Cambridge in the 2019 New Year Honours List

Pic:::Her Megistry Queen Elezabeth-II(wp)
University reporter,cambridge(wp):::
Members of collegiate Cambridge recognised for outstanding contributions to society in Science, Education, Engineering and Art.

Professor David Klenerman, FRS was knighted for Services to Science and for the Development of High Speed DNA Sequencing Technology.

Professor Klenerman said: “I feel very humbled to be recognised in this way.” 

Sir David is a professor of biophysical chemistry at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Christ's College. He is best known for his contribution in the field of next-generation sequencing of DNA, which subsequently resulted in Solexa, a high-speed DNA sequencing company that he co-founded.

“I also want to acknowledge and sincerely thank the highly talented people who have worked with me over the years and without whom my research would simply not have been possible. In particular the development of Solexa sequencing was the result of a massive team effort.”

Klenerman was educated at the University of Cambridge where he was an undergraduate student of Christ's College and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in chemistry in 1986 as a postgraduate student of Churchill College.

Sir David has received a string of honours for his work, including a 2018 Royal Medal from the Royal Society for his outstanding contribution to applied sciences. He was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015 and Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012.

Professor Madeleine Julia Atkins, who was first honoured as a CBE in 2011, has been promoted DBE for her Services to Higher Education.

Dame Madeleine, lately Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, has had a long and distinguished career in higher education, most recently providing outstanding leadership in ensuring a smooth transition between HEFCE and the new Office for Students and Research England. She has also been a Trustee and Board member for Nesta, and was until recently a Deputy Lieutenant in the West Midlands. She has been a Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Newcastle University, is a former Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University, and is now President of Lucy Cavendish College here at Cambridge University. She studied for a degree in law and history at Girton College and has a PhD from the University of Nottingham.

Dame Madeleine said: “I am honoured to receive this award, which recognises the contribution of my former colleagues at HEFCE who worked so hard to make the transition to OfS and Research England both smooth and successful. I am delighted now to be bringing some of my experience in the higher education sector to support the students and Fellowship of Lucy Cavendish College”.

Professor John Frederick William Birney, FRS, the joint director, European Bioinformatics Institute was awarded a CBE For Services to Computational Genomics and to Leadership across the Life Sciences.

Professor Birney is Director of EMBL-EBI, Europe's flagship laboratory for the life sciences, and runs a small research group. He played a vital role in annotating the genome sequences of human, mouse, chicken and several other organisms. He led the analysis group for the ENCODE project, which is defining functional elements in the human genome. Birney’s main areas of research include functional genomics, assembly algorithms, statistical methods to analyse genomic information (in particular information associated with individual differences) and compression of sequence information.

Professor Birney, known as Ewan to his friends, family and colleagues, was educated at Eton, Oxford and St John’s College, Cambridge.

Dr Jennifer Mary Schooling, Director of the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC), University of Cambridge was awarded an OBE For Services to Engineering and to Digital Construction.

Dr Schooling is a Fellow of Darwin College and has been the Director of CSIC since April 2013. CSIC focuses on how better data and information from a wide range of sensing systems can be used to improve our understanding of our infrastructure, leading to better design, construction and management practices. CSIC has strong collaborations with industry, developing and demonstrating innovations on real construction and infrastructure projects, and developing standards and guidance to enable implementation. Dr Schooling is also Chair of the Research Strategy Steering Group for the newly formed Centre for Digital Built Britain. Dr Schooling is founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Smart Infrastructure and Construction Proceedings journal (ICE). She recently served as a member of PAS185 smart cities security standard steering group and of ICE’s State of the Nation 2017 ‘Digital Transformation’ Steering Group. Prior to joining CSIC, Dr Schooling worked for Arup, leading the firm’s Research Business, and before that for Edwards Vacuum (then BOC Edwards) as a manager for New Product Introductions. She has a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Andrew Nairne, Director of Kettle’s Yard, was awarded an OBE for Services to Museums and the Arts. Kettle’s Yard is the University of Cambridge’s modern and contemporary art gallery.

Andrew Nairne said: “I am delighted to receive this recognition following the hugely successful reopening of Kettle’s Yard in 2018: a magnificent team effort.”

