Cameron losses Commons vote on Syria action

MPs have rejected possible UK military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to deter the use of chemical weapons.

David Cameron said he would respect the defeat of a government motion by 285-272, ruling out joining US-led strikes.

The US said it would “continue to consult” with the UK, “one of our closest allies and friends”.

I was quite surprised to discover that the government were defeated in this vote, and the result of it does pose some interesting questions, for example, how are we going to look if the US and France do intervene at some point in the near future.

Once the result was in Cameron tried to be magnanimous saying it was clear Parliament didn’t want military action and that the government will “act accordingly”, but when dealing with a regime like Assad’s once military action is off the table there isn’t really much for you to do other than stand by as others get involved.

The reason why Cameron was defeated in this vote was simple; he held it too early, the government motion was in support of military action if it was backed up by evidence from UN weapons inspectors that chemical weapons had been used.

But that investigation is still ongoing and their findings won’t be public knowledge until next week, so wouldn’t it have made more sense to hold it then, Cameron has lost this vote because he’s tried to rush it through and in doing so has lost the support of too many MPs.

It will be interesting what happens next particularly seeing how the US and France respond in the wake of this news.       

Murray starts US Open defence with a win

Defending champion Andy Murray reached the second round of the US Open with less than an hour of the third day remaining as he beat France's Michael Llodra in Wednesday's night session.

The Briton, 26, completed a 6-2 6-4 6-3 victory at 11.33pm local time in New York (04:33 BST), and moves on to face Argentina's Leonardo Mayer on Friday.

The decision to schedule Murray among the late matches on day three had met with criticism, as it could leave him at a disadvantage compared to his leading rivals later in the tournament.

There’s no debate on this it’s not it could be a disadvantage, it is a disadvantage period.

I know the organisers of all the grand slams have their own way of doing things but the organisers of the US Open have got their scheduling very very wrong, Murray should have been playing his second round match last night not his first.

Now that means that if he gets to the final he’ll have to play seven matches in 12 days, as opposed to playing seven in 14 days.

The whole reason the schedule at the US Open is the way it is, is due to TV scheduling and what I don’t understand is why the organisers didn’t pencil in Murray’s match for Monday night, wouldn’t that have been the best time to have the defending champion play in the first match of the first night session.

Still even with the stupid scheduling you’d still expect any two from Murray, Nadal and Djokovic to be in the final, and then expect to be in for a long night if you choose to stay up and watch it.   

Chelsea sign Willian

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of attacking midfielder Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala on a five-year deal after he was granted a work permit.

The Blues are believed to have paid £30m for the Brazil international, 25.

“Chelsea are one of the world’s best clubs and now I'm going to play for one of the world’s best managers,” he said.

This has to be one of the strangest transfers of recent times going back to when John Obi Mikel actually signed for Man United ‘by mistake’ and ended up at Chelsea.

Willian had agreed to join Tottenham and had even past a medical, yet somehow Chelsea managed to swoop in and steal him, that’s the first reason why this transfer is strange.

The second reason is they simply don’t need him, he’s an attacking midfielder and Chelsea already have five of those so why buy a sixth, and why buy one who isn’t any better than what you’ve got already?

And there may possibly be a third reason, and that is to do with the rumours that they may have bought Willian because they may sell Juan Mata, again it’s just a rumour but if there’s any truth to it that’s absolutely ludicrous.

Why would Chelsea think about selling Mata even for a nano-second, he’s been their star player for the last two years and it’s not like they need to sell him to raise funds.

Whether the Mata rumour is true or not, whichever way you look at it Chelsea signing Willian doesn’t make much sense. 

Ditch ‘anti-car dogma’ councils told

Councils in England should provide more parking spaces in town centres and cut down on speed humps, the secretary of state for communities has said.

New planning guidance will also say councils should ensure parking charges do not “undermine” local economies.

“Draconian” parking policies and “over-zealous traffic wardens” had driven motorists into internet retailers and out-of-town stores, Eric Pickles said.

While he may have got a little sidetracked with his let’s rid our neighbourhoods of the eyesore of wheelie bins, it’s good to see Eric Pickles back on track and calling for changes where they’re actually needed.

Council’s do urgently need to change their thinking, because one of the key reasons why many town centres are struggling is because no one can park anywhere near them, so instead they either do their shopping at home with a few clicks of a mouse or they go to a retail park.

The ironic thing is if councils were a little less stringent with parking charges, speed restrictions etc. then more people would venture into their local town more often, and spend more money ensuring that it doesn't become a ghost town. 

