Nordwave Great Britain

The staggering total of Britain’s national debt was laid bare yesterday  -  at least £2trillion.

That represents £33,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.

Bank bailouts will send debt ‘off the Richter scale’ at a staggering 147 per cent of national income, the worst figure since 1954 and one of the highest in the developed world.

The figures came from the independent Office of National Statistics, which said it was adding giant liabilities from two part-nationalised banks  -  estimated at between £1trillion and £1.5trillion  -  to existing debts.

The decision is a shattering blow to Labour’s reputation for economic competence and is likely to anger ministers, who argue taxpayers are never likely to have to pay back such sums.

Official debt figures had already shown public borrowing spiralling to a new record, reaching £67.2billion between last April and January. The deepening recession also led to a £7billion fall in the amount of tax paid by individuals and businesses last month, compared to January 2008, leaving a yawning black hole in Government finances.

The shattering calculations came as the Bank of England’s deputy governor said there was a ’serious risk’ of a decade-long downward spiral of the kind that crippled Japan in the 1990s.

Sir John Gieve, who leaves the Bank at the end of the month, said the way the authorities handled the collapse of Northern Rock ‘may have owed more to John Sergeant than Fred Astaire’.

Gordon Brown, meanwhile, admitted the country had been ‘brought low’ by an ‘economic hurricane’ affecting the whole world.

Opposition MPs accused the Prime Minister of driving Britain towards bankruptcy and called for emergency reductions in Government spending.

Britain’s leading business organisation, the CBI, launched an extraordinary attack on the Government’s recovery plans, saying there was ‘little sense of a coherent strategy’.

It said: ‘The Government appears to have been fighting a series of forest fires rather than building a platform for economic recovery.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1150666/2trillion–terrifying-total-national-debt–thats-33-000-man-woman-child-Britain.html#comments

David Miliband today described China as the 21st century’s “indispensable power” with a decisive say on the future of the global economy, climate change and world trade.

The foreign secretary predicted that over the next few decades China would become one of the two “powers that count”, along with the US, and Europe could emerge as a third only if it learned to speak with one voice.

The remarks, in a Guardian interview, represented the most direct acknowledgement to date from a senior minister, or arguably from any western leader, of China’s ascendant position in the global pecking order.

Miliband said a pivotal moment in China’s rise came at the G20 summit last month in London. Hu Jintao, China’s president, arrived as the head of the only major power still enjoying strong growth (expected to be 8% this year), backed by substantial financial reserves.

“The G20 was a very significant coming of economic age in an international forum for China. If you looked around the 20 ­people sitting at the table … what was striking was that when China spoke everybody listened,” Miliband said.

“China’s indispensability in part comes from size, but a second part is that it wants to play a role.”

Hu helped bolster Gordon Brown’s ­position against protectionism, and ­China’s economic stimulus package (equivalent to 16% of its GDP over two years) is widely seen as among the world’s best hopes for a recovery.

“Historians will look back at 2009 and see that China played an incredibly important role in stabilising global capitalism. That is very significant and sort of ironic,” Miliband said. “There’s a joke that goes: ‘After 1989, capitalism saved China. After 2009, China saved capitalism.’”

Signals from Beijing since the ­London summit that it is considering tough ­concerted action to reduce CO₂ emissions, have raised hopes of reaching a ­workable international pact to contain climate change.

Miliband compared China’s potential role in the coming years to the role the US claimed for itself in the 20th century, recalling a 1998 boast by Madeleine Albright, then US secretary of state.

“China is becoming an indispensable power in the 21st century in the way Madeleine Albright said the US was an indispensable power at the end of the last century,” Miliband said. “It has become an indispensable power economically, and China will become an indispensable power across a wider range of issues.”

But in contrast to America’s 20th-century ascent, which eclipsed Britain, Miliband said China would not displace the US but rather join it at “the new top table”, and because of its low per capita income, it would not rival the US as the world’s leading superpower for at least a generation.