“As Director of one of the eight University of Cambridge Museums, I believe museums have a vital role to play in the life of both the University and the community.”

The Honours list, which dates back to around 1890, recognises notable services and contributions to Britain.

3D-printed robot hand ‘plays’ the piano

university  reporter,Cambridge(wp):::

Scientists have developed a 3D-printed robotic hand which can play simple musical phrases on the piano by just moving its wrist. And while the robot is no virtuoso, it demonstrates just how challenging it is to replicate all the abilities of a human hand, and how much complex movement can still be achieved through design. 

The robot hand, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, was made by 3D-printing soft and rigid materials together to replicate of all the bones and ligaments – but not the muscles or tendons – in a human hand. Even though this limited the robot hand’s range of motion compared to a human hand, the researchers found that a surprisingly wide range of movement was still possible by relying on the hand’s mechanical design.

Using this ‘passive’ movement – in which the fingers cannot move independently – the robot was able to mimic different styles of piano playing without changing the material or mechanical properties of the hand. The results, reported in the journal Science Robotics, could help inform the design of robots that are capable of more natural movement with minimal energy use.

Complex movement in animals and machines results from the interplay between the brain (or controller), the environment and the mechanical body. The mechanical properties and design of systems are important for intelligent functioning, and help both animals and machines to move in complex ways without expending unnecessary amounts of energy.

“We can use passivity to achieve a wide range of movement in robots: walking, swimming or flying, for example,” said Josie Hughes from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, the paper’s first author. “Smart mechanical design enables us to achieve the maximum range of movement with minimal control costs: we wanted to see just how much movement we could get with mechanics alone.”

Over the past several years, soft components have begun to be integrated into robotics design thanks to advances in 3D printing techniques, which has allowed researchers to add complexity to these passive systems.

The human hand is incredibly complex, and recreating all of its dexterity and adaptability in a robot is a massive research challenge. Most of today’s advanced robots are not capable of manipulation tasks which small children can perform with ease.

“The basic motivation of this project is to understand embodied intelligence, that is, the intelligence in our mechanical body,” said Dr Fumiya Iida, who led the research. “Our bodies consist of smart mechanical designs such as bones, ligaments, and skins that help us behave intelligently even without active brain-led control. By using the state-of-the-art 3D printing technology to print human-like soft hands, we are now able to explore the importance of physical designs, in isolation from active control, which is impossible to do with human piano players as the brain cannot be ‘switched off’ like our robot.”

“Piano playing is an ideal test for these passive systems, as it’s a complex and nuanced challenge requiring a significant range of behaviours in order to achieve different playing styles,” said Hughes.

The robot was ‘taught’ to play by considering how the mechanics, material properties, environment and wrist actuation all affect the dynamic model of the hand. By actuating the wrist, it is possible to choose how the hand interacts with the piano, allowing the embodied intelligence of the hand to determine how it interacts with the environment. 

The researchers programmed the robot to play a number of short musical phrases with clipped (staccato) or smooth (legato) notes, achieved through the movement of the wrist. “It’s just the basics at this point, but even with this single movement, we can still get quite complex and nuanced behaviour,” said Hughes.

Despite the limitations of the robot hand, the researchers say their approach will drive further research into the underlying principles of skeletal dynamics to achieve complex movement tasks, as well as learning where the limitations for passive movement systems lie.

“This approach to mechanical design can change how we build robotics,” said Iida. “The fabrication approach allows us to design mechanically intelligent structures in a way that is highly scalable.”

“We can extend this research to investigate how we can achieve even more complex manipulation tasks: developing robots which can perform medical procedures or handle fragile objects, for instance,” said Hughes. “This approach also reduces the amount of machine learning required to control the hand; by developing mechanical systems with intelligence built in, it makes control much easier for robots to learn.”

The research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Teenage girl died after 'falling onto a knife during struggle with ex-boyfriend'

Pic:::Katerina Makunova was stabbed to death in Camberwell
Crime reporter(wp/es):::

A teenage girl died after falling onto a knife during a struggle with her ex-boyfriend, a court has heard.

