Rolling coverage as Nick Clegg and Theresa May set out their plans in the aftermath of last week’s riots 9.08am: Clegg is now making a series of announcements. • The Cabinet Office will commission research into the riots and the their causes. (Clegg actually mentioned this in his speech on Saturday – see 8.48am – but no one noticed.) • An inquiry will be set up. Clegg did not actually call it an inquiry – he said it was a communites and victims panel – but that that’s what it is. It will be chaired by someone independent and it will be able to make recommendations. It will sit for about six to nine months and it will report to all three party leaders. But it won’t be set up under the Public Inquiries Act, which means it won’t have the power to force witnesses to give evidence. • A community payback scheme will be set up in every area affected by the riots. See 8.38am for more. • Extra money will be provided to ensure that all victims who want the chance to confront the offenders who attacked them will get the chance to do so. • From March 2012 every offender who leaves jail will go straight into the work programme, the government scheme designed to find work for the unemployed. They will be met at the prison gates, Clegg says. 9.04am: Nick Clegg is speaking at his press conference now. He says he has visited areas affected by the rioting. Some of the response has been “heroic”, he says. Among the optimism, he cites Manchester, where more people were involved in the clean-up operation than in the rioting. Hope and optimism and more powerful than fear and pessimism, he says. Clegg says that as more information comes out about the court cases, some myths are being dispelled. For example, the news coverage suggested many rioters were very young. But only 21% of those in court are under 18. And the papers suggested many women were involved. But more than 90% of those in court have been male. 8.57am: My colleague Alan Travis has sent me a line about what we can expect from Theresa May’s police reform speech at 10am. May has written to Sir Denis O’Connor, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary asking him to provide clearer guidance to forces on handling riots and public disorder. This is expected to include an massive expansion in police riot training as well as clear guidance on robust tactics to restore order. The home secretary will say that public order policing is becoming more unpredictable and faster moving and police tactics have to be as adaptable as possible to the circumstances to keep the peace for all. She will also argue that the last 10 days make the case for police reform even more urgent than ever and she will reject demands for a pause or U-turn on police budgets. She will describe policing as a noble profession and say that we owe all police officers a debt of gratitude for returning order to the streets last week. “So when we ask questions about the success of a policing operation or ask how we can make the police more effective, more efficient or more accountable to the public – this is not an attack on the men and women of the police,” she will say. “One thing is clear: the experience of the last 10 days makes the case for police reform more urgent than ever,” she is to argue, adding that the introdcution of police and crime commissioners is even more important when the police are being asked to fight crime on a tighter budget. May will make clear that taking Britain out of the economic danger zone by reducing the budget deficit however still remains a higher priority and scaling back police cuts is not an option. 8.48am: Yesterday, in my blog about the Cameron and Miliband speeches, I said that Nick Clegg had failed, so far, to say anything particularly distinctive on the riots. That is true in the sense that he hasn’t said anything that has fully grabbed the attention of the media. But that doesn’t mean he has been silent. He made a speech on the subject on Saturday that is on the Lib Dem website. Mostly it was very sensible. Clegg made a liberal case for a tough stance on law and order (“As a liberal, I see violence and disorder of this kind as an attack on liberty, on the freedom for individuals to live and trade in peace in their own communities”), he said the government was commissioning independent research into the riots because it was important to understand what happened, and he said it was important for the government to give everyone opportunities and a stake in society. But there’s one line in the speech that Clegg may regret. While of course we have had to act swiftly and decisively, we have resisted the temptation to engage in overnight policy or instant announcements. With Cameron banging on about water cannon and rubber bullets, Grant Shapps suggesting that it should be easier to evict tenants from social housing if they have been involved in rioting and Iain Duncan Smith floating the idea of taking benefits away from convicted rioters who do not go to jail, this is probably a line that Clegg will not want to repeat today. 8.38am: Yesterday D avid Cameron and Ed Miliband delivered lengthy speeches about the riots and their causes . Today we’re going to hear from Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, and Theresa May, the home secretary. I’ll be blogging both events live, as well as covering any reaction. Clegg is up first, at 9am. As Polly Curtis reports in the Guardian today , he will announce plans for a “riot payback scheme”. He is giving a press conference, rather than a full speech, but the Cabinet Office have already released some of his comments in advance. Crime and lawlessness deprive ordinary, decent people of their freedom. Violence and disorder are an attack on liberty, on the freedom of individuals to live and work in peace in their own communities. I am passionately convinced that swift, strong justice needs to be done when people break the laws and moral rules of society. I want offenders to be punished – and to change their ways.Victims of crime are only truly protected if punishment leads to criminals not committing crime again. Criminals must be punished and then made to change their ways. That’s why those people who behaved so despicably last week should have to look their victims in the