An action packed week in the news – In America, Obama’s winning electoral strategy gave him the convincing result he needed to defeat Mitt Romney for a second term as President. Back in the UK: the naming of the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury – the nominal leader of 77 million Anglicans worldwide, ambushes on live TV, and a backlog of cases of immigration for the UK Border Agency equivalent to the population of Iceland has made this week anything but uneventful.
Four More Years
Barrack Obama remains president of the United States after winning the electoral college vote by a huge margin on Tuesday night – despite predictions of one of the tightest finishes in history. In the electoral college, the state-by-state tally that determines US presidential elections, Mr Obama won 303 electoral votes to Mr Romney’s 206, losing only Indiana and North Carolina from his 2008 grasp.
Both Obama and Romney gave gracious speeches on hearing the results on Tuesday night, with the president calling for unity and setting out an optimistic vision of America’s future. He promised ‘the best is yet to come’ and said the fierce battle with Romney had made him a better president, vowing: “I will return to the White House more determined and inspired than ever.”
Mr Obama pledged, as he did four years ago, to work with work with Republican leaders in Congress to reduce the government’s budget deficit, fix the tax code and reform the immigration system.
Justin Welby named as next Archbishop of Canterbury
Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, has been officially confirmed as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. He will be successor to Dr Rowan Williams, who steps down in December after 10 years in the post, after the Crown Nominations Commission put his name forward to Downing Street.
It marks a meteoric rise for the old Etonian and former oil executive who has been a bishop for only a year, but insiders described Welby as “the outstanding candidate”. Bishop Welby has said he was called to become a priest following the death of his young daughter in a car crash. Ruth Gledhill, religious affairs correspondent at the Times, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Bishop Welby’s strong financial background and business sense was likely to have been viewed as valuable experience. He’s particularly concerned about the plight of the poor and the moral obligations of the City – so the government can expect him to be just as outspoken as Rowan Williams.
Bishop Welby will be enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, on 21 March 2013. He said “It is overwhelming because of those I follow, and the responsibility it has. It is astonishing because it is something I never expected to happen.”
David Cameron warns of ‘gay witch-hunt’ over child abuse claims
David Cameron fears a “witch-hunt” against gay people by those commenting online about child abuse allegations. The prime minister made his comment on This Morning after being unexpectedly handed a list of names of people whom the ITV1 show’s presenter said were being mentioned online as paedophiles. During what was supposed to be an interview on This Morning about dementia, Philip Schofield declared there could have been “a cover-up, a paedophile ring amongst the elite of great Britain that led all the way to Downing Street” and handed a card with names on it to the Prime Minister.
Mr Cameron did not rule out one inquiry into abuse claims but said the priority was to “get to the truth” quickly. The allegations were raised by Labour MP Tom Watson in the Commons a fortnight ago. There have also since been claims by a victim that an unnamed, prominent Conservative politician from the Thatcher era was involved in abuse in north Wales.
A No 10 source also described the decision to hand Mr Cameron the list of names as “irresponsible” and Conservative MP Rob Wilson has reported the programme to broadcasting regulator Ofcom.
UK Border Agency backlog ‘ spiraling out of control’ say MPs
MPs say the UK Border Agency’s attempts to clear a massive backlog of cases could become an amnesty for immigrants with no right to be in the UK. The number of outstanding immigration and asylum cases rose by 25,000 in three months and is “spiralling out of control”, making the total caseload the equivalent of the population of Iceland, Home Affairs Committee chair Keith Vaz has said.
The UKBA has pledged to close the controlled archives by the end of 2012 – but MPs said they were not convinced final checks on each case could be done to an acceptable standard, given that only 149 staff were dealing with them. “We are concerned that the closure of the controlled archives may result in a significant number of people being granted effective amnesty in the United Kingdom, irrespective of the merits of their case,” said the MPs.
The UKBA said there was “absolutely no question of an amnesty” and “if any of these individuals come to light in the future, we will take action”
HSBC Jersey accounts under scrutiny
The tax affairs of every Briton with an HSBC bank account in Jersey are being examined by Revenue & Customs after a whistleblower leaked a list of names, addresses and account balances. HMRC officials are trawling through a list of people based in Britain after it was handed over this week. The list is said to identify 4,388 people holding £699 million in Jersey and is understood to include serious criminals and celebrities.
The disclosures raise serious questions about HSBC’s procedures in Jersey, with the bank already preparing to pay fines of around $1.5 billion in America for breaking money laundering rules.
BBC business editor Robert Peston says: “It is really quite difficult to tell from this disclosure whether or not this is an example of HSBC yet again having, shall we say, laxer or weaker controls over who it takes money from.
“The American authorities do think HSBC was for too many years too prone, or in a sense, too easily duped by terrorists and criminals who wanted to launder money. We just don’t have enough information whether or not this is an another example of those weak controls.”
A spokesman for the bank said last night: “HSBC has a duty of confidentiality and cannot comment on clients even to confirm or deny they are clients. We have good relationships with our regulators and co-operate with investigations when required to do so.”
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