November 1, 2011, 6:58 pm
![Couple die in Mecca pilgrimage fire]()
Friends of a British couple who died in a coach fire while on a pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca have spoken of their sadness.
One of the victims who died in a blaze in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was named by fellow worshippers at their Birmingham mosque as Dawud Burbank, and the other was his wife.
The couple were among several pilgrims from the Salafi Mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham, who were making their way to Mecca along with people from other parts of Britain.
It is thought that other British nationals managed to escape from the blazing bus unharmed or with minor injuries after it was brought to a halt by the driver.
Although the exact cause of the fire is not yet known, it is not thought to have been started deliberately.
The director of Birmingham's Salafi Mosque, Abu Khadeejah, who had known the couple for more than 20 years, said: "It seems they were on the outskirts of Jeddah when the vehicle caught fire.
"Everyone got off except for them - they must have been the last two on the coach and everyone else basically came off unscathed."
The mosque leader added that Mr Burbank, 49, had acted as a researcher within the Salafi community, translating hundreds of religious texts from Arabic into English.
Abu Khadeejah, who had known both victims for more than 20 years, added: "He was a very respected man, a very well-liked man, a very learned man.
"He was well known and one of the best, if not the best, in the West in terms of translating Arabic manuscripts into the English language."
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November 1, 2011, 7:15 pm
![Hugh Grant a father for first time]()
Actor Hugh Grant has become a father for the first time after a woman with whom he had a brief affair gave birth to a baby girl.
The Notting Hill and Bridget Jones star is said to be thrilled.
His publicist said in a statement: "I can confirm that Hugh Grant is the delighted father of a baby girl. He and the mother had a fleeting affair and while this was not planned, Hugh could not be happier or more supportive.
"He and the mother have discussed everything and are on very friendly terms."
The mother's identity was not revealed but Grant has had relationships with high-profile figures in the past - most notably actress Elizabeth Hurley and socialite Jemima Khan.
He was also romantically linked to Chinese actress Tinglan Hong earlier this year.
This came after the 51-year-old managed to move on from the scandal that engulfed him following his well-publicised encounter with a Hollywood prostitute in 1995.
His previous film credits include About A Boy, Love Actually and Four Weddings And A Funeral, and Grant is due to appear alongside Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in a big screen adaptation of David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas next year.
He recently became a champion for the Hacked Off campaign launched in the wake of the phone hacking furore, pressing for tougher sanctions and restrictions on the press.
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November 1, 2011, 7:15 pm
![Archbishop backs 'Robin Hood tax']()
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he sympathises with proposals to introduce a "Robin Hood tax" on financial transactions.
In an article for the Financial Times, Dr Rowan Williams listed the tax among specific measures that might advance the aims of the anti-capitalist protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral.
He said there is a perception that society as a whole is paying for the "errors and irresponsibility of bankers" and that the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration is an "expression of a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment".
He wrote: "There is still a powerful sense around - fair or not - of a whole society paying for the errors and irresponsibility of bankers; of messages not getting through; of impatience with a return to 'business as usual' - represented by still soaring bonuses and little visible change in banking practices."
He praises a document produced by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace last week that supports a "Robin Hood" tax on share, bond and currency transactions.
The article also suggests separating the retail and trading arms of banks and placing more obligations on banks that were recapitalised with public money.
He added: "These ideas - ideas that have been advanced from other quarters, religious and secular, in recent years - do not amount to a simplistic call for the end of capitalism, but they are far more than a general expression of discontent. If we want to take seriously the moral agenda of the protesters at St Paul's, these are some of the ways in which we should be taking it forward."
Dr Williams quoted an estimate that a "Robin Hood" tax on financial transactions could raise 410 billion US dollars (£257 billion) globally, adding: "This has won the backing of significant experts who cannot be written off as naive anti-capitalists - George Soros, Bill Gates and many others. It is gaining traction among European nations, with a strong statement in support this week from Wolfgang Schauble, the German Finance Minister.
"The objections made by some who claim that it would mean a substantial drop in employment and in the national economy generally seem to rest on very much exaggerated and sharply challenged projections - and, more importantly, ignore the potential of such a tax to stabilise currency markets in a way that would boost rather than damage the real local economy."
He said that the protesters' demands have been "vague", adding that "it is time we tried to be a bit more specific".
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
!['Motion thread' for new £50 note]()
A thread containing moving images is being used as a security feature by the Bank of England for the first time on its new £50 note, which has come into circulation.
The green "motion thread" has five windows featuring the pound symbol and the number 50, which move up and down when the note is tilted from side to side.
The thread has been woven into the new-style note, which celebrates the 18th century business partnership of entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt, rather than printed on to it.
When the note is tilted up and down, the images move from side to side and the number 50 and the pound symbol switch, the Bank of England said.
The Boulton and Watt note is the first Bank of England note to feature a motion thread, as well as marking the first time two portraits have appeared together on the back of a Bank of England bank note.
It will also be the first banknote in circulation to be signed by Chris Salmon, who was appointed the Bank's executive director, banking services and chief cashier in April.
He said: "The Boulton and Watt £50 banknote has new and enhanced security features which demonstrate the Bank's commitment to its role of maintaining public confidence in the currency.
"The motion thread security feature is one of the new measures which should help members of the public to identify genuine £50 banknotes."
Boulton was a leading entrepreneur of the Industrial Revolution.
In 1775, he went into partnership with Watt, whose improvements to steam engine design had led to greater efficiency and cheaper running costs.
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![MPs in warning over health reforms]()
Coalition reforms of the public health system pose a "significant risk" of widening health inequalities even further, a powerful committee has warned.
MPs raised concerns about the plans for a "health premium" - funding allocated to local authorities for good results - warning it will "undermine" the ability of the areas struggling most to tackle problems.
In a report, MPs also said they were "unconvinced" that the Government's "responsibility deal" - voluntary agreements with the industry covering promotions and labelling - would tackle obesity and alcohol abuse.
And they criticised the Government for failing to provide any detailed explanation about the funding or responsibilities of Public Health England (PHE), which will take over the running of a number of services. That "confusion" is "undermining confidence" and making service planning impossible, they said.
The report on the Government's public health policy was produced by the Commons Health Select Committee.
Among the recommendations, MPs called for the Government to investigate giving local authorities extra powers to allow them to extend smoking bans in their areas or set a minimum price per unit for alcohol.
Chairman Stephen Dorrell called for PHE to be visibly and operationally independent of ministers.
He added: "We are concerned about the so-called 'health premium'. The effect of this policy appears to be to target resources towards those areas which have made greatest progress with their public health challenges and away from areas which face the greatest outstanding problems."
Jo Webber, deputy director of policy at the NHS Confederation, which represents health service groups, said most experts "recognise the direction of travel as correct" but there are "serious concerns over the policies being used to deliver the new system".
A Department of Health spokesman said: "The Government has made public health a priority. That's why, for the first time ever, we are placing a duty on all parts of our health system to reduce health inequalities."
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![Scientists slow ageing process]()
Scientists have discovered how to slow down the ageing process and the breakthrough was made by researchers hunting a cure for a lethal childhood disease.
It is hoped a new treatment they developed may help millions of newborns and lead to greater understanding of how the damaging effects of ageing could be prevented.
The treatment works by combining existing medicine with an over-the-counter dietary supplement, N-acetyl cysteine, to repair or reverse damaged cells.
