Follow all the last developments from the courtroom as the former Home Office pathologist Freddy Patel, who concluded that Tomlinson died of a heart attack, continues to give evidence 10.21am: They jury has entered and we are about to begin. 10.00am: We’re about to start the second day of testimony from Dr Freddy Patel, the pathologist who concluded Ian Tomlinson died of a heart attack as a result of coronary artery disease. Two other pathologists concluded Tomlinson died of internal bleeding in the abdomen at the G20 protests, collapsing moments after he was struck with a baton and pushed to the ground by Metropolitan officer Simon Harwood around 7.20pm on April 1 2009. Yesterday Patel said a “process of elimination” led him to conclude Tomlinson, 47, had died of natural causes. The pathologist said that although he found a large amount of fluid in newspaper seller’s abdomen, it did not contain sufficient blood to lead him to believe internal bleeding had caused the death. He said he was also unable to find the cause of any bleeding. Patel also revealed that police who were present at the post mortem asked him to “rule out” whether Tomlinson had injuries consistent with an assault, and told him protesters “using sticks” were in the vicinity when he died. A senior detective also asked Patel while he was examining the body whether Tomlinson’s leg injuries were consistent with a baton strike and dog bite . This was on April 3 2009, so four days before the release of video footage showing Tomlinson’s encounter with police. Once again I’ll be live blogging all day. You can follow me on Twitter and you can email any questions or comments to me: paul.lewis@guardian.co.uk and I’ll do my best to respond. Ian Tomlinson Police London Protest G20 Dr Freddy Patel Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk
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• Surprise drop in total of people out of work to 2.48m • Women claiming jobseeker’s allowance at near 15-year high • Unemployed 16 to 25-year-olds down in January but up 12,000 on quarter Youth unemployment has remained at near record levels with more than one in five young people out of work, data released on Wednesday showed. The number of people aged between 16 and 25 who were out of work hit 963,000 in the three months to February – 12,000 more than in the previous quarter. This pushed Britain’s youth unemployment rate up by 0.1 percentage points to 20.4%. The number of unemployed 16 to 17-year-olds increased by 14,000 on the quarter to reach 218,000, while the number of unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds fell by 2,000 on the quarter to reach 745,000. The Office for National Statistics also reported that the number of women claiming jobseeker’s allowance has reached a near 15-year high of 462,300. The youth unemployment data was slightly better than a month ago. The total number of young people out of work, which is measured on a rolling three-month basis, had hit 974,000 in the three months to January , the highest level since records began in 1992. The ONS also reported a surprise fall in the number of people out of work. The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) measure of unemployment showed that 2.48 million people were out of work in the three months to February, lowering the unemployment rate from 8% to 7.8%. But the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in March rose by 700. Campaigners have warned that Britain risks creating a “lost generation” of young people who are unable to find work. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber criticised the government today for scrapping the Future Jobs Fund, which provided grants to firms who created new jobs. Huddlebuy, a group buying websites for small businesses, reported today that two-thirds of small firms have delayed taking on new staff because of the uncertain economic conditions. Unemployment and employment statistics Economics Unemployment Public sector cuts Public sector pay Economic policy Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
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Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen. 10.26am: Liz Kendall, a shadow health minister, is speaking now. She says that cancer test waiting times are already starting to rise and that cancer charities have said that services would suffer more under the plans in the bill. 10.23am: The Labour dossier should be on their website soon, but it’s not their yet. Tory HQ have already sent me an email asking for a copy so that they can prepare a rebuttal. 10.19am: Ed Miliband is here now. He says that he thinks David Cameron has not grasped the full scale of the challenge he faces. People are opposed to the bill because it undermines the principles of the NHS. He says the five points identified by Labour (see 10.03am) have been “largely hidden” from the public. They are all changes that would put the interests of patients last. 10.13am: Here’s the key quote from Ed Miliband. If the prime minister wants to listen, he should listen not to his deputy, but to the nurses, patients and others. He appears to believe that people don’t like his bill because his government hasn’t explained it properly. But the opposite is true. The more people understand and hear about these proposals, the less they like them. It’s not a problem of public relations. It’s a problem of principle. 10.03am: It’s the old dossier trick. Labour are releasing a 16-page dossier setting out “the hidden reality of David Cameron’s health reforms”. It identifies five main flaws in the bill. This is what they are, according to Labour. 1. There would be nothing to stop NHS hospitals going bust. 2. Hospitals would be subject to EU competition law, which means they could be fined up to 10% of turnover by the regulator. 3. There would be less accountability in relation to NHS services, which means NHS units could be closed without any consultation. 