Katerina Makunova, 17, was found slumped in a block of flats in Brisbane Street, Camberwell, last July and died from a stab wound.

The teen, from Forest Hill, had been described as a “loving ambitious” girl by her brother.

Oluwaseyi Dada, also of Brisbane Street, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday at the Old Bailey.

The court heard the pair had been in a relationship that had recently deteriorated.

In tragic circumstances, the court heard how Ms Makunova fell onto a knife after an altercation began between the pair.

On July 12, Ms Makunova and Dada went onto the lobby of a block of flats where Dada lived. According to police, “a struggle began”.

Police said: “During the course of this altercation both of them fell, but unfortunately Katrina was carrying a knife in her handbag

“Katrina fell onto the handbag, causing the knife to pierce the bag and then stab Karina in the chest.”

Officers arrived to the scene, at about 12.15pm, and found Dada desperately administering CPR to Ms Makunova.

Despite the efforts of paramedics and Dada, she was pronounced dead at the scene an hour later.

A post mortem examination took place and gave cause of death as a single stab wound.

Detective Inspector Domenica Catino of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "A young woman has lost her life and my thoughts are with her family and friends, who have been devastated by Katrina's death.

"This is another young person who has been killed as a result of a knife and we need our communities to work with the police to end this scourge."

Her sister-in-law Shannon Jodie-Leigh Butcher said the whole family were “heartbroken and devastated”.

“I would like her to be remembered as a young, joyful and beautiful girl,” she added. “She was bright, confident, always smiling.

Dada will be sentenced on Tuesday, January 29.

BBC presenter Dianne Oxberry dies aged 51

Pic:::Dianne Oxberry was BBC North West Tonight's weather presenter for more than 20 years/wp/bbc
Staff reporter(wp/bbc):::

Award-winning BBC television and radio presenter Dianne Oxberry has died from cancer aged 51, her family has confirmed.

She died at the Christie hospital in Manchester on Thursday morning.

Oxberry became well-known nationally on Radio 1, working alongside Simon Mayo and Steve Wright, during the 1980s.

After studying meteorology, she joined BBC North West Tonight in 1994 as a weather presenter and fronted Inside Out North West's current affairs show.

BBC North West Tonight (NWT) presenters Roger Johnson and Annabel Tiffin said they were "heartbroken".

After her time at Radio 1 in London, Sunderland-born Oxberry returned north to Greater Manchester in 1993 with her husband, cameraman Ian Hindle.

The couple, who have two young children, met in Manchester while she was co-presenting the Saturday morning children's television show, The 8:15 From Manchester.

• Your tributes to the BBC's Dianne Oxberry

Mr Hindle said: "Dianne was an amazing wife and mother who embraced life to the full.

"She was an inspiration to all who knew and loved her but also to the people who watched and welcomed her into their homes each night as if she were part of their family too.

"She will leave a massive void in our lives but because of the remarkable person she was she will forever live on in our hearts.

"The children and I will miss her more than anyone can imagine."

Oxberry recently took part in a 100-mile relay walk for Children in Need completing the challenge with her NWT colleagues.

Roger Johnson said: "We are heartbroken by Dianne's death. It is almost impossible to comprehend. Dianne was North West Tonight. It's hard to imagine the programme without her.

"Our thoughts are with Ian and all of Dianne's family. We hope they will find some comfort in the knowledge so many people loved Dianne and will miss her terribly."

Tiffin added: "Di was so talented, so beautiful, so funny and so full of life. On screen she was a star, radiating warmth and good humour. Off screen, she was a wonderful colleague, a loyal friend and I will miss her terribly."

BBC Radio 2 presenter Simon Mayo tweeted: "Devastated to hear this news. She was a wonderful, joyous part of our breakfast team at Radio 1. I loved working with her. My condolences to her family."

Football pundit Mark Lawrenson also tweeted that he was "stunned".

"I've worked with Ian Hindle, her husband on many occasions and my thoughts are with him and the kids... RIP."

Elbow singer Guy Garvey shared his memories of working with Dianne.

Broadcaster Clare Balding said Oxberry was "a courageous warrior on behalf of women fighting for equality", adding: "Her star will shine on".

