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Indian Oil Producer Bids for British Rival
The acquisition of Imperial Energy by ONGC is the second Indian takeover of a British company in as many days.
Some Britons Too Unruly for Resorts in Europe
 Malia, Greece, is the latest in a long list of European resorts full of young British tourists on packaged tours offering cheap alcohol and a license to behave badly.
Britain’s Economy Came to a Halt in 2nd Quarter
As the government reported that the economy stagnated in the quarter, the country’s financial regulator asked banking executives to prepare for an economic downturn.
British Inmates’ Private Data Is Lost in Latest Government Security Breach
A private consulting company working for Britain’s Home Office has lost a memory stick containing personal details on all of the 84,000 prisoners serving time in England and Wales.
Slump Could Mirror 1990s, British Regulator Says
Britain’s banks should be prepared to cope with an economic downturn and a housing market slump that could mirror the recession in the early 1990s, a regulator said.
Good Showing by Britain Is Ahead of Schedule
Even as British athletes move up the medal count in Beijing they are looking forward to 2012.
Britain Fines Credit Suisse for Securities Pricing Errors
Credit Suisse was fined $10.7 million because of pricing errors in some asset-backed securities, an indication of tighter oversight of the investment banking sector.
Elgar Without Vibrato? Fiddlesticks
Traditionalists in England are in a huff over a performance of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” March No. 1.
Thai Leader Flees to Britain Amid Court Case
 Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said that he was seeking refuge in London, far from the political battles that have racked the country.
Dockside Contender Coulda Had a Sad End
A new British production of the stage adaptation of the film “On the Waterfront” is playing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
British Threat Report Says Flu Pandemic Would Have Most Impact
 The assessment was ordered by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as part of an effort to enhance Britain’s readiness to deal with threats to national security.
College and Company Link Up to Lure Foreigners
Northeastern is using Kaplan Inc. to find students for, and help run, a special program for international students.
Britain Comes to Grips With a Slowdown
 Britons have come to the realization that after 17 years of uninterrupted growth, the country’s economy is moving closer to recession, and may already be in one.
Britain Debates Army’s Delay at Basra
 A political controversy has erupted in London over Britain’s failure to deploy troops to help save a faltering Iraqi Army offensive against Shiite militias earlier this year.
Britain Arrests 8 in Trading Inquiry
The Financial Services Authority, the British financial regulator, said eight people were arrested across London and southeast England as part of an insider-dealing investigation.
NYT > Great Britain
World news about Great Britain, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.
Guilty: 'James Bond' gunsmith who armed underworld assassins
A GUNSMITH who converted replica weapons into working machine-guns used in a series of gangland murders was facing jail last night.
You rarely see an otter these days – except at the top of the animal popularity chart
IT COULD be the animal's large appealing eyes and attractive furry features. Or it could be its association with popular television shows and films from Springwatch to Har
Dolly team offers hope to victims of schizophrenia
IMPROVED treatments for schizophrenia and motor neurone disease could be available within two decades thanks to Scottish experiments using a new type of stem cell.
England's health spending set to rise above Scotland's in four years
HEALTH spending in England could outstrip Scotland in four years, Labour has claimed.
Muslim made boys beat themselves with blades till they bled
A DEVOUT Muslim was found guilty of child cruelty yesterday after forcing two boys to beat themselves during a religious ceremony.
Tory rumblings over gung-ho Cameron
INSIDE WESTMINSTER
Scare as French fighters stray into passenger jet's airspace
A PASSENGER plane with 124 people on board was forced to take evasive action after two French fighters strayed into its airspace.
Q & A: Lily Greenan
The manager of Scottish Women's Aid comments on the creation of a national police database of domestic abusers, so that repeat offenders can be tracked down and victims gi
Minor heart-attack care fears
DOCTORS could be misjudging the severity of heart attacks on patients discharged from care, an international study has found.
Fifth arrest in 'plot to kill PM'
COUNTER-terrorism police investigating an alleged plot to assassinate the Prime Minister were last night searching the house of the latest suspect.
Lib Dems reveal plan to ease mortgage problems
THE Liberal Democrats yesterday unveiled proposals to help families who are unable to pay their mortgages.
Millionaire and family missing after arson attack
A MILLIONAIRE and his family were still missing last night following a suspected arson attack on their secluded country home.
Boy's family in airgun warning
THE family of an 18-month-old boy shot in the head with an airgun said yesterday they hoped anyone with such weapons realised "how dangerous" they could be.
Millionaire and family feared dead after fire wrecks home
A MISSING millionaire and his family were feared dead today following a suspected arson attack on their home.
Millions in UK worried they will lose jobs
MORE than three million workers fear they will lose their job in the next year because of the economic slowdown, according to research today.
Seagull-chase dog rescued by fire brigade
A DOG who jumped 15ft over a sea wall as he chased a seagull had to be rescued by city firefighters yesterday.
Mother cleared after dropping sausage roll
Hull: A case against a mother who was taken to court after dropping a piece of sausage roll on the pavement was dismissed by magistrates.
Pregnancy scare for 44%
ALMOST half of women have had unprotected sex or had their usual contraception fail in the past year, a survey suggested today.
Plea to mother over dead baby
POLICE have appealed for a mother to come forward after the body of a newborn baby was found at a waste recycling centre.
Probe into PM threat goes on
POLICE were today continuing to interview five men over an alleged threat to kill Gordon Brown.
Hutton slams windfall tax calls
BUSINESS Secretary John Hutton has criticised calls for a windfall tax on energy firms.
