Leveson Inquiry: Evidence suggests 'network of corrupt officials'

<p> </p><p>Police are investigating a "network of corrupt officials" as part of their inquiries into phone hacking and police corruption, a media inquiry has heard. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers told the Leveson Inquiry evidence suggested a "culture of illegal payments" at the Sun newspaper. She said payments allegedly made by the Sun were authorised at a senior level. This part of the inquiry is looking at the relationship between press and police in the light of the hacking row. Ex-Scotland Yard senior officer Brian Paddick and former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott also gave evidence. Earlier, the inquiry was told that the then Sun editor Rebekah Brooks was briefed by police about their investigation into phone hacking in 2006. But counsel to the inquiry, Robert Jay QC, said police told her it was not planning to extend its phone-hacking inquiry to include News of the World staff other than Clive Goodman, the reporter jailed with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in 2007 for illegally accessing royal aides' voicemails. 'Salacious gossip' DAC Akers told the inquiry that evidence suggested that the Sun often made payments to relatives or friends of sources and that one of those arrested allegedly acted as such a conduit. Continue reading the main story Analysis Peter Hunt BBC News What a difference a day can make. Only yesterday, Rupert Murdoch launched his latest product, the Sun on Sunday. Now his company is digesting the sobering testimony about alleged illegal activity at his cherished tabloid. It is rare for such a detailed account to be given in public about an ongoing sensitive police investigation. The inquiry was not, the court was told, about "a journalist buying a copper a pie or a pint". Rather it was looking at payments by Sun journalists to a "network of corrupted officials" which were frequent and which were authorised at a senior level. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers went on to utter these words which may yet haunt Mr Murdoch. "There also appears," she told the hearing, "to be a culture at the Sun of illegal payments." Lord Prescott's written evidence Brian Paddick's written evidence Read more from Peter The payments being investigated were not ones that "just involve the odd drink or meal," she said. They were "regular, frequent and sometimes significant sums of money to public officials". Payments by journalists to public officials were identified in the "police, military, health and government", she said. DAC Akers said there was some evidence of officials being put on retainers. Over a number of years, £80,000 was paid to one individual, she said, while one journalist received £150,000 from the paper to pay sources. "Emails indicate that payments to sources were openly referred to at the Sun," DAC Akers said. In her written statement, DAC Akers said there was recognition that this behaviour was illegal, with reference made to staff "risking losing their pensions or job", to the need for "care" and to the need for "cash payments". DAC Akers said the vast majority of stories stemming from such payments appeared to have constituted "salacious gossip" rather than being in the public interest. News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch later issued a statement insisting the practices were "ones of the past, and no longer exist at the Sun". Lord Prescott, who received a £40,000 settlement over phone hacking, was asked about the relationship between the press and News International, owner of the Sun. 'Corrupting influence' He told the inquiry: "I always thought it was wrong that politicians at the highest level were too close to Murdoch. There is always a price. "It's not exactly corruption and I'm not accusing them of that... I thought it gave a corrupting influence that they had too much influence and power." Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Garnham for Met : re improper payments inquiry - we're not talking about buying a copper a pie and a pint” Ross Hawkins Political correspondent, BBC News Follow @rosschawkins He told the inquiry of the reluctance by the Met Police to investigate phone hacking. He was told by police in 2009, after the Guardian newspaper reported the practice was widespread at the NoW, there was no evidence he had been targeted. Detectives questioned Mulcaire about the hacking of his agent Joan Hammell in 2006, he said, but it was not until February 2011 that police told him 44 messages from him on her phone may have been intercepted, he said. The Labour peer praised DAC Akers's inquiry, but said he was concerned police "withheld the truth" over the extent of phone hacking. "I think there is a conspiracy of silence to hide the facts and frankly I am stronger of that view in the last few months," he said. Last year Lord Prescott and Mr Paddick successfully argued at a judicial review that the Metropolitan Police failed to notify them about potential hacking. Mr Paddick, who retired from the force as Deputy Assistant Commissioner in 2007, told the inquiry that analysis of Mulcaire's computer revealed the private investigator had details about people in the police's witness protection programme, including the killers of toddler James Bulger. "For this information to be in the hands of Mulcaire, and by implication potentially in the hands of the News of the World, it's clearly worrying," he said. He said it was difficult to see how people could have "complete confidence" in the phone-hacking investigation. 'Police horrified' It might be "better for the public perception if these matters were investigated by an outside force," he said. Lord Prescott: "I think there's a 'conspiracy of silence' to hide the facts and frankly I'm stronger of that view in the last few months." He went on: "There are thousands of honest decent police officers who like me are horrified by the sort of conduct that Sue Akers was talking about this morning. "A lot of junior officers feel very let down by their senior officers." Opening Monday's hearing, Lord Justice Leveson paid tribute to reporter Marie Colvin, who died during shelling in the Syrian city of Homs on 22 February. Lord Justice Leveson said Ms Colvin's death had underlined "the need to preserve free speech and free press". In his opening statement, Mr Jay said relations between News International and the Metropolitan Police were at best "inappropriately close". The nature of their relationship, he said, might explain why police did not properly investigate phone hacking in 2006, or later in 2009 and 2010. Neil Garnham QC, representing the Metropolitan Police Service, told the inquiry the decision not to put more resources into the original phone-hacking investigation had been reasonable "because as serious as the interception of telephone calls is, it is not a matter of life and liberty". The Leveson Inquiry has two parts, the first of which is examining relations between the press, politicians and police, and the conduct of each. The second part will look at the extent of unlawful or improper conduct within News International and other media organisations.</p>

Leveson Inquiry: Evidence suggests 'network of corrupt officials'

  Police are investigating a "network of corrupt officials" as part of their inquiries into phone hacking and police corruption, a...

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Number 10 silent on whether David Cameron used Rebekah Brooks' police horse

<p><br />The Prime Minister is long rumoured to have spent time horse-riding with Mrs Brooks, the ex-News International boss, who stepped down over the News of the World’s phone-hacking scandal. Mr Cameron and Mrs Brooks were both part of the so-called Chipping Norton set of powerful public figures that met regularly at private gatherings until the phone-hacking scandal broke. She denies the outings ever took place, although both are members of the local Heythrop Hunt, which is chaired by her husband, Charlie Brooks, the racehorse trainer. Last night, a spokesman for the Prime Minister could not say whether he had ever taken out the horse loaned to Mrs Brooks by the Metropolitan Police between 2008 and 2010. Asked whether Mr Cameron ever rode the police horse, his official spokesman replied: "Um, that is not something that I keep tabs on, which horse the Prime Minister is riding."</p>

Number 10 silent on whether David Cameron used Rebekah Brooks' police horse

The Prime Minister is long rumoured to have spent time horse-riding with Mrs Brooks, the ex-News International boss, who stepped down over t...

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Bank tax dodges halted by retrospective law

