Cross-party amendment urges ministers to listen to concerns of health professionals and patients First signs that dissent about the government’s health reforms are spreading to Conservative ranks have emerged as a group of Tory MPs tabled a motion urging ministers to listen to the concerns of patients groups, professional bodies and independent experts. The cross-party motion signed by four Tory MPs, Dr Sarah Wollaston, Charles Walker, Douglas Carswell and Anne Main, urges ministers to work with these groups to achieve a strengthened NHS. The motion, in the form of an amendment to a Labour motion due to be debated in the Commons later on Wednesday, is a sign that Tory MPs are starting to become concerned that Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, is not taking health professionals with him in his radical reform plans. The BMA voted on Tuesday to call for Lansley to withdraw the bill. The Liberal Democrats overwhelmingly passed a motion on Saturday calling on the government to refashion the reforms away from competition and marketisation. A group of Liberal Democrats MPs led by Greg Mulholland have also tabled an amendment for Wednesday’s debate calling for the health bill to be amended and agreeing with Labour that reforms represent a damaging and unjustified market-based reorganisation. Liberal Democrat backbenchers backing this motion include David Ward, MP for Bradford East, Ian Swales (Redcar), John Leech (Manchester Withington) and John Pugh (Southport) who is a member of the standing committee scrutinising the health and social care bill . Other Liberal Democrats backing the amendment include Tessa Munt (Wells), Andrew George (St Ives), Mike Crockhart, (Edinburgh West), Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) and Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay). Other Liberal Democrats will be voicing anxiety to whips, emboldened to do so by the conference vote urging them to reject the reforms. Ministers are being privately urged to make concessions before local elections in May. Signals coming from the department of health remain defiant with a promise only to make small changes to the language of the bill . A danger for the Liberal Democrats is that if they fail to secure serious concessions, particularly in the area of accountability of health bodies to local government, they will face a serious bust-up with the party’s federal committees. Some of the party’s most serious policy committee officials, Evan Harris and Jeremy Hargreaves, were instrumental in pushing the conference motion calling on the coalition to rethink the bill. The health minister, Simon Burns, refused in a standing committee on Tuesday to give ground on one of the central objections to the bill – the introduction of a new economic regulator monitor, modelled on the gas regulator and charged with promoting competition in the NHS. He also refused to accept amendments to make the regulator more accountable to health consumer groups. John Pugh spoke against the new regulator, saying there was no evidence that such a regulator worked in any health economy, and then abstained on a Labour amendment calling for the concept of monitor to be dropped. Ministers remain convinced that the reforms are well judged, but misunderstood and subject to systematic Labour misrepresentation by the shadow health minister, Liz Kendall. David Cameron has backed the reforms, making a long speech explaining their purpose, but he acknowledges that they have not been well received by the public. He faces a choice between cutting his losses or expending more valuable and finite political capital to resell the reforms to increasingly sceptical voters. Cameron’s biggest political difficulty is that the public believe they were reassured by the Tories during the election that there would be no radical reforms to the NHS, and have yet to be convinced that a largely popular institution needs to be reorganised from top to bottom. NHS Health Health policy Andrew Lansley Conservatives Liberal Democrats Liberal-Conservative coalition guardian.co.uk
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• Jobless number above 2.5 million • Claimant count drops 10,200 • Youth unemployment highest since 1992 Unemployment in Britain’s recession-scarred economy is continuing to climb, with more than 2.53 million Britons out of work in the three months to January, the largest number since 1994, official statistics reveal . The jobless rate hit a 10 month high of 8% over the three monthly period, as 27,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed, according to the Office for National statistics. However, the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits fell by 10,200 between January and February, according to Wednesday’s figures. The improvement in this more timely measure will raise hopes that the labour market is beginning to thaw after December’s freezing weather brought the economy to a halt. Unemployment fell for much of 2010 as the economy clambered out of recession, but began to deteriorate later in the year as GDP growth slowed. There was a fresh rise in the number of young people suffering as a result of the weak job market, the ONS said, with 974,000 now out of work – the highest number since comparable records began in 1992. Unemployment and employment statistics Economics Unemployment Job losses Heather Stewart guardian.co.uk
