December 01, 2008
Antarctic seas richer in life than Galapagos Islands, study claims
Seas surrounding an archipelago near the tip of the Antarctic peninsula are richer in animal life than the Galapagos Islands, challenging the notion that warm seas in tropical zones are higher in biodiversity, scientists claimed today.
Much less is known about the South Orkney islands than the tropical islands that helped to shape Charles Darwin's thoughts about natural selection on his Beagle voyage. But according to a new study published today by the Journal of Biogeography, the sea around them is teeming with a huge variety of life. The survey disproves the notion that the waters in chilly polar regions have a much poorer variety of fauna.
"There has been a long-held belief that the tropics are rich and the polar regions are poor and mid-latitudes are somewhere in between," said Dr David Barnes at the British Antarctic Survey, who led the study, part of the international Census of Marine Life. "This is the first time we've been able to actually look at the fauna of a polar archipelago – it is not actually that poor at all."
Barnes said the reason for carrying out the survey was to give a baseline from which changes in biodiversity due to global warming can be judged. "This is in the part of the world with fastest change in terms of temperature," he said.
The Antarctic peninsula has already experienced warming of 3C over the past 50 years. "If you don't know what the fauna is at any one point it is very difficult to detect either species moving in or species moving out", he added.
The survey recorded 1,224 species in 50 different biological classes. The team discovered five new species and one genus - the biological category that is higher than species - that was new to science. The new species are all sea mosses (bryozoans) or isopods (woodlouse-like animals) but they have not been given names yet.
The team also scoured reports from scientific expeditions and the scientific literature going back decades to find every mention of species observed in the region in a bid to create the most complete and authoritative list of creatures that have ever been found there.
But studying the sea creatures off the South Orkneys is not for the faint hearted - and a far cry from the balmy waters around the Galapagos. Barnes's team had to brave biting winds that frequently stopped them from working.
And while diving in the freezing waters, they had to keep an eye out for potential attacks by orcas and leopard seals. If either predator came near they had to stop diving by climbing onto the British Antarctic Survey's Royal research vessel James Clark Ross or scrambling to shore.
"Although that sounds dramatic, weather is a far bigger issue," said Barnes. "It stops us working far more and makes our work far more hazardous ... Sometimes it's much warmer under the water - it's only minus one and a half [degrees]!"
Once underwater though the view is spectacular. "," said Barnes, who has dived extensively on coral reefs and all over the world.
"I don't think I've been anywhere where you can see so many different types of major groups of animals all in one place.
"You would have to swim quite a long way in the UK or maybe cover hundreds of metres in a coral reef to see so many types of animals that you can see in a very small space at the polar regions."
He said that the marine environment off the South Orkneys is also pristine and free from invasive species. "It is literally the only place in the world where you can dive and not see alien species. Everything you can see in front of you is native to Antarctica."
None of the trawls of the ocean depths brought up any plastic waste – something expected anywhere else in the world. The only human crafted item the team did uncover was a piece of lead shot that was probably fired by whalers who used the South Orkneys as a base at the turn of the last century.
The team's survey covered all realms of sea life. As well as diving in the shallows they also trawled the sea bottom to a depth of 1,500m using nets and employed a special sled that when dragged across the bottom could collect even very tiny creatures. Its sieve held everything bigger than 0.3mm.
Other team members combed the intertidal zone of the islands to survey life in rock pools and living on the shore.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsKids Search
It's surprising how much I learn by watching my kids (now 13, 11 and 8) go through school today. I've mentioned before the experience of the Ten Year Old Wikipedia Update and also my questioning of Cursive Writing. The most recent aha is the learning associated with kids search behavior.
My recent experience was my son's write-up of his science assignment around oobleck. I didn't know it at the time, but upon consulting the define: operator (based on my son's suggestion) in Google:
Oobleck is a popular name used to refer to a stiff mixture of corn starch and water (1 part water to 1.5-2 parts corn starch) often used as a ...First learning for me was that my son has transitioned away from any use of a paper dictionary to using the define: operator. Various teachers have banned the use of this approach (along with banning any citation of Wikipedia). But, they've not banned citing qualified sources found through those sources. So, for my kids search has become the starting point for a lot and they know that define: and Wikipedia provide starting points. And, please don't try to convince them of the value of the various dictionaries that are within arms reach of the computer. After all, then they can't copy-and-paste both the definition and the citation.
www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/science/scicontinuum/sciglossarylz.htm
Back to his write-up. As I tried to help him, one of the questions was basically why did oobleck turn into a solid under pressure. I really didn't know the answer. After some Google searching we found that it was caused by basically squeezing the water out leaving a solid.