<p> </p><p>A bank in the UK has been forced to pay more than half a billion pounds in tax which it had dodged by using "highly abusive" tax avoidance schemes. One tax dodge involved the bank claiming it should not have to pay corporation tax on profits made when buying back its own IOUs. The government said it would change the law retrospectively and immediately to stop anyone else using the scheme. The identity of the bank has so far not been revealed. Announcing the crackdown, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said the bank should never have devised the schemes in the first place. "The bank that disclosed these schemes to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has adopted the Banking Code of Practice on Taxation which contains a commitment not to engage in tax avoidance," he said. "The government is clear that these are not transactions that a bank that has adopted the code should be undertaking. "We do not take today's action lightly, but the potential tax loss from this scheme and the history of previous abuse in this area mean that this is a circumstance where the decision to change the law with full retrospective effect is justified," he added. The second tax avoidance scheme, designed by the same bank, involved investment funds claiming that non-taxable income entitled the funds to tax credits that could be reclaimed from HMRC. The Treasury described this as "an attempt to secure 'repayment' from the Exchequer of tax that has not been paid". Compulsory notification A Treasury source suggested that outlawing the tax dodges immediately would save the government a further £2bn in tax that would otherwise have been foregone. The bank in question in fact disclosed the two schemes to the tax authorities under rules which have been in place since 2004. Anyone, such as a bank, accountant, lawyer or tax adviser, who devises a seemingly legal tax avoidance plan, is obliged to tell the tax authorities about it within a few days of using it or marketing it to clients. More than 2,000 schemes have been disclosed in the past eight years. "Quite a few of the disclosures have come from banks in the past," said John Whiting, of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). "They are usually intended to sell to others such as clients." New code The banking code on taxation was first introduced by the Labour government in June 2009. It followed reports that some big banks used large scale tax avoidance schemes involving complex transactions and financial instruments. The code - which was supported by the incoming coalition government the following year - demands that banks which sign ensure that their tax and the tax obligations of their customers are observed. It says they should not go out of their way to avoid tax for themselves or clients. The 15 biggest banks operating in the UK have signed up. 'Treated even-handedly' In a separate development, HMRC said it would appoint a senior official to act as an "assurance commissioner" for any tax deals struck with big companies for more than £100m. The job of the commissioner will be to make sure taxpayers in general do not suffer from any such settlements. The move follows severe criticism last December from MPs on the public accounts committee who denounced HMRC for appearing to cut contentious tax deals with companies such as Vodafone and Goldman Sachs. Lin Homer, the new HMRC chief executive said: "This commissioner will take the role of challenging whether any proposed settlement secured the correct amount of tax efficiently and that taxpayers had been treated even-handedly." "The commissioner will also make sure that the governance procedures have been followed," she added.</p>

Bank tax dodges halted by retrospective law

  A bank in the UK has been forced to pay more than half a billion pounds in tax which it had dodged by using "highly abusive" tax...

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European court rules against Italy for expelling migrants

<p><br />European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that Italy had violated it human rights obligations when it deported a group of African migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea to Libya in 2009. The decision delivered in Strasbourg by 17 judges of the court was described as a 'landmark' by the United Nation's Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and was also welcomed by several rights groups in Italy and elsewhere. Italy's International Cooperation Minister, Andrea Riccardi, said that the ruling would force Italy to 'think and rethink our policies towards migration.' The case concerned 24 Somalis and Eritreans who were in a group of 200 migrants intercepted by the Italian Coast Guard 35 nautical miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa.</p>

European court rules against Italy for expelling migrants

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that Italy had violated it human rights obligations when it deported a group of Afri...

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Belarus fights Europe to retain death penalty

<p><br />Belarusian MPs have blasted a recent resolution of the European Parliament on death penalty in Belarus as an attempt to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. The Belarusian parliamentary commission on international affairs has issued an official statement saying that the European Parliament’s resolution on the death penalty in Belarus was a continuation of the practice of pressuring Belarusian authorities and meddling with the country’s internal affairs. Additionally, the Belarusian side noted that from the text of the resolution they could draw a conclusion that the European side did not pay much attention to the credibility of facts and the logic of conclusions. In particular, the Belarusian parliamentarians criticized the fact that the case of Metro bombers Konovalov and Kovalyov, mentioned in the resolution, is called unjust, despite of the fact that the trial in the case was open to the maximum and well-covered by the media. The Belarusian politicians also expressed surprise over the fact that their country was called the Belarusian Federation in the European Parliament’s resolution, while its official name is Republic of Belarus. However, the text of the resolution posted on the European Parliament’s website in English uses the correct name. Belarusian MPs stressed that the use of capital punishment in their country is not against international norms and its use is extremely limited, and in practice happens only in extraordinary cases. The ban on capital punishment is the internal affair of the Republic of Belarus and can only be made with consideration of the Belarusian society’s opinion, the politicians said.</p>

Belarus fights Europe to retain death penalty

Belarusian MPs have blasted a recent resolution of the European Parliament on death penalty in Belarus as an attempt to interfere in the cou...

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Fishing skippers fined £720,000

