Anti-sleaze reforms 'will go ahead'
By Anonymous on Jun 03, 2013 02:41 am 3 June 2013 Last updated at 00:32 ET 
Lord Cunningham, Lord Laird and Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate all deny wrongdoing
Anti-sleaze reforms will go ahead, the deputy PM has said after three peers and an MP were accused of agreeing to do parliamentary work for payment.
Critics say the coalition is taking too long to bring in a statutory register of lobbyists despite a pledge to do so.
Nick Clegg, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said he and the PM were "determined" it should go ahead.
Lord Cunningham, Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Lord Laird, and MP Patrick Mercer all deny wrongdoing.
On Sunday Lord Laird resigned the Ulster Unionist party whip and Labour suspended the other two peers pending an investigation. Patrick Mercer resigned the Tory whip on Friday.
'Groundhog Day' Mr Clegg said newspapers had been filled with "the murkier side of British politics" over the weekend and that the latest "unsettling but not surprising" allegations were symptomatic of a political system "long crying out for head-to-toe reform".
"It's the political equivalent of Groundhog Day: MPs accused of abusing their position; businesses of getting too close," he wrote.
He added it was disappointing to the Lib Dems "that moves to introduce elections to the House of Lords were blocked" and said he remained committed to "the view that we should end the culture of safe seats - which effectively give MPs jobs for life".
He said: "We need to be realistic: there is no single, magical protection against an individual politician determined to behave unethically or inappropriately."
But he added: "I know that the absence of the [statutory lobbyists'] register from last month's Queen's Speech raised some concerns.
"So let me be clear: it will happen.
"Having consulted on the proposal, the detail is being looked at thoroughly in government."
On Sunday, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude suggested lobbying reform could get under way before the 2015 election.
Salvaging reputations Mr Clegg also said he wanted a new power of recall so that MPs found guilty of serious misconduct could be forced to resign.
But in the same newspaper, an article written by two Conservatives - MP Douglas Carswell and MEP Dan Hannan - argues for a different mechanism to give voters a greater say in removing MPs who abuse their position.
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Secret filming shows Patrick Mercer MP signing a contract with a fake lobbying company set up by BBC Panorama
BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said that, once again, MPs and peers of all parties were struggling to find ways of salvaging the reputation of Parliament.
The debate follows the release by the Sunday Times of secretly-filmed footage that shows Lord Laird, Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Lord Cunningham appearing to offer to help a fake solar energy company.
The House of Lords code of conduct says peers cannot engage in "paid advocacy" - using their access to Parliament to make a profit.
On Saturday, the BBC's Panorama programme released footage - again secretly filmed - of Mr Mercer appearing to offer a Commons security pass to a fake Fijian firm that paid him £4,000 to ask parliamentary questions
All four have denied breaking parliamentary rules but have referred themselves to the standards watchdog.
Panorama will be shown on BBC One at 21:00 BST on Thursday.
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Balls 'to restrict winter fuel cash'
By Anonymous on Jun 03, 2013 03:00 am 2 June 2013 Last updated at 18:17 ET 
Ed Balls is due to promise an "iron discipline on spending"
Labour would cut winter fuel payments for the UK's richest pensioners as part of a "fairer approach to deficit reduction", Ed Balls is due to say.
The shadow chancellor is expected to announce the move in a speech promising an "iron discipline on spending" should Labour return to power in 2015.
It would currently affect about 600,000 pensioners who pay higher and top rates of income tax - saving about £100m.
But a Treasury source described the pledge as "utterly meaningless".
'Difficult inheritance' Mr Balls is due to tell an audience at Thompson Reuters headquarters in London that Chancellor George Osborne's economic policies have "failed catastrophically", on growth, jobs and deficit reduction.
He will say the policies will leave a future Labour government with "a very difficult inheritance", and will promise "tough deficit reduction plan", coupled with more action to strengthen the economy.
"The situation we will inherit will require a very different kind of Labour government to those which have gone before," he is due to say.
"We will inherit a substantial deficit. We will have to govern with much less money around. We will need to show an iron discipline.
"This is the hard reality. The last Labour government was able to plan its 1997 manifesto on the basis of rising departmental spending in the first years after the election. The next Labour government will have to plan on the basis of falling departmental spending."
Mr Balls will also urge the government to heed the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which says the UK should increase infrastructure spending in the near term to boost growth.
The winter fuel allowance has proved a controversial measure because it is paid to all state pensioners, regardless of income.
