Mark Carney warns Bank of England cannot solve Brexit and housing problems

Mark Carney has used an introductory speech at the Bank of England's independence conference to remind leaders about the organisation's limited influence on the British economy, in particular the impact of Brexit.

The governor stressed that the bank alone "cannot solve broader societal challenges" across the UK and suggested there has been an exaggeration of its powers.

"This bears emphasising because in recent years a host of issues have been laid at the door of the Bank of England from housing affordability to poor productivity.

"Calls for the bank to solve these challenges ignore the bank's carefully defined objectives. And they confuse independence with omnipotence," he said.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaking during the Bank of England 'Independence 20 years on' conference today.

Mr Carney made the comments at a London conference marking 20 years since the bank's independence from government control.

He said the bank's responsibilities - monetary and financial stability - are "foundational" and "necessary for prosperity", but they "aren't sufficient to deliver it".

"Ultimately, the prosperity of the UK will reflect not just the final Brexit arrangements but also the Government's fiscal and structural policies," he said, adding that British Prime Minister Theresa May - who he was introducing at the conference - would be "best placed" to discuss those topics.

He said most of the "necessary adjustments" in light of Brexit are "real in nature" and therefore "not in the gift of central bankers".

"The bank will do everything it can to support adjustment consistent with its statutory obligations," he explained, saying it would continue to assess and mitigate the risks associated with Britain's divorce from the EU.

He also assured that monetary policy - set by the bank's dedicated committee - would be set to achieve its 2% inflation target, but in a way that helps smooth the economic transition and "supports jobs in the wake of very large external forces".

Inflation is currently 2.9%, prompting growing speculation that the bank's Monetary Policy Committee could raise rates as early as its November meeting.

"Banks will be capitalised so that they can withstand any severe shock that could be associated with Brexit - however unlikely - and still meet demand for credit," Mr Carney added.

"The financial system as a whole will have the capacity to finance the transition and the opportunities beyond.

"These are the best contributions the Bank of England can make to the good of the people of the United Kingdom."

The bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) last week warned that UK banks will need to put aside an extra £10 billion to help protect them from consumer credit losses after the Bank of England warned that lenders are "underestimating" the risks of growing household debt.

It also said it would continue to monitor the effects of Brexit, particularly in light of the potential disruption to the financial services industry.

The FPC went on to raise concerns over the loss of cross-border contracts for insurance and derivatives, restrictions on sharing personal data between the UK and EU, and cross-border banking, central clearing and asset management.

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Boohoo boss banks £10.7m in share sale

The boss of Boohoo has banked £10.7m after offloading a slug of shares in the online fashion retailer.

Carol Kane, who is joint chief executive at Boohoo, sold 4.65 million shares at £2.30p each, according to a stock market filing.

Following the transaction, Ms Kane now holds a 4% stake in Boohoo.

The share sale was disclosed a day after Boohoo's shares slumped over 15%, despite the firm upgrading its revenue guidance as half-year sales rocketed.

Investors were spooked by a reduction in guidance for the retailer's earnings margin.

Today, shares in Boohoo were down 6% following the news, at £2.05p .

Retail analyst Nick Bubb said: "Director share selling is never easy to time well, but yesterday's share sale by Boohoo's joint CEO Carol Kane seems to have hit a nerve in the City, given the concerns about margin pressure."

Earlier this year co-founder and joint chief executive Mahmud Kamani, along with his siblings Rabia Kamani and Nurez Kamani, raked in £80.5m after offloading 36.6 million shares.

Before the recent share falls, Boohoo's market capitalisation had been closing in on £3bn.

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Amazon 'placing pressure on tech rivals' with new Echo devices

Amazon's new line of Echo smart home devices have placed more pressure on Google and Apple to catch up, an industry expert has said.

The firm unveiled a host of new Echo devices during an event at their headquarters in Seattle, including a redesign of the flagship Echo speaker and a more smart home-friendly Echo Plus.

Echo Buttons, Bluetooth-connected buzzers that can be used with Echo-based quizzes, and two screen-based Echo devices - Show and Spot - were also shown off.

Amazon Echo Plus, a more powerful version of the Echo which automatically looks for and connects with other smart home devices around the home.

Technology expert Stuart Miles said the wide range of new products powered by virtual assistant Alexa had left the company on the verge of dominating the smart home market.

"Amazon's Alexa event in Seattle shows that the company is taking its huge lead in the smart home speaker market and pushing on even harder to completely break away from the competition," he said.

"While Apple and Google are still stumbling with the launch of Google Home and Apple HomePod respectively, Amazon's release of numerous products shows that it is trying to make sure that Alexa can be everywhere in your home."

However, Mr Miles warned that such a broad range of products did also leave Amazon at risk of overwhelming customers.

"That eagerness to be everywhere for everyone might lead to confusion for consumers not sure how to navigate the array of new devices now available to them. 'Which Echo do I get?' is likely to be a popular question this Christmas," he said.

"But, if Amazon can educate its prospective customers, then it has the ecosystem in place to now deliver and, if successful, will leave the competition and what they're offering far behind.

