“It would be unacceptable if franchises were awarded where the very life-blood of the industry – notably the profits – go overseas and all that happens is a few actors and technicians are more gainfully employed.”He made a point of turning on multi-Oscar winner The English Patient. “The confusion,” he says, “arises from what qualifies as a British film, The English Patient being a perfect example. While no one questions the undoubted contribution that British talent has made to its success, the profits will go to Miramax, its Hollywood financiers. Let’s hope that the next film patient will be British-owned as well as British made.”The Department of National Heritage is also concerned. A spokesman for the department said yesterday: “The definition is not just of academic interest. There are tax benefits to being a British film, and it does now have a lottery resonance.

With the new lottery franchises, whether a film is British could be a significant factor.”Confusion over what is a British film is now so marked that the Department of National Heritage has set up a committee of inquiry into what constitutes a British film. A ruling will be made later this summer.David Parfitt, of UK Filmworks, said yesterday: “We’re an international industry. We have managed to find new money abroad but we will guarantee the profits will stay in the UK.”Sarah Keene, a leading film publicist, who promoted The English Patient, said: “It is unfortunate but perhaps inevitable that there is rancour breaking out over the lottery franchises. But the pounds 156m of lottery money will have a dramatic effect on the British film industry, and it is no surprise that competition is very intense.”In the case of The English Patient we never claimed it was a British film. We claimed it was a British-led film.”An Arts Council spokeswoman said: “There are no ownership restrictions, but franchisees must use lottery money to make British films and they must show a commitment to re-invest in British films. It would be expected that the majority of the money comes back to Britain.”. Charles Haughey, the embattled former Irish prime minister, could seek a judicial review at the Dublin High Court today to maintain the secrecy of discussions about pounds 1.3m he received from a leading Irish supermarket chain.

Ben Dunne, the Irish supermarket magnate, confirmed last week that he had channelled pounds 1.3m to the heavily-indebted Mr Haughey, who served as Taoiseach between 1987 and 1991. The tribunal investigating payments to politicians, which was set up by the Irish government in February, has given Mr Haughey has until this afternoon to appear before it, or seek representation, if he wishes to contest an order forcing disclosure of the contents of five discussions he had with Noel Smyth, solicitor for Mr Dunne.
Three of the meetings took place at Mr Haughey’s 18th-century Kinsealy mansion in north Dublin, and two at the home of Mr Haughey’s neighbour to avoid publicity. The two houses are connected by a tunnel.The tribunal, and the controversy surrounding it, has developed into a veritable bonfire of Irish politicians’ reputations. Michael Lowry, the former transport minister, was forced to resign after revelations about how Mr Dunne paid for a pounds 214,000 extension to his house.

Dunnes Stores charged the work, which included furnishings and a custom-made double bed, to one of its Dublin retail outlets – and valued it at pounds 395,000.Last week the tribunal heard evidence that Mr Lowry, whose firm provided refrigeration services to Dunnes’ stores, had received another pounds 105,000 via the Isle of Man. This payment had not been declared in Lowry’s statement to the Dail on the affair. The serious tax implications of various payments revealed at the tribunal have aroused considerable public interest.Proinsias de Rossa, the leader of Democratic Left, the junior party in the ruling Irish coalition, is now suggesting that Mr Lowry should stand down as a candidate in the forthcoming general election.Mr Lowry yesterday appealed for privacy for his family after newspaper revelations of a relationship with a 35 year-old woman, with whom he was pictured on holiday in Spain while his wife and children were elsewhere on the Continent. The former minister resigned from the Fine Gael parliamentary party over the Dunne affair and intents to stand as an independent in his Tipperary North constituency.Mr de Rossa, the minister for social welfare, told told his party’s ard fheis (annual conference) in Dun Laoghaire that the relationship between business and politics had to be put above board once and for all.John Bruton, the present Prime Minister, is to give evidence to the tribunal this morning, He is expected to explain the circumstances in which his Fine Gael party received pounds 180,000 in donations from Mr Dunne, which the party itself disclosed earlier.This included a donation of pounds 100,000 which was secured by Mr Bruton after calling for a cup of tea at Mr Dunne’s house.. The shrine of Welsh rugby was broken up and sold piece by piece to the faithful yesterday. The Cardiff Arms Park, in the city’s centre, has witnessed euphoric home-team victories and tearful defeats in the 112 years since the opening of the first grandstand.