4. Hospitals would be allowed to give priority to private patients. 5. GPs would have the right to charge for services. Some of these claims are strongly contested. For example, Andrew Lansley has said the health bill does not extend the scope of EU competition law. But he’s going to have to provide a full rebuttal. The press conference should be starting soon. 9.39am: I’m just heading off to Ed Miliband’s press conference now. He set out his thoughts on the health bill in a speech two weeks ago. You can read it here, and a summary of it on my blog at 12.12pm here. Today, I expect, he will be trying to find some way of increasing the pressure on the government over this. We’ll find out soon. 9.32am: Here are the key points from the unemployment figures. • Unemployment fell by 17,000 in the three months to February to 2.48m. • The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance increased last month by 700 to 1.45m. • Average earnings increased by 2.0% in the year to February, 0.3% down on the previous month. Here is the Office for National Statistics summary of the figures. And here is its bulletin with the full details (pdf). 9.09am: William Hague started his interview on the Today programme with a sly swipe at the BBC. John Humphrys spoke to Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s Middle East editor, just before the Hague interview started and Bowen suggested that there was no sign of the Gaddafi regime crumbling. Hague then said that Bowen was giving “the view from the regime”. Humphrys did not pick him up on it, but he seemed to be coming close to suggesting that Bowen was a stooge. As for the rest of the interview, here are the main points. I’ve taken the quotes from PoliticsHome. • Hague suggested that getting rid of Colonel Gaddafi was now the aim of the war. Ministers have always said that regime change is not the official goal of the operation, although they have always made it clear that this was an unofficial war aim because they have said that they cannot imagine Libya having a stable future with Gaddafi still in charge. Today Hague was even more explicit. Asked how the war would end, he replied: “It’s more difficult to say when it will end. It will end at some stage with the departure of Colonel Gaddafi, with a political process in Libya that is a more inclusive proves.” • Hague refused to say how long the war would continue. At one point, when asked to say how sanctions could bring down a regime, he said that this had happened with South Africa. • He defended the decision to allow Moussa Koussa to leave the UK. Koussa had not been arrested, Hague said. Whether he was arrested was a matter for the prosecuting authorities. Hague went on: “What we’ve said to Moussa Koussa. ‘You’ve got no immunity at all. You’ve come to the United Kingdom…you are at risk of the legal processes. You are not actually under arrest, you are free to move around.’” • Hague suggested he would like other members of the coalition to do more to support Britain, France and America in enforcing UN security council resolution 1973. “There is scope for some of [the other countries] to move some of their air defences into ground strike capability. That would increase our ability to intercept those forces – regime forces – that are killing the civilian population in Libya,” he said. 8.57am: Health is going to dominate today. Nurses at the RCN conference in Liverpool are due to hold a vote of no confidence in Andrew Lansley this morning. Ed Miliband is holding a press conference on health this morning, David Cameron and Lansley are holding a round-table discussion on the health reforms themselves this morning and this afternoon Lansley is going to Liverpool to hold a Q&A with nurses (but not to address the main conference). William Hague is co-chairing a meeting of the Libya Contact Group in Doha. On the Today programme earlier, he was more explicit than he has been before about the removal of Colonel Gaddafi now being the aim of the war. I’ll post a proper summary soon. First, though, here’s a full list of what’s coming up. 9am: Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, launches a new national arts campaign headed by the Art Fund. 9.15am: No to AV launches a new advertising campaign. 9.30am: Yes to Fairer Votes launches its own new advertising campaign. 9.30am: Unemployment figures are released. 10am: Ed Miliband holds a press conference about the health bill. 10am: Ed Davey, the business minister, launches a consumer empowerment strategy. 12pm: David Willetts, the universities minister, holds a briefing on student support arrangements for 2012-13. At some point we’re also due to get a statement from Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, about travellers occupying unauthorised sites and an announcement from Norman Baker, the transport minister, about street permits for roadworks. As usual, I’ll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I’ll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and an afternoon one at about 4pm. Ed Miliband Andrew Lansley David Cameron Health policy Health Andrew Sparrow guardian.co.uk
