Hezbollah suspects can be linked to phones used to plot killing of former Lebanese leader Rafiq Hariri, UN tribunal says Mobile phones used by the assassins of the former Lebanese leader Rafiq Hariri mapped their movements as they tracked him around Beirut for more than a year, then eventually betrayed their identities, according to a United Nations tribunal established to investigate the killing. A prosecution indictment , which has charged four members of Hezbollah for conspiring to kill Hariri, alleges the phones were used for different phases of the complex plot and can conclusively be linked to each of the accused. The indictment was unsealed on Wednesday morning, more than six years after Hariri was killed by a two-and-a-half-tonne car bomb on the Beirut waterfront and almost two months after it was handed to the Lebanese authorities by the tribunal, based in The Hague. It focuses heavily on networks of phones that investigators believe were intended to be used only to plot the assassination. Five networks were identified and hundreds of calls made by the numbers linked to them have been traced to cell towers near where Hariri was at the time. The 47-page indictment does not explicitly state how any of the accused, Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra, or Hussein Oneissi, were linked to the networks, but implies that one or more may have used a covert phone to call a number that they were known to use privately. Investigators are believed to have put together their case from one or more such lapse. The indictment also suggests that documentary evidence and witness statements helped corroborate what it concedes is a largely circumstantial case. Badreddine, who is one of Hezbollah’s most senior figures, is accused of being the controller of the group, while Ayyash is alleged to have carried out the operation. Both are brothers in law of a former overall military commander, Imad Mugniyeh, who was killed by a car bomb in Damascus in 2008. Sabra and Oneissi are accused of orchestrating a false claim of responsibility in the hours following the blast on 14 February 2005 that killed Hariri. Oneissi is accused of recruiting a 22-year-old Palestinian, Abu Adass, from al-Houry mosque in west Beirut who would be used to make a videotaped false claim of responsibility. Adass vanished on 16 January 2005, a month before Hariri was killed. Hariri’s assassination polarised an already brittle Lebanese state and it is still dealing with the repercussions. The allegations of Hezbollah’s involvement, first raised in 2009, inflamed sectarian tensions between Hariri’s largely Sunni Muslim support base and Hezbollah’s Shia Islamic backers. Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, has mounted a strident campaign to discredit the investigation, pointing to a string of espionage arrests in Lebanon, including several of technicians in mobile phone carriers, which he claims allowed Israel to manipulate call data records. Lebanon’s court of public opinion remains divided along sectarian lines about the merits of the investigation. Hariri’s son, Saad Hariri, who was ousted by the Hezbollah-led opposition as prime minister in January, has insisted that Nasrallah hand over the four accused and allow a trial to be held. He has refused to do so and Lebanese authorities could not locate the men during the month the tribunal gave them to do so after it handed over the indictment on June 30. Saad Hariri said on Wednesday: “Today, the international justice has decided to reveal an important part of the proofs and facts related to the terrorist assassination crime, which took the life of one of the important symbols of moderation, nationalism, integrity and success in Lebanon and the Arab world. “What is required of Hezbollah’s leadership is simply to announce their disengagement with the accused.” Nasrallah is expected to make a further television address rebutting the detail in the indictment, however Hezbollah MPs in the Lebanese parliament have said privately that they believe their leader has done enough to convince supporters that the group has been the target of a conspiracy. The content of the indictment is unlikely to satisfy those closest to Hariri who have argued ever since his death that those who ordered his killing must be investigated with the same rigour as those alleged to have carried out the plot. The assassination took place when Hariri was at loggerheads with the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, over Assad’s demand that the term of the Syrian-anointed Lebanese president, Emile Lahoud, be extended. The indictment does not address the motive for the killing. A trial in absentia is likely to be held in The Hague later this year, or early in 2012. Lebanon Middle East Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
