BP Wants Deepwater Payouts Frozen Amid Probe

BP is urging a federal judge to halt all Gulf of Mexico oil spill settlement payments while fraud allegations are investigated.

Former FBI director Louis Freeh is carrying out a probe into alleged misconduct by a lawyer who helped administer the multibillion-dollar settlement programme.

BP attorneys have now filed an emergency request with a federal court in New Orleans, arguing that because of the allegations, there is a risk that other aspects of the claims process have been compromised.

The energy firm's spokesman Geoff Morrell said in a statement: "We believe a temporary pause of all claims payments is prudent and necessary during Judge Freeh's investigation into allegations of corruption within the claims programme.

"Already two of the three senior attorneys at the program have been terminated, and there is a material risk that payments going out the door have been and continue to be tainted by possibly fraudulent or corrupt activity.

The spill affected wildlife across the northern Gulf

"No company would agree to bear the risk of improper payments in these circumstances. BP is simply seeking to pause payments while Judge Freeh completes his court-ordered investigation."

US District Judge Carl Barbier did not immediately rule on BP's latest request to halt the settlement payments to Gulf Coast businesses and residents affected by the disaster .

The investigation relates to claims a lawyer working for the administrator of the payments passed on claims to a New Orleans law firm in exchange for a cut of resulting payouts.

In April, Mr Barbier refused to block what could be billions of dollars of payments to businesses after BP argued he and claims administrator Patrick Juneau had misinterpreted the settlement and forced the company to cover inflated and non-existent losses.

Around 4.9 million barrels of oil leaked from the Deepwater Horizon rig over 87 days in 2010, in a disaster that claimed 11 lives.

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Cameron Under Fire As Lobbying Rules Unveiled

David Cameron is under renewed pressure about his election guru's lobbying interests as he insisted the Government was taking action to regulate the tobacco industry.

Critics have questioned Lynton Crosby's role in the decision to put plain packaging for cigarettes on hold and at Prime Minister's Questions Mr Cameron was accused by Labour leader Ed Miliband of having "caved in to big tobacco" in a "disgraceful episode".

Following the controversial decision, plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol were also effectively scrapped on Wednesday.

Home Office minister Jeremy Browne said it "remains a policy under consideration" but will not be taken forward by the government.

Tory MP Patrick Mercer was caught up in a lobbying sting

The Prime Minister insisted he had never been lobbied by Mr Crosby on any issue and attacked Labour over the influence of trade unions on the party's policies and candidates.

Asked if he had discussed plain cigarette packaging with Mr Crosby, whose clients include tobacco giant Philip Morris, Mr Cameron said: "He has never lobbied me on anything."

But Mr Miliband accused him of using "weasel words" and added: "He can't deny that he had a conversation with Lynton Crosby about this issue.

"Even by the standards of this Prime Minister this is a disgraceful episode."

He added: "There is a devastating conflict of interest between having your key adviser raking it in from big tobacco and then advising you not to go ahead with plain packaging."

Mr Cameron said if Mr Miliband wanted a "lobbying scandal" he should look at his own party.

"Let us remember why we need a lobbying Bill: we had former Labour ministers who described themselves as cabs for hire, we had cabinet ministers giving passports for favours, we had a prime minister questioned by the police under cash for honours.

"They are in no position to lecture anyone on standards in public life."

Labour later said it was writing to Downing Street to demand an inquiry into whether Mr Cameron has breached the ministers' code of conduct on conflicts of interest.

On the unit-pricing decision Alcohol Concern's Eric Appleby said: "David Cameron put his weight behind it … One can only assume (the government) rolled over in the face of pressure from the alcohol industry."

On Wednesday, the Government published long-awaited legislation on lobbying which was first promised by Mr Cameron in 2010, shortly before he became Prime Minister.

The Bill includes a statutory register of lobbyists and, more controversially, annual membership audits for trade unions and curbs on unions funding Labour in elections.

Mr Cameron's move on the issue came only after a sting caught Tory MP Patrick Mercer making promises to undercover reporters posing as lobbyists and three peers also falling victim to a separate sting.

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Barclays Fined For Rigging US Energy Market

Barclays and four of its traders have been fined a total of $488m (£322m) for manipulating the energy markets in the United States.

Regulators said the energy market-rigging in western states took place between November 2006 and December 2008.

Barclays denies the allegations and says it intends to "vigorously defend this matter". In mid-morning trading on Wednesday its share price was down almost 1%.

The fines have been imposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which said the bank must pay $435m within 30 days, while the ex-managing director of the power trading team, Scott Connelly, must pay $15m (£10m).

Three former Barclays traders, Daniel Brin, Karen Levine and Ryan Smith, were also ordered to pay $1m (£660,000) each.

