David Cameron and his father, Ian, in April. Friends of the PM say he inherited Ian Cameron’s ‘unstoppableness’. Photograph: Johnny Green/PA The prime minister’s father, Ian Cameron, died today shortly after his son had cancelled his engagements and flown to the south of France to be at his bedside at a hospital near Toulon. He [...]

Barclays Bank HQ, Canary Wharf, City of London. Lobbyists say big banks could move their headquarters abroad. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian City firms are stepping up their efforts to block moves to break up Britain’s high street banks as the appointment of Bob Diamond to take control of Barclays bank propelled banking reform [...]

Brian Lenihan, the Irish finance minister, in 2009. The two new institutions created from Anglo Irish will not be able to lend any more money. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA The Irish government today split up the troubled Anglo Irish Bank into two separate entities: a so-called bad bank and a one to manage deposits. Anglo, which [...]

David Cameron’s father Ian Cameron with his wife Mary. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters David Cameron’s father died today after a suffering a stroke on holiday, shortly after the prime minister arrived at his bedside at a hospital in the south of France where he was being treated. Downing Street confirmed that Ian Cameron, who was 77, [...]

George Osborne at No 11 Downing Street yesterday. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA George Osborne today defended the coalition government’s planned spending cuts, claiming they would help create a more progressive society and that income distribution was not the only measure of fairness. The...