The government has asked a legal expert to examine the case for lowering the legal alcohol limit for drivers and tightening the laws on drug-driving. Sir Peter North will give a report of his independent research to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis before April. The current limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, but there has been support for a lowering of the limit to 50 milligrams. The government is launching a £1.2m Christmas anti-drink-drive campaign - BBC
We leap out of bed by 8am... but by 9.58am we're having our first row. Christmas Day in most families dissolves into squabbles by mid-morning, says a survey. Tired, hyper children get on their parents nerves, and adults have tucked into the booze by 11.49am - Mirror
Failure to take action on alcohol misuse - including not introducing minimum pricing - will lead to more lives being lost, a leading doctor will warn today. Professor Ian Gilmore, the president of the Royal College of Physicians, will tell an event in Aberdeen there is "compelling evidence" that price is linked to alcohol use and harm - The Scotsman
Hospitality employers are still abusing the tips system despite Government moves to stop them being counted as part of workers' wages, a leading union claimed today. Unite said it was "frustrated and disappointed" that employers were continuing to prevent all customers' tips going straight to workers. A "file of failure" was today sent to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, who announced during the Labour Party conference in September that the tips loophole was being closed - The Independent
Commmercial radio companies have joined forces to broadcast a cross-network appeal on behalf of people affected by the flooding in Cumbria - The Guardian