If I ever write a book...

If I ever write a book about Longbridge and the firm that lived and died at that Midlands car factory-cum-morgue, it will be called: MG Rover: Murder or Suicide? As the corpse remains warm and the post-mortem is still ongoing, it"s far too early to know the answer. But my provisional conclusion is that the irresponsible parents known as the Phoenix Four were responsible for malnourishing the factory so badly, it had to be put on a life-support machine. And that"s when the equally cruel Whitehall Two allowed the MG Rover company to be subjected to involuntary, state-sponsored, unjustifiable homicide.

The four-year survey...

The four-year survey will plot every pipe, cable, drain and sewer in the UK, and make the information available for contractors on hand-held computers. Four million holes are dug in the roads each year, but many are unnecessary as there are no reliable plans showing utilities buried since Victorian days. The annual digging bill of чЈ1billion rises to чЈ5bn when the cost of congestion is included.