Rosneft, the state-owned Russian oil group, seeks Arctic alliance with BP rival after collapse of deal with British company The Russian oil and gas group Rosneft is ready to ditch BP and look elsewhere for an alliance with a foreign competitor following the collapse of the two companies’ proposed alliance. The Rosneft-BP deal, announced in January, would have paved the way for joint exploration of parts of the Arctic where there may be 60bn barrels of oil in an area the size of the North Sea. Its collapse is a severe blow for the British firm’s chief executive, Bob Dudley. Dudley’s move was viewed as a way for BP to ensure long term growth and revive its reputation after the explosion on its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico last year, leading to the worst oil spill in US history. The disaster off the coast of Louisiana has cost BP more than $41bn (£25bn) and has forced it to sell assets to raise $24bn. The Russian deal, which also involved a $16bn share swap between BP and Rosneft, is in tatters after Dudley failed to overcome legal opposition from AAR, a consortium of Russian billionaires that is the British company’s existing partner in the country. Rosneft refused to extend a deadline of midnight on Tuesday for the dispute to be settled. Sources close to the Moscow-based company said it was seeking an Arctic alliance with one of BP’s rivals, which include Shell, US companies ExxonMobil and Chevron, and Total of France. One of BP’s City shareholders said: “The collapse of BP’s pact with Rosneft will be a serious disappointment for Dudley as it was the only deal on the table that offered the prospect of future production on a grand scale.” Despite the breakdown of the alliance between BP and Rosneft, as well as the ending of negotiations with AAR, all three parties held out hope that an agreement could still be reached. “Talks will continue in the days ahead, and it’s possible that something can be salvaged,” said one source. A senior oil executive said: “Don’t exaggerate what has happened, I’m not sure this is the end of the story.” Rosneft’s deputy chairman Andrey Kostin was reported as saying he thought there may be scope for an accord after meetings scheduled in the days ahead. But most analysts said the agreement that had been envisaged in January appeared “dead in the water”. BP said it had tried to break the deadlock but that “a solution has not been found at this time, although talks continue”. The oligarchs behind AAR had blocked the Rosneft/BP alliance in the courts on the basis that it breached a shareholder agreement that provided for TNK-BP, the name of AAR’s joint venture with BP, to have pre-emption rights on any business opportunities in Russia. The various parties had reached an agreement that would have allowed BP and Rosneft to buy out AAR’s oligarchs, led by Mikhail Fridman, for $32bn. But Rosneft was reluctant to sign a binding agreement. For its part, AAR balked at signing an agreement to sell to BP and Rosneft unless the sale was also underpinned by a three-way oil and gas exploration alliance. A source close to the talks said: “These were complex negotiations and in the end, there wasn’t enough time to clinch an agreement.” Without a deal Rosneft decided to pull out of the pact with BP and look for new partners. Sources close to Rosneft accused the oligarchs of making “unacceptable demands”. But Fridman struck a conciliatory tone: “AAR sees significant benefit to developing co-operation with Rosneft within the framework of the TNK-BP shareholder agreement.” It is thought the AAR partners are keen to get Arctic exposure since the joint venture with BP has limited growth prospects owing to a mainly mature onshore portfolio. The failure to shore up the deal to explore the Arctic’s oil-rich Kara Sea is an embarrassing setback for Dudley. His idea was to cement BP’s move forward from the Gulf spill and show it no longer needed to rely so heavily on the United States, where it is still barred from drilling in the Gulf. Dudley, who took over from gaffe-prone Tony Hayward, had proclaimed the deal “historic” and “groundbreaking”. BP Oil Oil and gas companies Energy industry Russia Europe Richard Wachman guardian.co.uk
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Yemeni Muhammad Ali Qasim Yaqub, alias Abu Suhaib al-Makki, said to have worked directly under al-Qaida leadership Pakistani security forces arrested a senior al-Qaida operative in Karachi on Tuesday, signalling the first major move against Osama bin Laden’s network inside Pakistan since his death on 2 May. Security agencies in the port city of Karachi apprehended Muhammad Ali Qasim Yaqub, alias Abu Suhaib al-Makki, a Yemeni said to have worked directly under the al-Qaida leadership along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The army described the arrest as a “major development in unravelling the al-Qaida network operating in the region” – triggering speculation it may signal the start of a wider heave against Bin Laden’s top lieutenants. However, Makki’s seniority in al-Qaida was not immediately known. In the past both the US and Pakistan have retrospectively attributed seniority to previously unknown al-Qaida militants. Since Bin Laden’s death the US has put pressure on Pakistan to crack down on militants believed to be sheltering in Pakistan, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and the leadership of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Senator John Kerry, visiting Islamabad for the Obama administration, on Monday presented a list of demands