Please see below M&C Report’s round up of this weekend’s papers: Tobacco giant loses fight over vending machines An attempt to overturn a proposed ban on cigarette vending machines in pubs, clubs and restaurants has been rejected by the Court of Appeal. The judges’ decision, by a 2-1 majority, was attacked by the tobacco industry, which claimed that the £400m cigarette vending machine market would be killed with the loss of more than 500 jobs. Imperial Tobacco, which had brought the appeal through Sinclair Collis, its vending machine subsidiary, said it would seek to appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court. The tobacco maker said: “We have also asked the court to delay implementation of the vending ban until the appeal has been decided.” The Times, Saturday Catch of the day: McDonald’s to serve up ‘sustainable’ fish McDonald’s is seeking to enhance its once heavily-criticised environmental record by switching to fish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. In the latest installment of a long-running ethical makeover, the US company will source MSC Alaskan Pollack from Alaska, New Zealand hooky and Baltic cod in its European outlets. As well as serving up officially sustainable Filet-o-Fish at 7,000 outlets, it will put the MSC logo on cartons, promoting the best-known scheme for preserving fish stocks. The MSC praised McDonald’s, saying it showed it was committed to conserving the oceans, which are in peril from over-fishing. Roby Middleton, MSC’s UK manager, said: “This isn’t the work of a moment. It’s part of a much larger piece of work McDonald’s have done with fisheries towards sustainable sourcing. And the result in the restaurant sector is, I believe, a real sign of the MSC going to scale. McDonald’s is uniquely likely to influence people’s eating and shopping habits and is setting a good example to the rest of the food service sector.” The Independent, Saturday Soaring food prices ‘will be devastating for the world’s poor’ Food prices will soar by as much as 30% over the next 10 years, the United Nations and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have predicted. Angel Gurria, secretary general of the OECD, said that any further increase in global food prices, which have risen by 40% over the past year, will have a “devastating” impact on the world’s poor and is likely to lead to political unrest, famine and starvation. The joint UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and OECD report predicted that the cost of cereals is likely to increase by 20% and the price of meat, particularly chicken, may soar by up to 30%. The Guardian, Saturday Maternity leave plans shelved A planned European Union extension of paid maternity leave to 20 weeks has been shelved after ministers from 14 countries blocked the proposals in Brussels yesterday. The UK and Germany were among the member states that opposed the controversial directive, which had been backed by the European Parliament. Last year, a European Commission study found that the proposal – which needed agreement from ministers – would cost the UK £2.25bn a year and more than double the cost of maternity care. The Telegraph, Saturday Grapes of wrath as ‘Bordeaux bubble’ dulls investor appetite It might have been described as “the vintage of the decade” by French chateaux producers, but the Bordeaux campaign has fallen flat as wine investors and drinkers are refusing to swallow the high prices demanded. Wine merchants in London report that sales of the 2010 vintage – while still in the barrel, or en primeur – are running at half the volume of last year, blaming fears of a “Bordeaux bubble” as investors push up prices to unpalatable levels. FT Weekend That’s against the caw A man has been arrested on suspicion of supplying rooks to a pub featured in the Michelin guide. Police acted after chef Roger Serjent, 40, sparked outrage by featuring a rook salad on the menu. They held a 45-year-old man on suspicion of supplying legally-protected birds to the Taverns pub in Godshill on the Isle of Wight. Four years ago celebrity TV chef Gordon Ramsey sparked a row after he served up the same dish during filming of his Channel 4 TV show the F Word. The Mirror, Saturday ‘Pre-packs’ are facing crack down Controversial ‘pre-pack’ deals under which insolvent companies are sold back to their own management, free of debt, face a legal crackdown. Ministers are to act after serious concerns were raised about firms using the arrangement to write off what they owed. Not only does this leave some creditors out in the cold, it means rival firms face unfair competition from a debt-free company. It also jeopardises workers’ pensions. Pre-packs are arranged by insolvency practitioners before the firm is put into administration. If secured creditors agree, the deal is done almost instantly. There have also been fears that dishonest business people have used pre-packs as a way of avoiding paying their