In an emotional interview on BBC Radio Manchester, Johnson quoted comedian Peter Kay, who invaded her live forecasts on a few occasions, once hugging her and telling her: "God love Dianne Oxberry - you made the sun shine for everybody!"

Johnson said: "For me, those words are Dianne's epitaph: 'God Love Dianne Oxberry - she made the sun shine for everybody.'"

Aziz Rashid, head of BBC North West, said: "We are all devastated by this dreadful news. The coming days will be difficult but we will do our best to pay tribute to someone who meant so much to us all and made such an enormous contribution to broadcasting in the North West."

In a long career, Oxberry interviewed a young Take That for their first major network appearance on The 8:15 from Manchester.

She also worked with BBC Sport, covering the Great North Run and the Manchester 10k.

In 2002, she was asked to present BBC Radio Manchester's lunchtime show. She then co-hosted the station's breakfast show with Eamonn O'Neal between 2006 and 2008.

She loved spending time with animals, in particular her beloved horses, and described herself on Twitter as a "full-time pet-collector".

Woman killed was 'leaning out of train window' between Bath and Bristol

Pic:::Bethan Roper worked for the Welsh Refugee Council at the time of her death/wp/bbc
Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::
A passenger was killed while leaning out of a train window below a warning sticker, accident investigators found

Bethan Roper, 28, from Penarth, suffered a fatal blow to the head when she was struck by a tree branch.

The charity worker, had been shopping at Bath's Christmas market with friends on 1 December and was travelling home.

A preliminary report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) found the Bristol-bound train was travelling at 85mph at the time.

The accident happened at 22:04 GMT near Twerton and Miss Roper was pronounced dead at Bristol Temple Meads station shortly after 22:10.

The older-style Great Western Railway (GWR) train's doors were fitted with an opening window to enable passengers to access the handle on the outside.

The RAIB said that a yellow "Caution" label above the door said: "Do not lean out of window when train is moving."

Its full investigation will examine the measures in place to "control the risks from persons leaning out of train windows, including the threat from vegetation".

Miss Roper worked for the Welsh Refugee Council charity and was chairman of Young Socialists Cardiff.

Her father, Adrian Roper, 63, said his daughter "enjoyed life to the full whilst working tirelessly for a better world".

Universal credit: Single mums win High Court battle

Law&Justice reporter(wp/bbc):::

Four working single mothers have won a High Court challenge over the government's universal credit scheme.

They argued a "fundamental problem" with the system meant their monthly payments varied "enormously", leaving them out of pocket and struggling financially.

Lawyers for the women said the problem was likely to affect "tens of thousands of people" claiming the benefit.

A DWP spokesman said: "We are carefully considering the court's judgment."

It comes as Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd announced a raft of changes to the government's flagship scheme.

She also confirmed she would delay asking Parliament to authorise the transfer of three million people on to universal credit until next year, after a pilot of the transfer from existing benefits has been completed.

Universal credit is a means-tested benefit, rolling six separate benefits into one payment.

It has proved controversial almost from its inception, with reports of IT issues, massive overspends, administrative problems and delays to the scheme's roll-out.

• What is universal credit?
• Universal Credit: Will benefit changes affect you?

On Friday, it was announced that Danielle Johnson, Claire Woods, Erin Barrett and Katie Stewart had succeeded in a judicial review action against the government over the method used to calculate payments.

It followed a hearing in November when the court was told the women were struggling financially, with some falling into debt or relying on food banks.

'Untold hardship'

Tessa Gregory, a solicitor from law firm Leigh Day, who represented part-time dinner lady Danielle Johnson from Keighley, West Yorkshire, said her client was "a hard-working single mum" and "precisely the kind of person universal credit was supposed to help".

But Ms Gregory said the "rigid income assessment system" had left her £500 out of pocket over the year and spiralling into debt.

Solicitor Carla Clarke, of the Child Poverty Action Group, which also brought the case on behalf of the mothers, said the universal credit system was "out of step with both actual reality and the law", and had caused them "untold hardship, stress and misery".

When calculating universal credit, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) sets assessment periods for each person to look at how much they earn - from the 1st of the month to the end of the month, for example.

