Politics

Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson is set to resign after revelations of his tax affairs were revealed in the Panama Papers leak. The documents from Mossack Fonseca showed that the disgraced PM hid  millions of dollars of investments in his country’s banks in an offshore company under his wife's name. Although it isn't an illegal act, thousands of protesters turned up last night calling for his head, the vast majority of whom still have a sour taste in their mouths following the...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The huge leak from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca may have dragged in the PMs own late father. 11.5 million documents have been leaked, document work stretching back nearly 40 years and a firm Ian Cameron was director of, has cropped up in the paperwork. It is alleged that Cameron’s dad was embroiled in recruiting what has been dubbed a small army of Bahamas residents, to sign paperwork on behalf of an offshore fund, which...

The Panama Papers, published today in an unprecedented data leak, confirmed once again that it is the super-rich and not the super-poor that are causing the real headache for Britain. Russian president Vladimir Putin has been caught up in a $2 billion offshore trail and a raft of wealthy UK residents have also been implicated, including David Cameron’s father and three senior Tory figures. UK tax fraud costs government £16 billion a year according to HMRC, which makes up almost half of the total £34bn “tax...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The video below shows Iceland's prime minister storming out of an awkward interview when he was questioned about his interests in a secret offshore firm. Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, came to power in 2013 on a wave of anti-banking anger after Iceland's financial meltdown. However, leaked documents have linked him and his wife to an offshore company, which it is alleged millions were hidden while his country nearly went under. He is facing a no-confidence vote over the revelations and...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor If this picture if anything to go by we won’t have many doctors left in the UK soon. A group of medical students at the University of Birmingham were asked to put their hands up if they are going to leave the country and work abroad over the new contracts for junior doctors. Over half of the students threw their hands up, and the image is damning of the Tories mis-management of the Junior Doctors’...

A huge leak of data from offshore service company Mossack Fonseca has exposed the super rich, celebrities and politicians. Iceland is considering a snap election over revelations which implicate Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and his wife. He is among several leading politicians with links to Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm whose services include incorporating companies in offshore jurisdiction. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been implicated in a $2 billion scheme which involves his best friend Sergei Roldugin. Other national leaders include Pakistan’s...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Ken Clarke, who was responsible for privatising the steel industry under Thatcher, showed how out of touch he his with the area his party is about to destroy. He said, during The BBC's The World at One Programme, that he knew South Wales well, and had "driven past Port Talbot many times." Jeremy Corbyn repeated his call for the Tata businesses to be nationalised. He said: "The Prime Minister has offered no solutions today to the threat...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The Chancellor has come out fighting and has defended the Government’s handling of the steel crisis, but his special relationship with China is clouding his judgment, critics have claimed. He said the Tories were doing all that is "practicable and possible" to slap tougher tariffs on cheap steel. The steel crisis has been squarely blamed on China continually dumping cheap steel on European markets and making UK steel far too expensive. Instead on intervening, it...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Generous tax breaks have helped create a “shadow” welfare state for the 20 per cent wealthiest in the UK, research has revealed. The Fabian Society believe these high earners will take almost the same as the worst off fifth take in benefits. The Fabians’ general secretary, Andrew Harrop, indicated his research illustrates the latest Budget was another step in remodeling the welfare state as we know it. This shift has moved resources from the poorest...