Arsenal are very unlikely to win the Premier League this season, but this victory reinvigorates the contest for the title. Chelsea now stand only three points behind Manchester United and go to Old Trafford next weekend. The victors won with a goal from Aaron Ramsey, whose career has been disrupted by injury, but may have quaked near the end when Gaël Clichy’s studs made contact with the calf of the substitute Michael Owen. The referee Chris Foy took no action and was at least consistent here in his scepticism towards such appeals. Arsenal had their first win over these rivals in two years. It was a windy afternoon and other factors also made it difficult for players to show poise. United, as visitors, were naturally combative, with Anderson making his presence felt at the core of midfield. Arsenal, all the same, ought still to have been given the opportunity to open the scoring 12 minutes from the interval. Nemanja Vidic had his arm extended and made contact with a cross from Theo Walcott, but Foy took no action. The official was giving a minimalist performance and had declined to award a free-kick earlier when Vidic seemed to foul Jack Wilshere near the penalty area. Despite such incidents, the visitors usually looked sound. It was a hindrance to Arsenal that Cesc Fábregas missed the fixture with a thigh strain and Samir Nasri did not last beyond the interval because of a hamstring problem. Nonetheless, it was United who suffered. Sir Alex Ferguson must have anticipated taking command as they have done in the past at the Emirates and the Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny did make a good save from a Wayne Rooney free-kick soon after the interval. Even so, the opposition were beginning to impose a pattern in their build-up and took the lead after 56 minutes. Ramsey slipped a low ball from Wilshere into the corner of the net. This was merely a second start of the Arsenal league campaign for the scorer, who has also been on loan to Cardiff as he tries to re-establish his career following a broken leg. United, however, could be excused for lacking any glow of benevolence as they fell behind. Prior to the goal, the visitors had brought on Antonio Valencia, as if they expected to be on the attack. With Arsenal in front, adventure was obligatory but Arsène Wenger’s men coped well enough, with Szczesny blocking a shot from an angle by Nani. For the moment at least, there is an obstacle, too, in United’s path to the title. Premier League Arsenal Manchester United Kevin McCarra guardian.co.uk
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From Moscow to Manila, workers marched to demand better rights, but in Oxford, 18,000 turned out to hear hymns at dawn While most of Britain was still sleeping off its national royal wedding hangover – notwithstanding the 18,000 bleary-eyed people who managed to stagger out on to the streets of Oxford at dawn – traditional May Day celebrations, rallies and protests were held around the world. One of the biggest turnouts was in Istanbul, where an estimated 200,000 people marched to demand better rights and wages for Turkish workers. It was the largest workers’ rally to be held in the central Taksim Square since 34 people died in a stampede in 1977. Trade unions were barred from holding May Day rallies in the square until last year. In South Korea, police said 50,000 joined a rally in Seoul, demanding government measures against inflation and rising food prices. In Moscow, supporters of the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and trade union members rallied, with marchers carrying banners calling for “dignified work” – though the speeches by city and trade union leaders were greeted by an egg thrown from the crowd. It missed the dignitaries and splattered harmlessly on the stage. In a scene to bring tears of nostalgia to a traditionalist’s eyes, around 3,000 Communist party members marched past the Kremlin, brandishing red flags and carrying portraits of Lenin and Stalin. Workers also marched in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and in Manila in the Philippines, where an effigy of President Benigno Aquino III – complete with his luxury car, a second-hand Porsche that he was bitterly criticised for buying this year – was burned. Some marchers headed towards the presidential palace, but found their way barred by barbed wire and armed riot police. Aquino had earlier held a breakfast meeting at the palace with more moderate labour leaders. In Britain, Brighton got its May Day celebrations in early, with an anti-capitalist rally on Saturday afternoon which the organisers claimed brought together members of “Brighton Anarchist Black Cross, Smash EDO , Squatter Networks of Brighton and Brighton Hunt Saboteurs”, to “stand up for workers’ rights and resist oppression”. There were eight arrests, among around 200 demonstrators. Oxford has held May Day celebrations since at least the 17th century, with choristers in the tower of Magdalen College singing to greet the dawn. In previous years revellers have jumped from the nearby bridge into the river, leading to so many injuries that police closed it off for several years. The bridge was open again this year but the water level was so low, after months of drought, that only a few hardy souls went in, swimming from the bank instead. In an echo of the Puritans abolishing Christmas, the government has threatened to abolish May Day entirely, replacing it with a new autumn bank holiday. Morris dancers, Jacks