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feed text Egypt election: early results - live updates
Fri, 25 May 2012 14:52:00 GMT

• 'The revolution has ended' – Shafiq spokesman
• Shafiq and Sabahy trade places for second place
• Free Syrian Army shuns al-Qaida in Syria

3.51pm: They are biting their nails at Ahmed Shafiq's headquarters according to journalist Rana Khazbak.

3.42pm: Sabahy has a 786,321 vote gap to close to make it to the runoff, according to Ahram's unofficial tally.

With two governorates to go, Sabahy's lead is not that big in Cairo, and he's currently only second in Giza, after partial results.

3.37pm: Qalioubiya has also gone for Shafiq and Morsi, according to the Ahram tally.

Just Giza and Cairo to go now.

Omar Robert Hamilton comments:

3.29pm: Pre-vote disqualifications played a crucial part in the result that is emerging, argues Steve Negus on the Arabist blog.

Despite Sabahy's surge, the runoff as of mid-afternoon is looking like it will be between the Brothers' Mohammed Morsi and ex-Mubarak prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, although if Hamdeen repeats his Alex performance in Cairo this may change.

Regardless of who pulls ahead, the margins for second place look like they're going to be around one or two percentage points - meaning that the top two names indicate more about the randomness injected into the race by the pre-vote disqualifications than they really say about voter preferences. If Omar Suleiman were still in the race, for example, Shafiq and he might be relegated to vote-splitting also-rans. If Abu Ismail [the Salafist candidate] were still around, maybe Morsi would be a distant third - or, alternately, maybe Abul Futouh or even Sabahi would have slipped down a few notches.

3.18pm: Morsi and Shafiq came out top in Assiut one of the last four governorates in Ahram's tally. Sabahi was a poor fourth.

Now its just Cairo, Giza, and Qalyoubiya, for Ahram's unofficial count to finish.

3.07pm: The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi, the candidate most likely to make it to runoff, has recorded a rambling video message in English to Egyptians living abroad.

In it he expressed his commitment to a free, democratic and constitutional Egypt. He also invites ex-pats to email him at drmorsy@yahoo.com.

The video illustrates to English speakers why so many found his campaign uninspiring. And yet he appears to have come top in the first top - so it is also a reminder of the power of the Muslim Brotherhood's electoral machine.

Ian Black has posted a new profile of Morsi:

Little-known to the wider public, Morsi is a famously boring speaker who reduces Egyptian journalists to teeth-gnashing frustration as he rarely says anything remotely quotable. He was ridiculed as a "spare" after Shater's disqualification, and some people waved tyres at his rallies to emphasise the point. But the Brotherhood's well-oiled machine seems to matter more than his underwhelming personality.

3.02pm: Sherine Tadros of al-Jazeera tweets from Morsi headquarters that there will be a press conference at 9pm tonight. As far as Morsi is concerned, it's now a contest between him and Shafiq.

Ashraf Khalil, who said on the Arabist podcast earlier this week that he was losing sleep over the possibility of a Shafiq victory, has posted this comment:

Meanwhile, the Egypt Independent appears to confirm that defeated candidate Abul Fotouh has not endorsed Morsi for the run-off after all (see 12.57pm)

Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh's campaign has denied reports that the former Brotherhood member conceded and endorsed the Brotherhood's candidate, Mohamed Morsy, in the runoffs.

2.37pm: Incomplete results from Cairo suggest a big lead for Sabahy in the capital. The leftist candidate is also comfortably beating Shafiq to second place in Giza.

Ahram Online which is still calling it as Morsi v Shafiq run off says we are still waiting for results from Cairo, Giza, Asiut, and Qalyoubiya governorates, where one third of electorate live.

Mohamed Abd el-Hamid calls for patience:


Mostafa Hussein is crossing his fingers:

2.22pm: The official results now look set to be released on Sunday or Monday, writes Abdel-Rahman Hussein.

Hatem Begato from the electoral commission tells BBC Arabic that the official results will be released before Tuesday, but not today or tomorrow, because complaints and appeals from the candidates need to be taken into account.

1.42pm: The revolution is over, according to a Shafiq spokesman quoted by the New York Times:

Ahmad Sarhan, a spokesman for Mr Shafiq, said voters had rallied to the candidate because he promised to "save Egypt from the dark forces," referring to the Brotherhood and more militant Islamists.

Mr Shafiq would bring back security, Mr Sarhan said. "The revolution has ended," he said. "It is one and a half years."

1.15pm: Shafiq is back into second place according to the latest count from Ahram.

Its latest tally includes counts from 18 of the 27 governorates. Sabahy was in second after counts from 15 governorates.

Morsi 3,451,433 (25.59%)
Shafiq 3,378,998 (25.05%)
Sabbahi 2,862,143 (21.22%)
Abul Fotouh 2,362,956 (17.52%)
Moussa 1,431,239 (10.61%)

Its figures do not include the urban centres of Cairo and Giza.

1.11pm: Hamdeen Sabahy jumped into second place after Ahram's election tally added results from the port city of Alexandria where he enjoys big support, explains Jack Shenker in audio update from Cairo.

There is a lot of confusion. We are not yet sure whether Cairo and Giza votes have yet been included in the tallies we are seeing on our computer screens.

We are getting a mixed picture [from candidate's monitors]. Nobody knows exactly what's happening, but it does seem that whereas a few hours ago the so called 'nightmare scenario' of Shafiq and Morsi going through to the final runoff, it now looks as if Hamdeen Sabahy, the leftist, might just be pipping Shafiq to that second place spot. But we still have to be very cautious ...

All of our predictions have been thrown out the window because areas which we thought would poll well for the Islamist have gone secular, and areas which we thought would be revolutionary, like Suez, have polled quite highly for establishment figures and vice versa all over the country, so it is a very mixed picture.

It could all come down to recounts and accusations of voting violations, Jack says.

If things are a close as they appear to be between Sabahy and Shafiq it is entirely possible that we won't know until Tuesday [or beyond]. Recounts for single polling stations could tip it either way if the figures remain as close as they are. If Sahaby and Shafiq are neck-and-neck for second place ... then individual claims of irregularities and electoral violations suddenly take on hugely significant importance.

12.57pm: The Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV is saying that Abul Fotouh has endorsed the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi for the run-off. Unconfirmed at present, but not totally surprising if true.

Quick update: Blogger Sandmonkey is saying Abul Fotouh has denied supporting Morsi. Hopefully, we shall be able to clarify this shortly.

12.26pm: Much excitement at the latest polls suggesting Hamdeen Sabahy could make the run off.

Journalist Sarah Carr tweets:

Andrew Hammond from Reuters tweets:

Now that the nightmare scenario of a Morsi v Shafiq runoff seems less slightly likely (but still a distinct possibility) it's time to dust off another of Ian Black's runoff scenarios:

Morsi versus Hamdeen Sabahy

In this run-off scenario, the independent Nasserist "one of us" candidate would be likely to win the support of much of the anti-Islamist camp, but there could be a low turnout, which would favour the Brotherhood's man

12.13pm: Will there be a late surge for Sabahy? asks a previously gloomy Abdel-Rahman Hussein (see 11.18am). He emails:

Could the improbably happen? Some polls now are showing that Hamdeen Sabahy has replaced Shafik in second place. There may be life in this race just yet, and more twists and turns coming our way, fingers crossed.

12.00pm: Hang on .... out of nowhere the leftist/nationalist candidate Hamdeen Sabahai appears to have rocketed into second place, according to Ahram Online.

Jack Shenker tweets:

Time to change the picture on this blog.

11.45am: Libya: Prime minister Abdurrahim el-Keib, who is visiting Britain, laid a wreath this morning at the spot where PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead 28 years ago while policing an anti-Gaddafi demonstration in London.

Keib, a former professor of electrical engineering who took over as interim prime minister last November, also spoke at Chatham House about the problems facing Libya in the post-Gaddafi era – and not only as a result of last year's conflict.

"When we took office," he said, "Libya was in a state of devastation on all levels ... no civil society, no political parties, no free press. Libya was a country where Libyans felt alien as a result of love wages, unemployment of over 30% and lack of opportunities. Libyans also live in fear of the security apparatus."

He continued: "Under the circumstances we have been making excellent progress. In the area of stability, for example, the government has put in place a serious programme for disarmament and the merger of the revolutionaries into the state system."

Brian Whitaker, who was in the audience, gives his impressions:

Tall, in his sixties and slightly stooping, Abdurrahim el-Keib seemed more grandfatherly than revolutionary. Pointing to his background in engineering, he described himself as "a practical man" – which is perhaps a polite way of saying he's far from inspirational.

In fact, he sounded very much an old-style Arab politician – and with similar explanations when things aren't happening. His fall-back position is that many things are on hold, pending the elections next month.

Up to a point, that's true. But he talked a lot about freedom and human rights – which some in the audience found difficult to reconcile with two recent laws numbered 37 and 38 which prohibit "glorifying" Gaddafi and grant an amnesty for "acts made necessary" by the revolution.

Keib's answer was that these are only temporary. "There are many who are trying to get us to a point where we can't do the election," he said. "Remnants of the regime are still operating."

He insisted that free expression and human rights are still "sacred values" behind the revolution. But how temporary is "temporary"? Similar, supposedly short-term problems have been used in other Arab countries to justify a multitude of abuses, including "emergency" laws that end up becoming permanent.