It was developed during a study into progeria - a premature ageing disease that affects children causing them to age up to eight times as fast as the usual rate. Professor Chris Hutchison, a member of the Biophysical Sciences Institute at Durham University, said further trials were needed before an effective drug treatment could be established.
He said: "What we have discovered is a means of slowing down the ageing process in children that have premature ageing disease. In the long term that almost certainly has an implication for normal ageing.
"In the short term, we are trying to find interventions for children with significant disabilities. We are using a careful approach that will look at patients with progeria to see if there's a model that can be used for wider medicine.
"It would be great to find a way to help relieve some of the effects of progeria and to extend the children's lives, whilst also finding a way to help increasingly ageing populations in many parts of the world.
"The findings are at a very early stage but they show the potential for helping people to live more comfortable and less painful lives when they reach 70 and 80 years of age and beyond."
Dr Leslie Gordon, medical director for the Progeria Research Foundation, said: "Dr Hutchison's study has not only confirmed basic cellular defects in progeria, but has also identified potential ways to improve those defects. This type of biological science is how progress towards treatments and a cure for children with progeria will advance."
The first results of the 18-month study, led by Durham University, are published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![Greek cabinet backs referendum plan]()
A marathon cabinet meeting has concluded with Greek ministers expressing unanimous support for prime minister George Papandreou's surprise decision to call for a referendum on a hard-won European plan to rescue the Greek economy, a government spokesman said.
Ilias Mossialos said that the referendum will be held "as soon as possible" once the basic tenets of the debt agreement have been reached. Earlier, Mr Papandreou said the referendum would be on the debt deal, Greece's European course and its participation in the euro currency used by 17 European Union nations.
Mr Papandreou's referendum announcement was strongly criticised across Europe and caused stock markets around the world to plunge.
His government still faces a battle for survival with a vote of confidence scheduled for Friday and a grilling from frustrated European leaders expected ahead of a Group of 20 summit in the French Riviera.
After a gruelling seven-hour Cabinet meeting, Mr Mossialos said Mr Papandreou's ministers expressed "total support for the initiatives taken by the prime minister" and said the referendum would be held "as soon as possible".
However, government officials said two ministers still had strong reservations about the idea of a referendum, which will be the first in Greece since the country voted to abolish the monarchy in 1974.
World markets were hammered across the world after Mr Papandreou's surprise Monday night announcement amid fears the vote could unravel a deal which took European leaders months of complex negotiations among themselves and with banks to reach.
Greece's general price index plunged to close down 6.92%, while in Germany the Dax index, the major stock market average, lost 5, the Italian 6.7.
European leaders had made no secret of their displeasure. "This announcement surprised all of Europe," said a clearly annoyed French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been scrambling to save face for Europe before he hosts leaders of the G20 major world economies later this week.
Mr Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel, who have been at the forefront of Europe's efforts to contain the debt crisis, talked by phone and agreed to convene emergency talks in Cannes, France, to which Mr Papandreou was also summoned to discuss implementation of the bailout.
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![Crunch talks over pensions strike]()
Crucial talks aimed at averting the biggest strike for decades will be held, with the Government expected to give more details of its plans for reforming public sector pensions.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander will meet officials including TUC leader Brendan Barber as unions press ahead with plans for a walkout by millions of workers on November 30.
Chancellor George Osborne told the Commons that public sector workers will be offered a "fair" deal, receiving a "much more generous" arrangement in retirement than many working for private firms.
There was speculation that the Government will offer some marginal concessions during the meeting, possibly movement on the accrual rate of a new scheme and a softening of the blow for some employees closer to retirement age
But union officials are not expecting any change to the main issues of contention - public sector staff being told to pay higher pension contributions and work longer for less retirement income.
The public sector group of unions will meet later to discuss the outcome of the latest talks and are likely to want to test how any proposals would affect each of the different public sector schemes in areas including the NHS, civil service and education.
A TUC spokesman said: "There is a meeting in which we expect the Government to indicate whether they are prepared to move on their position.
"But we will need to listen to what they have to say rather than comment on advance spin, which can only get in the way of proper negotiation."
Millions of workers are being balloted on whether to take industrial action, including the planned walkout on November 30 which could see the biggest day of industrial unrest for decades.
Leaders of two of the country's biggest unions, Unite and the GMB, will address a rally in London later and will tell activists that the Government is pressing ahead with forcing workers to pay more, work longer and earn less in retirement.
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![Police paperwork scheme 'flawed']()
Police forces are spending more time and effort building cases than needed, with four in five prosecution files containing unnecessary paperwork, auditors have found.
However more than half still failed to provide an adequate summary of the prosecution case, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.
The findings come in a review which showed police officers often did not know which documents to include or exclude following the "flawed" national roll-out in 2008 of a scheme designed to cut the amount of paperwork in straightforward cases.
The initiative could save police forces £10 million by reducing the time spent to compile each file correctly by an hour, without reducing the number of guilty pleas or leading to delays, the report said. However it has so far failed to reach its potential, with variations in compliance across the 43 forces in England and Wales.
The auditors, in partnership with Her Majesty's Inspectorates of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said the project was rolled out nationally before its pilots were completed and evaluated. The review of 100 case files found 79% of police files contained a disproportionate amount of paperwork, and more than half of the files (53%) did not summarise key evidence to a high enough standard.
Most police files were signed off by a supervisor, despite not complying with the guidance. When interviewed for the review, some supervisors said they did not have the time to read all the files that they signed off. The report also found police officers did not generally know which documents to include and CPS staff reportedly requested more evidence than the guidance recommended.
Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "The streamlined process initiative holds the promise of cutting police paperwork, thereby saving money and freeing officers up for other tasks, without reducing the effectiveness of courts.
"But its roll-out did not follow the principles of good project management, it is unclear whether savings have been made and local police areas have not all bought in equally to the need to implement the guidance."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We have made clear our determination to slash police bureaucracy and return officers to the front line, so we welcome this report which has identified significant potential savings for forces.
"We will work closely with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure they are able to maximise these savings."
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![Foreign student ban on 450 colleges]()
More than 450 colleges have been banned from bringing foreign students into the UK under Government plans to crack down on abuse of the immigration system.
The colleges, which either failed to sign up to the new inspection system or had their licences revoked, could have brought more than 11,000 international students into the UK each year, the Home Office said.
Some could not produce any records of student attendance, others failed to show they checked student qualifications and another could not even produce a list of students enrolled or a timetable of classes.
Immigration minister Damian Green said widespread abuse of the student visa system, the most common way for migrants from outside the EU to get into the UK, had gone on for too long.
"The changes we have made are beginning to bite," Mr Green said.
"Too many institutions were offering international students an immigration service rather than an education and too many students have come to the UK with the aim of getting work and bringing over family members.
"Only first-class education providers should be given licences to sponsor international students.
"We have curbed the opportunities to work during study and bring in family members.
"We have also introduced new language requirements to ensure we only attract genuine students whose primary motivation is to study."
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![Hospital plans hand transplant ops]()
The UK's first hand transplant could take place within 12 months, a hospital trust says.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has written to plastic surgeons across the country asking them to help identify possible adult patients who could undergo the pioneering procedure.
The service will be led by Professor Simon Kay, consultant plastic surgeon and an expert in delicate microsurgery and reconstruction.
He has been working in close partnership with European centres which already offer the surgery in preparation for the procedure to start at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).
If all goes to plan the first hand/arm transplant could take place at LGI within 12 months, with the hospital joining an elite group of centres across the world who have so far carried out around 60 successful procedures.
