Former environment minister sentenced at Southwark crown court after pleading guilty to claiming more than £30,000 in bogus mortgage payments Elliot Morley has been jailed for 16 months, becoming the first former minister to be sentenced in the Westminster expenses scandal. Morley, a former environment minister, was sentenced at Southwark crown court, in London. Last month, he pleaded guilty to claiming more than £30,000 in bogus mortgage payments. He entered two guilty pleas for false accounting relating to his home in Winterton, near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, between 2004 and 2007. His barrister accepted it was not a question of “if but how long” he faced behind bars. Morley, whose conviction was the most high-profile since the expenses scandal broke, pocketed £30,428 by claiming for a phantom mortgage and inflating the amount he was previously paying. He wrongly filled out a total of 40 forms relating to payments for his home. In total, he claimed £16,800 on a phantom mortgage and £15,200 after inflating the amount he was previously paying, for which he should have been entitled to only £1,572. Speaking after Morley had entered his pleas, Simon Clements, the reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Mr Morley had claimed he was unaware the mortgage had been paid off. For most of us, paying off the mortgage is a red letter day, and members of the public have found it difficult to comprehend his explanation that he was not aware that had happened. “The parliamentary expenses system exists to assist the public’s representatives in carrying out their duties, but Mr Morley used it to line his own pockets with just over £30,000 – more than an average household’s annual income. Such behaviour is blatantly dishonest, and cannot be excused.” Morley’s prosecution overshadows a political career spanning more than 20 years. An MP for Scunthorpe from 1987 to 2010, the former teacher was one of Labour’s most prominent voices on agricultural issues and the environment. He was the party’s spokesman on rural affairs and animal welfare from 1989 until the 1997 election victory, and served under Tony Blair as environment minister from 2003 to 2006. MPs’ expenses House of Commons Crime guardian.co.uk
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Russian tycoon to join Putin’s All-Russia People’s Front Alexander Lebedev, owner of the Independent and Evening Standard newspapers, has announced he is quitting business in Russia to join Vladimir Putin’s latest political initiative as the country gets ready for presidential elections. Lebedev said security service pressure on his banking business had become so great it was impossible to continue. Yet he failed to explain why, after years of positioning himself as an opposition figure, he had decided to side with the powers-that-be. “I don’t think it’s possible to continue the banking business,” Lebedev said in an interview with Gazeta.ru , Russia’s most respected online news portal. “Within two months, I plan to leave the field and become an ordinary citizen.” The tycoon posted a statement on his website on Friday saying his Our Capital movement had decided to join the All-Russia People’s Front created by Putin earlier this month. The move comes after pressure has been building on National Reserve Bank, the jewel in Lebedev’s empire. Its headquarters were raided by masked police late last year, allegedly as part of an investigation into fraud at a small failed bank acquired by NRB in 2008. Lebedev has blamed the pressure on his public statements. The announcement came one day after Lebedev released a video detailing the raid and alleged corruption by the Federal Security Service officers involved. He later said the video had been uploaded to his website “by mistake” and would be re-released once it was finished. “That version was meant for closed viewing by the government, Central Bank and FSB,” he said. Lebedev has been allowed to acquire great wealth in Russia despite his oft-critical statements of the country’s leadership. Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper he co-owns with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, is Russia’s leading opposition newspaper. He once proposed outfitting its journalists with guns, following the latest in a line of high-profile killings of journalists at the paper. Lebedev said in a statement that Our Capital, a social organisation he founded to oppose the politics of ousted Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, had decided to join Putin’s new movement. “Today we are ready not only to co-operate with the [new] Moscow leadership but also to support the People’s Front created upon Vladimir Putin’s initiative,” Lebedev said, adding that he hoped to focus on the fight against corruption. Putin announced the creation of the All Russia People’s Front on 6 May at a congress of the increasingly unpopular ruling United Russia party, saying it would unite social organisations like NGOs, trade unions and youth groups. Many analysts took the move as a sign Putin was seeking to build popular support ahead of parliamentary elections at the end of the year. The movement could also provide a new base