Monday, March 31, 2014

In praise of Earl Grey, the tea that could tackle heart disease

9:14 AM    No comments

In praise of Earl Grey, the tea that could tackle heart disease

It's not just that the main ingredient in Earl Grey, Bergamot, could help battle illness, this tea tastes good too.

A cup of Earl Grey tea
A cup of Earl Grey tea Photo: Alamy
By 
4:14PM BST 31 Mar 2014
‘Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.’ Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the educated, sophisticated and diplomatic Starfleet Captain, knows a thing or two about perfect inter-galactic refreshment. Not only does the hero of Star Trek: The Next Generation prefer to drink this most delicately flavoured thirst-quencher in any galaxy. But now it emerges - with apologies to Picard’s old friends the Vulcans - that this bergamot infusion enables one to ‘live long [and prosper]’.
For our current generation now learns that Earl Grey tea is more than just a pretty taste. The tea, served in smart households everywhere from Buckingham Palace, Downton Abbey, and even Nigella Lawson’s home (where it pops up in Earl Grey tea cakes), could also lower cholesterol levels and reduce the chance of heart disease, says new Italian research.
Findings from the University of Calabria indicate that nutrients called HMGF (hydroxy methyl glutaryl flavonones), which are present in bergamot, worked just as well on the proteins which cause heart disease and ‘bad’ cholesterol as statins.
Yet, even with so many smart endorsements, and now a proven health benefit, there are certain tea-lovers who – excuse me, while I recover from a quick shudder with a restorative sip of the scented nectar - think Earl Grey is ‘Not All That’.
In fact some people have been heard to make disparaging remarks about this simple black tea, brewed from traditional Camellia sinensis leaves laced with oil of bergamot oranges. Criticisms range from the basic, ‘That muck?’ to the more convoluted view that this tea is blatant aspiration; that Earl Grey is a kind of gateway drug to dreams of a more interesting life. The naysayers claim it the compound de choix when you are 18 wanting to be 28; or Hyacinth Bouquet but dream of being the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Either that, or they snigger that perfumed potpourri as something favoured by the most effete of metrosexual men or, confusingly, lesbian plumbers.
Pish posh, I say. Put the kettle on, Polly, and we can all be reasonable over a warmed pot, a heavenly aroma, and for me – although not for some – a dash of skimmed milk (added after pouring) to leaven the tannins.
For Earl Grey fans – comme moi – are not pretentious. We are sensitive souls with the tastebuds of poets who like to seduce our senses into action of a morning or to simmer us down gently post-heart attack-inducing Newsnight. But don’t confuse us with the wilting violets who favour Lady Grey tea (invented for Norwegians whose delicate noses found the Earl’s blend too pungent), which is unforgiveably spliced with lemon and orange peel, and even dangerously subverted with – ye gods - lavender.
No, tamper with our brew at your peril – as Twining’s found out in 2012 when they decided to tweak with the original flavour and were hit with an online campaign culminating in an outraged Facebook page that quickly racked up 1300 Likes. All the more reason to pour a cup and inhale the scent of bergamot - an oil which, according to research in Taiwan, could lower the blood pressure. Indeed Bergamot is a traditional remedy for stress in aromatherapy, and an antiseptic in Mediterranean folklore.
So my dear Earl Grey – not only are you delicious, you are also down-to-earth efficacious. And I don’t need a spoonful of sugar to help this medicine go down.

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Eurozone inflation drop adds pressure on ECB

9:13 AM    No comments

Eurozone inflation drop adds pressure on ECB

 
A woman walks on waste ground as others sit by one of many tents near the business district of Madrid, Spain, Friday, March 28, 2014. Official data show Spain's inflation rate dipped into negative territory this month, a development likely to add pressure on the European Central Bank to ease its monetary policies. In it's monthly report released Wednesday, the Bank of Spain said that despite the economic recovery, the unemployment rate of 26 percent should edge down to 25 percent this year and to 23.8 percent in 2015. Spain emerged from a double-dip recession in the third quarter of 2013.
A woman walks on waste ground as others sit by one of many tents near the business district of Madrid, Spain, Friday, March 28, 2014. Official data show Spain's inflation rate dipped into negative territory this month, a development likely to add pressure on the European Central Bank to ease its monetary policies. In it's monthly report released Wednesday, the Bank of Spain said that despite the economic recovery, the unemployment rate of 26 percent should edge down to 25 percent this year and to 23.8 percent in 2015. Spain emerged from a double-dip recession in the third quarter of 2013. 
PAUL WHITE / AP PHOTO