Drivers back use of hard shoulders
AS MANY as 50 per cent of AA members support the idea of cars driving along motorway hard shoulders to ease congestion at busy times, according to a poll to be published today
Stamp duty hope halts home moves
MORE than eight out of ten homebuyers are putting back their moving date in the hope that they may not have to pay stamp duty, a survey has shown.
Footballer died after drinks binge
AN AMATEUR footballer died after drinking more than 40 pints of lager and 30 bottles of alcopops on a five-day, end-of-season holiday with his team, an inquest heard yesterda
Meehan to face child porn trial
THE former partner of Shannon Matthews' mother appeared in court yesterday on child pornography charges.
Ramsay's new kitchen nightmare
A PROTÉGÉ of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has overtaken his mentor and now offers the best food of any leading restaurant in the capital, according to Harden's London R
Dropouts can still become geniuses
AN AWARD named after the TV inventor John Logie Baird has been resurrected in a bid to encourage school and university dropouts to become the next generation of scientists an
Scot dies in Gulf motorbike crash
AN EXPATRIATE Scot has died after a mystery motorbike crash in Dubai.
Livingstone to advise Venezuela
KEN Livingstone, the former London mayor, yesterday agreed to help Venezuela to improve urban planning.
Red phone box adoption plan
BT is to let local councils "adopt" red telephone boxes after protests over the reduction in the number of the iconic kiosks.
Scotsman.com News - UK
news-uk:UK
Threat to Scotland's greatest art treasures
THE centrepiece collection of the National Galleries of Scotland could be broken up unless it can raise £100 million to buy two Old Master paintings.
Nation swells with pride as crowds hail medal heroes
TENS of thousands of well- wishers thronged the streets of Edinburgh yesterday as Scotland's Olympic heroes returned home in triumph.
Breaking news: Hacker loses US extradition appeal
A SCOTTISH computer expert who hacked into top secret US military networks lost his last-ditch legal appeal today and will be extradited to the US in the next two weeks.
Oh islands in the sun, for perfect weather Shetland is number one
IT IS said that Shetland has nine months of winter and three months of bad weather.
You rarely see an otter these days – except at the top of the animal popularity chart
IT COULD be the animal's large appealing eyes and attractive furry features. Or it could be its association with popular television shows and films from Springwatch to Har
Dolly team offers hope to victims of schizophrenia
IMPROVED treatments for schizophrenia and motor neurone disease could be available within two decades thanks to Scottish experiments using a new type of stem cell.
Long run in to crucial Glenrothes by-election
THE Glenrothes by-election is likely to be delayed until late October or early November, it emerged last night.
Suicide row doctor told he can keep his practice
A GP who gave sleeping pills to a suicidal patient will be allowed to retain his practice, health officials ruled last night.
Gray derides 'playground bully' Salmond
IAIN Gray, the Scottish Labour leadership hopeful, has taken off the gloves to launch a personal attack on Alex Salmond, in a bid to show he is the man to take on the First
'Fat map' reveals how weighty issue of obesity is spread across Scotland
THIS map shows for the first time the startling variation in obesity levels across Scotland.
Mass cull of grey squirrels wins minister's backing
SCOTLAND'S environment minister has thrown his weight behind plans to kill thousands of grey squirrels to protect their red cousins from extinction.
Everybody still needs good neighbours . . and I should know
THE rain was hammering on the roof, my shoes were ruined and the contents of my handbag were a sorry little pile outside my front door. I couldn't believe that I'd cho
SNP doesn't know where to sit under Thatcher's shadow
ALEX SALMOND was furious when the media seized on comments in an interview which appeared to suggest he had some sympathy for Thatcherism. He even called a radio phone-in prog
It's plain sailing for docks plans
A MASSIVE regeneration of Leith Docks has been approved by the city council, despite concerns that it could have a major impact on the economic future of the city centre.
Biggest Mela in city history prepares for grand finale
PERFORMERS have travelled from as far afield as Africa, South America and India to entertain crowds at this year's Mela Festival.
Astonishment as city ranked least happiest place in the UK
EDINBURGH has been named as the most miserable place to live in the United Kingdom – despite its beautiful scenery, countless leisure and cultural attractions and recent econ
Planners give second rubber stamp to Caltongate scheme
WORK can finally get under way on the massive £300 million Caltongate scheme after it was given the final go-ahead – again.
Housing slump hits Capital market as sales drop by 25%
THE number of homes being sold in Edinburgh has dropped by more than a quarter compared to the same time last year.
Fears for jobs as Capital firms hit by huge rent rise
BUSINESSES are facing council rent hikes of up to 80 per cent, prompting fears of job losses.
Dreams come true as Craig is told 'You're in the Army now'
THEY are a crack fighting unit, prepared to go into battle at a moment's notice.
Capital tops noisy neighbour league
MORE noise complaints are made in Edinburgh than anywhere else in the country, new figures have revealed.
Crowds make it another gold day
HERO cyclist Chris Hoy has had his fair share of memorable moments in the past few weeks.
Man launched petrol bomb attack to try to kill neighbour
A FORMER neighbour tried to murder a family in their beds after petrol bombing their home.
Man fights for his life after being stabbed in the face
A POLISH man is fighting for his life after being stabbed in the face outside an Aberdeen bar.
Prison razor attack adds to thug's sentence
ONE of Scotland's most violent teenagers slashed a youth on the face and scarred him for life to send out a message that he was not going to be pushed around in prison, a
Q & A: Lily Greenan
The manager of Scottish Women's Aid comments on the creation of a national police database of domestic abusers, so that repeat offenders can be tracked down and victims gi
Man jailed for holding up bookies with a newspaper
A ROBBER was jailed for 30 months yesterday after staging a raid on a betting shop armed with a rolled-up newspaper.