of support should Putin seek to distance himself from United Russia, whose approval ratings have fallen to near record lows, should he decide to return to the presidency next year. Alexander Lebedev Russia Europe Vladimir Putin Miriam Elder guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Russian tycoon to join Putin’s All-Russia People’s Front Alexander Lebedev, owner of the Independent and Evening Standard newspapers, has announced he is quitting business in Russia to join Vladimir Putin’s latest political initiative as the country gets ready for presidential elections. Lebedev said security service pressure on his banking business had become so great it was impossible to continue. Yet he failed to explain why, after years of positioning himself as an opposition figure, he had decided to side with the powers-that-be. “I don’t think it’s possible to continue the banking business,” Lebedev said in an interview with Gazeta.ru , Russia’s most respected online news portal. “Within two months, I plan to leave the field and become an ordinary citizen.” The tycoon posted a statement on his website on Friday saying his Our Capital movement had decided to join the All-Russia People’s Front created by Putin earlier this month. The move comes after pressure has been building on National Reserve Bank, the jewel in Lebedev’s empire. Its headquarters were raided by masked police late last year, allegedly as part of an investigation into fraud at a small failed bank acquired by NRB in 2008. Lebedev has blamed the pressure on his public statements. The announcement came one day after Lebedev released a video detailing the raid and alleged corruption by the Federal Security Service officers involved. He later said the video had been uploaded to his website “by mistake” and would be re-released once it was finished. “That version was meant for closed viewing by the government, Central Bank and FSB,” he said. Lebedev has been allowed to acquire great wealth in Russia despite his oft-critical statements of the country’s leadership. Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper he co-owns with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, is Russia’s leading opposition newspaper. He once proposed outfitting its journalists with guns, following the latest in a line of high-profile killings of journalists at the paper. Lebedev said in a statement that Our Capital, a social organisation he founded to oppose the politics of ousted Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, had decided to join Putin’s new movement. “Today we are ready not only to co-operate with the [new] Moscow leadership but also to support the People’s Front created upon Vladimir Putin’s initiative,” Lebedev said, adding that he hoped to focus on the fight against corruption. Putin announced the creation of the All Russia People’s Front on 6 May at a congress of the increasingly unpopular ruling United Russia party, saying it would unite social organisations like NGOs, trade unions and youth groups. Many analysts took the move as a sign Putin was seeking to build popular support ahead of parliamentary elections at the end of the year. The movement could also provide a new base of support should Putin seek to distance himself from United Russia, whose approval ratings have fallen to near record lows, should he decide to return to the presidency next year. Alexander Lebedev Russia Europe Vladimir Putin Miriam Elder guardian.co.uk
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Experts fear pod of 100 whales circling off Loch Carnan in Scotland will attempt to beach themselves Animal welfare experts are battling to prevent about 100 pilot whales being stranded in a sea loch in the Western Isles. The large pod of whales is circling off Loch Carnan in South Uist and up to 20 appear to have severe head injuries, raising fears they have already struck the rocky foreshore of the loch. Experts in whale strandings from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and a senior inspector from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) are travelling to the scene in case the whales attempt to beach themselves. The rescuers fear that if some injured animals attempt to beach themselves, many others in the pod will follow them onto the shore, almost certainly leading to mass mortalities. Alistair Jack, BDMLR’s Scottish co-ordinator, said the charity’s team in South Uist already had several sets of pontoons and the charity has 12 sets of the whale floatation devices across the UK: all of them were being despatched to South Uist. “We first became aware of the incident late yesterday and have immediately responded,” Jack said. “We anticipate having trained medics and rescue equipment on the scene by mid morning. This is one of the largest events of this kind ever in the country.” Calum Watt, the SSPCA’s senior inspector for the Western Isles, is en route to the loch. He said: “When pilot whales come inshore there is a very strong chance some among the group are sick or injured. “We believe around 20 of these whales have severe head injuries but at this stage we aren’t sure of the cause. One possibility is these injuries were sustained during a previous