The penalty includes a $34.9m (£23m) levy from Barclays which will go to a low-income home energy assistance programme in the states of California, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.

The record fines, first proposed by the regulator's staff in October 2012, were upheld in an order after assessment by FERC commissioners.

But Barclays said in a statement: "We are disappointed by the action that FERC took.

"We believe the penalty assessed by the FERC is without basis, and we strongly disagree with the allegations made."

Barclays spokesman Marc Hazelton added: "We have cooperated fully with the FERC investigation, which relates to trading activity that occurred several years ago.

"We intend to vigorously defend this matter."

The penalty order said the FERC commissioners agreed with earlier findings by regulatory staff, which said the bank deliberately lost money in physical power markets to benefit its financial positions between 2006 and 2008, and that the traders knew their activity was unlawful.

The case will likely now move to federal court where Barclays intends to defend itself against the allegations that it has long disputed.

The case is expected to be a major test of FERC's enforcement powers, expanded by Congress in 2005 legislation that had its genesis in the Enron electricity manipulation scandals in the western US earlier in the decade.

Ron Wyden, the chairman of the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said FERC sent a strong message to traders and banks.

"Consumers have the right to heat and power their homes without fear that traders are stacking the deck against them to rack up unjust profits," Mr Wyden said.

Investigators used scrutiny of email and other correspondence to build the case against Barclays.

Since 2005, FERC has increased its enforcement division's staff to more than 200 from about a dozen, led by a number of high-profile law enforcement recruits.

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Fraud Office Ex-Boss Criticised Over Pay-Offs

The former director of the Serious Fraud Office showed "a disregard for the proper use of taxpayers' money" in agreeing severance packages worth around £1m for three senior staff, a spending watchdog has found.

In a critical report, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said that "a catalogue of errors and poor judgment" by Richard Alderman had undermined the SFO's reputation and damaged the morale of its staff.

The committee published a letter which Mr Alderman sent to them just days after a gruelling evidence session before the cross-party group.

In it, he acknowledged the group was "justified" in criticising his actions and offered "my deep and unreserved apology".

Auditor General Amyas Morse last year refused to sign off the SFO's accounts because of an "irregular redundancy payment" to former chief executive officer Phillippa Williamson.

Dominic Grieve reported last year that due process was not followed

She took voluntary redundancy in April 2012, just four days before Mr Alderman's own departure.

In December last year, Attorney General Dominic Grieve reported that Mr Alderman had agreed further severance payments to senior staff without following due process.

An investigation ordered by Mr Alderman's successor David Green found that the decisions to make Ms Williamson, chief operating officer Christian Bailes and technology head Ian McCall redundant were taken by the former director alone.

He did so without informing ministers and failed to get Cabinet Office approval for the Ms Williamson's severance agreement.

Total severance packages were £464,905 for Ms Williamson, £437,167 for Mr Bailes and £49,885 for Mr McCall.

A payment of more than £400,000 was made to enhance Ms Williamson's pension, despite not having the necessary approval.

Mr Alderman decided on a £15,000 special payment each to Ms Williamson and Mr Bailes to avoid grievance actions, despite legal advice that there was no suggestion of any such claims.

The committee also condemned the "astounding" working conditions which Mr Alderman agreed for Ms Williamson during her four-year stint at the helm of the SFO, under which her home in the Lake District was designated her place of work.

She worked at home two days a week, and travelled to London to work at the SFO three days, with the taxpayer footing the bill for travel and hotel costs of just under £100,000.

The report found that Mr Alderman's actions and decisions took place amid "a culture where external advice and scrutiny was to be avoided wherever possible and with an apparent need for secrecy".

"This catalogue of errors amounts to a case study in how not to run a public body," said the committee.

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Jobless Figure Falls At Fastest Rate In Years

The number of people unemployed fell by 57,000 in the three months to the end of May, official figures have revealed.

The total jobless count sat at 2.51 million in the quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Meanwhile, the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance last month fell by 21,200 to 1.48 million.

It was the fastest rate of fall in three years. Total unemployment was at the lowest level since last autumn.

The ONS added that average earnings increased by 1.7% in the year to May, 0.2% up on the previous month.

However, long-term unemployment has increased to a 17-year high, despite the fall in the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.

Some 915,000 people have been out of work for more than a year, an increase of 32,000.

Vacancies were up by 24,000 to 529,000, the highest since the autumn of 2008.

Just over 460,000 people have been jobless for more than two years, the highest figure since 1997.

The number of people classed as economically inactive also increased in the latest quarter, up by 87,000 to 9.04 million.