eye. They should have to see for themselves the consequences of their actions and they should be put to work cleaning up the damage and destruction they have caused so they don’t do it again. We want people to be punished for their wrongdoing. We also want them to stop doing wrong. We want their future behaviour to change. We need punishment that sticks And then May is speaking at 10am. She is giving a speech on police reform, and then taking questions. As Alan Travis and Allegra Stratton report , she will give details of the government’s “security fightback”, including plans for thousands more police officers to undergo riot training. UK riots Theresa May Nick Clegg Crime Police UK criminal justice Andrew Sparrow guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …New Zealand has been hit by a severe snow storm, and residents are being warned to stock up on emergency food and water. Dozens of major roads remain closed across the North and South Islands and many postal deliveries have been cancelled. (Aug. 16)
Continue reading …• German growth at 0.1% for last quarter • First quarter growth revised down to 1.3% • Full eurozone figures due later on Tuesday The German economy has come to a near-standstill in the last quarter as the global slowdown hit Europe’s biggest player. In the latest blow to the eurozone, Germany grew by just 0.1% between April and June. Economists had expected growth of 0.5% during the quarter. Germany’s Federal Statistics also revised down the growth in the first quarter of 2011, to 1.3% from its initial estimate of 1.5%. With France’s economy failing to grow during the quarter , Germany’s GDP data shows that the eurozone economy has worsened as its debt crisis entered a new, dangerous phase. The German slowdown was blamed on a fall in domestic consumption and construction work during the quarter. It is a blow to Angela Merkel as she prepares to meet France’s Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss the euro debt crisis . Spanish GDP grew by 0.2% during the quarter, down from 0.3% in the first three months of 2011. GDP data for the whole eurozone will be released later on Tuesday, and City analysts warned that the region could have stagnated, or even contracted. Carsten Brzeski of ING said that the data was a “growth normalisation” rather than a “disappointment” on its own, as Germany should still grow by at least 3% this year. He warned, though, that the German economic recovery is clearly slowing. “Looking ahead, the million-dollar question is whether a solid second quarter is the beginning of the end of the German Wirtschaftswunder [economic miracle] and whether recent market turmoil could push the economy back into recession,” said Brzeski. “While German politicians are currently racking their brains on the pros and cons of common eurobonds, the luxury of having an economy running at ‘wonder’ speed is fading away.” Stock markets across Europe fell in early trading, with the FTSE 100 dropping 43 points to 5307. The euro lost ground against the dollar, as traders reacted to the news that Europe’s core had reached near-stagnation. “Following on the back of weak GDP data announced by France this will further undermine any efforts to resolve the eurozone debt crisis,” said Max Johnson, a broker at forex specialist, Currency Solutions. But he added: “Looking around the global economy, at least there will be few, if any, cases of schadenfreude.” Europe Germany Europe European debt crisis Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Clegg to say people convicted of rioting crimes should have to ‘look their victims in the eye’, while No 10 plans a ‘public engagement exercise’ to establish causes of disturbances Nick Clegg is announcing separate plans for a “riot payback scheme”, which would see people convicted of looting or violence in last week’s disturbances being made to do community service or take part in restorative justice programmes in the areas where crimes were committed. He will say that people convicted of crimes last week should have to “look their victims in the eye”. Clegg could also give details of plans for a commission of inquiry into the causes of the riots after it emerged that No 10 has conceded to Labour demands for a formal commission to investigate the causes of last week’s riots after behind-the-scenes cross-party talks co-ordinated by the Liberal Democrats. The Ministry of Justice is to ask the probation service to instigate the schemes in the cities where the riots took place. Offenders would take part in activities to help repair the damage done or to face their victims and apologise under the restorative justice principle. The deputy PM will tell a press conference in London: “I want offenders to be punished – and to change their ways. Victims of crime are only truly protected if punishment leads to criminals not committing crime again. Criminals must be punished and then made to change their ways. “That’s why those people who behaved so despicably last week should have to look their victims in the eye. They should have to see for themselves the consequences of their actions and they should be put to work cleaning up the damage and destruction they have caused so they don’t do it again. “We want people to be punished for their wrongdoing. We also want them to stop doing wrong. We want their future behaviour to change. We need punishment that sticks.” Clegg is said to be close to “brokering” a deal between the Conservatives and Labour into setting up a commission that would go into every neighbourhood affected by the disturbances to ask community members why the outbursts of violence occurred. David Cameron had previously ruled out a full public inquiry in the short term, claiming that the parliamentary select committee inquiries were adequate but the government has now signalled its intention for a “public engagement exercise”, with an independent chair, to establish the causes of the riots and looting. A Downing Street source said: “We are coming to the view that there is a case for community engagement about what happened and why. It would involve getting someone to go into the communities and find out why this all happened. It would be likely that it would be chaired by someone outside government. We’re