UK watchdog plans to overhaul treatment of whistleblowers

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it would announce details of the plan in the new year but was looking at how it maintains whistleblower confidentiality; how information is shared between supervision and enforcement teams; and how it can enhance senior oversight of investigations.

The plan was first reported by the Financial Times.

The watchdog has called for better protection of people who come forward but has also faced criticism for its own treatment of whistleblowers.

Earlier this year, it was told to apologize to a former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) employee for having revealed his identity to the bank in a whistleblower case in 2013.

The Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner, which handles complaints against watchdogs, said that the FCA had failed to take sufficient care to establish whether the complainant had sought anonymity.

Last month, the FCA said that most British banks are not assessing and escalating whistleblower concerns consistently, adding that some of them need to improve arrangements to protect those who lift the lid on wrongdoing from victimization.

The regulator received its highest number of disclosures from whistleblowers after its director for supervision, Megan Butler, warned financial firms in May about failing to tackle sexual harassment.

The disclosures related to racism, physical bullying and homophobia, as well as issues around gender, Christopher Woolard, the FCA executive director for strategy and competition, said this month.

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Hammond accused of failing to release funding for no-deal Brexit - The Telegraph

Political reporter(wp/reuters):

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has been accused by his colleagues in the cabinet of failing to release the necessary funding required to prepare Britain for a no-deal Brexit, the Telegraph newspaper reported late on Sunday.

British Communities Secretary James Brokenshire has written to the Treasury saying his department was given 35 million pounds for helping councils prepare for Brexit, the amount being less than half of what had been requested, the newspaper reported.

At least another department had made a similar complaint about Hammond’s failure to release more money, the newspaper reported without mentioning further details.

Brokenshire said his department does not have enough to prepare for Brexit whether Britain leaves the European Union with or without a deal, the report added, citing the British Communities Secretary’s letter to the Treasury sent shortly before Christmas.

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New Year Honours 2019: 'Super model' Daphne Selfe receives British Empire Medal

Entertainment reporter(wp/bbc):

A 90-year-old fashion model who helped boost opportunities for older women in the industry has received the British Empire Medal.

Daphne Selfe, of Baldock, Hertfordshire, began modelling in 1949.

Her long career has helped to challenge negative views of ageing which has helped put older people in front of the camera as models, she said.

Official recognition in the New Year Honours now stands beside her industry-accepted status as a "super model".

After she was photographed for the leading fashion and style magazine Vogue at the age of 70 - the first time it had featured an older model - she was approached by leading organisations to do more work.

This has helped inspire agents, photographers and clothing designers to consider older people as models.

'Building confidence'

"Older people have money to buy nice clothes and want to see people of their age wearing them in the magazines," she said.

She has no plans to retire because she enjoys what she does so much and can look back on career highlights such as being photographed by David Bailey and modelling for Dolce and Gabbana.

The Daphne Selfe Academy was founded in 2015 so women of all ages could benefit from her industry experience and what she called her personal values of professionalism, etiquette, positive thinking and healthy living.

"The academy helps them to build confidence to do what they want to do," she said.

The academy also aims to develop young models and encourage women from all walks of life to improve themselves.

Mrs Selfe, whose husband Jim died in 1997 after 43 years of marriage, has three children and four grandchildren.

The British Empire Medal was founded as a military honour in 1917 and was revived for civilians in 2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Gatwick drones: Sussex Police 'sorry' for arrested couple

staff reporter(wp/bbc):
Sussex Police's chief constable has said he feels "really sorry" for the couple who were held for 36 hours over the Gatwick Airport drones chaos.

Paul Gait and Elaine Kirk, who were released without charge, said they felt "violated" after their home was searched and their identities exposed.

Giles York told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was "convinced the grounds for arrest were well-founded".

Two drones found near the airport have been ruled out of being involved.

Mr York defended the decision to hold Mr Gait for an extended period, despite his employer saying he was at work during the drone flights.

He added: "I'm really sorry for what [Mr Gait] has experienced and the feeling of violation around it.

"[But] what might have been worse as an experience for him would have been to be released under investigation still.

"We were able to exhaust all our lines of inquiry on that first instance and were able to release him from police custody saying he was no longer a suspect."

About 1,000 flights were affected during the chaos between 19 and 21 December when drones were seen near the runway.

A suggestion by a senior Sussex police officer that there may have been no drones was later dismissed as a "miscommunication".

