The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 25 April 2013

issue 27 April 2013

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George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, visited Glasgow to cast doubt on the probability of an independent Scotland being allowed to continue to use the pound: ‘Why would 58 million citizens give away some of their sovereignty over monetary and potentially other economic policies to five million people in another state?’ The government borrowed £120.6 billion in the financial year 2012–2013, £300 million less than in the previous year. Fitch became the second agency to downgrade Britain’s credit rating by a notch from AAA. The Co-op pulled out of buying 632 branches of Lloyds Banking Group, put up for sale to meet European competition rules. The government planned to sell its one-third stake in Urenco, the uranium enrichment company. The Football Association charged Luis Suarez, the Liverpool striker, with violent conduct after he bit Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic on the arm during a game.

James McCormick was convicted of fraud at the Old Bailey after making £50 million out of selling so-called bomb detectors that were nothing but novelty toys to countries such as Iraq and Thailand.

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