Brussels is stifling City of London, Cameron claims

David Cameron signalled new European battles ahead as he pledged to resist alleged attempts by Brussels to shackle the City of London in red tape. The Prime Minister echoed claims that the emergence of a two-tier Europe following the financial crisis could result in a wave of EU directives that would harm the Square Mile. The Government has said it is determined to prevent the 17 members of the eurozone acting as a bloc to thwart the interests of the 10 EU states, including Britain, that have retained their own currencies.

Qantas grounds all flights

Australia’s Qantas Airways grounded its entire fleet on Saturday over a bitter labour dispute in an unprecedented move that prompted the government to warn it feared for the airline’s future and would seek action to end the dispute. EDITOR’S CHOICE Strikes cost A$15m-a week in lost sales - Oct-28 US airlines earnings hit by fuel costs - Oct-27 Lufthansa scales back passenger forecasts - Oct-27 Virgin eyes tie-up with Etihad on BMI - Oct-14 Qantas overhauls lossmaking international operations - Aug-16 Qantas said it would lock out all employees from Monday night in a dispute affecting 70,000 passengers and 600 flights on one of the country’s biggest travel weekends. The grounding does not affect Qantas’ budget airline Jetstar or code-share flights on other airlines. Passengers will get a full refund for flights cancelled due to the industrial action, Qantas said on its website. Customers can also rebook their flights for a later date. The announcement took passengers and the government by surprise, embarrassing Prime Minister Julia Gillard who was hosting a Commonwealth leaders summit in Perth. Some of those leaders are booked to fly home on Sunday with Qantas. Unions, from pilots to caterers, have taken strike action since September over pay and opposing Qantas plans to cut its soaring costs, as it looks at setting up two new airlines in Asia and cutting back financially draining long-haul flights. “They are trashing our strategy and our brand. They are deliberately destabilising the company. Customers are now fleeing from us,” Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said.

Lights go out at troubled clubs operator Luminar

The banks behind Luminar, the operator of 76 nightclubs, decided to turn off the lights and music and place it into administration last night. Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland pulled the plug despite Luminar saying as recently as 27 September that trading had "stabilised", like-for-like sales had risen and the performance of its "Fuzzy Logic" student nights during Freshers' Week had been "encouraging". But Luminar, which owns Oceana, Liquid and Lava & Ignite clubs across the UK, said it would be placed into administration soon after trading in its shares was suspended yesterday. The three banks had previously agreed to waive covenant tests on 11 May, and then extended these to 27 October to allow Luminar to "investigate longer-term restructuring options". But the company failed to find an answer to its debt burden and said that, as a result, it had "no option but to take steps to place the company and certain of its subsidiaries into administration". As of 26 February, Luminar had debts of £91.5m. Simon Douglas, chief executive of Luminar since March 2010, was running the entertainment chain Zavvi when it collapsed in 2008. Earlier this month, the licence for Luminar's Lava & Ignite club in Northampton was suspended after Nabila Nanfuka, 22, was crushed to death at a student night there.

Libya: Col Gaddafi buried at dawn

Officials said earlier that the ousted Libyan leader would be buried in a secret desert grave, ending a wrangle over his rotting corpse that led many to fear for the country's governability. Transitional government forces had put the body on show in a cold store in Misurata while they argued over what to do with it, until its decay forced them on Monday to end the display. His son Mutassim is thought to have been buried in the same ceremony. A few relatives and officials were in attendance, according to a Misurata military council official. Yesterday, the government bowed to international pressure and announced a commission to determine how Gaddafi died after he was cornered in a drain while trying to flee Sirte, his besieged home town. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the NTC, and other officials have said Gaddafi was killed in crossfire. Mr Jalil said: "In response to international calls, we have started to put in place a commission tasked with investigating the circumstances of Muammar Gaddafi's death in the clash with his circle as he was being captured."

Pop legend Madonna today told a court of her 'alarm and distress' after a delusional fan, who believes the star loves him, broke into her £10million London home and rifled through her bedding.

Grzegorz Matlok, 30, burgled a mews house linked to the singer's luxury townhouse in Marylebone, central London, and stole a can of Red Bull after wandering through two bedrooms and a living room.

Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12 by Madonna's former gardener-turned film director Nathan Rissman, 39, who was staying in the mews at the time.

When he was quizzed over what he was doing and told Madonna was not staying there, he said: 'I'm sorry. Arrest me, arrest me'.

He later told police he had been given permission by the singer and had found a welcome note from her.

A map with a large 'M' scrawled over Madonna's home and a bag containing a safety knife, nail scissors, a coach ticket from Poland and Matlok's passport were found in a bag outside the property.

A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate Madonna used to share with ex-husband Ritchie and was caught putting on his clothes.  

The 'Music' star was heard to be 'distressed and unsettled' by Matlok's two successful break-ins and said she feared for the safety of herself, her four children and her staff.

Prosecutor Philip Stott said: 'It appears that the defendant took a route, by examination of the lights he had turned on, through the lounge and kitchen and into a bedroom and dressing area and then gone through an inter connecting door where again he had gone into a bedroom and dressing room, where he disturbed some bed clothes.'

Matlok had broken into the house after smashing a window with a stone and using a rope and scaffolding to enter one of the three properties by a first floor window.

The court heard he had travelled to England from Poland by coach a few days before the burglary on March 12.

Mr Stott said that in interview Matlok told Madonna's security manager he was there 'To see Madonna' and afterwards told police she had okayed his visit.

Country house: A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate (pictured) Madonna used to share with ex-husband Guy Ritchie

'He told the police he had permission to stay in the flat and that Madonna knew he was coming,' said the barrister.

'He said he had found a note saying welcome and he went inside.

'He said he had been at the address two or three days earlier, but no one had answered the doorbell.

'He said he was not there to steal anything - he said he had sent messages to Madonna over the internet to say he was going to turn up.' 

In a victim impact statement read to the court Madonna said: 'I do not know the defendant, I've not had any form of relationship with the defendant nor have I had any form of contact by phone or by email, or by any other way, with the defendant.

'In particular I've never given the defendant permission to enter the premises or any of my other premises.

'I feel very alarmed and distressed by the actions of the defendant.

When Matlok broke into Wiltshire home, he was restrained by Guy Ritchie (pictured)

'It is extremely unsettling to know that despite the extensive security I have he has been able to break into two of my residential properties.

'I'm worried about my children's safety as well as the safety of my staff. I'm also naturally worried about my own safety.' 

The court heard that Matlok suffered from 'delusions that Madonna loved him' but, according to consultant psychiatrist Dr Nadji Kahtan, his schizophrenia could be controlled by medication.

'In hospital he's fully compliant and has expressed no wish to stop taking it [his medication] and he says he wishes to still take it because he recognises that he has a mental illness,' he said.

'We feel that the best way to manage his illness is for him to continue to be treated at a hospital in England until he can be moved to a hospital in Poland.' 

The court heard however that Matlok had attacked someone in his cell and had been 'rather aggressive' to women, including nurses.

When Matlok broke into the Wiltshire home of Guy Ritchie he was found by a housekeeper cowering under the bed of an 'outhouse'.

Mr Stott said he had to be restrained by Mr Ritchie, a gamekeeper and 'The Football Factory' director Nick Love.

'He had taken cash from Mr Ritchie and Mr Love and had put on a pair of Mr Ritchie's jeans,' he said.

Batteries, a torch, a bottle of shampoo and three credit cards had also been moved, according to Mr Ritchie, but no further action was taken and Matlok was deported in August 2010.

In June Matlok reportedly attempted suicide by setting fire to his cell and was said to have been dragged to safety by prison guards.

Madonna, 53, was not in the property at the time, having taken her four children - Lourdes, 14, Rocco, 10, Mercy, 6, and David, 5 -  to Michigan in the U.S. to pay her respects to her late grandmother Elsie Mae Fortin.

Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12

The Pole, who is being held at a secure psychiatric unit, was flanked by hospital staff and assisted by an interpreter at Southwark Crown Court today.

Matlok has admitted burgling the office in Marylebone but denied two charges of burglary relating to a house connected to it, both of which are owned by 'Madonna Ciccone'.

The two charges he denied were ordered to lie on the court file after prosecutors accepted Matlok's plea.

