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Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted making "mistakes" in abolishing the 10p rate of income tax.
He told the BBC the government "didn't cover as well as we should have" losses to low earners without children and pensioners aged 60 to 64.
Mr Brown said he was "listening" and "learning" as prime minister.
'Time needed' for 10p tax changes | |
| Chancellor Alistair Darling has been accused of incompetency by the Conservatives The chancellor has admitted "it will take time" to finalise compensation details for people who lost out when the 10p income tax rate was scrapped. Alistair Darling told MPs he would wait until this autumn's pre-Budget report to outline the package, as changes to the tax system "can be quite complex". Concessions were offered to some low earners and pensioners under 65 amid fears of a rebellion by Labour MPs. Conservative leader David Cameron said the affair was "a complete shambles". "Even when it comes to making a U-turn, this government is incompetent," he added. "With this prime minister and with this chancellor you have always got to check the smallprint." The abolition of the 10p rate was part of Gordon Brown's final Budget as chancellor, before he became prime minister last year, and came into effect earlier this month. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7364344.stm | |
Brown denies being 'pushed about' | |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown defends the changes The prime minister has defended the decision to compensate people who have lost money from tax changes, saying he was not "pushed about" by Labour MPs. Gordon Brown told the BBC it was important to "judge what is right at every point". Earlier, facing a possible Labour rebellion over the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, the government promised more help to low earners. The Conservatives accused Mr Brown of "weakness, dithering and indecision". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7362283.stm | |
Secretly filmed footage of alleged attack victims in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is trying "to steal the election", over three weeks after the disputed poll, Foreign Secretary David Miliband says.
In a strongly-worded House of Commons statement, he said: "No-one can have any faith in this recount."
He said the "ludicrously slow rate" of the count fuelled suspicion that Mugabe "is seeking to reverse the results".
The world is witnessing "a charade of democracy", he said. The outcome of a partial recount has been delayed.
Electoral officials began the recount in 23 out of 210 seats on Saturday and said it would take three days.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7359104.stm
 Mr Brown is trying to win over Labour backbenchers |
Gordon Brown has met Labour MPs to outline the government's plans to look at helping those worst hit by the abolition of the 10p tax rate.
He was trying to head off a backbench rebellion by MPs angry that millions of low paid workers are worse off after changes in last year's Budget.
Earlier MPs were told an inquiry into child poverty would be widened to include those affected.
The Tories and Lib Dems are both calling for a compensation package.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the fact Mr Brown had chosen to address the Parliamentary Labour Party showed he had accepted he had a problem - but many MPs wanted to know what he would do to compensate people who were left worse off.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7359278.stmChancellor Alistair Darling on the 10p tax cut
The chancellor has ruled out a U-turn on axing the 10p tax rate, saying it would be "totally irresponsible" to "unravel...or rewrite" the Budget now.
But Alistair Darling told the BBC he "would return" in future Budgets to help those hit by the move.
Critics should look at it alongside tax credit and pension changes which had helped lower earners, he said.
But leading Labour rebel Frank Field said promises of "something undefined" in the future did not go far enough.
And Conservative leader David Cameron said Mr Darling should "get off his backside" and get into the Treasury to rewrite his Budget.
Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend that the Conservatives would be "trying to get the government to stop and think again" on a "pre-meditated tax grab" on 5.3 million people.
 Mr Brown believes the row has been exaggerated by the media |
Downing Street has dismissed calls for a rethink over the abolition of the 10p income tax rate and denied it will offer concessions to critics.
Six ministerial aides have urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to help 5.3m low-paid workers who have lost out.
The Commons Treasury committee has said childless single people earning under £18,500 will lose up to £232 a year.
However, government sources have indicated there may be help later for those worst affected by the tax change.
'Watch this space'
Mr Brown is said to be "furious" that protests against the decision overshadowed his visit to the US this week, BBC political correspondent Norman Smith said.
Earlier, the Treasury denied reports the chancellor was preparing a climbdown over the abolition of the 10p tax band.
Gordon Brown interview in full
Gordon Brown has said he will not be diverted from the "right long-term decisions" for the UK's economy even if they are "unpopular in the short term".
The prime minister told the BBC he wanted to show people worried about homes and jobs the economy was "safe for them over the next few months".
He spoke after a Downing Street meeting with bank chiefs to discuss ways to boost confidence in the housing market.
The Bank of England has also put £15bn more into the banking system.
The move is an effort to improve liquidity in the financial markets.
 George Osborne has attacked Gordon Brown over the economy |
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne will pin the blame for the present economic crisis on Gordon Brown, in a speech to the Policy Exchange think tank.