• Update, 2.45pm: Chatham House has now issued a transcript and recording of the event.

11.18am: The official results of the election are not expected until Tuesday, but almost all the exit polls suggest that Morsi came first and Shafiq second, in the first round says Abdel-Rahman Hussein in audio update from Cairo.

A Morsi versus Shafiq would represent a return to the old days of the previously banned Muslim Brotherhood versus the regime, he says.

The number of votes for Shafiq are possibly votes against the revolution and everything that happened. We can't discount that in the last year and a half a lot of people have been feeling a lot of fear because of this deterioration in security and the economy. And maybe a vote for Shafiq is a nostalgic reaching out for the past where things were not so great, but stable ...

It leaves the revolution, where we all knew it was, appropriated and usurped by the military and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Abdo, who boycotted the poll, adds: "I'm not happy at all that it has come to this. I'm hoping that the numbers change throughout the day, and that this is the not the scenario that we have to face."

He says he will also boycott the runoff in June, but the thought has crossed his mind to reluctantly back Morsi to keep out Shafiq.

10.46am: The Muslim Brotherhood's preferred presidential candidate, Khairat al-Shater, who was disqualified from standing, has an interesting take on the results according to Issandr El Amrani

Shater also predicts that how Abul Foutouh and Sabahy's supporters will vote in the runoff (the two candidates came third and fourth with around 37% of the vote between them).

10.33am: The Carter Centre has praised the fair conduct of the poll, Ahram Online reports citing Mena.

It also talked to a bitter member of the team of the moderate Islamist Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh. She said:

I didn't sleep until 4am. How did Shafiq get all these votes? Really, how? I am extremely depressed. I will pray that Hamdeen Sabbahi and Abul-Fotouh will be cursed for leaving us to choose between Shafiq and Mursi in the runoffs. One of them should have stepped down for the other.

10.22am: Many agree that the likely results show how detached Egypt's internet generation have become from reality.

The Big Pharaoh:

Al-Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal:

Journalist Alaa Bayoumi says Shafiq largely ignored the internet generation - a strategy that appears to be paying off.

10.17am: Blogger Zeinobia expresses her dismay at the prospect of a Shafiq versus Morsi contest, and she suggests that Egyptian activists, herself included, were too insulated within an internet bubble to see it coming.

I have spent all night crying and saying stuff I should not say , things I know that I should not write because my rage , things I fear that I would say and then I feel sorry about my Egyptian people.

My only condolences that from 90 million Egyptians only 50% of the eligible voters in the country "50 million" participated in this election , the historical elections that reminds me with the Six Days war defeat.

I do not have any words , it is like choosing between two hells : The Muslim brotherood or Shafiq !!!

We are all to blame especially the #Jan25 Revolutionaries who set back in bubbly Cairo 'that voted for Shafiq' and in their closed social networks realms. We are responsible for this without doubt.

10.01am: Hosni Mubarak will be looking on at the likely presidential runoff with a smug sense of vindication, says Ian Black in Cairo.

In an instant audio analysis on the emerging result, Ian said a runoff between Shafiq and Morsi will make for a very polarised confrontation which many think will prove difficult to get through.

"People who supported the Egyptian revolution will be devastated if that is the choice," he said.

They are both very divisive characters. Millions of Egyptians fear and hate the Muslim Brotherhood because it is an Islamist party ... If you are a secular or a liberal Egyptian, the last thing you want is to be ruled by them. That's one of the reasons why the Mubarak regime was able to last for 30 years, playing on the fears of the alternative, if [his] sort of authoritarian regime went. Shafiq on the other hand is closely associated with that regime ...

Hosni Mubarak, might well feel - in his prison cell - a sense of smug vindication. He always said the Arabic equivalent of Après moi, le déluge - it is going to be tough without me.

Looking ahead to the runoff, and beyond, Ian added:

It is going to be a very bitter contest which doesn't augur well for multi-party democracy in the largest of Arab counties.

Behind the scenes the military will be supporting Shafiq. A lot of people will abstain because they will find it an impossible choice between two such unattractive candidates, if what you are hoping for is progress and building on the achievement of the revolution.

That creates a serious danger of a result that is lacking in legitimacy because people will not want to support it.

Whoever wins whether its Morsi or Shafiq life is going to be much more turbulent on all fronts: politically, economically, security wise. Egyptians would have been better off with a president who was likely to be less divisive.

The capacity for trouble on the streets is going to be greater. There are bound to be tensions with people who believe this is a betrayal of everything the revolution stood for.

The achievement of the Egyptian revolution could look very different in just a few weeks time.

9.16am: Syria: The Israeli daily Haaretz has an intriguing new line on the Shawkat poisoning rumours.

Israel has reliable information showing that despite Syria's official denials, an attempt was made to assassinate several top regime officials four days ago, senior Israeli officials said on Thursday.

The information shows that Syrian President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, and several other senior officials were indeed poisoned, just as the Free Syrian Army claims. But prompt medical treatment saved their lives.

9.09am: An official result is still a long way off but a high percentage of the votes have been counted according to various reports, and the projections are not changing.

Now Democracy's Sharif Kouddous:

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros:

8.51am: Egyptian activists have been predicting further protests if the runoff turns out to be contest between Shafiq and Morsi.

Egyptian journalist Mohamed Abdelfattah:

Blogger Zeinobia fears the worst:

Meanwhile, Vidar Helgesen secretary general, of International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, has this sage comment:

The Arabist urges us to wait for the official results

8.25am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. With Egypt's presidential elections heading for what many regard as a nightmare scenario, we will be focusing on the continuing count and the reaction to the results as they come in.

Here's a round of the latest in Egypt and Syria:

Egypt

• The latest results point to what revolutionaries would regard as the worst possible outcome - a runoff between the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi and Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq. At the time of writing the latest count shows Morsi is on 28.2% Shafiq on 24%. The moderate Islamist Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh is on 18.6% and leftist nationalist Hamdeen Sabahy is on 17.2%. Amr Moussa is a distant fifth on 11.9%. These figures roughly tally with counts by the Muslim Brotherhood which put Morsi on 25%, Shafiq, Abul Fotouh on 20% and Sabahy on 19%.

• Ian Black predicts who would win in the mostly likely runoffs, including the "nightmare scenario" of Morsi versus Shafiq.

A contest between them would be a highly polarised choice that would take Egyptians back to the bad old days before the revolution. The Brotherhood would mobilise massively behind Morsi, with the army and police supporting Shafiq. Violence would be highly likely to erupt. Abstention rates would soar.

Syria

• Government forces executed entire families in their homes as part of the crackdown on the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, UN investigators have found, Reuters reports. Both President Assad's troops and opposition fighters were committing gross human rights violations despite a six-week-old ceasefire, but the security forces were responsible for most crimes documented since March, the UN report released yesterday said.

• The New York Times examines the struggle to spread, or halt, the rumor that Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat, was poisoned alongside other senior figures, which first surfaced in an opposition video last weekend. Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi has denied the claim adding that the main evidence refuting the assertion was that most of those mentioned had recently appeared on television. "Others who didn't appear are also in good health and at work as usual," it quoted him telling a Kuwaiti newspaper.

Shawkat, a former head of military intelligence, has not appeared on television for some time.

The inner workings of the police state were difficult to ascertain even before the current uprising started 15 months ago, and they are even more opaque now. There are unconfirmed rumors every week of someone in the Assad family or inner circle being killed or wounded.

But the story about Shawkat has been more persistent and more bizarre.

• A former high-ranking officer in the Syrian army, has called for urgent international military intervention to stop what he called the "barbaric genocide" being committed by government forces in his country, the BBC reports.In a talk at Britain's House of Commons. Brig-Gen Aqil Hashem said more than 15,000 people had now been killed in Syria, and that the only way out of the conflict was for the world's militaries to intervene. Hashem said the very minimum the world needed to do in Syria was to carve out a militarily protected "safe zone" in north-west Syria, similar to the one made for the Kurds in northern Iraq in 1991.

• The rebel Free Syrian Army is shunning al-Qaida's attempt to gain a foothold in Syria, according to the BBC's Paul Wood.

One Free Syrian Army officer told me al-Qaida figures have been visiting, trying to form new alliances. They made a direct approach to a cleric near the town of Qusair. Money, weapons and other support were offered, in return for allegiance to al-Qaeda. They turned him away.

Matthew Weaver
Brian Whitaker

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text Downing Street tried to rewrite Jeremy Hunt adviser's resignation letter
Fri, 25 May 2012 14:07:44 GMT

Proposed change in letter would have implied Adam Smith had strayed beyond his remit, he tells Leveson inquiry

Number 10 tried to rewrite the resignation statement of Jeremy Hunt's former special adviser using language that would have implied that the 30-year-old official had strayed beyond his remit in communicating with News Corporation about its BSkyB takeover bid.

Adam Smith told the Leveson inquiry on Friday that he objected to a last-minute rewrite to his resignation letter, which had been proposed by the office of cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood. He successfully insisted that it be removed.

The special adviser also revealed that he had initially been told by Hunt, the culture secretary, that "it won't come" to his resignation on 24 April, immediately after it emerged in evidence submitted to the Leveson inquiry that he had been in regular contact with the News Corp lobbyist Frédéric Michel during the company's bid for BSkyB.

However, the following day Smith arrived at work only to be told by the culture secretary that "everybody here thinks you need to go". The special adviser – who had previously been praised for his work – was handed a draft resignation letter to sign.