A Treasury source told the BBC that the pledge would save just 0.5% of the welfare budget.
"Ed Balls has just confirmed he wants to borrow and spend even more now - exactly what got us into this mess in the first place," the source said.
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says that although the saving from the winter fuel allowance pledge is small, it is meant as a symbol of his acceptance that day to day Whitehall spending will continue to fall under Labour.
Read in browser » Protests rage in Istanbul's Besiktas
By Anonymous on Jun 03, 2013 02:28 am 2 June 2013 Last updated at 19:49 ET 
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The BBC's Ben Thompson describes the scene in Istanbul near the prime minister's office
Turkish protesters and police have clashed in Istanbul's Besiktas district in some of the worst violence since unrest erupted three days ago.
Mosques, shops and a university have been turned into makeshift hospitals to deal with the injured.
Protesters had torn up paving stones to built barricades, and police responded with tear gas and water canon.
Protests were sparked by plans to build on an Istanbul park but have broadened into nationwide anti-government unrest.
Officials say more than 1,700 people had been arrested during protests in 67 cities, though many had since been released.
The BBC's Louise Greenwood in Istanbul says several thousand people took part in the protest outside the recently decommissioned Besiktas football stadium.
Protesters set up barricades near the prime minister's office
She says some of the protesters were coughing violently and vomiting after police fired gas canisters into the crowd.
Nearby, police were also battling to protect the prime minister's office, which seemed to be a focal point for the protesters.
Unrest was also reported in the capital, Ankara, and protests took place in dozens of other towns and cities.
Many of the protesters in Istanbul appear to be young, urban middle class, annoyed at what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's move towards Islamisation.
Mr Erdogan says the protesters are undemocratic and inspired by opposition parties.
On Sunday, the area around Gezi Park, where the protests first erupted, was largely peaceful.
Read in browser » UK's shale gas resources may be huge
By Anonymous on Jun 03, 2013 02:59 am 2 June 2013 Last updated at 19:55 ET By John Moylan Industry correspondent, BBC News 
Fracking plans have provoked protests in the UK
One of the energy firms hoping to exploit the UK's resources of shale gas says it may be sitting on significantly more gas than previously thought.
UK firm IGas will tell investors there may be up to 170 trillion cubic feet of gas in the areas it is licensed to explore in northern England.
Shale gas is extracted by fracking - pumping water and sand at high pressure into rock to release gas within it.
Critics say it may cause earth tremors and want investment in green energy.
'Benefit communities' Fracking has revolutionised the US energy market and the energy industry has hopes for a similar boom in shale gas in the UK.
IGas is one of the companies granted a licence by UK authorities to explore parts of the country believed to contain large resources of shale gas.
The company's licences cover an area of 300 sq miles across Cheshire.
It had previously said it had about nine trillion cubic feet of shale gas. It now estimates that the volume of "gas initially in place" could range from 15.1 trillion cubic feet to 172.3 trillion cubic feet - nearly 20 times more.
The UK's annual gas consumption is currently about 3 trillion cubic feet.
"The licences have a very significant shale gas resource with the potential to transform the company and materially benefit the communities in which we operate," said IGas chief executive Andrew Austin.
"Our estimates for our area alone could mean that the UK would not have to import gas for a period of 10 to 15 years".
Gas and oil discoveries in shale rock in the US have led to a boom in gas and oil production there recent years, and has also dramatically reduced gas prices.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the US will overtake Russia as the world's biggest gas producer by 2015, and Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer by about 2020.
The shale gas industry is in its infancy in the UK. But supporters believe it could play a key role in our future energy supplies.
A report by the British Geological Survey for the Department of Energy and Climate Change is due to give an updated assessment of how much gas there is in the Bowland Shale in the North West of England in the coming weeks.
Industry sources have told the BBC they expect the BGS assessment to result in a "very big number".
'Dirty and unnecessary' Energy firm Cuadrilla, which has drilled wells near Blackpool in Lancashire, says it has 200 trillion cubic feet of gas-in-place in its licence area of the Bowland Shale.
That suggest the overall number for the region could be in excess of 400 trillion cubic feet to 500 trillion cubic feet in total.
"It's not unreasonable to assume that there could be as much as 500 trillion cubic feet in the Bowland shale across the North West," said Mr Austin.
"Even if the industry can only extract a fraction of that, combined with North Sea reserves, it could make the UK self sufficient in gas for decades to come."
But it remains unclear how much of the gas will be economically extractable. The industry says that will become clearer once a significant number wells have been drilled and gas flow rates tested.