Along the way, he also found this great video that he provide to his teacher showing people running on oobleck and that they sink if they stop. Since, their experiments were with small amounts, this was really cool to see.
Live: Barack Obama appoints Hillary Clinton to the state department
President-elect Barack Obama announces his national security team at a press conference in Chicago
Jacqui Smith accused of failing in her duties in Damian Green row
Jacqui Smith was today accused of failing in her duties as home secretary as the controversy about the arrest of Damian Green developed into a major row between the political parties.
Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said it was "astonishing" that Smith had been unwilling to take responsibility for the police's decision to arrest Green and raid his office in the Commons.
Some MPs at Westminster have been concentrating their fire on the Speaker of the Commons, Michael Martin, who they believe should have refused the police access to Green's office in the Commons.
But, in a sign that the Tories are determined to turn this into a party-political issue, Grieve used an interview on the BBC's World at One to launch a strong attack on the competence of the home secretary.
Separately, Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, revealed at a Westminster briefing that he had been in contact with David Cameron's office to discuss tactics over this issue. He said that the Liberal Democrats had not ruled out joining the Tories in a protest on the floor of the Commons.
Earlier today Smith said that the police had to be allowed to carry out their statutory investigation into the alleged leaking of information from the Home Office without "fear or favour".
Green was arrested on suspicion of soliciting leaked material, although he has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
"It is serious when a senior politician is arrested," Smith said. "But what I am absolutely clear about is that no one is above the law, and the police should carry out their statutory investigation without fear or favour."
Smith repeatedly dodged questions over whether she had known the investigation involved a member of parliament, insisting simply that she "didn't know the specifics of the investigation".
But Grieve told The World at One that it was "astonishing" that Smith did not know about the details of the investigation. He said that the situation was "out of control, chaotic".
The allegations against Green "amount, frankly, to nothing at all", Grieve said. All he had done was to receive information from a civil servant that was "massively in the public interest".
The shadow home secretary went on: "I find it astonishing that [Smith] has been washing her hands of this in this fashion she has been doing in the last 72 hours. She is the person who has to account for police failures.''
At his briefing Clegg said that he was writing to the Speaker demanding a full debate on the annual orders relating to MPs' privileges at the end of the debate on the Queen's speech.
The Lib Dem leader also said he was writing to the Home Office demanding further details of when Smith was told about the decision to arrest Green, and that he was writing to the Metropolitan police to find out what magistrates were told before they issued a warrant allowing Green's offices to be searched.
Asked about the Green case today, the prime minister's spokesman said: "The prime minister's view is that this is a matter for the police and it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of this case.
"The prime minister does believe that there are a number of important principles that need to be considered.
"The first is, as the leader of the house was saying yesterday, that the law shouldn't interfere with MPs doing their job. But it is also the case that MPs are not above the law.
"The third principle is that the impartiality and professionalism of the civil service should not be undermined. And finally, the police should be operationally independent."
The prime minister's spokesman said that there were a number of important principles that needed to be considered, and there would be a time when specific issues arising from the investigation could be discussed. "But it wouldn't be appropriate to get into a discussion now on the specifics of this case because that could potentially undermine an ongoing police investigation and it is important that we don't compromise the operational independence of the police.
"We don't know the full facts of this case and therefore it is important that we don't rush to judgment. We need to be very careful we know what the full facts are before reaching any judgment on this."
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsBaby P report: Balls removes council child protection chief
Independent inquiry finds 'catalogue of failures' in Haringey council's handling of case
Simon Cowell's lawyers warn press about harassment
Newspapers have been warned not to harass X Factor judge Simon Cowell after a tracking device was allegedly found attached to his car. By Ben Dowell
Manchester congestion charge plan gets Ferguson backing
Proposed scheme offers chance to put region 'in the premier league for public transport', says United manager
Venice sees worst flooding in 20 years
Water in Venice has risen to its highest level in more than 20 years, leaving much of the famously waterlogged city and its tourists struggling with floods.
City officials say the sea level topped 156cm (61in) today, well past the 110cm flood mark, with most streets submerged.
A new siren system was sounded this morning to warn residents that the levels were about to exceed 140cm.
Among the areas affected was St Mark's Square, the landmark piazza that is the lowest point in the city.