Colleagues of David Cameron's most senior civil servant then requested that the first line in the proposed letter that was put out last month be amended to read: "While I believed it was my role to keep News Corporation informed". The initial draft adopted a more neutral tone, and read: "While it was part of my role to keep News Corporation informed."

However, Smith said he objected to the unexpected change because "the department had known that that's what my role had been" and the original version was reinstated.

Smith has always said he was given the task of acting as a link between News Corp and Hunt during the period when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was adjudicating on the Murdoch company's £8bn bid for BSkyB.

Smith had been tipped off that as part of James Murdoch's evidence the inquiry would see emails written by Michel and relating to their contact between June 2010 and July 2011. He watched Murdoch's Leveson appearance live and shortly after met Hunt to offer his resignation on 24 April.

He said the culture secretary told him he did not think that would be necessary, and heard Smith's version of events. Recalling their conversation, Smith said he told his former boss that the Michel emails "were a one-sided reflection and in many cases exaggerated".

Smith then went for a drink with colleagues, where the mood was "very pressured and one of the most stressful days that I'd certainly had to deal with". Overnight, however, pressure on Smith mounted – and when he arrived the next day Hunt made it clear that he would have to quit.

The former special adviser described the conversation at the critical meeting with his boss: "We did discuss how we'd enjoyed working with each other and how it was going to be tough and it wasn't just a one-line conversation, no."

Smith added that he had offered to resign because "I thought by this stage that the perception had been created that something untoward had gone on".

On the day he left, Smith also received a private note from Jonathan Stephens, the DCMS permanent secretary, praising his work. Stephens wrote: "I've seen many special advisers – you have undoubtedly [been] the best and straightest. You've worked smoothly and professional … You've given great service to Jeremy … How you left today was characteristic of the selfless and self-effacing way that you've approached your role."

Dan Sabbagh
Lisa O'Carroll

guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds



text Eurozone crisis live: 'Battle lines' drawn over eurobonds
Fri, 25 May 2012 14:55:00 GMT

• Shares in Bankia suspended
• European stock markets open higher, bank shares rebound
• Consumer confidence steady in Germany, improving in France

4.02pm: Worth taking the retraction of the Catalan president's comments (see 3.54pm) with a pinch of salt, as one trader points out...

3.56pm: Ouch. Athens stock exchange closed down 3.45%, its lowest level since 3 January 1990. This week it lost a whopping 11.8%.

3.54pm: Back to the Catalonia story (see 1.44pm). Dow Jones is now reporting that the earlier comments from the region's president were taken "out of context".

3.25pm: And back to the eurobond debate, which is fast descending into a slanging match. Our European editor Ian Traynor, who is based out in Brussels, reports:

Bundesbank boss (and former Merkel adviser), Jens Weidmann, was characteristically dismissive of eurobonds in an interview just published in Le Monde, but also deliciously waspish on the level of debate among eurozone and EU leaders.

"Growth is always a good thing," he snorts on the banalities currently being mouthed by EU leaders. "Being in favour of growth is like being a supporter of world peace." Ouch.

He has more. The current focus on "project bonds" by EU leaders? "This debate annoys me a bit. Every month there are brilliant ideas for combatting the crisis, only for them to disappear the next month. At the moment, that's project bonds. Apart from financing problems, I'm not sure that there's any lack of infrastructure at all hindering growth in these countries. And I've yet to see any serious analysis on the topic."

The predictable bottom line for Weidmann is that eurobonds are a false prospectus, as an answer to the crisis an "illusion." Nor can you fix a debt crisis by heaping up more debt. The countries in trouble need to crack on with the reforms they have promised instead of "non-stop delays."

It's up to Greece to keep its word on the agreements with the troika in return for the bailout. If it doesn't, "the aid should be stopped." And Grexit? "I'm often asked that question. On principle I never answer it."

3.10pm: The eurozone should create a centrally-managed body to deal with troubled banks, an ECB board member said today.

Peter Praet, who is on the executive board of Europe's central bank, called for a eurozone-wide banking regulator with the money and authority to restructure banks operating across borders.

He also proposed a eurozone-wide deposit insurance programme. Both measures would be funded by the private sector, not the government, so that taxpayers "would be shielded from picking up the bill for future banking crises". He said:

Europe needs to move towards a 'financial union', with a single euro area authority responsible for the supervision and resolution of large and complex cross-border banks. Decisive and far-sighted reforms like these, unrealistic until a short while ago, are now gaining support. Reacting to the pressure of events may seem unattractive, but it may also be the only way forward.

2.57pm: A quick update from my colleague Graeme Wearden, who won the Wincott prize for online financial journalism yesterday, and clearly went on to celebrate last night...

2.43pm: Will Latvia swap places with Greece? Apparently the eastern European country is the closest it has ever been to joining the euro. Latvia's central bank chief Ilmars Rimsevics said today:

Up until now, Latvia has never been so close to this goal.

Latvia, which was forced to take an EU and IMF bailout because of the crisis, hopes to adopt the euro in 2014.

2.36pm: French banks are drawing up contingency plans in case of a Greek exit, Reuters is reporting, citing unnamed sources.

It says Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale are involved in "heightened preparations". Data from the Bank of International Settlements show that France had lent $44.4bn to Greece at the end of 2011, compared with Germany, which had lent $13.4bn.

2.17pm: The euro has now dropped below $1.25 (although it appears to be bouncing back). There is some benefit of a tumbling euro for anyone heading to the continent, as noted by City Index's chief market strategist.

2.09pm: There's more fighting over the eurobond issue. The Netherlands' caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte has said he would continue to block eurobonds even if Germany changed its mind. He told reporters:

I rule out that Germany will change its opinion but even if it happened, the Netherlands would not participate.

For everything you ever wanted to know on eurobonds, and perhaps a little more, my colleague Phillip Inman has written this essential guide.

2.02pm: The Catalonia story (see 1.44pm) and Bankia's bailout (see 8.48am) have pushed Spain's borrowing costs higher. The yield on the Spanish 10-year bond – the interest it pays on the debt – has reached 6.3% and continues to climb.

1.44pm: Back to Spain, where news is coming out that Catalonia will ask the central government for financial help this year as it is running out of debt financing options. The story has spooked the markets, causing the euro to hit a 22-month low of $1.2505.

Catalonia is Spain's wealthiest region and represents one fifth of the Spanish economy. It has more than €13bn in debt to refinance this year, as well as its deficit. Catalan president Artur Mas said earlier today:

We don't care how they do it, but we need to make payments at the end of the month. Your economy can't recover if you can't pay your bills.

1.40pm: There's plenty of reaction coming in about the bailout of Spanish bank Bankia. Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, says:

The financial rescue and restructuring of Bankia epitomise the failures of Spanish and eurozone policymaking. The whole process has been like pulling teeth. There have been repeated failures on the part of regulators and the government to tackle the balance sheet problems at Bankia head-on, partly because of continued resistance to injecting more public money into the banking sector but also because of the speed of the deterioration in the asset quality of the bank.

What is critical right now is to draw a line under the losses with a level of state aid that is sufficient and which the markets deem to be sufficient. This is easier said than done given that Spanish bank restructuring is a moving target: the deeper the downturn, the greater the scope for a further deterioration in banks' asset quality.

1.19pm: And for some light relief, The Wall Street Journal has a remarkable story about Japan's finance ministry enlisting the help of a pop group to sell government debt.

The cash-strapped government will, apparently, use the 90-strong girl group to promote "reconstruction bonds" aimed at financing the rebuilding of the areas hit by the earthquake and tsunami last year. The government plans to issue ¥2.682 trillion of the bonds this year but demand is weak.

The WSJ reports: "The move is part of a broader campaign to use celebrities to stoke interest in the bonds, with Mongolian sumo champion Hakuho the first of four stars to appear in TV commercials, newspaper ads and posters over the next year."

12.58pm: Quick lunchtime wrap. The markets, for the most part, have turned negative after opening higher.

FTSE 100: down 0.44%, or 23 points, at 5327
France CAC: down 0.33%
German DAX: up 0.06%
Spain IBEX: down 0.66%
Italy FTSE MIB: down 0.37%

• Shares in Spanish bank Bankia have been suspended at the request of the company. Reports suggest the bank will ask the Spanish government for a €15bn bailout today.

• Surveys out of France and Germany suggest consumer confidence is improving in both countries. German consumers are considerably more optimistic in May, compared with last month, and their willingness to buy increased slightly. In France, optimism about the economic situation continues to edge up.

• There are reports of a German government plan to encourage growth in Europe, under which crisis countries like Greece would receive tax concessions, on condition though that they reform their labour markets, like Germany did in the early days of the euro.

12.38pm: News in from Athens where our correspondent Helena Smith reports yet another twist to the debt crisis.

Greece's caretaker prime minister Panaghiotis Pikrammenos has JUST proved once again that this is a [debt] drama with more contradictions (or perhaps theatrical ploys) than a Molière play. One day after the EU summit, the high court judge as diplomacy dictates, spent the morning back in Athens briefing Greece's head of state president Karolos Papoulias. The summit was he said especially "positive." "I'd like to tell you that contrary to the rumours of the last few days and contrary to what has been written in newspapers, all of our European partners want our country to remain in the euro zone. And because of this we discussed at length taking certain measures that could help our country in the direction of development and combating unemployment," he said.

