Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez will face the wrath of his new club's fans for the second time in four days on Wednesday when they tackle London rivals Fulham in the Premier League.

The former Liverpool coach was roundly booed during Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Manchester City in his first game at the helm on Sunday and supporter groups have pledged to repeat their protests when Fulham come to Stamford Bridge.

Benitez has not been forgiven for his tenure at Liverpool, but he has repeatedly dismissed concerns about the animosity directed towards him by his new club's supporters.

"I was asking, 'What were they singing?'" he admitted after the City game.

"I don't care. I'm just focused on the game."

When informed what some of the fans had chanted, Benitez said it was to be expected after the barrage of questions he received from journalists when he was presented to the media last week.

"It was a surprise for you after the other day?" he asked reporters.

"Some of the fans will realise it's not the way to support their team."

Sunday's draw with City, in the first match since Roberto Di Matteo was sacked as coach, left the European champions five points below leaders Manchester United in fifth place.

Chelsea have now gone five games without a league win, but Fulham's form has been scarcely better, with Saturday's 1-0 loss at Stoke City extending their own run of matches without victory to five as well.

The stalemate at the Bridge was only the second time in 31 matches that City have failed to score, but the defending champions will expect to fare better in front of goal at Wigan Athletic on Wednesday.

Wigan have the fourth most porous defence in the top flight and although they showed impressive resolve to beat Reading 3-2 on Saturday, City's forwards will view the trip to the DW Stadium as a good opportunity to get back on track.

With United just a point above City in the standings, midfielder James Milner has urged his teammates to show more killer instinct in front of goal.

"We have got things to work on," Milner told City TV.

Published: 28 November 2012

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Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King has admitted policymakers should have cut growth forecasts sooner.

Discussing the Bank's latest quarterly inflation report, the Governor told MPs the Bank had "inadvertently given too much weight" to optimistic growth forecasts.

Sir Mervyn said there was little chance of rapid growth in 2013 or 2014, adding it "may be unreasonable to expect anything other than a slow and protracted recovery".

In an apparent endorsement of the decision to appoint Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney as his successor, he told the Treasury Select Committee he was "completely confident" the central bank would be left in "very good hands".

The Bank warned in its inflation report earlier this month that economic growth would remain below pre-financial crisis levels for at least the next three years.

Taking the shine off a recent return to growth between July and September, Sir Mervyn said output could shrink again in the final three months of the year. And the governor braced households for an "unappealing combination" of sluggish growth and above-target inflation.

The Bank downgraded its growth forecast for next year to around 1% and warned that output will remain below its historical average until mid-2015.

Published: 27 November 2012

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Building society Nationwide has said its mortgage lending soared to a four-year high as the Bank of England's £80 billion scheme helped reduce rates for borrowers.

Nationwide reported a 15% hike in gross mortgage lending to £10.2 billion in the six months to September 30, with loans to first-time buyers nearly doubling.

But the mutual revealed its half-year underlying pre-tax profits fell 17% to £151 million after it put by a further £45 million to settle claims relating to mis-selling of controversial payment protection insurance (PPI).

The further PPI provision has taken the total amount set aside by Nationwide to £173 million. The society also said profits were hit as it suffered losses of £193 million on pre-credit crunch lending to the commercial property sector, compared with £72 million in loan losses last year.

Its lending figures will make for encouraging reading at the Bank of England, which jointly launched the Funding for Lending scheme with the Treasury earlier this year in an attempt to help ease the flow of credit to mortgage and business borrowers.

Nationwide said net mortgage lending - which strips out loan redemptions and repayments - more than doubled in the first half, up from £1.4 billion to £3.2 billion, with almost a third of its lending in the first half to customers buying their first home.

Published: 27 November 2012

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A Tory campaign chief has called for an electoral pact with Ukip, warning David Cameron that the party could lose out in many marginal seats at the next general election without the promise of an in/out referendum on EU membership.

MP Michael Fabricant, a party vice chairman in charge of parliamentary campaigning, said it was "time to actively consider whether a rapprochement might be possible" to counter a rising tide of Eurosceptic public opinion.

In a starkly-expressed report to the Prime Minister, he concluded: "These steps have to be taken to stop the continued haemorrhage of Conservative votes."