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Half of those with type 2 diabetes showed no sign of the disease a year after weight-loss surgery, says report Surgery to tackle obesity helps to treat a range of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, the first large-scale UK study into weight-loss operations has revealed. It found that after one year, 50% of those affected by diabetes before surgery showed no indication of the disease, with the rate rising to 86% after two years. The National Bariatric Surgery Registry (NBSR) found that the procedures were safe and on average patients lost 58% of excess weight in their first year after surgery. There was also improvement on all associated diseases. The cost of bariatric surgery – which includes gastric bypasses and gastric bands – is recouped within three years as obesity associated costs are eliminated, according to the NBSR. It says there are about 1 million people in the UK who could benefit from bariatric surgery and the NHS could regret limiting treatment. “This data shows that not only is UK bariatric surgery safe, but it successfully treats a whole range of diseases – including the rapid resolution of diabetes – yet commissioners continue to ignore the facts,” said Alberic Fiennes, a bariatric surgeon and chairman of the NBSR data committee. “An approach that limits treatment to a fraction of those who would benefit is one which the NHS will rue in years to come as these patients become an unsustainable burden on the health service.” John Black, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said bariatric surgery “makes economic as well as clinical sense” and the Department of Health should promote it. “It is a false economy to cut funding for this type of surgery,” he said. “Any short-term savings are tiny compared with the real ongoing cost of treating obese patients.” The report looked at follow-up data for 1,421 operations carried out between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2010. Of these, 379 patients had type 2 diabetes before surgery, while one year later that figure had fallen to 188. Data from 86 hospitals showed that around two thirds of severely obese patients have three or more associated diseases by the time they reach surgery. Meanwhile, a third have high blood pressure, over a quarter have diabetes and nearly a fifth have high cholesterol. David Stout, the NHS Confederation Primary Care Trust (PCT) Network director, said that while surgery was an important part of dealing with increasing obesity and surgeons were right to measure its efficacy, “the most cost effective solution is to make sure that people do not get to the stage of needing surgery in the first place”. He said: “PCTs need to balance their priorities across a wide range of services, taking into account Nice [National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence] guidance in the context of local needs. But it is important that all commissioners are transparent in their decision-making.” A DoH spokesman said bariatric surgery should only be considered as a last resort once weight-loss schemes and exercise programmes have been tried. “England has some of the highest rates of obesity in Europe – concerted effort is needed to tackle this,” he said. The spokesman added that the government was encouraging people to make simple changes, such as eating more fruit and vegetables, cutting down on fatty foods and being more active. Obesity Diabetes Health NHS Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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Corporate governance group Pirc urges bank’s shareholders to oppose ‘overly complex’ remuneration plan A leading corporate governance body has urged shareholders in Barclays to oppose executive pay at the bank, calling its disclosure “opaque” and its design “overly complex”. Pirc, which represents the interests of fund managers and pension funds with more than £1.5 trillion of assets, said the complexity of the Barclays plan “prevents analysis of the design and quantum of executive pay”. Last month Barclays said its new chief executive Bob Diamond and his two replacements as head of the investment banking arm were paid £28m in 2010, with the trio also receiving shares worth £40m for past performance. Pirc also slammed the British bank’s choice of performance targets, which link pay to its capital ratio. “This is not appropriate, particularly in a regulated bank where regulatory requirements are being used to justify incentive payments,” Pirc said in its weekly newsletter. Barclays has linked pay for senior staff to its core tier 1 capital adequacy ratio, with bonuses deferred over three years and clawed back if the ratio falls below 7%. Two years on from the financial crisis, criticism over pay in the banking industry has refused to go away despite changes to the way many executives are paid, as bumper pay packages have returned for some. Barclays investors will vote on its remuneration report at its annual general meeting on 27 April. Executive pay and bonuses Corporate governance Barclays Banking Bob Diamond guardian.co.uk
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There’s a new trend to give autobiographies silly titles. But can you match the titles in our quiz to the celebrity? The publishing brainboxes who dreamed up the title of the Apple founder’s authorised biography were presumably delighted that iSteve: The Book of Jobs works on so many levels. But seldom has a title been so excruciating on every one of them. Still, at least the name of Steve Jobs’s book gives some clue about the contents therein. The compulsion to ape various comics’ tossed-off tomes with a punning title is increasingly leading to otherwise serious autobiographies being given a title with a double meaning that has no meaning (step forward Christopher Hitchens and Hitch-22) or just an achingly dull joke. Then again, there is something lovable about a spectacularly awful pun. So in tribute to iSteve, can you match the following silly titles with the authors pictured above? 1 Dear Fatty 2 Look Back in Hunger 3 Cider with Roadies 4 Me and My Mouth 5 Trowel and Error 6 My Shit Life So Far ANSWERS 1D Dawn French; 2E Jo Brand; 3B Stuart Maconie; 4F Austin Healey; 5A Alan Titchmarsh; 6C Frankie Boyle Biography Celebrity Patrick Barkham guardian.co.uk