Readers will recall that addressing reportersin the wee hours of Thursday after the summit, the prime minister revealed that Angela Merkel, the German chancellor had expressed her irriation at all the "scenarios" about Greece exiting the euro zone during a private meeting he had had with her. It has not been lost on commentators here that most of those scenarios have been cultivated by venerable institutions like the Bundesbank in Berlin.

12.34pm: The euro has recovered somewhat from two-year lows against the dollar today but the outlook remains bleak given worries over a Grexit and the risk of contagion.

The euro inched up to $1.2581, from $1.25155, the lowest level since July 2010 yesterday.

Geoff Kendrick, a currency analyst at Nomura, says:

We think if Greece does not exit the eurozone, the euro will see a gradual decline to $1.23 in coming months. But if it does, then we see the euro falling to $1.20 by the end of the second quarter and $1.15 by the end of the third.

12.17pm: A new reality for the eurozone is on the way: Cheviot's David Miller sums up the week.

• Uncertainty is increasing and unlikely to subside until Germany defines the 'new reality' for the eurozone
• The fall in UK inflation re-opens the door for QE
• Watch out for action by other central banks looking for ways to stimulate growth

Eurozone
The dysfunctional eurozone remains a major concern to all. Recessionary forces are strengthening and no sensible solutions are close to implementation. In Spain, with recession drifting towards depression and unemployment over 25%, investors are heading for the exit, leaving the local banks, funded by the ECB, as the only material buyers of government debt. Voters throughout Europe are exercising their democratic rights and are voting against further austerity.

Uncertainty is increasing and is unlikely to subside until Germany defines the 'new reality' for the eurozone – a move to a more federal Europe with no leavers, partial fragmentation or breakup. No one can be certain about the outcome. Forget market manipulation by international banks and hedge funds; Germany is the ultimate insider.

In Greece, having delivered a protest vote, perhaps the Greek voters will shift back on 17/6, allowing the formation of a government that will cooperate with the EU/ECB/IMF.

Volatile markets
Financial markets are trading in an increasingly correlated way. One of the reasons for this is that central banks are pursuing similar agendas. After four years of consistent action to support growth and ensure that financial markets are liquid, Q1 saw a series of more hawkish, less accommodative statements.

• In the US, the Federal Reserve indicated that encouraging economic news made further Quantitative Easing less necessary.
• In Europe, after the injection of €1 trillion liquidity into the banking system, the ECB, although talking about a "Growth Compact" essentially passed the buck back to Governments.
• Finally in the UK, the monetary policy committee, hemmed in by higher than expected inflation, backed away from providing more support.

Only the Bank of Japan talked about making a move in the opposite direction in an attempt to lift the world's third largest economy out of the deflationary mire. Markets sensed that for the moment, they were on their own, which is one of the reasons why since mid-March, trading has been much more erratic.

Now the mood music has changed and QE on both sides of the Atlantic is back on the agenda. Economic growth forecasts are being downgraded due to a combination of less robust growth in China and increasing concern about the eurozone.

11.29am: HSBC - Europe's biggest bank - has warned that the eurozone crisis and increasing regulation could affect its future performance. It said it would deploy capital in markets where it can expect higher growth.

Chief executive Stuart Gulliver told the bank's annual meeting at the Barbican in London:

There remain factors affecting our performance that are beyond our immediate control - from the eurozone to the future regulation of the industry. We have gained real traction over the past year in those areas we can control.

11.21am: Greece should be ok if the next tranche of bailout money is delayed for a few weeks, a German finance ministry spokesman told Reuters.

"As far as I am aware, there is no current need for external financing up until beyond the first half of the year," spokesman Martin Kotthaus said at a regular news conference in Berlin. He added that a delay of a few weeks would be "unproblematic".

He also said that Greece's lenders will need a positive report on their reform progress before a planned second tranche of aid worth €4bn is released at the end of June. Greece holds a second election on 17 June after an election in early May produced a messy result. Syrizas, the radical leftist party opposed to the EU-IMF austerity programme, is expected to do well.

11.14am: In France, confidence is improving, according to stats office Insee. According to its confidence index, households' optimism about the economic situation continues to edge up, with the index gaining 1 point in May from April. It has gained 9 points since November but still remains below its long-term average. More here.

11.09am: The Footsie has just turned negative, trading down 2 points at 5348, while European markets are still up. David Jones, chief market strategist, IG Index, says:

Markets have maintained an upbeat tone so far this morning, despite news of the suspension of Spanish bank Bankia. The new management team of Bankia are expected to ask for a €15bn bailout from the government today, and it is thought the suspension is to avoid any further speculation until the results of the meeting are known. Market reaction to this has been negligible, with even the Spanish stock market index still just about positive for the day. So it would appear – for now at least – that investors see Bankia as an isolated case and not the first warning sign for Spain's banking sector as a whole.

Back to the UK, earlier this week the FTSE did have a brief flirtation with the 5400 level so there is definitely scope for some more gains from here – although the combination of the weather, the weekend and Monday's US holiday may see activity fade as the day goes on.

Looking ahead to the US, at the moment we are expecting the Dow around 40 points higher at the open.

10.57am: Consumer confidence data for Germany from GfK painted a stable picture this morning. The research organisation said:

The mood among consumers in Germany was very stable in May. Consumers are considerably more optimistic than in the previous month and willingness to buy also increased slightly. Income expectations, however, dropped marginally. Following a revised value of 5.7 points in May, the overall indicator is also forecasting 5.7 points for June.

10.20am: Got an email from Graeme Wearden this morning but he hasn't told me yet how he is feeling. He won the online financial journalist of the year award at the Wincott Awards, and was also commended last night for the Reporting Europe prize. What a star!

10.15am: Over to Greece where our correspondent Helena Smith says an emergency meeting is about to be held at the economy ministry to discuss dramatically declining state revenues.

Clearly alarmed by plummeting budget revenues, attributed in part to the country's political instability following inconclusive elections earlier this month, Greece's caretaker government has decided to take action. Figures released by the state general accounting office show revenues down by almost a third – some €1.35bn - compared to May last year.

The dramatic decline will be the focus of an emergency meeting called by Finance Minister Giorgos Zannias to discuss ways of plugging the budget black hole. Officials have blamed the precipitous fall on the failure of tax authorities to collect revenues – partly because of the uncertainty that has followed Greece political limbo and partly because of cuts to salaries and wages. Ministry officials say they are now considering extending the deadline for the submission of tax returns from 15 June to the end of the month.

9.56am: More from Kate Connolly in Berlin.

Bild is reporting the carefully coordinated contingency plan to enable Greece to leave the euro.

The travel agency TUI is insisting on having a drachma clause in all its contracts, to protect it from financial loss should a currency switch take place.
supermarket chain Metro is making plans to allow customers in its Greek shops to pay in Drachma. It's making preparations for pricing labels and cash machines to be changed, according to the paper.

Deutsche Telekom has sent experts to its Greek partner, OTE to help plan for a change from euro to drachma. German banks have reportedly written off all their junk Greek funds and investments so that a Grexit will not affect them. In addition the paper writes, the European Central Bank is working out practical ways in which Euro notes could be switched ie by stamping them with a special magnetic stamp. The ECB also needs to work out what it does with the €40bn worth of Greek bonds it possesses. In the event of Greece going bankrupt, or leaving the eurozone they could end up being worthless.

9.53am: Our Berlin correspondent Kate Connolly has just sent this in.


Der Spiegel is just coming out with a report saying it has information about a German government 6-point plan to encourage growth in Europe, under which crisis countries like Greece would receive tax concessions, on condition though that they reform their labour markets, like Germany did in the early days of the euro.

The plan involves creating special economic zones in the crisis-struck parts of the eurozone. Foreign investors would be lured with tax incentives and more relaxed regulation. The crisis countries would be required to establish German-style privatisation agencies or privatisation funds to sell off/part privatise parts of the public sector.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung is writing on its front page that internally the eurozone partners are very seriously preparing for a Gexit, while externally wanting to create impression that Greece is staying.

9.17am: Shares in Spanish lender Bankia have been suspended "due to circumstances that may affect the normal share trading," the Spanish stock market regulator CMV said this morning. The shares closed down 7.4% yesterday.

Bankia will ask the government for more than €15bn in bailout money when its new management team presents a restructuring plan today, Reuters reported, citing a financial sector source. More from my colleague Giles Tremlett in Madrid here.

8.48am: Today is Bankia day in Spain, with taxpayers likely to discover how much money they must inject into the ailing part-nationalised bank, reports our man in Madrid, Giles Tremlett.


Last night's reports of €15bn are partly the result of the new management team setting a lower valuation for the bank's parent company BFA in a revised version of the 2011 accounts, according to Expansion newspaper.

That may provoke trouble with the 400,000 shareholders who bought into Spain's fourth biggest bank when it floated shares in July.

The move generates losses at BFA, according to Expansion, which explains why the size of the capital injection it needs from the state has shot up. A board meeting today should provide greater clarity.

El País, meanwhile, continues to insist that the government is studying turning Bankia into a massive nationalised bank by merging it with other troubled cajas - the savings banks that have found themselves drowning in toxic real estate left over from a 2008 housing bust.

It says Bankia might absorb Catalunyacaixa and Novagalicia, two of Spain's top ten lenders. Other smaller banks that have been rescued by the state might also be thrown into the pot.