Galleries told to find £100m to secure iconic paintings
AN unexpected £100 million needs to be found to secure a world-famous art collection in Edinburgh's National Galleries of Scotland.
Farmer who 'left lambs to die' goes free on a technicality
AN AGRICULTURAL officer with the Scottish Government who was accused of starving 50 lambs to death has walked free from court on a technicality.
Minor heart-attack care fears
DOCTORS could be misjudging the severity of heart attacks on patients discharged from care, an international study has found.
Scotsman.com News - Scotland
breaking-scotland:Scotland
House price decline hits double digits
House prices continued their ten month slide in August to register one of the biggest year on year falls recorded in the UK in the last eighteen years
Tube Lines chief warns on pension cost
Any future owner of Metronet Rail could face significant extra liabilities after its staff were allowed to
join the London Underground final salary pension scheme
Lib Dems dismiss homeowner safety net
Setting up a safety net for homeowners who lose their jobs would be 'phenomenally expensive' and impractical, the Liberal Democratic party's spokesman says
City calls on Brown not to hit energy profits
The prime minister has been urged to resist pressure from his own backbenchers to impose a windfall tax on energy companies
West tells Russia to keep out of Ukraine
Britain led a chorus of support for Ukraine, as western fears rose of possible Russian attempts to build on its victory in Georgia by threatening other neighbouring states
Surplus prompts health funding row
A political row has broken out over health funding as the National Health Service forecast a £1.75bn surplus for the current financial year
Protégé takes top slot from Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay's reign as London's finest restaurateur has been brought to an end by his protégé, according to one of the capital's restaurant surveys
Irish tax move revives fear of exodus
Fears of a corporate exodus from Britain were reignited when Henderson Group, one of Europe's largest investment managers, said it was considering moving its tax base to Ireland
Tories clash with business over jail size
Fresh divisions have opened up between business and the Conservative party over the future of an ambitious prison building programme being planned by the government
Obesity belt is exposed by 'fat map'
A belt of obesity stretching across Wales, the north Midlands and northern England has been exposed in a new 'fat map' of Britain
M&S cutbacks worker to face hearing
A worker at Marks and Spencer who blew the whistle on plans to cut redundancy pay for the company's 70,000 staff is being disciplined by the retailer, the GMB union reports
Industry sees gap emerging in wages
A wage gap is emerging in industry as successful employers award bigger increases to offset inflation while others, squeezed by rising costs and faltering demand, have cut real wages
Old Masters offered to National Galleries
Two paintings by Titian have been offered for sale jointly to the National Gallery and the National Gallery of Scotland by their owner, the Duke of Sutherland, for £50m each
Think-tank feels pinch as rival cashes in
Demos, the left-leaning think-tank whose ideas fuelled Tony Blair's New Labour revolution in the 1990s, is facing financial pressure
Gunmaker aims to give expansion a shot
For many of the shooting cognoscenti, and for those who can afford it, the small Boss & Co factory in Kew is the ultimate location for shotgun production
FT.com - UK News
FT.com - UK News
Boris Johnson:
If the capital is a Tory test-bed, the early results are mixed ON AUGUST 24th the world’s eyes will be on Boris Johnson, as he collects the Olympic flag at the closing ceremony in Beijing to mark the handover to the London games in 2012. But there are other reasons to be interested in London’s mayor, a flamboyant figure with an engaging manner who likes cycling to work. Mr Johnson’s new administration in London offers a preview—of sorts—of a future Conservative government. The early signs—Mr Johnson was elected in May, beating the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone—have been mixed. On August 19th Tim Parker, a businessman whom Mr Johnson had appointed first deputy mayor, resigned. The pair had agreed that the job of chairing Transport for London, which runs the capital’s buses and the Tube, should go to the mayor rather than Mr Parker, as originally intended. Shorn of that role, Mr Parker did not have much to stick around for, although he will continue advising the mayor. ...
School examinations:
The government digs its heels in FOR education, August is the cruellest month. GCSE results follow hot on the heels of A-level ones, sparking annual debates over whether pupils’ ever-more stellar performance reflects well on them and their schools, or badly on a government and exam system that encourage grade inflation. This year was no exception. The GCSE results, published on August 21st, of the first cohort educated entirely under Labour were record-breaking, as usual. A-levels likewise saw more passes, and more top grades. Breast-beating duly ensued. This year, though, a related issue has moved to the fore: whether over-testing in schools is leading to under-education. A review of primary education being co-ordinated by Cambridge University found that by the end of primary school children in England had taken more external tests than those in every other country the researchers had looked at. This is narrowing education and distorting the curriculum by encouraging teaching to the test, concluded a committee of MPs. And the pattern of relentless testing continues in secondary school, with external exams at 14, 16, 17 and 18. ...
The politics of fairness:
The Conservatives battle Labour for ownership of the f-word IN THE lexicon of political concepts, “fairness” is less exalted than liberty or equality. But that may be why it will be so keenly contested this autumn in Britain, a country more at home with common sense than grand theory. Gordon Brown plans to revive his ailing government under the theme of fairness. The Conservatives, for their part, are trying to counter the prime minister’s fightback before it gets going by claiming fairness for themselves. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, made the pre-emptive strike in a speech he gave on August 20th. ...
Football hooligans:
Once a pariah, Britain now advises other countries on how to keep order GLARING down from a PowerPoint slide was a young Englishman with swastikas daubed on his bare chest. Gazing up at him was a delegation of Brazilian police, congressmen and football officials. Unlikely as it might seem, given England’s reputation for football loutishness, Brazil sent a team of experts to London this week to learn how to handle o hooliganismo when they stage the World Cup in 2014. Other foreign governments have also sought British help. South Africa has asked for British advice on its own World Cup in 2010; so have Poland and Ukraine, the hosts of the European Championships in 2012. Europe’s football association, which threatened England with a ban in 2000, now recommends the British model of policing. ...