Workers were unable to install the raised wooden walkways used during flooding because the water rose too high and too quickly under heavy rains.
Ansa news agency reports said around 40% of the city's historic buildings had been affected. The city mayor, Massimo Cacciari, advised residents to stay at home.
Resident and travel writer Nan McElroy said "icy water" was calf-high at the entrance to her building and bags of uncollected rubbish were floating in the water.
Writing on her blog, she said neighbours in the flat below had been forced to evacuate after the flood defences failed.
The city is due to complete a flood barrier in the form of an underwater dam by 2011. But the Moses flood barrier system is facing a funding shortfall.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsClinton prepares to join Obama
If the anticipated appointment of Hillary Clinton as the next US secretary of state dismayed Barack Obama's most ardent supporters, the formal announcement of the rest of his national security team today may tip them into a state of shock.
The line-up will include "two veteran cold warriors and a political rival whose records are all more hawkish than that of the new president", the New York Times observes.
On the west coast, the Los Angeles Times says that the president-elect has signed up "strong-willed senior officials [who] are ready to argue forcefully for differing points of view".
Left-leaning Democrats who backed Obama are becoming anxious about the allocation of top posts in the new administration, the Washington Post points out. "Obama has favoured experience over ideology as he formed his national security cabinet," the paper says.
On the Huffington Post there is praise for the accumulated wisdom hauled in to serve under Obama's presidency but anxiety about whether the appointment signals a slippage in the promised timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
The Politico website characterises Obama's soon-to-be confirmed appointees as "big names, big intellects and big egos".
The Obama-Clinton deal has also involved former president Bill Clinton
agreeing to disclose the list of "208,000 donors" to his political foundation, the Guardian notes.
• Based on an extract from the Wrap, guardian.co.uk's digest of the day's news
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsHow do you beat jet lag?
Do you suffer from desynchronosis? You know, chronic tiredness, disorientation, stomach upsets, and stinging red-eyes? Jet lag, as it's more commonly known, can consign you to the zombie zone, usually populated only by new parents.
Ahead of the Lancet medical journal unveiling research tomorrow on a possible cure for jet lag, we'd like you to share your tips for beating it.
There's a fairly obvious and simple one, of course: don't fly. But acknowledging the fact that people do fly to go on holiday, or have to fly for work or to see family members, we'd like to pass on your tips. Do you avoid alcohol and caffeine and max out on tomato juice and water, as recommended on the NHS website? Do you stay up all night before a long flight or starve yourself to trick your body into thinking it's in another time zone? Do you take homeopathic pills or ingest the extract from the bark of a French pine tree for seven days, as advocated by another recent medical survey? Or do you simply hit the sleeping pills?
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsIsraeli navy blocks Gaza aid ship
The Israeli navy today prevented a Libyan ship carrying 3,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid for Palestinians from docking in Gaza.
The al-Marwa, carrying food, blankets and powdered milk, attempted to challenge Israel's tight economic blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has worsened in recent weeks.
But as the ship approached Gazan water at dawn, an Israeli naval ship ordered it to turn back. The al-Marwa headed south and has reportedly docked at al-Arish, an Egyptian port in the northern Sinai just south of Gaza.
An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said there was no physical contact with the ship but it was ordered back by radio. "This is a policy we have had for a long time: if somebody wants to bring in humanitarian aid they can do it through the border with Egypt or the Israeli passages into Gaza," said the spokesman, Andy David.
However, since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas won parliamentary elections nearly three years ago, Israel has imposed ever tighter restrictions on Gaza.
When Hamas took full control of Gaza last summer those restrictions became an economic blockade, while Egypt has also kept its one crossing into Gaza at Rafah largely closed.
As a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza has unravelled in the past month, so the blockade has again been tightened. Deliveries of food, aid and fuel have been prevented on most days and journalists have been barred from entering.
Three smaller boats carrying activists and some aid successfully crossed into Gaza from Cyprus without being stopped by the Israeli navy. However, the Israelis moved quickly to prevent the Libyan ship, which carried a much larger cargo, from entering.
A crowd of Palestinians had gathered at the Gaza City harbour from early in the morning ready to meet the ship. Five trucks waited to offload the aid.
"The civilian boat carrying only humanitarian supplies and food was turned away by an Israeli warship," said Jamal Khoudary, a Palestinian MP and head of Gaza's Popular Committee against the Siege.
