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BP boss expects new year dividend

BP Managing Director Bob Dudley poses for the media outside BP's headquarters in London July 27, 2010

Bob Dudley formally takes over from Tony Hayward as BP’s chief executive this week

BP may resume paying a dividend to shareholders in the new year, incoming chief executive Bob Dudley has said.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, he said BP’s board would meet to discuss restoring the dividend in the coming months.

BP stopped paying out money to shareholders following the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr Dudley will formally take over from Tony Hayward as BP’s chief executive on Friday.

“The board will get together and talk before the end of the year about restoring a dividend in some form in the first quarter,” he told the BBC’s business editor, Robert Peston.

“Its obviously for the board to decide, [but] from what I see happening in the performances of the businesses, i believe we will get there.”

His plans for restoring the dividend will be encouraging news for shareholders.

Last year, BP paid out about £7bn in dividends, making it the single biggest dividend payer in the FTSE 100 list of leading companies.

Mr Dudley also pledged to make BP “a good compelling investment for shareholders”.

Despite the damage to the company’s reputation caused by the oil disaster, Mr Dudley said the company was fully committed to doing business in the US.

But he acknowledged that the accident had been “a wake up call” to the entire oil and gas industry, and BP would have to demonstrate it had “learned its lessons”.

“If we meet our obligations, like we have been, then over time people will say – this was a good corporate citizen to respond to an accident that has been a wake up call to the entire oil and gas industry.

“If we share our learnings to ensure this doesn’t happen again then maybe we can restore our reputation in the US,” he said.

“The US uses a lot of energy, and we are the biggest energy producer in the US, so it’s an important part of our portfolio globally.”

Mr Dudley also defended outgoing chief executive Tony Hayward, who was widely criticised for his handling of the oil spill, saying he had done “a great job”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Police trust ‘damaged’ by cameras

A lack of transparency over the erection of 218 “spy” cameras in parts of Birmingham “significantly undermined” police trust, a report finds.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

150 job losses at carton factory

Tetra Pak is considering ceasing production at its Wrexham factory, becoming a finishing warehouse

A cartons factory is planning to stop production with the loss of 150 jobs in Wrexham.

Packaging giant Tetra Park said the decision was “extremely difficult” but it hoped to keep another 135 jobs by creating a warehouse.

The company said it had to reorganise, with changes in the export market, which account for half its business.

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones said she was “very shocked and sorry” and wants to meet management and unions.

“My key concern now will be to ensure that the local workforce receive the best possible terms.”

In a statement, the company – which has more than 21,000 workers worldwide – said it was starting a consultation on job losses at Wrexham industrial estate, where it has its UK headquarters.

Market changes included products being offered in other packaging formats.

Tetra Pak said it had been able to make up the losses by supplying export markets, including Russia and the Middle East, but these were now able to support themselves from 2011.

Rik Jacobs, Tetra Pak managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: “The decision to consult on Wrexham’s future has been an extremely difficult one, but is necessary to ensure our continued competitiveness.

“If the proposal to close production in Wrexham goes forward, regrettably there will be significant restructuring and job losses.”

Mr Jacobs said if the closure went ahead it would offer “fair and equitable severance packages over and above the statutory requirements”.

The company, founded in Sweden more than 50 years ago, produces cartons and packs for milk and juices, as well as food and wine at the Wrexham plant, employing around 265 workers.

Around 115 staff would remain, with 20 more recruited under the proposals.

Tetra Pak set up in north Wales in 1979.

“Our proposal is that we will remain in Wrexham with around 135 jobs,” said Mr Jacobs.

“We intend to create over 20 new jobs to operate a finished goods warehouse to service the UK and Irish markets and ensure we are in the right shape for future growth.”

The consultation period with staff and unions will last at least 90 days.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Nato raid ‘kills Pakistan troops’

Three Pakistani soldiers have been killed in an attack by Nato helicopters during a cross-border attack, Pakistani officials say.

An unnamed Pakistani security official told the AFP news agency that the soldiers were killed in an “unprovoked attack” on a Pakistani checkpoint.

