The schools set up by the previous government and expanded by the current one improved by 2

The schools, set up by the previous government and expanded by the current one, improved by 2.5 percentage points on average for the proportion of pupils achieving five good grades, compared with 1.5 percentage points for of all schools. Teacher's leaders expressed little surprise at the schools' performance. SPECIALIST SCHOOLS are improving at nearly twice the rate of all schools, according to the Government's education league tables published yesterday. They think Mr Lindup was not given enough time to turn the school round. Headteachers' leaders say heads can do little more than start the process of improvement in 24 months..

But school parents have been fighting to keep it open and have appealed to David Blunkett, the Secretary of State for Education, to give them a stay of execution.They want the school to stay at the heart of the community. Merrywood was second to bottom in the truancy table, with pupils missing 11.6 per cent of half-days. Most of the 400 pupils have left, and Bristol City Council wants the school shut.A council spokesman said: "It is hard to think of anybody being able to do a better job, but even Chris and his colleagues are not in our view making progress that is radical enough."Councillors could not justify running a school that was more than half- empty Numbers have been falling. Exam tables published today show 39 per cent of Merrywood pupils left with no exam passes, the worst score in England. In September last year Mr Lindup was drafted in to work the same magic at Merrywood School, a failing comprehensive on the deprived Knowle West estate, in the south of the city. It was too much to ask. CHRIS LINDUP saved the Lawrence Weston School, in inner-city Bristol, from closure, was responsible for a marked improvement in exam scores and was praised by parents, governors and council leaders. In the immediate future British beef exporters are likely to aim to sell to hotels, restaurants and caterers rather than supermarkets..

We intend to sell it and sell it explicitly." Labelling was, he said, "what the industry have always wanted, what the farmers have said to us they want."Under the terms of the protocol, British beef can be labelled without breaking internal market rules under which member states cannot insist on compulsory consumer labelling that identifies meat's country of origin.The compromise formula stipulates that the word "British" can be used if it refers to the approved, date-based export scheme under whichlimited amounts of British beef are allowed to be exported.This information, usually seen only by wholesalers, can be made available to the consumer through a mark like "British XEL [export eligible] beef".Although this will single British beef out in the short term, the European Commission plans to introduce a regime that identifies the origin of all meat by 2003. He argued that the labelling of British beef in supermarkets was a concession that represented a "further protectionist move by France" and a "climb-down by Britain".Mr Brown argued that it was "never been our intention to try to sell British beef into what is going to be a new market for us after the national tragedy of BSE without properly representing it."He dismissed suggestions that labelling was a concession, adding: "We are proud of our product, it is as safe as any in Europe. The Toryagriculture spokesman, Tim Yeo, attacked the "protocol of understanding" between Britain, France and the European Commission. Daniel Vaillant, a spokesman for the French cabinet, argued that the agreement had to be studied carefully: "Our desire is to reach an accord, but we mustn't put the cart before the horse." The Tories accused the minister for Agriculture, Nick Brown, of making further concessions to France. FRANCE YESTERDAY sent the text of the Anglo-French beef deal to its independent safety agency, which will decide whether to endorse removal of the British beef embargo "within 10 days", Paris said.

Harrods later had to pay her pounds 13,500 compensation at an industrial tribunal.Mr Browne went on to say that Mr Fayed had initially claimed that the first payment to Mr Hamilton was in June 1987, but the Harrods owner was now suggesting it was in 1986 Mr Fayed replied: "It was 14 years ago It's the best of my recollection .. the dates are difficult to remember."The case continues.. It was accepted that Mr Jones was guilty of "grave breaches of the civil law" in relation to breaching commercial confidentiality, but Mr Browne said: "My suggestion is that nevertheless an allegation of criminal dishonesty was made to the police for which there was no basis."The QC also accused Mr Fayed of having his "secret service" listen in to the telephone calls of another employee, Sandra Glass, and then secretly recording a meeting with her sacked superior and other former colleagues.John McNamara, Mr Fayed's head of security, lodged with the police a "bogus complaint" of dishonesty about Ms Glass that she had stolen two floppy discs worth 80p which led to her arrest and being held in a police cell from 8.30pm until 3am the following day, the jury was told. A subsequent interview which Mr Bolliger gave to the press triggered a series of "vindictive actions" on Mr Fayed's behalf.Mr Browne said an allegation of criminal dishonesty was made to police about Graham Jones, Harrods' director of corporate strategy and planning, who left the company in January 1990. Mr Browne said that on Mr Bettermann's return to the UK, he started libel proceedings and Mr Fayed agreed to pay him substantial damages.Another employee, Peter Bolliger, the managing director of Harrods from 1990 until 1994, resigned that April because he was fed up with Mr Fayed interfering in every aspect of Harrods' business, Mr Browne said. Mr Browne said Mr Fayed made charges of embezzlement against Mr Bettermann which resulted in him being prosecuted in Dubai and appearing in court 24 times until the case was dismissed on Christmas Day 1993.