Some reports suggested the aid might now be unloaded in Egypt and delivered by road, although until now Egypt has been reluctant to turn the Rafah crossing with Gaza into a regular route for deliveries. Egypt does not want to assume responsibility for the strip and is also wary of the influence of Hamas.
Concern is mounting about the humanitarian conditions inside Gaza. Its sole power plant, which relies on fuel deliveries from Israel, paid for by the European Union, was closed for two weeks in November and only restarted last Thursday.
Israel says the crossings are being closed because of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel and because of reported security threats on the crossings themselves.
Every few days a shipment of food or fuel is allowed in but figures from the UN show in the past month an average of less than five truckloads a day have been allowed in, compared to 123 in October and 475 in May last year, just before Hamas took control of Gaza.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsVideo: Australia pays tribute to Danish architect Jørn Utzon
The visionary designer of the Sydney Opera House dies of a heart attack at the age of 90
Balls to make statement on Baby P report
Report into state of child protection in Haringey, ordered in response to death of Baby P, handed to children's secretary
UK closer to joining euro, EU commission president says
The UK is "closer" to joining the euro than ever before, according to the president of the European commission.
José Manuel Barroso said some British politicians were considering signing up to the single currency in a bid to beat the effects of the global economic crisis.
He told French radio station RTL: "We are now closer than ever before.
"I'm not going to break the confidentiality of certain conversations, but some British politicians have already told me, 'If we had the euro, we would have been better off.'"
But Barroso admitted that the majority of people in the UK were still opposed to the idea of joining the single currency.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "We have no comment on this. Our position on the euro is the same - it has not changed."
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said it was "extraordinary" that the government was "whispering to the EU commission about joining the euro behind the British people's backs".
"Keeping the pound is vital for Britain's economic future," he said. "We need interest rates that are right for Britain, not the rest of Europe. There are no circumstances in which the next Conservative government will propose joining the euro.
"If Labour ministers still want to get Britain into the euro they should come out and say so. We will be putting questions to the government to find out what conversations have been going on."
Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence party, said: "The ruling elite would love to bounce us into the euro and will grasp at any straw to do so, for it's a step on the way to their dream and our nightmare, a federal superstate.
"We're told that some British politicians have said, 'If we had the euro, we would have been better off.' Whoever these people are we need to hunt them down and explain some simple economics to them. Membership of the euro would have meant lower interest rates in the boom, making the bubble even larger. And it would mean higher interest rates now in the bust, making the recession even deeper. The pound has fallen against both the dollar and the euro thus providing us with that fiscal boost that everyone says is so necessary, a boost which we couldn't have had if we were in the euro."
He said that if Barroso wanted to consult the people who mattered in Britain he should call for a referendum on the euro and the Lisbon treaty "so that the people of Britain can tell him where to go".
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsThai protesters allow planes to leave Bangkok airport
Empty planes were today being flown out of Thailand's main international airport after anti-government protesters, who have blockaded the site for almost a week, agreed to their removal.
The planes, which have sat idle on the apron at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport, were flown to other Thai airports and some will be used to ferry the 100,000 stranded foreign travellers out of the country.
The minor advance in the standoff came as People's Alliance for Democracy (Pad) demonstrators began moving from the government headquarters they have occupied for three months to bolster numbers at Suvarnabhumi and Bangkok's barricaded domestic airport.
With no sign of police moves to end the deadlock and the misery of travellers, the airports authority warned it would take at least a week to reopen Suvarnabhumi even after the occupation ended because security and computer systems may have been compromised.
"Normally checking the IT systems takes one week," said Serirat Prasutanond. "We have to check, recheck, check, recheck."
Meanwhile, pro-government protestors, who rallied for a second day in Bangkok, feared a constitutional court ruling tomorrow could be used by Thailand's royalist-military establishment as a back-door way to break the deadlock.
The court, which has moved with uncharacteristic haste, will decide if the ruling People Power party (PPP) and two other coalition partners should be disbanded for electoral fraud, a move that would bar the prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, from politics for five years.
But even that might not satisfy Pad's desire to force a new election as many PPP MPs could switch allegiance to a new "shell" party.
Airline operators said they intended to put the rescued planes into service quickly at the U-Tapao airbase, which has been used to repatriate about 30,000 travellers so far, and other airports like Phuket and Chiang Mai.
France said today it had chartered a plane to help its stranded nationals get home. The flight was due to arrive in Thailand tomorrow and depart on Wednesday, with priority being given to "the most urgent situations", according to the French foreign ministry.
