What the Sunday papers said

Olympic silver medallist Shelley Rudman celebrated her success in her home village of Pewsey in Wiltshire at the weekend, and then joined regulars at the pub which had raised the money to send her to Turin. Ms Rudman's supporters toasted her second place medal in the 'skeleton' event with pints of 'Shelley's Silver Slider', a real ale brewed specially for the occasion by Wadworth's of Devizes. - Sunday Express​

The House of Lords is setting itself on a collision course with the government again over identity cards, with opposition peers planning to vote against a requirement for anyone getting a new passport from 2008 to register fingerprints and other details for a national card. A YouGov survey found 52 per cent of the British public still supported ID cards, although support has waned in recent months. - The Observer​

Tessa Jowell's political woes deepened over the weekend with revelations that her husband made £67,000 profit from buying shares in a pub chain while his wife was public health minister. Mr Mill's is understood to bought - and later sold - 91,000 shares in the Old Monk Company, a private firm run by Gerry Martin, the younger brother of Tim Martin, founder of the JD Wetherspoon pub empire. There was no suggestion that Ms Jowell knew of or was influenced by her husband's share dealings in the company, but at the time he held the shares she was involved in the government's review of licensing legislation. The Observer had not heard from Ms Jowell or Mr Mills on the latest allegations. - The Observer​

Consumers and businesses face the threat of even higher gas prices next year if a merger between two French energy giants goes ahead. An alliance between Gaz de France and Suez might threaten supplies through the Interconnector, the pipeline between Britain and the Continent. Such a concentrated ownership would lead to more unpredictability, less transparency and more volatility in supplies and pricing, an energy expert told the 'paper. - Mail On Sunday​

The days of private equity firms hoovering up every company that moves may be drawing to a close. In 2000, such firms bought one in 20 companies up for sale in Europe; last year it was one in three. Such companies are behind a number of pub and bar companies, such as Barracuda, the Tattershall Castle Group and Inventive Leisure. However, the stellar returns of such outfits are coming under the spotlight and they may soon face a raft of issues, not least increased taxes on their profits. - Independent On Sunday​

Southampton-based Bacardi Martini is the only drinks-related company to feature in the Sunday Times' 100 Best Companies To Work For listing. It ranks 15th out of 100, slipping from ninth place in last year's poll. Cobra Beer, the London-based beer and wine sales/marketing outfit, ranked 35th in the 100 Best Small Companies To Work For, slipping from 29th place in the 2005 survey. - Sunday Times​