Businesses not convinced by HS2

A leading business lobby group has called on the government to abandon its controversial high-speed rail project.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) said a survey of its members showed businesses were unconvinced by the economic case for HS2.

The IoD's director general, Simon Walker, described the project as “one grand folly”.

So on top of all the existing groups that don’t want HS2 we can now add big business, apart from the government is there anybody left that’s actually in favour of this thing?

While the government have put their eggs in the wrong basket with this project, they have at least left themselves plenty of time to realise their error in judgment and scrap the project.

If the government does press ahead and ignore pretty much everybody then what we’ll end up with is a high speed rail link that won’t be built on time, will come in massively over budget, which nobody wanted, and that won’t benefit the economy in the way it was hoped.  

Michelin could replace Pirelli as F1 tyre supplier

Michelin is in the frame to be Formula 1’s tyre supplier for the 2014 season.

The French company has had discussions with governing body the FIA about taking over from Pirelli, high-level sources say.

Michelin, which last supplied tyres to F1 in 2006, told teams it could produce the tyres, despite the late notice.

This was inevitable and I think the ‘could’ ought to be replaced with ‘should’ as it clearly isn’t working with Pirelli.

While I have some sympathy for Pirelli there is a big difference between making tyres that degrades a bit quicker than normal and tyres that explode and send the cars spinning out of control.

Its first race back after the summer break and already there have been two blow-outs, and that’s just in practice, so there could well be more during the race.

The experiment this season with the tyres has failed miserably and I think it is just common sense that the FIA are looking for an alternative provider for next season, hopefully they’ll abandon this idea of tyres wearing out after five laps and keep out of Michelin’s way. 

Syria: US weighing up military options

The US has bolstered its navy presence in the eastern Mediterranean as President Barack Obama weighs up his options over the conflict in Syria.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon was “positioning our forces” ahead of “whatever options the president might choose”.

Syrian activists claim the government carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack in Damascus on Wednesday.

The response of the US on the issue of what to do in Syria and when to do it has been interesting to say the least; this latest move is in response to the latest attack where chemical weapons are reported to have been used, and if it transpires that that is the case then the US will I presume involve themselves as that will mean the ‘red line’ will have been crossed.

But this is what I don’t understand there have been numerous attacks by Assad and many people have died, so surely the line has already been crossed, why are America et al sitting on their hands waiting until chemical weapons have been used before they will intervene?

Why is it down to how people are being killed rather than how many? 

Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in Wikileaks case

The US soldier convicted of handing a trove of secret government documents to anti-secrecy website Wikileaks has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Pte First Class Bradley Manning, 25, was convicted in July of 20 charges against him, including espionage.

In a statement read by his lawyer after the sentencing, Pte Manning said he had acted "out of love for our country".

This was the inevitable conclusion to this case and while I have some sympathy with Manning, as he believed he was doing the right thing, it still doesn’t make up for the fact that revealed an unprecedented amount of military secrets that compromised the security of American troops, American military strategy and America’s reputation amongst their allies.

And he’s actually quite lucky, given the amount of things he was convicted of, that he wasn’t sentenced to life in prison, and is lucky that he could be freed in as little as seven years. 

Michael Laudrup wants transfer window to close earlier

Swansea City boss Michael Laudrup has added his voice to those calling for the transfer window to close prior to the start of the Premier League season.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho have also stated their wish for managers to be able to start the season with a finalised squad.

Laudrup cannot understand why such a move for the Premier League does not have wholesale backing.

I can’t understand that either, I think it would be in everybody’s best interests to have the window close before the season starts, in fact if it were up to me I’d have it close on July 31^st.

That way clubs would get the necessary time to bed-in new signings and you wouldn’t have the stupid situation where a player does a full pre-season and even plays the first few games of a new season with one club before joining another.

And as an Arsenal fan I would have a month’s less worth of agonising over whether we will actually sign anyone, and then it transpires that we don’t, at least this way I’ll know we haven’t spent any money before the season starts and not start a new campaign clinging to the faint hopes we’ll spend big and then sit up watching sky sports news on transfer deadline day hoping for them to announce a big signing for Arsenal but when the clock hits midnight there’s nothing to suggest that’s happened and I go to bed angry and frustrated because I know that it will be another season of scrapping for fourth place in the league and not winning a trophy.

That is what eight years of frustration boiling over reads like.