to the Pakistani government – but refused to say what they were. US officials are frantically sorting through a treasure trove of intelligence captured from Bin Laden’s house including hundreds of computer disks. It was not immediately clear whether Makki’s arrest came from Pakistani or US intelligence. The arrest offered a glimmer of hope in another gloomy day for Pakistan-American relations. Earlier there was an exchange of fire between Nato and Pakistani forces along the Afghan border that injured two Pakistani soldiers. Two Nato helicopters opened fire on a Pakistani military post in Datta Khel, in North Waziristan, after coming under fire. Pakistan’s army condemned the incident as a “violation of Pakistan air space”. Nato said the helicopters scrambled after a Nato base came under fire from the Pakistani side of the border. al-Qaida Osama bin Laden Pakistan Yemen Global terrorism Afghanistan US foreign policy Middle East Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Justice secretary says he will consider legislation, but admits there may be quicker, less controversial ways of tackling issue A privacy law could provide judges with clearer guidance when deciding whether to grant gagging orders, the justice secretary has told the Commons. In the clearest signal yet that the government is considering legislation to resolve the controversy over superinjunctions and anonymised court orders, Ken Clarke appeared to accept the necessity of drafting a bill. But, he cautioned, the difficulty of deciding in individual cases where freedom of speech justifies publication means there will never be a simple, legal solution. Referring to the recent spate of gagging orders taken about by Premier League footballers, Clarke said he did not “necessarily need to know about the sex life of each of the players” every time he watched a match. At Commons question time, the Clarke was asked by his Labour counterpart, Sadiq Khan, to provide “clarity and guidance” to British judges. There have been complaints that the judiciary is introducing a privacy law without reference to parliament through their interpretation of the European convention on human rights in granting injunctions. The names of some of those said to have obtained privacy injunctions have this month been posted on Twitter and other social networking sites in defiance of court contempt orders. “We will consider these matters,” Clarke told MPs, “and indeed it is probably right to say that parliament passing a privacy act might well be the best way of resolving it. “But I think we need to get somewhat nearer to a consensus and one needs to know exactly how you’re trying to strike this balance before something is submitted to the judgment of parliament. “It may well be that we don’t have to wait for a long controversial process like that, we can find some other way of tackling it. We are considering this issue and we’ll come back in due course.” Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, said there was growing “public disquiet about the use of the anonymity injunction and the superinjunction – both its abuse or alleged abuse – but also the circumvention by use of, for example, Twitter. The current situation is not satisfactory.” On Friday, Lord Neuberger, the master of the rolls, will issue a report by a committee of legal experts on the use injunctions. It is expected to recommend procedural changes but not call for fresh legislation. “The government is going to have to study it,” Clarke said, “and decide whether or not there is a case for intervening. “There’ll never be unanimity on all these judgments, precisely because it is so difficult to balance the competing parts of the convention on human rights [freedom of speech and a right to privacy] and the competing interests involved.” “There have been cases where we certainly need to know, where people are disposing of waste material that they’re dumping off the coast of Africa, which is easy in one direction. “On the other, every time I watch a football team I don’t think I necessarily need to know about the sex life of each of the players.” Clarke’s comments suggest there may have been second thoughts in cabinet over the need for a privacy law. Earlier this month the prime minister, David Cameron, told Radio 4′s Today programme : “By all means let’s debate it, but I think there is still more to be done through the Press Complaints Commission.” John Whittingdale, the Conservative chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee, had earlier in Tuesday’s Commons debate warned that the courts were not doing enough to protect the freedom of the press. He asked Clarke: “Are you concerned that the very large number of injunctions that appear to be granted on a routine basis might suggest that the courts are paying insufficient regard to section 12 of the Human Rights Act, which was supposed to protect press freedom? “Given this and the huge speculation on the internet about the identities of those who have obtained injunctions, do you feel that the time is approaching when parliament might need to revisit this area?” Clarke said it was unclear whether the number of injunctions was increasing. The Ministry of Justice has said it is researching the frequency of their use. “As far as I’m aware, there have been two superinjunctions since the John Terry case but the word ‘superinjunction’ gets used very widely,” the justice secretary said. (“Superinjunction”, used correctly, refers only to those few cases where it has been illegal even to report the existence of a court order). However, Clarke