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enlarge Credit: PR Watch There have been buzzings about a potential Senate run by Elizabeth Warren for some time – but things kicked in high gear Tuesday afternoon when EMILY’s List Director Stephanie Schriock tweeted she’d meet with Warren in Massachusetts the day previous. Roll Call also reported Warren was “wooing democrats at Boston house parties.” Today the superhero of the economically disenfranchised announced she is filing paperwork to open an exploratory committee for the U.S. Senate race against Scott Brown who replaced Ted Kennedy after his death. Scott Brown has been no friend to regular Americans. When it comes to big banks on Wall Street, Brown refused to vote for a tax on banks and hedge funds with over $50 billion in assets. When everyday families can’t make ends meet, surely Brown could support them over companies with over $50 BILLION in the bank?! But no. Americans took the hit once again because Brown refuses to put people first. In a piece by Yves Smith on Naked Capitalism Elizabeth Warren becomes the target of a fantasy Presidential run, but the same benefits of her unwinable race against President Obama can also be true as a viable challenger to Scott Walker. Warren has been branded as a scourge of banks. Even though it should be common sense that selling exploding toasters is bad business, the fact that she talks repeatedly and persuasively about the need for rules to have markets work well makes her a threat to much of Corporate America. Note that their heated opposition to the idea of fair play reveals the importance of treating customers badly, looting the official coffers, or both to their business models. So why should she bother? She has become a forceful, self appointed advocate for middle class American families. She has thrown her weight behind this objective since she worked on the Harvard Bankruptcy Project more than a decade ago (it served as the basis for her and her daughter’s book The Two Income Trap). Whether you agree with the wisdom of her choice or not, that was what motivated her to take the position as adviser to the Treasury and President and start up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and suffer an aggressive hazing in Congress and in the media by banking industry shills operating through the Republican party. So she is willing to take pain and less than certain bets to advance her goals (we thought she was never going to be head of the new agency. . . ” She is a tireless advocate for people like us at a time when so many feel Washington chooses corporate welfare over the economic interests of everyday Americans. While many prefer Warren to remain on the outside of the political elite, throwing stones alone is rarely as powerful as a U.S. Senator fighting for our issues. As a Senator she would have the weight of her office to not only speak to Americans directly and honestly about what is wrong with our economic instability, but she could propose legislation, conduct hearings, and demand accountability with Massachusetts voters – indeed all of us – behind her. Good luck Elizabeth!
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Ukraine’s ex-president says Orange revolution partner acted against national interests in signing 2009 gas deal with Russia The former Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, has testified against his Orange revolution partner, Yulia Tymoshenko, in her abuse of office trial. The scene on Wednesday underlined the disappointment many feel in Ukraine after hopes for reform raised by the massive 2004 pro-democracy demonstrations and Yushchenko’s ascent to the presidency dissolved in factional squabbling and political paralysis. Yushchenko claimed that the former prime minister was driven by political gain when she
Continue reading …Historians say Michael Gove risks turning history lessons into propaganda classes
August 17, 2011 No Comment
Academics warn against education secretary’s plan to celebrate Britain’s ‘distinguished’ role in world affairs Leading historians are to hit out against Michael Gove’s plans for history teaching, saying they risk “going down the route of propaganda”. Gove has said history in schools ought to “celebrate the distinguished role of these islands in the history of the world” and portray Britain as “a beacon of liberty for others to emulate” . But Tom Devine , professor of history at the University of Edinburgh, said: “I am root and branch opposed to Gove’s approach. It smells of whiggery; of history as chauvinism. You cannot pick out aspects of the past that may be pleasing to people.” Devine was speaking before a debate on history teaching at the Edinburgh international book festival , where he will be joined by Professor Linda Colley of Princeton University, and RW Johnson , the emeritus fellow in politics at Oxford. Devine said of the Aberdeen-raised Gove: “I find it remarkable someone educated in the Scottish system can come up with this nonsense.” Speaking about Gove’s contention earlier this year that the history syllabus “doesn’t mention a single historical figure – except William Wilberforce and Olaudah Equiano” – key figures in the British movement to abolish slavery – he accused the secretary of state of creating “straw men”. “The syllabus is not devoid of content. History teaching has never been more exciting.” Also speaking in Friday’s debate, which is organised by the London Review of Books , is South Africa-based historian RW Johnson, who warned against the follies of a celebratory, nationalist syllabus. “I live in South Africa, a society where nationalism is running riot in history teaching, and the results are disastrous,” he said. History teaching before 1994 was there, he said, to “bolster up Afrikaaner nationalism, and black South Africans were merely the objects of history”, he said. “Now, under the ANC, that has completely reversed. The years 1652-1994 are simply called ‘the oppression’ and everything about that period is lost. You wouldn’t know that South Africa fought in two world wars, sent troops to Korea and did other things