'Fury as chance to save pubs lost'

Campaigners last night blasted watchdogs for rejecting a shake-up that could save "hundreds of pubs". The Office of Fair Trading threw out a complaint that a lack of competition is fuelling drink prices - and crippling trade. Furious bosses at the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) said the "extraordinary" ruling sounded the death knell for struggling boozers across Britain - The Sun​

Speculation about a boardroom bust-up leapt yesterday at JD Wetherspoon as the pubs group revealed the abrupt mystery departure of two executives. The group, which runs several hundred pubs in the UK and about 40 in Scotland, said finance director Keith Down and chief operating officer Paul Harbottle would go "in due course" - Scotsman​

Local government bureaucrats have had to follow 74,000 pages of new rules and instructions handed down by Whitehall over the past decade, council chiefs complained yesterday. The forest of red tape was a product of 4,000 different laws and circulars covering everything from parish council election advice to carbon reduction targets - Daily Mail ​

For those who dread sprouts being served up on their plate over the festive season, it could be the ideal Christmas present. A new variety of the vegetable, the red sprout, is expected to be a hit this year as it is supposedly milder and sweeter than the bitter-tasting traditional green version - Daily Mail ​

It has been an epic battle. The planning dispute over the site of a supermarket in the Norfolk town of Sheringham has lasted longer than the first and second world wars combined. Yesterday, after 14 years, Tesco emerged victorious, defeating townspeople who had fought to shield businesses from commercial competition with the retail giant.By the narrowest of margins, the chain won permission for the 1,500 sq metre scheme to go ahead after the chairman of North Norfolk district council's development committee cast the deciding vote at the end of a six-hour meeting - The Guardian​