Bagehot:
The prime minister vanished; the leader of the opposition materialised in Tbilisi. Britain had a bad war HOLIDAYS in the BlackBerry era can be divided into two categories: “soft” (where the vacationer stays in radar contact and continues to exercise his thumbs) and “hard” (when he staves off divorce by switching everything off). David Cameron’s holiday was plainly in the soft category: one moment canoodling on a Cornish beach, the leader of the Conservative Party reappeared in Tbilisi, glad-handing Georgia’s embattled president. Meanwhile Gordon Brown, a prime minister famously, even worryingly, averse to relaxation, mostly sat out the Caucasian crisis in his holiday redoubt. Neither has distinguished himself. “I don’t like abroad,” King George V once remarked, “I’ve been there.” Mr Brown is often said to have a similar attitude to, and aptitude for, foreign relations. He gets worked up about globalisation and poverty; but he evinces little interest in the sort of tough diplomacy and realpolitik that Russia’s gangsterism calls for. He apparently talked about Georgia with George Bush, Ban Ki-moon and the rest by phone, but let others do the face-to-face peace-mongering. David Miliband, the foreign secretary, was also inconspicuous at first, though he eventually made it to Tbilisi on August 19th, denouncing Russia’s “adventurism and aggression”. ...
Commercial property:
The downturn in the capital’s office market will intensify TWO years ago the City of London was planning a makeover as developers dreamt up new skyscrapers with quirky names to rival the “Gherkin”. But one by one the projects are being put on ice. The “Walkie-talkie” will spare the wavelengths for the time being. The “Cheese-grater” will leave the “Gherkin” unaccompanied for a while now that British Land, London’s biggest developer, has put the plan back a year. The jitters are overdue. Commercial-property prices are dropping fast. After rising by an average of 10% a year in 2004 and 2005 and then by 17% in 2006, prices may now have fallen by as much as 20% from their peak. The total return on property (rental income together with the change in property prices) touched a record low of minus 16% in the year to July according to IPD, a data provider. ...
Valuing new drugs:
What lies behind a tiff over drug pricing ONE of Labour’s early health-care reforms was to set up a body to work out how cost-effective new drugs are—and whether they are therefore worthwhile for the publicly financed NHS. Although the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has now been going for nine years, it is only recently that it has run into the sort of bitter controversy that always seemed likely to dog such a body. Stung by recent criticisms, Sir Michael Rawlins, NICE’s chairman, retaliated in an interview published in the Observer on August 17th. Why, he asked, did NICE always get the blame for saying no, when its supposedly stingy decisions were caused by the high prices set by drug companies? Why was no one questioning their fat profits, or their chief executives’ big bonuses? ...
Breaking up BAA:
Dismembering BAA should make it possible to develop a second hub airport for the capital and its region AFTER years of being shamed by ever shabbier and more overcrowded airports, Britain is at last getting around to doing the right thing. On August 20th the Competition Commission, which investigates whether markets are working properly, released the damning findings of a 17-month study into the country’s airports. The report envisages the dismembering of BAA, the country’s dominant airports operator, as well as other proposals that amount to a wholesale rewrite of the government’s cherished aviation policy. The commission blamed long delays, overcrowding and a shortage of capacity that has long bedevilled Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, on a flawed regulatory regime, poor policy and, most important of all, BAA’s ownership of the three main London airports—Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It plans to force BAA to sell two of the three as well as another airport in Scotland. ...
The Olympics:
Why Britain’s athletes have done so well EVERY four years in summer, the British prepare for their team to be gallant losers in the Olympics. But this August has brought winner upon winner. As The Economist went to press, the British team stood in third place in the medals table with 17 golds, behind only China and America, the most since 1908 when Britain hosted the games and fielded a third of the competitors, including all of them in some events. With some exceptions, such as Rebecca Adlington’s two golds in the pool, Britain’s medals were concentrated in three “sitting-down” sports: cycling, sailing and rowing. The achievements of the cyclists, winning eight golds, four silvers and two bronzes, were especially notable; Chris Hoy (shown in the picture) scored a golden hat-trick. Their success offers some clues to why Britain has staged such a comeback. ...
Electric cars:
For all the political hype, London is still ambivalent about them ONCE the preserve of ageing former presidents, overfed golf stars and milkmen, electric vehicles are much in vogue these days. A survey this month by esure, a car-insurance company, found that 71% of British motorists would consider driving one, and all the main political parties have burnished their green credentials by supporting financial incentives for owners of cars with low carbon-dioxide emissions. This, and the painfully high price of petrol, has seen the number of electric cars in London increase dramatically, from 90 in 2003 to 1,600 in 2008. At first glance, this figure seems bound to rise further. Last month Boris Johnson, London’s new mayor, said that he was setting up a body to support electric-car drivers in the capital—the Electric Vehicle Partnership for London. Top of its list of things to do is installing more public points at which electric-car owners may top up their batteries. At the moment there are 40 spots dotted around the London streets where drivers who have paid GBP75 for a key can pull in and plug in free of charge, and some privately owned car parks have charging points too. Another 100 charging stations are now on the cards. ...