other than whites oppressing blacks. “When it comes to 20th-century history, black people are portrayed as martyrs, heroes, victims and the whites as simply bastards. It is just as much a distortion as was Afrikaaner history.” He said, though, that teaching ought to be done through a frame of narrative history. “If you don’t have that you are a bit lost: we need to be able to look at the way things work out over a very long period: what the French call the longue durée .” Devine, who has advised the Scottish government on history teaching, agreed, saying that “one of the most important things about the discipline is to convey a sense of change over time, to do which you must present events chronologically.” But he warned against the “Burns-supper school of history” and insisted the history teaching needed to be “critical” rather than self-congratulatory. He also argued that though “national history should be the core”, world history must be taught in parallel “to avoid introspection and parochialism”. He acknowledged that in Scotland, there was a danger of the ruling Scottish National party “pushing Scottish history in a Braveheart direction”. Linda Colley, professor of history at Princeton, who also speaks in Friday’s debate, said she welcomed Gove’s interest in the teaching of history. “But the best way to do it,” she said, “is to make history compulsory to 16, as it is in many European countries. That gives teachers the room to teach it in a more nuanced way. If he is going to jump up and down about history teaching, this is the reform he should consider.” Devine condemned the quality of the debate over history teaching in England. “In Scotland, there would have been incandescence in the academic community and also in civil society. It has been a poverty-stricken and parsimonious debate.” Education policy History and history of art National curriculum Michael Gove Schools Charlotte Higgins guardian.co.uk
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Coalition tensions rise as former anti-terror adviser accuses ministers of trying to influence more stringent sentences The government’s former terror adviser has intervened in the row over the sentencing of people who took part in last week’s riots, accusing ministers of appearing to “steer” the courts into handing down the more stringent sentences. Lord Carlile, the barrister and former Liberal Democrat MP warned that the sacrosanct separation of powers between the government and the judiciary had appeared to have been breached by some of the messages coming out of government since the riots engulfed neighbourhoods last week. Carlile, who served for six years under Labour and the coalition until March as the government’s anti-terror adviser, told the Guardian: “I don’t think it’s helpful for ministers to appear to be giving a steer to judges. The judges in criminal courts are mostly extremely experienced and well capable of making the decisions themselves. Ministers should focus on securing the safety of the public.” Asked whether ministers had overstepped the mark, he said: “Some judges may feel that and some ministers may feel that they have had a responsibility to use the language of sentences rather than policy.” He defended the actions of judges saying it would be inevitable that sentencing would be tougher in the circumstances of the public disorder that took place last week, but he warned that there would be numerous appeals and called for the court of appeal to produce guidelines for judges and magistrates. He said that “just filling up prisons” would not contribute to maintaining the peace of England’s streets, and warned that there were too many first-time offenders who had been remanded in custody on relatively minor offences after the events who would be eligible to appeal for bail. It comes amid growing concerns over the length of prison sentences being handed down for riot-related offences after two men in Chester were jailed for four years for posting messages on Facebook inciting people to create disorder in their home towns despite the fact that the riots didn’t take place. Simon Hughes, deputy leader of the Lib Dems, said he hoped the courts would show more leniency for first-time offenders. The prime minister David Cameron praised the work of the courts, after he was asked during a visit in Warrington about the Facebook case. “What happened on our streets was absolutely appalling behaviour and to send a very clear message that it’s wrong and won’t be tolerated is what the criminal justice system should be doing,” he said. “They decided in that court to send a tough sentence, send a tough message and I think it’s very good that courts are able to do that.” But dissatisfaction about the hardline reaction on the Tory benches among their Liberal Democrat coalition colleagues is intensifying with key figures urging caution. The former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: “With all due deference to the prime minister, politicians should not be either cheering nor booing in the matter of sentencing. It is an important part of our constitutional principles that political influence is not directed at the judicial system.” Hughes told Sky News: “The courts are independent, thank god entirely independent. They will reflect community feeling as well as tariffs and sentencing. Each judge will look at each case individually, if they are outside reasonable sentences they will be brought down on appeal. “I think the