However, Mr Richards insisted he had not driven the car that day, but driven as a favour for a friend around a week before the killing.

BBC: Aamir Siddiqi murder: Jury retires to consider verdict

Richard Hyman of Verdict Research, a retail research company, says that people will desert traditional shopping streets in favour of the rain-and car-free walkways of malls if city centres have no obvious counter-attractions such as a big department store.

ECONOMIST: Shopping

The Unite union, which represents about 1, 200 white-collar employees at the car manufacturer, said 67% of staff voted in favour of industrial action after a ballot in May.

BBC: Ford car logo

Despite a fervent fan campaign to save Mr Toad's Wild Ride, the Coney Island-style, runaway car goof was run off the road in 1998 in favour of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

BBC: Walt Disney World's most endangered attractions

In an abrupt move, Rachida Dati, a former justice minister who fell out of favour with Mr Sarkozy, was deprived of the chauffeur-driven car she had hung on to despite leaving her job to become a member of the European Parliament.

ECONOMIST: Privacy in France