In a report published earlier this year, the Energy and Climate Change Committee also cast doubt on the value of shale gas extraction.
Although it said shale gas in the UK could help secure domestic energy supplies, it also warned that may not bring down prices.
The process of fracking also remains controversial - it has been blamed for causing earth tremors and there are concerns about water contamination and the large volumes of water required.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has described fracking as "dirty and unnecessary", arguing that the UK should instead focus on investing in renewable energy.
IGas plans to carry out exploratory drilling, not including fracking, in Cheshire at the end of the year.
Read in browser » Lords to debate gay marriage bill
By Anonymous on Jun 02, 2013 08:21 pm 2 June 2013 Last updated at 20:21 ET 
Ministers believe that allowing same-sex couples to marry will strengthen marriage as an institution
A "wrecking amendment" which seeks to derail the gay marriage bill will be debated in the House of Lords later.
The government's gay marriage bill for England and Wales was passed in the House of Commons last month - despite the opposition of 133 Conservative MPs.
Ex-West Midlands chief constable Lord Dear, who has tabled the amendment to refuse it a second reading, said a vote on Tuesday was "too close to call".
Meanwhile, supporters of the bill plan a rally outside Parliament.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales would allow same-sex couples, who can currently hold civil ceremonies, to marry.
Religious organisations would have to "opt in" to offering weddings, with the Church of England and Church in Wales being banned in law from doing so.
It is backed by PM David Cameron, his Lib Dem deputy Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband but was opposed by 161 MPs in a free vote in the Commons - 133 of them Conservative.
'Deep concern' The bill, which has been criticised by some Conservative activists, is expected to face a tough passage through the Lords - if crossbench peer Lord Dear's amendment was passed it would effectively kill it.
Lord Dear has said he is not anti-homosexual but he has accused the government of pushing through a measure without public support.
Some 86 peers are expected to speak in Monday's debate with a final vote due on Tuesday.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has organised a rally outside the Houses of Parliament on Monday afternoon.
He said everyone should be equal before the law in a democratic society.
Meanwhile, in a letter to the Sunday Telegraph, a Tory grassroots group has expressed "deep concern" about "the negative effect of the gay marriage bill on both Conservative Party morale and electoral appeal".
The Conservative Grassroots group has called on peers to reject the bill.
"It is alienating much of our core support while failing to attract new voters with under two years to go before the general election," chairman Robert Woollard wrote.
Last week, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, warned same-sex marriage would set a "dangerous precedent" which could lead to sibling marriage or polygamy.
In an article for think tank Civitas, he said did not want to be "alarmist", but said it could logically be extended to "say, two sisters bringing up children together" or "multiple relationships, such as two women and one man".
"Ultimately, the proposed legalisation of same-sex marriage represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of marriage," he said.
Mr Cameron hopes the bill will become law soon and that the first ceremonies can take place by next summer.
The Scottish government has confirmed it will introduce a bill shortly to allow same-sex marriage.
Read in browser » Woolwich murder suspects in court
By Anonymous on Jun 02, 2013 08:57 pm 2 June 2013 Last updated at 20:57 ET 
Both suspects were shot by police before being arrested
Two men charged with murdering soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south-east London, are due in court.
Michael Adebolajo, 28, will make his first court appearance since being charged by police on Saturday when he appears before Westminster magistrates.
Michael Adebowale, 22, who was remanded by the same court last week, will face the Old Bailey via video link.
David Cameron will address MPs after the first meeting of the anti-terror task force set up after the attack.
Both suspects in Drummer Rigby's murder on 22 May were shot by police before they were arrested.
Firearms charge Mr Adebolajo, from Romford, east London, was charged after spending nine days in hospital.
He was also charged with the attempted murder of two police officers and possession of a firearm, a 9.4mm KNIL Model 91 revolver.
Mr Adebowale, of Greenwich, south-east London, who spent six days in hospital, was remanded in custody by Westminster Magistrates' Court last Thursday.
He also faces the same firearms charge as Mr Adebolajo.
An Old Bailey judge will hear a bail application on his behalf ahead of a pre-trial hearing in the case listed for 28 June,
Meanwhile, the prime minister will make the first Commons statement about the killing as MPs return from their half-term break.
Mr Cameron cut short an official visit to Paris on the day of the attack to return to the UK for a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee.
He later set up the task force which will bring together Cabinet ministers, intelligence and police chiefs.
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