Mr York said police received 115 reports of sightings, including 93 confirmed as coming from "credible people", which he later said included a pilot, airport staff and police officers.

He admitted police drones launched to investigate could have caused "some level of confusion".

However, the Sussex force later denied the use of police drones had caused any disruption.

Mr York revealed two drones found by police near the airport had now been ruled out of causing the chaos, which saw flights cancelled or diverted.

Despite searches of 26 potential sites, he said: "I don't think we have found the drone responsible."

However, he said he was "absolutely certain that there was a drone flying throughout the period that the airport was closed".

• Miscommunication blamed for drone confusion
• Gatwick drones pair 'no longer suspects'
• Labour calls for inquiry into Gatwick drones

He confirmed military technology had been installed following the incidents, "dramatically" improving security at the airport, but said he could not rule out future disruption of the same kind.

Sussex Police has renewed its appeal for help to find "the criminal whose activities led to widespread disruption".

Mr York said: "Public safety remains a priority and what we are dealing with is both unprecedented and challenging.

"There will be information relevant to this inquiry within the community and, with a £50,000 reward on offer for information from Gatwick Airport Limited, it is vital that people come forward so we can bring to justice the person responsible for this criminal act."

One dead and 23 hurt in minibus crash in Scottish Borders

Pic:Bus accident(wp)
Staff reporter(wp/bbc):

One man died and 23 people were injured when a minibus overturned in the Scottish Borders.

They were travelling in the private bus from Newtongrange to Kelso when the accident happened at about 10:50.

A major incident was declared after emergency services were called to the crash on the A6089 between Carfraemill and Gordon, near Lauder.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while 22 passengers and the driver were taken to hospital.

They were treated at Borders General Hospital in Melrose, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

The bus was carrying a group of people from Newtongrange on an outing to Kelso Races.

Ch Insp Steven Duncan said: "We're providing ongoing support to the family of the man who tragically lost his life, along with those who have been injured and their families.

"Our road policing unit, together with partners, are currently working to establish the full circumstances surrounding this.

"We'd ask anyone who may be concerned that a loved one has been affected, or anyone who could help with our investigation, to get in touch immediately via 101 and quote incident number 1369 of 29th December."

Photographs from the scene show the upturned bus in a field next to the road.

An air ambulance and four fire engines were among emergency service vehicles sent to the scene of the accident.

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "Due to the number of passengers requiring assistance, we dispatched a large number of resources to the scene including our air ambulance, trauma and Special Operations Response Teams (SORT).

"Sadly, there was one male fatality and our thoughts go out to his family for their tragic loss. Twenty three other patients were treated by our crews and transported to Borders General Hospital, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow for further treatment and care."

Police said the NHS and Scottish Borders were also providing assistance to the force and those affected by the accident.

UK mortgage approvals show first annual rise in 14 months - UK Finance

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):
A decline in the number of mortgages approved by British high-street banks flattened out last month, with the first year-on-year rise since September 2017, figures from industry group UK Finance showed on Friday.

Britain’s housing market has slowed since the country voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, and other surveys this month have shown anxiety among consumers and businesses ahead of the planned departure on March 29.

Friday’s data showed British banks approved 39,403 mortgages for house purchase in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 39,640 in October but up by 0.2 percent from November 2017 — the first annual rise in 14 months.

“The housing market is struggling for momentum in the face of still relatively limited consumer purchasing power, fragile consumer confidence and, possibly, wariness over higher interest rates,” Howard Archer, chief economist at consultants EY ITEM Club, said.

Many economists expect house prices to be flat or marginally higher next year, as weakness in London and surrounding areas weighs on faster price growth in other parts of Britain, though the Bank of England has said falls of as much as a third are possible if Brexit descends into chaos.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s minority government plans to seek parliamentary approval for her Brexit deal in the week starting Jan. 14, after scrapping a vote before Christmas due to opposition from lawmakers of all parties.

Without a deal, Britain faces major economic disruption from the reintroduction of tariffs and customs checks at its borders.

UK Finance said credit card lending picked up slightly last month, though this mostly reflected a shift in preferred payment means rather than higher borrowing, with credit cards offering better consumer protection for purchases such as holiday travel.

Net lending to non-financial businesses fell by the most since May, dropping by 656 million pounds ($829 million).

“Overall lending to businesses has remained subdued in this period of economic uncertainty,” UK Finance’s managing director for commercial finance, Stephen Pegge, said.

The Bank of England will publish November mortgage and consumer credit data from a wider range of lenders on Jan. 4.

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