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The former foreign secretary proposes handing over responsibility for building a political solution to the UN The former foreign secretary David Miliband is to make a strong critique of the US-led strategy in Afghanistan, proposing instead handing over substantial responsibility for building a political solution to the UN, headed by a Muslim mediator capable of negotiating with the Taliban as well as partners throughout the region. In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Miliband urges a “whole new level of urgency, coherence and effort” in bringing about a political endgame away from a focus on ending military engagement, and including the possibility of appointing a safe third country for all Afghan parties to negotiate from. He writes: “It’s high time we stopped behaving as if there was a military solution and developed a political one. For that, politicians need to give a lead. That is the way forward in Afghanistan – working to mend it, not just rushing to end it.” The intervention comes as senior military figures predict a rough summer of fighting ahead. Miliband’s assessment of the situation chimes with the opinion of senior Pakistani officials who feel the imminent end of the international military campaign in Afghanistan looks likely to be replaced by little political process, with few indications as to who Pakistani officials should engage with. It also echoes the feeling inside Whitehall that US policy in Afghanistan is overly dominated by the military under General David Petraeus and that despite much talk about talks, American efforts to engage the Taliban diplomatically have made little progress so far. Miliband’s criticism of the US-led campaign marks a change from the supportive UK-US relationship he maintained as foreign secretary when relationships with US secretary of state Hilary Clinton were famously strong. Miliband acknowledges there are signs of significant shifts in American policy but nevertheless he goes on to write: “Deviations from the otherwise relentless focus on military operations, allied and Afghan, need to be taken to a whole new level of urgency, coherence and effort. Otherwise, our troops will be stuck in the front line of a strategy that has an end date but no clear end game. The 2014 end date set by Nato will prove illusory unless there is an endgame. “And that endgame must be negotiations, involving western powers led by the US, with all factions in the Afghan struggle, and their backers in the region.” Miliband warns that two international conferences on the horizon – in Kabul in the summer and Bonn in December – currently have “scant agenda”, but their outcome should be the agreement of the kind of political approach he outlines. “Our leverage will decline, not improve, as 2014 approaches. The insurgency can spread, outstripping the ability of international and Afghan forces to check its growth. The warlords can strengthen their grip. Inter-ethnic strife can come to look more and more like civil war.” Miliband proposes: • The UN security council appoints and empowers a UN mediator to faciliate talks “with a clear UN security council mandate setting out principles of the endgame and an open invitation to all to participate”. • The mediator should come from the Muslim world. “His job would be to canvass the views of all parties, and create confidence for and commitment to a process for serious talks about the future of Afghanistan”. • The mediator should “develop the idea of a safe place in a third country – an Arabian gulf state, Turkey or Japan – for all sides to talk. • Localised ceasefires must be proposed alongside security for development projects. • The new UN envoy should be responsible for regional engagement as well as internal talks, creating a council of regional stability that oversees compact between the neighbours and Afghanistan. This new structure should report to the US military and General Petraeus. He writes: “The job description would be to be President Karzai’s principal interlocutor, working closely with him on the end game strategy, liasing strongly with the commander of ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] to ensure that military strategy comes behind it, and creating a framework within which the political strength of the UN, and the development strengths of contributing nations, can bear full fruit.” Acknowledging movement from America, Miliband writes: “There are signs of a significant turn in policy. Secretary Clinton spoke in February of a “political surge”. Nato’s senior civilian representative, Mark Sedwill, said last month: “The time is now right to take the risk and pursue the political agenda with the same energy we have brought to the military and civilian surges.” The New Yorker reported that secret direct talks between the US and senior Taliban leaders had actually started. David Miliband Foreign policy Afghanistan US foreign policy United States New York Times Allegra Stratton Simon Tisdall guardian.co.uk
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TUC hits out at creation of a ‘lost generation’ of young people unable to find jobs Youth unemployment is expected to reach a record high of close to 1m – one in five 16 to 24-year-olds – when the latest jobless figures are released at 9.30am on Wednesday. The TUC, which fears a “lost generation” of young people effectively locked out of the employment market, said Britain was likely to pass another “grim milestone”. Official jobless data is expected to show a significant rise in the overall number of people out of work and the TUC said it was concerned the latest earnings figures would continue to trail inflation, leaving workers to suffer an even longer period of real terms wages cuts. Figures for the quarter to January showed the number of unemployed 16- to 24-year-olds increased by 30,000 on the quarter to reach 974,000, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992. In the same month, earnings were 2.9 percentage points less than the retail price index measure of inflation. The latest unemployment figure for the three months to February could show the earnings gap rising to more than three percentage points for the first time since June 2010. The headline figures for the claimant count and employment could improve on the previous month, boosted by the recruitment of 30,000 census workers. But Alan Clarke, economist at BNP Paribas, said the economic situation meant there was not enough private sector job hiring to compensate for public sector cuts and the overall employment picture was static. The TUC warned the figures disguised huge falls in real incomes, made worse by the loss of tax credits and cuts in government spending and services. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the declines in living standards were causing real pain to low- and middle-income families. “The country could be passing another grim milestone with youth unemployment hitting another record high. The government’s decision to scrap the Future Jobs Fund, months before its poorly funded replacement is due to start, has helped drive the rise in the number of young people out of work. “Scrapping Education Maintenance Allowance and hiking university tuition fees will only further reduce the job chances of young people and, with inflation rising at over twice the level of earnings, things aren’t looking pretty for those in work either. Employers have complained that one barrier to retaining young people in the workplace is the adult minimum wage, a requirement that boosts the wages of 21-year-olds. However, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research said evidence showed that as low-skilled young people became entitled to the higher adult rate of the minimum wage, their employment rate actually went up. The research, funded by the Low Pay Commission and the Economic and Social Research Council, shows that, on turning 22, the employment rate among low skilled individuals increases by about 2-4 percentage points. “In other words, a higher minimum wage – for this group, and in the relevant range – does not appear to harm their employment prospects – indeed, if anything, the opposite,” the report says. The independent thinktank said the findings seemed counterintuitive but “there are perfectly rational explanations”. It said the main focus was in a change in attitude among jobseekers rather than employers. “The results here are consistent with the hypothesis that on turning 22, young low-skilled people find work more attractive compared with when they were 21, because the wage on offer has increased. This may induce them to increase participation in the labour market, or to increase their job search intensity,” it said. Unemployment and employment statistics Economics Unemployment Social exclusion Public sector cuts Public sector pay Phillip Inman guardian.co.uk
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Former Egyptian president’s arrest follows detention of his two sons on Tuesday night Egypt’s former president, Hosni Mubarak, has been detained as authorities in the country investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of his authority. His detention comes after the 82-year-old reportedly suffered a heart attack while being questioned on Tuesday night. Mubarak’s two sons, Gamal and Alaa, have also been detained after being questioned over corruption claims into the early hours of Wednesday morning. A statement from the prosecutor general’s office announcing Mubarak’s detention said the ongoing investigation was into allegations of corruption, the squandering of public funds, and the abuse of authority for personal gain. “The prosecutor general orders the detention of former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa for 15 days pending investigation after the prosecutor general presented them with the current state of its ongoing investigations,” it said. Egypt’s interim government issued subpoenas to Mubarak and his sons over the weekend, compelling them to testify in court over claims that they illicitly acquired wealth and abused their power during the former president’s reign. The announcement of their detention came just hours after Mubarak was hospitalised with heart problems in Sharm el-Sheikh. He has been in internal exile in the Red Sea resort since Egypt’s mass uprising earlier this year. Mubarak was taken to hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh. However in a sign his health may not be in immediate danger, justice minister Mohammed el-Guindi said questioning of the former president continued in hospital. While the ex-president was in hospital – where he is expected to remain for the period of his detention – his sons were taken for questioning to a Sharm el-Sheikh court by prosecutors from Cairo. Gamal Mubarak, his younger son, was a top official in the ruling party and was widely seen as being groomed to succeed his father before 18 days of popular protests brought down the regime on 11 February. An angry crowd of 2,000 people gathered outside and demanded the two be arrested. Then, in the early hours of the morning, the head of provincial security in the South Sinai told the crowd that Gamal and his businessman brother Alaa would be detained. “Brothers, whatever you wanted, you have got … 15 days,” said Major General Mohammed el-Khatib, as the crowd erupted in cheers. As a police van with drawn curtains took away the two brothers, the crowd pelted it with water bottles, stones and their flip-flops, a sign of disrespect in the Arab world. About 800 people are estimated to have been killed during the protests as police opened fire and cracked down on the crowds. Authorities are now investigating government officials for their role in ordering the violence. Gamal is also believed to be the architect of Egypt’s privatization program and economic liberalization, which has brought in billions in foreign investment but has also widened the gap between rich and poor. Many of his close associates were billionaires and held top positions in the ruling party and the government. There are allegations that they used their positions for personal gain. Hosni Mubarak Egypt Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Adam Gabbatt Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk
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