Man arrested after Tesco worker slashed in the ankle following altercation inside Enfield store

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A Tesco worker was slashed in the ankle following an altercation at a store in Enfield.

Two males entered the store on Savoy parade at around 6.40am on Tuesday when they were challenged by security staff about an apparent shoplifting offence.

During an altercation, one member of staff received a slash wound to the ankle.

The injured man was taken to hospital for treatment however his condition is not life threatening.

One of the men was arrested at the scene on suspicion of GBH and remains in custody.

The second suspect made off from the scene and police are continuing to trace him.

The store was closed with investigations continuing.

British banks await stress-test trigger for shareholder payouts

Business correspondent(wp/Reuters):
Britain’s bank bosses are hoping for the green light to return more capital to long-suffering investors when the Bank of England publishes results next week from its annual stress test of leading lenders.

A decade after the financial crisis that triggered taxpayer-funded bank bailouts, the central bank has said repeatedly that they now hold enough capital to withstand extreme theoretical shocks such as Britain crashing out of the European Union next March without a deal.

The Bank of England has acknowledged that there was no need, therefore, to make the tests any tougher than last year, raising hopes of positive outcomes when the numbers are delivered at 0700 GMT on Nov. 28.

Barclays (BARC.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)(RBS.L) have all signalled that they plan to ramp up dividend payments and share buybacks as a means of returning excess capital to investors hit by plunging share prices, caused by fears over Britain’s exit from the European Union and weaker than hoped for revenue growth.

Lloyds could return as much as 12 billion pounds through dividends and buybacks over the next three years, analysts said, while RBS could pay out as much as 7 billion pounds over the same period.

RBS Chief Executive Ross McEwan has indicated that the bank is considering special dividends and buybacks to return more capital to shareholders but says a clean bill of health from the central bank is a prerequisite.

“We are considering all options; we’ve got to get through a stress test beginning of December,” McEwan said last month.

Shares in Standard Chartered (STAN.L) rose briefly on Thursday morning after media reports said that it, too, is contemplating buybacks.

SPOTLIGHT ON BARCLAYS, LLOYDS

HSBC (HSBA.L), Nationwide Building Society and Santander UK (SAN.MC) are the other lenders being scrutinised on their ability to withstand deep simultaneous recessions in Britain and global economies, as well as a slump in asset prices.

The lenders also face a separate assessment of the impact from potential misconduct fines.

Of those under the microscope, Barclays and Lloyds are under particular scrutiny after faring worst in this year’s EU health check of 48 lenders from across the bloc. Barclays struggled to make it through the Bank of England’s test last year.

Rob Smith, a partner at consultants KPMG, said that all seven will clear the hurdles set by the Bank of England, though some will feel the impact of a new accounting rule that forces lenders to make earlier provisions for souring loans.

Even if, as expected, Britain’s biggest banks perform favourably in the tests, lingering anxiety over the economic impact of Brexit could dampen expectations of generous capital returns in the near term.

“I don’t see the stress tests as necessarily giving the green or even amber light for dividends,” said Julian van Kan, head of financial institutions coverage at MUFG (8306.T) in London.

“While we still have the outcome of Brexit looming no bank will be too ambitious in returning capital to shareholders.”

Analysts will also look at whether the central bank signals any intention to mirror moves in the United States to ease back on stress tests.

For a graphic on British banks' share price declines, see - tmsnrt.rs/2PR51he

UAE signals jailed UK academic could be freed in 'amicable solution'

Staff reporter(wp/es):
The United Arab Emirates signalled on Friday a British academic it jailed for life on spying charges could be freed after his family appealed for clemency in a case that has strained ties between the longstanding allies.

Matthew Hedges, 31, was sentenced on Wednesday on charges of spying for the British government, in a move described as deeply disappointing by Prime Minister Theresa May.

“Mr Hedges’ family have made a request for clemency and the government is studying that request,” the UAE’s ambassador to London, Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui, said.

“We have an extremely close partnership with the UK,” he told reporters. “Because of the strength of that relationship we are hopeful that an amicable solution can be reached.”

The doctoral student at Durham University has been held since May 5, when he was arrested at Dubai International Airport after a two-week research visit.

“We have asked for clemency - we will wait to see what happens,” Hedges’ wife Daniela Tejada told Reuters after the ambassador spoke. She denies he is a spy.

His family have cast him as a talented researcher who fell foul of the UAE’s security and justice system. The UAE cast him as a British spy who was given a fair trial for grave espionage offences.

“We hope the UAE now looks favourably on the family’s request for clemency,” a spokeswoman for Britain’s Foreign Office said.

PARDON

The Gulf state does not dictate verdicts to its courts and there was full and proper legal process in Hedges’ case, the ambassador said. There had not been a “five minute show trial” as he said some media had reported.

“This was an extremely serious case. We live in a dangerous neighbourhood and national security must be a top priority,” said Almazroui, adding that everyone had the right to request a pardon.

“This was an unusual case: many researchers visit the UAE freely every year without breaking our laws,” he said.

Hedges’ family said the evidence presented against him consisted of notes from his dissertation research.

“Matt was held in an undisclosed location in solitary confinement for over 5 months, with no charge, no lawyer and very limited consular access,” his wife said.

“The judicial system in the UAE and the UK cannot be compared. I was in the courtroom and the hearing lasted less than 5 minutes,” she added.

A life sentence for a non-Emirati entails a maximum of 25 years in jail followed by deportation, according to UAE state-run media.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had warned that the verdict could hurt relations with the UAE.