in the Green and hobby horses gnashed their coconuts and tinkled their bells in protest over the proposal outside parliament last month. May Day Protest Turkey South Korea Russia Philippines Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …From Moscow to Manila, workers marched to demand better rights, but in Oxford, 18,000 turned out to hear hymns at dawn While most of Britain was still sleeping off its national royal wedding hangover – notwithstanding the 18,000 bleary-eyed people who managed to stagger out on to the streets of Oxford at dawn – traditional May Day celebrations, rallies and protests were held around the world. One of the biggest turnouts was in Istanbul, where an estimated 200,000 people marched to demand better rights and wages for Turkish workers. It was the largest workers’ rally to be held in the central Taksim Square since 34 people died in a stampede in 1977. Trade unions were barred from holding May Day rallies in the square until last year. In South Korea, police said 50,000 joined a rally in Seoul, demanding government measures against inflation and rising food prices. In Moscow, supporters of the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and trade union members rallied, with marchers carrying banners calling for “dignified work” – though the speeches by city and trade union leaders were greeted by an egg thrown from the crowd. It missed the dignitaries and splattered harmlessly on the stage. In a scene to bring tears of nostalgia to a traditionalist’s eyes, around 3,000 Communist party members marched past the Kremlin, brandishing red flags and carrying portraits of Lenin and Stalin. Workers also marched in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and in Manila in the Philippines, where an effigy of President Benigno Aquino III – complete with his luxury car, a second-hand Porsche that he was bitterly criticised for buying this year – was burned. Some marchers headed towards the presidential palace, but found their way barred by barbed wire and armed riot police. Aquino had earlier held a breakfast meeting at the palace with more moderate labour leaders. In Britain, Brighton got its May Day celebrations in early, with an anti-capitalist rally on Saturday afternoon which the organisers claimed brought together members of “Brighton Anarchist Black Cross, Smash EDO , Squatter Networks of Brighton and Brighton Hunt Saboteurs”, to “stand up for workers’ rights and resist oppression”. There were eight arrests, among around 200 demonstrators. Oxford has held May Day celebrations since at least the 17th century, with choristers in the tower of Magdalen College singing to greet the dawn. In previous years revellers have jumped from the nearby bridge into the river, leading to so many injuries that police closed it off for several years. The bridge was open again this year but the water level was so low, after months of drought, that only a few hardy souls went in, swimming from the bank instead. In an echo of the Puritans abolishing Christmas, the government has threatened to abolish May Day entirely, replacing it with a new autumn bank holiday. Morris dancers, Jacks in the Green and hobby horses gnashed their coconuts and tinkled their bells in protest over the proposal outside parliament last month. May Day Protest Turkey South Korea Russia Philippines Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk
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UK orders expulsion of Omar Jelban in retaliation for British embassy attack by pro-Gaddafi crowd in Tripoli Britain has ordered the expulsion of the Libyan ambassador to London, Omar Jelban, in retaliation for an attack on the British embassy by a pro-Gaddafi crowd in Tripoli. Jelban has been given 24 hours to leave the country. “I condemn the attacks on the British embassy premises in Tripoli as well as the diplomatic missions of other countries,” said the foreign secretary, William Hague. “The Vienna convention requires the Gaddafi regime to protect diplomatic missions in Tripoli. By failing to do so that regime has once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations. I take the failure to protect such premises very seriously indeed.” The statement went on: “As a result, I have taken the decision to expel the Libyan ambassador. He is persona non grata pursuant to article 9 of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and has 24 hours to leave the country.” According to Foreign Office sources, the building housing both the British embassy residence and its chancellery was burned down by a mob early on Sunday. The attacks on the British and other western embassies followed the Nato missile strike on one of Muammar Gaddafi’s villas , which the Libyan government says killed his youngest son, Saif al-Arab. The Gaddafi regime appears to have mounted a symbolic attack on empty diplomatic residences and embassies in Tripoli. There are no British diplomats in the Libyan capital. Other foreign residences were also targeted, as the UN announced it was taking all its remaining international staff out of Tripoli. The Italian foreign ministry said its embassy and several others in Tripoli were damaged by vandals and accused the Gaddafi regime of failing to take measures to protect foreign missions. The ministry issued a statement on Sunday following reports from Tripoli that a fire had broken out at the Italian embassy. A witness told Reuters news agency: “I am across the road from the Italian embassy. I can see