The Nato helicopters crossed up to 5km (three miles) into Pakistan, he said.

The strike was the third Nato raid across the border into Pakistan over the past week.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

New photo of North Korea’s ‘heir’

North Korean state media releases a photograph which appears to show Kim Jong-un, the secretive state’s leader-in-waiting.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Warsi alleges Labour vote fraud

Baroness Warsi alleges the Conservatives failed to win an overall majority at the general election because Labour benefited from fraud.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Cost of Irish bank support rises

The Irish central bank says that propping up Anglo Irish Bank will cost the country up to 34bn euros in a worse-case scenario.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Councils ‘fail to collect’ £38m

More than £1bn was collected in council tax last year

Local authorities in Wales failed to collect more than £38m in council taxes last year, official figures show.

While councils collected more than 96% of all council taxes, they fell short of the amount they had budgeted to be collected.

That means almost £6.5m went missing from local government coffers.

Steve Thomas, from the Welsh Local Government Association, said: “In terms of council tax collection our rates are as good as anywhere in the UK.”

COUNCIL TAX – WALES (2009/10)The total amount due to be collected in council tax in Wales was £1,056mBy March 2010, councils had collected an estimated 96.4% of all council tax dueThat equates to £1,018m – 99.4% of the amount budgeted to be collectedThe 0.63% not collected equates to £6.425m.

Source: Stats Wales

Mr Thomas, chief executive of the WLGA, said local governments were “caught between the devil and the deep blue sea”.

He said: “We have to balance statutory obligations with anti-poverty initiatives. We get criticised for chasing people through the courts and issuing summons if they don’t pay their council tax.”

The figures from the Welsh Assembly Government show that while £1,056m was due to be collected, authorities had collected £1,018m, a gap of £38m.

The Tax Payers’ Alliance accused local authorties of allowing money to “slip through their fingers at a time when public finances were under considerable strain”.

A spokeswoman said: “In this case, the £38m lost through uncollected council tax might otherwise have been spent protecting frontline services or saving staff from redundancy.

“Local authorities must explore low-cost, reliable ways of taking council tax payments such as direct debit or using existing facilities like libraries as ‘payment centres’ which is being trialled by some.

“Ultimately though, with council tax having doubled over the past 10 years it’s unsurprising that many are struggling to pay.”

“We are also in the middle of a recession and people are struggling to pay council tax”

Steve Thomas Welsh Local Government Association

Mr Thomas said collection rates were always subject to the economic climate.

He said: “Part of the reason for uncollected council tax is a transient population, people who lose their jobs or their benefits.

“We are also in the middle of a recession and people are struggling to pay council tax.”

He added: “It financial terms £38m is a lot of money and we would like get 100% but even in the good times there were no scenarios where we were getting 100% of all tax.

“This is as good as it is going to get.”

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson agreed that local authorities had a “difficult balancing act as they try to maintain the amount that they collect in council tax when people are finding it harder to make ends meet”.

They added: “Helping people to weather the storm is a key assembly government priority.

“Helping people to weather the storm is a key assembly government priority.”

Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson

“As part of this, last year we launched guidance to provide councils with advice on collecting council tax in the current financial climate. We have also committed £1m per year 2008-2011 to help more people claim council tax benefit.”

Mr Thomas pointed out that local authorities in Wales had been tremendously consistent in terms of the amount of council tax collected.

“The introduction of direct debits has made a tremendous difference, but there are a lot of people in Wales who do not have a bank account, do not have a credit or debit card.

“And we could see people have tremendous difficulty in the coming year once cuts to things like housing benefit are introduced.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

£1.8m tax bill for empty offices

Taxpayers have stumped up £1.8m in rent for empty offices, says a new report.

The Stormont Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the IDB took on 25-year leases in Campsie for offices that were never occupied.

The leases taken out in 1991 and 1992 were brought to an end by IDB’s successor – Invest Northern Ireland – in 2008 and 2010.

PAC chair Paul Maskey said the government had been left for 19 years with “white elephants”.

Mr Maskey said the absence of risk management meant that the opportunity to break the Campsie lease after four years was never taken.

He said PAC was also concerned about poor project management and record keeping.