BY JUERGEN BAETZ

ASSOCIATED PRESS


BRUSSELS -- Inflation across the 18-country eurozone fell again in March to reach its lowest level in over four years, piling pressure on the European Central Bank to ease its monetary policies further.
The annual inflation rate fell for the third consecutive month, to 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent in February, the European Union's statistics agency said Monday. Analysts were forecasting a milder drop to 0.6 percent.
Inflation was last at this level in November 2009 — when the global financial crisis had pushed Europe into recession.
The drop raises the prospect that the eurozone might see consumer prices fall. A sustained drop in prices, called deflation, can choke off growth as consumers and businesses delay purchases in hopes of getting better bargains down the line.
That could push the ECB, which aims to keep inflation just below 2 percent, to loosen its monetary policy further at its monthly meeting Thursday.
"The ECB may have little option but to take further policy action," said analyst Ben May of Capital Economics.
The core inflation rate — excluding volatile food and energy costs — also dropped, from 1 percent in February to 0.8 percent in March, according to the Eurostat agency. In February, an uptick in the core inflation rate was cited as evidence dismissing the prospect of looming deflation.
The drop in inflation came on the heels of weaker national data published last week showing, among others, that prices had started falling in Spain, the bloc's fourth-largest economy.
The dip in inflation also comes at a time when the euro has been buoyant in foreign exchange markets. A higher currency can push inflation down in two ways: It can make imports cheaper and weigh on economic activity by making exports more expensive on international markets.
Market reaction, however, was mild, with the euro actually rising after the figures' release on Monday. A currency usually weakens on the prospect of looser monetary policy.
Some analysts cautioned the March drop in inflation can partially be attributed to the timing of Easter, which falls into April this year, a month later than in 2013. That might cause the inflation rate for some seasonal goods and services, such as holidays and air fares, to be unusually low, with a possible rebound in April on the horizon.
The ECB has also said it was ready for a period of low inflation. In February, it trimmed its inflation forecast for this year to 1 percent, insisting however that it doesn't expect deflation as the economic recovery slowly gains strength.
However, most economists say Monday's data adds pressure on the central bank to act in the medium term.
"At its meeting on Thursday we would expect the ECB to at least shift its language to acknowledge that the current trend in prices is of concern," said analyst Tom Rogers of Ernst & Young.
Interest rates are already at a record-low of 0.25 percent, so some analysts argue the bank could resort to less conventional measures to ease its monetary policy.
Among the possibilities cited is a new round of cheap loans to banks. A more far-reaching measure would be large-scale purchases of financial assets such as government bonds with newly created money, as the U.S. Federal Reserve has done.
That would increase the amount of money in the economy and aim to lower market interest rates and stoke inflation. But such a move faces legal, political and technical obstacles.
The ECB could also trim its deposit rate below zero, effectively penalizing banks for holding money at the ECB instead of lending it out in the economy.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/31/4029796/eurozone-inflation-drops-further.html#storylink=cpy

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Under-attack Financial Conduct Authority calls for extra £14.3 million

9:13 AM    1 comment

Under-attack Financial Conduct Authority calls for extra £14.3 million

Financial Conduct Authority chief executive Martin Wheatley is under pressure
Under-fire City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, today revealed it would need an extra £14.3 million this year just days after a leaked report sparked anger and wiped billions of pounds off the value of big insurers.
The FCA said in its business plan published today that its annual funding requirement would rise from  £432.1 million to £446.4 million — an inflation-busting increase of 3.3%.
Chief executive Martin Wheatley, who faced calls over the weekend to resign, said the bulk of the increase in fees charged would fall on larger firms.
“We have worked hard to ensure that the small firms we regulate pay the least and once again we are able to keep the minimum fee at the same level,” he said. “The increases will be borne mainly by larger and more complex groups, which pose the most risk and are costliest to regulate.”
He added that 42% of the firms regulated by the FCA would pay the minimum annual fee of £1000 a year.
About £2.4 billion was wiped off the value of life insurers on Friday after the FCA’s director of supervision was quoted as saying the regulator planned to examine 30 million old policies.
Related stories
     
