WELCOME to today's tasty news morsels, including SPORT, TELEVISION and BUSINESS.
RED TOP REVIEWBy Fiona Leith Smeato robbed of his day in court Fifteen months after the attack on Glasgow Airport, the case hearing finally gets under way this Thursday, at Woolwich Crown Court.
But cometh the hour, no cometh the Smeato, as the baggage handler-cum-national hero has been informed that it's unlikely he will be required to give evidence.
Today's Sun gives its gallant columnist room to vent his frustration – he wanted his day in court to prove wrong all those who have cast doubt on the role he played in thwarting the bombers.
Christmas is coming – and Santa's got work to do There'll be no more Bad Santas this Christmas if the launch of a new school for aspiring Mr Clauses is to be believed,
according to today's Daily Record. The school, based in Dumfriesshire (www.santaschool.co.uk), hopes to train up a new breed of festive Father Christmases with its one-day course in everything from how to keep your red suit clean to the history and ethos of Christmas.
Richest landowners in the money Meanwhile, there's not much of a charitable attitude coming from
the Daily Express today, as it attacks the EU grants being handed out to the royal family and Mohammed al-Fayed. The grants encourage animal welfare and environmentally friendly practices such as protecting hedgerows, and can be used to repair buildings or fund developments. But the Express is outraged that "the Castle of Mey estate in Caithness, former home of the Queen Mother and used as a retreat by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, received £65,000 to help build a visitor centre. More than £238,000 was given to Mr al-Fayed's 30,000-acre Balnagown sporting estate near Inverness. And the Strathmore Farming Company, which maintains Glamis Castle, owned by Michael Fergus Bowes-Lyon, received more than £800,000. On average, the 100 biggest claimants received around £1 million each in subsidies over the past three years."
SPORT
The game in Spain must be a win for Celtic By Graham Bean Celtic flew out to Spain this morning for tomorrow's Champions League clash with Villarreal without defender Andreas Hinkel.
The German full-back is missing through injury, but midfielder Barry Robson is part of the travelling party after taking a painkilling injection to combat the groin strain which has seen him miss the last two games.
Having been held to a scoreless draw in their opening Champions League match at home to Aalborg, Gordon Strachan's side need to take something from the game in Spain – a tall order given Villarreal's talents and Celtic's poor away record in the competition. Back-to-back clashes with Manchester United follow in matchdays three and four for the Parkhead side, who face an uphill struggle to reach the last 16 of Europe's elite club competition for the third season in a row.
Celtic's abysmal away form in the Champions League has long been a source of mystery but the Scottish champions have got away with it over the last couple of seasons because of their outstanding home record. Failing to beat Aalborg means Celtic need to take something on the road.
They can take some comfort from the fact that the single away point they did win in the Champions League came in Spain – when they held Barcelona to a draw at the Nou Camp in season 2004-05. The same sort of courage will be required tomorrow evening.
TELEVISION By Fiona Leith Politicians on a knife-edge As the Conservative Party conference gets under way, all eyes are on David Cameron. Can he can take advantage of Gordon Brown's precarious position, or has the Labour leader's rousing speech at his own conference done enough to convince the backstabbers and the public that he's the man for the job?
In tonight's Dispatches, Antony Barnett investigates the funding of the Conservatives under Cameron's leadership. He examines how the party is using its resources to ensure he becomes the next prime minister and scrutinises the leader's promise of openness and transparency.
The BBC, meanwhile, has put Nick Robinson on the case, in an interview with Cameron in Birmingham as he meets undecided voters.
Dispatches: Cameron's Money Men, Channel 4, 8pm; Panorama: Next Stop Downing Street, BBC1, 8.30pm All the news from Sarajevo If you were unlucky enough to miss their performance in Edinburgh this summer and their subsequent tour around Scotland, watch tonight's report on Sarajevo's East West Theatre Company as they stage a production of Nigel Williams' play Class Enemy at the Edinburgh International Festival, as the director and cast talk about taking the work from Sarajevo to Scotland.
Class Enemy: A Message from Sarajevo, BBC2, 10pm BUSINESS
Bradford and Bingley nationalisation is confirmed By Fiona Leith Bradford & Bingley has become the second British bank to be nationalised, as the government stepped in this morning following further dramatic falls in the company's share price. Pressure is now building on the Bank of England to reassure the financial markets that there will be security for all banks.
The government has bought B&B's £50 billion of mortgages and loans, while Spanish bank Santander, owner of Abbey, has taken control of the £24 billion savings deposits belonging to two million savers spread across 200 branches.
Alasdair Darling said investors had lost confidence in B&B and the government was moving to stabilise the wider financial sector. It was a low-risk move, he said, adding that he expected Bradford & Bingley to "be open for business as usual to provide continuity of service to customers".