But back to the main point moving the transfer window back to even the day before the season starts makes more sense than where it is now and I, like Laudrup, Mourinho etc. am amazed that more isn’t being done to make it happen. 

Children need more exercise, says study

Half of all UK seven-year-olds do not do enough exercise, with girls far less active than boys, a study suggests.

University College London researchers found just 51% of the 6,500 children they monitored achieved the recommended hour of physical activity each day.

For girls, the figure was just 38%, compared with 63% for boys.

Well this study paints a rather sad picture, I remember when I was that age as soon as I got home from school I got changed and went out, came back in for dinner wolfed it down at 100mph and went straight back out again.

Sadly with kids eating junk food, incessantly using technology and with their parents afraid to let them play out on the street these stats are likely to get worse.

But fortunately the problems offer the solutions reduce the amount of junk food your child eats, limit the amount of time they use game consoles, smart phones etc. and most importantly let them play outside with other children.

Otherwise you’ll have raised an obese agoraphobic who lives their life online, and I’m sure no parent wants that for their child. 

Make Stuart Broad cry - Darren Lehman

Australia coach Darren Lehmann has called on fans to make England's Stuart Broad “cry” over his "blatant cheating" in the first Ashes Test.

Broad was criticised for deciding not to walk after edging Ashton Agar to slip via keeper Brad Haddin's gloves.

“I hope the Australian public give it to him right from the word go for the whole [Australian] summer,” he said.

Nice to see that Lehman has moved on from what happened in the first test . . . . . 

It’s pretty sad that Australia have been reduced to this, because all this does is highlight just how poor they are at this moment in time and just how much of a shadow they are of their former glories.

We all know Broad clearly edged it and should have gone, but it’s over and he’s been criticised for it pretty conclusively, so I think Lehman and co should get over it and focus on making sure Australia don’t leave an Ashes series without winning a test match for the first time since 1977, just thought I’d slip that in there.

On a more serious note it bodes well for the series in Australia for England if all the Aussies are focusing on is making Broad cry.

We’re guaranteed to win if that’s the case, in fact even if it isn’t I’d be surprised if we didn’t win given that we’re 3-0 up in this series without playing our best. 

Inmates paid to work in call centres

Convicted criminals in the West Midlands are being paid to work in call centres.

The inmates at HMP Oakwood, near Wolverhampton, and Drake Hall, in Staffordshire, are employed to carry out market research for insurance companies.

The Centre for Crime Prevention has branded the scheme “incredibly naive”.

Absolutely right this scheme is incredibly naive, and given the two million plus people who are currently unemployed wouldn’t it have made more sense to make these jobs available to them.

The thinking behind this scheme is that it gets prisoners out of their cells and working, and that’s all well and good, but why not make do community service and have them cleaning the streets, and basically doing all the other mucky jobs that very few people want to do.

Unfortunately this is another classic case of a scheme with the right ideals and intentions, but sadly it has been implemented in the wrong way.  

Switzerland opens drive in ‘sex-boxes’

They look like shelters for hikers in a national park, but nine new wooden sheds in Switzerland have a rather less innocent purpose – they provide a discreet location for men to have sex with prostitutes.

The drive-in ‘sex boxes’ as they are being called, will be officially opened on August 26, as part of a drive by authorities in Zurich to regulate prostitution, combat pimping and improve security for sex workers.

The nine garage-style structures, located in a former industrial zone in the west of the city, have been organised with typically Swiss precision.

Drivers will have to follow a clearly marked route along which up to 40 prostitutes will be stationed.

These ‘sex-boxes’ are being introduced apparently to reduce prostitution, but I don’t see how introducing a massive drive-thru in an industrial zone does that in any way, all the Swiss authorities are doing is moving prostitution to a designated area.

This idea is a bit like the one on the TV show the Wire, where the police set-up three zones in empty parts of Baltimore to allow the gangs to ‘legally’ sell drugs, it’s the same here it’s not solving the original problem it’s just moving the problem to where less people are aware of it.

Prostitution is legal in Switzerland and if the authorities there want to reduce prostitution surely the first step would be to make it illegal wouldn’t it?

Switzerland is a very confusing place, they have incredibly draconian car laws, yet everyone owns a gun and in a week’s time they’ll have a drive-thru, fast prostitution service, like I said confusing.    

Computer expert hacks Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page

A hacker from Palestine found a Facebook glitch that allowed anyone to post on a stranger’s wall, but when the company ignored his warnings he took them all the way to the top by posting about the issue on Mark Zuckerberg’s wall.