"At the root of the problem is the failure of the government's economic policy," he will say.
A recent poll suggests 68% of voters are "not confident at all" in Labour's ability to handle the crisis.
Mr Brown has called on banks and building societies to pass on recent interest rate cuts to borrowers.
The Financial Times/Harris survey suggested the prime minister was less trusted on the issue of handling the country's economic problems than any other major Western European leader.
Mr Osborne will say that Mr Brown had "rested his claim to competence on three pillars - stability, prudence and competitiveness".
|  We have been supporting the system - through the Bank of England an extra £15bn has been put in to help them get through this difficult period  Alistair Darling |
He will add: "Instead, after a decade of worldwide growth, we have ended up with housing boom followed by bust, spending followed by debt, and a country finding it more and more difficult to compete.
"The Labour Party are not simply attacking their prime minister's style, they are attacking his decisions - the 10p income tax rise on the low paid, the failure to control the debt bubble, the inability to lead the country in difficult times.
"And so Labour is fighting itself instead of fighting for the country."
|  Robert Mugabe will not be attending the summit in Zambia  |
Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe has called Prime Minister Gordon Brown "a little tiny dot on this world".
He was responding to Mr Brown's warning to Mr Mugabe that he is "appalled" at the latest developments in the country.
"Brown is the world? Sure, the world is losing patience, but I know Brown is a little tiny dot on this world," Mr Mugabe said.
Zimbabwean police have banned political rallies amid growing tension over the disputed presidential election.
'Completely unacceptable'
The prime minister said the world was running out of patience with President Mugabe, with results still not released almost two weeks after the election.
In a fresh appeal Mr Brown said: "We cannot wait any longer for the announcement of these results.
|  The eyes of the world are on Zimbabwe now Gordon Brown |
"It is in the interests of Zimbabwe's future that President Mugabe and his Zimbabwean electoral commission publish these results."
"I think it is important that we are vigilant about what happens after that. If there is to be a future election, that there is proper international monitoring of what is going on."
He added: "It is appalling if there is intimidation and violence. It is completely unacceptable and the whole eyes of the world are on Zimbabwe now."
| Analysis By Ross Hawkins Political reporter, BBC News |
The defunct fraud investigation into the massive al-Yamamah arms deal had been all but forgotten by many at Westminster.
 Gordon Brown has a little time to ponder his response |
It looked like something for the history books, a handful of campaigners and a few interested journalists.
Not any more.
A court ruling that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted unlawfully has made it Gordon Brown's problem.
The prime minister cannot tell the SFO to re-open its investigation. That is a matter for the investigators.
Manufacturing jobs
But he has the same dilemma as his predecessor, Tony Blair, faced when he was in power: What to do about Saudi Arabia's objections?
Mr Blair made his opinion perfectly clear when he was in Number 10.
He thought the SFO probe would have achieved nothing, wrecked Britain's relationship with key ally Saudi Arabia and cost thousands of precious manufacturing jobs.
He knew that view would not make him popular in some circles - and that it would have breached international law to halt the probe on economic grounds - but he was sure it was right.
Now Gordon Brown must decide whether he agrees.
 Tim Joyce and Jenny Paton were exonerated after surveillance |
A couple have spoken of their shock after their local council spied on them to see if they had been cheating the school catchment system.
Tim Joyce and Jenny Paton and their children were put under surveillance by Poole Borough Council for more than two weeks without their knowledge.
Miss Paton said this kind of scrutiny was "hugely disproportionate".
The council has defended its actions, carried out under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
The council admitted using RIPA laws, which were designed to track criminals and terrorists, on six occasions in total.
Miss Paton, from Parkstone, said: "We all know there has to be scrutiny of applications but they could carry it out without resorting to anti-terror legislation and spying.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7343445.stm  The BBC requested details of six MPs' claims |
Several MPs' expenses claims have been revealed, showing that John Prescott received £4,000 in a year for food and Tony Blair had his TV licence paid.
Mr Prescott, Mr Blair, Gordon Brown and ex-Tory leader Michael Howard also had council tax bills for their second home paid for in 2003/04, the figures show.
All six MPs whose details were given received mortgage interest payments.
The revelations follow a three-year battle by the BBC to have the expenses details published.
Cleaning costs
Former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy and former Tory MP Jonathan Sayeed were the other two MPs covered.
| ADDITIONAL COSTS ALLOWANCES 2003/04 Michael Howard - £20,347 John Prescott - £20,057 Jonathan Sayeed - £18,618 Tony Blair - £15,490 Gordon Brown - £14,304 Charles Kennedy - £12,869 Figures supplied by Commons Commission |
Mbeki and Mugabe 