At the G20 summit, some commentators argued that the most important axis was a “G2″ of the US and China. Whether that could be expanded to a “G3″, Milband argued, would be up to Europe.

“I think that there is a scenario where America and China are the powers that count,” the foreign secretary said. “It is massively in our interests to make sure that we have a stake in that debate, and the most effective way of doing so is … to ensure we do it with a European voice.”

A report by the European Council on Foreign Relations argued that China was exploiting the EU’s divisions and treating it with “diplomatic contempt”. The report, published in advance of Wednesday’s EU-China summit in Prague, said that European states, dealing with China individually, lacked leverage on issues such as trade, human rights and Tibet.

“Europe has not been sufficiently strategic in its relationship with China,” Miliband said. “I think a significant part of that is institutional. The EU-China relationship is a good case for the Lisbon treaty. At the moment, at every EU-China summit, the EU side is led by a different presidency and every year there’s a different set of priorities.

“Miliband denied Britain had allowed human rights to slide down the agenda with China, saying there was a constant dialogue between the two countries on the issue. “It’s a mature relationship that does take these issues seriously,” he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/17/david-miliband-china-world-power

Protesters smashed windows at the RBS building and clambered inside.
Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt said he had seen police CCTV pictures of the demonstrators removing equipment and starting a small fire.
Police on foot backed up by a line of mounted officers lined up outside the branch as smoke bombs were thrown by a baying crowd.
Earlier, a protester hit an officer with a large pole during large-scale protests ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders.
Anger at bankers’ role in the global economic downturn and frustration at slow progress in tackling climate change prompted thousands to take to the streets in the capital.
Four protest marches converged on the Bank of England after setting off along separate routes as helicopters circled overhead.
City workers leaned out of windows and waved £10 notes at demonstrators on the streets below, who responded with jeers and shouts.
A group of officers was forced to retreat behind metal crowd barriers outside the Bank, apparently because of the crush of the crowd in front of them.
Missiles – including fruit – were thrown towards police as red smoke rose above the crowd.
One protester, who was bleeding from a wound to his head, was seen shouting at police officers who had formed a line in front of them.
Another demonstrator dressed in black then ran forward and hit an officer with a pole.
Sky News Online’s Alex Watts, at the scene, said police cordoned off the area where the attack took place.
He said some 50 officers ran in and made arrests.
Scuffles also broke out between police and demonstrators near the Corn Exchange.
Sky’s Ian Woods spoke to people who said they wanted to go home but were not being allowed to leave the area.
Protesters set up tents outside the European Climate Exchange for a camp aimed at demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the global approach to tackling climate change.
One of them told Sky News he and his friend had travelled from opposite ends of the country, and hoped to use “peaceful resistance” to stay there for 24 hours.
Another protester, Adam Lambert, 25, of Finsbury Park, north London, said: “I’m here with the Stop the War Coalition because we think the G20 are not representing the ordinary people in the world.
“We think they are representing the rich.
“Every day we hear of billions being given to bankers and billions are being spent on wars.
“We want to demonstrate today to say we are not going to put up with this and the G20 should represent us.
“I think people are angry and they want to show their anger.”
Many shops and businesses closed for the day, while those that remained open braced for violence.
Many City traders dressed down to avoid confrontation with demonstrators, swapping their suits for casual clothes.
Some were told to stay at home, others that they should bring lunch with them to the office.
Simon Denham, head of City finance firm Capital Spreads, told Online: “(It was) an extraordinary trip into work today – not a suit in sight as just about everyone who works in the City, or at least those who haven’t stayed at home, came in wearing just jeans and a shirt.”

A group has claimed responsibility for attacking the home of former bank boss Sir Fred Goodwin and warned “this is just the beginning”.

Windows were smashed at the Edinburgh villa and a car parked in the driveway was also damaged.

Sir Fred and his family were not living at the property at the time but the former RBS chief was said to be “shaken” by news of the attack and his friends said those responsible had “gone too far”.