The burglary took place six months after Madonna was targeted by a man who was arrested outside her New York apartment carrying two knives.

Judge Deborah Taylor was expected to order Matlok's detention under the Mental Health Act, 1983, this afternoon.

Knight Frank partners share £73m bonus pool

PARTNERS in the upmarket estate agent Knight Frank have landed a £73m payout after profits rose by 10 per cent in the last financial year, buoyed by foreign investors flocking to London’s luxury property market. The firm, which advises on both residential and commercial property deals, saw pre-tax profits rise to £101.9m in the year to March – its highest level since the credit crisis – while turnover increased seven per cent to £308.4m. “Equity rich buyers” seeking property in London helped boost the firm’s residential arm, which has instructed on deals including the sale of St John’s Wood Barracks in northwest London. The bonus pool is more than double the amount awarded in 2009, although it is now shared by more people as Knight Frank has extended its partnership. Nick Thomlinson, senior partner and chairman of Knight Frank, conceded he remained cautious about the outlook for the year ahead but said the group had strengthened its balance sheet and was focusing on growth in key markets like Asia. The firm also opened new offices in Dubai, South Africa, Austria and Switzerland.

The slain Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi secretly spirited out of Libya and invested overseas more than $200 billion

The slain Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi secretly spirited out of Libya and invested overseas more than $200 billion -- double the amount that Western governments previously had suspected, The Los Angeles Times reported late Friday. Citing unnamed senior Libyan officials, the newspaper said US administration officials were stunned last spring when they found $37 billion in Libyan regime accounts and investments in the United States. They quickly froze the assets before Kadhafi or his aides could move them, the report said. Governments in France, Italy, England and Germany seized control of another $30 billion or so. Earlier, investigators estimated that Kadhafi had stashed perhaps another $30 billion elsewhere in the world, for a total of about $100 billion, the paper noted. But subsequent investigations by US, European and Libyan authorities determined that Kadhafi secretly sent tens of billions more abroad over the years and made sometimes lucrative investments in nearly every major country, including much of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, The Times said. Most of the money was under the name of government institutions such as the Central Bank of Libya, the Libyan Investment Authority, the Libyan Foreign Bank, the Libyan National Oil Corporation and the Libya African Investment Portfolio, the paper pointed out. But investigators said Kadhafi and his family members could access any of the money if they chose to, the report said. The new $200 billion figure is about double the prewar annual economic output of Libya, The Times noted. Kadhafi, who lorded over the oil-rich North African nation for 42 years, met a violent end on Thursday after a NATO air attack hit a convoy, in which he was trying to escape from his hometown of Sirte. He survived the air strike but was apparently captured and killed after a shootout between his supporters and new regime fighters.

Spanish banks in €6bn merger talks

Banco Popular, Spain’s fifth-biggest listed bank by assets, has offered to buy its smaller listed rival Banco Pastor in a merger that marks a new stage in the restructuring of the country’s financial sector. In filings published on Friday by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), the market regulator, the banks said they were proposing a friendly all-share deal in which Popular would offer to buy 100 per cent of Pastor. More ON THIS STORY Dismay at Spanish bank restructuring Spain nationalises three more savings banks In depth European banks Santander predicts return to big profits Global Insight Italy and Spain The CNMV had earlier suspended trading in shares of Popular, with a total market value of €4.99bn, and of Pastor, valued at €827m, apparently after news of the discussions leaked before the planned announcement on Monday. At Friday’s share prices, the Popular offer represented a one-third premium for Pastor and valued the target bank at 0.75 times book value, according to the Pastor camp, although Popular’s share price could fall once the suspensions are lifted. CaixaBank, the banking arm of the Barcelona-based La Caixa savings bank, was valued at 0.8 times book value at its flotation earlier this year, but Bankia, comprising Caja Madrid and six others, managed only 0.4 times when it was listed. Three savings banks seized by the official bank rescue fund last month were valued at between zero and 0.12 times book. Until now, the Bank of Spain and the Spanish government have focused on forcing unlisted savings banks to recapitalise themselves and merge with each other to reduce costs and improve efficiency after the collapse of the Spanish housing and construction bubble. Listed banks have been seen as potential buyers rather than takeover targets. “This is only the start,” said one person aware of the talks as the boards of the two companies held separate meetings. “There is going to be a huge shake-out in the banking sector.” Popular is a national Spanish bank that has focused on retail banking and lending to small and medium-sized businesses, while Pastor’s activities are concentrated in the north-western region of Galicia. Pastor – along with four Spanish cajas or savings banks – was one of the nine European banks that failed Europe-wide stress tests in July.

