Updated 11:35am 12 February 2012:

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Jon Griffin

Jon Griffin

Cadbury workers ballot on pay deal

CADBURY workers have been offered a 3.75 pay increase over two years following a tough six-month battle with management, it has been revealed.Read

Midlands tycoon accuses "sponging civil servants"

COLOURFUL Midlands multi-millionaire Tim Watts has fired off another vitriolic broadside against civil servants – and claimed that many are “sponging off the private sector”.Read

Gary Hexley scandal to be raised in Parliament

THE £2 million Gary Hexley scandal – which has left more than 230 creditors out of pocket to the tune of up to £80,000 – is to be raised in Parliament.Read

Big sales surge for Jaguar Land Rover

RESURGENT Jaguar Land Rover enjoyed a major turnover boost in the key month of September – with the new diesel XF helping drive the UK sales surge.Read

Disgraced Tamworth financier snubs creditors owed £2 million

BANNED financier Gary Hexley pulled out of a meeting with creditors seeking compensation following his firm’s £2 million collapse – and blamed “excessive stress”.Read

£10 million Birmingham Airport tower latest

THE skyline is rapidly changing at Birmingham Airport – with a new £10 million Air Traffic Control Tower developing at a rate of up to 13ft a day.Read

Watch: Guitar hero Ronnie Wood in Birmingham to show off paintings

ROCK legend Ronnie Wood paid a whistle-stop visit to Birmingham to publicise his paintings – and said the Stones owed their fans a reunion tour.Read

Pubs and football fans in Midlands celebrate historic TV ruling

FOOTBALL fans and pubs across the Midlands are celebrating a landmark ruling on live Premier League matches which threatens to open the floodgates over screening times.Read

Special Report: How Longbridge defied the Nazis to help Britain win World War Two

NOWADAYS there are few clues to the crucial Second World War role that Longbridge played in the defeat of the Nazis.Read

Row erupts as HP Sauce changes recipe to reduce salt

BIRMINGHAM’S best known sauce, HP, has lost its unique flavour following a Government clampdown to reduce salt intake, angry fans have complained.Read

Riot-hit firms spurn £12,000 recovery grants

SMALL West Midland firms devastated by the recent riots are eligible for grants of more than £12,000 thanks to a newly-created High Street Fund – but not one single regional business has applied as yet.Read

Florence Nightingale letters under Midland auctioneer's hammer

A UNIQUE letter and gifts from Florence Nightingale to a Midland woman are to go under the auctioneer’s hammer – over 100 years after the death of the Lady With The Lamp.Read

£40m rescue deal saves 1,700 carpet jobs at Brintons

WORLD-famous Midland carpet firm Brintons has been saved – safeguarding 700 jobs in the region and a further 1,000 globally.Read

Longbridge East Works site to be converted into 700 new homes

THE former Longbridge East Works – which played a key role in helping defeat Hitler during the Second World War – is to be converted into a major housing site with more than 700 new homes.Read

Private hire taxis in Birmingham driven by criminals, claim black cab drivers

Private hire passengers are being ferried around Birmingham by “criminals on wheels” involved in drug and prostitution rackets, it has been claimed.Read

Furniture chain Walmsley's enters administration

MIDLAND-based furniture chain Walmsley’s has slumped into administration – with five regional stores caught up in its collapse.Read

Birmingham mayor hopeful in battle to bring King Kong back to city

A NEW 21st century battle has been launched over King Kong – with Birmingham’s very own John Bull fighting to bring the giant ape back to the Bull Ring.Read

Yardley warehouse worker loses bullying claim fight

A DISABLED warehouse worker who sued his Birmingham employer for unfair dismissal after claiming he was bullied by colleagues has lost his fight for compensation.Read

Review: Steve Cropper & the Animals, at the Robin, Bilston

BACK in the 60s, the Beatles, the Stones and the Animals changed the world forever. We all know what happened with the first two, but what about the Geordies? Read

Newtown Floors 2 Go workers given five minutes redundancy notice

HEAD office staff at collapsed Birmingham retailer Floors 2 Go were given just five minutes’ notice of redundancy – and handed unsigned letters in sealed envelopes with no pay-offs.Read

Author Profile

Jon Griffin has been Business Editor of the Birmingham Mail since 1998. He began his career at the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in 1975 then worked from 1978-79 for the Birmingham Evening Mail. He later joined the Coventry Evening Telegraph as a trainee sub-editor then the Wolverhampton Express and Star from 1980 before rejoining the Mail in April 1996.