Inflation:
As long as prices surge the Bank of England cannot cut interest rates. That will not help a floundering government OVER the past few months the economy has developed a disquieting tendency to outgloom the gloomiest prediction. The housing market in particular has fared much worse than expected as house prices, turnover and residential investment have all tumbled. That is one big reason why economic activity is turning down sharply, trumping earlier forecasts of a moderate slowdown and pushing up the jobless count. But above all the upsurge in inflation has proved far more extreme than was once projected. The Bank of England has the task of keeping the annual rate of inflation, measured by the consumer-prices index (CPI), at 2%. As recently as March it appeared to be on top of the job: inflation, at 2.5%, was only a bit higher than the official target. But by May inflation had reached 3.3% and it vaulted to 4.4% in July. The 0.6 percentage-point rise since June, when inflation was 3.8%, was the biggest since the series started in 1997. ...
English spelling:
The rules need updating, not scrapping GHOTI and tchoghs may not immediately strike readers as staples of the British diet; and even those most enamoured of written English’s idiosyncrasies may wince at this tendentious rendering of “fish and chips”. Yet the spelling, easily derived from other words*, highlights the shortcomings of English orthography. This has long bamboozled foreigners and natives alike, and may underlie the national test results released on August 12th which revealed that almost a third of English 14-year-olds cannot read properly. One solution, suggested recently by Ken Smith of the Buckinghamshire New University, is to accept the most common misspellings as variants rather than correct them. Mr Smith is too tolerant, but he is right that something needs to change. Due partly to its mixed Germanic and Latin origins, English spelling is strikingly inconsistent. ...
Real ale:
Folk-drink or aspirational libation? EARLS COURT, a vast, high-ceilinged exhibition centre in west London, does not make for a promising pub. There are few seats, and the bright fluorescent lights do little to make drinkers feel at ease. But the lack of creature comforts did not dampen the high spirits of the students, beer connoisseurs and off-duty businessmen attending the Great British Beer Festival, billed as the world’s biggest, on August 5th-9th. They roamed from bar to bar, sampling over 450 varieties of beer and cider. Such good cheer may seem odd, given that beer seems to be falling out of favour in Britain. Sales have dropped by 9% over the past decade, in part because wine has grown more popular. But not all beers are the same. The festival was organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), a 90,000-strong lobbying group promoting traditional, unpasteurised, unfiltered beer, stored and served from casks wherein, with live yeast, it continues to ferment. ...
The Tories and values:
A mini-revival of social conservatism is in the air BRITISH conservatives have largely eschewed the culture wars fought by the American right. Tories have had old-fashioned views on marriage and other moral issues, to be sure, but they have rarely given them much prominence. The lack of a vocal religious right partly explains why they have had a cooler relationship with the Republicans than the Labour Party enjoys with the Democrats. And David Cameron, their leader, began his stewardship of the party in liberal style, declaring himself eminently relaxed about the exotic lifestyles to be found in modern Britain. All the more interesting, then, that recent weeks have seen tentative but unmistakable stirrings of social conservatism from the Tories. In July Mr Cameron gave a speech (in a church, no less) denouncing moral relativism. The fight against crime and other ills was, he said, being hamstrung by society’s “refusal to make judgments about what is good and bad”. On August 4th Michael Gove, the party’s schools spokesman, deplored the portrayal of women in men’s magazines. Conservatives such as Iain Duncan Smith, the party’s former leader, and Ed Vaizey, its arts spokesman, have also criticised the British Board of Film Classification for giving the new Batman film a lenient 12A rating. Even the party’s embrace of the “libertarian paternalism” espoused in “Nudge”, the year’s most talked-about book among policymakers, is telling. ...
Oyster cards:
The contract for London’s transport card is up for grabs FEW phrases in British politics are more radioactive than “Private Finance Initiative” (PFI), a convoluted scheme under which government pays private firms to carry out work on its behalf. Many such contracts have been plagued by delays and costly legal disputes. For all the talk of greater efficiency, the real attraction of building and running schools and hospitals, say, through a PFI arrangement is that it allows the government to shove spending off the official balance sheet (although that loophole is to be closed next year). Yet not all PFIs have been disasters. One of the best has been London’s Oyster-card system, which allows travellers to store their entitlement to use the Tube or city buses on a computerised card that gets them through ticket barriers with a simple wave of the wallet. The little blue card has been a big success: over 10m have been issued since its launch in 2003, 6m are in active use and four-fifths of the journeys on London’s public transport involve one. ...
Nuclear disarmament:
The new nuclear pioneers BRITAIN as a “disarmament laboratory”? Tell that one to veterans of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Earlier this year they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Easter protest march to Aldermaston, home of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) where research and design work continues on Britain’s Trident-based nuclear warheads. Yet AWE has lately been turning its nuclear skills to a rather different purpose: finding solutions to some of the many difficulties that disarmament would pose if it ever turned from slogan to reality. To CND’s regret, and the annoyance of the Scottish Nationalists who want to eject the submarines that carry the country’s nuclear-tipped Trident missiles from their Faslane base on the Clyde, Britain is not about to disarm unilaterally. It remains one of the five officially recognised nuclear powers, alongside America, China, France and Russia. Over the protests of its own left-wingers, last year the Labour government persuaded Parliament to replace the deterrent’s ageing submarines; legislators will probably have to vote before long on replacing the missiles and warheads too. ...
Energy dilemma:
When poverty and greenery collide THE Camp for Climate Action—an annual gathering of anarchists and environmentalists—is fast becoming a summer fixture. Having protested outside Drax (a big coal-fired power plant) in 2006 and Heathrow airport in 2007, this year they are pitching tents in Kingsnorth, an industrial bit of Kent that is the proposed site of what would be the first new coal power station to be built in Britain for two decades. The protesters point out that coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel and argue that, given official pledges to cut carbon emissions, building new plants using it would be “stupid”. Their ambition is to shut down the existing Kingsnorth station, which is also coal-fired, for a day. There have already been several arrests and clashes with the police (whom protesters accuse of harassment); more seem likely on August 9th, their officially designated “day of mass action”. ...