But for many tourists whose airlines have shown little inclination to use more creative solutions to get them out of the country, they feel trapped and demoralised, unable to enjoy their extended holiday.
"We're so tired. When can we go?" asked the Iranian Ali Golbabei. The 25-year-old was told government vouchers for accommodation had run out, but he had no money left after holidaying in Pattaya. "No one is helping us."
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsPick of the week: Men's partywear
The challenge for men on a night out is not to look as if you're going to a fancy dress party
James Wignall: Trying to find the fun in sing-along Mamma Mia!
James Wignall: If this is a good example of communal cinema, I'd rather lose the goody bag and stay at home with a DVD
Climate Change Committee sets new targets to reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by at least one-fifth from today's levels
Dramatic new targets to reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by at least one-fifth from today's levels in just over a decade were proposed today by the government's Climate Change Committee.
The recommendation, if accepted by ministers, will mean big increases in renewable energy, home insulation and electric and hybrid cars and vans. Green energy would produce 30% of the UK's electricity by 2020 and 40% of new cars would be low emissions by 2020. Changes in public behaviour were also needed, such as better driving to reduce fuel use and eating less "carbon-intensive" meat like beef, said the committee.
The report further recommends tough new rules to make coal plants fit equipment to capture and store their carbon emissions as soon as the early 2020s, which would push up operating costs and might slow government plans for up to eight new plants until the technology has been proven.
In its first report on how the UK could meet pledge to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050, the committee recommended an interim target for 2020 of 34%, or 42% if there is a global deal to cut emissions. These cuts, which go further than existing government commitments, equate to cuts from recent levels of 21% or 31%.
Buying emissions reductions in developing countries will only be allowed to count if the higher target is adopted.
The report, Building a Low-carbon Economy - The UK's Contribution to Tackling Climate Change, estimates the changes would cost less than 1% of the national economic wealth in 2020. The figure includes the bill for helping up to 1.7 million people who would otherwise be pushed into fuel poverty by electricity and gas price increases.
"In other words, an economy that might grow by 30% in the period to 2020, would instead grow by 29%," said the committee. "The [committee] advises that this is a price worth paying, given the long-term costs of inaction on climate change."
Campaign group Friends of the Earth (FoE) welcomed the increase in targets but said the committee should have recommended the higher target even if there is no global deal.
"Even a 42% cut would cost less than 1% of [gross domestic product] … it's a small price for us to pay as there are quite a lot of economic opportunities if we move really fast," said Ed Matthew, the group's head of UK climate.
FoE also said the proposed new rules on carbon capture and storage should have been tougher by outlawing any new coal plants without the equipment, and criticised the committee's refusal to condemn government plans to expand aviation, particularly Heathrow airport.
Other critics are likely to question the committee's economic cost estimate because it is based on a forecast that the economy will grow by an average of at least 2% a year, "notwithstanding any short-term macroeconomic considerations".
Mumbai terror attacks: Rice calls for 'total transparency' from Pakistan
US secretary of state urges restraint as India raises security to 'war level' and blames neighbour for Mumbai killing spree
Mortgage approvals fall back following slight rise, says the Bank of England
The number of mortgages approved for house purchases fell back to a record low in October, despite a fall in interest rates at the start of the month, figures showed today.
Lenders approved 32,000 home loans for buyers during the month, the same record low as in August, according to the Bank of England. This reverses a slight uplift in September when 33,000 mortgages were approved.
The value of the loans fell below August's level, however, to £3.9bn, as falling house prices and lending restrictions pushed down the value of each loan.
Mortgage lending for new purchases is running at more than 60% below the level of last October, when 88,000 loans worth a total of £12.2bn were granted to buyers.
The drop follows a year of falls in the housing market, which have shaken the confidence of buyers, and a period in which lenders have clamped down on high loan-to-value deals, with many now insisting on deposits of at least 25%.
October's figures also show a slump in the value of loans advanced during the month, following low approval levels in previous months.
The value of net mortgage lending, which takes into account repayments and redemptions, dived by 70% from £1.5bn in September to just £459m, and represented just 6% of the figure for October 2007.
The fall dragged down the total net lending to individuals, offsetting an increase in the value of other borrowing taken on during the month.
Consumer credit rose to £844m from £345m in September, and made up the majority of the total £1.3bn advanced to borrowers.