attempt to strand themselves. “Pilot whales have extremely strong social bonds, which sadly means healthy whales within the pod will follow sick and injured whales on to the shore.” A pod of around 35 pilot whales were involved in a similar emergency at Loch Carnan, a small and narrow loch near the north eastern corner of the island, last October . After being closely watched by the BDMLR, the SSPCA and the coastguard, they went back to sea. But less then a week later the same pod is believed to have been involved in a mass stranding in County Donegal in Ireland, when 33 pilot whales were found dead on a beach . Pilot whales are among the most common cetaceans, and the adult male can grow to 20 feet long. Watt said the largest number they have tried to refloat was seven, in 1993, but all seven returned to the shore and died. He was very worried about the prospects of saving so many whales if the new pod at Loch Carnan became stranded. “At this stage we remain hopeful they will not strand themselves but our concern is the injured whales will come onshore and be followed by the rest of the pod,” he said. “Attempting to refloat so many whales would be a huge task and if they do become stranded we’ll need to decide upon the best course of action.” “It is incredible that a second pod, this time probably more than twice the size, has arrived in the same area. There is no reason we know of why they would have come to the same location.” Whales Marine life Animals Conservation Scotland Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Experts fear pod of 100 whales circling off Loch Carnan in Scotland will attempt to beach themselves Animal welfare experts are battling to prevent about 100 pilot whales being stranded in a sea loch in the Western Isles. The large pod of whales is circling off Loch Carnan in South Uist and up to 20 appear to have severe head injuries, raising fears they have already struck the rocky foreshore of the loch. Experts in whale strandings from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and a senior inspector from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) are travelling to the scene in case the whales attempt to beach themselves. The rescuers fear that if some injured animals attempt to beach themselves, many others in the pod will follow them onto the shore, almost certainly leading to mass mortalities. Alistair Jack, BDMLR’s Scottish co-ordinator, said the charity’s team in South Uist already had several sets of pontoons and the charity has 12 sets of the whale floatation devices across the UK: all of them were being despatched to South Uist. “We first became aware of the incident late yesterday and have immediately responded,” Jack said. “We anticipate having trained medics and rescue equipment on the scene by mid morning. This is one of the largest events of this kind ever in the country.” Calum Watt, the SSPCA’s senior inspector for the Western Isles, is en route to the loch. He said: “When pilot whales come inshore there is a very strong chance some among the group are sick or injured. “We believe around 20 of these whales have severe head injuries but at this stage we aren’t sure of the cause. One possibility is these injuries were sustained during a previous attempt to strand themselves. “Pilot whales have extremely strong social bonds, which sadly means healthy whales within the pod will follow sick and injured whales on to the shore.” A pod of around 35 pilot whales were involved in a similar emergency at Loch Carnan, a small and narrow loch near the north eastern corner of the island, last October . After being closely watched by the BDMLR, the SSPCA and the coastguard, they went back to sea. But less then a week later the same pod is believed to have been involved in a mass stranding in County Donegal in Ireland, when 33 pilot whales were found dead on a beach . Pilot whales are among the most common cetaceans, and the adult male can grow to 20 feet long. Watt said the largest number they have tried to refloat was seven, in 1993, but all seven returned to the shore and died. He was very worried about the prospects of saving so many whales if the new pod at Loch Carnan became stranded. “At this stage we remain hopeful they will not strand themselves but our concern is the injured whales will come onshore and be followed by the rest of the pod,” he said. “Attempting to refloat so many whales would be a huge task and if they do become stranded we’ll need to decide upon the best course of action.” “It is incredible that a second pod, this time probably more than twice the size, has arrived in the same area. There is no reason we know of why they would have come to the same location.” Whales Marine life Animals Conservation Scotland Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Couric’s Review of Her CBS Years Finds New Way to Embarrass Palin, Lets Fox and Plame Rage
May 20, 2011 No Comment
Ending her final night as anchor of the CBS Evening News with a “five years in five minutes” video retrospective, Katie Couric went out in sync with how she conducted herself since 2006 – challenging and discrediting conservatives while providing a platform to liberals to disparage conservatives.