    This was due to have been one of the centre-pieces of today’s business plan but the FCA was forced to clarify its position as share prices tumbled. It announced a far less wide-ranging and potentially costly review of closed life policies.
    Today it revealed its other major plans for the new financial year. Top of its list is working on how banks can cut the risk of traders manipulating key benchmarks in the wake of the Libor scandal and the ongoing reviews of alleged currency and gold rigging.
    Wheatley said: “We are determined firms need to take the matter of manipulation of any benchmark seriously and we will be working with firms to seek out any issues that may remain.”
    The regulator also plans to look at conflicts of interest in investment banks and how they ensure confidential information received by one part of the business is not abused by other areas. Fund managers will also come under scrutiny in the coming year with focus on their trading activities and dealings with clients.
    The FCA also takes over  consumer credit regulation from the Office of Fair Trading from tomorrow. This will cost £41 million, which has been ring-fenced from its main budget.
    The regulator said the increase in its overall funding needs had been driven by its new role as a competition regulator and lower underspending in the previous year.
    Monica Gogna, of legal firm Pinsent Mason, said: “The movement is a reflection of the amount of regulatory change the FCA is grappling with but this is also likely to be reflective of the increased costs for regulated firms who are also implementing this change.”

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    UK mortgage approvals slow and business lending contracts

    9:01 AM  ,  No comments

    UK mortgage approvals slow and business lending contracts

    Sharp fall in home loans could be down to heavy rain and while business lending falls funding for small business rises

    UK mortgage approvals slow in February
    The Bank of England said 70,309 mortgages were approved in February, down from 76,753 in January, which was the highest in more than six years Photo: PA
    10:21AM BST 31 Mar 2014
    CommentsComments
    UK mortgage approvals slowed more than expected in February, possibly reflecting bad weather during the month, and there was another contraction in business lending.
    The Bank of England said on Monday that mortgage approvals numbered 70,309 in February, the lowest since October last year. It also represented a sharp fall from 76,753 in January, which was the highest in more than six years.
    Analysts had forecast a slight fall in approvals to 75,250 as heavy rain and flooding in some parts of the country hampered business.
    Britain's economy in 2013 had its best year of growth since the financial crisis and while the recovery so far has been largely driven by housing and the consumer sector, there have been signs that trade and business investment are starting to pick up.
    The BoE data showed another fall in business lending, down £750m compared with the previous month. Nonetheless, that was a slower pace of decline than in January. Lending to small businesses alone rose by £159m.
    Mortgage approvals are still short of levels of around 90,000 a month seen before the 2008 financial crisis but house prices are rising rapidly, up around 10 percent on the year by some measures.
    Last Thursday, the BoE urged banks to consider the risk of future spikes in interest rates when they approve mortgages and said it was preparing tools to rein in potentially dangerous lending.
    BoE Governor Mark Carney and other officials have played down suggestions that the housing market is overheating. The Bank refocused its Funding for Lending Scheme away from mortgage lending and dedicated it exclusively to business lending at the start of this year.
    Unsecured lending to consumers rose by £552m, slightly weaker than the forecast for £700m in the Reuters poll.
    The BoE's preferred gauge of money supply, M4 excluding intermediate other financial corporations, rose 0.7pc on the month, the biggest increase since August 2012, taking the annual growth rate to 3.7pc.

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    Reliance Jio to offer high-speed data, voice services using 4G technology

    8:59 AM    No comments

    Reliance Jio to offer high-speed data,

     voice services using 4G technology

    Monday, 31 March 2014


    Reliance Jio Infocomm has said it would use the mix of airwaves it owns to offer both high-speed data and voice services.
    Reliance Jio Infocomm has said it would use the mix of airwaves it owns to offer both high-speed data and voice services.

    KOLKATA: Reliance Jio Infocomm has said it would use the mix of airwaves it owns to offer both high-speed data and voice services, while scoffing at analyst comments that the company could find it tough to attract customers without providing voice options. 

    The company is building "futuristic high-capacity infrastructure to handle huge demand for data and voice" using fourth-generation technology, a Reliance Jio spokesman said. "In addition to high-speed data, the 4G network will provide voice services," he said. 