Ukip leader Nigel Farage retorted that there could be "no deals with the Tories: it's war", blaming the Prime Minister's previous claims that the party was one of "closet racists".

"Cameron's comments over the Rotherham case mean a deal's simply not possible," he told Mr Fabricant on Twitter amid the controversy over children being removed from foster parents in the South Yorkshire town because of their Ukip membership.

Mr Cameron is resisting growing backbench demands for a straightforward referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the European Union (EU). He has signalled his readiness to hold a referendum on the EU but is opposed to an in/out alternative and was boosted yesterday by London Mayor Boris Johnson supporting that stance.

But Mr Fabricant said the idea must be considered because Ukip had become "a significant contributory factor in costing the Conservative Party victories in marginal seats", adding: "It is time to consider actively whether a rapprochement might be possible before the 2015 General Election.The basis of any deal is clear: a referendum on the United Kingdom's future membership of the European Union."

Published: 26 November 2012

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Rain-battered Britain is bracing itself for more flooding chaos after forecasters predicted worsening weather conditions across the country.

It will compound misery for those in areas already suffering from severe floods following the downpours earlier this week, which forced hundreds to evacuate their homes and killed a driver. Up to 40mm of rain is expected to fall in some areas by Sunday morning, with winds measuring 70mph on the south coast and 60mph as far inland as London and the East Midlands.

Some 44 flood warnings and 153 flood alerts are in place, with more likely to be issued throughout the weekend, the Environment Agency (EA) said. River flooding is likely with the possibility of significant disruption, particularly across Devon, North Somerset, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Wales, the EA said.

Nearly 400 properties have been flooded since Tuesday, while 9,000 homeowners have been told they are at risk of flooding, it added.

An EA statement said emergency teams had been working through the night and morning to shore up defences, deploy temporary barriers, monitor river levels, clear blockages from watercourses and pump out flood water from towns. EA flood defences have protected 21,800 properties across England and Wales, including in Cheltenham, Teignmouth and Weston-Super-Mare.

Brendan Jones, senior meteorologist at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the stormy weather could continue into early next week: "Rainfall amounts will increase rapidly through the rest of today and into tonight with as much as 30-40mm of rain expected in some areas. As well as the heavy rain, strong winds are still expected with southern and eastern parts of England worst affected. The winds are likely to be at their peak between midnight tonight and midday tomorrow, gradually shifting from the south coast of England to parts of East Anglia during this time.

"Whilst the heavy rain and strong winds will gradually edge away to the east tomorrow, another autumn storm will fire yet more rain and strong winds from the west across much of England and Wales during Sunday evening and overnight, into Monday morning. The winds will not be as strong within this second system but rainfall will be high once again. Further significant flooding is quite likely where ground is already saturated, particularly across Wales and western parts of England which have already been badly hit over the last few days."

Published: 24 November 2012

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The report from the first part of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards is to be released next Thursday.

David Cameron set up the inquiry in July last year in response to revelations that the News of the World commissioned a private detective to hack murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone after she disappeared in 2002.

The first part, which started in September last year, looked at the culture, practices and ethics of the press in general and its final report will be published on November 29, the inquiry announced.

Inquiry chairman Lord Justice Leveson will publish the report, which is expected to include recommendations for the future regulation of the British press, at 1.30pm next Thursday, followed by an "on-camera statement".

The report will be laid in both Houses of Parliament, the inquiry said, and will be available on its website once it has been laid in Parliament. Prime Minister David Cameron will make a Commons statement on the Leveson Inquiry after it reports, Leader of the House Andrew Lansley told MPs.

Lord Justice Leveson and his panel of advisers heard months of evidence - some explosive - from key figures including celebrities, lawyers, politicians and journalists. The final report will reveal his recommendations for the future regulation of the British press.

Published: 22 November 2012

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More than 700 jobs at stricken electricals chain Comet have been axed in the latest round of redundancies by the company's administrator.

Deloitte said 603 jobs have been lost from the company's home delivery network, which operates from 12 hubs across the UK.