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Thousands of protesters have gathered in Madrid and dozens of other Spanish cities to protest over cuts Police and tens of thousands of young protesters camped out in dozens of Spanish cities are set to clash after the country’s electoral authorities effectively ordered the government to dissolve the protests. The committee declared that the protests contravened Spain’s election laws, which ban campaigning the day before a vote. Municipal and regional government elections are to be held on Sunday amid a climate of growing anger over government austerity, spending cuts and 21% unemployment. “They [the protests] are against electoral legislation… and cannot happen,” the committee ruled. More than 10,000 people gathered in support of the protesters camped out at a makeshift tent city in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square in the early hours of Friday morning, greeting with boos and whistles the decision that they must leave. The peaceful protesters, who called another of their four or five hour open assemblies on Friday to debate the issue, looked unlikely to shift after thousands settled down to spend a fifth night in the Puerta del Sol. “On Saturday May 21 we will continue with the exercise of collective reflection between all those attending the spontaneous meetings to have emerged in recent days,” a statement from the Madrid protesters said this morning. “This is the most people we have had so far,” said Jero, one of the spokesmen who have become part of the increasingly sophisticated infrastructure of an otherwise chaotic protest movement with disparate demands and united only by mistrust of the country’s political elites. Similar protests were being held in Barcelona’s Plaza de Catalunya and 60 cities across the country. As right-wing commentators accused the prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s socialist government of allowing ‘extremists’ to take over the streets, the government this week faced a serious dilemma. It had previously indicated that, having moved protesters out of the Puerta del Sol earlier this week, it was unlikely to act against them again – but that was before the electoral commission banned the protests. “We have to listen and be sensitive, because there are reasons why they are expressing their unhappiness and their criticism,” Zapatero said on Thursday. Spain Europe Protest Giles Tremlett guardian.co.uk
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Judicial committee report says superinjunctions must face ‘open justice’ principle and only be granted when strictly necessary Superinjunctions should only be granted in “very limited circumstances” and normally for short periods of time, according to an influential judicial committee studying privacy orders. In a report that repeatedly stresses the importance of “open justice”, the study headed by the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, proposes giving the media advance notice of applications for gagging orders. Dismissing allegations that judges have been creating laws beyond the authority of parliament, the committee on superinjunctions nonetheless states that “there was justifiable concern [last year]… that superinjunctions were being applied for and granted far too readily”. The study will be scrutinised carefully by ministers who have sent out mixed signals about whether they believe a privacy law needs to be introduced to provide clearer guidance for judges. While no one knows the precise number of privacy injunctions in circulation, the committee says it is only aware of two genuine superinjunctions — those whose existence cannot even be revealed — having been granted since January 2010. One was set aside on appeal and the other was in force for only seven days. “The principle of open justice is a fundamental constitutional principle,” the report states, “although it is not an absolute principle. It applies to interim injunction applications as it does to trials. “… As they incorporate derogations from the principle of open justice, superinjunctions and anonymised injunctions can only be granted when they are strictly necessary. They cannot be granted so as to become in practice permanent.” The report sets out draft guidance on how applications should be processed in future, allowing third parties, including the media, to take part in or lodge objections to privacy proceedings. It is hoped the presence of other parties in such complex cases will provide reassurance that the cause of justice is being served and that the law is not being exploited by the wealthy to close down debate about matters of public interest. It is acknowledged that new legal procedures will be required to ensure that those who attend such hearings do not divulge details until they are reportable. “… It will be a very rare case where advance notice of such applications to media organisations, which are likely to be affected by any order, can justifiably be withheld.” Lord Neuberger, who is the head of the civil judiciary, said: “Our starting point was the maintenance of the fundamental principles of open justice and freedom of speech. Where privacy and confidentiality are involved, a degree of secrecy is often necessary to do justice. “However where secrecy is ordered it should only be to the extent strictly necessary to achieve the interests of justice. And where it is ordered, the facts of the case and the reason for the secrecy should be explained, as far as possible, in an openly available judgment.” In a clear rebuff to politicians who have accused judges of inventing novel legal precedents without reference to parliament, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, welcomed the report and observed: “Contrary to some commentary, unelected judges in this country did not create privacy rights. They were created by parliament [through enactment of the 1998 Human Rights Act]. “Now that they have been created, judges cannot ignore or dispense with them: they must apply the law relating to privacy matters as created by parliament — including those relating to the enforcement of privacy rights by injunctive relief, balancing them with the rights … of freedom of expression. “The relationship between parliament and the courts has, for generations, been predicated on mutual understanding and respect. Judges have never asserted, and they are not now asserting, any authority or jurisdiction over parliamentary proceedings or debate, which are exclusively matters for parliament.” Superinjunctions David Neuberger Privacy Privacy & the media Media law Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Owen Bowcott guardian.co.uk
