Biotech head leaves chair of working group

The crisis at British Biotech, the Oxford company accused of failing to tell the stock market of worrying developments with its drugs development programme, has led to chief executive Keith McCullagh giving up his chairmanship of the government's working group on financing high-technology firms. He is to step down "due to current work pressures on his time", but he remains a group member. Peter Willliams, chairman of Oxford Instruments, will succeed him.