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• Sharp increase in radiation from Fukushima plant • Smoke rising from badly damaged No 3 reactor • Another fire seen within No 4 reactor building • Reactor workers ordered out for health reasons • Earthquake felt in Shizuoka, south-west of Tokyo • Read the Guardian’s latest news story on the explosions 10.04am (7.04pm JST): A quick clarification to my 9.51am update – it seems it was Japan’s military who announced that the helicopters could not drop water due to high radiation levels. 10.00am (7pm JST): The operators of the Fukushima’s Daiichi plant, Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco, are also holding a press conference. Water is now being poured into reactors No 5 and No 6, they say, according to Reuters. 9.51am (6.51pm JST): The update about the radiation levels preventing helicopters dropping water (9.21am) appears to come from another media briefing by the government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano. At the same time he has stressed that there is no immediate risk to health around the plant, and that the hope is instead to inject water into the stricken reactor four from ground level. 9.37am (6.37pm JST): It’s time now for a summary: • The situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remains extremely perilous and seemingly beyond the control of authorities . Staff at the plant were evacuated for a period this morning after radiation levels rose. A fire broke out at the No 3 reactor, sending a plume of light grey smoke – possibly radioactive steam – above the plant. Helicopters carried containers of water above the complex but were unable to dump them, reportedly due to the high radiation levels. • The country faces an increasingly desperate humanitarian crisis caused by the direct effects of Friday’s huge earthquake a resultant tsunami, one made worse by freezing weather . The official death toll has now hit 3,676, with 7,845 people registered as unaccounted for. Survivors, many of them homeless, are struggling with a wave of cold weather forecast to last well into this week, with night time temperatures dipping to -5C in some places. • Japan’s emperor, Akihito, has made a rare TV appearance to express his condolences to his people and his worry at the nuclear situation. • Following its precipitous plunge yesterday, Tokyo’s stock market bounced back nearly 6% . Japan’s central bank has injected a further $40bn into the financial markets. 9.21am (6.21pm JST): Kyodo news has a slightly worrying update, in a breaking news item on its website – the military helicopters seen over the Fukushima nuclear plant (8.06am) have been unable to drop any water “due to high radiation”. 8.53am (5.53pm JST): Below is a TV screengrab, via Reuters, of Emperor Akihito’s address to the nation. Here’s also a couple more quotes from the 77-year-old who, let’s remember, is by tradition a more remote and detached figure than most heads of states, even compared to his fellow monarchs: I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times… I am deeply concerned about the nuclear situation because it is unpredictable. – 8.40am (5.40pm JST): Tania Branigan has been speaking again to Professor David Hinde , head of the department of nuclear physics at the Australian National University. He says that the status of the spent fuel pools at the Fukushima plant is very concerning. Water levels are reportedly dropping in unit 4, and the temperature of the pools in 5 and 6 are now rising. It is clearly a serious situation now because there is no containment for those spent fuel pools… My feeling is that they are probably a more serious issue now than the reactors, [where] there’s at least a degree of containment remaining. Spent fuel rods are strongly radioactive and the water above them shields against that radiation so as long as the water level is sufficiently high – you can walk up to the edge of the pool and pour a bucket of water in. Once it is even close to the top of the rods the levels are too high to approach the pool, which is clearly what has happened in unit 4. It’s been suggested that the Japanese Self Defence Force could use helicopters to drop water onto the plant (see 8.06am). But even if the military is willing to risk exposing pilots to radiation, Hinde says this is far easier said than done: My estimates suggest they might need 50 tonnes an hour of water. You could do that easily with a large bore hosepipe but if you are doing it with helicopters it is a lot more difficult – and harder to get the water into the pool. I very much hope they rig up a temporary pipe works in 5 and 6 to pump water in remotely to avoid reaching this situation. He said the ideal situation would be to re-establish the cooling system, which seems to have been knocked out by the tsunami. 8.31am: (5.31pm JST) It’s worth noting, too, that large areas of Japan are still being rattled by strong aftershocks. The Chiba region in the east of the country experienced a 6.0 magnitude quake at lunchtime, Jiji Press reports . 8.24am (5.24pm JST): Reuters have out together a useful timeline of how the nuclear emergency has unfolded since Friday. It’s a bit long to paste into the blog, but you can read it here . What struck me was the number of times various authorities have assured everyone that the situation is under control. 8.16am (5.16pm JST): Amid the understandable focus on the nuclear drama, it’s important not to forget the sheer scale of human tragedy already brought about by Friday’s quake and tsunami. This is currently being increased by the freezing weather, mentioned by Tania already (5.57am). To reinforce that point, here’s a screengrab from the BBC of the next couple of days of forecast weather for Sendai: – 8.06am (5.06pm JST): Japan’s military is flying helicopters above the Fukushima plant carrying seawater in giant containers, to be dropped into the number three reactor. Here’s a screengrab from NHK’s coverage of the operation. The helicopters are having to pass over the site repeatedly to avoid excessive radiation contamination and no water has yet been dropped. – 7.55am (4.55pm JST): This is Peter Walker, taking over from Tania. AP has a first translated quote from the emperor: “”We don’t know the number of victims, but I pray that every single person can be saved.” 