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[JohnCenaFan28]

Shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland approved a £20 billion bail-out plan which could put nearly 60% of the company in public hands.

At a general meeting of the RBS Group in Edinburgh, shareholders voted 99.28% in favour of the proposal, which will see the bank offer £15 billion in new ordinary shares, with the Government promising to buy up any remaining.

The Government has also committed to buying £5 billion in preference shares which RBS will buy back in time. Royal Bank of Scotland - one of the worst hit by the banking turmoil - is bolstering its finances by offering the shares.

The company's outgoing chairman Sir Tom McKillop and chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin, who is stepping down, both apologised to shareholders for the situation the company had found itself in. Sir Tom said: "A new chapter in the RBS story must now begin."

A full strategic review of the company under the helm of new chief executive Stephen Hester is to be started. He conceded that job losses were expected, but pledged to bring a "sense of optimism" to the company.

Existing shareholders have until Tuesday to take up the offer, but because shares are trading well below the 65.5p offer price investors are likely to snub them. This leaves the taxpayer - currently sitting on a paper loss of around £5 billion on the new shares - with a potential 58% stake.

The meeting took place at the Assembly Hall on The Mound in the Scottish capital. Addressing shareholders, Sir Tom said they faced "unprecedented" challenges as an institution, a country and part of the world financial system.

"I, as chairman of RBS group, both personally and in the office I hold, am profoundly sorry about the position we have reached," he said. "I feel this sincerely, on a number of levels and for a variety of reasons, but I want to highlight just a few.

"I am sorry about the very real financial and therefore human cost that those who have invested in us now feel and recognise how seriously this has impacted shareholder confidence in our RBS. And I am also sorry if any of our customers have suffered anxiety as a result of the situation."

Sir Tom, who retires as chairman next year, added: "The buck stops with me as chairman and with the leadership of the group. Accountability has been allocated and fully accepted."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The Saudi owners of the Sirius Star are reportedly negotiating with pirate hijackers despite pleas from British and Saudi governments not to pay the ransom.

Chief engineer Peter French, from County Durham, and second officer James Grady, from Strathclyde are among 25 people being held on the ship.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said payments were, "only an encouragement to further hostage-taking". His Saudi counterpart Prince Saud Al-Faisal said owners Vela International are in talks with the pirates.

"We do not like to negotiate with either terrorists or hijackers," but, he added: "The owners of the tanker are the final arbiters of what happens there."

A foreign news agency reported that the pirates have demanded 25 million dollars (£16.6 million) for the hostages' safe release. But Vela would not confirm this figure and maritime security experts said the true ransom is expected to be much higher.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said British policy was not to negotiate with hijackers but conceded the Sirius Star, "is not a British ship".

"I cannot say if we have been contacted (by the pirates) or not. That is not something we can get into discussing," he said.

The UN approved a British proposal to impose new sanctions against Somalia in a bid to cut off the pirate gangs. It also called on the security council to recommend the freezing of assets of individuals and organisations.

The Sirius Star was attacked at the weekend 420 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia and the pirates who have taken control of the vessel have taken it to a stronghold near the town of Eyl. The 1,080ft (330m) long ship was fully laden with two million barrels of oil when pirates boarded it and is the largest vessel ever to be hijacked in a region which has become notorious for piracy.

Mr Miliband said he was "extremely concerned" about the situation and called on the international community to "stand firm" against hostage-taking in all its forms.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Mortgage lending rose by nearly 7% during October but it remained well down on 12 months ago, figures show.

A total of £18.7 billion was advanced during the month, compared with just £17.5 billion during a "weak" September, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said.

But the figure was still 44% lower than the £33.38 billion lent in October 2007, and it was also down on August's advances of £19.66 billion.

Despite the increase in lending during October, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) warned that demand was likely to remain subdued due to falling house prices and the deteriorating economy.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said: "While lending in October ticked up from a low figure in the preceding month, the outlook is one of continuing weakness for housing and mortgage markets in the coming months, despite the Bank rate cuts in October and November.

"Consumer confidence is now being affected by the worsening economic outlook. However, any recovery in lending is also being held back by the continuing shortage of mortgage funding. The Government should therefore publish the delayed Crosby Review as part of the forthcoming Pre-Budget Report and announce concrete steps that will enable and encourage firms to increase mortgage loans."

Mortgage lending is continuing to be constrained by the problems in the wholesale money markets, leaving banks struggling to raise the funds they need to lend to consumers.