Khalil Shreateh first contacted the Facebook security team after proving the glitch was real by writing on the wall of a friend of the Facebook founder.

But instead of thanking him and fixing the issue, Facebook said it wasn’t a bug. And because of the methods Shreateh used to finally convince them of the threat, Facebook later denied him the reward usually given to programmers who report holes in the site’s security.

I feel sorry for this guy, he found a problem with Facebook, I would like to point out there are many many more with the fact that it exists being top of the list, and when he tried to inform them of it they ignored him, so he does something quite ingenious to demonstrate the problem and what was Facebook’s response?

They ignored him again and stiffed him off a deserved, $500, reward for trying to help them by pointing out a major error, what a classy organisation.

Hopefully next time Mr Shreateh finds an error with Facebook it will allow him to shut the whole thing down.       

Facebook use ‘makes people feel worse about themselves’

Using Facebook can reduce young adults' sense of well-being and satisfaction with life, a study has found.

Checking Facebook made people feel worse about both issues, and the more they browsed, the worse they felt, the University of Michigan research said.

The study, which tracked participants for two weeks, adds to a growing body of research saying Facebook can have negative psychological consequences.

Ah excellent another reason why the estimated billion or so people who are Facebook members should as one delete their accounts and put an end to this social networking nonsense.

It’s understandable how using Facebook can reduce your sense of well-being, because if you go on there all you’re doing is sitting there on your own reading inane drivel from people you’ve never met before, and all you’re probably thinking is why am I doing this.

I’m just guessing it works that way because as you can probably tell from the tone of this I don’t care for Facebook and don’t use it, and ironically I have a great sense of well-being and satisfaction with my life, coincidence? I think not.

Government wants household bins out of sight

New housing developments in England should include sufficient space to store household bins out of view of the street, the government has said.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the proliferation of wheelie bins had created a “blot on the landscape”.

New planning guidance about bin storage is being published next week.

For starters yes bins don’t add much to the scenery of a street, but is it really necessary for the government to waste it’s time launching a completely unneeded scheme where new housing developments will now need to have an extra place to store bins.

It’s nice to see Mr Pickles has his priorities in order, because I’m sure that if he asked all the councils what are the most pressing issues that need to be dealt with this one would be right up there.

Dog passed off as lion at Chinese zoo

A Chinese zoo tried to pass off a fluffy dog as a lion – but was found out when the animal barked.

The Tibetan mastiff dog was claimed to be an “African lion” in the wildlife park in Luohe, Henan province, but visitors were not fooled.

I’m glad that everybody saw right through this ludicrous attempt to con visitors was never going to work in a million years.

How stupid are the people who run this zoo, and how little do they think of their visitors that they felt they would be crazy enough to believe a dog with a bit of extra fluff was a lion.

They’d have had much more success with a man in a lion suit with a tape recorder with a recording of a lions roar on it.   

England beat Scotland

Rickie Lambert scored with his first touch in international football as England twice came from behind to see off Scotland after a breathless encounter at Wembley.

The 31-year-old Southampton striker headed home England's winner just three minutes after replacing Wayne Rooney, to spare manager Roy Hodgson's blushes on a night when Scotland twice threatened to cause an upset.

I have to say that was one of the most entertaining and engaging friendlies I’ve seen in a long time, and as an Englishman I was quite pleased, delighted, with the outcome.

Usually an August friendly just before the season starts is usually devoid of any intent and is usually a drab affair as all the players cruise through the game and don’t take any risks, and then there’s the plethora of substitutions that kills what little, if any, momentum the game had.

But credit to both teams last night that really was a great game of football and it was great to see Rickie Lambert, who has really come to the top level the hard way, score with his first touch, hopefully he’ll be included in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers coming up.

I'm also joining the ever growing list of those calling for an England-Scotland game to be played every year as the curtain raiser to the new season, because even if there only half as good as last night it will still be something to look forward to. 

Even if that doesn’t happen I certainly hope that this game is played on a more regular basis and there isn’t a 14 year wait for the next one. 

David Moyes criticises Premier League fixture list

Manchester United manager David Moyes says he finds his club's start to the season “hard to believe”.

Among their first five games, the champions play Chelsea at home and Manchester City and Liverpool away.

Moyes said: "I think it's the hardest start for 20 years that Manchester United have had".

Is this a bit of bitterness that’s spilled over from last night? It’s strange that Moyes has come out with this now and not when he took over six weeks ago. 

