Newslinks for Friday 29th June 2012
3.15pm ToryDiary: It's time to say something nice about Ken Clarke (and again about Francis Maude)
1.30pm Updated ToryDiary: It's time for MPs to scrag the bankers
11.15am Local Government: Coming to the heart of England - the largest open primary seen outside the capital
11am Adam Afriyie MP on Comment: Ideas to boost innovation
ToryDiary: It's time for MPs to scrag the bankers
Columnist Bruce Anderson: Wrong, Ed Balls, wrong. It was the Old Boy System that kept the City clean
On Comment:
- Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP: Armed forces must be at the front of the housing queue
- Syed Kamall MEP: Britain and Europe are at a fork in the road - and our withdrawal may soon be in the offing
Local Government: Theresa May and Nick Herbert must stand firm on police reform
The Deep End: Spoiled, immature, out-of-control – and that’s just the parents
WATCH: City AM editor Allister Heath on "a disaster for the City's reputation"
David Cameron puts Bob Diamond under pressure to quit
"Barclays' chief executive, Bob Diamond, is fighting to keep his job after the prime minister said accountability for the bank's admission that it had manipulated key interest rates should go right to the top of the bank." - The Guardian
- Bank law gaps our fault says Labour peer - Daily Telegraph
- After this scam, the banks must be split - Lord Lawson, The Times (£)
- Mark Garnier, a Conservative Treasury select committee member and one of the MPs due to cross-examine Barclays' chief executive Bob Diamond about his personal knowledge of the scandal, said: "I think we may be heading towards something like Leveson." - The Guardian
- "The Conservatives spent the day reminding us that while all this rigging of interest rates was going on, the City Minister of the time – Ed Balls – boasted of his “light touch” approach to regulation. In turn, Labour spent the day reminding us that during the same period, the Conservatives had demanded a touch that was lighter still." Michael Deacon Daily Telegraph
- "If Diamond didn’t know such flagrant abuse was going on under his nose, he should have done. Either way, his position is untenable." The Sun Says
>Yesterday:
- WATCH: George Osborne: "The FSA report is a shocking indictment of the culture at banks like Barclays"
- MPsETC update: Steve Baker MP calls for Barclays CEO Bob Diamond to resign
- MPsETC update: David Cameron's full statement raises the prospect of tougher regulations to tackle Barclays scandal: "We’ve already taken a lot of action to make sure we regulate our banks and financial services appropriately, but if there’s more that needs to be done, we’ll do it."
- WATCH: Ed Miliband calls for criminal charges to be brought against Barclays scandal figures
- MPsETC : Coverage of George Osborne's statement to the House
- MPsETC : David Cameron has released a statement, asking: "Who was responsible? Who was going to take responsibility? How are they being held accountable?"
- MPsETC: Andrew Tyrie calls Barclays scandal "absolutely shocking, as bad as one can imagine"
Writing in City AM, Allister Heath says it is "very, very bad news"
"Just when it seemed the industry was on the mend, this latest blow could set it back years. And this time those institutions being targeted actually deserve the opprobrium they are getting. The behaviour of a small minority of staff was disgusting, and should have been checked by senior management." - Allister Heath City AM
ConservativeHome's exclusive about backbenchers demanding a referendum on EU membership is followed up
"Almost 100 Tory backbenchers have signed a letter to the Prime Minister telling him he must give the British people a say on Europe after the next general election... The letter was organised by John Baron, the MP for Billericay, who said that mainstream Conservative opinion now backs a referendum." - Daily Telegraph
- "In his letter Mr Baron says he believes "there is a consistent majority in this country who believe that the European Union meddles too much in our everyday lives". It adds that "no-one in this country under the age of 55 has had the opportunity to express their view on this signally important matter"." - BBC
- "The Conservative Home website reported that nearly 100 MPs want a referendum in the next parliament. The move came as the prime minister signalled to eurosceptics that he would fight hard to preserve Britain's £2.7bn annual EU rebate in forthcoming budget negotiations." - Guardian
- "Nearly 100 Conservative MPs have written to the Prime Minister telling him, in effect, to take heed of the Daily Express by announcing a referendum on Britain’s relationship with the European Union." - Daily Express
Cameron could use veto at EU summit
"David Cameron has indicated that he is prepared to wield Britain's EU veto again as he seeks to protect the City of London in negotiations to shore up the eurozone." - The Guardian
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: 100 Tory MPs call for Cameron to prepare legislation for EU referendum
- David Cameron's inner Maoist - Iain Birrell, The Guardian
Eurozone agrees on bank recapitalisation - BBC
Bomber Command memorial finally unveiled
"Given how long it has taken to get this splendid memorial built – 67 years in fact – no one could blame the dear old Lancaster for being a couple of minutes early with its payload of poppy petals. For all those gathered down below, including the Queen, a thousand veterans, row upon row of widows and hundreds of children who never knew their father, this was the day when Britain finally and formally acknowledged its debt to the 55,573 men of Bomber Command who never came home."- Robert Hardman Daily Mail
>Yesterday:
- Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Today is an occasion to savour - the new Bomber Command Memorial means a terrible wrong has finally been righted
- Dr Andrew Murrison MP on Comment: The lateness of today's memorial to Bomber Command is a standing rebuke to government
Grant Shapps is changing the law to give housing priority to armed forces families
"The move, which comes ahead of Armed Forces Day tomorrow, is part of a massive shake-up of social housing to ensure the most deserving are rewarded." - The Sun
Francis Maude to make more data public
"Official data on everything from cancer survival rates to the performance of local schools will be made available to the public under new plans. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude says the Open Data White Paper will make public services more transparent." - BBC
Right-wing commentator Fraser Nelson joins small but beautifully-placed army of columnists in pushing David Cameron around on the pages of a superbly-resourced right-wing media operation...oh, hang on a minute
"For years, people have been trying to define Osbornism, but it’s beginning to look like Groucho Marx got there first. “These are my principles,” the great comedian once declared. “And if you don’t like them: well, I have others.” " - Fraser Nelson Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday: Lord Ashcroft responds to Peter Oborne's article about him and ConservativeHome in this morning's Telegraph
Sir George Young calls for "other side of the story" over former Tory MP accused of being Czech spy
"Cabinet minister Sir George Young said only one side of the story about ex-Tory MP Ray Mawby had been put forward. He said it was "imperative" the other side was "also put forward in the interests of friends and family". - BBC
- "A Tory MP sold information to the communists at the height of the Cold War to pay for his secret gambling habit. Ray Mawby lived a double life while serving as a minister in Sir Alec Douglas-Home’s government in the 1960s." - Daily Mail
MPs switchboard to move to Southampton - BBC
Penny Mordaunt calls for Minister for older people - BBC
"Opening the debate, Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt argued that this would ensure that the cabinet would take into consideration the impact on older people of every policy decision. "Too often policy is made with the fit, the able bodied, the internet savvy and the average user in mind," the MP for Portsmouth North said." - BBC
McGuinness apology for 3,000 deaths during Troubles - The Times (£)
Lord Fink faces investigation for hosting AmEx charity dinner
"The Conservative Party treasurer is to face a full Parliamentary inquiry into allegations that he broke anti-sleaze rules. The Independent and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed earlier this month that Lord Fink, who has given more than £2m to the Tories, sponsored a private dinner in the House of Lords for paying American Express cardholders." Independent
Labour 1) Libyans take Straw to court over 'rendition' - The Independent
Labour 2) Our Lords Reform isn't a blank cheque - Sadiq Khan, Politics Home (£)
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