We have a lot of competitors and a lot of enemies out there

We have a lot of competitors and a lot of enemies out there.”The court case Mr Branson is referring to is his spectacular libel victory over Guy Snowden of the Camelot member GTech – a victory that has done no harm to Virgin’s lingering ambitions to take over the National Lottery.But the libel win has since been overshadowed by a string of setbacks. Virgin has bought out its partner in the Virgin Cola venture, Cott of Canada, after disappointing sales and the failure of the brand to grab more than a negligible market share. Speaking yesterday from his chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Zermatt, Mr Branson was not amused by the bad publicity, but accepted it might be partly his own fault. Tycoon shrugs off the flak as he takes a battering

from his critics.
Michael HarrisonreportsHAS the halo finally begun to slip? This weekend the man who was once ranked second only to Mother Teresa as a role model for the young is looking distinctly less saintly. The man is, of course, Richard Branson, boss of the Virgin empire, and this has not been one of his better weeks.It began with a demolition job by the BBC Panorama programme on the performance of his West Coast train franchise. It ended with a double-barrelled assault from The Spectator and The Economist, both of which chose to make Mr Branson the subject of less-than-flattering cover stories.The Spectator’s was a piece of ill-tempered polemic charting how Mr Branson has risen to the top on a tide of litigation, news management and self- promotion. Mr Medland said that the break-ins in Clapham and Vauxhall, south London, had netted Sewell, 25, of Balham, South London, a haul of CDs, walkmans and cameras.Jailing Sewell for a year, Judge David Elfer QC, told the burglar, who admitted five counts of burglary: “You were caught because of your method in ensuring nobody was actually in the house.”Outside the court, case officer Detective Constable Alan Hodgson said the way Sewell had been caught was so impressive he was going to encourage fellow officers to keep an eye out for giveaway ear prints from now on..

The Economist contained a more sober but telling assessment of the financial vulnerability of the Virgin companies and the way in which their true ownership is disguised by a web of offshore trusts.Little of the information presented was that groundbreaking: Virgin has encountered such flak before and sailed through unscathed to stamp the brand on everything from air travel, bridal wear and a radio station to cola, vodka, personal pensions and cinemas.But the combination of the twin attacks was enough to wipe the smile off that famously bearded face for once. For when police carried out the forensic testing designed to uncover a criminal’s fingerprints they noticed the outline of the burglar’s ears in 13 different places.
Yesterday at Southwark Crown Court, London, Simon Medland, prosecuting, told a jury: “This case solely relies on ear-printing.”The court heard that police used a special acetate-based substance to take a mould of Sewell’s ears – believed to be the first taken of a British criminal – and the burglar was charged soon after. Every time he broke into a house he would spend minutes with his ear pressed to doors and windows to make sure no one was at home. The technique appeared to be fool-proof, allowing him to carry out 13 burglaries and walk away with pounds 4,000 worth of property

But Sewell’s listening tactics proved his undoing. Burglar Calvin Sewell was just too careful for his own good. Despite being branded “the car to beat the world,” drivers complained it whined at speeds over 45 miles per hour.Still, that didn’t stop its manufacturers from trying to add some sales with a little badge engineering – the hatchback was renamed the Rover Metro in 1990 and eventually became the Rover 100 in 1994.The last Rover 100, in a striking silver finish, was waved off from Rover’s Longbridge plant in Birmingham last week. It was signed by all of the 1,200 people who worked on it and handed over to the Heritage Centre Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire.Although production has stopped, a last batch of cars, no doubt future classics, are still available.

They come in three and five door models, 1.1 or 1.4 litre K series engines and five different trim levels Prices range from pounds 6,500 to pounds 10,000 A bargain.. The trouble was that even the redesigned car began to look outdated as it failed to keep up with its competitors.Often derided for its cramped interior, and, some said, unattractive look, the original Metro had an engine dating back to the Morris Minor technology of the 1950s. It was initially the saviour of British Leyland, which before the car’s introduction hadn’t manufactured a big seller for years. The Metro’s biggest fan said he found it particularly arousing when the car’s exhaust pipe belched fumes.Despite this, the car enjoyed periods of more conventional popularity, its sales pushing past the two million mark.It was even voted Best Small Car in the World by Autocar and Motor after its 1990 relaunch. But had a chequered career, suffering from a lack of funding.