James Davies

Pub landlords may have to become 'banter cops' to stop themselves from being sued by staff who are offended by comments from customers under Labour's new reforms. Business leaders have warned that the incoming Employment Rights Bill will make employers liable for their staff being offended by the public. Bosses will legally have to take 'all reasonable steps' to prevent harassment by third parties relating to protected characteristics, including sex, gender reassignment or age. But Free Speech campaigners believe this will force pub staff into the role of 'banter cops' who have to ban customers for telling inappropriate jokes when they harass those who are working there. They believe the Bill will also lead to universities giving in to criticism over controversial guest speakers.

The drugs - taken by millions - have long been known to potentially trigger symptoms including dizziness, headaches, insomnia and nausea when coming off them. But a major study in June claimed these withdrawal signs were not as risky as feared, with one in six on average experiencing them when stopping the pills. And just two to three per cent suffer severe symptoms, according to the results published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Yet, researchers from Brazil and the UK today claimed this figure was actually up to four times higher, standing as high as 56 per cent.

A nationwide shortage of key ­pharmaceutical drugs is forcing NHS patients to import them via friends living abroad, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Some are looking as far as India to access drugs - from sources which may not be safe - according to ­campaigners who argue this dangerous situation is a result of the Government's failure to tackle the ongoing crisis. The warning follows the launch of a Mail on ­Sunday drive to ease the shortages for some of the most vital drugs in the country, after new data revealed that, over the past two years, half of patients have struggled to get essential medication they have been ­prescribed.