PM signals speedier Afghan pull-out
DAVID Cameron will signal a stepping up of Britain’s withdrawal from Afghanistan today amid speculation that the force size could be nearly halved next year.
The Prime Minister is set to outline the Government’s latest thinking to MPs after agreeing with US president Barack Obama that there are “further opportunities” for personnel to be brought home over the next 12 months.
The two leaders covered the situation in an hour-long video call last night and believe that the plan for all combat troops to leave by the end of 2014 is “on track”.
UBS to pay £940m over Libor scandal
SWISS bank UBS agreed today to pay £940 million to regulators in the biggest penalty yet from the industry’s Libor-rigging scandal.
The settlement, which includes a record fine of £160 million from the UK’s Financial Services Authority, is far larger than the total of £290 million paid by Barclays for Libor manipulation this summer.
The Zurich-based bank, which has around 6,500 staff in London, has endured a turbulent year after the jailing of rogue trader Kweku Adoboli.
Forced-labour family face sentence
A TRAVELLER family who led a luxurious lifestyle at the expense of vulnerable men they forced to work for a pittance will be sentenced today.
William Connors, 52, his wife Mary, 48, their sons John, 29, and James, 20, and their son-in-law Miles Connors, 24, could all be jailed by a judge at Bristol Crown Court.
The Connors enjoyed top-of-the-range cars and expensive holidays. To live the high life, they picked up men – often homeless drifters or addicts – to work for them as labourers.
Ruling due on resuscitation case
A JUDGE will today rule on the circumstances surrounding a hospital’s resuscitation policy.
David Tracey says two “do not resuscitate” (DNR) notices were placed on his terminally-ill wife’s medical notes at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, without her knowledge or consent.
But Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust says claims it acted unlawfully are unsound and unfair.
Libya attack ’gross’ security flaws
AN independent panel investigating the deadly attack in Libya that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans said systematic management and leadership failures at the State Department led to “grossly” inadequate security at the mission in Benghazi.
“Systematic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaux of the State Department resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place,” the panel said.
The report singled out the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Near East Affairs for criticism, saying there appeared to be a lack of co-operation and confusion over protection at the mission in Benghazi, a city in eastern Libya that was relatively lawless after the revolution that toppled Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