said he recognised that there was mounting concern about their use. “I believe in the freedom of the press and the freedom of speech in this country, even when sometimes it’s exercised provocatively, as it’s supposed to be in a free country. But I also think there are areas of privacy where an individual is entitled to have it protected.” The Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming, who represents Birmingham Yardley, said some injunctions prevented people from passing information to the police or other regulators. He asked: “Do you believe that the law should be changed so that regulators should always have information?” Clarke replied: “That’s one of the arguments that no doubt the judge who decides whether to grant the injunction or not has in mind.” But in his judgment on a privacy case involved the Big Brother star Imogen Thomas and an anonymous footballer published on Monday, the judge, Mr Justice Eady, made it clear that legislation might not make much difference. “One can rarely arrive at the answer in any given case merely by reference to generalities,” he declared. “It must all depend upon the particular facts of the case. “It follows too that there can be no automatic priority accorded to freedom of speech. The relative importance of the competing values must be weighed by reference to the individual set of circumstances confronting the court.” •
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The UK announces the most ambitious targets on greenhouse gases of any developed country, after a week of cabinet rifts The UK is to put in place the most ambitious targets on greenhouse gases of any developed country, by halving carbon dioxide emissions by 2025, after a tumultuous week of cabinet rifts on the issue. Agreeing the targets took weeks of wrangling among ministers, but late on Tuesday afternoon the energy and climate secretary, Chris Huhne, announced to parliament that the “carbon budget” – a 50% emissions cut averaged across the years 2023 to 2027, compared with 1990 levels – would be enshrined in law. Connie Hedegaard, the European Union’s climate change chief, hailed the outcome as “very encouraging” and “an example” to other countries, which she said showed that countries could pursue economic growth while cutting emissions. “This is a recognition that to be very ambitious on public spending [cuts] does not mean you can’t be ambitious on climate change targets,” she told the Guardian. David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, the government advisory body that proposed the target, said: “This is going to deliver higher [economic] growth for the UK. It could well give us lower electricity prices in the future than our competitors.” But some businesses reacted angrily to the news, arguing that going further than other countries in cutting carbon would damage the competitiveness of British Industry. Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, the industry body for the UK’s manufacturing sector, said: “This is a bad decision for manufacturing.” Huhne – currently at the centre of claims he persuaded someone else to take speeding penalty points on his behalf – said the government would produce plans later in the year laying out ways to compensate energy-hungry businesses for any competitive disadvantage. The policies necessary to meet the new carbon targets will be set out in October. Fears that ministers would reject the Committee on Climate Change’s proposals for pollution limits in the fourth “carbon budget” had prompted an outcry from environmentalist groups . The carbon budget runs from 2023 to 2027, part of efforts to meet legally binding emissions cuts of 80% by 2050, and will put the UK on target for 60% cuts by 2030. There will be a review of the budget in 2014, under a compromise A letter leaked last week appeared to expose a row between ministers. The business secretary, Vince Cable, apparently argued for less ambitious reductions in the 2020s because the targets could limit economic growth. After the letter emerged, a coalition of environmental bodies issued a warning to the prime minister David Cameron that he risked seriously undermining his pledge to lead the “greenest government ever” if he did not back the targets. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, also seized on the evidence of internal disagreement, writing to Cameron to warn that failing to agree the budget would send “a terrible signal” to business and the rest of the world. But over the weekend Cameron was reported to have stepped in to resolve the fraught battle within the cabinet , with a decision to support the targets. Cameron said today: “In the past twelve months, we have pursued an ambitious green agenda and today, we are announcing the next, historic step. By making this commitment, we will position the UK a leading player in the global low-carbon economy, creating significant new industries and jobs.” Matthew Spencer, director of the Green Alliance, said: “The prime minister has shown real leadership. In the end, No 10 accepted that good economic analysis from the committee on climate change trumped scare mongering from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The review is an attempt to help Cable save face, but as the EU will not have decided a trajectory by 2014 its very unlikely that it will change anything. Cable should now celebrate the fact that the UK can now become the lead location for investors in low carbon infrastructure and technology, and maximise advantage for UK business.” Keith Allott, WWF-UK’s head