Impressive Mr Toad drives home his points

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

Chris Huhne was in fine, aggressive form as he made possibly his last appearance in the Commons as a cabinet minister

Perhaps you do have to admire Chris Huhne. In the past I've said he's a figure of fun, the Mr Toad of British politics, and in many ways he is: the clumsy plotting, the transparent leaking, the dementedly unjustified...

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Alain de Botton reveals plans for 'temple to atheism' in heart of London

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

Writer wants to build tower to celebrate life on earth as an antidote to Richard Dawkins' 'destructive' approach to atheism

Plans to build a £1m "temple for atheists" among the international banks and medieval church spires of the City of London have sparked a clash between two of Britain's most prominent non-believers.

The philosopher and writer...

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Ed Miliband: row with unions is watershed moment

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

Labour leader says his public sector pay freeze decision was difficult but right and will not lead to disaffiliation

Ed Miliband has declared that his decision to back the public sector pay freeze marks a watershed moment in his leadership of the Labour party.

As Lord Mandelson highlighted concerns about Miliband, the Labour leader indicated that he...

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Letters: The benefit fraud perpetrated on the poor

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

All Liberal Democrats should follow Paddy Ashdown in voting against this iniquitous benefit cap that will deprive thousands more children of decent housing and schooling, and thereby render them virtually unemployable in the future (Peers reject £26,000 cap that includes child benefit, 24 January).

If these measures are intended to force their...

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Letters: Open, liberal theatre under fire in Hungary

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

We are alarmed by the imposition of a far-right director on one of Budapest's leading theatres, and call on our foreign secretary and the international community to put pressure on the Hungarian government to reverse the decision before 1 February, the day the theatre is scheduled to change hands. Following the election of the rightwing Fidesz...

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Country diary: South Uist: A perfect day for a beach walk

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

South Uist: Pristine and wetly gleaming, the sand stretches for miles until it disappears into a mist of sunlit salt haze

The sun is shining brightly from a blue sky across which a brisk breeze is driving a succession of shape-shifting, pillowy white clouds. Yet within minutes a dark cloud appears from nowhere and deposits a fleeting but heavy...

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RBS hands chief Stephen Hester £1m bonus

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

Bank heads for political storm with award of 3.6m shares to chief executive despite widespread opposition

Royal Bank of Scotland stoked a political row on Thursday night when it announced it had awarded its chief executive, Stephen Hester, a bonus worth almost £1m.

The bailed-out bank attempted to justify the bonus – which is being paid in shares t...

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Cameron tells Davos: Germany must be bold over eurozone crisis

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

• UK intervention in euro debate likely to anger Berlin
• PM launches fresh assault on Robin Hood tax
• Ed Miliband criticises Cameron's austerity measures

David Cameron has risked souring Britain's relations with Berlin in the runup to next week's crucial European summit by calling on Germany to play a larger role in safeguarding the single currency.

...

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Libyan militias accused of torture

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:47

Charities say prisoners face mistreatment amid western concern over Tripoli's failure to tackle security and political issues

Three months after the killing of Muammar Gaddafi, concerns are mounting about the mistreatment and torture of prisoners held by Libyan militiamen who are operating beyond the control of the country's transitional...

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