The Government is due to respond to a review on mortgage finance, carried out by former head of Halifax Bank of Scotland Sir James Crosby, in the Pre-Budget Report on Monday.

The report's recommendations, which have not yet been made public, may include some form of Government support to get the mortgage-backed securities market working again.

But in his interim report published in July, Sir James said the Government and the Bank of England should steer clear of propping up the mortgage market, and any intervention he suggests is likely to be only on a temporary basis.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Government claims to prioritise victims of crime were questioned as a committee of MPs delivered a damning report into compensation for people injured in violent attacks.

Less than 5% of those eligible for payouts of up to half a million pounds from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority were even applying, the Public Accounts Committee found.

Two-thirds of victims were unaware of the scheme and those who did apply were hampered by a complex application form and suffered delays in receiving their money because of bureaucracy, they said.

Many victims also spent money on expensive lawyers because they did not know free legal help was on offer, the MPs found.

Their report, Compensating Victims of Violent Crime, criticises the Ministry of Justice for affording the agency a "low priority" despite its claims to put victims at the "heart" of the criminal justice system.

Ministers failed to set the body rigorous targets, they said, as costs and bureaucracy increased and standards slipped. Despite applications falling 23%, the time taken to resolve the average complaint has risen from one year to 17 months.

The costs of administering the scheme rose by £6 million between 2000 and 2006, while staff productivity fell. Committee chairman Edward Leigh said it was "absurd" that so few people were applying for money they were due.

He said: "The Ministry of Justice's declared objective is to place victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. If the scheme for compensating victims of violent crime is anything to go by, that objective is a long way from fulfilment.

"A large proportion of citizens who are injured by violent criminals are left in ignorance of the compensation scheme, leading to the absurd situation that only 5% apply for compensation."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

There were calls for the Government to halt its JobCentre closure programme, after a minister said he was reviewing it in the light of the economic crisis.

Employment minister Tony McNulty told Westminster reporters it was a "no-brainer" to look again at the scaling back of the network of JobCentre Plus offices at a time of rising unemployment.

Unemployment figures for September, released last week, showed that 1.82 million were out of work - the highest since 1997. Economists are predicting the total will soon pass two million and may even hit three million as the downturn continues.

Asked what action the Department for Work and Pensions was taking to help the country prepare for rising joblessness, Mr McNulty said: "The closure plan for JobCentre Plus offices is a no-brainer, we should revisit it."

Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling later said: "It feels like the Government is making policy on the hoof. Many of the JobCentres under threat have already been closed and can't just be reopened.

"All of this underlines the fact that the Government has no real strategy for dealing with unemployment even though there have been warnings for months now that it was going to rise."

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokeswoman Jenny Willott said: "The Government is finally accepting that it is crazy to carry on closing JobCentres when 1,500 people are losing their job every day.

"More than 40 JobCentres were closed last year, while the backlog in outstanding Jobseekers Allowance applications has more than doubled.

"The Government must do more than review the JobCentre closure programme.

"They must stop it altogether and recruit more staff so newly unemployed people get the support they need, when they need it."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The man accused of kidnapping Shannon Matthews told police he took the schoolgirl on trips to the park, a court heard.

Michael Donovan told police officers he drove the nine-year-old girl to the supermarket and took her to local parks. He described how she would sit in the back of his car with her pink coat on and hood up, Leeds Crown Court was told. Donovan also took her for a drive in his car "to give her some fresh air", the jury heard.

The court heard the youngster was unaware of the huge police search and media interest as she would watch cartoons on the television. Donovan and Shannon's mother, Karen Matthews, 33, deny kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

Donovan, 40, told police: "During the time Shannon was with me we stayed mostly in the house, although sometimes I would go out and buy clothes, food, toys, games and DVDs. She said I was kind and generous, not like her parents.

"On about three times I took her to parks in Batley and Birstall and once in the evening again I took her for a ride in the car to give her a break from the house and get some fresh air."

She was also supplied with clothes and toys during her 24-day in Donovan's flat. Donovan made the disclosures in police interviews after Shannon was found by officers in the bottom of a divan bed at his flat in Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, West Yorkshire.

Donovan told officers he was threatened by Matthews who said she would set three "lads" onto him if he did not agree to take Shannon to his flat.

The court heard how Donovan told officers Matthews made the threat when the pair met at a cafe in Dewsbury town centre before Shannon vanished.

During the interviews, he told the officers: "When I saw the news I wanted to take her back home but I was still frightened of Karen's threats to set men on me if I did."