message has to go that look, if you were involved last week you can expect to be punished toughly and firmly. If you are not a first offender you can seriously expect the courts to come down on you. But I hope the courts will show understanding and relative leniency on first-time offenders and make sure that all the sentences don’t just put people inside and pull them out again but engage with the community.” Carlile’s intervention is significant as he is the most prominent figure to suggest that ministers have sought to influence the courts. Respected on all sides of the house, Carlile has worked in government alongside civil servants in the home office reviewing its counter-terror policy and although appointed by Labour the coalition extended his job after the election. He stepped down earlier this year after six years. He is also president of the Howard League for Penal Reform. He said: “I think there may be a slight problem in that judges and magistrates are working without court of appeal guidelines and I expect cases to reach the court of appeal quickly. I share the hope of many lawyers that the court of appeal will produce a set of guidelines so there can be a sufficient level of consistency, even with guidelines there will be variation because a judge is perfectly entitled to reflect local circumstances. “My suspicion is that as time passes the level of sentencing in these cases will reduce. I am actually more concerned with the number of people who are on remand in custody. There are numerous first offenders who have been remanded in custody who in other circumstances would not have been remanded in custody. I think there will be crown court appeals. A lot of people have been remanded in custody by magistrate courts for relatively minor offences such as receiving small quantities of stolen clothing. In ordinary circumstances people in that situation would not be remanded in custody – they might get a custodial sentence but they would not be remanded in custody in the first instance.” He said that deterrent sentences were to be expected for those who commit acts of violence or theft of valuable items but added: “There will be a shakedown of the less serious cases although all forms of looting and rioting are going to attract greater sentences. In due course people with no previous convictions who have received stolen clothing for example may be more likely to find themselves with non-custodial sentences.” He added: “Just filling up prisons may not be contributing in the long term to the peace and orderliness of society. They may only have themselves to blame but prison should never be the first option.” UK riots Crime Judiciary David Cameron Liberal-Conservative coalition Prisons and probation UK criminal justice Liberal Democrats Conservatives Facebook Internet Social networking Simon Hughes Sir Menzies Campbell Polly Curtis Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …John Yates faces inquiry into links with former News of the World executive
August 17, 2011 No Comment
IPCC to scrutinise claims former Met police assistant commissioner secured job for daughter of former NoW executive The police watchdog said on Wednesday it was opening an independent inquiry into allegations John Yates might have secured a job for the daughter of a former News of the World executive. But the Independent Police Complaints Commission effectively cleared Yates, Sir Paul Stephenson, the former commissioner, Peter Clarke, former deputy assistant commissioner, and Andy Hayman, former assistant commissioner, of carrying out any conduct that breached police disciplinary codes over their roles in the original phone-hacking inquiry and its review by Yates in 2009. Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the IPCC, said a clear distinction had to be made between what was a “recordable conduct matter” – conduct that was either criminal or amounted to a disciplinary offence – and the public concerns over phone hacking which would be investigated during the Leveson inquiry. She said however there were “serious issues that need to be scrutinised” about the links between top police officers and the media. The only allegation referred to the IPCC by the Metropolitan Police Authority which it will investigate fully and independently, she said, was the claim Yates secured a job at Scotland Yard for the daughter of Neil Wallis. Yates said in a statement on Wednesday: “I strongly deny any wrongdoing and I am completely confident that I will be exonerated. I have been entirely open about this matter and I will cooperate fully with the investigation which I hope will be conducted swiftly.” He said he was pleased the IPCC had found that an inquiry into him was not required in relation to his involvement in the phone-hacking review. The IPCC said in the case of Yates’s role in reviewing the original hacking inquiry his alleged conduct was not a matter which it was within their remit to investigate as it did not amount to recordable conduct. Glass said there would be no further investigation by the watchdog into the allegation. Yates had been questioned about this “over many hours in six separate parliamentary sessions” and she said “it is difficult to see what further investigation would achieve”. She added that the current investigation which started in January 2011 made any further IPCC inquiry unnecessary. “We would agree that he made a poor decision in 2009. He himself has acknowledged that… he made a poor