Brown's Britain

Stories

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March 2008
- Brown Upbraids UK Public for Taunting Troops
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Mar 7, 08 5:34 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - After reports that officers in Britain's Royal Air Force advised members against wearing uniforms in public, Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged troops to show their colors, the Telegraph reports—and chastised citizens for the verbal abuse that prompted the guidelines. Brown said troops should “have the respect and gratitude of the British people” and police should work to stop any abuse. More »
- UK-Russia Relations Remain Frosty
  
  Times (UK) | Mar 4, 08 10:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - As Gordon Brown extended only the most cursory congratulations to Dmitry Medvedev yesterday, the frozen diplomatic relations between Russia and Britain seem unlikely to thaw, reports the Times of London. The UK prime minister sent a letter rather than making the usual phone call to a president-elect, and he pointedly declined to invite Medvedev to London, saying they'll meet at the next G8 summit. More »
February 2008
- British Hostage Appears on Arab Television
  
  Times (UK) | Feb 27, 08 10:27 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - One of the five British men kidnapped in Baghdad eight months ago appeared on Arab television last night, begging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to free nine Iraqi prisoners in exchange for the Britons. “Release their people so that we can go home. It’s as simple as that," Peter Moore said in remarks dubbed into Arabic. It was the first sign of the hostages since December, writes the Times of London. More »
- CIA: Rendition Flights Landed in UK Territory
  
  BBC | Feb 21, 08 2:17 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Two US flights carrying terror suspects for interrogation abroad—a practice known as extraordinary rendition—landed on British territory in 2002, confirmed CIA Director Michael Hayden today. Though the UK previously denied such landings, Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted planes refueled on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, reports the BBC, a fact revealed in a recent search of US records. More »
- How Bad Is Northern Rock?
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Feb 19, 08 1:08 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The subprime crisis has forced the British government to do what it dreaded: nationalize a bank. What's the fallout from the Northern Rock takeover? Gordon Brown "put quite a good face" on an unpalatable decision, says Philip Stephens of the Financial Times. Nationalization hasn't hurt him much, but the dithering has. Result: An election is probably years away. More »
- UK Scraps Plan To Tax Rich Foreigners
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Feb 13, 08 12:17 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Facing criticism from Britain's financial establishment and within his own Labour party, Treasury Minister Alistair Darling yesterday scrapped plans to tax "non-domiciled" foreigners as much as $60,000 a year. Investors worried the levy would push rich foreigners out of London and compromise the financial sector, the Financial Times reports. The troubles at the Treasury have led to speculations on Darling's future. More »
- Citizenship Test Just Too Tough for Most Brits
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Feb 1, 08 7:40 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Should would-be immigrants to the United Kingdom be required to know the population of Wales when a majority of Britons don't? Only one in seven natives would pass the test required to get a passport, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The government says the bar should be set high even as critics say it's prohibitively so. More »
January 2008
- Bank of England Governor Gets 2nd Term
  
  Reuters | Jan 30, 08 9:40 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Mervyn King has won a second term as governor of the Bank of England, the Fed's British counterpart, ending months of speculation about his future. Reuters reports that King will serve at the head of the UK central bank for another five years despite the City's fury at his handling of the credit crisis and the meltdown of Northern Rock. Several reports had suggested Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were considering another candidate. More »
- Britain to Offer McQualifications
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jan 28, 08 8:11 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Gordon Brown parried criticism today for his government's decision to give students school credit for completing a McDonald's "basic shift manager" course, and other entry-level corporate training programs. "It's not that standards are going to fall. It's going to be a tough course," Brown said of the new vocational credential. "Once you've got that qualification you can go anywhere." More »
- Top UK Minister Resigns Ahead of Police Inquiry
  
  Times (UK) | Jan 24, 08 7:55 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A leading minister in Gordon Brown's cabinet resigned today after UK police announced they were opening an investigation into his failure to disclose over $200,000 in donations. Peter Hain raised the money to contest an internal Labour Party election for deputy leader, which he lost. This is the third major police investigation into Labour fundraising, after the cash-for-honors scandal and alleged secret donations by a reclusive millionaire. More »
- Northern Rock Plan Backfires on Brown
  
  Times (UK) | Jan 22, 08 10:55 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A day after the chancellor of the exchequer announced new plans to accelerate the sale of Northern Rock, the British press sees serious trouble for Gordon Brown's government and no certainty that the taxpayers' $110 billion will be repaid. Anatole Kaletsky, a leading Times columnist who has been sympathetic to Labour in the past, is scathing: "Mr. Brown's career as a serious politician ended yesterday." More »
December 2007
- UK-Taliban Secret Talks Come to Light
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Dec 26, 07 2:45 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - British intelligence agents held a series of secret talks with leading members of the Taliban this summer, reports the Telegraph . At jirgas in Afghanistan, the country's secret service attempted peace negotiations and offered "mentoring." Details of the meetings—as many as a half dozen—emerged just as Afghan officials ordered two European officials working for the EU and the UN deported for alleged meetings with the Taliban More »
- Brown Orders Britons to Think Green
  
  Guardian (UK) | Dec 22, 07 1:43 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown has told his ministers to count the cost of global warming—literally. For each ton of carbon a new project emits, the UK will tack on a “carbon price" to account for climate costs. The move will prove a boon to carbon-free energy sources like nuclear power, and affect policies ranging from housing to new roads to airport expansions, the Guardian reports. More »
- Brits Hatch Secret Plan to Bail Out Northern Rock
  
  Guardian (UK) | Dec 18, 07 2:05 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Worried that the state might be stuck nationalizing Northern Rock, Britain has worked up a contingency plan behind closed doors to divide the troubled bank among the country’s commercial banks. A private buyout is still preferable, the Guardian reports, but some now fear the main bidders will back out, leaving the government holding the bag. More »
- UK Wants to Talk to Taliban
  
  Independent (UK) | Dec 12, 07 8:13 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Just back from Kabul, Gordon Brown is poised to announce a major strategic revision in Afghanistan that will involve dialogue with the Taliban. Senior British officials believe that treating the loose-knit organization as a unified terrorist actor is counterproductive, the Independent reports, and they want to move from fighting militants to talking to them. But the new strategy might cause tension between the UK and Washington hawks. More »