8.40am: Readers are asking about the whereabouts of my esteemed colleague Graeme Wearden, who won the award for online financial journalist of the year at the prestigious Wincott Awards yesterday. He actually has the day off today and I haven't heard from him this morning (it's still early). I'll keep you posted....

8.23am: Well, despite ongoing disputes among EU leaders over the right way forward, European stock markets have opened higher. The FTSE edged up more than 20 points to 5373 in early trading, a 0.45% rise. It is on track for its best weekly performance in a month as investors are snapping up cheap stocks. On Monday, the Footsie hit a six-month low of 5253,92.

Spain's Ibex has gained 0.9%, Italy's FTSE MIB is more than 1% ahead, Germany's Dax has risen 0.8% while France's CAC has climbed 0.7%. Bank shares are bouncing back.

8.17am: "The euro bails out," says Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro. Here are his morning musings on the single currency:

Markets approach the end of what has been a pretty difficult week. The single currency has made news lows for the year (vs. the dollar) and markets have no more faith in the ability of eurozone leaders to quell speculation around a Greek exit as anti-bailout parties retain their lead in the Greek election opinion polls. We've also seen the capitulation of the single currency, something which we talked about earlier this month, where the euro has been the weakest currency in a period of dollar strength, rather than the more traditional high-beta currencies, such as the Aussie. The price action on the single currency this week means that we run the risk of short-covering activity into the weekend. Also, the Swiss franc is worth keeping a small eye on after yesterday's volatility (at least compared to recent activity), which was mostly on the back of - so far - denied rumours of further measures to quell currency strength.

8.07am: So what is all the fuss about Eurobonds about? Read our essential guide here.

8.04am: The FTSE 100 index in London has opened some 14 points higher at 5364, a 0.27% gain.

Oil is steady but is on track for its fourth weekly loss - the longest losing streak since early 2010 - as investors worry over the global economic outlook. Brent crude futures inched up 2 cents to $106.57 a barrel this morning.

7.48am: Good morning and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the eurozone debt crisis and world economy. It's a quiet day for economic data in Europe today apart from consumer confidence figures for Germany and France, so the divisions between EU leaders over how to restore confidence in the euro take centre stage again.

A major rift has opened up between Germany and France for the first time since the crisis began, our Europe editor Ian Traynor reported yesterday from Brussels. The new French president, François Hollande, insists that eurobonds are the only way forward and together with the Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, is piling pressure on German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets UK, says the "battle lines" are beginning to get drawn over eurobonds.

It can't be any surprise to see the countries that would benefit the most from lower borrowing costs are looking to leverage off Germany's position as the strongest EU economy, and its triple-A rating.

In any case Germany is not isolated on this issue with Austria, Holland and Finland coming out against the proposals, all countries who don't have large debts.

In Greece, new kids on the political block Syrizas, who oppose austerity measures, are moving ahead in opinion polls at the expense of Samara's New Democracy party who are in favour of the bailout plan.

The FT is reporting that some of Europe's biggest fund managers are dumping euro assets amid growing fears over a Greek exit from the eurozone and more euro turmoil. The euro hit a fresh 22-month low at $1.2514 yesterday.

Julia Kollewe

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text Anarchists claim responsibility for railway signalling sabotage in Bristol
Fri, 25 May 2012 12:53:34 GMT

Informal Anarchist Federation says it set fire to signalling cables, causing severe delays to commuter train services

An anarchist organisation has claimed responsibility for two attacks on railway signalling in Bristol which caused severe delays and the cancellation of services.

British transport police and Network Rail have confirmed that signalling cable was destroyed on Tuesday morning in two separate incidents of arson which caused "extensive damage" and substantial delays to passengers.

The group – calling itself the Informal Anarchist Federation – has warned of further "guerrilla" attacks and sabotage to "hurt the national image and paralyse the economy however we can". On Wednesday the group posted a statement on the Indymedia Bristol website saying it had "struck two points on the railway routes into Bristol", adding that members had "lifted concrete slabs running alongside the tracks and burned out the signalling cables found in the trench underneath".

The group said the points on the track had been chosen to target employees of the Ministry of Defence, "military industry companies" such as Raytheon, Thales, HP and QinetiQ, and the "corporate hub of Bristol". It promised further attacks, saying: "Finance, judicial, communications, military and transport infrastructure will continue to be targets of the new generation of urban, low-intensity warfare."

It described Tuesday's actions as guerrilla activity and said it had "no inhibition" about using such methods again. Characterising the Olympics as a "spectacle of wealth" in a time of austerity, it ended the statement saying it wanted "civil war" and that anarchy was "unavoidable".

Network Rail said that in the first attack, discovered at 4:15am by a passing train driver near Parson Street station in south Bristol, cabling was dug up and wrapped in material which was then set alight.

The second attack was spotted at 11:37am near Patchway railway station in the far north of the city.

The train operator First Great Western said normal services had not fully resumed until the following morning.

Transport police say that the two incidents "may or may not be connected". They are appealing for further information.

Network Rail and First Great Western described this type of deliberate attack on railway lines as "very rare"; most vandals target trains or infrastructure that they can sell for scrap.

Detective Chief Inspector John Pyke said: "We are aware of a statement posted on the internet in which a group is claiming responsibility for these incidents. At the moment, this is one of a number of lines of inquiry officers are investigating. This was completely irresponsible behaviour and we will do everything possible to trace those responsible and bring them to justice."

Anyone with any information is asked to call British transport police on 0800 40 50 40, or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Shiv Malik

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text A&E hospitals braced for heavy workload in summer of big events
Fri, 25 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

The Olympics, Euro 2012 and the diamond jubilee are expected to produce a big caseload, many of them drunk, for hospitals

Drunken revellers will be treated in "booze buses" and field hospitals and have injuries stitched up at the roadside under NHS plans to cope with a surge of alcohol-related problems during a summer of major events.

One central London hospital is being put on "semi internal major incident" alert from Monday ready for the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations next weekend, adopting a protocol usually only seen on New Year's Eve.

Doctors, ambulance services and the police are finalising measures to keep those who have been binge drinking during the jubilee celebrations, Euro 2012 and the Olympics out of A&E to ensure hospitals do not become overwhelmed.

Extra staff will be deployed, in emergency departments and in mobile units near events and gatherings. There is particular concern about the extra pressure on services caused by the four-day jubilee bank holiday weekend and England's three football matches at Euro 2012 which start a few days later.

London will bear the brunt of increased demand because of the high number of celebrations taking place there. St Thomas's hospital opposite the Houses of Parliament, whose proximity to the West End means it deals with the largest number of intoxicated patients in the capital, will next week go into "semi internal major incident mode" in preparation for the jubilee weekend. It will take steps that are usually only necessary on New Year's Eve, when it treats large numbers of drunks who have attended celebrations beside the Thames.

"We increase our staffing levels in A&E, have more nurses working on the wards, and clear our emergency admission beds in preparation," said Dr Beth Christian, an A&E consultant at St Thomas's. "Sometimes we open up outpatients and put mattresses down on the floor." In addition, beds in admission wards will be cleared the day before major events to be available for drunk patients, she added.

University College Hospital, also in central London, will also increase the number of doctors and nurses and levels of drugs and other supplies.

In Portsmouth, paramedics will hand out flip-flops to intoxicated young women who can no longer walk safely on their high heels, in line with their regular weekend practice. The city will also use the treatment unit run on Friday and Saturday nights by the Project Safe Space multi-agency hub. Its staff, police and ambulance crews deal with minor injuries and the suturing of wounds, and provide five mattresses for people to lie down and sober up safely.

Tim Churchill, demand manager at South Central Ambulance Service which covers the city, said the centre helps reduce the demand on A&E and ambulance services. "Over the summer, because of the events, and particularly if the weather is good, we will be increasing service provision," he said.

Dr Mike Clancy, president of the College of Emergency Medicine, which represents A&E doctors, said big events would put "added pressure" on NHS emergency services which are already facing rising demand.

"The resilience of the system is being tested on a daily basis," he said. "The events this summer are added pressure because there will be more people in the country and there will be increased numbers of alcohol cases for departments to deal with. Initiatives that safely care for patients suffering from uncomplicated mild intoxication in settings other than the emergency department are helpful."

In June, the Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust, together with the police and ambulance service, is setting up its first mobile unit with medical and other support services on board to help people injured or harmed through alcohol.

In the East Midlands, the ambulance service will provide medical support for the extra events being put on to celebrate the Olympics. First-response vehicles with paramedics on board – who can stitch people's injuries at the roadside – will operate in Derby and Leicester for the jubilee weekend and for weekends during the Olympics.

Some hospitals, including the Royal Liverpool Hospital, are increasing the numbers of frontline staff on duty next weekend and during Euro 2012.

Brian Hayes, a senior paramedic with the London Ambulance Service, said he was particularly worried about Euro 2012, especially as the late afternoon and evening kick-off times for England's games in Ukraine and Poland would make it easier for fans to drink while watching them.

The London service will deploy its "booze bus", a customised ambulance that collects up to five drunks at a time and takes them to a recovery centre in Soho where they can sleep on camp beds while being monitored by paramedics. It has operated over the last two Christmases; in February, it began opening on Friday and Saturday nights. It treated 259 people over eight weekends between February and April.

The service is "cost effective" because it keeps people away from busy A&E departments and ambulances, said Hayes. London's ambulances dealt with 66,254 alcohol-related incidents in 2011-12; each callout cost £225.