of climate change, said: “No other country has set legally binding emission-reduction targets going into the 2020s, and so with this decision the UK is demonstrating genuine leadership on climate change. The Climate Change Act remains a groundbreaking piece of legislation that, with support, will underpin the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy.” But he said the Committee on Climate Change had made clear that the proposed fourth carbon budget was the “absolute minimum” necessary. He added: “The unwillingness of government to accept this recommendation suggests that some Whitehall departments are more committed to action than others.” Katja Hall, director of policy at the CBI, which represents UK business, said: “We support a 50% emissions reduction target by 2025, but we won’t achieve this unless the government gets the short-term policies right. With the green economy potentially bringing in £200bn of investment into the UK’s energy sector alone, we need policies that will foster growth by decarbonising our energy supply, increase energy efficiency and support the competitiveness of our manufacturing base. Ultimately, it is the success of measures such as the green investment bank, electricity market reform and the green deal that will decide whether we meet ambitious emissions targets.” Carbon emissions Green politics Chris Huhne Climate change Fiona Harvey Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Six months after his case attracted worldwide attention, “Berlin Patient” Timothy Ray Brown appears to still be the first person ever to have been cured of HIV. The virus was eliminated from Brown’s body after he received a bone marrow stem cell transplant while being treated for leukemia. “I’m cured…
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Staff stoic in face of deficit-busting ‘caffeine cuts’ at Whitehall headquarters to save £0.5m a year It has lost warships and aircraft over recent months, and is poised to axe thousands of soldiers, sailors and civilian staff. Now yet more indignity has befallen the Ministry of Defence, where cost-cutting is biting deep. Defying Napoleon’s maxim that an army marches on its stomach, the department has got rid of most of the coffee and food vending machines from its Whitehall headquarters, leaving staff with a yomp across the building to those that remain, or a time-consuming (and costly) trip to one of the cafes along the Embankment. Withdrawal of the machines has hardly lifted the mood within the MoD, which is having to juggle fighting conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya, as well as the redundancy programmes for all three services, without the reviving qualities of easy access to caffeine, chocolate and crisps. “It will be the loo roll next,” said one MoD insider, who said that queues were now common around the few machines that survived the cull. In the grand scheme of things, staff recognise the disappearance of the machines is hardly significant, but it does underline the parlous state of the MoD’s finances, which came under renewed scrutiny this week when it emerged the department may have to announce further cuts in personnel and equipment unless it can find ways of curbing spending. Hard choices may have to be made over the summer when findings of the three-month study are expected. A complete withdrawal of machine-made cappuccinos and cafe lattes is now feared, a possibility that will make late-night military planning even more arduous than before. “You only miss these things when they are gone,” said the worker. “I’ve thought about bringing in a flask but that might look a bit desperate. It hasn’t got to that stage yet.” Unions say morale within the building can be judged by the number of civilian staff who applied for voluntary redundancy this year – 16,000, four times greater than the number the department can pay for in this year’s programme. But military types are not the sort to moan, and most are stoic about the “caffeine cuts”, with at least one general reporting a significant and pleasing drop in weight since the crisp machine disappeared. The MoD admitted the contract for vending machines had been changed and that it was part of a cost-cutting exercise. “As part of a package of measures to reduce the costs of catering provision in the MoD head office, the number of vending machines has been radically reduced,” said a spokesman. “Overall savings are in the order of £0.5m per annum.” Public sector cuts Civil service Defence policy Military Public services policy Public finance Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk
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Monarch’s tour of Dublin takes in Garden of Remembrance as huge security operation surrounds historic trip The Queen has laid a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin to commemorate fallen Irish republicans, during a royal visit to Ireland. The visit came as Republican dissident attempts to disrupt day one of the historic visit appeared to have been thwarted. Two separate demonstrations against the Queen’s presence at the Garden of Remembrance failed to breach Garda lines. A huge security operation kept up to 200 republican protesters split between locations away from the royal entourage. Apart from a few missiles hurled at the gardai near the Rotunda maternity hospital in Parnell Square, there was little disorder as the Queen laid a wreath at the memorial. The radical republican group Eirigi could only muster around 150 demonstrators at the southern end of Parnell Square. At the northern end