Pensions accounting:
Silly accounting may be obscuring a black hole in pension funds UNITED UTILITIES and Scottish and Southern Energy are similar in many respects. Both are energy utilities that supply electricity and gas. Both employ thousands and run huge pension funds. Yet when calculating the cost of those pensions, the similarities end. The two companies have chosen to use very different assumptions—and these choices have a big impact on the pension surplus or deficit on their balance-sheets. When discounting their eventual obligations (figuring out the cost today of paying pensions years in the future), United Utilities has used a rate of 6%, Scottish and Southern one of 6.9%. The difference may not seem much, but Lane Clark & Peacock, a firm of actuaries, reckons that Scottish and Southern’s pension liabilities come out about GBP350m lower than if it had used United’s rate—a material difference for a fund that in 2007 was GBP92m in the red. ...
Northern Rock:
The mortgage lender’s cash call is an ominous sign for all British banks STUDENTS of politics (and more than a few politicians) know only too well the old dictum about lies that are repeated often enough becoming truth. Those foolish enough to believe it should take a look at the sorry tale of Northern Rock, a troubled mortgage lender that failed last September when it ran out of cash. For almost a year afterwards Alistair Darling, the chancellor of the exchequer, repeated, mantra-like, that this was a sound bank brought low by events from afar, and that taxpayers would get back every one of the billions of pounds they lent it. On August 5th Mr Darling was mugged by reality when Northern Rock came to him, cap in hand, again. This time the bank wanted help in shoring up its balance-sheet, which is crumbling thanks to a mortgage book that looks worse by the day. The government, which is still owed some GBP21 billion ($41 billion) by the hapless bank, has agreed to convert as much as GBP3 billion of the debt (as well as some GBP400m in preference shares) into ordinary shares. This urgent need for capital should make those who still think taxpayers will get all their money back think twice. So should those who dare to hope that Britain’s banks have seen the worst of the credit crisis. ...
The Economist: Britain
Britain
Prince Charles warns against GM food
Britainrsquo;s Prince Charles has warned against the industrial-scale development of genetically modified GM food in an unusually outspoken interview published on August 13. Multinational companies developing GM crops were conducting a ldquo;gigantic experiment I think with nature and the whole...
Indias Tata Group Tesco ink franchise deal
Indiarsquo;s Tata Grouplsquo;s retail arm Trent announced on August 12 it was entering into a franchise agreement with British retailer Tesco to expand its hypermarket business in India. The franchise agreement with Tesco would allow Trent to access the formerrsquo;s...
Inflation climbs to 4.4% house prices drop in July
The GBP was weaker on August 12 on new data showing that UK inflation was at 4.4 percent in July and after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS reported that house prices were lower again in July. RICS said...
High fuel prices mean high profits for Shell
Royal Dutch Shellrsquo;s second quarter 2008 report was released on July 31 revealing the one industry not being hit hard by soaring prices where on a current cost of supplies CCS basis its earnings were USD 7.9 billion compared to...
Not so sweet Cadburys profits down by 38%
Cadburyrsquo;s the UKrsquo;s largest confectioner has reported net profits of GBP 113 million for the first half of 2008 down by 38 percent when compared to the same numbers last year a company report showed on July 30. Sales in...
Energy prices to rise
Just before heading into its Annual General Meeting in Bournemouth Scottish and Southern Energy plc SSE said in a press release siting their key expectations and future developments in key energy prices. The meeting will cover the companys performance since...
Profits not as high as first thought for EasyJet
British budget airline EasyJet said its full year pre-tax profit would fall to a worse-thanexpected GBP 110-120 million while it was cutting capacity for this winter RTE Ireland reported on July 24. Analysts had been expecting a drop to around...
Eurostar hits a high
Eurotar the high-speed train between
London and the European mainland
reported on July 16 an 18 percent rise in
passengers in the first half of 2008 compared
to the same period last year while sales rose
24.7 percent.
The opening of a new high-speed track...
Mothercare reports positive sales
British retailer Mothercare on
July 17 reported a positive sales
performance in the first quarter
of its financial year Ireland
Online reported.
The company said total
group sales ahead 20.7 percent
in the 15 weeks to July 11 following
last years acquisition of
Early Learning Centre.
Sales from the companys
Direct...
HBOS bank to axe 650 jobs
Up to 650 jobs are being cut at Halifax
Bank of Scotland as part of plans to
merge two of its business banking divisions
it was announced on July 16.
Britains fifth largest bank said the roles
would go across its UK offices over...
Iraq torture valued at GBP 2.83 million
Some GBP 2.83 million
3.53 million Euro is
said to be paid by the
British government in compensation
to the family of an
Iraqi civilian beaten to death
by troops in Basra and nine
other men who suffered maltreatment
by British forces
solicitors said on July 10....
Boris says the luxury car road toll to go
London Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed
on July 8 that he would scrap a proposed
daily charge of GBP 25 31.25 Euro for
gas-guzzling vehicles entering the centre
of the British capital. The conservative
mayor had already announced his intention
to drop the plan proposed by his...
Barratt has more bad news 1 200 workers will go
Housebuilder Barratt Developments
on July 10 confirmed
that 1 200 jobs will go
and announced a deal with its
lenders to strengthen fina -
nces amid the property market
woes media reports said.
The group which had warned
earlier that about 1 000 jobs
were under threat added to
the...
Barclays share issue raises 4.5 bln pounds
The Board of Directors of Barclays announced a Share Issue to raise approximately GBP 4.5 billion on June 25 through the issue of 1 576 million New Ordinary Shares. The exercise of issuing shares will enable Barclays to strengthen its...