<p> </p><p>Seventeen skippers behind one of Scotland's biggest fishing scams have been fined a total of £720,000. The group admitted making illegal landings of mackerel and herring worth £47.5 million between January 1 2002 and March 19 2005. The "black fish" scam, which broke sea fishing laws, was carried out at fish processing factory Shetland Catch in Lerwick, Shetland. Judge Lord Turnbull said the scam is "an episode of shame" for the pelagic fishing industry. He said it was a "cynical and sophisticated" operation which had the "connivance of a number of different interested parties". Hamish Slater, 53, and Alexander Masson, 66, both from Fraserburgh, were fined a respective £80,000 and £50,000, while Alexander Wiseman, 60, from Banff, was also fined £50,000. Another 13 men from Shetland were fined for their role in the scam. Robert Polson, 48, was fined £70,000; John Irvine, 68, was fined £80,000; William Williamson, 65, was fined £45,000; Laurence Irvine, 66, was fined £80,000; and David Hutchison, 66, was fined £40,000, as was 56-year-old Thomas Eunson. Both Allister Irvine, 63, and Gary Williamson, 52, were fined £35,000; and George Henry, 60, was fined £12,000. John Stewart, 57, was ordered to pay £15,000, while George Anderson, 56, must pay £12,000. Colin Leask, 39, and Allen Anderson, 55, were each fined £3,000 A £70,000 fine was imposed on Victor Buchini, 51, from Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire. The company Alexander Buchan was fined £240,000 for helping the vessel masters land the undeclared fish. The pelagic fishermen, who committed the offences to evade the annual EU fishing quota, had already been ordered to hand over almost £3 million in confiscation orders at a previous court hearing. The convictions came as the result of a seven-year investigation, Operation Trawler, after the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA), now Marine Scotland, became suspicious about widespread illegal landing of fish within the pelagic fleet. Pelagic fish are those which swim near the water's surface. Auditors KPMG reviewed Shetland Catch and found that between January 1 2002 and March 28 2004, the company's earnings were not supported by its declared landings. The company premises were searched on September 27 2005 and officials found that scales used to weigh fish coming into the factory had been manipulated to provide false weights. Management were able to input fake wastage figures into a computer in the main factory, accessible to inspectors from the SFPA, which would be deducted from the actual weight shown on the screen. The proper weight was displayed on screens in the engineer's room and in a loft area, both of which were off-limits to SFPA officials. The computer in the loft area was where the weight manipulation took place. It could be accessed remotely by two members of staff, a fish buyer and the then assisting managing director, using a username and password, allowing them to program it to provide false weights. Lord Turnbull said the proceedings brought "embarrassment and shame" to the skippers and their families. He said: "All of the accused who appear today have spent their working lives as productive and hard-working members of our community. Barring other regulatory infringements, not a single one has ever come into any conflict with the law. "It was not surprising therefore to hear of the well-respected positions within their communities which many held and of the embarrassment and shame which these proceedings have brought to them personally and to their families." The judge said the fishing industry "makes a crucial contribution" to the well-being of many communities and to the economy of the country as a whole. He added: "There would of course be no fishing industry were it not for the willingness of fishermen to go to sea. It is correct to acknowledge that in doing so,fishermen require to cope with challenging circumstances of isolation from family members and often with dangerous and frightening weather conditions, the likes of which will be wholly unfamiliar to others with more conventional working environments. "Over the history of the fishing industry and even in recent times in Scotland, tragedy has often visited the families of those who spend their working lives at sea." The judge also noted that each master involved "made no attempt" to disguise their true income from the fish and paid income tax on both the declared and undeclared landings. But he said the men had all participated in "a deliberate and calculated determination to evade the quota levels for fishing available to each vessel" for "purely financial" reasons. He said: "The system through which this was achieved was both cynical and sophisticated and involved the connivance of a number of different interested parties, some of whom have benefited but have not been prosecuted. "The extent to which landings of fish were deliberately under-declared was at times truly staggering and in the case of some of the accused concerned, took place continuously over a three-year period. "What I found to be noteworthy was that no understandable explanation was provided on behalf of any the vessel masters as to why this practice was commenced or continued with. "No one for example appears to have engaged in this exercise on account of struggling to cope financially with the costs of continued fishing within the quota levels allocated. "Indeed, in contrast to some within the fishing industry, those engaged in fishing with the pelagic fleet appear to have been able to make very substantial sums over many years, providing very comfortable livings for themselves and their families. "In short then, and as was conceded by at least some of those who appeared before me, the motivation for the sustained furnishing of false information was purely financial. Those who were already making a good living saw this as a way in which more income could be generated. "No doubt the fact that so many were involved lent a veneer of acceptability to the conduct but there is another side to that as well: the fact that so many were prepared to participate in deliberate lies and falsehood means that the desire for financial benefit was able to overshadow the instincts of fairness, truthfulness and responsibility which will have influenced every other aspect of the lives of those concerned and which values they would expect to see others, including their own family members, abide by. "The result is an episode of shame for much of the whole pelagic fishing industry. "I have however accepted in each case that these proceedings have been responded to responsibly and that those concerned regret their involvement and the embarrassment which has been brought to them personally and to their families." The men had previously been subjected to a reduced quota of fish to "balance out" the environmental effect of years of overfishing. But the judge insisted that this was not a punishment but an "exercise in conservation". He said: "I do not accept that the accused in this case have lost out or have been made worse off as a consequence of these arrangements. I accept as accurate the observation that looking back with hindsight had they never over-fished at all then they would have achieved a greater income over the extended period than they in fact have. "That is due to the massive increase in the prices obtained for the type of fish with which I am concerned in the period since 2002. That however is no more than an irony of the situation. It does not reflect any actual loss to those concerned. In fact, as a consequence of the increased value of the fish, those involved have still been able to generate very substantial incomes, despite being restricted to catching a smaller quantity. "If the current prices remain stable then when the quota deduction arrangements have been exhausted, they will be in a position to increase that income even further." He also referred to "activities of foreign fishing vessels" in exceeding fishing quotas. The judge said: "If there is an imbalance in the approach of the relevant authorities within the European Union, that is a matter for the relevant ministers to raise with their counterparts. "If vessels belonging to states outwith the European Union are thought to enjoy some inappropriate benefit or are not thought to be complying with their responsibilities concerning stock conservation, that is a matter to be addressed at governmental or international level. "I am dealing with the contravention of a law of this country which was introduced to ensure compliance with the international obligation which the United Kingdom had entered into. "I am entitled to treat that contravention as a serious matter regardless of how it might be thought that similar conduct would be or has been responded to elsewhere." Three more fishermen pleaded guilty today in a separate case but which was part of the same investigation. James Smith, 54, from Fraserburgh, John Smith, 36, from Peterhead and Stephen Bellamy, 59, from Fraserburgh all admitted landing undeclared fish at Fresh Catch in Peterhead and at Shetland Catch in Lerwick. Sentencing was deferred to May 18. An inspection in November 2005 at the Alexander Buchan firm detected an unofficial weigh belt fitted with "load cells" to the conveyor belt system at the point where fish entered the factory. The cells are used to detect the weight of fish passing over the belt. A deflector plate had been used on the unofficial weigh belt, allowing the fish to drop off part of the way along the official scales. As the fish did not travel over the full area, a lower weight was achieved on the counter. This method is said to have allowed up to 70% of a total landing to go unrecorded. Alexander Buchan, which is no longer trading, has already been ordered to pay £165,000 in a confiscation order. A third fish processing factory, Fresh Catch, also admitted helping vessel masters land undeclared fish between October 20 2002 and September 2 2005 at its premises in Kirk Square near Peterhead. Skippers Ernest Simpson, 64, from Fraserburgh, Allan Simpson, 42, from Fraserburgh, and Oswald McRonald, 63, from Banff, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow today to landing undeclared fish at the factory. Their sentences were also deferred until May 18. Fresh Catch was audited by KPMG during the same period as Shetland Catch and it too was found to have earnings unsupported by official landing figures. At the factory, fish entered via a delivery pipe which went up and over the building. However, a search of the premises in September 2005 uncovered a purpose-built pipe, leading underground, was also connected. This second pipe bypassed the official weigh scale. Knife valves were used to divert the fish when they came to a T-junction, allowing fish to be sent to another part of the factory and was never weighed or officially accounted for. In 2005 the two valves become remote controlled and the direction the fish took at the junction depended on which one was open or closed. Fresh Catch only became significantly operational at around the time the scam began. Cephas Ralph, head of compliance at Marine Scotland, said the divert pipe "certainly served no other purpose" and that "it wasn't put there by accident". All three factories were prosecuted out of Operation Trawler which started in 2005. However, nothing suggested any of the plants were linked. At the time of the undeclared landings, Shetland Catch was the largest pelagic fish processing operator in Scotland and one of the largest in Europe. It was able to process and freeze up to 1,000 tonnes of fish a day. EU regulations state that when a vessel reaches its quota, it has the option to either stop fishing or to buy some of another vessel's quota which has not yet been reached. Any vessel which exceeds its quota faces disciplinary action. When the investigation started 26 vessels were in the pelagic fleet, with eight pelagic fish processing factories. More than half (15) of those boats have been prosecuted. Mr Ralph said the investigation had an immediate effect on the entire industry and that Marine Scotland is now satisfied that legislation is in place to ensure a similar scam does not happen again. He said: "Since 2005 we detected a change which spilled out beyond the pelagic industry. It is more important to the vessels to have a good reputation. "It is fair to say we are satisfied that we have inspection procedures, legislation, a mindset in place in the industry that means if such activity was to recommence, it would be quickly detected and dealt with. "We have not had anything similar since these cases and all our intelligence suggests that no similar activities are taking place." Afterwards Lindsey Miller, head of the serious and organised crime division of the Crown Office, said: "Organised crime takes many forms. These individuals may not have been involved in drug dealing or prostitution but let us make no mistake that they were involved in significant and serious organised criminality." She added: "The legislation is there to protect the marine environment for the good of all and to safeguard the future of the fishing industry. These men disregarded it for their own financial gain and, in a clear example of successful working between the law enforcement agencies involved, have now been brought to justice and made to pay for their crimes." The police investigation was led by Detective Superintendent Gordon Gibson of Grampian Police who said the scale of the crime is of "a level rarely seen before". The men involved "amassed huge sums of money through their own greed and today this caught up with them in a court of law", he added. Meanwhile, Cephas Ralph said: "Today's successful court activity is an outcome that reflects the professionalism, dedication and commitment shown by all of the Marine Scotland staff who have been involved in this inquiry. "It has not been an easy task but they have worked tirelessly to help secure the convictions obtained in these important cases." Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead paid tribute to the police and Marine Scotland for their efforts in "a long and vastly complicated inquiry". He said: "There is no doubt that these illegal activities are a stark and shameful reminder of the culture that existed in some sectors of the fishing industry in past years. But they do not reflect the much-improved culture we see today. "The offences date back up to a decade ago and thankfully there has been seismic change in the attitude and behaviour of the fishing fleet, which can only be good thing in securing a viable future for the industry in Scotland." He also said: "There have been significant advances in recent years in how fish landings are monitored and controlled, including comprehensive audits and certified weighing systems." Dr Mireille Thom, senior marine policy officer at WWF Scotland, said ignoring quotas "isn't a victim-less offence" because "such landings not only undermine the conservation of fish stocks and the fortune of the fleets that fish them, they also distort competition by depressing fish prices. In short, they threaten the public good for the benefit of a few".</p>

Fishing skippers fined £720,000

  Seventeen skippers behind one of Scotland's biggest fishing scams have been fined a total of £720,000. The group admitted making ille...

