Gordon Brown

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Two More Discs Missing in UK Data Fiasco

Brown apologizes as criticism of government grows louder

(Newser) - The fallout from the lost data fiasco in Britain continues, as the Times of London reveals that two more unencrypted discs containing sensitive personal information have been reported missing from the nation's tax agency. Gordon Brown faced down a furious opposition in Prime Minister's Questions yesterday. The PM has employed...

UK Chancellor Fights for Job After Data Loss

25M missing records spell trouble for already shaky Labour

(Newser) - A day after Alistair Darling was forced to admit that the tax department had lost the personal data of 25 million citizens, the British chancellor was fighting to keep his job in the face of a hostile and incredulous press. "Beyond farce, past comprehension, criminally irresponsible and beneath contempt"...

Northern Rock Plummets 40% as Britain Seeks Buyer

Bank crisis spells political trouble

(Newser) - In Britain the meltdown of Northern Rock has expanded into a full-out political crisis. The bank's stock plummeted 40% this morning to trade at less than a dollar a share, the Financial Times reports. The collapse of Northern Rock spells serious trouble for Alistair Darling, the chancellor, who is desperate...

UK to Pay Opium Producers
UK to Pay Opium Producers

UK to Pay Opium Producers

Britain wants to pay Afghan farmers to ditch heroin production

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s opium biz is booming, but British PM Gordon Brown says the almighty pound can squash it, the Guardian reports. He now wants to revive the UK's failed anti-opium program by paying Afghan farmers to produce crops other than poppy. So far, the UK has invested $20 million in...

Dislike Deeper Than Politics for UK Foes

Columnist examines 'toxic' relations between PM Brown and Tory Cameron

(Newser) - In London this week, a full slate of public appearances has forced Gordon Brown and David Cameron to act chummy and smile for the cameras. Yet as a columnist for the Telegraph observes, the Labour prime minister and Conservative opposition leader seem barely capable of having a conversation. Their mutual...

UK to Cut Greenhouse Gases
UK to Cut Greenhouse Gases

UK to Cut Greenhouse Gases

Britain pledges to reduce emissions 60 percent by 2050

(Newser) - Britain has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent over the next four decades, the BBC reports. Under the Climate Change Bill, the government will create an independent commission to help it meet five-year "carbon budgets." The government says the plan gives Britain the first...

Pakistani Police Battle Lawyers
Pakistani Police Battle Lawyers

Pakistani Police Battle Lawyers

Hundreds more arrested as cops storm courthouse rally protesting emergency rule

(Newser) - Baton-swinging Pakistani police clashed violently today with lawyers across the nation demonstrating against President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule and suspension of civil rights. Hundreds were were arrested, joining 1,500 activists detained yesterday. In the largest confrontation security forces rushed 2,000 demonstrators outside the high court in...

London Police Blasted in Subway Killing

'05 shooting of innocent mistaken for terrorist endangered public

(Newser) - London police were found guilty today of fatal misconduct in the 2005 subway killing of an innocent Brazilian. The force will have to pay roughly $1.17 million for breaking safety rules and endangering the public. Officers shot the victim seven times in the head after mistaking him for a...

Poll Confirms: Brown Bubble Has Burst
Poll Confirms: Brown Bubble Has Burst

Poll Confirms: Brown Bubble Has Burst

Party support lowest since Blair left office, worrying Labour

(Newser) - The "Brown Bounce" is over, says the Guardian. A sobering new poll puts Labour five points behind the Tories, the lowest showing for the party since Gordon Brown entered No. 10. Based on the distribution of seats, Labour would have remained the largest party in the Commons but lost...

Saudi, Brit Royals Dine
Saudi, Brit Royals Dine

Saudi, Brit Royals Dine

King Abdullah sweeps into London with 23 advisers and 400 aides

(Newser) - In the first visit of a Saudi king to the UK in 20 years, King Abdullah was treated to a Buckingham Palace banquet last night. His host, Queen Elizabeth, said Britain and Saudi Arabia must fight together against "terrorists who threaten the way of life of our citizens."...