Two emails sent to the Edinburgh Evening News in the early hours of the morning appeared to take responsibility for the vandalism.

Sent from an email account called bankbossesarecriminals@mail.com, one said: “We are angry that rich people, like him, are paying themselves a huge amount of money, and living in luxury, while ordinary people are made unemployed, destitute and homeless.

“This is a crime. Bank bosses should be jailed. This is just the beginning.”

The attack was caught on CCTV cameras at Sir Fred’s home and the footage was handed to police, sources said, adding that officers had arrived within three minutes.

The windows of a Mercedes were also smashed.

Sir Fred, ex-chief executive of Royal Bank Of Scotland (RBS), was criticised after he was given a pension worth £700,000 a year, despite the bank being bailed-out by the Government.

One of Britain’s leading thinkers has told Sky News that the attack on Sir Fred’s home is a “wake up call” to the people at the very top of our society.

There are rumours he may be in Spain but no one has seen him for quite some time.”

She added: “He’s refused to give up his pension and a lot of people see him as the face of the banking crisis and there is a lot of anger towards him.”

An RBS spokesman said: “There are security arrangements in place for Sir Fred, as is normal practice for departing executives.”

The former RBS chief executive, who stepped down from the post last October, rejected Government pressure to accept a reduction in his package.

He insisted that changes to the early retirement deal he negotiated when he was forced out in the autumn were “not warranted”.

The massive payout was branded “obscene” and “grotesque” by MPs and “unjustifiable and unacceptable” by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Dubbed “Fred the Shred” for his ruthless cost-cutting, Sir Fred boasted of catapulting RBS “to the top of the premier league” with a £49bn deal to capture Dutch rival ABN Amro in 2007.

But the acquisition proved disastrous for RBS as the credit crunch gripped markets – exposing the bank’s weak balance sheet and bringing the firm to the brink of collapse.

RBS is now nearly 70%-owned by the taxpayer after a £20bn bail-out. Last month, the bank unveiled a record £24.1bn loss and plans to raise up to £25.5bn from the taxpayer.

Slaughter and May, the Jewish City law firm, earned £9.4 million as chief legal adviser to HM Treasury on the nationalisation of Northern Rock, dwarfing the amounts billed by other advisers.

The law firm took the lion’s share of the total £26.8 million in professional advisory fees paid by HM Treasury, billing almost double the £4.8 million paid to Goldman Sachs, the chief investment banking adviser.

Ernst & Young earned £4.4 million; BDO Stoy Hayward £4.5 million and Clifford Chance £2.4 million, according to HM Treasury figures published in the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report on Northern Rock.

Slaughter and May, which played a pivotal role in the Northern Rock rescue, earned its fees for “commercial legal advice and drafting of legal agreements”, the NAO report said.

The firm’s overall take from the wider banking crisis is likely to be much higher: it has also advised HM Treasury on the recapitalisations of RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS, the collapse of the Icelandic banks, the establishment of the Bank of England’s special liquidity scheme and parts of what became the Banking Act 2009.

Charles Randell, a senior Slaughter and May partner, has been the lead adviser to HM Treasury working alongside others including Nilufer von Bismarck, a corporate partner, Matthew Tobin, a financing partner and financial regulation partner Ben Kingsley.

Some Firms in data row deny wrongdoing

Workers who raised safety issues were allegedly blacklisted

Several firms accused of subscribing to a secret database of building workers’ details have denied any wrongdoing.

The Information Commissioner says a firm called the Consulting Association flagged up workers who had raised safety concerns or who had union links.
Balfour Beatty and Amec said they did not condone “blacklisting”. Emcor and Laing O’Rourke denied discriminating against workers on any grounds.
The Department for Business said it would consider outlawing blacklisting.
This would happen if evidence showed it was going on, a spokesman said.

Unions have called on the government to act swiftly to pass anti-blacklisting regulations which were prepared in the 1990s but never introduced.