But lawyers for the mothers said a problem arises when claimants are paid by employers on a date which "clashes" with their assessment period.

For example, they pointed out that if a claimant is paid early because of a weekend or bank holiday, the system counts them as having been paid twice in one month and they receive a "vastly reduced" universal credit payment.

'Fairly compensated'

Two judges in London concluded the work and pensions secretary had "wrongly interpreted" the relevant regulations.

Ms Gregory called for Ms Rudd to take "immediate steps to ensure that no other claimants are adversely affected" and "ensure all those who have suffered because of this unlawful conduct are swiftly and fairly compensated".

On Friday Ms Rudd promised to make the universal credit system more "individual" and tailor it to claimants needs, for example by making payments more regular.

Changes will also see more money go directly to women who are the "main carer" in a family, in response to criticism that the "one payment per household" system penalised women.

Charities have argued a whole family's benefit payments often go to the man's account and women, particularly victims of domestic violence, have little or no access to it.

Ms Rudd also announced a U-turn on plans to extend a benefits cap on families with more than two children.

The cap will no longer apply to about 15,000 families, who had their children before the two-child limit was introduced in 2017.

Hitachi, UK says no decision taken on British nuclear project

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):::
Japan’s Hitachi (6501.T) has yet to decide whether to proceed with its trillion yen (£7.2 billion) nuclear project in Britain and talks with the government are continuing, the company and government said on Friday.

Hitachi’s Horizon Nuclear Power unit has struggled to find investors for its plans to build a plant in Anglesey, Wales, which could provide about 6 percent of Britain’s electricity.

Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported that Hitachi had decided to freeze the project, although it also reported that the board had yet to vote to make it a formal decision.

A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said talks with Hitachi were continuing.

“On Hitachi, the negotiations on that are ongoing and those are obviously commercially sensitive so I can’t comment,” the government spokeswoman told reporters when asked about the reports.

May met Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe this week in London. He told her Japan did not want to see a disorderly Brexit when Britain leaves the European Union in March.

Hitachi said in Friday’s statement that it had been assessing the project “including its potential suspension and related financial impact.”

“Should any matter arise which needs to be disclosed Hitachi will announce information in a timely manner,” Hitachi said.

Nikkei reported that Hitachi had decided to freeze the project, leading to a special loss of 200 billion to 300 billion yen for the year ending in March. Hitachi’s board would vote on the suspension at a meeting next week, it reported without citing its sources.

In Friday’s statement, Hitachi said: “These articles aren’t based on Hitachi’s decision or disclosed information.”

Hitachi was hoping a group of Japanese investors and the British government would each take a one-third stake in the equity portion of the project. A company source has said the project would be financed one-third by equity and rest debt.

Britain wants new nuclear plants to help replace its ageing fleet of nuclear and coal plants coming offline in the 2020s, but high up-front costs have deterred construction.

Another Japanese conglomerate, Toshiba Corp (6502.T), scrapped its British NuGen project last year after its U.S. reactor unit Westinghouse went bankrupt and it failed to find a buyer.

Shares of Hitachi rose by as much as 6 percent on the Tokyo stock exchange after the report.

Virgin Atlantic buys UK airline Flybe for cut-price $2.8 million

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):::
Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic has teamed up with Stobart Group (STOB.L) and Cyrus Capital to buy Flybe (FLYB.L) for $2.8 million (£2.2 million), aiming to rebrand the struggling British regional carrier and use it to feed customers to its long-haul flights.

The consortium will provide a 20 million pound bridging loan facility to support Flybe’s working capital requirements and up to 80 million pounds of funding would be made available once the deal was completed.

Flybe, which operates routes from about 25 British airports, including domestic connections to London’s Heathrow, said its short-term performance had been hit by higher fuel costs, currency fluctuations and uncertainties presented by Brexit.

“By combining to form a larger, stronger, group, we will be better placed to withstand these pressures,” Flybe Chief Executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener said.

A joint venture company called Connect Airways — 40 percent owned by Cyrus’ unit DLP Holdings and 30 percent each owned by Stobart Group’s aviation unit and Virgin Atlantic — had won the backing of Flybe’s board to buy the airline.

