Man's Body Found In Burnt-Out Car

Two people have been charged and a third person arrested following the murder of Gagandip Singh. Mundill Mahil, 19, of Chatham, Kent, and Harvinder Singh Shoker, 19, of Charlton south east London appeared at Greenwich Magistrates' Court charged with the murder of Gagandip Singh, 21, of Bexleyheath, whose body was found in a vehicle in Angerstein Lane on 26 February. They have been remanded in custody to appear for a plea and case management hearing at the Old Bailey on 6 June. Meanwhile, detectives investigating the murder of Gagandip Singh have arrested a 19 year-old man on suspicion of murder. He is currently being held at a south London police station.

BMA Scotland Highlights 'Special Case' For Medicine

The British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland has called on politicians to consider medicine as a special case when reviewing higher education funding. 

The BMA’s response to the Scottish Government’s Green Paper Building a Smarter Future highlights the need to widen access to medicine so that the attainment of a medical degree is based on merit, not ability to pay. 

BMA Scotland highlights the distinct nature of a medical degree and the importance of medical research in contributing to Scotland’s health and economy and called on the Government to support and invest in university funding to ensure that Scotland retains its reputation as a centre of research excellence on the international stage. The Green Paper proposes a removal on the limit on international students studying medicine, while at the same time, reducing the number of Scottish funded places. The BMA has outlined its opposition to this proposal, stating that it runs contrary to the BMA’s view that there should be an overall reduction in the number of medical school places in Scotland in order to match anticipated workforce projections from NHS Scotland.

Willetts Comments On UCAS Application Statistics

Commenting on the UCAS application statistics for February 2011, Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said: “Demand for university places looks to be levelling off after unprecedented demand in 2010. We provided an additional 10,000 places last year and universities will again be able to recruit the same number of additional new students this autumn. Going to university has always been a competitive process and not all who apply are accepted. Despite this we do understand how frustrating it is for young people who wish to go to university and are unable to find a place. We are opening up other routes into a successful career. Our reforms will make part-time university study more accessible and we are also investing in new apprenticeship places, with an additional 75,000 being created by 2014."

(BMcN/GK)