smoke still coming out of the embassy. It was on fire. There is no one there now, just a security car to stop other people coming.” Some reports suggest that the buildings were attacked by mobs. Foreign correspondents in Tripoli have been unable to visit the sites to confirm the reports. Most of the diplomats pulled out of Tripoli when the Nato no-fly zone was imposed. The UK is maintaining a diplomatic presence in Benghazi, the rebel-held city in the east of the country. Libya Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Julian Borger Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …UK orders expulsion of Omar Jelban in retaliation for British embassy attack by pro-Gaddafi crowd in Tripoli Britain has ordered the expulsion of the Libyan ambassador to London, Omar Jelban, in retaliation for an attack on the British embassy by a pro-Gaddafi crowd in Tripoli. Jelban has been given 24 hours to leave the country. “I condemn the attacks on the British embassy premises in Tripoli as well as the diplomatic missions of other countries,” said the foreign secretary, William Hague. “The Vienna convention requires the Gaddafi regime to protect diplomatic missions in Tripoli. By failing to do so that regime has once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations. I take the failure to protect such premises very seriously indeed.” The statement went on: “As a result, I have taken the decision to expel the Libyan ambassador. He is persona non grata pursuant to article 9 of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and has 24 hours to leave the country.” According to Foreign Office sources, the building housing both the British embassy residence and its chancellery was burned down by a mob early on Sunday. The attacks on the British and other western embassies followed the Nato missile strike on one of Muammar Gaddafi’s villas , which the Libyan government says killed his youngest son, Saif al-Arab. The Gaddafi regime appears to have mounted a symbolic attack on empty diplomatic residences and embassies in Tripoli. There are no British diplomats in the Libyan capital. Other foreign residences were also targeted, as the UN announced it was taking all its remaining international staff out of Tripoli. The Italian foreign ministry said its embassy and several others in Tripoli were damaged by vandals and accused the Gaddafi regime of failing to take measures to protect foreign missions. The ministry issued a statement on Sunday following reports from Tripoli that a fire had broken out at the Italian embassy. A witness told Reuters news agency: “I am across the road from the Italian embassy. I can see smoke still coming out of the embassy. It was on fire. There is no one there now, just a security car to stop other people coming.” Some reports suggest that the buildings were attacked by mobs. Foreign correspondents in Tripoli have been unable to visit the sites to confirm the reports. Most of the diplomats pulled out of Tripoli when the Nato no-fly zone was imposed. The UK is maintaining a diplomatic presence in Benghazi, the rebel-held city in the east of the country. Libya Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Julian Borger Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk
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Agreement with opposition to end months of protests looks in tatters as Ali Abdullah Saleh postpones signing ceremony A deal to end three months of anti-government protests in Yemen appears to be on the brink of collapse after the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, refused to sign it, plunging the Arab state into further turmoil. The pact, brokered by the Gulf Co-operation Council , would have made Saleh, who has been in power for 33 years, the third ruler to be thrown out in the Arab spring. Yemen’s political opposition, furious over the last-minute change of heart, said it may now step up pressure on the international community to intervene. “We are studying the options of escalations and waiting for a US-European stance on Saleh’s refusal to sign,” a senior opposition leader told Reuters. A Gulf source said the opposition’s formal signing ceremony in Riyadh on Sunday would now not take place after Saleh’s own ceremony on Saturday was postponed. The source did not say whether or when it might be rescheduled. Arab foreign ministers were due to discuss the crisis in Riyadh, but Yemen’s opposition said it would now not join the talks, saying there was no reason to attend. Gulf Co-operation Council mediators told Yemen’s opposition Saleh would sign the deal – but only as leader of his party, and not in his capacity as president. The GCC secretary-general, who was in Sanaa for the signing, left Yemen without securing Saleh’s signature. A deal, if it is brought back on the table, would see Saleh appoint a prime minister from the opposition to head a transitional government, which would set a presidential vote for 60 days after he leaves. It would also grant immunity from prosecution to Saleh, his family and aides. Yemen’s opposition said it still hoped Gulf states would extract Saleh’s signature through negotiation, since both Saleh and the opposition, which includes Islamists and leftists, had agreed the deal in principle. “The matter is now with the Gulf states. If they are able to persuade Saleh, that would be good,” Mohammed Basindwa, an opposition figure tipped as a possible interim prime minister, said late on Saturday. The US and neighbouring Saudi Arabia want the Yemen standoff resolved to avert chaos that could make a Yemeni wing of al-Qaida a greater threat to the region. Protesters say they will stay on the streets until Saleh leaves. They also called for him to be put on trial for corruption and the deaths of an estimated 144 protesters. In further violence, gunmen launched attacks with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire on Sunday against a government building in the southern province of Abyan, killing three soldiers guarding the site and wounding four others, according to a local official who blamed the attack on al-Qaida. Yemen Middle East Protest guardian.co.uk
