The ‘fair’ budget that wasn’t

George Osborne leaving 11 Downing Street to delivery his emergency budget in June. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images It is nothing new for a budget to unravel after the big day, and the remarkable thing about the debunking of George Osborne’s claim to have protected the poor is... 

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Fears grow that BP oil cap may not have stopped leak

Oil sheen is seen among vessels assisting near the source of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images Fears about the new cap over BP’s damaged Gulf of Mexico oil well have been raised after engineers detected seepage and a possible methane gas leak... 

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Islanders appeal to Labour candidates to reverse David Miliband decision

Disgruntled islanders: Olivier Bancoult, centre, chairman of the Chagos Refugees Group, says David Miliband’s decision effectively bars his people from returning to their homes to earn a living. Photograph: Alicia Canter Exiled islanders from an archipelago in the Indian Ocean have intervened... 

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Barclays repays pensioners who were sold ‘risky’ investments

Ronald and Elizabeth Bramley were advised by Barclays to spread their £100,000 savings across three high-risk investment funds, despite seeking security and knowing little about investing. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian Hundreds of Barclays customers, who were advised to invest... 

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Washington thinktank says US right could learn from Cameron and Clegg

David Cameron and Nick Clegg have come in for praise from a leading rightwing thinktank in Washington Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images The leading conservative thinktank in Washington has praised the way in which David Cameron and Nick Clegg are cutting the deficit in Britain, saying... 

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