of the square close to the Garden only 60 protestors turned up to a Republican Sinn Féinrally, the party linked to the terror group the Continuity IRA. Ruarai O’Bradaigh, a former IRA chief of staff and founder of the hard-line RSF, denied that the turnout was a setback for the dissidents opposed to the Queen’s visit. “Whatever the turn-out the problem in Ireland has not gone away, namely the British presence in the north of our country. Resistance to that presence just like the presence of the English Queen will continue,” he said. But most ordinary Dubliners appeared to be either in favour of the royal visit or at least indifference to the arrival of the first British monarch since 1911. Watching the the RSF demonstration was Donal Lynch from the north inner city. Standing outside a branch of Paddy Power’s bookmakers on Dorset Street which has been renamed “O’Bama Powers” for the forthcoming US Presidential visit, Lynch was unimpressed by the protest. “There were more people at mass in my local church this morning,” he said. “As for them complaining about the €30m (£26m) cost of the visit they are the reason why it’ s so high. If it wasn’t for their threats to the Queen the cost of her coming would be much lower. Most Dubliners don’t here being here.” His views were echoed by Co Mayo-born nurse Elaine Peden, who works at Dublin’s Mater hospital. “I have no problem with the Queen’s visit to Ireland as I worked in the UK myself in nursing for eight years and was very happy to do my training there. I had so much available to me and we had wonderful courses so I can’t condemn her for coming here given that I got so much out of the UK.” At the other end of Parnell Square, which had been blocked off to the public, the Eirigi demonstration ended as one the Queen’s cavalcade left the Gardens without any serious outbreak of violence. One of Eirigi’s founders and ex-Sinn Fein member Brian Lesson praised the demonstrators as “brilliant” for not allowing the protest to turn violent. A few plastic bottles and sticks were thrown at gardai on mounted horseback but there was no attempt to break through the security cordon erected around every side of the square. However the 150-strong protest was equalled by knots of tourists taking pictures of the security operation in central Dublin along with small groups of the city’s drug addicts who normally use the Garden of Remembrance as a “shooting gallery” to inject heroin. Observing the Eirigi protest was Irish novelist Sean O’Reilly, a native of Derry’s Bogside now living in Dublin. He described the relatively peaceful nature of the protest as “the end of something”. O’Reilly added: “I think there is more dissent on the streets than the media are allowing on the airwaves but it is not a great turnout in terms of protest. I do have a problem with the Queen’s Garden of Remembrance even if she is very welcome in this country. “There is more to be done and said before I can embrace her laying a wreath in the Garden of Remembrance. As for the security operation it’s absolutely enormous but I don’t know what they are expecting – there appears to be little or no opposition on the streets. Maybe the Garda are just training for Obama really.” The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the huge protective bubble around them have now moved onto Trinity College Dublin, where the royal couple will be shown the ancient Celtic “Book of Kells”, their last major engagement on the first day of this historic trip to the Irish Republic. Monarchy Ireland Sinn Féin Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
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• AP revelation fuels claims al-Qaida chief was illegally executed • New account sheds light on sequence of US raid in Abbottabad • Report comes amid news of clash between Nato and Pakistan The American soldiers who killed Osama bin Laden found his two guns only after he was dead, while they photographed his remains, according to a detailed new account of the al-Qaida leader’s final moments. The Associated Press revelation will add further fuel for critics who say US forces acted illegally in killing the unarmed Saudi fugitive. The Obama administration insists the shooting was lawful. Meanwhile, US relations with Pakistan, already at their lowest point in a decade, have found a fresh point of friction following an exchange of fire between Nato and Pakistani forces along the Afghan border. Two Pakistani soldiers were injured after opening fire on two Nato helicopters that crossed into Datta Khel, North Waziristan. Pakistan’s military, already livid over the Bin Laden raid, condemned the incident as a “violation of Pakistan air space” and lodged a “strong protest”. A Nato spokesman in Kabul said the shooting started after a Nato base came under fire from the Pakistani side of the border. The AP account, based on interviews with senior US officials, resolves some subsidiary mysteries about the size and sequencing of the dramatic US Navy Seal raid that ended the world’s largest manhunt on 2 May. But it also throws up fresh questions about how Pakistan’s air defence systems failed to stop the American forces entering – or leaving. The US raiding party slipped into Pakistan on five helicopters – two stealth Black Hawks carrying 23 Navy Seals, an interpreter and a sniffer dog named Cairo, and three Chinooks carrying 24 backup soldiers that landed in a remote mountain area north of Abbottabad, the garrison town where Bin Laden was hiding. In recent days, two Pakistani television channels have identified the mountain