"Leeds is extremely well placed to offer this new type of transplant surgery as we already have the expertise and facilities in place and excellent clinical outcomes," Professor Kay said.
"We are one of the best-known microsurgery units in Europe and the principles of transplanting a hand and lower limb are exactly the same as the work we already do to reattach an existing hand or limb when it is severed in an accident, for example.
"Preparing for any new type of transplant surgery takes time and of course we need to ensure we have all the protocols in place for when the time comes.
"As part of this we need to start now in identifying a number of patients from around the country who could potentially be the first to undergo the surgery.
"NHS Blood and Transplant is working with us to establish the procedures for identifying potential donors, discussing donation with their next of kin and facilitating donation."
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November 1, 2011, 9:58 pm
![Hughes remembered in Poets' Corner]()
The Westminster Abbey memorial to late poet laureate Ted Hughes is to be placed at the foot of the stone commemorating his publisher TS Eliot.
His friend and fellow poet Seamus Heaney and the actress Juliet Stevenson will be among those who give readings when the dedication ceremony takes place next month.
It was announced last year that Hughes, who died in 1998, would take a place in Poets' Corner, but the exact location had not been known until now.
There had been a campaign to celebrate Hughes in the abbey, as poets laureate are not automatically honoured. The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, gave it the go-ahead in March 2010 after considering his case.
Hughes's widow, Carol Hughes, and his daughter, Frieda Hughes, will be among those at the ceremony to see the Kirkstone green slate memorial stone placed alongside that of Eliot - his Faber and Faber publisher - in the South Transept. It has been designed by Ronald Parsons.
Other great writers who have been recognised at the abbey include the poets laureate John Dryden, John Masefield and Alfred Lord Tennyson who are all buried there, while John Betjeman, William Wordsworth and Robert Southey have memorials.
The writer - born in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, in 1930 - found immediate acclaim with his first book of poems, Hawk In The Rain, in 1957. Over the next 41 years he wrote nearly 90 books, winning numerous prizes.
He won the Whitbread Book Of The Year prize posthumously in 1999 with Birthday Letters. He had been awarded the prize for the first time only a year earlier for Tales From Ovid.
The memorial will be dedicated on December 6.
The Dean, who will lead the dedication, said: "There are 111 poets, writers and dramatists buried or commemorated in Poets' Corner. It is entirely right that Ted Hughes, as one of the most important poets of the 20th century, should be remembered amongst them."
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November 2, 2011, 1:36 am
![Archbishop backing 'Robin Hood tax']()
The Archbishop of Canterbury has sympathised with proposals for a "Robin Hood tax" on banks and admitted there is a widespread perception that society is paying for the "errors and irresponsibility" of financial institutions.
In an article for the Financial Times, Dr Rowan Williams aligned himself with the anti-capitalist protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral by listing the tax as one of the specific measures that might advance their aims.
He made the comments following a day of high drama that saw the cathedral announce it would no longer be taking legal action against the demonstrators, who have been on the doorstep of the historic landmark for more than a fortnight.
The City of London Corporation also said it would be "pausing" its legal bid to clear the encampment - but officials are expected to make a further announcement on the matter later.
In his article, Dr Williams said the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration is an "expression of a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment".
He wrote: "There is still a powerful sense around - fair or not - of a whole society paying for the errors and irresponsibility of bankers; of messages not getting through; of impatience with a return to 'business as usual' - represented by still soaring bonuses and little visible change in banking practices."
He praised a document produced by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace last week that supports a "Robin Hood" tax on share, bond and currency transactions.
The article also suggests separating the retail and trading arms of banks and placing more obligations on banks that were recapitalised with public money.
He added: "These ideas - ideas that have been advanced from other quarters, religious and secular, in recent years - do not amount to a simplistic call for the end of capitalism, but they are far more than a general expression of discontent. If we want to take seriously the moral agenda of the protesters at St Paul's, these are some of the ways in which we should be taking it forward."
Dr Williams said the protesters' demands needed to be "a bit more specific", arguing the three proposals made by the Vatican should become a springboard for debate.
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November 2, 2011, 1:36 am
![Osborne urges Greece to back deal]()
George Osborne has warned Greece that backing a bailout is "crucial" as European leaders prepared to hold emergency talks about the unravelling rescue deal.
The decision to stage a referendum on the package has already sent shockwaves through international financial markets and the country's government was on the brink of political collapse as the ruling party tore itself apart over the move.
The Chancellor warned that the global recovery depended on the agreement going through.
German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy will meet the IMF and Greek prime minister George Papandreou to thrash out ways to stem the turmoil.
Downing Street confirmed the UK would be involved in discussions in the "margins" of the G20, which starts on Thursday, about the eurozone package agreed last week. A spokesman said implementing the deal agreed at the Brussels summit would require "further conversations".
Mr Papandreou stunned the markets on Monday night with a surprise announcement that he intended to put the deal hammered out by EU leaders in Brussels, which would impose a harsh austerity programme on the country, to a referendum.
The move was unanimously backed by his cabinet during the early hours of Wednesday morning following a seven-hour meeting, with a government spokesman announcing the vote had the "total support" of ministers and would be held "as soon as possible".
Fears a "no" vote could trigger a disorderly default by Greece on its debts sparked a slump globally, with the FTSE 100 Index in London falling more than 2%, or 122.7 points, to 5421.6. There were even bigger losses on the European markets, where the Cac-40 in Paris and the Dax in Frankfurt were down 5%. On Wall Street the Dow Jones closed nearly 300 points lower.
Mr Papandreou's surprise move - which Downing Street learned of from media reports - prompted one Greek MP to quit, leaving the ruling Pasok party with a majority of just two.
Mr Osborne said there was "no doubt that the decision of the Greek prime minister has added to the instability and uncertainty in the eurozone".
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November 2, 2011, 1:36 am
![William and Kate visit aid centre]()
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit Copenhagen as they take part in their first joint humanitarian mission.
William and Kate are travelling to the Danish capital to support Unicef's East Africa appeal and will tour the organisation's emergency supply centre to view the effort to distribute food and medical supplies to East Africa.
They will be accompanied by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark at the supply centre before moving on to view a British Airways Boeing 747 loaded with 45 tonnes of aid supplies before it leaves for the stricken region.
It is the Duke and Duchess's third official engagement as a married couple since their wedding in April and the East Africa cause is one which is sure to be close to their hearts.
The couple became engaged during a visit to Lake Rutundu in Mount Kenya last year and in 2001 William spent more than three months of his gap year learning about Africa's wildlife and environment while visiting a number of countries.
His father, the Prince of Wales, will also undertake a visit to the area this week as he visits South Africa before moving on to Tanzania.
Severe food shortages in East Africa are affecting more than 13 million people and the royal party hopes to maintain global attention on the crisis, which is worsening with more areas expected to be declared as "in famine" over the next few months.
Unicef's emergency supply centre in Copenhagen is a worldwide co-ordination centre for nutrition and other emergency supplies reaching children in crisis around the world.
Elhadj As Sy, Unicef's regional chief of Eastern and Southern Africa, said: "Right now, Unicef, along with many other partners, is working tirelessly to ensure that children's lives can be saved across East Africa.
"Every day children are being given food and water thanks to the huge generosity of the public all around the world. But there is so much more to be done. As we speak, more than 320,000 children are in grave danger and need life-saving emergency supplies, like those being shipped and airlifted from our warehouse."
