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Six-figure payout for senior civil servant sacked over Peter Mandelson vetting
Source: The Guardian
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UK national security adviser under pressure over wife’s comment on supporting Palestine Action
Author Sarah Helm, married to Jonathan Powell, wrote to back novelist Sally Rooney’s support of proscribed direct action group The UK’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, is under pressure to distance himself from a comment made by his wife, the award-winning writer Sarah Helm , in support of Palestine Action. The post was made in defence of the critically acclaimed Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who said she had been forced to pull her books from shelves in the UK after pledging proceeds from their sales to Palestine Action. Continue reading...
The Guardian
The Guardian view on the banks: too big to fail cannot mean too big to tax | Editorial
Financiers owe their windfalls and bonuses to higher interest rates. Britain should reclaim more for the public and resist City lobbying John Healey is planning to tax British banks, the Guardian revealed , in the forthcoming budget. It’s about time for the chancellor to act. Banks have been raking it in. The campaign group Positive Money reported this summer that Britain’s four biggest banks made £29bn in the first half of this year, up a fifth on 2025. These windfalls owe more to higher interest rates than better products or services. Households and businesses pay more to borrow. Meanwhile, the Bank of England pays the banks tens of billions in interest on their reserves, with the Treasury footing the bill. The chancellor is said to favour restoring the bank surcharge from 3% to 8%, which could raise around £2bn a year . This would recover a very modest share of the sector’s bonanza. L
BBC Politics
Ex-top official Robbins reaches settlement with government over sacking
Sir Olly Robbins was sacked as the top civil servant in the Foreign Office over the vetting of Lord Mandelson.
NPR Politics
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A majority of Americans support the death penalty for people convicted of murder, but support becomes more divided when questions vary.
BBC Politics
Housing loans granted while Burnham was mayor investigated by councillors
A senior councillor says concerns have been raised about the transparency of the process to approve the loans.