Spring sales put bounce back into Debenhams
British department stores group Debenhams said same-store sales had risen this spring reassuring investors that tough trading conditions will not damage its ability to pay down debt and lifting its shares the company reported. The company bought Roches Stores outlets...
BG Group makes Origin shareholders direct offer
Gas exploration firm BG Group turned up the heat on Australias Origin on June 24 by announcing plans to make an improved GBP 6.7 billion 8.4 billion Euro offer direct to shareholders media reports said. The decision attempt a hostile...
British Airways to fly the French skies
British Airways is to buy French carrier LAvion for GBP 54 million to combine with its transatlantic OpenSkies operation the companies said. LAvion is a small privately-owned carrier which specialises in business class travel and flies two Boeing 757 aircraft...
Games sales help HMV meet its target
Music and books retailer HMV has met
forecasts with a 25 percent rise in annual
profit boosted by computer games sales
the company said. HMV which owns
bookseller Waterstones as well as music
shops under its own name said profit
before tax and one-off items...
Vodafone gives USD 900 mln for Ghana Telecom
Vodafone has announced on July 3 that
it intends to buy a 70 percent stake in
Ghana Telecom the rest of which will
remain with the Ghana government for a
total amount of USD 900 million 566
million Euro on a debt-free cash-free
basis implying a...
British Airways takes to the Open Skies fast
A subsidiary airline called
Open Skies specially
created by British Airways
to take advantage of the
transatlantic Open Skies policy
has started flying from Pariss
Orly airport to JFK airport in
New York City.
Only 82 passengers will fly on
the Boeing 757 planes which
will be used on the...
The smokes still settling after Imperial merger
Imperial Tobacco Britains leading cigarette
manufacturer has announced a major
European restructuring programme involving
2 440 job cuts and the closure of six production
sites over the next three years. The
restructuring followed the acquisition for
GBP 10 billion 12.62 billion Euro of Franco-
Spanish tobacco company...
Yummy results for Cadbury modest second quarter growth
Cadbury the worlds biggest confectionery group said its second-
quarter sales growth is likely to be modestly higher than the
seven percent growth in the first quarter.
The group which makes Dairy Milk chocolate and Halls cough
drops said in a trading statement that...
Weaker sales growth for pub chain disappoint
London Pride brewer
Fuller Smith amp; Turner
on June 6 vowed to protect
its margins in the face of
rising ingredients costs and a
customer spending squeeze
company officials said.
Fuller reported a four percent
rise in pre-tax profits to
GBP 23 million 28.8 million
Euro for the year...
Aviva Zurich Financial to cut jobs in the UK
Britains largest insurer Aviva is to cut up to
1 800 jobs by the end of 2010 as part of an
overhaul of its United Kingdom insurance
operations company officials said.
Aviva said in October it planned to
increase savings from its UK arm and...
Not so precious Signet reports a profits decline
H Samuel and Ernest Jones jeweller Signet revealed a slump in
first quarter earnings on June 6 after weak trading in America offset
rising UK sales company officials said. Pre-tax profits for the 13
weeks to May 3 sank 24 percent to GBP...
Ted Baker is upbeat after sales boosted
Even faced with withering competition from rivals in Europe and
the United States and burgeoning businesses around the world
well-known fashion chain Ted Baker on June 10 said its spring and
summer collections had delivered a sales boost despite the high
street misery...
British lender sparks share tumble despite US help
A leading British mortgage lender issued a profit warning on June 2 while confirming that it had sold almost a quarter of its business to a top US equity firm to bolster its finances. Bradford amp; Bingley Bamp;B Britains leading...
Staples increases takeover bid for Corporate Express
US office supply manufacturer Staples last week increased its bid for its Dutch counterpart Corporate Express. According to announcement from the company on June 3 the US firm was offering 9.15 Euro USD 14.24 per share an increase of 1.15...
CVC buys German chemicals and electricity group
Capital Partners CVC a British private-equity fund recently bought just over 25 percent of Evonik a German chemicals and electricity company the vendor said on June 3. The sale for 2.4 billion Euro USD 3.7 billion further advanced plans to...
Blairs return to Westminster
On his first foray back to Westminster since handing the seat over to Gordon Brown Former British prime minister and current Middle East Quartet diplomatic envoy Tony Blair claimed on June 5 that it was vital that a new US...
Sarin announces soaring profits and bows out
On the same day it announced a 14.1 percent revenue increase and the turnaround of Vodafone Group Plc from previous years the five-year-long tenure of Chief Executive Officer Arun Sarin started to draw to an end as he said he...
Suez gives up on its British Energy bid hopes
French utility Suez has ended talks over a possible offer for British Energy. The news is seen as dealing a blow to the British governments hopes of ensuring competition in building new nuclear power plants. Suez which is merging with...
Boots Chairman made a bundle but he wont keep it
The billionaire Alliance Boots boss who helped take the High Street giant private for GBP 11.1 billion 13.9 billion Euro will not take any cash out of the business for two years he has stated. Executive Chairman Stefano Pessina who...
A surprise for British Airways a profit spike
Although the effects of record fuel prices and the fiasco with its new terminal at Heathrow Airport havent yet hit British Airways announced a 45 percent rise in pre-tax profits to GBP 883 million USD 1.76 billion in the past...
Nuclear return means interest in British Energy
Nuclear power operator British Energy said it has received several offers from parties interested in the company as Britain prepares major new atomic energy investment. British Energy was in discussions with interested parties in the context of its future and...
Citigroup may cut 700 jobs across the UK
Citigroup which unveiled a radical overhaul earlier this month could cut almost a quarter of jobs in its UK consumer business as it focuses on its Citi and Egg brands closing off lending through two other units the company reported.The...