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November 3, 2011, 4:44 am
!['No adequate plan' for regeneration]()
The Government does not have an adequate strategy for the regeneration of England's most deprived communities, a parliamentary report warns.
The collapse in state and private sector investment in regeneration since the financial crisis of 2008 has left projects across the country "stalled", said the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee.
The cross-party committee highlighted the sudden withdrawal of funding in last year's budget for the multimillion-pound Pathfinder programme to revive run-down areas of cities across the Midlands and the North by tearing down old terraces and building new homes.
Halting the Pathfinder projects in mid-stream has created "significant problems", with many vulnerable residents "trapped in half-abandoned streets" surrounded by boarded-up homes, said the report.
The committee called for urgent Government action to help those affected, warning: "The decision to end funding so suddenly has had a profound impact on the lives of people in towns and cities throughout the North and Midlands.
"Many of those left in the mainly cleared areas are owner-occupiers, often elderly and vulnerable people, who have no alternatives."
The Government's regeneration strategy, published in January this year, provides "little confidence" that ministers have a clear plan for addressing the country's regeneration needs, said the committee.
"It lacks strategic direction and is unclear about the nature of the problem it is trying to solve," they said in the report. "It focuses overwhelmingly upon the achievement of economic growth, giving little emphasis to the specific issues faced by deprived communities and areas of market failure."
Government plans were "unlikely to bring in sufficient resources", including from private sector sources, said the report.
Neglect of deprived areas risked storing up problems for the future, warned the MPs. They called on ministers to develop a new national regeneration strategy which would set out "a coherent approach to tackling deprivation and market failure in the country's most disadvantaged areas".
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November 3, 2011, 4:44 am
![Cameron joins G20 debt crisis talks]()
Prime Minister David Cameron will fly to France for a crunch meeting of the G20 set to be dominated by the debt crisis in the eurozone.
The summit's host French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel held emergency talks on Wednesday night with Greek prime minister George Papandreou to press him for a swift resolution to uncertainty about his country's future in the single currency, following his shock announcement of a referendum on the rescue package drawn up last week.
Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel said afterwards that the next tranche of emergency loans would be withheld from Athens until after the poll - to be held early next month.
While the wording of the referendum question would be down to the Greek government, they indicated, the issue would be one of whether or not to stay in the eurozone.
Mr Sarkozy was hoping to use the G20 gathering in Cannes to persuade the rest of the world that the eurozone had taken the tough decisions needed to resolve its two-year sovereign debt crisis and to urge cash-rich exporter nations such as China to contribute towards a one trillion euro (£870 billion) European stability fund.
But Mr Papandreou's decision to seek endorsement from voters for the rescue deal - which envisages a 50% write-down of Greek debt but will mean years of austerity - has thrown his plans into disarray by panicking markets around the world and plunging Europe back into weeks of uncertainty.
Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne have made clear that Britain will not contribute to the eurozone bailout fund for Greece or any International Monetary Fund (IMF) support targeted at shoring up the single currency.
But the UK is ready to support an increase in overall IMF funding, which could see more British taxpayers' money going into loans to rescue individual European countries facing financial meltdown. At present, the UK provides £29 billion of the IMF's 950 billion US dollar (£600 billion) lending capacity.
Sources rejected suggestions that UK reluctance to offer financial support for the eurozone bailout left the Prime Minister a "spectator" at the summit.
Mr Cameron is said to see it as important for Britain to maintain pressure on the eurozone to sort out its problems and to encourage the G20 nations - who together make up 85% of world GDP - to send a clear message that they are committed to taking the action necessary to boost confidence and support global economic recovery.
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November 3, 2011, 4:54 am
![Debt crisis 'threatens new slump']()
The UK has a 70% chance of falling back into recession under the "increasingly more likely" scenario that no swift solution is found to the eurozone debt crisis, a respected think-tank has warned.
The UK's economy, which has been "stagnant" over the past year, could be tipped into decline after fears of a European debt default eroded confidence in financial markets, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
A fresh UK slump is likely if European leaders continue to "muddle through" the crisis, but even if they find a speedy resolution there is still a 50% chance of the UK suffering double-dip misery by the end of 2012, it predicts.
NIESR expects the UK to grow by 0.9 next year. That would mean it will not be until 2013 that the UK returns to its pre-recession peak, making it the slowest recovery since the First World War.
And there are "significant downside risks" to this forecast if politicians fail to get to grips with the eurozone problems.
The body heaped more pressure on the Government to relax its austerity measures when it said fiscal policy could be loosened modestly to improve prospects for output and jobs. It currently expects unemployment to rise further to 8.9% at the end of 2012.
The slow growth means the Government is likely to miss the deficit reduction targets set by its independent financial watchdog. It predicts a deficit of 6.7% in the year to April 2013, compared with a target of 4.5%.
The grim predictions will fuel fears about the UK's economy after manufacturing figures released earlier this week heightened worries that the economy would contract in the final quarter of 2011 amid the biggest squeeze in living standards in a generation.
NIESR's gloom-ridden report also warns that there is a 50% chance of the entire 17-nation euro area slipping into recession this year or next if the debt crisis is allowed to drag on.
That would spell a disaster for the UK by hitting the economies of some of its biggest trading partners at a time when the Government is trying to 'rebalance' the economy by boosting exports.
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November 3, 2011, 5:04 am
![Family justice review 'a betrayal']()
An official review into family justice which rejects plans to give parents equal rights to share custody of their children in the event of a split is "a betrayal of children and their families", campaigners say.
The final report by former mandarin David Norgrove into the family justice system, which processes care and adoption orders, said "orders should be made only on areas in which parents are unable to make agreements independently".
However, campaigners said that by not specifying that parents should have equal rights, any changes would simply be "merely superficial adjustments to a fundamentally broken system".
Ken Sanderson, chief executive of Families Need Fathers, said the review's failure to recommend shared parenting legislation or a statement on the importance of both parents in law represents "an abdication of their responsibilities to children and their families".
"The core failing of the current family justice system is that the rights of children to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, are not adequately supported or enforced," he said.
"By choosing not to address this issue, any other proposals to reform the system will be merely superficial adjustments to a fundamentally broken system."
Nadine O'Connor, campaign director of Fathers 4 Justice, added that the review was "a monstrous sham and a bureaucratic exercise in improving the efficiency of injustice".
"This report condemns children to a life without fathers with catastrophic social consequences," she said.
The review called for parents to be encouraged to develop a parenting agreement "to set out arrangements for the care of their children post-separation" to help eliminate disputes over contact and where the child should live.
Courts should only be used as a last resort to settle disputes, with divorcing parents encouraged to use mediation first and to refer to a new "divorce information hub", it said.
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November 3, 2011, 5:04 am
![Cathedral protest set to continue]()
Anti-capitalist protesters could remain camped on the doorstep of St Paul's Cathedral for the next two months after The City of London Corporation offered to halt legal action until the new year.
Occupy London Stock Exchange said corporation representatives have agreed to shelve their bid to evict demonstrators on the condition that the number of tents pitched outside the historic church are reduced.
The offer was made on Wednesday during a meeting between protesters and legal representatives from the City's governing body, the campaign group said.
Occupy London member Tina Rothery, who attended the talks, said: "We would have to make a slight reduction in tents in order to free up space for the fire brigade. There's a hindrance of access for St Paul's churchyard. We're not blocking it but they would like more space."
The offer, which is yet to be confirmed by the Square Mile's municipal government, is expected to be discussed by demonstrators.