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• Hit F5 for the latest or select our auto-refresh button below • Stats centre: the latest Premier League table and more • Email your thoughts to gregg.roughley@guardian.co.uk 7 min: Nasri works the ball out to Clichy on the overlap on the left. He charges up to the edge of the box and curls a delicious ball around Vidic to Walcott who has bust a gut to get ahead of the defender but pokes the ball over the bar from eight yards on the stretch. It was a half-chance but difficult given that he was under pressure. Again, positive from Arsenal. 5 min: Arsenal have started the match full of confidence. They look comfortable on the ball and seem content to keep possession and up the pace when necessary. 4 min: Wilshere drags a shot wide 15 yards from goal after a cock-up from Vidic. Some lovely interplay between himself, Van Persie and Song preceded a cross being played in by Walcott who drilled it in to the six-yard box with pace. Ferdinand cleared straight at Vidic, who panicked and poked the ball to Wilshere, but the youngster dragged his left-footer wide under pressure. 1 min: Peep! Chris Foy gets us underway. Arsenal are shooting from left to right on my telly. Arsenal in white, United in black, so paint a picture in your mind if you like. 2.04pm: “The Royal wedding’s not entirely joyless from me, I genuinely have no interest whatsoever, I assume he wasn’t left at the altar. The two parts to weigh up were cost to the country V day off work. I don’t know the former, the latter was pleasant,” says Duncan Smith. I was in work Duncan so it was unpleasant as it was bouncing around the office like a disruptive, annoying posh person. 2.02pm: The teams are out so I’m watching some god awful BMW advert so can’t tell you about the atmosphere or any of the scene-setting business. It’s sunny in north London, I can tell you that though. Kings Cross and it’s array of dirty pavements and ‘special’ bookshops almost looks ‘nice’ today. 1.59pm: A Manchester United fan writes: “The strength of this MU side is the teamwork not the individuals, so it’s harsh and unfair to compare them. This has never stopped me before, so: SAF’s two greatest sides are the 1994 double side and the 1999 treble side. Only Ferdinand, Vidic, and Evra would get into the 1994 side (and Evra only gets in by moving Irwin to RB) for Pallister, Bruce, and Parker. Only Vidic and Rooney would get into the 1999 side (for Johnson and Cole). Only Vidic would be considered for a “SAF-era-best-of” team: Schmeichel, Irwin, Vidic, Stam, GNeville, Giggs 1994, Scholes 1999, Keane, Kanchelskis, Cantona, Hughes. Having said all that I’m very impressed with the achievement of the 2011 MU team up to now.” David Acaster really didn’t need to put the G in front of Neville. 1.57pm: A couple of final scores for you: Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle. Liverpool go fifth. Birmingham 1-1 Wolves. So Wolves move two points clear of West Ham who are bottom and play Man City later on. 1.56pm: My prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United 1.54pm: Ferguson has just explained that Ryan Giggs has flu so that’s why he’s missing. And the reason he’s playing Nani instead of Valencia is that he feels Nani always does well against Arsenal. Wenger pretty much admitted that Arsenal are playing for pride and to make sure they don’t miss out on Champions League football. 1.50pm: It would be nice if there was a goal like this today … 1.49pm: That Royal wedding was a joyless occasion wasn’t it? 1.43pm: A question for United fans. If United win the league (they need two wins from four), where does this team rate against the other title-winning teams? It’s almost a cliché to suggest that they haven’t been great and that the Premier League has been poor this season, but have they been that much poorer than Ferguson’s other Premier League-winning teams? I think they have, by the way, but that says a lot about how good Ferguson is as a manager. Particularly the way he fostered that embattled spirit after going off on one about Martin Atkinson … Arsenal’s midfield still looks pretty strong, mind: Song, Wilshere and Ramsey will be a match for Carrick and Anderson. There’ll be a lot of pressure on Ramsey to try and step up and be the more offensive of the three. United are a strange breed … Ferguson’s midfield has been chopped and changed all season and yet still he has got results. Preamble Afternoon. Forget signing goalkeepers who can catch, defenders who can defend or an experienced snarler in the middle of the park, what Arsenal need to do more than anything else is reduce the size of the Emirates pitch. At Highbury, Arsène Wenger’s teams were often so devastating because they were technically more able than their opponents at keeping possession in tight situations and pinging passes