7.49am (4.49pm JST): The emperor has urged people not to give up hope after a disaster “unprecedented in scale”, but says he is “deeply worried”. He has acknowledged that the problems at the nuclear reactors are unpredictable. And yes, apparently these are his first public comments since the earthquake and tsunami. 7.43am (4.43pm JST): My colleague Justin McCurry says that Emperor Akihito is now addressing the nation on television; we think this is his first public appearance since the earthquake. 7.39am (4.39pm JST): A few people have been asking in the comments about the fact that radiation levels we have quoted in the last couple of days seem to differ so wildly. A few points to make here: Firstly, we are entirely dependent on the figures that Tepco and the Japanese government release. They are giving individual readings rather than issuing a set of data that covers a given group of locations. (Ie, they are not giving us readings for different reactor buildings/around the plant/by the main gate every couple of hours). Secondly, it is clear that readings are fluctuating greatly over time and from place to place. For instance, NHK has just mentioned a reading of 6.4 millisieverts per hour at one location at 10am which had dropped to 2 millisieverts within nine minutes. Similarly, although we saw a very alarming measurement of 400 milliseiverts per hour at one point yesterday, other areas close by had far lower readings. Thirdly, the figures at the gate clearly don’t reflect the risks faced by all the workers inside the plant, who are of course in the greatest danger. They do, however, offer some indication of the broader risk so should be seen in that light. All that said, please let us know if you spot a specific error. 7.10am (4.10pm JST): A bit more detail on the spent fuel pool in reactor 4: NHK says its temperature has reached 89C, double the usual level. It has also confirmed that the temperatures in units 5 and 6 are higher than usual. All three units were off-line when the quake and tsunami hit, undergoing routine servicing. 6.45am (3.45pm JST): If you’re looking for a round-up of events at Fukushima No 1 plant this morning, my colleague Justin McCurry in Japan has a story here . 6.40am (3.40pm JST): Better news on the economic front, at least: stocks have rebounded, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 closing 5.68% up. According to the Financial Times, yesterday’s slump – which followed a bad day on Monday – was the Nikkei 225′s third largest daily drop in its history. 6.30am (3.30pm JST): As miwa points out in the comments below, Sir John Beddington – the UK’s chief scientific adviser – has briefed British expatriates that the Japanese government’s measures (a 20km exclusion zone round the plant and a warning to stay indoors if 20-30km away) are “entirely proportionate and appropriate to the risk”. More information is available at the British embassy’s website. China is evacuating its nationals from the north-east – ie closer to the stricken facility – citing its concerns about the plant and France has recommended that its citizens leave Tokyo. The Austrian embassy announced yesterday that it was moving to Osaka due to radiation fears. But like many more countries, the UK is not recommending that nationals leave the capital. Radiation levels there are slightly higher than normal, but nowhere near a level of concern, say experts. 6.12am (3.12pm JST): A useful summary of what we know about the status of the reactors at Fukushima No 1 plant, from Kyodo news agency : — Reactor No. 1 – Cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented, building damaged Saturday by hydrogen explosion, seawater being pumped in. — Reactor No. 2 – Cooling failure, seawater being pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, vapor vented, building damaged Monday by blast at Reactor No. 3, damage to containment vessel on Tuesday, potential meltdown feared. — Reactor No. 3 – Cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor vented, seawater being pumped in, building damaged Monday by hydrogen explosion, high-level radiation measured nearby on Tuesday, plume of smoke observed Wednesday, damage to containment vessel likely. — Reactor No. 4 – Under maintenance when quake struck, fire Tuesday possibly caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, pool water level not observed, fire observed Wednesday at building housing reactor, no water poured in to cool pool. — Reactor No. 5, No. 6 – Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature slightly rising in spent fuel pool. 6.07am (3.07pm JST): Broadcaster NHK reports problems with monitoring posts around the Fukushima plant, making it harder to keep track of the spread of radioactivity. They seem to have been affected by the power outages. It explains: The system, called SPEEDI, predicts how radioactive substances will spread in case of radiation leakage from nuclear power plants, based on measurements taken at various locations, prevailing winds and other weather conditions. SPEEDI data are intended to be used to draw up evacuation plans for residents around power plants in case of accidents. Bear in mind that inhabitants within a 20km radius of the plant have already been evacuated, and those between 20km and 30km away told to stay indoors. Many survivors are still packed into emergency shelters in the disaster zone, where food and fuel supplies are said to be running low. 5.57am (2.57pm JST): There’s a lot of concern about the conditions survivors face. NHK are reporting snow in Miyagi prefecture and the Japanese meteorological agency predicts snow in Iwate today with heavier falls tomorrow. Across the disaster zone, temperatures will drop as low as -5C overnight. The government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, has asked the public not to panic-buy fuel, warning: ”The supply situation for fuel such as gasoline, heavy oil and light oil is worsening in the quake-hit areas.” The defence ministry has announced it is sharing some of its reserves, but needs to hold some back to avoid disrupting the rescue operations. Private enterprises are offering help but Kyodo reports that the Japan Business Federation’s chairman said the government needs a stronger command centre to channel assistance. ”The lack of a strong control tower is likely to have been dragging delivery of relief goods,” the chief of Japan’s most influential business lobby, known as Nippon Keidanren, told reporters, while urging the government to disclose accurate information. ”Though companies are trying to send relief supplies, they cannot secure fuel for returning,” Yonekura said, stressing that gasoline stations along expressways and supply roads are in need of swift supply of gasoline. 