It is understood that more than 700 people have been interviewed, with clinical data scrutinised by medical experts.Det Supt Coles said that evidence had been gathered which suggested that apparatus had been tampered with during treatment of five patients in the Worksop intensive care unit. The move followed an internal investigation into several incidents of alleged tampering with patients' breathing apparatus and pumps delivering intravenous medication. Sources say police inquiries have stretched across the country from Tyneside to Nottinghamshire, and eight other hospitals are understood to have been visited by members of the Bassetlaw team of detectives.A source close to the investigation said 57 suspicious incidents in the eight hospitals had drawn the attention of police. Management at Bassetlaw district hospital, Worksop, called in Nottinghamshire police on 21 February. He would be proceeding with social reforms (coded language for divorce, which is still illegal in Ireland) ``in a way that takes account of our particular conditions''.Consultations with Labour were expected to begin immediately. Should they fail, a new alliance might leave Fianna Fail in opposition, or there might be a general election.Mr Ahern's victory was assured after his only rival, the Justice Minister, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, 44, withdrew.A Dubliner's triumph, page 2Inside Story, page 19Leading article, page 22.

``I am very glad of the understanding my party showed,'' he said. BERTIE AHERN, 43, Ireland's finance minister, was elected unopposed yesterday as leader of its largest party, Fianna Fail. Mr Ahern committed himself to maintaining ``precisely and exactly'' the Northern Ireland peace strategy of his predecessor, Albert Reynolds. A left-leaning, working-class pragmatist from north Dublin, Mr Ahern was chosen as the person best placed to repair the coalition with Labour that collapsed last week.But the most remarkable thing is that, 104 years after bishops brought down Charles Stewart Parnell, the ``lost leader'' who was cited in divorce proceedings because of his affair with Kitty O'Shea, Ireland's most staunchly Catholic party has chosen a man long separated from his wife.There were angry shouts of ``No!'' when a reporter asked him about the significance of this yesterday.But Mr Ahern insisted the question be put. The Opposition will move an amendment to the resolution governing the conduct of debate on the Finance Bill. The amendment will try to overturn this ruling, so allowing a challenge specifically linked to the doubling of fuel VAT.Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East and a member of Labour's Treasury team, said: ``If the Government is determined to block the opportunity for the Commons even to consider this issue, there will be widespread public outrage and mounting discontent among Conservative backbenchers.''.

Some ministers have argued for the imposition of VAT on newspapers instead. But the Department of the Environment argues that the fuel VAT rise is needed to achieve international agreements to reduce pollution.Labour's procedural move will come when the Chancellor proposes the Budget on 29 November. He was ``implacably opposed'' to the fuel tax rise and, if MPs were allowed to vote, he would restate his hostility.Tory MPs campaigning for pensioners said they too may vote against the Government if the second stage of compensation for VAT on fuel is not generous enough.Andrew Bowden, MP for Brighton Kemptown, said he is concerned that pensioners might be offered only an additional 25p a week next year, rather than the 50p he expected. He added: ``That is not acceptable and if that is the line down which the Government hopes to go, they cannot count on my support in the lobbies when this is discussed by Labour.'' In a motion on the same subject last year, Mr Bowden got backing from six Tories.Conservative backbenchers believe that they failed to persuade the Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, not to implement the rise in VAT on fuel. Other opponents of the VAT on fuel include William Powell (Corby), Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield), Ann Winterton (Congleton), Richard Shepherd (Aldridge Brownhills), William Cash (Stafford), Teresa Gorman (Billericay), Paul Marland (Gloucestershire West) and Michael Lord (Suffolk Central).``It is morally wrong that elderly people who have no opportunity of adjusting their income to take account of additional taxation should be treated in this way,'' Mr Winterton said. But Labour Party tacticians have found a way round the block, allowing Gordon Brown, the Shadow Chancellor, to table a procedural motion that could force a vote. Two Tory MPs confirmed yesterday that they would not support the Government in any such vote. Phil Gallie, MP for Ayr, said: ``I shall not be supporting the Government in the lobbies on imposing the full 17.5 per cent.'' Sir Nicholas Fairbairn, MP for Perth and Kinross, last night promised to support ``any measure that stops this increase''.

The second stage in the imposition of VAT, taking it to the full 17.5 per cent rate from April, was announced in last year's Budget. Government business managers had insisted that there could be no parliamentary vote this year. If someone else finds a winning ticket, they will be given the money.Winners of large prizes will be asked to go on Monday to one of the 10 regional lottery centres in Britain to confirm their success. Camelot has said the time it will take to pay the winners their prize money will depend when they come forward..

JOHN MAJOR'S fragile 14-seat majority may be at risk again next week, with up to a dozen Tory backbenchers threatening to join Labour in an attempt halt the doubling of VAT on fuel. But the lottery operator Camelot will not know who bought the winning ticket until they come forward.If the winners agree to publicity, their names will be announced later this week - after they have had emotional and financial counselling.All six numbers were needed to win the jackpot with prizes between pounds 100,000 to pounds 10 available for people who had three numbers or more.Although it will have precise information about which retail outlets sold the winning lottery tickets, Camelot is not planning any publicity to avoid an avalanche of media attention.But it was feared last night that with such intense press interest in the lottery, launched on Monday, it would be difficult for winners to avoid being identified.The secret is almost certain to leak out today unless they keep the news from friends, family and neighbours and hold extremely discreet celebrations.Camelot advises people who have won to telephone the National Lottery Line on 0645 100000 - before they tell their family If they have lost their ticket they cannot claim the prize. One Fianna Fail backbencher, Micheal Martin, said: ``There's a sense of bewilderment and a sense of disbelief, still, that this has happened. It's still baffling me.''The general feeling last night was that the peace process was unlikely to be threatened in the medium term.. (First Edition) THE nation was waiting with envy today to discover the identity of the winner of the first pounds 6.9m National Lottery jackpot. The winning numbers - 3, 5, 14, 22, 30, 44 and bonus number 10 - were drawn live on BBC 1 in front of what was perhaps Britain's biggest TV audience, estimated at up to 30 million people.When sales finished at 7.30pm yesterday 25 million people had bought more than 49 million tickets, creating a total prize pool of some pounds 22m. ``I'm not in the position of qualifying or disqualifying people from co-operating with the Labour Party,'' he said.The weekend is expected to be a period of both stocktaking and political manoeuvring after an extraordinary week in Irish politics.