St Paul's suspended legal action against the protest camp on Tuesday, prompting the corporation to announce it would be "pausing" its legal bid. Officials were due to hand a letter to the demonstrators warning them they had 48 hours to clear the site or face High Court action.
Stuart Fraser, the corporation's policy chairman, said the main objective was to ensure the highway was clear.
"The church has changed its position with regards to a camp being on its land, which means that we have had to rethink as well," Mr Fraser said.
"So we have pressed the pause button so that discussions can take place with protesters and others on how we can resolve the problem we face as a local authority - namely camping on the public highway."
He said the protesters did not have the right to camp on a public highway indefinitely and the corporation had a legal obligation to maintain access to the highway.
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Friends of a British couple who died in a coach fire while on a pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca have spoken of their sadness.
One of the victims who died in a blaze in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was named by fellow worshippers at their Birmingham mosque as Dawud Burbank, and the other was his wife.
The couple were among several pilgrims from the Salafi Mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham, who were making their way to Mecca along with people from other parts of Britain.
It is thought that other British nationals managed to escape from the blazing bus unharmed or with minor injuries after it was brought to a halt by the driver.
Although the exact cause of the fire is not yet known, it is not thought to have been started deliberately.
The director of Birmingham's Salafi Mosque, Abu Khadeejah, who had known the couple for more than 20 years, said: "It seems they were on the outskirts of Jeddah when the vehicle caught fire.
"Everyone got off except for them - they must have been the last two on the coach and everyone else basically came off unscathed."
The mosque leader added that Mr Burbank, 49, had acted as a researcher within the Salafi community, translating hundreds of religious texts from Arabic into English.
Abu Khadeejah, who had known both victims for more than 20 years, added: "He was a very respected man, a very well-liked man, a very learned man.
"He was well known and one of the best, if not the best, in the West in terms of translating Arabic manuscripts into the English language."
Actor Hugh Grant has become a father for the first time after a woman with whom he had a brief affair gave birth to a baby girl.
The Notting Hill and Bridget Jones star is said to be thrilled.
His publicist said in a statement: "I can confirm that Hugh Grant is the delighted father of a baby girl. He and the mother had a fleeting affair and while this was not planned, Hugh could not be happier or more supportive.
"He and the mother have discussed everything and are on very friendly terms."
The mother's identity was not revealed but Grant has had relationships with high-profile figures in the past - most notably actress Elizabeth Hurley and socialite Jemima Khan.
He was also romantically linked to Chinese actress Tinglan Hong earlier this year.
This came after the 51-year-old managed to move on from the scandal that engulfed him following his well-publicised encounter with a Hollywood prostitute in 1995.
His previous film credits include About A Boy, Love Actually and Four Weddings And A Funeral, and Grant is due to appear alongside Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in a big screen adaptation of David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas next year.
He recently became a champion for the Hacked Off campaign launched in the wake of the phone hacking furore, pressing for tougher sanctions and restrictions on the press.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he sympathises with proposals to introduce a "Robin Hood tax" on financial transactions.
In an article for the Financial Times, Dr Rowan Williams listed the tax among specific measures that might advance the aims of the anti-capitalist protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral.
He said there is a perception that society as a whole is paying for the "errors and irresponsibility of bankers" and that the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration is an "expression of a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment".
He wrote: "There is still a powerful sense around - fair or not - of a whole society paying for the errors and irresponsibility of bankers; of messages not getting through; of impatience with a return to 'business as usual' - represented by still soaring bonuses and little visible change in banking practices."
He praises a document produced by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace last week that supports a "Robin Hood" tax on share, bond and currency transactions.
The article also suggests separating the retail and trading arms of banks and placing more obligations on banks that were recapitalised with public money.
He added: "These ideas - ideas that have been advanced from other quarters, religious and secular, in recent years - do not amount to a simplistic call for the end of capitalism, but they are far more than a general expression of discontent. If we want to take seriously the moral agenda of the protesters at St Paul's, these are some of the ways in which we should be taking it forward."
Dr Williams quoted an estimate that a "Robin Hood" tax on financial transactions could raise 410 billion US dollars (£257 billion) globally, adding: "This has won the backing of significant experts who cannot be written off as naive anti-capitalists - George Soros, Bill Gates and many others. It is gaining traction among European nations, with a strong statement in support this week from Wolfgang Schauble, the German Finance Minister.
"The objections made by some who claim that it would mean a substantial drop in employment and in the national economy generally seem to rest on very much exaggerated and sharply challenged projections - and, more importantly, ignore the potential of such a tax to stabilise currency markets in a way that would boost rather than damage the real local economy."
He said that the protesters' demands have been "vague", adding that "it is time we tried to be a bit more specific".
A thread containing moving images is being used as a security feature by the Bank of England for the first time on its new £50 note, which has come into circulation.
The green "motion thread" has five windows featuring the pound symbol and the number 50, which move up and down when the note is tilted from side to side.
The thread has been woven into the new-style note, which celebrates the 18th century business partnership of entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt, rather than printed on to it.
When the note is tilted up and down, the images move from side to side and the number 50 and the pound symbol switch, the Bank of England said.
The Boulton and Watt note is the first Bank of England note to feature a motion thread, as well as marking the first time two portraits have appeared together on the back of a Bank of England bank note.
It will also be the first banknote in circulation to be signed by Chris Salmon, who was appointed the Bank's executive director, banking services and chief cashier in April.
He said: "The Boulton and Watt £50 banknote has new and enhanced security features which demonstrate the Bank's commitment to its role of maintaining public confidence in the currency.
"The motion thread security feature is one of the new measures which should help members of the public to identify genuine £50 banknotes."
Boulton was a leading entrepreneur of the Industrial Revolution.
In 1775, he went into partnership with Watt, whose improvements to steam engine design had led to greater efficiency and cheaper running costs.
Coalition reforms of the public health system pose a "significant risk" of widening health inequalities even further, a powerful committee has warned.
MPs raised concerns about the plans for a "health premium" - funding allocated to local authorities for good results - warning it will "undermine" the ability of the areas struggling most to tackle problems.
In a report, MPs also said they were "unconvinced" that the Government's "responsibility deal" - voluntary agreements with the industry covering promotions and labelling - would tackle obesity and alcohol abuse.
And they criticised the Government for failing to provide any detailed explanation about the funding or responsibilities of Public Health England (PHE), which will take over the running of a number of services. That "confusion" is "undermining confidence" and making service planning impossible, they said.
The report on the Government's public health policy was produced by the Commons Health Select Committee.
Among the recommendations, MPs called for the Government to investigate giving local authorities extra powers to allow them to extend smoking bans in their areas or set a minimum price per unit for alcohol.
Chairman Stephen Dorrell called for PHE to be visibly and operationally independent of ministers.
He added: "We are concerned about the so-called 'health premium'. The effect of this policy appears to be to target resources towards those areas which have made greatest progress with their public health challenges and away from areas which face the greatest outstanding problems."
Jo Webber, deputy director of policy at the NHS Confederation, which represents health service groups, said most experts "recognise the direction of travel as correct" but there are "serious concerns over the policies being used to deliver the new system".
A Department of Health spokesman said: "The Government has made public health a priority. That's why, for the first time ever, we are placing a duty on all parts of our health system to reduce health inequalities."
Scientists have discovered how to slow down the ageing process and the breakthrough was made by researchers hunting a cure for a lethal childhood disease.