Yes when you look at it United’s first five games are quite tough, but, that in-turn means there will be a five game spell where they’ll have it much easier.

It does amuse me when managers criticise the fixture list because each teams plays each other twice over the course of a season, so if you have a tough spell here you are guaranteed an easier spell there, that’s how it works and moaning about won’t do anything to change it, so Moyes and any other manager this season, or any other season, who moans about the order of the fixtures, shut up and get on with it.   

Ban lifted for NHS staff with HIV

The government is to lift a ban that stops healthcare staff with HIV performing certain medical procedures.

Healthcare staff in England, Wales and Scotland having HIV treatment will be able to take part in all tasks, including surgery and dentistry.

England's chief medical officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said it was time to scrap “outdated rules”.

Call me old fashioned but, touch wood, if I had to go into hospital I’d prefer that I was treated with someone who didn’t have HIV.

Prof Davies says the risk to this is “negligible”, but it’s still adding risk and I don’t see the rationale in introducing a new source of risk, no matter how small, into hospitals which are incubators for viruses, diseases etc.

This means that there is a greater chance of HIV being transmitted, and who does that benefit? This is a case of liberalism going a step too far and usurping common sense. 

UEFA chief warns Premier League clubs on ticket prices

Premier League clubs have been warned they must seek a balance with fans over the price of football as teams strive to get richer but still comply with financial fair play rules.

European governing body UEFA introduced FFP to help prevent clubs overspending and risking their long-term future.

But UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino believes clubs must not increase revenue at fans’ expense.

I think Premier League clubs would take this warning a lot more seriously if, like FFP, something would actually be done about it.

Let me explain, FFP is supposed to come into practice this season yet it has had no effect whatsoever on the amounts of money being spent by clubs across Europe, and there has not been a single story about a Premier League club that are in danger of being punished by these new rules. In fact clubs have been acting like no such rules exist.

So what Mr Infantino is effectively doing here is saying to Premier League clubs, almost Hugh Grant like, gosh, crikey, crikey would you mind, I mean if it’s not too much trouble not charging too much for tickets this season, I mean I can’t actually do anything to stop you but please don’t do it.

If clubs aren’t going to pay attention to FFP then I doubt they will listen to the UEFA’s secretary, so expect extortionate transfer fees and ticket prices to continue into next season and beyond, can’t wait for kick-off on Saturday. 

Brazil World Cup stadium delays

Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo has said he is worried about delays at five stadiums still being built for next year's football World Cup.

Mr Rebelo said the pace of construction must be accelerated if the venues are to be ready by this December.

Only one of the six stadiums under construction is on schedule.

It always amazes me how time and time again stories like this appear with about a year to go before a World Cup starts, stories about how things aren’t going to be ready and how construction work is behind schedule etc.

I mean it’s not like Brazil have had nearly six years to get all this done, oh no wait yes they have.

Apparently the venue for the opening match in Sao Paolo is 84% complete, that’s an interesting figure how do you judge a stadium to be 84% done?

I should make the point that Mr Rebelo believes that if the pace of construction is upped then the deadline will be met and the stadiums will be ready on time, and they probably will be, but just in case I wonder what contingency plan FIFA has up its sleeve, “There is no plan B," said FIFA general-secretary Jeremy Valcke during the Confederations Cup. Terrific.  

Don’t jail thieves and fraudsters says law expert

Thieves and fraudsters should not be jailed, a legal expert has said.

In a pamphlet released by the Howard League for Penal Reform, Prof Andrew Ashworth said jail should be reserved for offenders who commit crimes of a violent, sexual or threatening nature.

Fines and community sentences would be more effective for others and reduce the prison population in England and Wales by almost 6,000, he said.

But the government said it had “no intention” of changing the law.

I’m glad the government have come out and said that because this is a ridiculous proposal, and it comes from all people a legal expert.

If this proposal were to be adopted then there would be absolutely no deterrent for thieves and fraudsters, they could keep committing the same crimes and never be jailed, you can debate all you want about whether prison rehabilitates etc. But surely time would be better spent on making sure prisons do a better job of reforming than removing it as a sentencing option altogether.

Mind you a system like this is kind of already in place because not a single banker involved in the financial crisis is behind bars, and they’ve totally changed, so maybe this proposal isn’t that radical after all.

UK wages decline among worst in Europe

Wages in the UK have seen one of the largest falls in the European Union during the economic downturn, according to official figures.