Barclays takes another hit this one for GBP 1 bln
Still reeling in the aftermath of the long-lasting United States sub-prime mortgage crisis UK bank Barclays said its first quarter profits were down from a year ago as it revealed a further GBP one billion hit from credit turbulence. The...
Diageo sees higher rise in costs for next year
Britains Diageo group the worlds biggest alcoholic drinks group warned that its costs will rise faster in its next financial year compared with its current year due mainly to increases in energy and grain costs.The London-based group said its input...
Bank of Englands bumpy road on growth inflation
The Bank of England has delivered a forecast of a prolonged economic slowdown while dampening hopes of further interest rise cuts in view of rising inflation.The Banks quarterly inflation report presented by central bank governor Mervyn King said that inflation...
Alliance Leicester profits fall GBP 192 mln
UK bank Alliance amp; Leicester said took a GBP 192 million hit to profit from assets tarnished by the credit crunch taking its profit in the first four months to below 2007 levels. In a trading update Britains seventh-largest bank...
Summertime and the livin is EasyJet they hope
These arent good times for the airline industry even budget carriers who have been struggling with record high fuel prices that have led to new measures such as baggage surcharges and tacking on extra fees which has made it difficult...
Barclays takes the axe to its credit call centre
Barclays said it will close a credit card call centre putting almost 1 000 people out of work in an announcement that came three months after the bank bought the Goldfish credit card.Barclays said shuttering the centre in Cumbernauld will...
No insurance against these write-down losses for Lloyds
Lloyds Bank has said additional credit crunch losses of GBP 387 million 493.8 million Euro taking its total exposure so far to over GBP 667 million 851.2 million Euro the company reported. But Lloyds said its funding position was strong...
Not much research needed a 1.2 bln Euro bid gets nixed
Market research giant Taylor Nelson Sofres has rejected a GBP one billion 1.2 billion Euro bid from advertising group WPP the company said. TNS said its board had unanimously rejected the unsolicited proposal which it dismissed as being opportunistic and...
HBOS applies to its customers for a loan
Following Britains second-largest bank RBS the countrys biggest mortgage lender the Halifax Bank of Scotland HBOS has now also asked shareholders to bolster its finances in the wake of the credit crunch. The Glasgow-based bank said it needed to consolidate...
Competition watchdog investigates tobacco price-fixing
Britains Office of Fair Trading OFT in a recent statement announced it would investigate allegations that leading tobacco firms and supermarkets were engaged in price fixing. The competition watchdog named 11 retailing chains including supermarket giants Asda Sainsbury and Tesco...
British Airways raises fuel surcharge on all tickets
British Airways BA on April 29 announced an increase of the fuel surcharge on tickets to reflect continuing high oil prices. The changes came into effect as of May 2. The surcharge for short-haul flights has been to increase by...
British house prices fall in sign of weakening economy
House prices in Britain have fallen by one percent over the past 12 months in what was the first year-on-year fall since 1996 new figures released by the government have shown. The figures published by the Nationwide Building Society were...
East European migrants give up on UK head for home
About half of the estimated one million East Europeans who came to work in Britain since EU expansion in 2004 have returned home a report by a British think-tank said.The research by the Institute for Public Policy Research IPPR investigated...
Pakistan peace talks to fight terror get a UK hand
Britain said it favours a negotiated settlement to quell terrorism in Pakistans north-western tribal region but emphasised that there was no quick fix either through military means or dialogue.This is a long slow process that needs to engage the hearts...
New Europe News: The European News Source
New Europe News: The European News Source.
House prices dip 10.5% in 12 months
House prices are falling at their fastest rate for nearly 18 years as potential buyers stay away from the market. The average cost of a home in the UK has dropped by 10.5% during the 12 months to the end of August, the biggest drop since the final quarter of 1990, according to Nationwide Building Society.
Miliband issues advice to Russia
Britain does not want to launch an "all-out war" with Russia following the country's decision to recognise two breakaway regions, David Miliband said. The Foreign Secretary said Russia needed to consider the "isolation, the loss of respect and the loss of trust" from the rest of the world after Moscow officially recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Chief reveals race case against Met
One of Britain's most senior police officers is stepping into the public spotlight to make a series of explosive allegations against his force. Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur will accuse senior colleagues within Scotland Yard of a racist campaign designed to undermine his authority.
Sentencing of crimeworld guns maker
A gunsmith whose converted weapons were used in dozens of gangland shootings is due to be sentenced. Grant Wilkinson adapted replica sub-machine guns for use by the criminal underworld in a shed he turned into a gun factory.
Search for mansion blaze family
A missing millionaire and his family are feared dead following a suspected arson attack on their home. Christopher Foster, his wife Jill and their 15-year-old daughter Kirstie have been missing since a blaze ripped through their secluded country house in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Hutton: Era of cheap energy is over
Hard-pressed consumers facing higher gas and electricity bills have been warned that the era of cheap energy is over. Business Secretary John Hutton said there was "genuine concern" about the difficulties for families faced with soaring heating bills this winter, adding that the Government was looking at what extra support it could provide.
Titan prisons a 'massive mistake'
Pressing ahead with plans to build three huge "Titan" prisons would be a "costly and hugely damaging mistake", the Government has been warned. The 2,500-place jails would do little or nothing to cut crime and would instead "destabilise the criminal justice system for years to come", according to pressure group the Prison Reform Trust.
UK 'fat map' shows obesity hotspots
A new "fat map" of the UK shows high levels of obesity in the Midlands, Wales, North East and parts of the South East. The map, created by Dr Foster Research, suggests the problem may be getting worse when compared with a similar map published two years ago.
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