Alcohol misuse costs the NHS millions of pounds each year. A recent audit by St Thomas's estimated that for the 12 months from late 2010 it dealt with 5,500 alcohol related A&E attendances that cost the NHS between £3m and £4.3m.

Dr Christian said this figure "is the tip of the iceberg" because there is massive under reporting. She said the emergency admission ward was "not set up to be a drunk tank", but 10 of their emergency beds are often occupied by people who are drunk.

"This is a very costly way to manage patients," she said. "An additional 30-40 patients for an A&E night shift can mean a department that is coping becomes a department that is overwhelmed. They are often very disruptive patients. The NHS can't afford a £1,000 for every big night," she said.

The four-hour waiting target in A&E, she added, means "we don't have the luxury of observing patients, so some patients risk being over investigated".

Kate Adams

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text Michael Gove defends £370,000 plan to send Bibles to schools
Fri, 25 May 2012 15:13:40 GMT

Education secretary says plan to distribute King James Bible is way of marking anniversary of 'literary masterpiece'

The education secretary, Michael Gove, has defended his plan to send copies of the King James Bible to schools across England.

Gove said the scheme was funded by philanthropists and that it was important to mark the 400th anniversary of a "literary masterpiece".

He stressed the King James Bible was picked for historic and cultural reasons rather than on purely religious grounds, but did not rule out distributing copies of other holy books if donors paid.

The plan has proved controversial with non-religious groups, who have suggested it is unlikely that there is a school that does not already have a copy of a Bible, and claimed the £370,000 it cost could have been better spent.

It has also been dismissed as a vanity project because the Bibles are marked "presented by the secretary of state for education".

Gove told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that he did not know about the inscription.

"I have to confess that I didn't know they were going to say 'presented by the secretary for education' until I actually saw the first Bible," he said. "In a way I don't mind."

He said the education department had received "hundreds of letters" from delighted headteachers.

Gove said: "It's important to stress that the money for the distribution of these Bibles came from a variety of philanthropists, some of them people who have given money to the Conservatives, some of them people who have given money to the Liberal Democrats, one person who never would support any political party but thought that it was a good idea."

Even "arch-atheist" Richard Dawkins thought it was a "good idea", he said.

"In a way anything that focuses attention on what is, after all, a literary masterpiece first and foremost and anything which makes us reflect on the role of that translation in the life of our country, is a great thing," Gove added.

Asked whether he would back calls for a copy of the Qur'an to be sent to schools, he said: "If people want to put forward proposals to me, philanthropists or others, for distributing great books to schools, then fantastic."

Pressed on the issue, he said: "Rather than me picking and choosing, let's say the Qur'an or the Bhagavad Gita or the Talmud or whatever …"

When it was pointed out he had chosen the Bible, Gove said: "I think the King James Bible is specifically important because it was the root of so many important changes in the life of this nation.

"But if people wanted to put forward a selection of books which they felt I should distribute to schools, great.

"The more books that we can get into the hands of children, the better."


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text Lloyds bank's Jessica Harper charged with £2.5m fraud
Fri, 25 May 2012 12:00:13 GMT

Former head of fraud at part-nationalised bank is accused of submitting false invoices

A former head of fraud at Lloyds Banking Group has herself been charged with a £2.5m fraud, causing blushes at the part-nationalised bank.

Jessica Harper, 50, is accused of submitting false invoices to the tune of £2.46m when working as head of fraud and security for digital banking. It is thought her work involved managing supplies and that the invoices did not relate to personal expenses.

The fraud is alleged to have started in September 2008, shortly before Lloyds had to be bailed out by the taxpayer. The UK government owns 41% of Lloyds after funnelling £20bn of rescue funds into the bank during the financial crisis.

Harper, who lives in Croydon, south London, will appear before Westminster magistrates court next Thursday, charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position.

Andrew Penhale, deputy dead of the CPS central fraud group, said: "The charge relates to an allegation that between 1 September 2008 and 21 December 2011 Jessica Harper dishonestly and with the intention of making a gain for herself abused her position as an employee of Lloyds Banking Group, in which she was expected to safeguard the financial interests of Lloyds Banking Group, by submitting false invoices to claim payments totalling £2,463,750.88, to which she was not entitled."

He said the CPS had decided there was "a realistic prospect of conviction and a prosecution is in the public interest".

Lloyds said: "As the court process is ongoing it would be inappropriate for us to comment."

Josephine Moulds

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text Scottish independence would allow economy to grow, says Sturgeon
Fri, 25 May 2012 07:59:27 GMT

Deputy first minister claims putting financial and political matters in voters' hands would make country stronger globally

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted that independence would allow Scotland to build a stronger and more competitive country, by putting economic control in the hands of its voters.

Speaking before Alex Salmond launched the Scottish National party's official campaign for independence, Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, said the central point of independence was to hand political power over to the people of Scotland.

"What we're arguing is that it's best to have a situation where the big decisions about Scotland, about our future, are taken by the people who care most: the people who live here," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"It's not about breakup [of the UK], it's not about separation. We can continue to share things where that makes sense but independence puts powers over our economy, our political life into the hands of the people of Scotland."

Sturgeon, also deputy leader of the SNP, rejected suggestions that Scotland's independence would be undermined because it would continue to use sterling as its currency and allow the Bank of England to control monetary policy.

She said both an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK would share very similar economic and monetary goals: Scotland's North Sea oil wealth and its whisky exports would greatly help the overall balance of payments for both countries.

Unlike the eurozone, which combined the very poorest areas of Greece and the rich nations such as Germany, the nations within the UK had very similar economies and similar GDPs. She said there was "no evidence" that Scotland's international credit rating would be lower than the rest of the UK's – a claim made by some analysts. She denied that staying with the UK's currency rather than joining the euro or setting up its own currency betrayed any nerves or anxieties about Scotland's economic future.

"We think [remaining in sterling] would be good for Scotland in terms of the stability but we also think that there would be an advantage for the rest of the UK," she said. "It's not in any sense a lack of confidence in Scotland's economy. Scotland is more than capable of surviving as an independent country, because it's more than capable of paying its way."

Nevertheless, Sturgeon confirmed that an independent Scotland would set different tax rates to boost its competitiveness – implying that it would want to compete against the rest of the UK for investment. She continued: "The key advantage of independence within a monetary union is the fiscal independence we get.

"At the moment we have virtually no tax powers in Scotland and therefore we're unable to use fiscal levers to boost the competitiveness of our economy, so fiscal independence within a monetary union [within sterling] is perfectly sensible and advantageous to Scotland."

On Friday morning, Salmond will launch his party's long-awaited "Yes Scotland" campaign for the referendum on independence in 2014, centred on a new public declaration supporting separation under the slogan "Scotland's future in Scotland's hands".

The event at a multiscreen cinema in Edinburgh, billed as the largest community-based political movement in the country's history, will feature pro-independence celebrities and public figures including former Labour politicians such as the former Falkirk MP Dennis Canavan.

SNP activists around Scotland are being trained to act as campaigners for independence and urged to attempt to convert and persuade as many colleagues, friends and family members in their areas as possible, and to lobby opinion-formers in their community.

Severin Carrell

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text Glasgow schoolboy dies after alleged fight with another pupil
Fri, 25 May 2012 11:41:26 GMT

14-year-old is arrested after death of Euan Craig, who is thought to have been injured in altercation at Rosshall academy

A 14-year-old schoolboy has died following an alleged schoolyard fight with another pupil.

Police confirmed that Euan Craig had died in hospital on Thursday as a result of his injuries. The boy's relatives had held a vigil around his bed at the Southern general hospital in Glasgow, but he died shortly after midday.

It is thought the boy's injuries were sustained after an altercation with another boy near the gymnasium at Rosshall academy in the Crookston area of Glasgow.

Another 14-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in connection with the boy's death and appeared at Glasgow sheriff court on Thursday. He was charged with assault to severe injury and the danger of life and made a brief appearance in private. He made no plea or declaration, and was released on bail.

Friends of the schoolboy were in shock following the death. Police taped off an area at the back of the school buildings between two bicycle centres and officers interviewed pupils.

Many of the boy's friends and acquaintances posted their condolences on a Facebook page called "Pray for Euan Craig" – set up after he was rushed to hospital.

A fellow pupil, Allanah McMichael, posted on the page: "Shine on kid! Have a blast wee man, you'll meet us all again one day! Shine bright x." Another friend, Chloe Martin wrote: "Rip, God wanted an angel and he got one, didn't deserve to die so young."

Alison Mitchell, the school's headteacher, said: "The whole school community obviously feels a deep sense of grief and our thoughts are with his family at this devastating time. We are doing everything that we can to support all of our young people and staff."

A spokesman for Strathclyde police said: "Sympathies are extended to his family. A full report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal."

Alexandra Topping

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text Chen Guangcheng says he fears reprisals against his family
Fri, 25 May 2012 02:07:00 GMT

In his first major interview the Chinese activist said since his escape the retribution against his family has intensified

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has attacked "despicable" retaliation against his family and supporters, and warned that the treatment of his detained nephew, Chen Kegui, is a litmus test for the rule of law in China.

"Of course, I'm very worried. We can see their retribution against my family since my escape has continued and been intensified," Chen said, giving his first major interviews in years.

But he added that he felt very good about his own future since arriving in New York at the weekend, after seven years of jail and illegal house arrest. The self-taught blind activist's escape from his eastern Shandong village and flight to the US embassy in Beijing resulted in a diplomatic standoff and ultimately a face-saving deal for him to study law in the US.