"Amazon is clearly planning on dominating the smart home speaker market with price and smarts, and now it has a device in every room from the kitchen to the bedroom to be able to do that."

Echo buttons: small buttons that connect to an Echo via Bluetooth and can be used as game show-style buzzers for quiz games

Education appears to be part of Amazon's thinking, with the new Echo Plus designed to help users easily set up and connect smart home devices such as connected lightbulbs and other appliances to their Echo.

The Echo Plus contains a built-in "smart home hub" which automatically links devices it detects and has been developed to streamline this process, Amazon said.

A new and updated Fire TV streaming device was also announced.

That announcement comes just after Apple revealed its own new streaming box, the Apple TV, now also support the two technologies for the first time.

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G20 must clamp down on shadow banking or face another economic crisis: Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown has warned that governments risk "sleepwalking" into another financial crisis if the G20 fails to create an early warning system and clamp down on the shadow banking sector.

In a speech prepared for the Bank of England’s independence conference in London today, the former British prime minister said another crash could be inevitable without critical reforms and better regulation.

"My belief is that governments will go sleepwalking into the next crisis unless we deliver a more effective G20, a full early warning system and better regulation of the shadow banking system," he said.

Mr Brown, who also served as chancellor under the Tony Blair administration, singled out the risks of the so-called shadow banking system, referring to financial services firms or banking activities that fall outside of standard regulation.

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"If, for example, the next financial crisis comes out of Asia - and if, as likely, because of problems that arise from a shadow banking system in commercial and industrial lending, we will ask ourselves next time: Why did we not act after 2008 to create a better global early warning system and make our financial regime more fully co-ordinated globally?" he said.

Mr Brown - who gave the Bank of England its independence in 1997 - said the banking sector could not shoulder the burden of reform on its own.

"These decisions to act cannot be left to bankers alone. Britain and the world urgently needs to get the balance right between the need for expertise, the need for proper accountability and the need for effective leadership.

"There will be no hiding place for the G20 or any government the next time."

He warned that without political leadership, the momentum for global financial supervision will wane, while protectionism will continue to rise.

"Financial elites will be seen as out of touch and distant, and even those trying to prevent the next financial crisis - ironically those doing most to cement the kind of co-operation we need - will fall victim to anti-globalisation protests."

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Gardaí can not explain why sex crime detection is down despite increase in reports

Detection rates for sex crimes are down by almost a fifth, a Garda watchdog has been told.

The Policing Authority was told the number of prosecutions this year is not matching the marginal increase in the number of cases being reported.

There was a 7% increase in recorded sex crimes this year to the end of August.

The figures were revealed at a public hearing in Dublin Castle despite the Central Statistics Office (CSO) having refused to publish crime statistics for 2017 after the Garda admitted errors in its homicide records.

Judith Gillespie, former Police Service of Northern Ireland deputy chief constable, told the hearing that detections - which include a suspect being charged or summonsed - are down 19%.

"In those most serious contact, violent crimes and sexual crimes, actually the detection rates have quite seriously deteriorated," she said.

"What we do know is that recorded sex crime has gone up, it's marginal, and that the detection rate has gone down considerably."

John Twomey, Deputy Commissioner, said there is a "time lag" in sex crime investigations and that they must be treated sensitively.

But he told the hearing: "It's something that we are looking at.

"I'm confident that the detection rate, come year end and into the future will be of similar than previous years. I don't see this as being anything other than investigative issues.

"It's vitally important that we understand what we are talking about. Is there a key driver behind that reduction - we are not seeing anything that's specific.

"There's nothing that's causing us concern that people aren't doing one thing or another."

Gardai record a crime as being "detected" when a summons is served on someone or a suspect is charged, or when an adult cautions or the youth diversion programme is applied.

The Policing Authority was told that "detections" are also recorded even when a victim withdraws a statement or does not turn up in court for a prosecution to proceed.

Senior gardai at the hearing could not confirm how many of these instances they have recorded.

Dr Gurchand Singh, head of the Garda's analysis service, told the hearing that research by the CSO has found sexual offences have the highest rate of "fall off" where victims do not pursue a prosecution.

The Policing Authority was also told that the classification and re-classification of crimes will solely be administered at the Garda Information Services Centre in Castlebar, Co Mayo from next January or February.

In June the force admitted they understated the number of homicides by 89 over the past 14 years - a rate of more than six a year.

A final report on the issue has been submitted to the Policing Authority.

Other crime records for this year showed that assaults linked to the night-time economy could be up 15% if they continue at the current rate.

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Garda whistleblower, Keith Harrison, outlines troubled relationship with partner at time of statement

A garda whistleblower has outlined the troubled relationship with his partner which led to her making a statement of complaint against him in October 2013, writes Gerard Cunningham.

In the current module, the tribunal is looking at contacts between gardaí and the HSE/Tusla in relation to Garda Keith Harrison, which he alleges amount to an abuse of power.

The statement, which was made by Garda Harrison’s partner, Marisa Simms, was referred to GSOC and Tusla, and was later withdrawn by Ms Simms.

Today tribunal barrister, Pat Marrinan SC, went through several text message exchanges at the end of September 2013 between Ms Simms and Garda Harrison. During this time, Ms Simms had moved in with her sister following an argument with Garda Harrison.