    According to some analysts, since the company owns spectrum in the 2300 Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands - which are non-standard and more suitable to carry data - its cost to roll out services will go up by 35-40%, limiting the ability to offer low-cost voice services that account for 80% of the industry's revenue. 

    The situation could get grim if Reliance Jio is driven to sell customised phones amid weak mass-market availability of devices that work on 4G technologies, analysts at HSBC said in a report. 

    But, Reliance Jio said rapid stridesBSE -1.12 % in global 4G technologies have made these devices more affordable. 

    Also, wifi-enabled second and third-generation devices can access Reliance Jio's services through an affordable pocket router, the spokesman said in an email, responding to queries from ET. 

    Some analysts say acquiring an existing voice operator could help Reliance Jio, because that would give it access to the target's customers as well as airwaves that are more suitable to carry voice. 

    "Reliance needs a mature voice technology and an M&A may be handy to acquire a large customer base since subscriber acquisition is one of the most expensive parts of the business," said Mahesh Uppal, director of Com First (India), a consultancy dealing in telecom regulatory affairs. Reliance Jio could gain from an M&A because the company could use it "as a platform to up-sell bundled propositions at disruptive price-points," said Kamlesh Bhatia of Gartner. 

    The Reliance Jio spokesman didn't respond to a question on the possibility of an acquisition. 

    He said the company has finalised key agreements with technology partners, service providers, infrastructure providers, application partners, device manufacturers and other strategic partners for the rollout project. 

    It is expected to launch services by the end of 201
    4

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    Banking technology brings 'seismic decline’ in branch transactions

    8:58 AM    No comments

    Banking technology brings 'seismic 

    decline’ in branch transactions

    Monday, 31 March 2014

    Most comprehensive study of customer habits undertaken to date says daily usage of mobile banking apps had doubled in 12 months

    Bank signs on high street
    Campaigners warn that banks might use such data to justify the acceleration of branch closures, leaving those who do not use the technology bereft of counter services Photo: ALAMY
    Dan Hyde
    By 
    12:01AM BST 31 Mar 2014
    CommentsComments
    The way people manage their money is undergoing a major revolution, with the number of payments made through banking applications on mobile phones doubling in a year, according to research published on Monday.
    Around 1,800 transactions are now conducted each minute on Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and other smartphones.
    The British Bankers’ Association (BBA), whose research is the most comprehensive study of customer habits undertaken to date, said daily usage had doubled in 12 months.
    In total, 12.4m people have downloaded banking apps, which allow customers to check their balance and make payments at the touch of a button. They used their devices to conduct 18.6m transactions a week last year, up from 9.1m in 2012.
    Writing for The Telegraph today, Anthony Browne, chief executive of the BBA, said the pace of the growth in mobile banking was “mind-boggling” and “punctures the myth that banks innovate only for themselves”.
    “Several senior bankers I have spoken to say they are astonished by the strength of take-up of this technology, which has already led to a noticeable dip in customers contacting call centres,” he said.
    “If you grew up in the Seventies or before you have every right to be astonished by how much change there has already been.”
    However, campaigners warned that banks might use such data to justify the acceleration of branch closures, leaving those who do not use the technology bereft of counter services.
    Derek French, founder of the Campaign for Community Banking Services, said: “The Government has made it clear that new technologies must not reduce the options for customers in how they transact. But currently we are faced with the scenario of many more closures without a cost-effective and sustainable solution for the most vulnerable.”
    Nearly 40m mobile and internet transactions were made each week in 2013, according to the BBA. Its research found the average Barclays customer now uses mobile banking 24 times a month, while downloads of the RBS/NatWest app are on course to hit a million this year, increasing its total by a third in just 12 months.
    Mr Browne said technological developments, “largely explain” the “seismic decline” in visits to high street branches. Footfall at RBS/NatWest, for example, has fallen 30pc in four years.
    But the banking chief dismissed suggestions that developments in mobile technology would lead to the “death” of branches; they will instead adapt to customers’ needs and become places reserved for “big moments” such as applying for a mortgage or resolving a complaint, Mr Browne said.
    Banks are expected to roll out technology within three years that allows customers to pay in cheques by taking a picture of the payment on a mobile phone and sending it through a banking app.
    From next month customers will be able to register for Paym, which will allow customers to pay each other by text message