The figures, which were requested by the Labour Party and collated by the House of Commons library, show average hourly wages have fallen 5.5% since mid-2010, adjusted for inflation.

That is the fourth-worst decline among the 27 EU nations.

To put into context just how depressing these figures are only the likes of Portugal and Greece are worse off and even Spain have fared better than us, this would in part help explain why the economy is recovering, because more and more is being asked of people for less and less.

Also the rising costs of everything only exacerbates the issue, and the stock of the idea of a living wage continues to rise, because however you try and interpret these figures it’s pretty embarrassing for the government.

What good does it do if the economy recovers yet everyone is still struggling to make ends meet?  

Cameron urges UK public to support fracking

The whole of the country must "get behind fracking", which ought to get “real public support” once its benefits are explained, David Cameron has said.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said he wanted all of the UK to benefit from shale gas drilling – “north or south”.

The prime minister moved to allay concerns about the technique, insisting it was safe if properly regulated.

I think Cameron is right, we should be getting behind fracking because of there is over a trillion cubic feet of shale gas in Britain, and those figures account for just 11 counties.

Even if only 10% of that is extracted that equates to around 50 years gas supply, with this in mind it would be stupid to just leave it there and continue to import gas from elsewhere and pay a fortune for the privilege.

Obviously those opposed to fracking say it will damage the environment, cause small tremors and contaminate the water supply, but I watched a Horizon programme about fracking and the only way these things will happen is human error, basically the company in charge of a fracking site becoming complacent and not doing their job properly.

While that is entirely possible are the downsides of fracking any worse than the downsides to any other method of power currently in use, for example, is a small tremor any worse than when an oil rig or oil tanker leaks millions of gallons of oil into the sea, or when a nuclear reactor malfunctions and requires whole areas to be evacuated, I don’t think so.

As long as fracking is rigorously regulated then everyone should get behind it.

Summer World Cup in Qatar ‘impossible’

A summer World Cup in Qatar in 2022 would be "impossible", says Football Association chairman Greg Dyke.

Dyke, who took up his FA role last month, thinks the tournament is likely to move to winter because of the heat.

But Qatar's World Cup organising committee says it is ready to host the tournament in summer.

What a mess this is, I agree with Dyke in that it would be stupid to have the World Cup in Qatar in the summer; however, I would go one step further and say that it would be stupid for Qatar to host the world cup full-stop.

Ever since it was awarded to them it has been problem after problem after problem, and there’s still a full nine years left to go before the opening match kicks off, so god knows what other issues are going to present themselves between now and then.

But in the midst of all the problems a solution can be found, as there is still nine years until it starts there’s plenty of time for FIFA to realise what a dreadful mess it will be and do the sensible thing and look for a country that can host the World Cup without all these difficulties. 

More good news for UK economy as trade gap shrinks

The gap UK between imports and exports shrank to its smallest level in almost a year in June as more goods were sold abroad.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK goods trade deficit narrowed to £8.1bn in June, down from £8.7bn in May.

The ONS also said construction output grew more in the second quarter than it had first estimated.

In the three and bit years since the coalition took over number 10 there have been some tumultuous times on the economy front, but in the last week there have been the strongest indicators yet that things are a changin’.

Construction is at a three year high, services at a six year high and most important of all manufacturing surged in June, all of this means that maybe the first serious steps on the road to recovery are about to be taken.

Of course given the nature of the markets this could all rapidly change and next week we could be back to doom and gloom but for now let’s focus on the positive signs that are there.  

Barrister criticised for calling child abuse victim ‘predatory’

The Crown Prosecution Service has criticised a barrister acting on its behalf for describing a 13-year-old sex abuse victim in court as “predatory”.

Robert Colover also called the girl “sexually experienced”. The CPS said his language had been “inappropriate”.

Neil Wilson, 41, admitted abusing the girl at his home in Romford, London, and was given a suspended jail term.

The Attorney General's Office said the sentence had been drawn to its attention as "possibly unduly lenient".

In regards to the fact that a guy who admitted he abused a 13-year-old  girl was essentially let-off, yes that does seem ‘unduly lenient’ and hopefully the Attorney General will get this guy back in court so he can be charged properly and sent to prison, which is where he should be now.  

In regards to the barrister who represented the abuser and had the gall to say that it was the 13-year-old girl who was acting in a predatory manner, I think the CPS should do a little more than say his language was ‘inappropriate’.

They should take his contract put it through the paper shredder and ask him to clear his desk and never come back.