the legal profession and serve as an informative tool for those considering a career in the law."

The Times, Page: 18

Obese women more likely to suffer discrimination

Researchers from University Hospital Leipzig in Germany have told the European Congress on Obesity that women are twice as likely to suffer from discrimination for being obese. “Discrimination in obesity and its negative consequences are highly relevant issues within society and need to be the focus of potential legislative interventions,” they said.

Daily Mail, Page: 8

CASES

Woman awarded £8m after NHS blunder

A pregnant woman left brain damaged after her heart was accidentally punctured during an NHS operation has won an £8m compensation pay-out. The woman was admitted to Salford Royal Hospital in 2010 following complications arising from an ectopic pregnancy. During an operation, medics pierced one of the chambers of her heart, causing it to stop. She was then left with “permanent and severe brain damage”. Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust admitted liability in July 2012, and a trial was due to start earlier to assess the size of the payout. However, after negotiations, the woman’s legal team agreed a last minute deal with the trust, worth £8m.

Daily Mail, Page: 37   BBC News   Daily Mirror, Page: 18   Daily Express, Page: 23

Police granted access to journalists phones

Old Bailey judge Mr Justice Sweeney yesterday approved an application by prosecutors to access journalists' telephone records. Scotland Yard's Operation Elveden investigation into alleged payments by journalists to public officers was required to obtain a court order in public for the first time, having previously accessed telephone records secretly.

The Times, Page: 4   The Press and Journal, Page: 17

HP suit charges Autonomy with fraud  

New details of Hewlett-Packard's $5.1bn (£3.6bn) lawsuit against Autonomy have emerged in a court filing. In the documents, HP accused former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch and the company’s former CFO, Sushovan Hussain, of artificially inflating the company's revenue before HP bought the firm. New court documents show correspondence between Brent Hogenson, the CFO of Autonomy's American offices, and Deloitte, the company's auditors, which questioned whether statements of revenue and income were accurate.

The Daily Telegraph, Business, Page: 1   The Times, Page: 43   Financial Times, Page: 15   The Guardian, Page: 22   Daily Mail, Page: 82

Mother ordered to hand daughter to gay father

A High Court judge has ruled that a 15-month-old girl should be taken from her “homophobic” mother and sent to live with her wealthy gay father and his lover. Ms Justice Russell said the woman lied when she agreed to become a surrogate for the gay couple and really wanted a baby for herself.

The Daily Telegraph, Page: 15   Daily Mail, Page: 21   The Times, Page: 21   Independent i, Page: 5

Airport expansion at risk from pollution ruling

An expansion of Heathrow airport may have been made harder by a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Government to produce a plan to cut nitrogen dioxide levels at blackspots, including close to Heathrow, so they fall within EU limits.

Evening Standard London, Page: 9

THE LAW

Hindu council probed   

The National Council of Hindu Temples is being investigated by the charity regulator after issuing an open letter to supporters which appeared to endorse the Conservative Party. The group was critical of Labour and Lib Dem support for changes to the Equality Act that would make caste discrimination illegal.

The Times, Page: 13  Independent i, Page: 6

French parliament approves new law on intelligence-gathering

The French parliament has approved a new law will allow authorities to spy on the digital and mobile communications of anyone linked to a "terrorist" inquiry without prior authorisation from a judge, and forces Internet service providers and phone companies to give up data upon request. It will go before the upper house senate later this month.

BBC News  The Daily Telegraph  The Guardian, Page: 15   Financial Times, Page: 7   Independent i, Page: 30   The Scotsman, Page: 19

TAX

McDonalds accused of avoiding £658m tax in Europe

Trade unions have accused McDonalds of avoiding paying more than £658m in corporate taxes between 2009 and 2013 after it moved its UK headquarters to Switzerland, before channelling cash into a Luxembourg-based company with a Swiss branch. The unions say that the Luxembourg unit had sales of £2.7bn - but only employed 13 people and reported paying just £11.8m in taxes. Separately, the European Commission's investigation into whether tax deals granted by individual member states to companies including Apple and Starbucks are legal has been delayed due to a lack of data, competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

The Times, Page: 50    Daily Mail, Page: 20   Independent i, Page: 45   Daily Mirror, Page: 4   International New York Times, Page: 14

PROPERTY

Wealthy choose to rent due to mansion tax concerns

Average annual rent growth in prime central London rose to 4.1% per month in the 12 months to April as wealthy people chose to rent instead of buying a house amid fears a Labour government will introduce a mansion tax, according to Knight Frank.

The Times, Page: 46

FIRMS

Black Country advisers back new FiB division

Crowe Clark Whitehill and Higgs & Sons join Lloyds Bank in backing Families in Business’ (FiB) new Black Country division.

Business Quarter

ECONOMY

Election uncertainty impacts construction activity

Britain’s construction industry experienced a sharp slowdown in activity last month, with output and new orders growing at their slowest rates since June 2013. The Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI dropped to 54.2 in April, down on March’s 57.8 and below analysts’ projected 57.4.

The Daily Telegraph   Independent i, Page: 44   Financial Times, Page: 4   The Independent, Page: 57   Yorkshire Post, Page: 17

OTHER

Iran bans “devil-worshipping hairstyles”

Iran has banned spiky haircuts it considers “homosexual” and “devil worshipping”. Tattoos, solarium treatments and plucking eyebrows [for men] are also deemed un-Islamic.

The Guardian, Page: 19

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