The US firms oppose EU money laundering legislation and have been using “aggressive” PR tactics to try to win over MPs and peers. Tessa Jowell is preparing to indicate she is “flexible” and “open-minded” over the Gambling Bill and could make some concessions to head off a growing revolt over plans for casinos with jackpots of up to £2.5m. Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats respond that they relish the challenge.. It discovered that 66,107 incidents of antisocial behaviour were reported on just one day in September 2003 – amounting to one every two seconds, or 24.1 million a year.Critics have also seized on the admission that 36 per cent of Asbos are breached as proof that the policy is only having a minimal effect. The Government retorts that those who fail to comply with the orders face prison. The political price for failing to tackle the problem is high and there is evidence that the tide of petty crime is eating into Labour’s support and obscuring its successes in cutting levels of burglary and car theft.Philip Gould, the Prime Minister’s pollster, has privately warned Tony Blair that the feeling of insecurity encountered by voters caused by antisocial behaviour is having an effect on the voters.For a substantial number of Labour MPs, particularly those with inner-city constituencies, it is now the number one issue on the doorsteps. Its potential damage to the party has been demonstrated in recent parliamentary by-elections in the former Labour strongholds of Brent East in London and Birmingham Hodge Hill, where the Liberal Democrats campaigned to impressive effect on such issues as yobbery, graffiti, drug-dealing and burnt-out cars.As a result Mr Blair is determined to put the drive against antisocial behaviour at the heart of Labour’s general election campaign.

It costs £2 for cars and £1 between 11pm and 6am.The best road readsRoundabouts of Great Britain, by Kevin Beresford (New Holland Publishers, 2004); Andreas Zust: Roundabouts, by Andreas Zust (Patrick Frey, Switzerland, 2004); London Orbital: A Walk Around the M25, by Iain Sinclair, et al (Granta Books, 2002); A1: Portrait of a Road by Nigel Richardson, et al (HarperCollins Illustrated, 2000); Leadville: A Biography of the A40, by Edward Platt (Picador, 2000);The best viewThe section of the M6 along the Lake District is probably the only motorway in Britain where being distracted by the view is a hazard, particularly at Shap. Turn off at junction 39 if it all gets too much.The high pointsThe M62, which crosses the Pennines, is officially Britain’s highest motorway and Saddleworth Moor, in the heart of Bronte country, is the highest point. Notorious among the cycling fraternity, apparently.The first toll motorwayThe M6 toll is a new 27-mile motorway, north and east of Birmingham which bypasses the busiest section of the M6, between junctions 4 and 11. It consists of 18 routes (including three motorways) on six levels.The secret exitAccording to M4 conspiracy theorists, as you pass junction 13 on the westbound carriageway, there are a set of sliproads signposted “Works Access Only”. Nothing unusual in that, but the signs have red borders, implying a military exit. Apparently, this is the back entrance to RAF Welford, an RAF/USAF military installation used for storing munitions. Some protest groups insist nuclear weapons were stored here instead of Greenham Common, but this has never been confirmed.The most lanesThe M61 at Linnyshaw Moss, Worsley, Greater Manchester, has 17 side by side.The busiest motorwayNo prizes for the right answer, which is, of course, the M25, specifically between junctions 14 and 15 (the M4 to the A3113) which carries 165,000 vehicles per day.The steepest roadChimney Bank on the Rosedale Abbey to Hutton-le-Hole road in North Yorkshire, is a one-in-three climb.

Swindonians swear it works.The biggest interchangeSpaghetti Junction, at Gravelly Hill, north of Birmingham on the Midland link motorway section of the M6, is the most complicated British interchange. Officially named the County Ground roundabout, this is a fiendish series of five mini-roundabouts, built in September 1972, to ease the flow of traffic converging from five directions. Kevin Delaney, spokesman for the RAC Foundation, said: “People so often have their lives blighted by roads. So if we are entering an age where we are interested in user-friendly, neighbour-friendly roads that minimise their impact on the environment then that is to be applauded. After all, we’ve been using them since the Romans and we could not survive without them.”TARMAC UK: A CONNOISSEUR’S GUIDEThe Magic Roundabout The “magic roundabout” at Swindon is a modern travellers’ tale that, like the old yarns about headless men, seems laughably unfeasible unless you’ve seen it with your own eyes. Experts at TRL have perfected techniques that microscopically analyse chippings in road surfaces to ensure “high-friction” materials are used at busy junctions.According to one of the most august motoring institutions of all, Britons are right to be increasingly obsessed by their roundabouts, road toppings and relief roads. A perusal of the internet will uncover sites dedicated to listing and picturing all British roads, ranking the worst motorway junctions, discussing typefaces on road signs and campaigning against driving over, rather than around, mini-roundabouts.Among the larger groups is Sabre (Society for All British Road Enthusiasts), which boasts 400 members.

He said: “I must say, sometimes I think I could happily never see a roundabout again But then after a night’s sleep I feel fine Each roundabout has its individuality. They are oases of calm in a sea of asphalt.”Mr Beresford is far from alone in being enthralled by road infrastructure. As a founder member of the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society, which has recruited 30 like-minded devotees since it was set up this summer, he is part of a burgeoning community of interest groups. We’re certainly looking for something.”Few, however, could have predicted the “sleeper” success of the title tipped to top many Christmas stockings this year.