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A former employee at the firm responsible for the flammable insulation used on Grenfell Tower was so alarmed by the manipulation of a fire test she was left writing 'WTF', an inquiry has heard. Debbie Berger, former product manager at Celotex, scribbled the acronym as an 'expression of shock' when she realised additional materials had been added to the company's Rs5000 product  to get it to pass a safety test.   Ms Berger made the scribbles on a report document when she became a product manager for Rs5000 in 2014, just months after the test was passed. It comes after the inquiry heard how Celotex, part of the French multinational Saint-Gobain group, 'overengineered' a test of Rs5000 in May 2014 to get a pass after a first test failure in January 2014. Celotex added a 6mm fire-resisting magnesium oxide board to a cladding test rig and 8mm fibre cement panels were added over the magnesium oxide to 'conceal' its presence.   Debbie Berger, former product

Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, refused to back Oxford's vaccine The Chief Medical Officer has dodged giving the AstraZeneca jab his full backing as the company revealed it will run a new Oxford vaccine trial. Chris Whitty refused to back the injection when asked about the controversy surrounding data from its late-stage trials at a Downing Street press conference.  AstraZeneca will run a new trial because no one who got accidental low dose that had 90 per cent success rate was aged over 55. There has been close scrutiny of the vaccine, after it was found to be 70 per cent effective on average, but 90 per cent effective with a low-dose jab followed by a standard booster injection. This much higher result, based on a sub-group of around 2,700 people, was met with concern when it emerged no one in the group was reportedly aged over 55. Now AstraZeneca, the firm manufacturing the vaccine, is understood to be considering ensuring that the lower dose of the vaccine is

Homeowners and businesses in flood-risk areas are facing a postcode lottery of spending on defences. On average, the Environment Agency has spent £2,753 since 2015 for each property with at least a 1 per cent annual risk of flooding. But that more than doubles to £5,942 per property in the North East. The region gets more than three times the £1,937 allotted in the South West, a report by the National Audit Office found. Homeowners and businesses in flood-risk areas are facing a postcode lottery of spending on defences. Pictured: Fields were flooded in Newport Pagnail, Buckinghamshire in October this year The river bank in York was flooded after the river Ouse burst its banks following heavy rain on November 3 More than 700 flood defence schemes have been funded in England since 2015 to protect 242,000 homes. A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'Climate change means we must redouble our efforts. Over the next six years we are investing a rec

Robot mine-hunters will replace Royal Navy sailors to detect and destroy suspect devices at sea in an £184million programme with France. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced the UK's investment into the joint scheme during the Franco-British Council Defence Conference today. He said the systems will 'protect vital shipping lanes, commercial traffic and brave personnel' from the devices. The boats will be controlled from a 'mothership' while a towed sonar locates any weapons. A mine neutralisation system, which is an underwater vehicle operated remotely, is then used to stop a weapon from exploding once it has been located. Robot mine-hunters will replace sailors to detect and destroy suspect devices at sea (pictured: an autonomous minehunter procured by Defence Equipment and Support for the Navy) Speaking at the conference, Mr Wallace said: 'This £184million contract offers a huge leap forward for the Royal Navy’s autonomous capabilities in the detection and

A binman was crushed to death by his truck in an horrific accident at a £13,00-a-term girls boarding school as he was doing his morning round.  The refuse worker died after he was hit by his lorry in the grounds of Benenden School, near Cranbrook, Kent, which was once attended by Princess Anne, on Wednesday. Despite the efforts of the emergency services, the man, who was working for a contractor on behalf of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, was pronounced dead at the scene.  It is understood the worker became trapped between his truck and a wall after his vehicle rolled back.  The binman, who was working for a contractor on behalf of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, was killed by his truck in the grounds of Benenden School, near Cranbrook, Kent No one else was injured during the fatal accident and no pupils or staff were involved. A member of staff at the school told The Sun: 'I think there was a problem with the lorry's handbrake. 'The lorry rolled back. It killed him. My

A 69-year-old self-proclaimed Tai Chi master has insisted he was 'tricked' into a fight during which he was knocked out cold by a 50-year-old kickboxer in 30 seconds. Ma Baoguo, who pledged to defend the honour of traditional Chinese Kung Fu, is seen in viral footage being floored three times within half a minute by Wang Qingming, a retired soldier and kickboxing coach during an amateur match in May.  Over six months after the match, Mr Ma claimed this week that he had been cheated by his opponent who 'lacked martial arts ethics'.  Over six months after the match, Mr Ma (pictured left) claimed that he had been cheated by his opponent who 'lacked martial arts ethics'. The fightook place on May 17 in the city of Zibo Mr Ma told reporters recently that he wanted to showcase his Kung Fu abilities and did not fight properly in the match which he described as 'a trap'. 'I usually fight in abroad,' the avowed expert told the Chinese video news outlet

Five British MPs may have cheated death by a terror bomb at a Paris conference after an Iranian official allegedly smuggled explosives in his diplomatic bag.   Assadollah Assadi, 48, carried the 'Mother of Satan' bomb on an Austrian Airlines flight from Tehran to Vienna in the bag exempt from from security checks, Belgian security sources said. The device was to be detonated at a rally attended by a 35-strong delegation of Britons including Conservative MPs Bob Blackman, Matthew Offord, Sir David Amess and Theresa Villiers and Labour's Roger Godsiff. Other dignitaries at the 2018 conference for Iranian freedom included Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Republican grandee Newt Gingrich. Assadi, understood to be an officer in Iran's intelligence and security ministry, is one of the first diplomats to ever face terror charges. Theresa Villiers MP flanked by Bob Blackman MP and Roger Godsiff MP speaks as the British delegation appear on stage during the

Beijing's new stealth bomber H-20 may have the capabilities of striking US military bases far beyond the Chinese shores with nuclear missiles, according to a report by a UK think thank. The long-range subsonic warplane is one of China's most mysterious military projects in recent years and currently under development.  The Pentagon believes that the bomber would have a range of over 5,000 miles and be able to hit US territories, such as Guam. Other military analysts, however, have hinted that H-20 might even have Hawaii within its reach.  The H-20 is a strategic bomber similar to the B-2 or B-21, according to the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The warplane is currently being developed by China (artist's impression) Royal United Services Institute, a London-based organisation, claims that H-20 would give China 'a truly intercontinental power-projection capability' well beyond the country's seaboard.  'Armed with nuclear and conventional standoff missiles, th

A porn casting agent and and actor who brutally raped his female friend has been kicked out of Australia for good despite living in the country for more than 50 years. David Bullmore lost his last-minute bid against the Federal Court to remain in the country and will not be allowed back into Australia. The 61-year-old attacked the woman in April 2008 as she slept in her bed while her children were nearby, and was found guilty by a jury in 2016. He was jailed for three years and given a deportation order for the horrific incident, The Daily Telegraph reported.  Bullmore left Australia in 2019, despite moving here when he was four, and is now living in a squalid boarding house in London. In a desperate bid to return Bullmore took Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to the Federal Court claiming the decision for his removal was made on a false conviction. David Bullmore lost his last-minute bid against the Federal Court to remain in the country and will not be allowed back into Australia &