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Police uncover 'serious and organised' criminality in £63m scam to breach European fishing quotas

<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">An inquiry into the UK's largest <a style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; text-decoration: none; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Fishing" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/fishing">fishing</a> scandal has uncovered "serious and organised" criminality by Scottish trawlermen and fish processors in an elaborate scam to illegally sell nearly £63m of undeclared fish.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Three large fish factories and 27 skippers have pleaded guilty to sophisticated and lucrative schemes to breach EU fishing quotas, in what one senior police officer described as "industrial level" deception.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">They went to extraordinary lengths to conceal their illegally caught fish, installing underground pipelines, secret weighing machines and extra conveyor belts and computers to allow them to land 170,000 tonnes above their EU quota of mackerel and herring between 2002 and 2005.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">The extent of the "black landings" scandal emerged as 17 skippers and one of the three factories were given fines totalling nearly £1m at the high court in Glasgow on Friday, after admitting repeated breaches of the Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Control Measures) (<a style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; text-decoration: none; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Scotland" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/scotland">Scotland</a>) Order 2000. Another six skippers pleaded guilty at the same hearing to landing undeclared fish worth nearly £7m at Lerwick, in the Shetlands, and Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Four skippers pleaded guilty in January and a further four in the ring, who can't be named for legal reasons, are still to be prosecuted.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Judge Lord Turnbull, told the 17 skippers sentenced on Friday they were guilty of a "cynical and sophisticated" operation, which brought embarrassment and shameon them and their families. "The motivation was purely financial," he said. "Those who were already making a good living saw this as a way more income could be generated and were prepared to participate in deliberate lies and falsehoods."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Once the illegally caught fish had been sneaked past Government inspectors, it was put on sale in the Lerwick and Peterhead markets, where it was sold to wholesalers and fishmongers as if it had been legally landed, in defiance of strict EU regulations designed to protect<a style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; text-decoration: none; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Europe" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news">Europe</a>'s fish stocks from over-fishing.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">The Guardian can reveal that the illegally landed fish was sold with the knowledge of the government-funded industry marketing authority Seafish, which took a £2.58 levy for every tonne of over-quota mackerel and herring. That earned it £434,000 in fees before the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, now part of Marine Scotland, <span style="color: #005689;"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">raided </span></span><a style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; text-decoration: none; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/two_factories_raided_after_inquiry_into_illegal_fish_landings_1_1098071">two factories in September 2005</a>.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">The headquarters of Seafish in Edinburgh were <a style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; text-decoration: none; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/2008/05/04/skippers-hq-raided-by-cops-in-illegal-catch-probe-78057-20404180/">raided by police and documents seized in 2008</a>, but five months later prosecutors decided not to take any further action. It is thought the Crown Office, the Scottish prosecution body, believed there was no evidence that could lead to the agency being accused of involvement in the scam.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">With a series of court cases stretching back to 2010, the scandal has implicated more than half the Scottish mackerel and herring fleet active at that time. It is understood that the true value of the illegal landings linked to the factories involved is closer to £100m, but prosecutors decided to pursue just £63m of landings.</p><p><span class="inline wide" style="border-collapse: collapse; display: block; float: none; width: auto; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Black fish factory graphic" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/maps_and_graphs/2012/2/24/1330105441528/Black-fish-factory-graphi-001.png" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;" width="460" /><span class="caption" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; line-height: 1.25; font-size: 0.858em; display: block; width: 460px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">How one Peterhead factory sidestepped the rules. Source: Guardian graphics</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Prosecutors have also confiscated £3.1m from 17 skippers who landed catches in Lerwick, and against two of the three firms so far convicted, under proceedings of <a style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; text-decoration: none; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Crime" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/ukcrime">crime</a> legislation introduced to tackle serious criminal gangs and drugs lords. The largest confiscation order, £425,9000, was against Hamish Slater, the skipper of the trawler Enterprise from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, who admitted landing £3,980,000 worth of undeclared fish. A number of skippers landed fish worth more than £2m.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">At Shetland Catch in Lerwick, one of Europe's largest fish processors, the company installed a duplicate conveyor belt when its new factory was built, fitting a secret weight-reading device in the loft and a computer in an engineer's workshop "a considerable distance" from the factory floor.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">In its processing plant at Peterhead, north of Aberdeen, Fresh Catch installed an underground pipe to divert fish to secret weighing devices, which used remotely operated pneumatic valves. It built a secret storage room, and operated the clandestine machinery from a hut known to workers as the Wendy House, disguised with fake "Danger: high voltage" signs on its door.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">A second factory in the town, Alexander Buchan, which has since closed, fitted a secret scale and conveyor belt, which allowed up to 70% of a boat's catch to go undeclared. It printed a guidance manual showing its staff how to handle undeclared landings, and its staff misled trading standards officers about its purpose.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Detective Superintendent Gordon Gibson, of Grampian police, the senior investigating officer in Operation Trawler, said: "Make no bones about it: it was serious, it was organised and it was criminal. The element of preparation involved was significant, given the methods and means that all these individuals went to.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">"Was I surprised? Absolutely. I was surprised at the levels they had gone to disguise their criminal conduct."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">An industry source admitted: "This wasn't casual or by accident. It was organised, it was systematic, it was deception. No one disagrees with that."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">In a further penalty, which is thought to have cost the convicted skippers millions, the European commission cut the quotas soon after the scandal was reported to Brussels by the UK government in 2005, calling it a "quota payback".</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Although none of the trawlermen have been banned from fishing, their quotas were cut by more than 116,000 tonnes of mackerel and nearly 47,000 tonnes of herring over a seven-year period. That payback will end next year.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">One source with detailed knowledge of the case said this had damaging consequences for skippers and crews involved, as the market value of mackerel and herring since 2005 had been as much as double the price 10 years ago.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">The convictions follow a complex, 10-year investigation involving forensic accountants from KPMG, who analysed the paperwork for thousands of landings, a core team of 25 detectives and support staff from Grampian and Northern police, four British sea fishery officers with Marine Scotland, the Home Office Holmes police computer system, money laundering experts with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, and specialist prosecutors at the Crown Office.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Operation Trawler has brought to an end a practice which was once endemic in the British fishing industry, but has been made extremely difficult by hi-tech monitoring and tracking of every registered trawler at sea, and much tighter controls on landings at processing firms.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">The skippers and firms involved have refused to discuss their convictions; Shetland Catch is still facing confiscation proceedings. But sources with detailed knowledge of the scandal have admitted the practice was widespread within the pelagic fishing industry. Lawyers for one of the convicted men, George Anderson, 55, from Whalsay, Shetland, claimed this year that he evaded the controls because he believed that discarding under-sized fish was "repugnant".</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">"Black landings" are still common practice across the EU, and prosecutions still take place. In Lerwick and Peterhead, some insist that the undeclared landings, which helped many of the skippers and their crews enjoy comparatively luxurious lifestyles, were well-known within the industry and among regulators.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Asked about its knowledge of the illegal landings, Seafish told the Guardian it was legally required to take the levy, and insisted it had tipped off the authorities to the over-quota landings. However, one source said that the issue was discussed in board meetings, "but the Seafish line was that we weren't a fishery protection agency, our job was to take a levy on every tonne landed."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">He added: "They were totally aware they were getting a levy on quota and over-quota fish."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">The source denied it was serious and organised crime: the skippers involved paid income tax and business taxes alongside the Seafish levy on all their illegal landings, largely because the over-quota fish was sold in the fish markets as if it were legally declared. Fraud charges were dropped by prosecutors at an early stage, he said.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">But he added: "There is nobody defending this. It was morally wrong; it was ecologically wrong and sustainably wrong. There is no excuse.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">"A lot of the skippers are saying, 'What we did wasn't right; it was wrong. We really want to draw a line under this and move forward.'"</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">He said the scandal had the effect of transforming Scotland's pelagic fishing industry into one of the most sustainable in the world: after the raids, the mackerel and herring fleet introduced very strict monitoring and quota management. Since 2008, its fisheries have won a prized Marine Stewardship Council eco-label, and are now the largest in Europe with MSC certification.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">But the "black landings" scandal is coming back to haunt the industry. It is expected to lose its MSC accreditation later this year after a bitter dispute with the Faroe Islands and Iceland: both countries have claimed much larger mackerel quotas than is sustainable for the north-east Atlantic stocks, in breach of MSC rules. The Faroese in particular believe the over-quota prosecutions puts the Scottish industry's credibility in severe doubt.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">"It's not a proud moment for what is a very proud industry," one senior figure conceded.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Richard Lochhead, the Scottish agriculture secretary, said the convicted were guilty of appalling behaviour. "These illegal activities are a stark and shameful reminder of the culture that existed in some sectors of the fishing industry in past years," he said.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">"Thankfully, there has been seismic change in the attitude and behaviour of the fishing fleet, which can only be good thing in securing a viable future for the industry."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px;">Dr Mireille Thom, a senior marine policy officer for the conservation group WWF Scotland, said: "Deliberately ignoring quota rules by landing 'black fish' isn't a victimless offence. Such landings not only undermine the conservation of fish stocks and the fortune of the fleets that fish them, they also distort competition by depressing fish prices. In short, they threaten the public good for the benefit of a few."</p>

Police uncover 'serious and organised' criminality in £63m scam to breach European fishing quotas

An inquiry into the UK's largest  fishing  scandal has uncovered "serious and organised" criminality by Scottish trawlermen an...

