Portrait of the week | 23 January 2010

British people donated £23 million through the charities’ Disasters Emergency Committee to help the people of Haiti within six days of the earthquake there; the British government also gave £20 million.

British people donated £23 million through the charities’ Disasters Emergency Committee to help the people of Haiti within six days of the earthquake there; the British government also gave £20 million. Mr Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said in a speech: ‘The coming decade will provide the UK with more middle-class jobs than ever before.’ Cadbury agreed to an £11.5 billion takeover by Kraft; there were fears of job losses. Unemployment unexpectedly fell a smidgen in December to 2.45 million. The Consumer Price Index of inflation rose to 2.9 per cent in December from 1.9 per cent in November, and the Retail Price Index to 2.4 per cent from 2.1 per cent. Scots are drinking 25 per cent more than English people, NHS research found, downing the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka a year. Eurostar said it expected to pay £10 million compensation to passengers affected by breakdowns for three days before Christmas. Bill McLaren, the rugby commentator, died, aged 86. Miss Loloahi Tapui, aged 27, the former housekeeper of Lady Scotland, the Attorney General, pleaded guilty to using a passport with a fake visa stamp, but denied intending to use it for fraud. A ballot was held for tickets to see Mr Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, give evidence next Friday at the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war.

Mr David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said he planned to make teaching a ‘brazenly elite’ profession. Both Mr Ed Balls, the Children Secretary, and Mr Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, attacked Conservative plans to ‘recognise marriage in the tax system’.