UK News: Fox pledges to sort MoD spending chaos

DEFENCE Secretary Liam Fox will today pledge to tackle the financial mismanagement that blew a £36 billion hole in his department's budget.

Dr Fox blames the overspending on Labour, saying it created a "culture of optimism" among officials based on "poor cost-estimation" and "unrealistic time-scales".

BAA posts 317m loss

UK airports operator BAA made a loss of 317m for 2010.

The company's chief executive, Colin Marshall, described the company's performance as "robust" despite the losses.

The pre-tax, unadjusted figure is an improvement on 2009's loss of 822m.

Parents' race not a 'deal breaker' for adoption

WHITE couples should be allowed to adopt black and ethnic minority children, new guidance is expected to state today.

Advice set to be published by Education Secretary Michael Gove will make clear that race should not be a "deal-breaker" if the prospective adopters show that they are able to parent the child.

Ministers believe social workers have been over-zealous in seeking to place youngsters with adoptive parents of the same racial background.

Blood pressure overhaul

THE health watchdog is planning a major overhaul of how blood pressure is monitored and treated on the NHS. Under draft guidelines, which are open to consultation, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence proposes changes that could see a cut in the number of people under 40 diagnosed with high blood pressure thanks to more accurate testing.

Brucie 'should be a knight'

FORMER BBC and ITV chairman Michael Grade has blamed "innate snobbery" for the absence of a knighthood for Bruce Forsyth.

The Strictly Come Dancing host, who turns 83 today, has not received the honour despite years of campaigning by his supporters.

London: Sir Chris Hoy rode on the finished London 2012 cycle track for the first time today and said he "can't wait" for the Olympics to begin. The four-time Olympic champion was joined by fellow Beijing winners Victoria Pendleton and Jason Kenny plus a team of British sprint stars who are all aiming for London 2012 success.

Cornwall: Britain's first commercial wind farm was set to reopen today after a multi-million-pound redevelopment which will double potential output. Energy Secretary Chris Huhne was to relaunch the Delabole wind farm, at the remote site near Wadebridge, 20 years after the blades first started turning on the site.