5.46am (2.46pm JST): More from Fukushima: Reuters is reporting that authorities plan to bulldoze an emergency route to crippled reactor No.4 to allow access for fire trucks, although it appears this morning’s blaze is now out. The unit was not operating when the earthquake hit but was storing spent fuel rods. Kyodo says that workers the facility have been unable to pour water into the pool containing the spent fuel rods because of high radiation levels. Tepco, the plant’s operators, are considering spraying the reactor with boric acid from overhead, warning: ”The possibility of recriticality is not zero”. Kyodo has just flashed up a statement that winds are preventing Self Defence Force helicopters from dousing it with water, citing an unnamed minister. 5.24am (2.24pm JST): A colleague points out that Couchsurfing has set up a site for people displaced by the disasters. People are offering space in Hiroshima, Osaka, Yokohama and numerous other cities. 5.21am (2.21pm JST): Seoul’s Yonhap news agency is reporting that South Korea will send part of its reserve of boric acid – used to slow down fission reactions – to its neighbour. Japan has used up most of its own stockpile to try to cool down the reactor cores. 5.15am (2.15pm JST): A quick update on casualties from the earthquake and tsunami: the national police agency is saying that 3,676 deaths are confirmed and 7,845 people are registered as unaccounted for. But Japanese media have pointed out that many bodies have been found but not identified. The Guardian’s Jonathan Watts has reported from Ishinomaki on how authorities are struggling to deal with the dead and are now contemplating mass burials. This is Tania Branigan in Beijing taking over from Richard 4.50am: Japan’s health ministry announced the rise in the legal radiation exposure limit because workers could no longer get close enough to the Fukushima Daiichi No 4 reactor for urgent attempts to repair the reactor’s cooling system. The ministry raised the level two and a half times, to 250 millseiverts. Earlier, Kyodo news agency said 730 out of a total of 800 workers had been evacuated from the site. “The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now,” chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano told a press conference. “Because of the radiation risk we are on standby.” 4.36am: To make sense of all this, it appears that reactor no 4 was badly damaged by the hydrogen explosions in nearby reactors, and it is possible that the unit’s water level has disappeared entirely. Tepco said that water in a pool storing the spent fuel rods may be boiling and that its level may have dropped, exposing the rods. The government ordered the firm to inject water into the pool ”as soon as possible to avert a major nuclear disaster.” Due to high radiation levels at the reactor, workers have been unable to pour water into the troubled pool. 4.13am: More bad news: Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the radiation level at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reached 10 millisievert per hour at one point on Wednesday morning, possibly due to the damage at its No 2 reactor the day before, the government’s nuclear safety agency said. The maximum level was measured at the plant’s front gate at 10:40am. It fell to 6.4 millisievert at 10:45am and to 2.3 millisievert at 10:54am but rose again to about 3.4 millisievert at 11am according to Kyodo 4am: Japan’s nuclear nightmare continues, as the situation at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant remains grave and the latest developments within the crippled reactors show a further deterioration. Here is a round-up of the latest news: • Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano announced that the containment vessel of the Fukushima Daiichi No 3 reactor is thought to have been severely damaged and may have leaked radioactive steam, emitting high-level radiation. • Japan’s nuclear safety agency required Fukushima plant workers to evacuate the site due to high radiation levels, but the government later upped the legal radiation exposure level, allowing work to continue inside the plant. • Smoke was seen rising from the No 3 reactor from the early hours of Wednesday morning. • The No 4 reactor remains a source of major concern, with gaping holes in the reactor’s outer building and another fire within the reactor was spotted at 5.45am JST that may have lasted half an hour. The reactor’s internal temperature rose to 84C as cooling remained difficult. • Japan’s central bank has injected a further $40bn into the financial markets, meaning that the Bank of Japan has added nearly $330bn in liquidity in the last three days. The Nikkei stock exchange has rebounded a little as manufacturing companies announce the resumption of production. 3.30am: Good morning. There is news just coming from Japan that a surge in radiation at the Fukushima power plant mean workers were unable to continue even minimal efforts to work there. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has said that work on dousing reactors with water was disrupted when workers were forced to withdraw after radiation levels surged early in the day. This follows reports that a white plume of smoke has been seen rising from the crippled nuclear plant’s No 3 reactor. Japan earthquake and tsunami Japan Nuclear power Natural disasters and extreme weather Fukushima plant status Richard Adams Lee Glendinning Tania Branigan Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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The perception that selling ebooks by the agency model is unfair (consumers) and illegal (EU) is a big worry for publishing firms On Tuesday 1 March, several publishing offices in Europe were raided by inspectors from the European Commission. “They burst in like cowboys” said Francis Esménard, the president of French publisher Albin Michel, to journalists at 01net , even if “they were only going to find legal contracts”. Elsewhere, they seized smart phones and laptops from senior executives and no doubt ruined a good few lunches. No one likes to meet a Eurocrat at the best of times, but these ones may be beating the death knell of the publishing industry. The background to these raids is the agency model many big publishers have adopted to sell ebooks . Under this model, instead of selling the ebooks wholesale and allowing the retailer to set the price they charge the customers, the publisher itself sets the price of the ebooks and the retailer takes a commission. The potential problem with this arrangement is that it could, according to the EU commission statement explaining the raids, “violate EU anti-trust rules that prohibit cartels and other restrictive business practices”. The agency model is, in effect, a return to the net book agreement in electronic form. Publishers let that go in 1997 – and bitter experience has taught them to regret it . Losing the net book agreement did not lead to greater variety, customer choice, a better deal for producers or for shops (as those on the right claim unfettered competition should). It led to a three-way carve up of the trade between Waterstones, supermarkets and Amazon. Hundreds of viable publishers servicing thousands of shops were swapped for just over a dozen bloated giants with only a small number of effective outlet options. The stakes are even higher in the new ebook wars, at a time when even Waterstones branches are beginning disappear from our streets. The unspoken purpose of the agency model is to stop Amazon getting a monopoly and becoming pretty much the only effective ebook publisher around. Without the agency model, Amazon could easily discount everyone else out of contention. With it, publishers and other outlets stand a chance. But the law is a strange thing. When one company forces through a virtual monopoly, it is considered ‘competition’ and to be encouraged. When a group of companies try to get a good deal for everyone, it’s a cartel and to be destroyed. Hence the raids – and Esménard’s understandable conviction that “this operation is masterminded by Amazon”. At the moment, it seems that publishers are likely to lose the fight. It’s not only the law that’s against them, it’s the consumer. Publishers may see themselves fighting a noble fight against Amazon’s monopolistic evil, but consumers just see them notching up the prices. To give an example, just as all those raids were kicking off in Europe, a worldwide whinge was brewing up on a new site called Lost Book Sales . This is a place readers can go to complain if they’ve been unable to get hold of a digital edition of a book – or haven’t been able to buy it as cheaply as they’d like. Sample remark: “Too bad, so sad. You couldn’t get your shit together to let me GIVE YOU MY MONEY. Since you don’t want my money, I am going to pirate your work.” That’s 21st century morality writ large. Imagine a similar scenario involving being rude to a butcher and running off with a string of his sausages because you don’t like the prices he charges. Most of the rest of the site is similarly unpleasant; a further example of the impatient, right-here-right-now, screw-the-producer capitalism that’s so common on the internet. So far then, so yuck. But the editor of Lost Book Sales does make an important point: “The only reality we readers know is that we want to buy the book but can’t.” The customer may be unpleasant, but he or she is always right. It’s clear that publishers do need to up their game to accommodate the new demands. There’s also the fact that they’ve been pretty dreadful at digitising the backlists of their living authors, while those of dead authors are widely – and often freely – available. Publishers have to do something to win over people like those complaining on the Lost Book Sales, who, after all, represent pretty much everyone. The trouble is that Lost Book Sales ignores important realities in the book trade – such as the fact that digital editions still cost money to produce (and indeed that the physical costs of a printed book are only a small percentage of their price), that rights are hellishly complicated, and that authors fear losing out hugely if publishers start putting up their backlist digitally (since they would never go out of print and so never be able to escape their contracts). But the fact that customers have a distorted view of how much ebooks should cost is hardly the publishers’ fault. Especially since a new breed of “self-published” authors are starting to sell millions of the things at $0.99 or less on Amazon – which casts an interesting light on the recent declarations about ebooks outselling paper books. This perception that ebooks should cost next to nothing is a huge problem, especially if you’re a writer likely to sell anything under than 50,000 books a year, and hoping to have any kind of editorial support. Or if you’re a conventional publisher rather than Amazon. So when charging a reasonable price for ebooks is seen not only as unfair, but also illegal, it really starts to appear that publishers don’t have a hope. Publishing Ebooks European commission European Union Sam Jordison guardian.co.uk