decision for which he has now taken responsibility,” she said. The same was true of the allegations against Stephenson over his alleged oversight failure of Yates during his review in 2009 of the original hacking inquiry and his alleged reluctance to take responsibilty for it. In a statement released on Wednesday, the IPCC said that Stephenson could not be said to have committed misconduct in public office “because one of his officers may have carried out a poor investigation”. In the case of Clarke, who was in charge of the original investigation into phone hacking, the IPCC said: “He has explained the parameters of the investigation, as well as the reasons why the huge volume of material seized at the time was not subject to analysis. “Had a complaint been made about the original investigation, fairness would require any investigation to consider whether his decision to set narrow parameters was reasonable and proportionate in all the circumstances as they existed at the time, which included some 70 live operations relating to terrorist plots.” Glass said Hayman was not responsible for the original phone-hacking investigation although it was in his command. She said: “Although not referred to us by the MPA, his social contacts with News International and subsequent employment by the Times have been criticised. “While there are serious issues that need to be scrutinised about the extent of contact between senior police officers and the media, and particularly around hospitality, in the absence of any actual evidence of impropriety these are, in my view, for the inquiry to explore.” Stephenson said the outcome was what he expected. “I regret resources have had to be expended on this matter,” Stephenson added. He criticised the IPCC for looking into his decision to accept hospitality – which they decided not to investigate further after their initial consideration. “The IPCC’s comments about my acceptance of assistance from a friend through my family unconnected with my professional life, of services form Champneys Medical Services which they chose to examine under their powers without any external referral does in my view fall a little short of full and proper context. However this is a matter for their judgment.” The prime minister, David Cameron, said during a visit to Cheshire on Wednesday, in relation to the phone-hacking scandal: “Clearly if I had known then all the things I know now, then obviously I would have taken different decisions.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News of the World John Yates Police News International Josh Halliday Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk
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Anti-corruption campaigner refuses to leave prison despite release warrant Indian officials are locked in negotiations with the country’s best-known anti-corruption campaigner as the government of Manmohan Singh frantically tries to roll back a growing wave of popular anger over his arrest. Protests in support of Anna Hazare, the 74-year-old activist whose detention on Tuesday sparked the crisis, have showed no signs of dying down and tens of thousands are continuing to demonstrate across India. Despite a hastily arranged release warrant, Hazare is refusing to leave the high-security Tihar prison in Delhi until the government allows him to mount a public hunger strike. The crisis is one of the most serious to strike the beleaguered coalition government so far. Singh attempted to take the initiative in a speech to parliament on Wednesday, explaining that the government was not against the anti-corruption campaigner’s motivations and objected only to his methods and immediate goals . “I acknowledge that Anna Hazare may be inspired by high ideals,” Singh said, over shouts and catcalls from the opposition. “However, the path that he has chosen to impose a draft of the bill on parliament is totally misconceived.” Government officials accuse Hazare of being anti-democratic and trying to “blackmail” elected representatives. Hazare is refusing to leave jail, where he has started a hunger strike, unless the government allows his protest against corruption to go ahead as originally intended. Thousands of supporters gathered outside the jail on Tuesday, some spending the night outside. Prashant Bhushan, a lawyer and key aide of Hazare, said the campaigner would “come out of Tihar jail only if the government agrees to his demands and releases him unconditionally”. The arrests of Hazare and more than a thousand followers, which the government says were necessary on public order grounds, has sparked deep indignation across India and allowed a weak and fragmented opposition to score points against the ruling Congress party. “It is a wake-up call for all of us unless we put our house in order. The people of this country are becoming restless,” said Arun Jaitley, a senior leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Hazare, a controversial figure whom opponents accuse of having links to Hindu nationalist fringe groups, has successfully invoked the memory of Mahatma Gandhi to mobilise vast reservoirs of anger within Indian society at endemic corruption, poor services and patchy governance. The administration has been weakened by a series of corruption scandals involving party officials, appointees or allies. Hazare, who is demanding tougher laws against graft, insists that before he leaves jail he wants the right to return to the city park