The increase was driven by a rise in borrowing on credit cards, which rose from £274m to £398m, and other consumer credit including personal loans and overdrafts, which increased more than six-fold to £446m.
A separate report published yesterday by accountancy PricewaterhouseCoopers also showed an increase in consumer borrowing. It said total borrowing reached £1.5tn in the year to September, driven mainly by a 6% growth in unsecured lending on credit cards and loans.
Building societies slump
Separate figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) show net lending by its members was down 45% year-on-year in October to £413m, but had improved slightly from September's figure of £314m.
Gross mortgage lending stood at £3.2bn, a decline of 30% on October last year.
The director general of the BSA, Adrian Coles, said: "With the depressed state of the housing market, it is no surprise that mortgage lending by societies remains low, albeit slightly improved in September.
"With confidence in the market so restrained, homeowners are choosing to stay put rather than move, while first-time buyers continue to wait for further falls in prices."
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said the low number of approvals suggested house prices "still have a long way to fall".
He added: "Ongoing very tight credit conditions, still relatively stretched housing affordability on a number of measures, recession, faster rising unemployment and widespread expectations that house prices are likely to fall a lot further form a powerful set of negative factors weighing down on the housing market."
The BSA also reported a drop in the value of savings deposits paid into societies. During October, net receipts added up to just £115m, down from £170m in September and just 3% of last October's figure of £3bn.
October 2007 was a record breaking month for payments into societies, which was a result of savers looking for a new home for money taken out of Northern Rock, but this year's figure is still below normal.
Coles said: "With the continuing squeeze on household incomes, people have less to save and are possibly choosing to repay existing debt rather than save."
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsNo one is above the law, says Jacqui Smith in Damian Green row
Jacqui Smith today risked escalating the row over the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green when she insisted "no one is above the law".
The home secretary told the Guardian that the police must be allowed to carry out their statutory investigation without "fear or favour".
"It is serious when a senior politician is arrested," she said. "But what I am absolutely clear about is that no one is above the law and the police should carry out their statutory investigation without fear or favour."
Smith's comments are likely to anger opposition parties who have called on the home secretary to apologise over the incident.
Smith repeatedly dodged questions over whether she had known the investigation involved a member of parliament, insisting simply that she "didn't know the specifics of the investigation".
Earlier today Jack Straw, the justice secretary, denied claims that Green's arrest and the police raid on his office in the Commons meant Britain was "a police state".
The justice secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are not in a police state. A police state would be where ministers were directing a police operation."
When Green, the shadow immigration minister, was arrested last week over allegations that he had procured leaked documents from a civil servant, the police were not following orders from ministers, Straw said.
"We have an independent police service. What's important here is that politicians do not interfere with the natural course of an investigation."
Straw also said that he expected parliament to review the procedures that led to the police raiding Green's office in the Commons. Green strongly denies any wrongdoing.
With MPs from all parties still furious about the way the police were allowed to search Green's office last week and take away his computer and details of constituency correspondence, Straw said that he was "pretty certain" that there would be a parliamentary inquiry into the affair when the case was closed.
The justice secretary also backed Smith's decision not to apologise for what happened to Green.
"If any home secretary had offered an apology, there would have then been a huge furore about the fact that the home secretary was prejudging the actions and activities of the police without an investigation," Straw said.
Straw said that if the Tories were unhappy about what had happened, they could complain to the independent police complaints authority.
MPs have complained that the raid on Green's office in the House of Commons was a breach of parliamentary privilege – the principle the MPs are entitled to special protection to enable them to carry out their work as members of the Commons.
Straw said that he accepted that in this case competing constitutional principles were in play – the right of MPs being free to carry out "legitimate business" on behalf of their constituents, the independence of the police to investigate, and the importance of protecting secrecy and confidentiality "where it is necessary" in government.
Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, will make a statement about the affair to MPs when the new session of parliament begins with the Queen's speech on Wednesday.
Today Denis MacShane, the Labour former minister, said that Martin had to assure MPs that what happened to Green would not happen again.
"The police have made a mistake, I think the Home Office bureaucracy have made a mistake, and I think the Speaker on Wednesday has to say this will not happen again," he told Today.
"The inner sanctum of our parliamentary democracy is the Palace of Westminster and, in the Palace of Westminster, MPs, yes they are protected under privilege when they speak in the House of Commons, but there is a broader constitutional privilege that says they can meet anyone, talk about anything, discuss their political passions, they can hold files, and the police, the agents of the state, do not storm in there and start breaking in or going into offices and taking away confidential files that all our constituents think will be treated confidentially."