around dazzled opponents as though playing five-a-side. The bigger playing surface at the Emirates levels things in my opinion, as beautiful as Arsenal’s play can often be on it. They won’t have Cesc Fábregas pinging passes anywhere today, mind. He picked up an injury in training yesterday, apparently, so it’ll be a midfield of Song, Wilshere and Ramsey, who will likely play in Fábregas’s position. Arsenal team: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Walcott, Ramsey, Nasri, Van Persie. Subs: Lehmann, Squillaci, Arshavin, Eboué, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner. Manchester United team: Van der Sar; Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Fabio; Park, Carrick, Anderson, Nani; Rooney, Chicharito. Subs: Kuszczak, Owen, Berbatov, Smalling, Rafael Da Silva, O’Shea, Valencia. Referee: Chris Foy I’ll have a bit more squad news shortly. Gregg will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Arsène Wenger on the hectic fortnight in which Arsenal’s season combusted : Wenger, whose team go into their match against Manchester United nine points adrift of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, believes his players were victims of the schedule, and “must not be ashamed” of the way their season collapsed. Asked if the form of Wayne Rooney has been pivotal in United moving clear at the top, Wenger said: “Maybe, but nothing has turned for us. Manchester United played Marseille [on 15 March] while we played Barcelona [a week earlier] at a very difficult time. “Then we went to Manchester United in the FA Cup and had the Carling Cup the week before Barcelona. It turned against us in the Carling Cup and the Champions League. This team gave a lot but the circumstances were not favourable.” Wenger denied that this has been his toughest season at Arsenal. “It is certainly the year when I have worked the hardest,” he said. “But every year has been tough. Over the last five years this has been the highest quality we have produced: we have nothing to be ashamed of our about performance. “We have not lost against a low-level team. In the FA Cup we lost away to Manchester United just four days after playing in Barcelona. So I give this team a lot of credit. We have battled on all fronts and produced quality. We just couldn’t finish the job.” Premier League Arsenal Manchester United Gregg Roughley guardian.co.uk
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Firefighters battle blaze at industrial estate in Huddersfield A fire has ripped through an Oxfam warehouse in Huddersfield, destroying thousands of items of clothing. Scores of firefighters battled the blaze, which broke out at an industrial estate on Saturday. West Yorkshire fire and rescue service said the entire warehouse was engulfed in the flames and a structural engineer had been called because the building “was showing signs of collapse”. The single-storey building in Beck Road measures 55 metres by 40 metres and is home to Oxfam Wastesaver, which sorts thousands of tonnes of donated clothes and textiles. Twenty propane canisters were found at the scene by firefighters but were not involved in the fire. One crew, from Wakefield, remained at the scene early on Sunday, with another team set to relieve them at 8am. A fire service spokeswoman said: “We’re still putting a lot of water on it. Anything that’s got large-scale packed-up clothes is going to burn.” The cause of the fire has not yet been established. David McCullough, Oxfam’s director of trading, said the fire had badly hit the operation. He said: “It’s very sad, the loss of Wastesaver, which has been a feature of our operation since 1967 – one of which we’ve been very proud. “We’ve lost a lot of stock including some online stock. We don’t yet know if that material had already been bought or made ready to go out.” People living nearby said they heard a big explosion and loud popping noises after the fire started at about 6pm. Firefighters Charities Voluntary sector guardian.co.uk
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Li Fangping went missing on Friday, the day that Chinese authorities released fellow lawyer Teng Biao Campaigners have warned that Chinese human rights lawyers remain under intense pressure, following the disappearance of another high-profile legal figure. Li Fangping went missing on Friday after ringing his wife to say state security agents were waiting for him – just as lawyer Teng Biao returned home after a two-month disappearance. The US had singled out Teng’s treatment and that of other missing lawyers in human rights talks the previous day . “The Chinese authorities are resorting to an old trick, the revolving-door approach – one in, one out – to create the impression that things are improving,” said Renee Xia of the Chinese Human Rights’ Defenders network. “The crackdown on lawyers has not stopped,” added Patrick Poon of the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group. He said he found this case particularly incomprehensible because while Li acted in high-profile cases he was careful not to discuss sensitive political issues. Li’s clients have included Zhao Lianhai , who founded a website about tainted baby milk after his son became sick, and activist and dissident Hu Jia . Phelim Kine, Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said Li’s disappearance suggested “a calculated effort to eviscerate China’s besieged rights defence movement”. Li’s wife told the South China Morning Post: “I believe [it] is related to his work. He has offended many people while helping the disadvantaged. I am not sure if state security officers are really the ones who have taken him away, or whether some gangsters are behind it.” Staff at Yangfangdian police station, where Li’s wife has reported his disappearance, said the matter was confidential. A Beijing police employee said staff were not available to comment. Asked about other missing lawyers last month, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said China protected its citizens’ rights, including freedom of expression, but citizens had to obey the law and should not harm the public interest. China Human rights Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
