British Parliament

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Pie Protester Lunges at Murdoch; Wife Defends

Wife Wendi Deng tries to fend off foamy attacker

(Newser) - A little drama toward the end of the Rupert Murdoch hearing today: A protester lunged forward with something like a plate of shaving cream and tried to smear the News Corp chief. Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, jumped up to defend her 80-year-old husband from the attack, notes the Wall ...

Murdoch on Deck for Performance of His Life

Board reportedly considering COO Chase Carey as replacement

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch heads to Parliament today for perhaps the most clutch performance of his storied career, as his media empire hangs in the balance. News Corp execs who watched the mogul rehearse quietly expressed concern about his answers, Bloomberg reports, and a disastrous appearance could cement rumblings emanating from the...

2nd Scotland Yard Official Resigns

Another casualty of hacking scandal: Assistant Commissioner John Yates

(Newser) - Britain's spreading phone hacking and police bribery scandal forced another of London's top police officers to resign. Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson stepped down last night, followed out the door today by Assistant Commissioner John Yates—who decided two years ago not to reopen police inquiries into phone...

Murdochs Will Appear Before Parliament

Rupert, James, and Rebekah Brooks will be there Tuesday

(Newser) - On second thought, Rupert and James Murdoch have decided to appear before Britain's parliament after all, reports the BBC . Joining them to presumably take their lumps over the phone hacking scandal on Tuesday will be News Corp executive Rebekah Brooks. The two men initially declined to appear , and it...

Murdochs Refuse to Appear Before Parliament

Rupert, James will be in contempt, says one member

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch and son James are refusing the summons to appear before Parliament on Tuesday. According to one member and committee chair, the Murdochs will be in contempt of Parliament if they fail to appear at 2:30pm and testify about their media empire's phone hacking scandal, and their...

Gordon Brown Offers to Step Down—Eventually

Move aimed to help talks with Liberal Democrats on coalition government

(Newser) - Gordon Brown has announced that he's stepping down as the head of the Labour party—some time before the party's next conference this fall—but that he'd like to remain prime minister until then if possible, the Guardian reports. Brown also announced that the Liberal Democrats would begin formal talks...

Cameron, Clegg Scramble to Form UK Government
 Cameron, Clegg Scramble 
 to Form UK Government  
Brown urged to step down

Cameron, Clegg Scramble to Form UK Government

Election leaves Liberal Dems in driver's seat

(Newser) - Britain's winner-less election has left both the Conservatives and the Labour Party furiously negotiating with and sucking up to Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrat party, with papers just as furiously live-blogging the comings and goings. Though they actually lost seats, the Liberal Dems have the power to determine who becomes prime...

BP Has to Remove Dome From Well

Buildup of ice crystals forces a reassessment

(Newser) - Bad news from the Gulf: BP is reporting problems with the giant containment dome that was lowered to the ocean floor to save the day. Workers had to pull it off a blown well—at least temporarily—because of a buildup of ice crystals inside the 100-ton contraption, reports AP...

Nobody Wins UK Election
 Nobody Wins UK Election 

Nobody Wins UK Election

Country faces hung parliament with no clear winner

(Newser) - The British haven't finished counting the votes from yesterday's election yet but it's now certain that no party will gain a majority of seats in Parliament, despite a large swing of votes toward the Conservatives away from the ruling Labour Party. Britain now has a "hung parliament," in...

UK-Style Question Time Isn't What US Needs
 UK-Style Question Time 
 Isn't What US Needs 
PEGGY NOONAN

UK-Style Question Time Isn't What US Needs

Terror threat calls for unity, not more partisanship

(Newser) - Question Time—in which opposition British politicians grill the prime minister every week—is great political theater but probably wouldn't translate so well to the US, writes Peggy Noonan. The idea has its pluses, but American politicians don't seem able to insult each other with the skill and elegance of...

Gordon Brown Survives Secret Ballot Coup Attempt

Opposition calls for an immediate general election

(Newser) - Gordon Brown narrowly dodged the latest attempt to unseat him yesterday, after two senior members of his party called for a secret ballot on his leadership. Brown came out on top in the vote, but looked weakened, with several members of his cabinet offering only belated, tepid statements of support....

Airline Pulls Own Mag After Holocaust Memorial Shoot

Budget easyJet did fashion spread without permission

(Newser) - British budget airline easyJet has taken its in-flight magazine out of its planes after the New Statesman pointed out that a fashion spread in its current edition was shot at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial. The airline blamed the outside publishing house in charge of the magazine, which, judgment and taste...

Brown to Repay $20K in Expense Scandal

PM had called for ministers to pony up

(Newser) - Gordon Brown has been sent a bill for £12,415 ($19,600) for questionable expense account claims, and the prime minister intends to pay up, 10 Downing St. announced today. The lion’s share of that money was used for housecleaning, with a bit going to gardening and decorating....

As 4th Minister Quits, Brown's Outlook Bleak

Blears resigns in potentially fatal blow to PM's authority

(Newser) - With one day to go before clutch British elections, another minister resigned from Gordon Brown's Cabinet today, dealing the beleaguered PM another devastating blow. Hazel Blears, an arch-Blairite who was exposed for avoiding $21,000 in capital gains tax, refused to praise Brown in her resignation statement. She is the...

UK Expenses Scandal Hits Alistair Darling

Govt's No. 2 claimed 2 houses at same time, may be demoted

(Newser) - Britain's ongoing political expenses scandal reached all the way to the second-highest post in government today, after the Telegraph broke news that Chancellor Alistair Darling reportedly expensed the service charge on a South London apartment he was renting out while also claiming allowances on his Downing Street house. Though he...

Clock Strikes 150 for Big Ben
 Clock Strikes 150 for Big Ben 

Clock Strikes 150 for Big Ben

(Newser) - London’s Big Ben will celebrate three 150th birthdays this year, starting with today’s anniversary of the first movement of the huge clock, the Evening Standard reports. July 11 marks the first ringing of “Big Ben,” the Great Bell that eventually gave its name to the tower,...

British MP Billed Taxpayers for 'Servants' Wing'

Tory then sold house and evaded capital gains tax

(Newser) - Just when the scandal over British MPs' expenses seemed to be petering out comes news that a Conservative legislator charged taxpayers $27,000 to build servants' quarters at his second home, the Times of London reports. Sir John Butterfill told the BBC the suggestion he had servants was a "...

Forget Tea Parties: Irate Brits Talking 'Bout a Revolution

Decades-long tensions come to the fore over latest scandal

(Newser) - Britain’s embattled politicians may have another revolution on their hands, but this time one that’s brewing on their own soil. Citizens are fuming over outrageous personal expenditures—including a miniature “duck house” and the clearing of a moat—by members of Parliament, but tensions have been simmering...

US Journo Exposed UK Expense Scandal

Freelancer's Freedom of Information Act query lifted lid on abuse of system

(Newser) - The scandal shaking Britain's Parliament to its core was set in motion by a simple request from a freelance American writer, the New York Times reports. Heather Brooke submitted a query about politicians' expenses under Britain's Freedom of Information Act after it came into effect, only to meet years of...

UK Expenses Scandal Claims House Speaker

House of Commons speaker Michael Martin steps down

(Newser) - The ongoing controversy surrounding British MPs' lavish expenses has claimed its biggest victim: the speaker of the House of Commons. Michael Martin, who presides over the country's main legislative body, will announce his resignation today after losing the support of party leaders, including Gordon Brown—not for cheating on his...

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