Katie Price a victim of £14k fraud

GLAMOUR girl Katie Price has fallen victim to a fraudster who impersonated the model and stole £14,000. 11 comments Related Stories Jordan’s new man is Danny Cipriani KATIE Price strikes up amazing romance with hunky rugby star – days after dumping toyboy Katie & Leandro in shock 'split'Leandro: I want to marry Katie PriceKatie Price trend is way off- track A busty woman donned a blonde wig and sunglasses during a visit to a bank - believed to be a HSBC in Lincolnshire - and withdrew money. She took out £9,000, followed by two payments of £2,500. The real Katie, 33, who is currently enjoying a fling with rugby ace Danny Cipriani, only learnt of the fraud when her credit cards were rejected during a shopping trip in Brighton. A source told a newspaper: "Katie tried to make a couple of purchases. When she went to pay by credit card, her PIN kept getting declined and the card was eventually blocked – much to her embarrassment. "She tried to pay with three different cards and the same happened with all three. "After calling her bank and speaking directly to her branch manager, she was informed they had received a call from a woman posing as her 24 hours previously who had cancelled the cards. "Katie then asked what the balance of one of her accounts was and informed it was around £14,000 less than the amount she was expecting. A £9,000 withdrawal had been made, followed by two £2,500 ones, and none of them were by her." The source added items were ordered using Katie's credit card details and real address for billing purposes, but were to be delivered to an address in the north. HSBC's fraud department have contacted the police who are trying to track down the person responsible. Investigating officers have obtained CCTV footage of a Jordan look-a-like attempting to withdraw cash. Katie said: "It's really horrible. All I know is that police have footage of these people pretending to be me – I don't even know if it is a man or a woman. "Obviously my ego hopes it was, at least, a female impostor."

Scottish couple who went on the run in Spain to escape fraud charges are to have almost £1m seized under proceeds of crime legislation.

 Anthony Kearney, 46, and 44-year-old Donna McCafferty admitted claiming housing benefit when they had more than £330,000 in offshore accounts. Kearney was jailed for two years in 2008 and McCafferty was given 250 hours community service. At Glasgow Sheriff Court, confiscation orders totalling £943,366 were granted. Kearney and McCafferty were tracked down in the Costa Blanca town of Benissa in November 2008 after being featured in a Crimestoppers appeal to catch on-the-run British suspects. Fraud probe Kearney was later jailed for two years and McCafferty was given 250 hours community service. The couple, who have a son together, admitted committing benefit fraud by claiming housing benefit when they had more than £330,000 in offshore accounts. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote This case should also be a warning to those who think that targeting public funds...is an easy way to make money” Lesley Thomson QC Solicitor General Kearney also claimed for almost £23,000 in income support and pocketed more than £10,000 from credit card frauds. They went on the run after a money laundering investigation was launched against them in May 2004. At Glasgow Sheriff Court, a confiscation order for £930,362 was made against Kearney, and a confiscation order for £13,003 was made against McCafferty. Solicitor General, Lesley Thomson QC, said: "Anthony Kearney and Donna McCafferty lied about their circumstances to rob the public purse of thousands of pounds in benefit fraud before fleeing to Spain to try and escape justice. "They were arrested on an international warrant within 24 hours of a Crimestoppers' appeal - which featured them on a "most-wanted" list - and extradited back to Scotland. "This case should also be a warning to those who think that targeting public funds through criminal enterprise is an easy way to make money, and a reminder that the proceeds of crime legislation covers a wide range of offences where there has been financial benefit." Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said benefit thieves were costing the taxpayer almost £1bn per year. "This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves overseas," he said. "In addition to the sentence imposed by the court, the department always seeks to recover the money falsely obtained, to ensure that cheats do not benefit from their criminal activities."