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The Commons Public Accounts Committee is taking evidence from RBS chief executive Stephen Hester and outgoing Lloyds Banking Group boss Eric Daniels Top bankers will be grilled by MPs today amid continuing anger over huge bonuses and restrictions on lending to business. The Commons Public Accounts Committee is taking evidence from RBS chief executive Stephen Hester and outgoing Lloyds Banking Group boss Eric Daniels. Hester was embroiled in controversy last week when it emerged that he and a raft of other executives at the state-owned bank are entitled to millions of pounds in long-term bonus shares for 2010 – not originally revealed in its Project Merlin deal with the government. The extra £4.5m in shares, deferred until 2014 and dependent on performance targets, mean Hester is in line for a total pay package of £7.7m for last year. Daniels, meanwhile, is quitting his role with a £1.45m bonus despite criticism of his stewardship of Lloyds – which is 41% owned by the taxpayer following the credit crunch. The American previously described his £1m salary as “relatively modest”. David Cameron and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg have insisted they are watching banks carefully to ensure they honour Project Merlin commitments on boosting lending to firms. Executive pay and bonuses Stephen Hester Banking Royal Bank of Scotland Eric Daniels Project Merlin Lloyds Banking Group guardian.co.uk
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Two bodies found – one in a burning car – at Willow Park near Mildenhall in Suffolk Police are appealing for information after two men were shot dead near a caravan site. Armed officers were sent to investigate the killings near Mildenhall in Suffolk after reports of gunfire at about 10.15pm on Wednesday. Once at the scene in Willow Park, at Beck Row, they found a man dead on the ground from apparent gunshot wounds. A second body was found in a burning car. Police said the deaths were being treated as suspicious. Fire crews attended and some residents were evacuated over fears the vans’ gas tanks might explode. Crime guardian.co.uk
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Labour leader urges supporters to look beyond Nick Clegg’s broken promises and concentrate on the main issue Ed Miliband will make his strongest intervention yet in the referendum on the alternative vote (AV) when he addresses a Labour Yes rally on Wednesday, urging voters not to reduce the referendum to a verdict on Nick Clegg’s broken promises. The Labour leader will claim that AV “will restore the balance of power in favour of voters”. Following a dispute this week with Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister, over sharing a joint platform, he will call on Labour supporters to look beyond Clegg’s performance in government and instead concentrate on the substantive issue of voting reform. Miliband’s speech comes as 17 former senior ambassadors write to the Guardian expressing support for AV, rejecting the argument that first past the post produces strong government. Labour figures addressing the rally in London include Neil Kinnock, Oona King and Ken Livingstone. David Cameron, in a sign of the high stakes involved, reassured 60 Tory MPs that he is dedicating the resources necessary to ensure victory on 5 May for the No campaign. Many MPs still say the outcome is too difficult to predict and that much will depend on whether voters make their decision on the basis of the substantive question or on Clegg’s popularity. Miliband will tell the rally: “The arguments in this referendum have been framed around whether a Yes vote damages David Cameron or a No vote damages Nick Clegg. It is about something more. I want to take head-on the fear designed to appeal to Labour supporters: that a Yes vote in this referendum will be seen as a vindication of Nick Clegg. “I know this referendum is far harder to win because of Nick Clegg’s broken promises. But we can’t reduce the second referendum in British political history to a verdict on one man. “The change to the alternative vote deserves our support because it is fairer and because it encourages a better politics. “The British people know that the state of our politics is badly broken. Many see Westminster as remote and out of touch. “Politicians should never feel safe or insulated from those they represent. That’s what I want to change.” However, Miliband will admit: “Let’s be honest: AV is no panacea. It isn’t perfect, but it would help to restore the balance of power in favour of voters. “So on May 5th, ask yourselves one simple question: are you happy with the state of British politics? If the answer is no, then seize this opportunity for change.” He will also attack Clegg by saying both Labour and the Liberal Democrats had campaigned for a fully elected second chamber, adding: “I will keep that promise.” Miliband will make those remarks in the knowledge that Clegg now favours an 80% elected Lords that keeps a small appointed element. Clegg says that change is the only way to get the reform through parliament. It will be seen as a way to keep the expertise that many see as the great virtue of the Lords. The ambassadors’ letter, also signed by Sir Stephen Wall, a former British ambassador to the EU, says: “First past the post is said to deliver strong government. Having worked for governments of every political colour, we are convinced that this strength is often illusory. Genuinely strong government needs a strong parliament and a flourishing democracy. Neither is helped by a voting system that is unfair and out of date.” AV Ed Miliband Electoral reform Labour Nick Clegg Hung parliament Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