After Gaffes, Queen Hopes to Placate Saudis

Miliband 'snub' latest snag in King Abdullah's rocky UK trip

(Newser) - Queen Elizabeth will have to put on a brave face when she welcomes Saudi King Abdullah today, following yesterday's gaffe-filled beginning to his London visit. Abdullah's widely reported outburst over the 7/7 attacks left Downing Street open-mouthed, writes the Times of London, but then Britain's foreign secretary skipped a meeting...

Saudi King: Britain Lax on Terror
Saudi King: Britain Lax on Terror

Saudi King: Britain Lax on Terror

Monarch maintains UK ignored intelligence that may have averted 7/7

(Newser) - Britain needs to do more to fight international terrorism, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah says. Speaking on the eve of the first official visit to the UK by a Saudi ruler in 20 years, the monarch said his government passed along intelligence that could have averted the 7/7 bombings "but...

Turkey Masses Troops, Ready to Invade

'We don't need permission' to strike Kurds, PM says

(Newser) - Turkey will invade Northern Iraq “the moment an operation is needed,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan vowed after talks with Baghdad crumbled last night. Ankara has up to 100,000 troops on the Iraqi border, backed by tanks and fighter plans, ready to strike roughly 3,000 Kurdish rebels....

Iraq Promises to Help Turkey Quell Kurd Militants

Foreign minister vows to limit PKK movements, cut funding

(Newser) - Urging diplomacy, Iraq today pledged to help Turkey resolve border violence by Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq. Turkey kept the diplomatic wheels turning but wouldn't rule out military action to quell the PKK and rejected its offer of a ceasefire. Iraq’s foreign minister vowed to “actively help...

UK Secretary in DC to Mend Fences With US

Miliband eases Bush-Brown chill, backs Rice's Iran approach

(Newser) - The British foreign secretary arrived in Washington last night, and David Miliband now faces the unenviable task of mending a deepening rift between the Bush administration and Gordon Brown. The speed of the UK's pullback in Basra—not to mention the PM's coolness toward President Bush—has irked a White...

UK Liberal Chief Forced Out In 'Brutal' Purge

As 66-year-old leader goes, British pols face accusations of ageism

(Newser) - British politics got a jolt yesterday with the sudden resignation of Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats. The 66-year-old leader of the UK's third party, languishing in the polls, was forced out by party apparatchiks in what other politicians are calling a brutal, ageist coup. "Merciless,"...

Tory Poll Surge Batters Brown
Tory Poll Surge Batters Brown

Tory Poll Surge Batters Brown

PM accused of cowardice, lack of vision as opponents soar in polls

(Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown took a beating this week as a new poll showed the opposition Tories surging to their highest levels of popular support in 15 years, and even some Labourites came out of the woodwork to attack his vision for the future. Support for the Conservatives rose 5...

UK to Slash Iraq Force by More Than Half

PM sees 'overwatch' role after cut from 5,500 to 2,500 troops

(Newser) - British troops will number only 2,500 in Iraq by next spring, Gordon Brown said today. In “two distinct stages,” the PM said, the UK will shrink its presence to 4,000 troops from the current 5,500 and then to 2,500, the Guardian reports. Three of...

Brown Under Fire for U-Turn on Elections

PM ditched snap vote when it looked like Labour would lose

(Newser) - Gordon Brown has a new nickname: “bottler,” British slang for someone who’s lost their nerve at the last minute. He's facing heavy criticism for the unpopular decision not to hold a snap general election this autumn after learning that his Labor party lags 6 points behind the...

Tories Try to Fight Off Early UK Election

Conservatives prepare for disaster, and some prefer Brown anyway

(Newser) - Britain's Conservatives are having their annual meeting this week, and the party is desperate to put on a brave face and scare Gordon Brown away from an early election. But as David Cameron, the Tories' 40-year-old modernizing leader, prepares for his make-or-break speech tomorrow, one columnist reports that in private...

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