An independent review has been ordered by the body representing rank-and-file police officers into "issues" raised by its handling of the "Plebgate" row.

Police Federation chairman Paul McKeever has acknowledged concerns that it "stoked up" the Downing Street incident which led to Andrew Mitchell quitting the Cabinet.

He said this week that he would apologise to the MP if it was shown he had been wrongly accused of calling officers "plebs" in a bust-up over their refusal to let him ride his bike through the gates.

Mr McKeever has handed control to his successor-elect Steve Williams just over a month before he is officially due to leave the role, due to "pre-existing leave arrangements", the Federation said. And one of Mr Williams' first acts was to announce plans for the review.

"Recent events have shown that there are issues around the way the Police Federation nationally is able to lead and co-ordinate at a national, regional and local level," he said in a statement.

As we enter a new era, my first act as chairman is to establish this independent panel to ensure that we as the Federation continue to represent the interests of our members in the most effective and efficient way."

Local branches organised protests by members wearing "PC Pleb" T-shirts and some demanded Mr Mitchell's sacking.

Published: 22 December 2012

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Fears that consumers are reining in their spending ahead of Christmas have been fuelled after it emerged that sales volumes failed to rebound last month.

A predicted return to growth did not materialise, with official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing flat sales volumes between October and November.

It comes after a much worse than expected drop in October when retail sales volumes fell 0.8% month-on-month.

The CBI said on Wednesday that sales for the Christmas season had been "below par" as families try to make their budgets stretch as far as possible.

Excluding fuel, the ONS figures showed the total value of sales was up 2.5% in November compared with a year ago, below inflation of 2.7% in the same period.

The ONS said new models of tablet computers drove a 3.8% boost for household goods stores, but this failed to offset a 0.1% drop in food sales. Clothes and shoes sales were also down by 0.1%, with department stores also seeing sales volumes fall.

But the ONS estimated that the proportion of retail sales online increased by 1.4% between October and November, with the average weekly spend in November at £711 million.

Published: 20 December 2012

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Lloyd's of London has estimated it is facing claims of up to 2.5 billion US dollars (£1.5 billion) for damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in October.

The specialist insurance market, which is made up of 88 underwriting syndicates, said the bill was "well within" the worst case scenarios that it prepares for.

Chief executive Richard Ward said: "As always, our priority is to pay valid claims as quickly as possible and help the communities in North America and the Caribbean affected by Sandy get back on their feet."

Lloyd's said its estimate of between 2 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion) and 2.5 billion US dollars was consistent with wider industry losses of between 20 billion US dollars (£12.3 billion) and 25 billion US dollars (£15 billion).

Sandy, which ravaged America's North East coast, is expected to be the country's second costliest storm after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That storm left Lloyd's facing claims worth 4.3 billion US dollars (£2.4 billion).

The market has shown in recent years that it is more than able to cope with major catastrophes and met its own claims in 2011 without any call on its central fund - its fund of last resort.

Published: 19 December 2012

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Heavy showers have continued overnight, bringing fear of continued flooding problems for parts of the UK.

The Environment Agency (EA) has eight flood warnings in place this morning, its second highest alert, which means flooding is expected. Eighty-nine areas across England and Wales were on flood alert, the EA's lowest warning.

Despite a drop in the intensity of the downpours and strong winds overnight, the risk remains following days of heavy rain which yesterday brought flash floods to coastal towns in England and Scotland. The heavy rain is expected to briefly subside on Monday, before returning on Wednesday, experts said.

Chris Burton, a meteorologist for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "Heavy rain still continues in the west of England, as well as the south coast, but it is not as persistent as the last few days, although it may still cause localised flooding.

"In Scotland the strong tides and high winds which caused the flooding in coastal towns have died down. Later today there will be sunshine and showers along with bursts of heavy rain. The next few days will also see similar sunshine and showers and slightly above averages temperatures, of about 10 degrees in England and seven in Scotland, until Wednesday, when the heavy rain is likely to return."

In Scotland the severe weather on Saturday is thought to have led to the death of a crewman after stormy seas overcame a vessel in the North Sea. Eleven people had to be rescued when Vos Sailor, an emergency response and rescue vessel, suffered damage and started taking on water 120 miles off Aberdeen on Scotland's north-east coast.

The coastguard launched a rescue mission after a mayday call at 4.30am but police said one man was fatally injured. His body has not yet been recovered.

Published: 16 December 2012

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A British student who suffered a horrific snowboarding accident in the French Alps has died, her family has said.

Emily Watts, known as Mimi, fell headfirst into a snowdrift and was stuck for about 45 minutes following the incident in Chamonix on Saturday.

By the time emergency crews arrived, the 26-year-old, from Lavenham in Suffolk, had suffered a cardiac arrest, prompting fears of brain damage.

Her parents, Nicky McAllister and Dominic Watts, along with her 27-year-old brother Rory, flew to France to be by her bedside.

But after a number of days on a life support machine, she died, Miss Watts' aunt Shona Pollock said.

In a statement issued before Miss Watts' death, her family said the outlook was "very bleak" but the support they had received from friends and family had been "heart-warming".

They met with rescuers this week to establish a better picture of what had happened and discovered a British man had raised the alarm.

Published: 13 December 2012

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The editor of The Times newspaper is to stand down at the end of the month.

James Harding, 43, one of the youngest journalists ever to take charge of the paper, informed the national independent directors of The Times this morning, News International and Times Newspapers Ltd said.