“Significantly, there was no inquiry into why the options to break the leases were missed. Such an inquiry would have allowed the epartment (of Enterprise, Trade and Investment) to determine whether any individual was culpable of negligence or misconduct and to learn valuable lessons,” he said.

The report also dealt with the Synergy e-Business Incubator (ScBI) in west Belfast.

It said there were similar failings in risk management, project management, record keeping and monitoring of performance.

For £1.2m investment, just 41 sustainable jobs in six companies were created as opposed to 100 jobs in 20 companies, the report said.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

How to count Times Square crowds

Twice a year, a company commissions counts of the number of people walking through New York’s Times Square.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Puppet dictator?

The remarkable rise of North Korea’s heir apparent

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Oldest twins’ secret to long life? Whisky and pastis

Whisky and Pastis mixed in with the odd piece of exercise sounds like the ideal recipe and it seems it’s the secret behind a long life.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Harman to close Labour conference

Harriet Harman is expected to say Labour must have a “laser focus on the future”

Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman will bring the party conference to a close when she delivers the final address to delegates.

Ms Harman is expected to speak about an “historic conference” which has been a “rollercoaster of emotions”.

It has seen the appointment of a new leader in Ed Miliband, and also the resignation of his elder brother David from front-line politics.

David Miliband lost the leadership election by just over 1% on Saturday.

He ended days of speculation when he announced on Wednesday that he would not serve in Ed’s shadow cabinet.

The former foreign secretary, who had been the long-time favourite to succeed Gordon Brown, said he would stay on as an MP and continue to serve the party.

During her closing speech, which is traditionally a light-hearted affair, Ms Harman is expected to say while the party is “disappointed” to be in opposition, it must have a “laser focus on the future”.

She will tell delegates in Manchester that Labour is “sobered by the scale of the challenge that lies ahead” but fortified by the determination of the new leader.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Channel 4 News, Ed Miliband gave his strongest signal yet that he would put up taxes in order to protect public services from spending cuts.

Mr Miliband said he would raise taxes – by more than former chancellor Alistair Darling had planned in the previous Labour government – to help pay off Britain’s deficit.

“We should look to do more from taxation. For example, taking more from banks or tackling tax avoidance,” he said.

“If we can protect ordinary families with higher taxes on banks, of course we should.”

Some 49 Labour MPs have put their names forward for the shadow cabinet elections. The candidates, including a host of former ministers and several without ministerial experience, are competing for 19 seats around the table.

Rosie Winterton was elected unopposed as opposition chief whip after Mr Miliband asked incumbent Nick Brown – a close ally of former prime minister Gordon Brown – not to stand.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Heavy security for Ayodhya ruling

Security is tight in Ayodhya ahead of the court order

Ten of thousands of security personnel have been deployed across northern India ahead of a court ruling on the long-running Ayodhya religious dispute.

Helicopters are keeping watch overhead and authorities have urged calm amid fears the ruling could spark unrest.

The Allahabad High Court will decide who owns land where Hindu mobs tore down a 16th Century mosque in 1992.

Hindus claim the site of the Babri Masjid is the birthplace of their God, Ram, and want to build a temple there.

Kashmir agitators to be released

Protest in Srinagar on 14 September 2010

The protests are the biggest security challenge to Indian rule in many years

Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir say men detained for pelting stones at security forces during the ongoing protests will be released immediately.

More than 100 civilians have been killed since June in protests against Indian rule.

Most of the clashes have been between young people throwing stones and Indian security forces.

India has announced a range of measures to defuse tension in the region.

A senior official in Indian-administered Kashmir said that 50 of the nearly 100 men held for stone-throwing would be handed over to their parents after “assurance” was given about the agitators’ future conduct.

Authorities have also decided to remove 16 bunkers used by security forces in the summer capital, Srinagar, which has seen the most violence during recent periods of unrest.

They said they were also reviewing the possibility of removing the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives sweeping powers to the army, from some disturbed areas.

The moves are part of an eight-point initiative announced by India’s federal government to ease the crisis in the region.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir since an armed revolt erupted in 1989.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.