And it has made a further 57 employees redundant from Comet's head office at Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, as well as 56 from a call centre in Clevedon and 17 from an office in Hull. The sites were also the subject of 330 redundancies announced by the administrator last week.

There have been no job losses to date at Comet stores, but Deloitte warned on Saturday that up to 41 stores may have to close before the end of this month.

The delivery network will continue to operate, with a significantly reduced workforce retained to complete deliveries and support the repairs operation.

The jobs lost at the 12 hubs are at Aylesbury (59 staff), Chepstow (51), Coatbridge (62) Exeter (33), Gateshead (45), Harlow (52), Hedge End (48), Leeds (41), Maidstone (64), Nottingham (43), Skelmersdale (66), Wolverhampton (39).

Deloitte joint administrator Chris Farrington said discussions continued with parties interested in parts of the business but that it was necessary to begin a store closure programme and to scale back the company's support functions.

Published: 19 November 2012

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US President Barack Obama has launched a three-day Southeast Asia tour, hailing alliances with countries such as Thailand as cornerstones of the administration's deeper commitment to the Asia-Pacific region.

While in Asia, however, Mr Obama will be dividing his attention by monitoring the escalating conflict between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Mr Obama has been in regular contact with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as with Egyptian and Turkish leaders who might hold sway with the Hamas leadership.

Mr Obama's Bangkok schedule is packed with cultural sightseeing, a royal audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a private meeting with prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a joint press conference and an official dinner.

He will also visit Burma and Cambodia in his first trip abroad since winning a second term.

The visit to Thailand, less than 18 hours long, is a gesture of friendship to a long-standing partner and major non-Nato ally.

But the two countries have faced strains, most recently after the 2006 military coup that deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Mr Obama's visit offers an opportunity to restate and broaden the relationship.

"It was very important for us to send a signal to the region that allies are going to continue to be the foundation of our approach [to establishing a more prominent presence in Asia]," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters travelling with the president aboard Air Force One.

Mr Obama is also seeking to open new markets for US businesses; the United States is Thailand's third biggest trading partner, behind China and Japan. Becoming a counterweight to China in the region is a keystone of Mr Obama's so-called pivot to the Asia-Pacific region.

Published: 18 November 2012

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A group of leading medical bodies has called on the Government to set a minimum alcohol price of 50p per unit to tackle "head on" the problems caused by cheap drink and protect the next generation.

The Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) said the minimum unit price tariff would target the heaviest drinkers who harm themselves and others around them - especially children.

The group, made up of 31 organisations including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing, argues there is "good evidence" to suggest it would make a real difference.

In a letter to The Sunday Times, the alliance, whose mission is to reduce the damage caused to health by alcohol misuse, wrote: "This policy will tackle head-on the problems caused by cheap drink, not only to drinkers but to those around them - the innocent victims of alcohol harm.

"Minimum unit pricing will target the heaviest drinkers: those who cause the most damage to themselves and others."

It added: "A child who lives with a problem drinker is vulnerable to neglect, violence and abuse, and a significant number of child protection cases are linked to alcohol.

"It is essential that the government stands firm in tackling problem drinking in order to turn the tide of alcohol harm."

Published: 18 November 2012

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Disgraced peer Lord Hanningfield spent more than £286,000 on a council credit card over a five-year period.

Essex County Council has published a full list of Lord Hanningfield's credit card spending between 2005 and 2010 as part of its review of spending at the authority.

The log lists thousands of transactions, including spending on flights, train journeys, meals and hotel stays, while the 71-year-old was leader of the authority.

The peer, from West Hanningfield, Essex, served nine weeks of a nine-month sentence last year after being convicted of falsely claiming £14,000 in parliamentary expenses. He was later ordered to pay back more than £30,000.

This week City of London Police announced it would be taking no further action after investigating his spending at the council, saying there was insufficient evidence.

Between 2006 and 2011 Lord Hanningfield was paid £236,644 in expenses and allowances.

Council leader Peter Martin said that since Lord Hanningfield left the council, action had been taken to tighten the authority's "governance framework" by placing tighter controls on spending.

The report found that although Lord Hanningfield reimbursed costs identified as being personal spending, there had been issues with a lack of receipts and expenditure above recommended guidelines.

Published: 15 November 2012

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