where he had planned to fast publicly. Officials said they were hopeful of reaching a compromise by Wednesday night. Whatever the outcome, the episode will reinforce the impression among people from right and left that the elderly Singh is out of touch and that his government is too clumsy to govern Asia’s third-largest economy effectively. “Corrupt, repressive and stupid,” was the verdict of the leftwing Hindu newspaper. “Anna has the government fumbling,” ran a headline in the Mail Today, which follows a centre-right editorial line. Though some of the protests across India have been organised by political opponents of the Congress party, most seem to be independent. Calls have been made for civil servants to take leave and rickshaw drivers to strike. Hazare has carefully built his image, stressing links to Gandhi at every opportunity. In a pre-recorded video, released after his arrest, he called for a “second freedom struggle” against corruption. Gandhi led the first against British imperial rulers. Shops selling the type of hat linked to Gandhi and habitually worn by Hazare have sold out. Anna Hazare India Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Met police chief job applications close with at least four in the running
August 17, 2011 No Comment
Home office refuses to confirm list but Sir Hugh Orde, Bernard Hogan-Howe, Tim Godwin and Stephen House in the race At least four police chiefs have applied to be the next commissioner of the Metropolitan police. The deadline for applications closed at midday Wednesday for the £260,000-a-year post. Those applying are: Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers; the temporary acting Met deputy, Bernard Hogan-Howe; and the acting Met commissioner, Tim Godwin. Stephen House, chief constable of Strathclyde police, is also believed to have applied. Neither the home office nor the Metropolitan Police Authority have released a list of those who have applied. A number of top officers declined to apply for the job. The chiefs of the second and third biggest forces in England decided against applying to become commissioner. Chris Sims of West Midlands and Peter Fahy of Greater Manchester police did not apply, neither did the chief constable of Thames Valley, Sara Thornton, despite being admired by David Cameron. Andy Trotter, head of British Transport police also decided against. House is seen as having performed well as head of Strathclyde police after leaving the Met, where he was an assistant commissioner. His force won praise in the aftermath of the riots for its pioneering work countering gangs and House is believed to have been asked by home office officials to apply. If he does not get the Met job, he would be the frontrunner to become the new chief of a single Scottish force. Sir Hugh Orde, who came second in the last application process for Met commissioner, would probably be the choice of the police service. He has been robust in defending the force against the government. However, his outspokenness is said to have annoyed the government, which will have a big say in who takes the top job. He formerly served as chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The temporary acting Met deputy Bernard Hogan-Howe, who was seconded into the force by the home secretary, Theresa May, after Sir Paul Stephenson was forced out over his errors of judgment in the phone-hacking scandal, is also said to be highly rated by the prime minister. Hogan-Howe is a former head of Merseyside police, where he was viewed as having performed well tackling crime and modernising the force. Tim Godwin, who is serving his second spell as acting Met commissioner, is seen as able, but the damage caused by the police’s alleged mishandling of its initial response to the riots has not helped his cause. He is known as having lots of ideas about policing issues – in January 2011 he decided to order the new police phone-hacking inquiry, which was credited with being more robust than previous Met investigations. The candidates will first be interviewed by an MPA panel, with the shortlisted candidates interviewed by the home secretary. Interviews are expected to take place within a fortnight. Explaining her decision not to apply, Sara Thornton in a statement said: “There has been much speculation over the last few weeks about whether I might make an application for the role of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. While it is flattering to be considered suitable for such an important role I have decided not to apply.” Whoever gets the job, which technically is awarded by royal appointment, will be come the third Met commissioner in the last three years. Under London mayor Boris Johnson’s administration, first Sir Ian Blair and then Sir Paul Stephenson, have resigned. Metropolitan police London Police Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk
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It’s hard to keep up with what the media and the left deem acceptable. Seems like just last year Anderson Cooper publicly took offense at a line from a movie. Come to think of it, it was just last year that the CNN anchor found “That’s so gay,” upsetting to his perfectly honed PC sensibilities. Fast forward a year. Many people are accusing two currently prominent figures of being gay. But don’t hold your breath waiting for indignant coverage from Cooper and the rest of the media, because it’s liberals leveling the charge against conservatives.