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    Technology As Helpmate

    8:57 AM    No comments

    Technology As Helpmate

    Monday, 31 March 2014
    6833665602_32753dc95b_b
    Robert McGinley Myers has written a beautiful post about technology and its increasing use anoutboard brain. Myers examines the brouhaha over Romantimatic, an app that provides reminders to send notes to your loved ones, and places it in a larger context of technology’s role as partner rather than replacement:
    This is why I find it odd that apps like Romantimatic are accused of outsourcing our humanity. I’ve been trying out Romantimatic myself in the past couple of weeks. I chose to delete all the prefab text messages (which may have been a design flaw, though I appreciate their sense of humor). Instead, I use the app as an unscheduled, random reminder to think about my wife and tell her what I’m thinking. This does not rob me of my humanity. If anything, it stops me in the middle of my day and reminds me to think about something of greater importance, not unlike a brief meditation or prayer.
    Technology is not our savior, ready to deliver some utopian future, but it does not have to be our enemy. It’s been with us since the beginning, from poetry to reminder apps. Far from making us less human, it can even reawaken us to our humanity in the midst of our mechanized, busy lives. We just have to learn how to use it.
    Perhaps I am overly optimistic when it comes to technology, but this feels right. As I’ve written before, computational scientific discovery shouldn’t make us worry at our own obsolescence; it can give usnaches and make us proud of the abilities of our creations:
    …if it’s our machines doing the discovering, we can still have naches—we can take an often vicarious pride and joy in the success of our progeny. We made these machines, so their discoveries are at least partly due to humanity. And that’s exciting, as these programs of the future begin to uncover new truths about the universe.
    And when our technological creations are too complicated to understand, we shouldn’t despair either. We can regain a certain amount of humility, lost since the Enlightenment:
    And when things get too complicated and we end up being surprised by the workings of the structures humanity has created? At that point, we will have to take a cue from those who turn up their collars to the unexpected wintry mix and sigh as they proceed outdoors: we will have to become a bit more humble. Those like Maimonides, who lived before the Enlightenment, recognised that there were bounds to what we could know, and it might be time to return to that way of thinking. Of course, we shouldn’t throw our hands up and say that just because we can’t understand something, there is nothing else to learn. But at the same time, it might be time to get reacquainted with our limits.
    So, the response of Myers feels like a good one. Technology doesn’t necessarily eliminate what is human within us. It can be a helpmate, showing us certain sides of our humanity that we might have forgotten about.

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    Sketch: George Osborne, fully loaded

    8:55 AM    No comments

    Sketch: George Osborne, fully loaded

    The Chancellor pledges to fight for ‘full employment’ – before explaining that his idea of ‘full employment’ might not be quite the same as other people’s

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne

    Today George Osborne announced something radical. Something new, bold, far-reaching. Something that will leave his critics dumbfounded and opponents in awe.
    He’s going to change the meaning of the word “full”.
    Up until now, the word “full” has meant “full”. You’d use it to describe, for example, a thing that was full. “That’s full,” you’d say, of a thing that was full.
    But the Chancellor has seen what an unsatisfactory definition “full” is. He wants a new definition of “full”, one that’s up-to-date and fit for purpose in our ever-changing 21st-century world. And his new definition of “full” will be… “not full”.
    He revealed this during a speech to businesses in Tilbury, Essex. “I’m making a commitment,” he declared. “A commitment to fight for full employment.” Full employment, asked a journalist? As in, zero per cent unemployment? As in, everyone having a job?
    The Chancellor waved away this wild misinterpretation. “What we mean by full employment,” he explained gently, “is that this is the best place in the world to get a job… To have more people working than any other countries in the G7: that’s my ambition.” In other words: full employment. If by “full” you mean not “full” but “some more”.
    Either way, it’s a big challenge. But the Chancellor is by nature an optimist. Ask him whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, and he’ll say, “Neither. It’s completely full.” And if some pedant argues that the glass isn’t full, on the spurious grounds that only 50 per cent of its contents is liquid, the Chancellor will point out that a glass is the best thing in the world to drink from, and anyway that’s more liquid than you’ll find anywhere else in the G7.
    Just one thing clouds his optimism: the prospect of Labour returning to power. Labour’s ideas, he said, were all wrong. They “want to attack business, go back to economic chaos, back to no new jobs,” he said, appalled. “We reject that approach.”
    I don’t recall Labour announcing those precise goals, but Mr Osborne may well have a mole in Labour HQ, listening in as Ed Miliband and his team brainstorm policies.
    “Right, everyone. What ideas have we got for the economy?”
    “Well, Leader, I was thinking we should attack business.”
    “Attack business. I was going to suggest helping business, but you’re right, attacking it sounds much more sensible. Get business on the run! Drive ’em out! Any more?”
    “We should go back to economic chaos, Leader.”
    “Excellent! Economic chaos. Voters love economic chaos. Bring back the good old days of economic chaos, that’s what this country’s crying out for. We’ll stick that on our pledge card: ‘Economic chaos within six months.’ Now, jobs. Should we offer lots of new jobs, some new jobs, or no new jobs?”
    “No new jobs, Leader, surely?”
    “Of course no new jobs! Just testing! Well, this manifesto’s coming together nicely. Brilliant policies, everyone. I just hope they don’t get leaked to the Tories.”

