Annual Report 2009

Statement of Directors' responsibilities

Statement of Directors' responsibilities in relation to the Consolidated financial statements

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual report and the Consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law and those International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union.

The Directors are required to prepare Consolidated financial statements for each financial year which present fairly the financial position of the Group and the financial performance and cash flows of the Group for that period. In preparing those Consolidated financial statements, the Directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies in accordance with IAS 8 and then apply them consistently;
• present information, including accounting policies, in a manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable information;
• provide additional disclosures when compliance with the specific requirements in IFRSs is insufficient to enable users to understand the impact of particular transactions, other events and conditions on the entity's financial position and financial performance; and
• state that the Group has complied with IFRSs, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.

The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and enable them to ensure that the Consolidated financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Company's website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.