Mr Harding, who has been in charge of the paper for five years, said: "For any journalist, it is an extraordinary privilege and a point of pride to see your work appear beneath the masthead of The Times, the greatest name in newspapers in the world.

"I feel hugely honoured to have been given the opportunity to edit the paper and deeply grateful for the experience of working among the finest journalists in the world.

"This paper has an unrivalled history and, I am extremely confident, a long and impressive future ahead of it."

Mr Harding began his journalistic career at the Financial Times after studying at Cambridge University.

He opened its Shanghai bureau and served as bureau chief in Washington before joining The Times as business editor.

The national independent directors of The Times will now be consulted on a replacement, a company spokesman said.

Published: 12 December 2012

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A £1.2 billion contract has been awarded to build the Royal Navy's new hunter-killer submarine HMS Audacious.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) also announced that a further £1.5 billion has been committed to the remaining three submarines in the class.

The £1.2 billion contract with BAE Systems will safeguard 3,000 skilled jobs at Barrow in Cumbria.

Audacious is the fourth of seven Astute Class submarines being built for the Royal Navy. They are the most technologically advanced the Royal Navy has ever sent to sea and will progressively replace the Trafalgar Class currently in service.

The first two boats, Astute and Ambush, are currently undergoing sea trials to rigorously test their systems. The third boat, Artful, is reaching the final stages of her construction at Barrow shipyard. Early work has been started on boat five, named Anson, while preparation has begun on as yet unnamed boats six and seven.

Last month it emerged that Astute encountered a flooding problem during sea trials, forcing the nuclear-powered attack vessel to resurface after it let in tens of litres of water. Electrical switchboards were also found to be fitted incorrectly while concerns emerged about the accuracy of nuclear reactor monitoring instruments during testing last year.

Published: 10 December 2012

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Violence which erupted in Belfast after a controversial vote on the Union flag was unacceptable, Northern Ireland's First Minister has warned.

Five police officers, two security workers and a press photographer were injured when a mob of up to 1,000 loyalists rioted in the city centre and parts of east Belfast.

At the height of the trouble, police officers were pelted with bricks, bottles and fireworks and a large crowd tried to smash their way into City Hall. They broke through barriers and forced their way through iron gates at the rear of the building before assaulting council security staff and attacking cars.

First Minister Peter Robinson said: "There is no excuse or justification for attacks on police officers, council staff, and property. Such behaviour is not representative of those who campaigned to maintain the Union flag flying over Belfast City Hall."

At one point, loyalists, who used scarves to hide their identity, also tried to kick down the back door to gain entry to City Hall.

The DUP leader said the proposal to change the council's flag-flying policy was provocative.

He added: "The decision to pursue the removal of the flag from City Hall and other council buildings, despite warnings of the likely consequential impact on community relations, was foolish and provocative. Those who talk most about building community relations have by their actions in the council substantially damaged relations across the city."

Published: 04 December 2012

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Coffee giant Starbucks has said it is looking at its "tax approach" in the UK after coming under fire for paying no corporation tax in the country in the last three years.

The US coffee firm - valued at £25 billion - has generated more than £3 billion of sales in the UK since 1998 but it emerged in October it has paid less than 1% in corporation tax.

Starbucks, which has more than 700 outlets in the UK, said it was "committed to the UK for the long term" and added: "We are looking at our tax approach in the UK. The company has been in discussions with HMRC for some time and is also in talks with the Treasury." The company said it would release further details of its UK tax plans this week.

The group reportedly paid just £8.6 million in corporation tax in the UK in the last 14 years.

Its nearest UK rival, Costa, owned by Whitbread, recorded £377 million sales last year, compared with Starbucks' £398 million, but its tax bill came to £15 million, or 31% of its profits.

Starbucks previously said it paid its "fair share of taxes" in full compliance with UK law and no authority had suggested otherwise.

A four-month investigation by news agency Reuters discovered that Starbucks was able to cut income tax by paying fees to other parts of its global business, such as royalty payments for use of the brand.

This means Starbucks UK is effectively making a loss and therefore does not have to pay any corporation tax. As a result, it has not broken any law. The most recent results, posted for 2011, show Starbucks UK recorded a loss of £33 million.

A Starbucks spokesperson said: "Starbucks is committed to the UK for the long term and we have invested more than £200 million in our UK business over the past 12 years. Starbucks has complied with all the tax laws in this country but has regretfully not been as profitable as we would have liked.

Published: 02 December 2012

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The Government will give a new regulator the explicit power to cap the interest rates charged by payday lenders, Treasury minister Lord Sassoon has announced.

Lord Sassoon's concession came in the face of an amendment put forward by Labour and backed by the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury.

The minister told peers: "We need to ensure that the Financial Conduct Authority grasps the nettle when it comes to payday lending and has specific powers to impose a cap on the cost of credit and ensure that the loan cannot be rolled over indefinitely should it decide, having considered the evidence, that this is the right solution."

His announcement came at report stage of the Financial Services Bill after shadow business minister Lord Mitchell said some payday lenders were charging annual interest rates of 4,000% on short-term loans.

The Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, who will take over as Archbishop of Canterbury next year, said the rates being charged were "clearly usurious".

Lord Sassoon said if Lord Mitchell withdrew his amendment, he would bring forward a Government change to the legislation when the Bill has its third reading next week. He said the Government had always been clear that the FCA "should be able to take action to address the problems that are rife in the payday loans sector".

The Treasury insisted the Bill as currently drafted would give the FCA the power to cap rates, but Lord Sassoon said he wanted to embed "stronger payday loan regulation in primary legislation".

Published: 28 November 2012

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