It is hoped a new treatment they developed may help millions of newborns and lead to greater understanding of how the damaging effects of ageing could be prevented.
The treatment works by combining existing medicine with an over-the-counter dietary supplement, N-acetyl cysteine, to repair or reverse damaged cells.
It was developed during a study into progeria - a premature ageing disease that affects children causing them to age up to eight times as fast as the usual rate. Professor Chris Hutchison, a member of the Biophysical Sciences Institute at Durham University, said further trials were needed before an effective drug treatment could be established.
He said: "What we have discovered is a means of slowing down the ageing process in children that have premature ageing disease. In the long term that almost certainly has an implication for normal ageing.
"In the short term, we are trying to find interventions for children with significant disabilities. We are using a careful approach that will look at patients with progeria to see if there's a model that can be used for wider medicine.
"It would be great to find a way to help relieve some of the effects of progeria and to extend the children's lives, whilst also finding a way to help increasingly ageing populations in many parts of the world.
"The findings are at a very early stage but they show the potential for helping people to live more comfortable and less painful lives when they reach 70 and 80 years of age and beyond."
Dr Leslie Gordon, medical director for the Progeria Research Foundation, said: "Dr Hutchison's study has not only confirmed basic cellular defects in progeria, but has also identified potential ways to improve those defects. This type of biological science is how progress towards treatments and a cure for children with progeria will advance."
The first results of the 18-month study, led by Durham University, are published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.
A marathon cabinet meeting has concluded with Greek ministers expressing unanimous support for prime minister George Papandreou's surprise decision to call for a referendum on a hard-won European plan to rescue the Greek economy, a government spokesman said.
Ilias Mossialos said that the referendum will be held "as soon as possible" once the basic tenets of the debt agreement have been reached. Earlier, Mr Papandreou said the referendum would be on the debt deal, Greece's European course and its participation in the euro currency used by 17 European Union nations.
Mr Papandreou's referendum announcement was strongly criticised across Europe and caused stock markets around the world to plunge.
His government still faces a battle for survival with a vote of confidence scheduled for Friday and a grilling from frustrated European leaders expected ahead of a Group of 20 summit in the French Riviera.
After a gruelling seven-hour Cabinet meeting, Mr Mossialos said Mr Papandreou's ministers expressed "total support for the initiatives taken by the prime minister" and said the referendum would be held "as soon as possible".
However, government officials said two ministers still had strong reservations about the idea of a referendum, which will be the first in Greece since the country voted to abolish the monarchy in 1974.
World markets were hammered across the world after Mr Papandreou's surprise Monday night announcement amid fears the vote could unravel a deal which took European leaders months of complex negotiations among themselves and with banks to reach.
Greece's general price index plunged to close down 6.92%, while in Germany the Dax index, the major stock market average, lost 5, the Italian 6.7.
European leaders had made no secret of their displeasure. "This announcement surprised all of Europe," said a clearly annoyed French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been scrambling to save face for Europe before he hosts leaders of the G20 major world economies later this week.
Mr Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel, who have been at the forefront of Europe's efforts to contain the debt crisis, talked by phone and agreed to convene emergency talks in Cannes, France, to which Mr Papandreou was also summoned to discuss implementation of the bailout.
Crucial talks aimed at averting the biggest strike for decades will be held, with the Government expected to give more details of its plans for reforming public sector pensions.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander will meet officials including TUC leader Brendan Barber as unions press ahead with plans for a walkout by millions of workers on November 30.
Chancellor George Osborne told the Commons that public sector workers will be offered a "fair" deal, receiving a "much more generous" arrangement in retirement than many working for private firms.
There was speculation that the Government will offer some marginal concessions during the meeting, possibly movement on the accrual rate of a new scheme and a softening of the blow for some employees closer to retirement age
But union officials are not expecting any change to the main issues of contention - public sector staff being told to pay higher pension contributions and work longer for less retirement income.
The public sector group of unions will meet later to discuss the outcome of the latest talks and are likely to want to test how any proposals would affect each of the different public sector schemes in areas including the NHS, civil service and education.
A TUC spokesman said: "There is a meeting in which we expect the Government to indicate whether they are prepared to move on their position.
"But we will need to listen to what they have to say rather than comment on advance spin, which can only get in the way of proper negotiation."
Millions of workers are being balloted on whether to take industrial action, including the planned walkout on November 30 which could see the biggest day of industrial unrest for decades.
Leaders of two of the country's biggest unions, Unite and the GMB, will address a rally in London later and will tell activists that the Government is pressing ahead with forcing workers to pay more, work longer and earn less in retirement.
Police forces are spending more time and effort building cases than needed, with four in five prosecution files containing unnecessary paperwork, auditors have found.
However more than half still failed to provide an adequate summary of the prosecution case, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.
The findings come in a review which showed police officers often did not know which documents to include or exclude following the "flawed" national roll-out in 2008 of a scheme designed to cut the amount of paperwork in straightforward cases.
The initiative could save police forces £10 million by reducing the time spent to compile each file correctly by an hour, without reducing the number of guilty pleas or leading to delays, the report said. However it has so far failed to reach its potential, with variations in compliance across the 43 forces in England and Wales.
The auditors, in partnership with Her Majesty's Inspectorates of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said the project was rolled out nationally before its pilots were completed and evaluated. The review of 100 case files found 79% of police files contained a disproportionate amount of paperwork, and more than half of the files (53%) did not summarise key evidence to a high enough standard.
Most police files were signed off by a supervisor, despite not complying with the guidance. When interviewed for the review, some supervisors said they did not have the time to read all the files that they signed off. The report also found police officers did not generally know which documents to include and CPS staff reportedly requested more evidence than the guidance recommended.
Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "The streamlined process initiative holds the promise of cutting police paperwork, thereby saving money and freeing officers up for other tasks, without reducing the effectiveness of courts.
"But its roll-out did not follow the principles of good project management, it is unclear whether savings have been made and local police areas have not all bought in equally to the need to implement the guidance."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We have made clear our determination to slash police bureaucracy and return officers to the front line, so we welcome this report which has identified significant potential savings for forces.
"We will work closely with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure they are able to maximise these savings."
More than 450 colleges have been banned from bringing foreign students into the UK under Government plans to crack down on abuse of the immigration system.
The colleges, which either failed to sign up to the new inspection system or had their licences revoked, could have brought more than 11,000 international students into the UK each year, the Home Office said.
Some could not produce any records of student attendance, others failed to show they checked student qualifications and another could not even produce a list of students enrolled or a timetable of classes.
Immigration minister Damian Green said widespread abuse of the student visa system, the most common way for migrants from outside the EU to get into the UK, had gone on for too long.
"The changes we have made are beginning to bite," Mr Green said.
"Too many institutions were offering international students an immigration service rather than an education and too many students have come to the UK with the aim of getting work and bringing over family members.
"Only first-class education providers should be given licences to sponsor international students.
"We have curbed the opportunities to work during study and bring in family members.
"We have also introduced new language requirements to ensure we only attract genuine students whose primary motivation is to study."
The UK's first hand transplant could take place within 12 months, a hospital trust says.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has written to plastic surgeons across the country asking them to help identify possible adult patients who could undergo the pioneering procedure.
The service will be led by Professor Simon Kay, consultant plastic surgeon and an expert in delicate microsurgery and reconstruction.
He has been working in close partnership with European centres which already offer the surgery in preparation for the procedure to start at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).