The trial was adjourned until Monday.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Water companies must help customers save 40% more water from 2010 following a "lacklustre" performance by some suppliers, Ofwat has announced.

The regulator is demanding that companies help customers use water more wisely with target savings of at least 23 million litres a day, or an average of one litre per property each day.

Companies will have to give household and business customers better information on how to use water sensibly and promote devices like water-efficient toilets and showers.

Ofwat promised it would not allow companies to increase customer bills to meet the targets, which will be introduced on a trial basis from April 2009 and come into full effect in 2010.

The targets would see suppliers helping customers to save an estimated 40% more water compared with the past three years - enough to fill more than 3,300 Olympic swimming pools every year.

The reduction is expected to be on top of savings from targets on leakage from pipes and increasing water metering.

The Government's long-term ambition is to reduce individual water usage to 130 litres per person per day from its current level of around 150 litres.

Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said: "Water is an increasingly valuable resource and we all have a responsibility to conserve it. Successes in Europe show that helping households to use water wisely can save significant amounts of water, reducing the need for expensive new sources.

"Some companies need to do more to help customers cut waste and use water efficiently. This is good customer service and helps customers on meters control their bills. Companies will be stretched by these targets but this is about customers getting a fair deal and using water sustainably."

England and Wales lags significantly behind many European countries including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium in terms of the amount of water used by households.

-Nova

[Black Widow]

THE vile mum of Baby P partied at the infamous Monsters’ Ball in jail – while her tragic tot was given a pauper’s funeral.

The cold-hearted 27-year-old joined some of Britain’s most evil murderesses at the fancy-dress bash.

Fury erupted two months ago when The Sun published a photo from the 2007 Halloween knees-up at London’s Holloway prison – showing lifers in ghoulish costumes and dripping in fake blood.

Hated

Taxpayers footed the £500 bill for the jolly – blasted as an “insult” to victims. Baby P’s mum – convicted with the tot’s stepdad, 32, and a lodger of appalling cruelty after her 17-month-old son was tortured to death – was on remand at the time. She was also pregnant with a child she gave birth to in jail.

Last night a prison source said: “This woman is the most hated prisoner at Holloway. No one can believe how evil she is.

“Seeing her feasting on cake while Michael Jackson’s Thriller played in the background turned everyone’s stomachs.

“The fact she was pregnant was even more sickening.” Days after The Sun lifted the lid on the chilling party, Justice Secretary Jack Straw outlawed any more amid outrage.

The mum cannot be named for legal reasons. She admitted causing the death of her tiny son – found in his blood-spattered cot. The stepdad, who also cannot be named, and lodger Jason Owen, 36, were convicted of the same charge. All await sentence. Despite being on an “at risk“ register at Haringey council in North London, Baby P had been horrifically tortured for eight months.

Among killers at the party on the lifers’ wing was Jayne Richards, 35, who butchered her lover in a row over Christmas decorations, and Rochelle Etherington, 21, who gouged out her dying victim’s eye with a screwdriver.

Baby P’s mum, sent to the women’s jail weeks earlier, was not among those who dressed as devils and witches – and was not in the shocking picture.

The jail source said: “She wore her own clothes. She was on the lifers’ wing because she was at that time charged with murder.”


the sun

[Black Widow]

The inquest into the death of 14-year old Brian Rossiter has heard he told a friend, the night before he was found unconscious in a garda station cell, that he had been beaten by gardaí.

The inquest has also been told that the 14-year-old was out of control and striking out trying to free himself when he arrived at Clonmel Garda Station after his arrest.

Brian Rossiter and Anthony O'Sullivan had been hanging around together for some time and were both aged 14 when Brian died, the inquest heard.

Anthony O'Sullivan said that he and Brian drank cider and smoked some hash in a friend's flat on the evening of their arrest on 10 September 2002. He denied that they had taken the drug ecstasy.

Later, he said, they shouted abuse at gardaí after another friend was arrested following a disturbance on the street.

They ran away and got separated but both were arrested a short time later.

Anthony O'Sullivan told the inquest that Brian was put in the cell next to him at Clonmel Garda Station. He said Brian shouted to him that gardaí 'were after beating him and killing him'.

Garda Anne-Marie Coogan told the inquest Brian Rossiter was intoxicated when he arrived at the station after his arrest.

She said he was shouting and roaring. He was very aggressive and was striking out trying to free himself.

The hearing continues.


RTE

[John]

Thanks for the news!