Found another PHP error in the apache log
PHP Warning: JFactory::require_once() [<a href='function.JFactory-require-once'>
function.JFactory-require-once</a>]: SAFE MODE Restriction in effect.
The script whose uid is 0 is not allowed to access /var/www/vhosts/mysite.com/httpdocs/libraries/joomla/config.php owned by uid 10005 in /var/www/vhosts/mysite.com/httpdocs/libraries/joomla/factory.php on line 474
FIXED problem by un-ticking safe mode in the web sites setup hosting control panel.