If all goes to plan the first hand/arm transplant could take place at LGI within 12 months, with the hospital joining an elite group of centres across the world who have so far carried out around 60 successful procedures.
"Leeds is extremely well placed to offer this new type of transplant surgery as we already have the expertise and facilities in place and excellent clinical outcomes," Professor Kay said.
"We are one of the best-known microsurgery units in Europe and the principles of transplanting a hand and lower limb are exactly the same as the work we already do to reattach an existing hand or limb when it is severed in an accident, for example.
"Preparing for any new type of transplant surgery takes time and of course we need to ensure we have all the protocols in place for when the time comes.
"As part of this we need to start now in identifying a number of patients from around the country who could potentially be the first to undergo the surgery.
"NHS Blood and Transplant is working with us to establish the procedures for identifying potential donors, discussing donation with their next of kin and facilitating donation."
The Westminster Abbey memorial to late poet laureate Ted Hughes is to be placed at the foot of the stone commemorating his publisher TS Eliot.
His friend and fellow poet Seamus Heaney and the actress Juliet Stevenson will be among those who give readings when the dedication ceremony takes place next month.
It was announced last year that Hughes, who died in 1998, would take a place in Poets' Corner, but the exact location had not been known until now.
There had been a campaign to celebrate Hughes in the abbey, as poets laureate are not automatically honoured. The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, gave it the go-ahead in March 2010 after considering his case.
Hughes's widow, Carol Hughes, and his daughter, Frieda Hughes, will be among those at the ceremony to see the Kirkstone green slate memorial stone placed alongside that of Eliot - his Faber and Faber publisher - in the South Transept. It has been designed by Ronald Parsons.
Other great writers who have been recognised at the abbey include the poets laureate John Dryden, John Masefield and Alfred Lord Tennyson who are all buried there, while John Betjeman, William Wordsworth and Robert Southey have memorials.
The writer - born in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, in 1930 - found immediate acclaim with his first book of poems, Hawk In The Rain, in 1957. Over the next 41 years he wrote nearly 90 books, winning numerous prizes.
He won the Whitbread Book Of The Year prize posthumously in 1999 with Birthday Letters. He had been awarded the prize for the first time only a year earlier for Tales From Ovid.
The memorial will be dedicated on December 6.
The Dean, who will lead the dedication, said: "There are 111 poets, writers and dramatists buried or commemorated in Poets' Corner. It is entirely right that Ted Hughes, as one of the most important poets of the 20th century, should be remembered amongst them."
The Archbishop of Canterbury has sympathised with proposals for a "Robin Hood tax" on banks and admitted there is a widespread perception that society is paying for the "errors and irresponsibility" of financial institutions.
In an article for the Financial Times, Dr Rowan Williams aligned himself with the anti-capitalist protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral by listing the tax as one of the specific measures that might advance their aims.
He made the comments following a day of high drama that saw the cathedral announce it would no longer be taking legal action against the demonstrators, who have been on the doorstep of the historic landmark for more than a fortnight.
The City of London Corporation also said it would be "pausing" its legal bid to clear the encampment - but officials are expected to make a further announcement on the matter later.
In his article, Dr Williams said the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration is an "expression of a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment".
He wrote: "There is still a powerful sense around - fair or not - of a whole society paying for the errors and irresponsibility of bankers; of messages not getting through; of impatience with a return to 'business as usual' - represented by still soaring bonuses and little visible change in banking practices."
He praised a document produced by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace last week that supports a "Robin Hood" tax on share, bond and currency transactions.
The article also suggests separating the retail and trading arms of banks and placing more obligations on banks that were recapitalised with public money.
He added: "These ideas - ideas that have been advanced from other quarters, religious and secular, in recent years - do not amount to a simplistic call for the end of capitalism, but they are far more than a general expression of discontent. If we want to take seriously the moral agenda of the protesters at St Paul's, these are some of the ways in which we should be taking it forward."
Dr Williams said the protesters' demands needed to be "a bit more specific", arguing the three proposals made by the Vatican should become a springboard for debate.
George Osborne has warned Greece that backing a bailout is "crucial" as European leaders prepared to hold emergency talks about the unravelling rescue deal.
The decision to stage a referendum on the package has already sent shockwaves through international financial markets and the country's government was on the brink of political collapse as the ruling party tore itself apart over the move.
The Chancellor warned that the global recovery depended on the agreement going through.
German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy will meet the IMF and Greek prime minister George Papandreou to thrash out ways to stem the turmoil.
Downing Street confirmed the UK would be involved in discussions in the "margins" of the G20, which starts on Thursday, about the eurozone package agreed last week. A spokesman said implementing the deal agreed at the Brussels summit would require "further conversations".
Mr Papandreou stunned the markets on Monday night with a surprise announcement that he intended to put the deal hammered out by EU leaders in Brussels, which would impose a harsh austerity programme on the country, to a referendum.
The move was unanimously backed by his cabinet during the early hours of Wednesday morning following a seven-hour meeting, with a government spokesman announcing the vote had the "total support" of ministers and would be held "as soon as possible".
Fears a "no" vote could trigger a disorderly default by Greece on its debts sparked a slump globally, with the FTSE 100 Index in London falling more than 2%, or 122.7 points, to 5421.6. There were even bigger losses on the European markets, where the Cac-40 in Paris and the Dax in Frankfurt were down 5%. On Wall Street the Dow Jones closed nearly 300 points lower.
Mr Papandreou's surprise move - which Downing Street learned of from media reports - prompted one Greek MP to quit, leaving the ruling Pasok party with a majority of just two.
Mr Osborne said there was "no doubt that the decision of the Greek prime minister has added to the instability and uncertainty in the eurozone".
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit Copenhagen as they take part in their first joint humanitarian mission.
William and Kate are travelling to the Danish capital to support Unicef's East Africa appeal and will tour the organisation's emergency supply centre to view the effort to distribute food and medical supplies to East Africa.
They will be accompanied by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark at the supply centre before moving on to view a British Airways Boeing 747 loaded with 45 tonnes of aid supplies before it leaves for the stricken region.
It is the Duke and Duchess's third official engagement as a married couple since their wedding in April and the East Africa cause is one which is sure to be close to their hearts.
The couple became engaged during a visit to Lake Rutundu in Mount Kenya last year and in 2001 William spent more than three months of his gap year learning about Africa's wildlife and environment while visiting a number of countries.
His father, the Prince of Wales, will also undertake a visit to the area this week as he visits South Africa before moving on to Tanzania.
Severe food shortages in East Africa are affecting more than 13 million people and the royal party hopes to maintain global attention on the crisis, which is worsening with more areas expected to be declared as "in famine" over the next few months.
Unicef's emergency supply centre in Copenhagen is a worldwide co-ordination centre for nutrition and other emergency supplies reaching children in crisis around the world.
Elhadj As Sy, Unicef's regional chief of Eastern and Southern Africa, said: "Right now, Unicef, along with many other partners, is working tirelessly to ensure that children's lives can be saved across East Africa.
"Every day children are being given food and water thanks to the huge generosity of the public all around the world. But there is so much more to be done. As we speak, more than 320,000 children are in grave danger and need life-saving emergency supplies, like those being shipped and airlifted from our warehouse."
The Government does not have an adequate strategy for the regeneration of England's most deprived communities, a parliamentary report warns.
The collapse in state and private sector investment in regeneration since the financial crisis of 2008 has left projects across the country "stalled", said the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee.