He suggested that the situation could not happen if the UK had its own written constitution: "In other countries ... the police would never be allowed into a parliament."
But one of Britain's leading constitutional experts, Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at the University of Oxford, told the programme: "This does seem to me something of a storm in a teacup.
"The important principle is that MPs, apart from when they are speaking in the chamber and dealing with constituents' correspondence, are as subject to the law as the rest of us.
"If the police decide not to take action against an MP which they would against an ordinary citizen then that would be discriminatory.
"Then people might say: 'Well, we are not living in a police state but a state where people, because they have been elected to parliament, have certain exemptions from the law.' That can't be the case. They are subject to the same laws as the rest of us."
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsRyanair launches bid for Aer Lingus
Ryanair has launched a fresh attempt to acquire rival airline Aer Lingus, in a bid to create a single "strong Irish airline group".
The budget airline announced the approach this morning, nearly 18 months after the European commission blocked an earlier takeover bid. Today's offer values Aer Lingus at €748m (£620m) – half the €1.48bn Ryanair offered in 2006.
Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive, claimed that the all-cash deal would give Aer Lingus a strong partner to secure its future and pledged to double the size of Aer Lingus's short-haul fleet within five years.
"Over the past two years, the management of Aer Lingus have failed its shareholders, customers and staff. Its shares have fallen from over €3, to less than €1 recently," said O'Leary.
"We know how to deliver profitability and growth, while Aer Lingus has demonstrated that it cannot."
In response, Aer Lingus noted Ryanair's move and urged shareholders to take no action before it issues a formal statement "in due course".
Ryanair already owns almost 30% of Aer Lingus, following its earlier failed takeover attempt. It is offering to pay €1.40 a share for the outstanding shares, a 25% premium on Aer Lingus's closing share price last Friday.
Like all airlines, Aer Lingus has been badly hit by the surge in the price of oil earlier this year, and the deteriorating economic climate. Last month it announced sweeping job cuts in an effort to cut its bills by €74m.
Ryanair made its first takeover bid in October 2006, shortly after Aer Lingus was floated on the stockmarket. It was opposed by the company and hugely rejected by its shareholders, even before the commission formally blocked the move.
Michael Cawley, Ryanair deputy chief executive, told guardian.co.uk that Aer Lingus should accept that the aviation industry has changed "immeasurably" since 2006.
"Similar airlines are being taken over. If an airline like Iberia with 32 million passengers and a big monopoly to South America cannot survive on its own, then Aer Lingus cannot survive," he said, referring to Iberia's merger talks with British Airways.
Cawley added that lodging a new takeover bid was not a distraction for Ryanair management, who are attempting to keep an aggressive expansion programme on track while steering the airline through an economic downturn. "Ryanair management would retain Aer Lingus management but they would work under our direction. We will not be devoting a lot of time to managing it."
The commission ruled in June last year that a merger between Aer Lingus and Ryanair would have a damaging effect on competition.
To be successful this time, Ryanair will need the support of the Irish government, which owns 25% of Aer Lingus and has consistently rejected Ryanair's advances. The terms of today's deal values that stake at €187m, which Ryanair said would make "a valuable contribution towards current budget spending in areas such as health and education".
Cawley also indicated that Ryanair would sit on its stake in the flag carrier and wait for the Irish state and Aer Lingus board to change their minds.
"The situation in Aer Lingus will continue to deteriorate and Ryanair will continue to get stronger. We will just sit and put on more pressure competitively and the inevitability of a union will become more and more apparent over time."
The Ryanair deputy chief executive also dismissed concerns over the expansion rate of low-cost airlines. EasyJet and Ryanair are adding hundreds of planes to their fleets over the next five years and easyJet's largest shareholder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has warned that the business he founded could face a cash crisis if the European economy deteriorates further. Cawley said Ryanair's November traffic is "stronger than ever".
"I am in charge of new route development and I could use twice as many planes on new routes this year than we actually have. Every time we reduce fares the demand increases."
Like Ryanair, Aer Lingus operates low-cost short-haul services around Europe - as well as long-haul flights to the US from Shannon and Dublin. O'Leary indicated that he was open to discussions about dropping some routes to address competition concerns. He also pledged to abolish Aer Lingus's fuel surcharges, bringing it into line with Ryanair.
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