The figure included a 44,000 increase in economically inactive students, a 26,000 rise among the long-term sick and 8,000 more people who retired early.

The ONS also reported that 29.7 million people were in employment in the three months to May, up 16,000 on the previous quarter, and an increase of 336,000 on a year ago.

Unemployment is 72,000 lower than a year ago, with a jobless rate of 7.8%.

Youth unemployment fell by 20,000 to 959,000, giving a jobless rate for 16 to 24-year-olds of 20.9%.

Average earnings increased by 1.7% in the year to May, up by 0.2% on the previous month, giving an average weekly wage of £476.

Full-time employment increased by 28,000 to 21.6 million, but the number of part-time workers fell by 12,000 to 8.04 million.

The number of self-employed people fell by 28,000 to 4.1 million.

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Heathrow: Options For Third Runway Revealed

Heathrow airport officials have put forward three options for a new third runway at the west London site, saying any of the proposals will be good for Britain.

Each option would let Heathrow move from 480,000 flights a year to 700,000 or more, but the airport's bosses said fewer people would be affected by noise than at present.

However, each of the options will mean some properties being compulsory purchased and some will have to be demolished, while there might have to be major work on the M25 motorway to accommodate a new runway.

There will also need to be a sixth terminal at Heathrow. A new runway would see the airport able to handle 130 million passengers a year, rather than 70 million currently.

The Heathrow executives, outlining their proposals in London, said they did not think there would be a need for a fourth runway at Heathrow until at least 2040.

These are three options:

:: North West - A 3,500-metre-long runway to the northwest of the airport with passengers accessing it from a new Terminal 6 (T6) and an extended Terminal 2 (T2).

Building the runway would affect the villages of Harmondsworth and Longford, with 950 properties facing demolition. Part of the M25 would have to be put in a tunnel. The runway would cost £17bn and could be completed by 2026.

:: South West - A 3,500-metre-long runway covering an area of reservoirs and needing the compulsory purchase of properties in Stanwell Moor and 850 possible demolitions. Passengers would access the airport via T6 and an extended T2.

The construction would be complex and challenging, and would take longer and be more expensive than the other options. It could be ready by 2029 at a cost of £18bn.

:: North - The quickest and cheapest option, but would allow only 700,000 flights a year with a runway only 2,800 metres long. Passengers would access via an extended T5 and extended T2.

A total of 2,700 properties could be demolished, with the villages of Sipson, Harlington and Cranford Cross affected. This runway could be finished by 2025 at a cost of £14bn.

Heathrow chief executive Colin Matthews said: "After half a century of vigorous debate, but little action, it is clear the UK desperately needs a single hub airport with the capacity to provide the links to emerging economies which can boost UK jobs, GDP and trade.

"It is clear that the best solution for taxpayers, passengers and business is to build on the strength we already have at Heathrow.

"We are showing how that vision can be achieved whilst keeping the impact on local residents to an absolute minimum."

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Japan: Yakuza Boss Sued Over Protection Racket

A woman is suing the head of Japan's biggest yakuza organised crime group over protection money she paid to gangsters.

She claims the don of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Kenichi Shinoda, bears "employer's liability" for the gangsters who threatened to burn down her bar if she did not pay up.

The woman, who has not been named, is demanding Shinoda hands over 17m yen (£112,000) after mobsters forced her to pay between 30,000 and 100,000 yen a month between 1998 and 2010.

Shinoda on his release from prison in 2011

She says Shinoda bears ultimate responsibility for her losses because the gangsters, members of the Inabaji Ikka, a local yakuza group connected to Yamaguchi-gumi, were affiliated to his nationwide umbrella crime syndicate.

On one occasion in 2008 when she tried to refuse to pay, she was warned that her bar in the central city of Nagoya could be burned down.

Lawyers say it is the first case of someone demanding recompense for protection money from a senior yakuza figure.

It comes as the owner of another bar begins legal action against Shinoda, claiming affiliated criminals burned down his business after he refused to pay protection money.

The Yamaguchi-gumi makes up more than 40% of the nation's organised criminals, with about 27,700 members, according to the National Police Agency.

Like the Italian mafia or Chinese triads, the yakuza engages in activities ranging from gambling, drugs and prostitution to loan sharking, protection rackets and white-collar crime.

The gangs, which are not illegal, have historically been tolerated by the authorities, although there are periodic clampdowns on some of their less savoury activities.

The yakuza are heavily mythologised in Japan, with films, television dramas and fan magazines glamorising lives of violence governed by a code of honour handed down from the samurai.

Earlier this month the Yamaguchi-gumi published a magazine for its members that included a poetry page and fishing diaries of senior gangsters.

The eight-page publication was an attempt to strengthen unity in the group.

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