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Pressure to match savings guarantee |
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Gordon Brown is under intense pressure to match his German counterpart by offering to guarantee all private savings accounts.
In a surprise move on Sunday night, Germany followed Ireland and Greece in offering blanket protection to depositors if banks failed. The change came just days after Britain had extended its protection from £35,000 to £50,000 in UK banks.
The issue will be high on the agenda of the first meeting of the new National Economic Council in Whitehall today, amid fears of an exodus of funds from British banks to foreign institutions enjoying state protection. |
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European crisis sends FTSE tumbling |
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The FTSE 100 Index tumbled more than 200 points after a weekend of financial turmoil in Europe.
Investors took scant comfort from Friday's backing of a US financial rescue to leave the FTSE 100 Index down almost 5% or 240.5 points at 4739.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average was down more than 4% at a four-year low while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng slipped 4%. |
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Bid to ban unfair energy prices |
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Energy watchdogs have given the energy supply industry notice to end practices that are failing some households.
And they have proposed measures to ban unfair price differences.
Ofgem said electricity and gas firms should stop penalising consumers for paying by different methods under proposals outlined in findings from a seven-month inquiry. |
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School reform doubt after reshuffle |
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The Government's academy schools programme has been put in jeopardy by the removal of its chief architect Lord Adonis from the schools department in Gordon Brown's reshuffle, the Conservatives have warned.
Tory education spokesman Michael Gove claimed Adonis had been forced out by his boss, Schools Secretary Ed Balls, who Conservatives suspect of being lukewarm about academies.
But Lord Adonis himself insisted he was "delighted" by his move to the Department for Transport and said he had asked Mr Brown in the summer for a "new challenge". |
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Menezes mother in face-off with Met |
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The mother of Jean Charles de Menezes is due to come face to face with the senior policewoman in charge of the operation that led to her son's death.
Maria Otone de Menezes has flown to Britain from Brazil to attend the inquest examining why police marksmen mistook the innocent electrician for a terrorist.
She will hear Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick give evidence about her role in the events that resulted in Mr de Menezes being shot. |
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Johnson outlining his police vision |
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Boris Johnson is set to take control of Scotland Yard's watchdog just days after ousting Sir Ian Blair.
The London Mayor said he will outline his vision for the force at his first meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).
Mr Johnson has said he is in no hurry to replace Sir Ian Blair and has urged Home Secretary Jacqui Smith likewise and not to rush into appointing a new Metropolitan Police Commissioner. |
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Black group boycotts 'racist' force |
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The Metropolitan Black Police Association has said it would "actively discourage" new recruits from joining Britain's largest force, claiming it had "a hostile atmosphere where racism is allowed to spread".
The association said that from Monday it would boycott all recruitment drives initiated by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to attract black and ethnic minority recruits and police staff.
"The Metropolitan Police under the current management and supervision of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) have made the working environment for its existing black staff a hostile atmosphere where racism is allowed to spread and those who challenge it are either suspended, told to shut up or subtly held back in relation to career development," its statement said. |
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Footballer in court over M6 deaths |
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A professional footballer accused of causing the deaths of two young boys killed in a motorway crash is appearing in court.
Former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick is expected to enter pleas to the charges of causing the deaths of Arron Peak, 10, and his eight-year-old brother Ben, eight, by dangerous driving.
The 25-year-old, who will appear before Judge Paul Glenn at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, is also charged with driving with excess alcohol. |
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Fire boys 'trapped by slammed door' |
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Two young brothers killed in a house fire were left trapped when their mother ran for help and the front door slammed behind her, a witness has said.
Denise Goldsmith wept as she visited the scene on Sunday to lay flowers and had to be restrained by her family from entering the house where her sons - seven-year-old Lewis and five-year-old Taylor Jenkins - died on Saturday.
"She had come outside when the fire started to get help, but the front door had slammed behind her and she couldn't get back in," Jason Maynard, 35, told the Daily Mail. |
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Warning as more rain heads for UK |
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The risk of flooding across the UK on Monday has reduced but more heavy rain is expected on Tuesday.
The Environment Agency had 23 flood warnings, mainly in Wales and the Midlands, on Sunday but had reduced that to 19 by Monday morning.
John Hutchinson, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said Monday morning's sunshine will have been replaced by heavy rain and strong winds by Tuesday morning. |
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