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    Phone-hacking trial: Charlie Brooks 'feared porn leak'

    8:54 AM    No comments

    Phone-hacking trial: Charlie Brooks 'feared porn leak'

    Robin Brant: "[Charlie Brooks] said he removed... DVDs... because he didn't want his wife to be embarrassed"

    Phone hacking trial

    Racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks has told a court he hid pornography from police because he feared embarrassing details would be leaked to the press.
    Mr Brooks, husband of former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, said a "lot of stuff" had been leaked to newspapers during the police's phone-hacking investigation.
    He told the Old Bailey he hid the porn DVDs in a jiffy bag behind some bins.
    He denies conspiring to pervert the course of justice by hiding evidence.
    Mrs Brooks and former News International head of security Mark Hanna also deny conspiracy to pervert the course of justice between 5 and 19 July and 2011.
    'Bit of smut'
    Mr Brooks told the court he hid the DVDs to avoid a "Jacqui Smith moment", referring to the former home secretary's resignation in 2009 after it emerged she claimed expenses for a TV service used by her husband to watch pornography.
    Charlie and Rebekah BrooksCharlie and Rebekah Brooks arriving at court together on 18 March
    "I did think about my DVDs and I had my Jacqui Smith moment. I didn't want the same thing to happen to Rebekah," he said.
    "I didn't want to embarrass my wife in the same way."
    When questioned by his barrister, Neil Saunders QC, he said the DVDs he was hiding were of "an embarrassing nature".
    "I envisaged 20 policemen coming in and emptying every drawer and looking under every nook and cranny, and I did think about my DVDs," he said.
    He also said he took a Sony Vaio laptop from the flat he shared with Mrs Brooks in London, while she was being interviewed by police at Lewisham Police Station.
    "It had some important book ideas that weren't backed up anywhere else, but it also had a bit of smut on it too," he said.
    In hiding the items behind the bins he said he never thought about the presence of CCTV cameras.
    Photograph of two bags shown in courtThe jury has been shown photographs of bags found by a cleaner
    Photograph of bins in a car park shown in courtThe court heard bags were hidden in an apartment block car park
    "Incredibly stupidly and rashly I thought I'll just put it to one side and they won't take it away and I won't lose my material," he said.
    The jury has seen pictures from the cameras, showing him returning from the bins empty-handed before a police raid.
    Officers also raided the couple's Oxfordshire home, and Mr Brooks said he removed two bags from that address because he was expecting the raids, in July 2011.
    He said he did not want to lose a News International Apple Mac laptop, which he had earlier told the court he viewed as his "personal property", because it contained a novel he was writing and historical notes he had gathered as part of his research.


    He denied asking members of Mrs Brooks's security team to remove any other items from their Oxfordshire home.
    Mr Brooks said he was aware the police were likely to search their home as early as April 2011, after he and Mrs Brooks had returned from holiday.
    He said it came as "no surprise" that police searched their home on 17 July 2011, but he did not know what his wife would be arrested for.
    He said he thought "Rebekah's relationship with the police changed", and spoke of her being removed from what he described as a "confidentiality club".
    Mr and Mrs Brooks are being tried alongside five other defendants in relation to alleged phone hacking by journalists at the News of the World.
    Mrs Brooks also denies conspiracy to hack phones and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.

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