'M&B says Carr to step down after review'

Roger Carr will step down as chairman of Mitchells & Butlers on completion of its strategic review, due by the end of May, the pub group announced yesterday. Drummond Hall, the former Dairy Crest chief executive, will step up from non-executive director to deputy chairman with immediate effect, and he will succeed Carr as chairman if the review recommends that M&B remains an independent company - Financial Times ​

Alistair Darling has stepped up pressure on Britain's energy companies to cut fuel bills for the poor or face a windfall tax on their profits, amid a consumer backlash over power prices Financial Times ​

A university fresher drank himself to death during an initiation ceremony, an inquest has heard. Gavin Britton, 18, accepted a challenge to down a lethal cocktail of shots followed by a pint of pure spirits during a pub crawl at Exeter University - Daily Telegraph​

Children less than a year old have been taken to hospitals in the North East of Scotland with alcohol-related illnesses, it was revealed yesterday - The Scotsman​

A woman was beaten up and left for dead by a gang of teenage thugs after she went to feed a stray cat. A girl smashed a bottle over her head then the yobs laid into her with punches and kicks. A yob aged 17 also poured beer over her then one yelled, "Leave it" and they fled - The Mirror​

A man who fell through a pub's open trapdoor has accepted £3,750 compensation in an out-of-court settlement - The Scotsman​