Teatime newslinks for Monday 14th November 2011

IN PARLIAMENT TODAY

• Philip Hammond's first Defence Questions: Says aircraft carrier scrapping made no difference to Libya operation - "Thanks to our overseas basing rights the unavailability of a UK aircraft carrier had no significant effect on the UK's participation in military operations over Libya. This was clearly demonstrated by the outstanding performance of our armed forces over and off the coast of Libya and civilian and military staff that supported them...The decision made in relation to carrier capability were painful decisions but they were the right ones in Britain's long-term interest" - PoliticsHome (£)
• "Defence Minister Andrew Robathan has said the Defence Secretary has had "no recent discussions" about creating a new post of Chief Coroner for bereaved families." - PolHome
• "Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has told MPs that ground-to-air missiles will be deployed to protect the 2012 Olympic Games in London if deemed operationally necessary." - BBC

PHONE HACKING SCANDAL

• "The names of 28 News International employees appear in notebooks belonging to Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, the Leveson inquiry into press standards heard on its first day at London's high court." - Guardian
• Video: bloggers including Guido Fawkes give evidence to joint committee of MPs and peers on privacy and the media

EUROZONE & ECONOMIC CRISIS

• "None of the world's major economies will escape a slowdown, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Monday, highlighting increasing signs that growth momentum is dwindling across the board." - Bloomberg
• Markets slide as Spanish bond yields hit 6pc - Daily Telegraph liveblog
• "Mario Monti started work to form a new government of national unity for Italy, as the country moved swiftly to try to restore credibility in its fractured political establishment before markets opened on Monday." - Wall Street Journal Europe
• "Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, called on Monday for Europe to focus once more on building a “political union” to underpin the euro and emerge from the current financial crisis stronger than before. ... “It is time for a breakthrough to a new Europe,” she told the annual party conference of the Christian Democratic Union in Leipzig. “The task of Germany is to complete economic and monetary union, and build political union in Europe, step-by-step."" - FT (£)
• As Merkel's party's conference opens, Andrew Marshall writes on International: Why the CDU's EU policy "is not only a rational matter, but an emotional commitment"
• Anthony Browne on our Columnists' page: The European Commission's proposal to regulate credit rating agencies is simply shooting the messenger
• ToryDiary: Boris and the Government at odds (again) as he calls for the break-up of the Euro
• LeftWatch: Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary adopts a policy of "mature patriotism" towards Europe

OTHER TORY & POLITICAL NEWS

• MPsETC: Labour MP Alan Keen dies
• Video: Baroness Trumpington uses a v-sign to show just what she thinks of colleagues making reference to her age - TotalPolitics
• "Suspended Labour peer Baroness Uddin is set to be allowed back into the House of Lords without repaying the £125,000 she owes in wrongly claimed expenses." - BBC
• "The UK’s housing shortage and the problems around obtaining a mortgage mean that Britain is becoming a nation of renters, according to a new survey." - Daily Telegraph
• "As the spending cuts bite, the distance between what ministers say they want the state to deliver, and what it in practice it can, may well grow." - FT Westminster