The cross-party committee highlighted the sudden withdrawal of funding in last year's budget for the multimillion-pound Pathfinder programme to revive run-down areas of cities across the Midlands and the North by tearing down old terraces and building new homes.
Halting the Pathfinder projects in mid-stream has created "significant problems", with many vulnerable residents "trapped in half-abandoned streets" surrounded by boarded-up homes, said the report.
The committee called for urgent Government action to help those affected, warning: "The decision to end funding so suddenly has had a profound impact on the lives of people in towns and cities throughout the North and Midlands.
"Many of those left in the mainly cleared areas are owner-occupiers, often elderly and vulnerable people, who have no alternatives."
The Government's regeneration strategy, published in January this year, provides "little confidence" that ministers have a clear plan for addressing the country's regeneration needs, said the committee.
"It lacks strategic direction and is unclear about the nature of the problem it is trying to solve," they said in the report. "It focuses overwhelmingly upon the achievement of economic growth, giving little emphasis to the specific issues faced by deprived communities and areas of market failure."
Government plans were "unlikely to bring in sufficient resources", including from private sector sources, said the report.
Neglect of deprived areas risked storing up problems for the future, warned the MPs. They called on ministers to develop a new national regeneration strategy which would set out "a coherent approach to tackling deprivation and market failure in the country's most disadvantaged areas".
Prime Minister David Cameron will fly to France for a crunch meeting of the G20 set to be dominated by the debt crisis in the eurozone.
The summit's host French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel held emergency talks on Wednesday night with Greek prime minister George Papandreou to press him for a swift resolution to uncertainty about his country's future in the single currency, following his shock announcement of a referendum on the rescue package drawn up last week.
Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel said afterwards that the next tranche of emergency loans would be withheld from Athens until after the poll - to be held early next month.
While the wording of the referendum question would be down to the Greek government, they indicated, the issue would be one of whether or not to stay in the eurozone.
Mr Sarkozy was hoping to use the G20 gathering in Cannes to persuade the rest of the world that the eurozone had taken the tough decisions needed to resolve its two-year sovereign debt crisis and to urge cash-rich exporter nations such as China to contribute towards a one trillion euro (£870 billion) European stability fund.
But Mr Papandreou's decision to seek endorsement from voters for the rescue deal - which envisages a 50% write-down of Greek debt but will mean years of austerity - has thrown his plans into disarray by panicking markets around the world and plunging Europe back into weeks of uncertainty.
Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne have made clear that Britain will not contribute to the eurozone bailout fund for Greece or any International Monetary Fund (IMF) support targeted at shoring up the single currency.
But the UK is ready to support an increase in overall IMF funding, which could see more British taxpayers' money going into loans to rescue individual European countries facing financial meltdown. At present, the UK provides £29 billion of the IMF's 950 billion US dollar (£600 billion) lending capacity.
Sources rejected suggestions that UK reluctance to offer financial support for the eurozone bailout left the Prime Minister a "spectator" at the summit.
Mr Cameron is said to see it as important for Britain to maintain pressure on the eurozone to sort out its problems and to encourage the G20 nations - who together make up 85% of world GDP - to send a clear message that they are committed to taking the action necessary to boost confidence and support global economic recovery.
The UK has a 70% chance of falling back into recession under the "increasingly more likely" scenario that no swift solution is found to the eurozone debt crisis, a respected think-tank has warned.
The UK's economy, which has been "stagnant" over the past year, could be tipped into decline after fears of a European debt default eroded confidence in financial markets, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
A fresh UK slump is likely if European leaders continue to "muddle through" the crisis, but even if they find a speedy resolution there is still a 50% chance of the UK suffering double-dip misery by the end of 2012, it predicts.
NIESR expects the UK to grow by 0.9 next year. That would mean it will not be until 2013 that the UK returns to its pre-recession peak, making it the slowest recovery since the First World War.
And there are "significant downside risks" to this forecast if politicians fail to get to grips with the eurozone problems.
The body heaped more pressure on the Government to relax its austerity measures when it said fiscal policy could be loosened modestly to improve prospects for output and jobs. It currently expects unemployment to rise further to 8.9% at the end of 2012.
The slow growth means the Government is likely to miss the deficit reduction targets set by its independent financial watchdog. It predicts a deficit of 6.7% in the year to April 2013, compared with a target of 4.5%.
The grim predictions will fuel fears about the UK's economy after manufacturing figures released earlier this week heightened worries that the economy would contract in the final quarter of 2011 amid the biggest squeeze in living standards in a generation.
NIESR's gloom-ridden report also warns that there is a 50% chance of the entire 17-nation euro area slipping into recession this year or next if the debt crisis is allowed to drag on.
That would spell a disaster for the UK by hitting the economies of some of its biggest trading partners at a time when the Government is trying to 'rebalance' the economy by boosting exports.
An official review into family justice which rejects plans to give parents equal rights to share custody of their children in the event of a split is "a betrayal of children and their families", campaigners say.
The final report by former mandarin David Norgrove into the family justice system, which processes care and adoption orders, said "orders should be made only on areas in which parents are unable to make agreements independently".
However, campaigners said that by not specifying that parents should have equal rights, any changes would simply be "merely superficial adjustments to a fundamentally broken system".
Ken Sanderson, chief executive of Families Need Fathers, said the review's failure to recommend shared parenting legislation or a statement on the importance of both parents in law represents "an abdication of their responsibilities to children and their families".
"The core failing of the current family justice system is that the rights of children to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, are not adequately supported or enforced," he said.
"By choosing not to address this issue, any other proposals to reform the system will be merely superficial adjustments to a fundamentally broken system."
Nadine O'Connor, campaign director of Fathers 4 Justice, added that the review was "a monstrous sham and a bureaucratic exercise in improving the efficiency of injustice".
"This report condemns children to a life without fathers with catastrophic social consequences," she said.
The review called for parents to be encouraged to develop a parenting agreement "to set out arrangements for the care of their children post-separation" to help eliminate disputes over contact and where the child should live.
Courts should only be used as a last resort to settle disputes, with divorcing parents encouraged to use mediation first and to refer to a new "divorce information hub", it said.
Anti-capitalist protesters could remain camped on the doorstep of St Paul's Cathedral for the next two months after The City of London Corporation offered to halt legal action until the new year.
Occupy London Stock Exchange said corporation representatives have agreed to shelve their bid to evict demonstrators on the condition that the number of tents pitched outside the historic church are reduced.
The offer was made on Wednesday during a meeting between protesters and legal representatives from the City's governing body, the campaign group said.
Occupy London member Tina Rothery, who attended the talks, said: "We would have to make a slight reduction in tents in order to free up space for the fire brigade. There's a hindrance of access for St Paul's churchyard. We're not blocking it but they would like more space."
The offer, which is yet to be confirmed by the Square Mile's municipal government, is expected to be discussed by demonstrators.
St Paul's suspended legal action against the protest camp on Tuesday, prompting the corporation to announce it would be "pausing" its legal bid. Officials were due to hand a letter to the demonstrators warning them they had 48 hours to clear the site or face High Court action.
Stuart Fraser, the corporation's policy chairman, said the main objective was to ensure the highway was clear.
"The church has changed its position with regards to a camp being on its land, which means that we have had to rethink as well," Mr Fraser said.
"So we have pressed the pause button so that discussions can take place with protesters and others on how we can resolve the problem we face as a local authority - namely camping on the public highway."
He said the protesters did not have the right to camp on a public highway indefinitely and the corporation had a legal obligation to maintain access to the highway.