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Gunfire was widely heard throughout the capital and at least five helicopters were circling scenes of clashes, amid widespread panic on the streets below Military troops have opened a large-scale assault against hundreds of anti-government protesters occupying a landmark square in Bahrain’s capital. The focal point for Bahrain’s demonstrators was again over-run by riot police in a nationwide crackdown aimed at crushing the two month anti-government uprising. Smoke was billowing for the landmark site, known as Pearl Roundabout, and the scent of tear gas wafted through many locations in Manama. Gunfire was widely heard throughout the capital and at least five helicopters were circling scenes of clashes, amid widespread panic on the streets below. Riot police entered Manama’s Salmaniya Medical Centre for the first time since the demonstrations began and doctors reported they were being prevented from reaching the hospital and treating patients inside. The police were also preventing casualties from reaching the facility. By 8am, they had closed its main gate and stationed forces outside. This morning’s events are a significant escalation in more than eight weeks of clashes that have threatened the legitimacy of Bahrain’s monarchy and stoked sectarian tensions throughout the Gulf and Saudi Arabia. They follow the arrival of more than 1,000 troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), invited to the kingdom by its beseiged rulers. One Amoured Personnel Carrier flying a flag of the United Arab Emirates was seen by bystanders this morning amid a column of troop carriers. Two people were killed during clashes with troops on Tuesday afternoon. Demonstrators are bracing for more pitched battles today, in the wake of a state of emergency declared for the next three months by the regime. Pearl Roundabout was first attacked by riot police in mid-February, forcing demonstrators to abandon the site for three days until troops surrendered it under the orders of Bahrain’s Crown Prince. That gesture was supposed to mark a watershed in the protests and the start of a national dialogue between the Shia majority, which accounts for 70% of Bahrain’s population, and the Sunni minority which rules them. However, the dialogue faltered almost before it began, with protesters claiming they could not trust the Government and being unable to agree on their demands. For the last four weeks the roundabout in the central city had been transformed into a hub of activism, with hundreds of tents, supplied food and a media centre. It had taken on almost a folk festival feel. However, the status quo had seemed untenable in the wake of increasing nervousness within the regime about the momentum of the demonstration. Bahrain’s fresh crackdown has the support of the Gulf states who are anxious to avoid the risk that demonstrations will spread their way. However, they had angered nearby Iran, which has supported Bahrain’s Shias in the past and also drawn a rebuke from Hezbollah in Lebanon. Bahrain Protest Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
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As strife continued in Libya, and Japan dug out from an epic earthquake and tsunamis leaving one of our largest trading partners in the midst of a nuclear crisis, Barack Obama went golfing this past Saturday. Obviously clueless about the President's numerous golf outings and vacations since Inauguration Day, comedienne Wanda Sykes actually asked Jay Leno on Tuesday's “Tonight Show,” “Has Obama had one relaxing day since he's been in office?” (video follows with transcript and commentary): WANDA SYKES: I just want to know, has the President, has Obama had one relaxing day since he's been in office? Has he had, I mean, just look. Soon as he got in office, just one thing after the other, just, you know, the banks, the housing. Now he's got Boehner coming in his office crying every day. [ Crying ] [ Laughter ] SYKES: You know, it's just everything. And just like has he had one day where he could just put his feet up and go, “It's good to be me,” just – no! Not one day. And I just hope Michelle is growing some weed in that herb garden. JAY LENO, HOST: Really? I guess this brainiac missed what was all the buzz this weekend when our illustrious President decided to go golfing in the middle of a nuclear and humanitarian crisis in Japan. As ABC's Tahman Bradley reported Saturday: For the second week in a row, the most powerful man in the world stepped away from the White House to hit the golf course. Even as his administration and the U.S. military help Japan recover from a devastating earthquake, and as the world worries about Fukushima's nuclear reactor, the president could not resist taking advantage of the 48-degree weather in the Washington, D.C., area. Last fall, Obama went golfing darn near every weekend. You hear that, Wanda? “Last fall, Obama went golfing darn near every weekend.” And the first family has had its share of vacations, too. As CBS's Political Hotsheet reported last August: This is Mr. Obama's 9th vacation since taking office. As of today, he has spent all or part of 38 days on “vacation” away from the White House. He has also made 14 visits to Camp David spanning all or part of 32 days. It brings his total time away to all or part of 70 days. 70 days. As that was written on August 19, that means in his first year and a half in office, the President had 70 days to “just put his feet up and go, 'It's good to be me.'” Somehow Sykes missed them all as well as the ones that have come since – including just three days ago! Color me very unsurprised.