"Let's not use the word house 'arrest', but instead let's use the term 'illegal detention'. It's hard for me to describe what it was like during that time. But let's just say that my suffering was beyond imagination," he told CNN.

"The Chinese foreign ministry has said more than once that I am a free person. Did I do anything wrong by leaving my home? If other people helped me leave ... this is something that should be praised. Why then when I leave do they break into my home to beat people, detain them?" he asked, adding that harassment of his relatives and supporters was despicable and violated China's constitution.

In a separate interview with Reuters, he added: "If authorities can promptly investigate and prosecute those lawless officials who broke China's laws, then possibly China can rather quickly move onto the road of rule of law.

"But if local officials continue to act wildly as they wish, perhaps in the near future my family's situation will not be good, and I think that construction of the rule of law [that] the central government has undertaken in the last few decades will be thoroughly ruined."

Chen's eldest brother Chen Guangfu also managed to flee the village on Tuesday, coming to Beijing to seek legal help for his son, Kegui.

Kegui is charged with voluntary manslaughter after using knives in a clash with officials who broke into the family's home after realising Chen Guangcheng had escaped. Lawyers appointed by his wife say he did not kill anyone. But they have been refused access to the 32-year-old, with authorities saying he has accepted government-appointed representation.

Chen told CNN: "[Chen Kegui] only reacted when he could no longer bear the beatings ... They injured his head, and made him bleed for three hours, and his clothes were shattered and the sticks they used to beat him were bent, and if actions under such circumstances [were] not called self-defence, would there be any meaning left in having the term self-defence in Chinese law?"

He said hiring a lawyer was "an extremely normal thing, and the most basic right of a Chinese citizen". He compared his nephew's situation to his own trial in 2006, when he was represented by a government appointed lawyer despite his protests. That was "just a farce of them investigating, prosecuting, trying and convicting all by themselves".

Chen served four years in jail for "damaging property and organising a mob to obstruct traffic" – charges that supporters said were trumped up. He had angered local officials by supporting women forced to have abortions and sterilisations.

Asked about his outspokenness, he said: "It was natural for me, it was very natural for me. I feel it's in people's nature to want to stop evil and embrace the good."

Chen urged officials to move his nephew's case outside Shandong to ensure a fair trial. He said the case was a litmus test for the rule of law because the facts were clear. "The key is whether or not they want to act based on facts and accordance with law."

Chen, who has said that he wants to return to China in the long run, stressed to Reuters: "I am not in exile. This is a very fundamental premise." But he said that he was not sure how long he would stay in the US, joking: "I have been here for such a short time - do you want me leave already?"

He added: "No matter what happens, I feel very good about the future. There is no way to compare this with my life before. Before I had faith that everything would get better, and the present has proved this was right."

Tania Branigan

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text Libyan PM visits spot where Yvonne Fletcher was shot
Fri, 25 May 2012 10:18:40 GMT

Wreath laid at memorial to PC killed outside London embassy in 1984, as Met police set to fly to Libya to continue investigation

The Libyan prime minister, Abdurrahim el-Keib, has visited the spot where a police officer, Yvonne Fletcher, was shot outside his country's London embassy in 1984.

Keib made the visit after it was announced that a team of detectives from the Metropolitan police was to fly to Libya to continue the force's investigations into the unsolved murder.

The Libyan premier paused and bowed in front of the memorial to Fletcher and laid a wreath of white roses and carnations at the spot.

No one has ever been brought to justice for the killing. But Keib said on Thursday his country would "work very closely together" with the UK after talks with his British counterpart, David Cameron.

Fletcher, who was 25, was shot as she policed an anti-Gaddafi demonstration outside the Libyan People's Bureau. She died soon afterwards in hospital.

The bullets which killed her and injured 10 protesters came from inside the embassy.

Her death led to an 11-day siege of the building in St James's Square and the severing of diplomatic links between the UK and Libya.


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text Four in 10 young women sexually harassed in public spaces, survey finds
Fri, 25 May 2012 04:59:01 GMT

YouGov survey of women in London reveals extent of harassment – prompting calls for public awareness campaign

Sexual harassment is a persistent and dangerous problem on Britain's streets, women's charities have warned, as a poll reveals that more than four in 10 young women were sexually harassed in the capital over the last year.

A YouGov survey of 1,047 Londoners commissioned by End Violence Against Women Coalition (Evaw) found that 43% of women aged between 18 and 34 had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces in the last year.

Despite a growing intolerance of unwanted sexual attention, harassment was still very common and made women feel unsafe particularly when travelling alone, said Holly Dustin, director of Evaw.

"Sexual harassment is so ingrained that we barely notice it, but when you start talking to women almost every one has a horrible story to tell: it's time for society to stand up and put a stop to it."

Schoolchildren as young as 12 were being targeted, she said, with previous research for the group revealing that one in three girls in UK schools had experienced unwanted sexual contact.

Dismissing sexual harassment – from unwanted comments on the street about appearance to groping – as "harmless fun" or complimentary was dangerous, she added.

"Sexual harassment has a real impact on women's lives, whether it is changing their behaviour or whether they feel safe on the streets," she said.

"It feeds into a fear of rape and sexual violence and has a harmful effect on broader issues of equality."

The poll also found 31% of women aged 18 to 24 experienced unwanted sexual attention on public transport and 21% of 25- to 34-year-olds. Overall, 5% of the women surveyed had experienced unwanted sexual contact on public transport.

Fiona Elvines, of South London Rape Crisis, said it was rare to meet a woman who had not suffered street harassment. "Women manage this harassment every day, in their routines and daily decisions – but it has an impact on their self-esteem and body image," she said. "Women are saying that there are consequences to this, and it's time to start listening to them."

In a recent case, Lee Read, 23, was jailed for 28 months after groping four women and an 11-year-old girl. He put his coat over his lap before grabbing women's legs. In the most serious attack, he grabbed the leg of a woman in her early 20s on the London underground, before forcibly grabbing her between the legs.

Campaigners say women globally are increasingly challenging unwanted sexual attention, using social media to bring harassers to account. Vicky Simister, the founding director of Ash - the UK Anti Street Harassment Campaign, said the issue was not restricted to London and called for a national survey. Authorities could take steps to make a significant difference to women's safety, she added.

"Local councils and the police need to convey a strong message that this behaviour will not be tolerated by perpetrators. A good example was the 'Flirt/Harass: Real Men Know the Difference' poster campaign by Lambeth council in partnership with the Metropolitan police, which conveyed a no-tolerance message."

Hollaback – a website where women who have received unwanted sexual attention or harassment can share stories or photographs of their harassers – has activists in 50 cities in 17 countries around the world.

"Whether it is unwanted sleazy comments or violent sexual assault, street harassment is an epidemic in London," said Byrony Beynon, a co-director of Hollaback London. "But there is definitely a groundswell of people saying this is not on, it is not acceptable. Women are taking back the power they felt was taken away from them in that moment of harassment."

The organisations are calling for a public awareness campaign on transport networks, similar to signs that discourage passengers from eating smelly food or putting feet on seats. "We are asking for training for transport staff to help them deal with these incidents and serious police intervention when it is needed," said Dustin of Evaw. "But we are also asking for the wider community to recognise this is not acceptable and speak out against it when they see it happening."

Alexandra Topping

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text Row over status of Russian language threatens to split Ukraine
Fri, 25 May 2012 14:30:00 GMT

Deputies brawl in parliament over ruling party's plan to upgrade official role of Russian language

Ukraine's ruling party has triggered violent protests with a move to upgrade the official role of the Russian language, a sensitive issue in the former Soviet republic and one that opponents say will effectively split the country.

A draft law by President Viktor Yanukovich's Regions party rekindled an emotional debate in Ukraine. Russian is the mother tongue of most people in the east and south of the country, while Ukrainian – the state language – predominates in parts of the centre and in the west.

Fists flew among deputies in parliament on Thursday and a crowd of about 150 people rallied on Friday outside the parliament building, many of them bearing slogans in defence of Ukrainian language rights.

"Nobody is threatening the Russian language. It is Ukrainian that has to be saved. This is no joke. Yesterday there were fights in parliament but tomorrow there will be fights on the streets," said Yarema Goyan, a writer, and protester.

Opponents of the move regard the use of Ukrainian as a touchstone of sovereignty and say a growing encroachment of Russian will only keep Ukraine in Russia's sphere of influence.

The issue sets the ruling Regions party – many of whose deputies have a power base in the densely populated Russian-speaking industrial areas of the east – at odds with mainstream opposition parties such as that of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna party said the proposed law was a cynical move by the Regions to win back disenchanted voters at a parliamentary election in October.

It warned the law would lead to Ukrainian being eclipsed as a language in key areas and divide the country in two. Tymoshenko herself, in a statement on Friday, described it as "a crime against Ukraine, the nation, its history and the people".

Regions deputies said the bill reflected reality in their constituencies, where the predominant Russian speakers object to their children learning basic school subjects in Ukrainian and feel career paths are blocked by a lack of good Ukrainian.

"The Regions party during its election campaign declared that it would include in its programme the need to solve the language problem in our state," said Regions faction leader Oleksander Yefremov. "Our electorate is putting pressure on us."

The law, if passed, would significantly reinforce the domination of Russian in key regions such as the Donbass mining area near the eastern border with Russia, the south-east and the Crimea.