However, Flybe’s shareholders will receive one pence in cash for each Flybe share under the terms of the recommended offer, a 94 percent discount to Thursday’s close of 16.38 pence.

Flybe, Britain’s biggest domestic airline, was valued at 215 million pounds when it joined the London Stock Exchange in 2010.

GRAPHIC: Flybe shares nosedive - tmsnrt.rs/2H4RNtm

SMALLER AIRLINES STRUGGLE

Airlines have been looking to consolidate in many markets as a result of rising running costs, higher fuel prices and increased competition from budget carriers.

Air Berlin, once Germany’s second largest carrier, went into administration in August 2017 when former parent Etihad Airways withdrew funding. Nordic budget airline Primera Air and Cypriot counterpart Cobalt both collapsed last October.

Virgin Atlantic, which is 49 percent owned by Delta Air Lines, said Flybe would provide “excellent connectivity to our extensive long haul network and that of our joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines, at London Heathrow Airport and Manchester Airport”.

“In the near future, this will only increase, through our expanded joint venture partnership with Air France-KLM,” said Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss.

The combined business will include a UK network carrier, with all flying operations except Stobart Air operating under the Virgin Atlantic brand. However, it plans to operate independently of Virgin Atlantic with only support functions having some overlap.

Connect Airways will also buy Stobart Group’s regional airline and aircraft leasing business immediately before the Flybe deal completes, the companies said in a statement, without disclosing a deal value.

Barclays acted as financial adviser to Stobart Group and Connect Airways, while Rothschild & Co advised Virgin Atlantic. Evercore advised Flybe on the deal.

UK economy slows as global worries, Brexit weigh on factories

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):

Gross domestic product was 0.3 percent higher than in the previous three-month period, down from growth of 0.4 percent in the three months to October and matching the consensus of a Reuters poll of economists.

Manufacturers suffered their longest period of monthly declines in output since the financial crisis, hurt by weaker overseas demand, the Office for National Statistics said.

Looking at November alone, industrial output dropped 1.5 percent on the year — the biggest fall since August 2013.

Worries about the global economy have been mounting due to concerns about a trade war between the United States and China. Figures from Germany and France earlier this week also showed falling industrial output.

“There may well be a common theme which is hurting the factory sector throughout Europe, for example changes in the auto industry,” Investec chief economist Philip Shaw said, adding that Brexit worries were also weighing on investment.

Carmakers across Europe have suffered from a fall in demand for diesel vehicles due to pollution concerns.

Sterling and British government bonds were little changed by Friday’s figures.

The figures fit with business and consumer surveys that suggest the economy is slowing sharply after robust growth of 0.6 percent in the third quarter of the year, reflecting growing uncertainty ahead of Brexit, as well as global jitters.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 and whether businesses will still be able to trade without disruption to cross-border supply chains remains unclear.

Prime Minister Theresa May risks losing a parliamentary vote on Tuesday on the deal she has agreed with the EU. Defeat would leave open the prospect of Britain leaving the EU without any transitional arrangements to smooth the economic shock.

Compared with a year earlier, Britain’s economy was 1.4 percent larger. In November alone, it expanded 0.2 percent, compared with forecasts for a rise of 0.1 percent.

The Bank of England says the economy is likely to have grown around 0.2 percent over the fourth quarter of 2018.

Closely watched purchasing managers’ surveys have pointed to fourth-quarter growth of around 0.1 percent in Britain, according to data firm IHS Markit which compiles the surveys.

Britain’s economy slowed after the June 2016 Brexit vote, its growth rate slipping from top spot among the Group of Seven group of rich nations to mid-table or lower.

An unusually warm summer and the soccer World Cup spurred a pick-up in mid-2018 but retail sales data suggest consumers reined in spending late last year.

Britain’s services sector grew by 0.3 percent over the three months to November, while industrial output dropped by 0.8 percent, the biggest decline since May 2017.

Separate figures showed Britain’s goods trade deficit widened unexpectedly in November to 12.0 billion pounds from 11.9 billion pounds, worsened by the highest oil imports since September 2014.