What the Sunday papers said
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the pub company behind the Harvester chain, is facing a much higher liability from a failed property deal than the £60m previously indicated. Some sources suggest it could now be up to £200m. The pub operator had arranged a hedge against increases in the long-term interest rate as part of a property joint venture it had been planning with tycoon Robert Tchenguiz. But the market moved against the pub company during the conclusion of those talks, depressing interest rates, and leaving M&B with a potential £60m liability. Since then, the market has continued to move against M&B and analysts believe it now faces a charge of up to £200m. - Sunday Times
A Carlisle pub has become the first in England to close due to the smoking ban. It says trade plummeted when the law came into force. Angelique West, the Milbourne Arms' landlady, said: "People just didn't go outside to smoke." - Sunday Express
"If a lager lout rolls up to A&E, having sustained injuries in a pub brawl, he is frequently inclined to turn his ire upon the medical staff," writes columnist Jenny McCartney. "Such public service workers are often seen as the incompetent representatives of a despised authority, rather than professionals to be respected for their willingness to help. The relationship of too many patients to the NHS is that of a whiny child to a nagging mother. As it happens, I rather like chain-smokers, boozers and gluttons: they often exude a much headier aroma of joie de vivre than the health nuts. But the best of them are also proper adults, ready to take the medical rap for their own behaviour or make hard choices when they must." - Sunday Telegraph