It would accord Russian the status of a "regional" language, allowing people living in Russian-speaking areas to insist that their children received all their basic schooling in Russian.

People in those areas aspiring to, say, a career in regional administration would no longer have to demonstrate a strong command of Ukrainian, according to the draft law.

Opponents of the bill say that in areas where Russian is the main everyday language this would lead to Ukrainian eventually disappearing from use.

The bill will be welcomed in Moscow, where authorities complain that language rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine are being violated and have pressed Yanukovich to deliver on an election promise to recognise Russian as a state language.

With opposition deputies blocking procedure on Friday – after opposition parties blocked access to the podium to Regions lawmakers who sought to defend the proposed law on Thursday – no vote was possible on the bill and Regions deputies retired to consider their next move.

Yanukovich, whose mother tongue is Russian and whose power base lies in the Donbass region, promised to make Russian the second state language during his campaign for the presidency in 2009.

But he did not press the issue after coming to power in February 2010, something which became a matter of reproach by Moscow.


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text UK weather forecast: a perfect barbecue weekend
Fri, 25 May 2012 10:28:21 GMT

Supermarkets are stocking up on sausages with sunny blue skies forecast and an easterly breeze to fan the charcoal

Much of Britain remained hotter than Barcelona for a second day of clear blue skies, hot sun, and shell-shocked natives in a variety of inappropriate clothing from winter coats to terribly misjudged singlets and baggy shorts.

Temperatures on Friday are predicted to match Thursday's, when the highest was 27.9C at Southampton, with Glasgow achieving a perhaps even more startling 27.3C – more than 10 degrees above the usual May maximum. Barcelona managed only 25c.

The Met Office was forecasting "almost unbroken sunshine", feeling less sticky with a cooling easterly breeze, lasting throughout the weekend. Crowds lining the roads for the Olympic torch relay were warned to stock up on water and sunblock.

A pane of glass which shattered at Portcullis House, the £235m office block for hundreds of MPs opposite parliament, was blamed on "heat exhaustion" – a common feeling among many Londoners, where the overnight temperature peaked at 22C.

With a barbecue weekend if not a barbecue summer finally upon us, supermarkets were stocking up on sausages and burgers; at zoos, animals were being issued cooling ice lollies. Ladbroke's bookmakers were slashing the odds on newspapers being able to run "long to rain over us" headlines over the diamond jubilee weekend, giving 4-1 on the hot weather lasting another week.

Maev Kennedy

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text Baby P social workers promise to fight on after sacking appeal is dismissed
Fri, 25 May 2012 11:19:29 GMT

Tribunal rejects social workers' appeal against earlier ruling that Haringey council acted reasonably in sacking them

Two of Baby P's social workers have vowed to fight on after losing their appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that they were fairly sacked.

Gillie Christou and Maria Ward claimed they were unjustly fired by Haringey council in north London in response to a public outcry about 17-month-old Peter Connelly's horrific death.

A Watford employment tribunal panel previously concluded that the local authority had acted reasonably in dismissing them because of serious failings in their care of the toddler.

At a brief hearing on Friday at the employment appeal tribunal in central London, at which neither woman appeared, Mr Justice Wilkie announced the pair's appeal was dismissed.

Christou and Ward are now preparing to take their case to the court of appeal. The pair's legal team claimed they had suffered "double jeopardy" because they faced two Haringey misconduct panels looking at the same allegations against them. The first concluded they should receive written warnings, but the second, held a few months later in the wake of a political and media furore over the case, resulted in them being sacked.

Speaking after the hearing, solicitor Riz Majid, representing the women, said they planned to appeal. He said: "Maria Ward and Gillie Christou are disappointed by the result. We will be studying the judgment carefully with a view to going to the court of appeal."

The women's lawyers previously argued that their case had been bolstered by a landmark court of appeal ruling in May last year that Haringey's children's services director, Sharon Shoesmith, had been unfairly sacked over the Baby P tragedy.

Senior judges found the council and former children's secretary Ed Balls acted in a way that was "procedurally unfair" when Shoesmith was first removed from her post and then fired without compensation in December 2008.

Their lawyers also argued that the original employment tribunal should have taken into account the fact that Haringey social services were "under-resourced and under-supported" at the time.

The two social workers had argued at their original tribunal hearing that the council was wrong to institute a second disciplinary action that led to their dismissal, as the facts had not changed. But Haringey's lawyers argued that it would be wrong to treat the first disciplinary procedure as a contract between employer and employee; therefore the second disciplinary action should not be seen as invalid.

Peter died in a blood-spattered cot in August 2007 after spending much of his short life being used as a punchbag. Between them social workers, police and health professionals made 60 visits to his home over eight months, during which time he suffered more than 50 injuries.

Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen, were jailed in May 2009 for causing or allowing the boy's death.

Ward was Peter's nominated social worker at Haringey council from February 2007 until his death, and Christou was her team manager. The pair were sacked after an investigation which discovered there was a period in mid-2007 when they did not know the whereabouts of the child.

In May 2010, a General Social Care Council (GSCC) disciplinary committee suspended Ward for two months and Christou for four months – on top of a 16-month interim suspension ahead of the hearing – for their misconduct in the Baby P case.

But the GSCC also said it was unfair to consider what the social workers did without putting it in the context of Haringey's problems, which included staff shortages, excessive caseloads, and a lack of support and supervision from managers. Ward was responsible for 18 or 19 children, even though the recommended maximum was 13.

Patrick Butler

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text Etan Patz: suspect Pedro Hernandez due in court 33 years after abduction
Fri, 25 May 2012 14:37:41 GMT

New Jersey man is expected to be arraigned for second-degree murder after giving 'remorseful' confession to detectives

A man is expected to be arraigned on Friday for the murder of Etan Patz – 33 years to the day that the six-year-old vanished in New York, ushering in an new era of anxiety in the US over child safety.

Police said on Thursday that 51-year-old Pedro Hernandez, of New Jersey, gave a "remorseful" confession to detectives in which he admitted to choking the boy and stashing his body.

He is expected to appear in a Manhattan court on Friday to be arraigned on a charge of second-degree murder.

The development was hailed as a breakthrough in a case that has frustrated police ever since Etan went missing, presumedly snatched as he walked to a school bus stop in Manhattan in 1979.

Hernandez is expected to be arraigned later on Friday on a charge of second-degree murder. At the time of the abduction, he worked at a convenience store near the Patz's home in Soho.

The 51-year-old told police that he lured the boy to the basement of the bodega with the promise of a soft drink and then strangled him. He later stashed Etan's body in a trash bag and left the corpse with rubbish just a block away from where the murder took place.

New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly said of Hernandez confession: "He was remorseful, and I think the detectives thought that it was a feeling of relief on his part." Kelly added: "We believe that this is the individual responsible for the crime." The admission of guilt came after hours of questioning on Wednesday.

Etan went missing just a few minutes' walk from his parents' home on 25 May, 1979, as he made his first ever unaccompanied walk to the school bus. His case became a national cause célèbre, and his face was one of the first to appear on milk cartons in an effort to find out what happened to him.

The break in the case came just weeks after the FBI and NYPD officers conducted a four-day excavation of a basement near where the boy lived and was last seen.

Investigators tore apart the Soho cellar in April looking for clothing and human remains after a sniffer dog sensed something at the site.

After the conclusion of the search, police said no obvious human remains were found. But it appears that renewed publicity over the case led to police receiving a tip-off from a relative of Hernandez.

It has been reported that in the year's since Etan's disappearance, the suspect told family members that he had "done a bad thing and killed a child in New York".

The New Jersey resident was taken into custody late on Wednesday. After first being questioned by local police, he was taken to the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance.

The under-pressure DA announced back in 2010 that he had ordered a renewed investigation into the case.

Neighbours of Hernandez spoke of their shock at the latest development. "I knew the guy. He was not a problem, his family were great people," said Dan Wollick, 71, who rents an apartment in Hernandez' home. "He didn't bother anybody," he added.

Hernandez's name appeared in an early police report on the case, as he worked in the bodega near where Etan disappeared. But he was never questioned.

In 2001, the boy's father, Stan Patz, successfully petitioned to have his son declared legally dead in order to sue Jose Ramos, a convicted child molester who had for many years been the prime suspect. Ramos's girlfriend had babysat Etan.

A judge found Ramos responsible for Etan's death in a 2004 ruling. Ramos, who is in jail in Pennsylvania for child sex abuse, has always denied killing the boy.

More recently, detectives have focused on a 75-year-old former handyman who gave Etan a dollar for chores a day before his disappearance. But the New York resident has likewise maintained his innocence.

Speaking after Hernandez's arrest, Kelly said he hoped the developments "bring some measure of peace to the family".

Patz was said to be "overwhelmed" on being told of the news. NYPD lieutenant Christopher Zimmerman, who delivered the news, said in a news conference on Thursday: "He was a little surprised, but I think after everything Mr Patz has gone through, he handled it very well."

Matt Williams

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text Wales Coast Path: A postcard from Tenby by the Manics' Nicky Wire - audio slideshow
Fri, 25 May 2012 11:47:00 GMT

Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire has been visiting Tenby since he was a boy. Here, he explains why the small south Wales seaside town with a big artistic heritage holds a special place in his heart and and how it inspires his lyrics

Martin Godwin
Iain Chambers
Robin Turner
Ranjit Dhaliwal
Andy Pietrasik