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The workers were ordered to leave the facility after the level of radiation at the plant soared to 10 millisievert per hour – above the level considered harmful to human health Read the latest updates in the Guardian’s live blog Workers battling to prevent nuclear meltdown at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant were temporarily evacuated on Wednesday morning after radiation levels became too dangerous for them to remain. The withdrawal hampered efforts to secure the safety at the atomic power plant and avert a major radiation leak. Its operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco] said it was considering using helicopters to spray the crippled No. 4 reactor with water and boric acid – a fire retardant – in an attempt to prevent more radiation leaks. The 50 or so engineers, working around the clock in harsh conditions, spent the morning trying to put out a fire at one reactor and to cool others at risk of overheating and reaching criticality. The government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said Japan was considering seeking help from the US military. All six of the plants reactors are experiencing problems following last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami, in which an estimated 10,000 people have died. The workers were ordered to leave the facility after the level of radiation at the plant soared to 10 millisievert per hour – above the level considered harmful to human health – possibly as a result of radioactive substances being emitted from the No. 2 reactor. The reading later fell to around 6 millisievert per hour, reports said. The evacuation followed another day of crisis at the plant, which has become the focus of the world’s attention, even as rescue workers sift through the damage caused by the tsunami along a vast stretch of Japan’s northeast coast. Earlier, officials from the nuclear and industrial safety agency said that 70% of fuel rods at the No. 1 reactor had been significantly damaged, as well as 33% of rods at the No. 2 reactor. The cores of both reactors are believed to have partially melted, Kyodo news agency said. “We don’t know the nature of the damage,” said Minoru Ohgoda, spokesman for the country’s nuclear safety agency. “It could be either melting, or there might be some holes in them.” Before they were moved to safety the workers had been trying to cool spent nuclear fuel pools at the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors, where temperatures have risen above normal levels. To compound the workers’ problems, a fire broke out at the No. 3 reactor, where a fuel storage pool has overheated and may have let off radioactive steam. Live TV footage showing a large cloud of light grey smoke rising above the plant. Edano said that there was “a possibility that the No. 3 reactor’s containment vessel is damaged”. A blaze also broke out again at the No. 4 reactor, which was already feared to be at risk of leaking radioactivity. The nuclear safety agency reported that flames and smoke were no longer visible half an hour later, but were unable to confirm that the fire had been extinguished. The No. 4 reactor is an increasing cause for concern. Tepco believes that the storage pool may be boiling, raising the possibility that exposed rods will reach criticality. “The possibility of re-criticality is not zero,” a Tepco spokesman said. Yesterday the government ordered 140,000 people living within a 30-kilometre radius of the plant to remain indoors after a spike in radiation levels. A further 70,000 residents had already been moved to safe distances. The government said it had no immediate plans to widen the evacuation zone. The crisis unfolding in Fukushima continued to raise anxiety levels in Tokyo, 150 kilometres to the south. Radiation levels in the capital was 10 times higher than normal on Tuesday evening, but posed no health hazard, the government said. The meteorological agency said winds near the power plant would blow from the northwest and out into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. The winds were expected to strengthen in the afternoon, the agency added. Japan earthquake and tsunami Japan Nuclear power Nuclear waste Natural disasters and extreme weather Justin McCurry guardian.co.uk
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