A chambermaid from Edinburgh's Osbourne Hotel is critically ill in hospital following a vicious attack at the hotel last week.

Kay Harper was cleaning rooms last Friday morning when she was stabbed in the heart. An 18-year old man has been arrested in connection with the attack.

Toby Restaurants is to create 110 jobs in Essex through the opening of a £1.5m Jefferson's US theme restaurant at Epping. The official opening is scheduled for September.

Conference push

Tourism minister Viscount Astor flew to Geneva yesterday to urge organisers of conference and incentive travel packages to choose the UK. He was visiting the European Incentive Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition.

Andrew Coy, conference and banqueting director at London's Grosvenor House Hotel for the past four years, left suddenly last week.

A spokeswoman for Forte said Mr Coy, who has previously worked at London's Savoy and Ritz hotels, had "resigned for personal reasons". His number two, John Prior, has been made acting conference and banqueting director.