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One in seven Cambridge students 'has sold drugs to help pay their way through university'

<p> </p><p>One in seven Cambridge students is  dealing drugs to help pay their way through university, according to a survey. It found many claim that they have been forced to sell illegal substances to friends to make ends meet as they study. And it revealed nearly two-thirds admitted taking drugs, with cannabis the most  popular substance.</p>

One in seven Cambridge students 'has sold drugs to help pay their way through university'

  One in seven Cambridge students is  dealing drugs to help pay their way through university, according to a survey. It found many claim th...

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EU clampdown on unregulated financial advisers in Spain

<p> </p><p>The European Commission is to consider setting up an ombudsman to help expat victims reclaim against unregistered financial firms. It comes after a local pressure group, that represents over 1,000 victims, sent a dossier of information to Brussels. The Costa del Sol Action Group demanded action against the advisers who, it claims, have lost their clients over €120 million (£102 million). “It is good news as something has to be done about this bunch of rogues,” said group founder David Klein. “The current Spanish regulatory system is totally inadequate and ineffective. Dealing with the authorities is a constant game of ping-pong. Anyone can come to Spain and be a financial adviser; they could have been selling fish before they came here for all anyone knows." This situation could soon be coming to an end, after the European Commission confirmed it was to begin "a preliminary investigation of the problem". Foreign Office plans evacuation of expats 18 Dec 2011 It has asked for more information and the action group has called on all victims to write to the European Parliament outlining their experience. “This problem is causing untold stress and heartache in the expatriate community and it cannot be allowed to continue,” explained Klein. The European Commission is to study how investors would be able to make an official complaint against Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs). At present, there is no effective means for victims to make a complaint against product providers who work with unregistered IFAs. The group was also highly critical of the local media for its willingness to accept adverts from unregulated financial firms in a bid to maximise advertising revenue. To highlight the problem, the group included testimonials by members who were allegedly defrauded by one specialist investment brokerage, which it claims is "not regulated or registered". It said the company was able to trade, "collecting unsuspecting clients who are soon relieved of their money". One Costa del Sol-based financial adviser, Richard Alexander, said he was pleased with the EU’s response. “Bring on the review,” he said. “I have seen too many sad stories of people being turned over, badly advised or grossly over-charged by unregulated independent financial advisors in Spain. "It is entirely possible to provide professional, quality advice without the client losing out.”</p>

EU clampdown on unregulated financial advisers in Spain

  The European Commission is to consider setting up an ombudsman to help expat victims reclaim against unregistered financial firms. It come...

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Murdoch slashes price for new Sunday tabloid

<p> </p><p>Rupert Murdoch on Thursday fired the opening shot in his battle to reclaim Britain's Sunday newspaper market by announcing his newly launched publication would be half the price of his previous title. The 80-year-old tycoon took to microblogging website Twitter to reveal: "Regular Sunday price for The Sun only 50p -- and Saturday's Sun going down to 50p too! Great news for readers and the economy." Murdoch's News of the World -- the Sunday tabloid which shut seven months ago over the phone-hacking scandal -- cost one pound ($1.57, 1.18 euros), the same cover price as rivals the Sunday Mirror and The People. The 50 percent price cut announced for The Sun on Sunday, which will hit the stands this weekend, signals the Australian-born businessman's hunger to once again own the top-selling Sunday newspaper. The News of the World dominated the country's Sunday market with sales averaging 2.67 million when Murdoch took the decision to close it in July last year. Publisher News International said the US-based mogul would be in London to oversee the launch this Sunday and confirmed that the editor of the weekday paper, Dominic Mohan, would also edit the Sun on Sunday. Murdoch flew in to Britain last week to announce the creation of the new paper and to promise demoralised staff he would stand by them despite the arrest of senior Sun journalists over bribery allegations.</p>

Murdoch slashes price for new Sunday tabloid

  Rupert Murdoch on Thursday fired the opening shot in his battle to reclaim Britain's Sunday newspaper market by announcing his newly l...

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Labour suspends MP Eric Joyce after Commons 'assault'

<p> </p><p>Labour MP Eric Joyce has been suspended from the party after he was arrested over allegations of an assault in a House of Commons bar. Police were called after reports of a disturbance on Wednesday night. Mr Joyce, 51, remains MP for Falkirk but cannot take the Labour whip until the police investigation ends. Speaker John Bercow has said he takes the matter "very seriously". The Conservative MP for Pudsey Stuart Andrew has alleged he was assaulted. The BBC understands officers involved in the investigation returned to the Commons on Thursday evening. The disturbance is believed to have happened in the Strangers Bar, which is reserved for MPs and their guests. Mr Andrew was in the bar following a Commons event organised by his Conservative colleague Andrew Percy, for the Speaker of the Canadian Parliament. 'Extremely serious' A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We were called at approximately 10.50pm last night to reports of a disturbance at a bar within the House of Commons. "A man aged in his 50s was arrested by officers on suspicion of assault. He remains in custody in a central London police station. Inquiries are continuing." A Labour Party spokesman said: "This is an extremely serious incident. We have suspended Eric Joyce pending the results of the police investigation." In the Commons, Speaker John Bercow said: "Members will be aware of reports of a serious incident in the House last night. I have been informed by the Serjeant at Arms that the honourable member for Falkirk has been detained in police custody. "The matter is being investigated. I take this matter very seriously, as do the House authorities." Mr Joyce was elected in a by-election in December 2000 and has served as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to a number of government ministers since 2003. He was PPS to the then defence secretary Bob Ainsworth until 2009, and prior to that had been a parliamentary aide to John Hutton, Mike O'Brien and Margaret Hodge.</p>

Labour suspends MP Eric Joyce after Commons 'assault'

  Labour MP Eric Joyce has been suspended from the party after he was arrested over allegations of an assault in a House of Commons bar. Po...

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The Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive and chairman may both have given up their bonuses but the state-owned bank will today unveil plans to lavish up to £785m on its workforce

<p> </p><p>The Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive and chairman may both have given up their bonuses but the state-owned bank will today unveil plans to lavish up to £785m on its workforce, including £400m to its investment bankers.  Stephen Hester, chief executive, turned down a payout of nearly £1m in shares while the chairman Sir Philip Hampton passed on £1.4m. But their nods to public outrage, over bonuses being paid to people who work for a bank that called on £45bn of public funds to keep it afloat and is expected to announce losses of as much as £2bn, have not been reflected among their senior colleagues. While the full details of payments to other executives will not become clear until the bank issues its annual report later this year, John Hourican, head of global banking and markets, could receive as much as £5m, despite overseeing the redundancies of more than 3,000 staff. That process in itself could cost up to £200,000 per employee because it targets some of highest-paid employees in investment banking, a large part of which is being shut down. Another man who could also receive a sizeable payout is its American finance director Bruce Van Saun, who last year received a bonus of £1.35m as part of a total package of £2.3m. That does not include additional payouts through his share-based long-term incentive scheme. He too has yet to give any indication that he plans to forgo this year's award despite effectively being No 3 in the bank's hierarchy after Sir Philip and Mr Hester. The overall bonus pool had to be agreed with the Government, which holds an 82 per cent stake in the bank following the bailout. The £400m for investment bankers is the lowest since the bank was effectively nationalised in 2008, and less than half last year's payout to them of £950m. A spokesman for the bank declined to comment on the figure. However, he said: "Ten thousand of our most senior employees will receive no salary increase this year, including the executive team." RBS sources were also at pains to point out that Mr Hourican's £5m would be a maximum figure based on a long- term incentive plan that comes to an end in April. Final decisions on payments from it had yet to be made by the bank's remuneration committee. Ministers have been keen to damp down the public anger over bonuses amid sour relations with the City of London. But campaigners remain furious at the addiction to huge bonuses at a time when less fortunate workers have been suffering an unprecedented squeeze on incomes. The TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Ordinary families are struggling to make ends meet, so it's perhaps not surprising that with the taxpayer the majority shareholder in the bank, public opinion is so against the continuing payment of huge bonuses at RBS. Stephen Hester may have handed back his bonus, but other senior executives at the bank are set to pocket large payouts from a bonus pot of millions." The Robin Hood Tax campaign, a coalition of 115 UK organisations including Oxfam, Barnado's and Friends of the Earth that wants a tax on financial transactions to be levied to alleviate poverty, was similarly furious. David Hillman, the campaign's spokesman, said: "It is incredible that while the rest of us suffer, a loss-making bank bailed out by the taxpayer is allowed to pay out hundreds of millions in bonuses. The British public is getting a raw deal from RBS." However, across the City there was a different view. Analysts argue that if RBS was not able to hold on to its staff it would not be able to pay back the taxpayer's investment. The City commentator David Buik, from BGC Partners, said: "If the taxpayer wants repayment of its £45 bn, it will need to employ quality people. That costs money and a competitive bonus structure."</p>

The Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive and chairman may both have given up their bonuses but the state-owned bank will today unveil plans to lavish up to £785m on its workforce

  The Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive and chairman may both have given up their bonuses but the state-owned bank will today unv...

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Banks forced to hand back £1.9BILLION to customers

<p> </p><p>Banks have been forced to hand back £1.9billion to customers who were wrongly sold Payment Protection Insurance as part of a 'loan protection racket'. However, consumer groups have accused the finance giants of dragging their feet on refunds which, eventually, could top £8billion. The Financial Ombudsman Service is receiving a staggering 1,000 complaints a day about the mis-selling of PPI. Consumers have a right to take a claim for a refund to the watchdog where they feel they have been unfairly fobbed off by their bank. In total, the ombudsman service has received over a third of a million PPI complaints, with the majority related to policies sold by banks alongside credit cards and loans. The watchdog upholds around three out of four cases in the consumer’s favour, with the average pay-out running at £2,750. The failure to offer speedy refunds has allowed a raft of hard-sell claims management firms, who are looking to cash in on the scandal, to flourish. These firms are spending millions of pounds in advertising to offer to pursue refunds. This involves bombarding the nation with TV advertising and recorded message telephone calls to both landline and mobile phones.</p>

Banks forced to hand back £1.9BILLION to customers

  Banks have been forced to hand back £1.9billion to customers who were wrongly sold Payment Protection Insurance as part of a 'loan pro...

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Investment Bankers Get Payouts Ahead Of Expected Loss Announcement

<p> </p><p>Royal Bank of Scotland is to pay out just under £400m in bonuses to its investment banking staff for their work in 2011, according to Sky sources. The day before RBS announces its full-year results, the bank is understood to have agreed with the Government that it can pay out between £390m and £400m in bonuses this year. The bonus pool, revealed exclusively by Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman, is likely to further stoke recent controversy over banker pay. The pot represents a cut of about 60% on last year's investment bank bonuses at RBS, which is 82% owned by the taxpayer. It comes as the bank prepares to report an expected full-year loss of up to £2bn, making the prospect of the taxpayer breaking even on the £45bn investment made in RBS during the 2008 banking crisis as remote as ever. The rewards follow a year in which thousands of employees were made redundant as Stephen Hester, the bank's chief executive, accelerated a restructuring of the business. Despite the reduction in the overall bonus pot, scores of RBS bankers are expected to collect packages worth more than £1m. The biggest payouts will be largely paid in shares and deferred over a three-year period. Ministers have insisted that RBS enforces a £2,000 cap on the cash element of bonuses for the third successive year. Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers Association, defended the latest RBS payouts, saying bonuses for investment bankers were set according to the international market. RBS boss Stephen Hester caved into pressure to waive his 2011 bonus She told Sky News that if UK banks failed to compete with global compensation levels they would lose the best employees, and in the case of RBS this could damage the long-term interest for the taxpayer. The bonus revelation came as Sir Philip Hampton, RBS's chairman, claims in a Sky News documentary with Jeff Randall, that the era of big banking bonuses is over. A YouGov poll for Sky News also showed that three-quarters of people believe that bosses at Britain's state-backed banks should not receive a bonus. Mr Hester waived his £1m bonus several weeks ago, while Antonio Horta-Osorio, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, also decided to rule out receiving a bonus. The 2011 pool is the lowest awarded to RBS's investment bankers since the bank was rescued by taxpayers in 2008.</p>

Investment Bankers Get Payouts Ahead Of Expected Loss Announcement

  Royal Bank of Scotland is to pay out just under £400m in bonuses to its investment banking staff for their work in 2011, according to Sky ...

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Bailed out banks now worth HALF £1,000 per person cost of saving them as they get ready to report £6BILLION losses

<p><br />Bailed-out banks worth just HALF the £1,000 it cost each person to save them - as they get ready to admit £6BILLION losses RBS cost £45.5bn to bailout but the stake is now worth just £26bn £20bn paid to bailout Lloyds but shareholding is now worth HALF But executive pay has soared and Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio entitled to £3.46m a year Comments (14) Share The bailed out banks are now worth just over half the £1,000 per person cost of saving them - and are set to reveal combined losses of £6billion. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds received a total of £65.5bn of taxpayers' money - but the Government stake is now worth just £36bn. Their are fears it will be years before the share price rises and taxpayers can get their money back. Bumper pay: Stephen Hester (left), who hates this picture being used, is paid £1.2million a year and waived a near-£1m bonus. Fred Goodwin, right, received £4.2m in 2007 But despite their poor performance the pay of top bankers like disgraced RBS boss Fred 'the Shred' Goodwin and Stephen Hester has rocketed over the last decade.   More... Three of the UK's five largest banks have lost shareholders' money over past decade while bosses reap rewards £500 for EVERY British household: UK faces added £1billion bill to bail out Greece and save crisis-hit euro Don't tell Sid! How the bank shares wipeout hit the savings of the windfall generation Fred Goodwin saw his total pay rocket from £1.27m in 2000 to £4.2m in 2007 - when he received a £2.86m performance-related bonus. Stress: Antonio Horta-Osorio is entitled to £3.46million this year Since 2000, the value of the bank has fallen by 91 per cent. New boss Stephen Hester enjoys a £1.2m salary and only waived a £963,000 shares bonus after being put intense pressure. However, he is still in line to receive shares worth about £660,000 that were awarded as part of the £2m bonus he was handed for his 2010 performance. But as the bosses receive bumper rewards, RBS has announced that 3,500 jobs will go on top of 2,000 which went last summer. Lloyds has more than tripled the amount it pays its chief executive over the past decade. Over the same period the average UK wage increased by just under 40 per cent, to £26,135. In 2000, they paid £856,000 to former boss Sir Peter Ellwood. New chief-executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is entitled to £3.46m this year, although he waived his £1.06m bonus last month. He had six weeks off work at the end of last year because of stress and fatigue. Tomorrow RBS will announce losses of around £2bn while Lloyds is expected to reveal losses of £3.5 billion on Friday. They will blame the poor figures on the eurozone debt crisis and increased regulation. Plans to give the shares directly to taxpayers to ease some of the public anger about the pay enjoyed by bailed-out bankers are reported to have been ditched because the investments are too shaky. Bailed out: Royal Bank of Scotland is set to announce losses of £3.5bn on Friday. It is worth £26bn - and the Government paid £45.5bn The Government injected £45.5bn to take an 82 per cent stake in RBS but those shares are today worth around £26bn despite a 40 per cent rise in the share price in recent weeks. It needs shares, which are currently trading at about 28p, to rise to 50p before it can break even. Lloyds cost £20bn to bailout - but the Government is currently nursing losses of nearly £10billion. Their shares are valued at around 35p and they must rise to 63p. The bank recoveries have been made more difficult because the Government has announced new regulations in a bid to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. They will be forced to separate their retail and investment banking arms which will be expensive to implement and hit profits. The current malaise in the world economy and the Greek debt crisis has added to banks’ woes. The Government is paying £500 million a year in interest payments on the money it borrowed to bailout the banks. 'BAILED OUT BANKERS SHOULD NOT RECEIVE A BONUS' Three out of four people think bosses at bailed-out banks should not get a bonus, according to research. And 58 per cent of respondents to the YouGov poll, commissioned by Sky News, said Britain’s business reputation is being damaged by the actions of bankers. Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, said bonuses cannot continue at the current level. 'Part of the reason for the pay is that the profits were not sustainable,' he told Sky news. 'They were there for a few years but they were not sustainable and the pay moved up to that level of profits and it now needs to be corrected down.' Sir Philip turned down a £1.4 million bonus earlier this month. But Nigel Rudd, former deputy chairman of Barclays, claimed he would have paid more money to Barclays’ former chief executive John Varley. He said: 'Bob Diamond (current chief executive) and John Varley made a huge difference to Barclays as they went through this terrible period. 'You realise Barclays never made a loss throughout all this period? I think John Varley was underpaid actually ... because I think what he did throughout that crisis was phenomenal.' The comments come after weeks of conflict over bankers’ bonuses, in which RBS chief Stephen Hester turned down his £963,000 bonus amid mounting pressure and Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio waived his payout following a leave of absence.</p>

