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Plans to create a University of Bedfordshire took on a note of farce this week. Philip Tasker and Les Ebdon, vice-chancellors of De Montfort and Luton universities respectively, called a meeting to discuss the scheme with staff from the Bedford campus. The most appropriate venue was deemed to be the local theatre, currently host to pantomime Pinocchio.

Professor Ebdon felt compelled to explain that, far from having a propensity to tell lies, he was born with a big nose that tended to turn red in the cold.