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Flight carrying 308 passengers to London returns to Bangkok after increased vibration and high temperatures in engine A Qantas flight to London was forced to return to Bangkok after one of its engines began experiencing trouble shortly after takeoff, the airline said. The Australian carrier said there was “an increase in vibration and high temperatures” in one of the plane’s four engines on Friday. The pilots shut the engine down and landed the Boeing 747-400, which was carrying 308 passengers, soon after. “We believe the cause is similar to events that other airlines are experiencing and is subject to an increased monitoring programme from the manufacturer Rolls-Royce,” the airline said in a statement. A Qantas spokesman declined to specify which airlines had faced similar problems with the engines. Rolls-Royce came under increased scrutiny after one of its Trent 900 engines on a Qantas A380 disintegrated after takeoff from Singapore in November. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s interim report on the A380 incident said a manufacturing defect in an oil pipe deep within one of the engines led to an oil leak, which sparked a fire. The fire caused one of the engine’s giant turbine discs to disintegrate, sending pieces of it shooting through the plane’s wing. On Monday, a Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine caught fire on a Cathay Pacific flight bound for Jakarta, Indonesia, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Singapore. Cathay Pacific and Rolls-Royce are investigating the incident. Qantas’s Boeing 747 aircraft use Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. Rolls-Royce Airline industry Thailand Australia guardian.co.uk
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Embattled retailer sells its 314 store book chain to fund controlled by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut HMV has sold its Waterstone’s book chain to a fund controlled by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut for £53m. Last week HMV alerted the market to interest in Waterstone’s from multiple bidders although it emerged that Mamut, who counts Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich among his friends, was considered to be the front runner . Mamut, who already owns San Francisco-based social networking site LiveJournal, already holds a 6.7% stake in HMV. Mamut has bought the business for cash through A&NN Capital Fund Management, a company controlled by a trust in which Mamut has an interest. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of June. HMV Group, which issued its third profit warning in April this year, put the 314-strong Waterstone’s chain up for sale in March. The company said on Friday that the sale represents an “important step towards strengthening the capital structure of the remaining HMV Group”. HMV said that it needs to reduce its borrowing requirements in the short term to “achieve a satisfactory refinancing” and “has concluded that the most timely and effective way to achieve this is through the disposal of Waterstone’s”. “We expect this deal to enable the Group to achieve a reduction in the group’s borrowing requirements, and, in turn, focus on plans for transforming the HMV Group into a broad-based entertainment business,” said Simon Fox, the chief executive of HMV Group. The proceeds of the sale – which will see £40m paid on completion in June and £13m in October – will be largely used to reduce HMV’s borrowing requirements. “We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement to acquire Waterstone’s and its great heritage,” said Mamut. “I believe that our investment and strategy will secure a dynamic future for the UK’s largest bookshop chain and I look forward to working with its booksellers in building on the principle of excellent bookselling, which is at the very heart of the business.” HMV said that the sale is conditional on shareholder approval and also from the pension trustee, the pensions regulator as well as HMV’s banks “including a renegotiation of the group’s lending facilities”. “Any such transaction would likely be subject to, amongst other things, shareholder, lending bank and pension trustee approval,” the company said. “There can be no certainty that any transaction will be concluded and a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.” HMV Group reported that total group sales continued to slide down 15.2% year-on-year in the 17 weeks to the of April. Within this HMV UK & Ireland saw sales fall 18.8% with international operations, in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore, down 6.7%. Waterstone’s reported a sales fall of 11.3%. The company said in the 53 weeks to the end of April group profits before tax and exceptional items would be about £28.5m. Year end net debt is expected to be £170m. Media business HMV Retail industry Waterstone’s Booksellers Music industry Mark Sweney guardian.co.uk
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