Bailed out banks now worth HALF £1,000 per person cost of saving them as they get ready to report £6BILLION losses

Bailed-out banks worth just HALF the £1,000 it cost each person to save them - as they get ready to admit £6BILLION losses RBS cost £45.5bn ...

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THOUSANDS of homeowners face higher mortgage repayments because of new personal insolvency rules, it emerged last night.

<p><br /> The new rules mean some of the most hard-pressed households will get part of their mortgage debt written off. But other customers face the prospect of higher interest rates on their mortgages, as banks cushion themselves against the risk of these losses. Any rise in rates would hit those customers on variable mortgages, while people with tracker mortgages would not be affected. Bank of Ireland boss Richie Boucher yesterday admitted he was looking at raising the interest rates on home loans to compensate for this added "risk". He said the new insolvency laws, due later this year, could mark a "fundamental" change in the playing field for banks and make mortgage lending more risky. "We price for risk," he said, implying that the cost could be passed on to customers in the form of higher interest rates. It would mean that the bank increases its variable interest rate for existing customers, or charges a higher rate to new borrowers -- potentially putting the bailed-out bank on a collision course with the Government. However, it is highly likely other banks will be thinking along the same lines, and if Bank of Ireland moves to increase its rates then it will set a precedent. It is understood at least one other bank is considering similar measures. Bank of Ireland gave out half of Ireland's new mortgages last year. About a third of Bank of Ireland's mortgage holders are on variable rates, and at a typical rate of between 3.4pc and 3.84pc are already paying almost double the interest of those with tracker mortgages. People on tracker mortgages will not be hit by any rises instigated by the banks as the European Central Bank controls tracker rates. The threat of higher interest rates comes a week after international ratings agency Moody's said up to a quarter of the mortgages in Irish banks were vulnerable to being written down under the new insolvency rule, which could trigger "widespread debt forgiveness". Mr Boucher insisted he did not want to sound "alarmist" about the new regime's impact -- but also warned that it could become harder for his bank to raise money, since investors could be reluctant to accept mortgage loans as collateral. Any move to hike variable rates at Bank of Ireland could also ignite a new row with the Government. The bank defied Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore last November when it faced down demands from the State to pass on eurozone rate cuts to its variable customers. It ultimately passed on between 0.1pc and 0.15pc of December's 0.25pc cut. Mr Boucher said the State was a "stakeholder" in the bank and it was "important that we take this into consideration". "We had a discussion with the Government on how we funded ourselves," he added. "The Government has a vested interest in us making profits on a sensible basis." Mortgages are seen as the major unknown for banks in 2012, as they get to grips with the new personal insolvency rules. These rules will allow mortgage debt to be "written down" in some extreme circumstances and can shorten the current 12-year bankruptcy term to as little as three years. Pricing Asked about mortgage rates last night, a spokeswoman for Bank of Ireland insisted there were no firm plans in relation to raising mortgage rates. The bank boss "made general comments about pricing for risk only", she said. Residential mortgage arrears are rising fast for Bank of Ireland, with 5.6pc of owner occupiers three months or more behind on their repayments. The Central Bank said last week that 9.2pc of all mortgages were more than 90 days overdue. Repossessions by the bank almost quadrupled last year, rising from a low base of 18 to 75. But Mr Boucher predicted they would be higher still in 2012. Mr Boucher claimed yesterday that "considerable speculation about potential public policy measures regarding mortgage arrears" had already triggered an increase in arrears at his bank in the second half of last year. If the new rules were a "fundamental change" in the mortgage landscape, then the bank would have to "look at" its assumptions around mortgage risk. "I wouldn't want to be alarmist about that," he stressed. "We do recognise that the existing arrangements aren't sustainable, that some change was needed."</p>

THOUSANDS of homeowners face higher mortgage repayments because of new personal insolvency rules, it emerged last night.

 The new rules mean some of the most hard-pressed households will get part of their mortgage debt written off. But other customers face the...

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Lloyds Bank strips five directors of more than £1 million in bonuses

<p> </p><p>It will be the first time a British bank has exercised a “clawback” option on executive pay packages since the financial crisis and will lead to calls for similar moves at other lenders, including the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Daily Telegraph has learned that Lloyds is taking back a bonus from senior bankers over their role in the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). Eric Daniels, Lloyds’ former chief executive, will lose at least £360,000 of his 2010 bonus. Four other current and former directors will each have to forgo about £250,000. The move comes after weeks of pressure from politicians and consumer groups for the banking sector to answer concerns that some bonus awards do not match individual performances. The Financial Services Authority has also called for Britain’s banks to reflect one of the worst customer mis-selling scandals in recent memory in the pay packages of those responsible.</p>

Lloyds Bank strips five directors of more than £1 million in bonuses

  It will be the first time a British bank has exercised a “clawback” option on executive pay packages since the financial crisis and will l...

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Banks roll out new fees to recoup revenue: Banks roll out new fees amid big settlements, lost revenue