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David Sokol says he is saddened by investment guru’s ‘disparaging’ comments at Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting The former heir apparent to Warren Buffett has accused the investment guru of scapegoating him and says he is “deeply saddened” by Buffett’s decision to publicly “disparage” him over a controversial share deal. In a statement, lawyers for David Sokol, a former director of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway investment firm, said Sokol had considered Buffett a “friend and mentor”. Sokol resigned earlier this month after Berkshire disclosed he had invested $10m (£6m) in Lubrizol, a chemical firm that he later advised Buffett to buy. Sokol made $3m profit on the deal. Speaking this weekend, Buffett called Sokol’s behaviour “inexcusable and incomprehensible”. But in a statement at the time of the resignation Buffett had said: “Neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful.” Buffett had also described Sokol’s contribution to the company as “extraordinary” and said the resignation had been a “total surprise.” Sokol had run several Berkshire subsidiaries, including MidAmerican Energy and NetJets, which sells fractional ownerships of private jets. At his annual meeting, Buffett said he had made a “big mistake” in not quizzing his former potential heir about the controversial share deal. He said he had paid Sokol $24m last year; Sokol is believed to be worth more than $100m. Buffett said Sokol once volunteered to give up $12.5m of a bonus compensation to Greg Abel, his colleague in Berkshire-owned energy firm MidAmerican, because he thought the money should be shared. Last year Sokol was a hit with shareholders, who wanted their photo taken with a man tipped as Buffett’s likely successor. Buffett said he would never understand why Sokol made the Lubrizol deal. His business partner Charlie Munger blamed “hubris”. Buffett’s most fancied successor is now Ajit Jain, head of Berkshire’s reinsurance businesses. “To an extraordinary degree, he thinks about Berkshire first,” Buffett told shareholders. Last week, Berkshire issued a damning report from its audit committee accusing Sokol of violating company policy and withholding information. It said the director could be subject to legal action. The sale is now the subject of a regulatory inquiry and a shareholder lawsuit. Through his lawyers Sokol said: “It is alarming that Mr Buffett would be advised to so completely flip-flop and resort to transparent scapegoatism. After 11 years of dedicated and hugely successful service to various Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries, Mr Sokol would have expected to be treated fairly. That would have been in Berkshire’s interest.” Sokol’s lawyers said neither Buffett nor the audit committee had asked to speak nor had spoken to Sokol since his resignation was made public. “Mr Buffett drafted the March 30th press release announcing Mr Sokol’s resignation in cooperation with Mr Charlie Munger and Mr Ronald Olson, both of whom are Berkshire Board Members. They know the law and they know the Berkshire policies. In that context, Mr Buffett correctly declared Mr Sokol’s conduct lawful and indeed was effusive of his praise of him,” said the statement. “There is no new information or new fact which has become available to them since that press release was issued on March 30th. At no time did Mr Sokol attempt to withhold information from Mr Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway or the Audit Committee. Every question asked of Mr Sokol on or prior to March 30th and any information requested of him has been provided. The Audit Committee report, which was prepared by the law firm of Munger Tolles & Olson contains errors and omissions, both of which could have been avoided if the Audit Committee had inquired of Mr Sokol.” Sokol’s lawyers said their client had not broken the the law or any Berkshire policy. “At no time did Mr Sokol intend to personally profit at the expense of Berkshire or its shareholders. At no time did Mr Sokol mislead or deceive. Such a conclusion would be wholly out of character and the Berkshire Board is keenly aware of that. At all times he faithfully discharged his fiduciary duties to Berkshire, a company he heroically served and continues to regard with reverence.” After the weekend meeting shareholders seemed satisfied with Buffett’s account. Shrini Ganediwal, a software consultant from Florida, said: “He explained himself very well … He did what he thought was right. Buffett is a very nice person who doesn’t like to criticise people.” Warren Buffett Investing Financial sector Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
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