‘Household names’

An investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found that a Droitwich-based company called the Consulting Association had allegedly sold details about workers, including information concerning personal relationships, trade union activity and employment history.
The ICO now plans to prosecute the firm, run by Ian Kerr and now thought to have ceased trading, for a “serious breach” of the Data Protection Act.
It said about 40 construction companies who subscribed to the scheme would send lists of prospective employees to it and in return would be warned about potential troublemakers. Amec does not operate a policy of ‘blacklisting’ individuals

Spokesman for Amec

Should builders be monitored?
‘I was blacklisted for speaking up’

Some of the notes on individuals included descriptions such as “ex-shop steward, definite problems” and “Irish ex-Army, bad egg”. Others related to workers who had raised concerns over health and safety issues, such as asbestos removal.
One of the firms listed in the ICO’s report, Balfour Beatty, said it “does not condone the use of ‘blacklists’ in any circumstances”.
“We have taken steps to ensure that none of our companies use the services of the Consulting Association,” it added.
Another firm, Amec, echoed the denial. “Amec does not operate a policy of ‘blacklisting’ individuals and the senior management of the company would not condone such a policy,” it said.
Morgan Ashurst said it inherited a subscription to the Consulting Association upon acquiring another company.
“An internal investigation into this subscription has shown that we did not supply to, or receive any data from Ian Kerr or the Consulting Association, nor did we use any information from this organisation since the acquisition,” a spokesman said.
“Now that the subscription has been brought to our attention, and the person who subscribed to it left the company last year, we have cancelled it.”
Laing O’Rourke also said it had “a legacy relationship” with the company born out of an acquisition, which had now “ceased”.
A spokesman for another firm named by the ICO, Emcor Group UK, said it was “an equal opportunities employer” whose policy was “not to discriminate on any grounds”. We have the power to make it illegal to use blacklists

Department for Business spokesman

List of database subscribers
How firms should obey data law

The Consulting Association was unavailable for comment.
Annual fee
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith said he was deeply disappointed that firms he described as “household names” had been involved in an allegedly illegal system for many years.
He said they would be issued with a legal order not to repeat the offence, and if they breached it they too would face prosecution.
Following the raid on 23 February, investigators discovered that the Consulting Association’s database contained the details of some 3,213 workers, the ICO said.
Employers paid £3,000 as an annual fee, and £2.20 for individual details, the ICO said. Invoices to construction firms for up to £7,500 were also seized during the raid.
The TUC and the building workers’ union Ucatt called on the government to introduce legislation to make blacklisting illegal.
Alan Ritchie, general secretary of Ucatt, said: “It is the only way to protect the rights of trade union members.”
A Department for Business spokesman said: “We have the power to make it illegal to use blacklists.
“We would review whether to use this power if there was compelling evidence that blacklists were being used.” Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: “Leading companies have to realise that information is power, and wrong information is the abuse of power. “The Information Commissioner is absolutely right to throw the book at the miscreants in this case.”

Hello to my brothers and sisters

Especially in the UK I myself have been at the receiving end of snitches/spy’s in the building trade those who you think of as every day workers who report details to the Government and anti fanciest organisations who Black list your name and house and Give details to the entity Government and to entity controlled organisation. The details are shared with the US and put on a data base from the colour of your hair to what car you drive and where you live that is then used in turn to discredit you in any means possible or to imprison and if your seen as a greater threat assassinated. This may seen far fetched but this is all to real and happening in the UK. Why do they hit the Building trade? Because the entity is all to aware that revolution does not come in the form of white collar workers but with those who suffer most and are used and exploited. The working class from the French Revolution to that of the rise of National socialism within Germany all revolutions started with the working Class. Be aware and be sensible who you tell information to, Don’t talk on the phone and don’t send emails with information, Don’t share photos with those you do not know and trust.

It is all to easy to get caught in the Catch in that of Nationalist websites that are run from the US and think you have rights that you live in a democracy that you’d have free speech when in reality you are controlled by the entity.