debts. A draft statutory instrument, seen by the Financial Mail, would force insolvency practitioners to advertise planned deals to give creditors a chance to object. And ministers have closed a potential loophole by extending the new regime to cover liquidations as well as administrations. The new regulations will be welcomed by critics of pre-pack arrangements, but many in the insolvency profession claim they will prove bureaucratic, expensive and difficult to enforce. The Mail on Sunday Start-ups may get income tax boost New firms could be allowed to pay a simple flat rate of PAYE income tax for all their employees for their first five years in business. The Treasury is looking at this and a number of other proposals that would lift the burden of tax collection faced by entrepreneurs. A Whitehall advisory board came up with the idea, which would spare start-ups from having to administer a range of tax codes for staff. But it could mean a headache for their employees if, as expected, they would be left responsible for squaring their personal account with Revenue & Customs at the end of the tax year paying any extra tax required. The Mail on Sunday New safe pint glass A new pint glass aims to end the booze-fuelled glassings that injure thousands of people each year. The Perfect Pint is made of toughened glass and shatters into tiny pieces when it is broken rather than leaving sharp shards. It was made by the firm Utopia, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, from the Government’s Design Out crime scheme. News of the World, Sunday Ripe for a price rise Baked beans and pasta sauces are among foods set o soar in price as the cost of tomatoes rockets. Increasing global demand and bad weather is to blame, says market research firm Mintec. News of the World, Sunday Meet Dame Judi, the face of Britain Inc She arguably ranks alongside Stonehenge, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Scottish Highlands as one of Britain’s best-loved national treasures known throughout the world. And now Dame Judi Dench is to use her global appeal to sell the other virtues of Great Britain in an advertising campaign aimed at attracting millions more tourists from overseas. The Shakespearean actor and James Bond stalwart will be joined by the Slumdog millionaire star Dev Patel in the “You’re Invited” global TV drive – the first for a decade by the tourism agency VisitBritain. The £100m marketing drive will seek to capitalise on the global interest in the royal wedding and the huge attention – and vast TV audiences – which the London Olympics and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 are expected to attract. Officials hope to cash in on the spotlight falling on Britain to draw in an additional four million visitors spending around £2bn, targeting in particular the lucrative and expanding Asian and Latin American markets. The Independent on Sunday Porridge for restaurant conman A man who left restaurants 422 times without paying his bill will now get free meals for 84 days, courtesy of Her Majesty’s Prison Service. Patrick Ryan, 56, was arrested in Blackpool after a £52 lunch with drinks and brandies at an Italian restaurant. Magistrates jailed him for 12 weeks after being told of his extraordinary criminal record. In the past six months, he left without paying for meals in restaurants in Cambridge, Doncaster, London, Milton Keynes and Newcastle upon Tyne. The Sunday Telegraph Green taxes ‘not working for business’ Business leaders’ willingness to cut carbon emissions has fallen since the launch of a raft of green taxes on the industry, according to a report. Just 37% of executives said investment in energy efficiency was a priority for their company, down from one half when the Carbon Reduction Commitment was launched last year. The survey of chief executives, board members and chief financial officers from 200 leading companies including easyJet, Coca Cola and B&Q, was carried out by T-Systems, the IT provider, and the Economist Intelligence Unit and will be published on Thursday. It found 35% of businesses plan to spend no money on reducing emissions this year, while another 38.6% will spend less than £250,000. The Sunday Telegraph Gambling Act was bad bet Tax and regulatory changes that were expected to boost the casino industry have in fact led to a decline in their revenues, product investment and job creation, according to an analysis by Ernst & Young. The Gambling Act 2005, which was expected to create more casinos, has limited capacity for existing casinos to create new products without delivering any new licences, a report by the accountancy firm found. Fixed stakes rules and quotas for gambling machines have also left casinos unable to absorb rising costs by passing them on to customers. There has also been a long-term erosion of their margins since the changes were introduced. The Sunday Telegraph

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