Garda whistleblower Keith Harrison and Marissa Simms entering the Disclosures Tribunal

Garda Harrison said Ms Simms had left the house voluntarily after the argument. "I have never put or directed or told Marisa to leave the home," he said.

In the text message exchange, Garda Harrison asked Marisa what was wrong and asked her to come back to him. In her responses, she referred several times to how he had "threatened to burn" her.

Garda Harrison said he could not explain that any mention of burning was not a threat when communicating by text.

"In relation to the threats to burn, they did not happen," Garda Harrison said.

Garda Harrison agreed that he had earlier cheated on Marisa, on one occasion while she was in hospital when she lost a baby in an ectopic pregnancy.

"I didn’t behave appropriately, Mr Chairman," Garda Harrison said.

"This was actions I’m not proud of, and I wish I hadn’t done, but I did them," Garda Harrison said.

"It was never intended as emotional abuse, but I didn’t think," he said.

Garda Harrison said that during this time, he was not the person he had been previously, and the person he is now. He said he was deeply ashamed of how he had hurt Ms Simms.

"I knew myself that I was out of order, I knew that I needed to so something. There was behaviours that I needed to address," he said.

"I knew in myself there was something going on in me that just wasn’t right."

Garda Harrison said he had asked for the tribunal, although he knew that private and embarrassing details of his life would be made public.

He said that after Ms Simms made a statement to gardaí on October 6, 2013, he “wasn’t worried about the content of that statement because I knew that I had done nothing wrong."

In a statement made at the time, Sergeant Paul Wallace recorded that he was told by Garda Harrison on October 7, 2013, that Chief Superintendent Terry McGinn had come into the room while Marisa Simms was making her statement in Letterkenny Garda Station and said, "No guard’s to treat women like that. I’ll see to that."

Earlier, Ms Simms told the tribunal she had not seen Chief Superintendent McGinn at all during her time at the garda station.

Garda Harrison said that he had done nothing wrong, and that although he had said things he shouldn’t have said, he certainly didn’t threaten Ms Simms.

He said the text messages in which Ms Simms spoke about threats he had made to burn her were sent to hurt him, but they weren’t true and he had never threatened that.

Garda Harrison said he had no recollection of a meeting on April 24, 2012 about his use of the Garda Pulse computer system. He said he had a meeting with retired Chief Superintendent Jim Sheridan about his car insurance.

"We spoke about the car, that was it," Garda Harrison said.

The tribunal chairman asked why the chief superintendent wouldn’t talk to him about Pulse, when he knew Garda Harrison was using the system to check on his girlfriend.

"I wasn’t checking on her. I was checking on who else was checking on her," Garda Harrison said.

The garda said he believed senior officers were checking up on Ms Simms on Pulse, and seeking information on where Garda Harrison was living.

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Red admirals enjoyed record summer, results from the Big Butterfly Count reveal

Red admirals have had a record summer despite wet weather conditions causing problems for other butterflies, conservationists said.

Results from the Big Butterfly Count show the striking red admirals saw numbers rise by 75% compared to 2016, with more than 73,000 spotted by the public during the three-week survey.

It is the highest number since the citizen science count began in 2010, and as many as were counted in the last three years put together, the scheme’s organisers Butterfly Conservation said.

The boom in numbers saw it come second in the overall rankings for most commonly seen butterflies, behind the gatekeeper which also saw its numbers up 24% on 2016.

(David Jones/PA)

Other widespread butterflies did well this year, including the comma which saw numbers rise 90% on last year’s count, and the small copper saw a 62% increase.

But the UK’s common white butterflies all declined by more than a third on last year’s numbers, making it one of the worst years for the three species.

Overall people taking part in the Big Butterfly Count saw the lowest number of butterflies per count since the scheme began, with an average of just 11 individuals.

A mild winter and warm spring meant some species emerged earlier than normal so that some were past their peak by the time of the summer count and the wet summer.

(David Cheskin/PA)

But red admirals were helped by the mild winter and warm spring, which followed a good year in 2016 for the species.

Red admirals used to be just a summer visitor which migrated from warmer parts of Europe in the spring and summer, but while many still migrate, many now overwinter in the UK.

This year red admirals which had overwintered in the UK and fresh immigrants arriving in the spring enjoyed an early and successful breeding season, leading to a big summer brood.

Butterfly Conservation’s head of recording Richard Fox said: “It hasn’t been a vintage summer for butterflies, but there have been some real positives.

(Owen Humphreys/PA)

“The flurry of red admirals on buddleia bushes; vivid golden commas holding territories along the hedgerows; and beautiful flecks of blue and orange among the long grass as common blues and small coppers made the most of the sunshine before the next shower.”

He added: “Above all, the highlight of Big Butterfly Count 2017 has been the huge number of people that have got involved, spent time enjoying and counting our native butterflies and moths and done something useful and important in the face of so much wildlife decline.”

The count’s results help Butterfly Conservation find out how common UK species are faring, against a background of long term declines for three quarters of British butterflies, and how best to help them in the future.

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