<p><br />If you thought customers triumphed last fall when the nation's big banks quickly retreated from monthly fees for debit-card use, think again: Like the mythical Hydra, banks have replaced that charge, severed by a grass-roots uprising, with various new fees designed to recoup lost income. Although some of these fees appeared before last year's debit-card revolt, many more are making their debuts this year. There are nearly 50 different fees consumers can wind up paying, depending on the services they use and how they use them, according to some consumer advocates' latest estimates. "Most of these fees are not the in-your-face charges, such as the debit-card fee that caused the big uproar," said Alex Matjanec, co-founder of MyBankTracker.com, a consumer-finance information website. "Many are flying under the radar. But they could have a big long-term effect on your money if you aren't paying attention." Some banks have started charging for wire transfers, paper statements, prepaid cards, debit-card replacement and other services. Some even charge you now for closing an account or for making deposits using an iPhone. Don't be surprised if some banks eventually charge people just to apply for a loan, consumer advocates say. Banks are combining the new fees with increases in existing fees in an effort to make up for billions of dollars in revenue whose loss they blame on the federal financial-services overhaul, spiraling regulatory costs and huge legal liabilities such as the recent $25 billion foreclosure-fraud lawsuit settlement. For example, there has been a resurgence in overdraft and credit-card fees, both of which had dipped across the industry as a result of changes that took effect in 2009 and 2010. "The banks have done a good job of convincing consumers that they just can't live without those [overdraft] services," said Gerri Detweiler, a Sarasota-based personal-finance expert for Credit.com, an independent consumer-finance research service. Banks say they still provide customers multiple ways to avoid the vast majority of service fees, including the new ones. More than half of all U.S. bank customers pay no fees at all by maintaining minimum account balances, setting up direct deposits or signing up for other services linked to their accounts, according to a 2011 study by the American Bankers Association. Still, the fee issue has reached a tipping point for some consumers. Chris Erwin of Orlando said he closed his bank account at Wells Fargo & Co. last fall during the uproar over monthly fees for debit-card use. He also cited the Occupy Wall Street protest movement, which focused much of its energy on big banks. "The Occupy movement kind of made me realize these big banks act more like investment banks, and you don't really know what they are using your money for," said Erwin, a 24-year-old home-security supervisor who has opened a member account at the Lake Mary-based CFE Federal Credit Union. "It just seemed a much fairer thing to do, to go to a not-for-profit-type bank." According to a recent survey by Javelin Strategy and Research, more than 5.6 million consumers switched banks during the fourth quarter of 2011, including many who moved to credit unions or smaller community banks, both of which typically charge lower fees. The survey by the California-based financial-consulting company estimated that 610,000, or 11 percent of the total, did so as part of the grass-roots protest against big banks' attempt to impose debit-card fees, while an additional 846,000, or 15 percent, changed because of objections to bank fees generally. A half-dozen large banks either imposed or announced plans last year to impose $5 monthly fees on customers who used their debit cards to buy goods and services; automated-teller use was exempt from the fee. The banks' actions stoked public anger still simmering from the federal government's 2008 bailout of major U.S. banks, and an anti-fee petition on change.org, a grass-roots-organizing site, drew more than 300,000 signatures. By early November, all of the banks had backed off their debit-card fees. Banks argue that surveys such as Javelin's don't tell the whole story. Such studies neglect to report, for example, how many new accounts were opened at major financial institutions during the same time period. Increases in the number and size of consumer fees, they say, are the inevitable result of what they describe as government overregulation of their industry: Caps on fees charged to merchants, additional disclosure mandates and other financial-service changes have limited their revenue and boosted their costs. They criticize federal changes such as the 2011 Durbin Amendment, which set a 21-cent cap on the debit-transaction fees that banks charge retailers and other businesses that accept such cards from their customers. That cap cut in half the average "swipe fee" banks had been charging for processing those transactions. Congress, in capping those fees, had sided with retailers who argued that the transaction charges were monopolistic and far out of line with banks' actual costs — an assertion banks dispute. "Congress has to understand that, whenever you pass legislation such as the Durbin Amendment, all of us as consumers are going to pay for it," said Alex Sanchez, chief executive officer of the Florida Bankers Association. "The more regulations you pass on the banks, the more those costs are passed on to the people on Main Street." In business terms, banks are now "repricing" their services based on the cost structure dictated by the new federal rules, said Stanley D. Smith, a finance professor at the University of Central Florida. In some cases, that will mean the end of no-fee checking accounts and other services for which banks have not charged in the past, he said. Consumers should keep track of such changes and make smart decisions about where they want to do their banking, Smith said — especially if they encounter something they consider especially offensive, such as an account-closing fee. "If you're already mad enough to come into the bank to close an account," he said, "Then they tell you, 'Oh, by the way, we're going to charge you for taking your money out.' Well, that pretty much blows any chance that you're going to want to come back there ever again."</p>

Banks roll out new fees to recoup revenue: Banks roll out new fees amid big settlements, lost revenue

If you thought customers triumphed last fall when the nation's big banks quickly retreated from monthly fees for debit-card use, think a...

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Bailed-out banks still aren't ready to sell, even after three years and £90bn

<p> </p><p>The clean-up bill for Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group has already topped £90bn, put nearly 80,000 jobs on the line, and left taxpayers nursing a £32bn loss on their stakes in the bailed-out banks. But when they report their results for 2011 this week, both are likely to concede that their salvage operations are not yet complete, despite three years of downsizing and reshaping. Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of RBS, admitted recently that when he took on the job he had expected 2012 to be the year that the government could herald a sell-off of the bank's shares. Yet, with the economy, the ongoing crisis in the eurozone and a series of regulatory changes – including the ring-fencing proposals from the Vickers commission on banking – all combining to weigh down on bank share prices, analysts reckon that the government will be stuck with an 82% stake in RBS and a 41% stake in Lloyds for some time yet. Robert Talbut, chief investment officer of Royal London Asset Management, says: "It is very clear to everyone that the government are going to hold these stakes for much longer than anybody anticipated. The prospect of the government being able to sell down their stakes in the next three years is extremely slim. That is due to regulatory change both in the UK and globally. It is also due to the interrelation between the growth rates in the UK economy and what that means for asset values on a lot of the assets that they have on their balance sheets."</p>

Bailed-out banks still aren't ready to sell, even after three years and £90bn

  The clean-up bill for Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group has already topped £90bn, put nearly 80,000 jobs on the line, and le...

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As Old Francs Expire, France Makes a Small Mint

<p><br />Greece may be scrambling for revenue, but the French treasury has just banked some 550 million euros for doing nothing — simply letting the French franc, created in 1360, finally perish. Enlarge This Image Thibault Camus/Associated Press People lined up at a bank in Paris on Friday to convert old French francs to euros, the common European currency, before the francs were rendered worthless. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors Friday was the last day that French francs could be turned into the Bank of France, the central bank, in exchange for the common European currency, the euro, a little more than a decade after it was introduced as bills and coins. The approximately 550 million euros represents the francs still outstanding, somewhere, which are now worthless, and which will be registered as revenue for the French state. As the franc died, it is the future of the euro that seems at question now, an irony that hardly escaped some of those waiting in line at the bank to exchange the francs they had found stashed away in drawers, coat pockets and old purses. (Only bills were exchangeable; coins went out of circulation in 2005.) Emmanuelle Hamon, 47, said she was dubious about the fate of the euro. “I want to believe in it,” she said. “But I don’t know how, concretely, we’re going to make it.” A former advertising executive and journalist, she said she felt a bit betrayed, as if Europeans had been handed a bill of goods, now that floundering countries like Greece are causing troubles for the entire euro zone. “I was attracted to the notion of community,” she said. “We were all hoodwinked.” And like many, she believes that the euro brought with it higher prices. She had found 220 francs, or 33.54 euros at the fixed rate of 6.55957 francs to the euro. She is planning to give her bonus euros to a charity that fights hunger, she said. As for the franc itself, she said she had no special sentiments. “I thought they were pretty, that’s all I can say.” For some it was a sad day, to be sure. As Ms. Hamon noted, the franc notes and coins were varied and beautiful. The euro, on the other hand, seems like the product of an off-day at the design studio, made worse by the fact that the bills feature no recognizable buildings or portraits. The theory behind keeping some images off was that any European — even Beethoven, whose music was used for the European Union anthem — would be too national. Aurélien Duchene, an 18-year-old student, said that he liked the idea of the euro as a way to gather countries together, but that it meant prices went up. Pulling his earphones out to hear questions, he remembered that when he was 8 or 9 years old and the currency changed, he said, “For one franc you got a big bag of candy, and for one euro, one got less.” The current economic crisis had various causes, Mr. Duchene said. “But I think that changing from the franc to the euro is also a cause.” (Indeed, fixed rates and the common currency have meant countries cannot adjust the value of their currency in response to differing economic circumstances.) Shanel Maklouf, 17, said earnestly, while her friends giggled, that the euro had been “very bad for France,” and had helped cause its economic difficulties, “which grow day by day.” Going back to the franc is impossible, she said, “even if it would be a good thing,” especially for the poorer classes. “My mother waits for only one thing, that the franc returns.” The far-right National Front candidate in the coming presidential election, Marine Le Pen, is the only significant politician calling for France to pull out of the euro zone — and the European Union — and return to the franc. More mainstream politicians and economists regard the idea as folly, even as some Greeks begin to consider returning to the drachma. The Greeks, by the way, have until March 1 to switch their old drachmas into euros. Tania Capo-Chichi, 30, is a hairstylist, currently unemployed. She waited in line at the bank with her 5-month-old son in a stroller and a small windfall — 1,000 francs, worth 152.45 euros — she found digging through various bags, she said. She had no attachment to the old franc, but no idea how the current euro crisis, which she said no one was really explaining to people, would end. “It won’t come to a stop overnight,” she said. But she was sure the euro would endure, one way or another, as Europe evolves. “It’s ours,” she said, “even if we don’t necessarily like it.</p>

As Old Francs Expire, France Makes a Small Mint

Greece may be scrambling for revenue, but the French treasury has just banked some 550 million euros for doing nothing — simply letting the ...

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