Mr Bean works at Bank of England

If there ever was an unfortunate coincidence of of a name and a job it must be Mr Bean a deputy Governor at the Bank of England. With the pound falling to near record lows against world currencies both Mr Charlie Bean and the other Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir John Gieve have been commenting on the state of regulation of the financial markets and the Banks in particular.

It appears that the Bank of England and the FSA were possibly not entirely asleep at the wheel as the current financial tsunami broke over the world and the UK.

According to Sir John Gieve in an interview with Robert Peston the Bank had been aware of concerns about rising debt levels but failed to act on this because of concerns that action would be criticsed as countering wealth creation. So they were not entirerly asleep at the wheel then. Merely dozing.

Now, rather late in the day, he and his fellow deputy governor are calling for additional instruments to control the banks and lending. Unfortunately they appear to be making these calls long after the horse has bolted.

The problem we face at the moment clearly is not putting the brakes on excessive lending. It is keeping a reasonable flow of lending running at the same time as allowing overall debt levels to fall. Sure there is a need for the future to have controls over excessive and risky borrowing but one can't help having the feeling that, like First World War generals, those in charge at the Bank of England are continually fighting the last war rather than developing tools to win the present one.

UK nuclear weapons handed to private US firm

The United Kingdom apppears to have effectively abandoned control of it's Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston following a sale by BNFL to a US firm. Aldermaston has a key role in the production and maintenance of the British Nuclear deterrent Trident warheads. In effect then Britain has privatised its nuclear weapons production and maintenance and handed it over to US owned provate interests.

The UK government is predictably downplaying the implications of the move and claiming that control still rests with the UK government. This begs the question though as to who has the say over the selectin and vetting of staff at the establishment. Presumably this will now rest with the provate companies involved.

More Strictly Come Dancing Phone grief

TV viewer voting shows have been plagued by problems in the last year or so and the BBC flagship program Strictly Come Dancing seems to be unable to shake of problems with it's own voting. Not only did the voting system result in an unexpected three couples in the final show but thousands of viewers have now been complaining that they were unable to cast votes for some of the couples in the final voting stage.

Holby City actor Tom Chambers and his dance partner won the final vote and there was no doubt that their final show dance was a masterpiece of performance. But it is not good when a program which is meant to draw viewers in and make them feel engaged simply leaves them feeling frustrated and angry.

TV shows really must get their act together on the viewer voting arrangements. If viewers are left feeling that their votes are ignored, miscounted or that they are prevented from voting for certain contestants then they will rapidly turn away from these currently popular TV formats.

US care makers hold out begging bowl

Times are desperate for US car makers General Motors and Chrysler. It seems they are suggesting that they may barely survive a month or two if they are not given a major bail out by the US taxpayer. The chief execs of the two major US companies are looking for a bail out of around $34 Billion to stop the impending collapse of the US car industry. With car sales in the US having fallen by around 37% in the last month things are looking really grim for all the US carmakers. So grim in fact that there have been reports that the Chief execs have said that they will work for $1 a year of they get the hand out. Of course it wont really be $1 because they will have some other perks to keep their income up but it does show how desperate they are.

Perhaps if the US carmakers had upgraded their technology and focused on fuel efficiency then consumers would be keen to update their models even in hard economic times. But who wants to trade up for another gas guzzler when money is short.

BBC Star exposes himself

What is it with BBC Stars these days? They just seem to be falling all over themselves to create trouble for the BBC. The latest star to cause the BBC problems is John Barrowman who starred in the Dr Who spin of Torchwood. The Times reports that Barrowman was on a radio 1 show which was also being recorded by webcam when the presenter encouraged him to get out his "fruit and nuts". It appears that Barrowman duly obliged.

The BBC could really do without this kind of thing as it comes hard on the heels of the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand affair which lead to thousands and thousands of complaints to the BBC about their harassment of the actor Andrew Sachs on air. That affair resulted in resignations and some serious questions being asked about stand rads at the BBC. You would think that in that climate the BBC would have cautioned all it's staff to play it a little safer at least for the time being. Will the BBC and it's stars never learn?

Haringey Another child hurt

The Mirror and other Uk newspapers are reporting that there has been another child hurt while under the supervision of Haringey council. Haringey has come under intense fire and seen the suspension of a number of senior members of staff following the Baby P court case. baby P was killed while in the care of his mother and two men. his back was broken and he suffered numerous injuries over a period of time despite being under the supervision of the council. This latest news will pile further pressure on the already beleagered Haringey Council.