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Two hawkish members of monetary policy committee stop calling for rate hike as economic problems deepen The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee was united in voting to leave interest rates unchanged this month, with the two hawkish members of the committee abandoning their calls for borrowing costs to rise. Spencer Dale, the Bank’s chief economist, and external policymaker Martin Weale, fell back in line with the rest of the MPC and voted for interest rates to remain at their record low of 0.5%. Minutes from August’s meeting, published on Wednesday morning , also indicated that the prospects of a second bout of quantitative easing in the UK have increased. The meeting at which Dale and Weale changed their minds took place amid wild swings on world stock markets. The crisis in the eurozone, disappointing GDP growth in the US, and Britain’s own domestic economic problems all persuaded the committee that inflation would drop back to its 2% target without a rise in rates. “The slowing in world demand growth and the heightened tensions in financial markets meant that the balance of risks to the medium-term inflation outlook had clearly shifted to the downside,” the minutes explained. The 9-0 vote in favour of leaving rates unchanged was the first unanimous decision on interest rate policy since May 2010 – the month before Andrew Sentance, who has now left the committee, began his calls for a rise . Adam Posen was again alone in calling for the Bank’s quantitative easing programme to be increased by £50bn to £250bn. But several other members of the nine-strong committee considered whether a fresh round of asset purchases was needed, before deciding not to support Posen. “Those members concluded that the case was not yet strong enough, particularly in light of the lower path for Bank Rate now implied by financial markets. Further asset purchases might nonetheless become warranted were some of the downside risks to materialise.” Nida Ali, economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item club, said the hawks had “thrown in the towel”. “The tone of the minutes was much more dovish than in recent months and more quantitative easing has gone from being a mere back-up option to being a genuine possibility in the near future,” Ali said. The pound fell by half a cent after the minutes were released, but then recovered to $1.6455. Jane Foley, senior currency strategist, pointed out that sterling had already weakened last week after Sir Mervyn King indicated that rates could remain on hold until 2012. “Clearly the minutes are dovish but even though the voting pattern of the MPC became more extreme in August, the Bank had already made clear that rates will be on hold for a prolonged period,” Foley said. Ross Walker of RBS said there had been a “clear dovish shift” within the MPC, while Victoria Cadman of Investec said the possibility of a rate hike had been kicked “well into the distant future”. Weale had been voting for a quarter-point rise in rates since January this year . Dale took his hawkish stance the following month, with both men arguing that inflationary pressures in the UK warranted higher borrowing costs. Euro fears The MPC had gathered in Threadneedle Street to discuss on rate policy on 3 and 4 August. The vote came at the end of the two-day meeting, as a stock market rout drove the FTSE 100 index below 5500 . The markets clearly dominated attention – with the minutes stating that “markets had been unsettled during the month, and had become particularly stressed in the days immediately preceding the committee’s meeting.” A week before the meeting, preliminary data had shown that the UK economy had grown by 0.2% during the second quarter of 2011. The MPC predicted that underlying growth in the economy was probably stronger, but cautioned that it will remain “significantly below the level corresponding to a continuation of its pre-recession trend”. The MPC also concluded that the European debt crisis was the single biggest threat to the UK’s economic prospects. The policymakers predicted that concerns about the euro area were already hitting household and business confidence, and having a negative effect on bank funding costs and asset prices. Interest rates Bank of England Economics Quantitative easing Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
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