coming to the view that some sort of engagement exercise would be useful.” The No10 source said it would not operate under the Inquiries Act and its precise nature had not been confirmed. Labour sources confirmed they were in talks with ministers about the plans and a Liberal Democrat source said Clegg was “brokering” the deal on how the commission would be established. Clegg has been privately considering such an inquiry since last week and his party has already commissioned its own research into the problems. On Monday Ed Miliband set out his demands for a commission of inquiry in a speech at Haverstock school, the comprehensive he attended in north London, which is situated close to some of the scenes of last week’s violence. He argued against an inquiry run by MPs, civil servants or the judiciary calling for the prime minister to “have the humility” to listen to the communities affected. “You should have nothing to fear from the truth,” he said. He added that if the government didn’t move to establish such an inquiry, the Labour party would. UK riots Nick Clegg Crime Police Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Remember the Pre 3 ? The portrait slider HP promised it’d be hawking to webOS fans by the end of summer? Well it might barely make its launch window, but only if you live in the land of the autobahn. Currently live on the Deutsches wing of HP’s online store is a pre-order page for the elusive smartphone which’ll apparently ship in “one to two weeks.” The localized variant is unlocked and comes with a QWERTZ (yes, Z) keyboard instead of the QWERTY we’re used to. And, at 349€ (or around $500), the handset is considerably cheaper than when when we first spied it on Amazon.de in May. Taking the plunge? Feel free to send one our way, preferably with bratwurst and r
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Continue reading …• Fares allowed to rise by inflation plus 3% • RPI expected to touch 5% for July • Bank of England governor to write to chancellor Hard-hit rail commuters face more misery as inflation figures on Tuesday reveal how much more they will have to pay for their season tickets in the new year. The July retail prices index rate is used to determine the following January’s annual rise for regulated rail fares, which include season and saver tickets. The formula used to calculate the new fares is RPI plus 3%. The rate is expected to come in at 5%, meaning fares will increase by 8%. Elsewhere, the wider consumer prices index (CPI) rate of inflation is expected to increase to 4.4% from 4.2% in June, underlying the pressure on household budgets and triggering an explanation letter from Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King to George Osborne. And a quarterly survey from Saga revealed a sharp fall in the standard of living for older generations. For the third quarter in a row, Saga’s Quality of Life Index has fallen, as soaring price levels continue to erode living standards for over 50s. The government changed the fare-rise formula for 2012, with the formula previously being RPI plus 1%. As train companies are allowed to make the increase an average figure, some season tickets could go up by much more than that. The rise in rail fares comes as utility groups announce future electricity and gas bills, all of which are expected to push the CPI rate of inflation to 5% by the end of the year. But with the UK facing a period of continued sluggish growth, the Bank expects inflation to fall below the 2% target to 1.8% in two years’ time, particularly as the impact of this year’s VAT increase falls out. Victoria Cadman, an economist at Investec Securities, said lower food and petrol prices will limit the rise this month, with recent data from the British Retail Consortium showing prices fell by 0.6% in July from June. Oil prices have also fallen, with some of the main supermarkets cutting their forecourt prices , while motoring organisation the AA indicated prices of both petrol and diesel had eased a little. If the figures come in as expected, July will be the 20th month running that CPI will have missed the Bank of England’s target of 2%. Sir Mervyn is required to write to the chancellor when the rate of inflation has been above target for more than three months – this will be his seventh successive letter and his 12th in total. Fair Fares Now campaigners, led by the Campaign for Better Transport, will be at London’s Waterloo station to demonstrate against the hike before the RPI rate is revealed by the Office for National Statistics. The campaign is also supported by the RMT transport union which on Tuesday published a report saying rail privatisation had “bled £6.6bn out of the rail industry since 1997″. The RMT-commissioned report by research company Just Economics also said that the future “bleed” would amount to around £6.7bn over the next 10 years. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the government was “forcing through inflation-busting fare increases and savage cuts to maximise private train company profits”. Campaign for Better Transport’s public transport campaigner Alexandra Woodsworth said: “Affordable rail travel is vital for passengers, for the environment and for our workforce. These massive fare rises will be a disaster for people already struggling with rising costs, and risk pricing those on lower incomes out of jobs in our major cities. “Our demonstration is sending a clear message to government that the country simply can’t afford fare rises on such a punitive scale. It’s time to burst the bubble on inflation-busting fare hikes.” Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle will meet commuters at Waterloo and call on the government to rethink the rail fare increases planned for each of the next three years. She said: “The Tory-led government is totally out of touch with the cost of living crisis facing commuters and fails to understand how these eye-watering rail fare rises will add to the burden on families. The cost of getting to work is for many people the biggest single item in the monthly budget, bigger than mortgage payments and bigger than rent.” Inflation Rail transport Transport Economics Travel & leisure guardian.co.uk
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