area as Khala Dhaka, a semi-autonomous tribal area, interviewing villagers who saw the US craft landing and taking off. The Black Hawks that swooped on Bin Laden’s compound were equipped with special technology to muffle the tail rotor and engine noise, the AP reported. Some experts have speculated it was also equipped with a special skin to fool radar. The soldiers planned to swoop on Bin Laden’s house from three sides: sliding down ropes onto the roof, the compound and outside the wall. But the first Black Hawk swayed erratically as it hovered over the compound owing to higher than expected temperatures and crashed against a wall, irreparably damaging its tail. The pilot ditched the plane in Bin Laden’s yard and the entire raiding party entered from the ground floor, using small explosives to blow their way through walls and doors. The AP reported that the Americans found “barriers” at each stair landing of the three-storey building, encountered fire once and killed three men and one woman. The account did not specify how many of the dead were armed. After 15 minutes the Seals, passing huddles of frightened children, reached the top floor where they found Bin Laden at the end of the hallway. They said they recognised him “immediately”. Bin Laden ducked into a room, followed quickly by three Seals. The first soldier pushed aside two women who tried to protect Bin Laden, apparently fearing they were wearing suicide vests, while the second opened fire on the al-Qaida leader, hitting him in the head and chest. Moments later, as the Americans photographed his body, they found an AK-47 rifle and a Makarov pistol on a shelf beside the door they had just entered. Bin Laden had not touched the weapons, according to the AP account. Just over 20 minutes later a Chinook helicopter arrived to collect Bin Laden’s body, a trove of computer disks, and the soldiers whose helicopter had crashed, now destroyed except for the rear rotor and tail. Controversy over the manner of Bin Laden’s death has dogged the White House since 2 May, especially after early claims that Bin Laden had been armed and used one of his wives as a human shield proved to be false. The only witnesses who could contradict the American account are Bin Laden’s three wives and children, who are currently in Pakistani custody. After much pressure from Washington, US officials were allowed to briefly speak with them last week. The women reportedly refused to answer questions and Pakistan says they will be repatriated to their native Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is not clear when this will happen. The AP also reported that there had been four previous special forces incursions into Pakistan, echoing a December 2009 report in the Guardian . A senior Nato official said two of the clandestine raids targeted “high-value targets”, while a third was to recover a crashed Predator drone. The account comes a day after a visit by Senator John Kerry, who was in the capital, Islamabad, yesterday to try and “reset” the fragile alliance, claiming that Pakistan was not informed in advance for operational reasons and not due to any distrust of the Pakistanis. A similar issue has arisen from the Bin Laden raid. Kerry, after intensive meetings with Pakistani military chiefs, said he had secured a promise that the rear rotor of the Black Hawk would be returned to US custody, amid US fears it would be passed to China and reverse-engineered. Pakistan’s leadership has moved closer to its decades-old ally China. The prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, today embarked on a four-day visit to China, a country he pointedly described as “our best and most trusted friend”. Osama bin Laden al-Qaida Global terrorism Pakistan Nato US national security United States US foreign policy Barack Obama John Kerry Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Proposals for a trimmed second chamber with 80% of seats elected by PR in draft bill attacked by Labour Nick Clegg has unveiled sweeping plans for elected members to take seats in a reformed House of Lords in the next parliament The deputy prime minister announced proposals for a cut-down second chamber, with 80% of its 300 members elected by proportional representation. Labour attacked the plan, contained in a draft bill, and argued the Liberal Democrat leader should have stuck to his party’s commitment to a wholly-elected upper House of Parliament. Clegg was mocked by both Tory and Labour MPs as he gave a statement in the Commons on the proposals. The government has published a draft bill setting out plans for an 80% elected upper house but also a White Paper containing a range of options including the election of 100% of its members. The deputy prime minister said: “Personally I have always supported 100% elected, but the key thing is not to make the best the enemy of the good. “That approach has stymied Lords’ reform for too long. Surely, at the end of the day, we can all agree that 80% is better than 0%.” Setting out the proposals he told MPs: “The bill makes provision for 80% of members to be elected with the remaining 20% appointed independently. “The 60 appointed members would sit as cross-benchers, not as representatives of political parties. In addition, bishops of the Church of England would continue to sit in the other place, reduced in number from 26 to 12. “The white paper includes the case for 100% elected. “The 80/20 split is the more complicated option, and so has been put into the draft bill in order to illustrate it in legislative terms. “The 100% option would be easy to substitute into the draft bill should that be where we end up.” The draft bill and white paper will be scrutinised by a committee of 13 peers and 13 MPs, with a report due early next year. “The prime minister and I are clear: we want the first elections to the reformed upper chamber to take place in 2015. “But, while we know what we want to achieve, we are open minded about how we get there. Clearly our fixed goal is greater democratic legitimacy for the other place but we will be pragmatic in order to achieve it.” Under the government’s plan members of the second chamber would serve a single term of three parliaments – up to 15 years. Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan was greeted with cheers from Tory backbenchers as he said Lords reform was not a priority for many voters, a sign that not all in the coalition share Clegg’s passion for the subject. Khan added: “These proposals risk being a dog’s dinner with nobody happy at the outcome, not even the Lib Dem activists he is trying to appease.” Clegg said the proposals “represent evolution, not revolution” and follow decades of wrangling over Lords reform. He said the choice of 300 members was “the number we judge to be right” but the government was “open to alternative views”. Under the plan elections would be staggered, with a third of the chamber’s members elected or appointed at each general election. “That is to prevent the other place from becoming a mirror image of this House,” Clegg said. The draft bill proposes the single transferable vote (STV) form of proportional representation (PR) to elect the members, but Clegg said the government was open to other forms of PR. “The coalition agreement specifies only that the system must be proportional, and what is most important is that it is different from whatever we use in the Commons. “That is so the two chambers have distinct mandates; one should not seek to emulate the other.” Under STV, “votes are cast for individuals rather than parties, putting the emphasis on the expertise and experience candidates offer, rather than the colour of the rosette they wear”. This would help give greater independence from party control, Clegg said. But as others preferred a party list system, the government was “willing to have this debate”, the deputy prime minister added. Critics of reform believe giving the second chamber a democratic mandate could increase tensions between the two Houses. Clegg said: “The Commons will retain ultimate say over legislation through the parliament acts. “It will continue to have a decisive right over the vote of supply. In order for a government to remain in office, it will still need to secure the confidence of MPs. “The other place will continue to be a revising chamber, providing scrutiny and expertise. “Its size, electoral cycle, voting system, and terms will all help keep it distinct from the Commons – a place that remains one step removed from the day-to-day party politics that, quite rightly, animates this House. “What will be different is that our second chamber will finally have a democratic mandate. It will be much more accountable as a result.” The transition would be phased in over three electoral cycles, he said. Clegg told MPs: “History teaches us that completing the unfinished business of Lords reform is not without challenges. “Our proposals are careful and are balanced. They represent evolution, not revolution, a typically British change.” Clegg was flanked by David Cameron as he gave his statement to the Commons. Khan joked the deputy prime minister “must feel like the manager of West Ham going to see his chairman” following the team’s relegation at the weekend. The Labour frontbencher said: “I agree that our politics and constitution are in need of reform. “Like (Clegg’s) party, Labour had a manifesto commitment to create a fully-elected second chamber.” He continued: “Let’s be frank, Lords reform is not near the top of any of our constituents’ priorities.” As Tory MPs voiced their approval, Khan said: “I’m grateful for the support – I’m not sure (Clegg) is.” He poured scorn on Clegg’s insistence that he favoured a wholly-elected chamber. “He says he supports a fully-elected second chamber and yet he unveils a bill today that leaves at least 20% appointed, plus bishops, plus ministers appointed by the prime minister.” The joint committee examining the bill would have a government majority “so the idea of them overturning anything of substance in this bill by next year is unrealistic”. Khan added: “After 12 months in office he has nothing new to say on Lords reform, simply putting out proposals that kick the issue into the long grass.” He told MPs: “The deputy prime minister has confirmed, by the publication of this bill, just how irrelevant he and his party are in this coalition government.” Following the overwhelming rejection of the alternative vote, Khan asked whether PR would be imposed without a referendum. He also questioned whether Clegg would use the parliament act to force his legislation through even if peers opposed it. Electoral reform House of Lords Nick Clegg House of Commons Liberal Democrats Labour guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Accused sex attacker Dominique Strauss-Kahn shrugged of rumors about his relationship with women in a recent interview—and predicted a rape accusation in his future. “Yes, I love women … so what?” the IMF boss asked LIberation just last month after the thrice-divorced dad was quizzed about the women in his…
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