In the wake of a rare tactical victory for the White House, Barack Obama on Wednesday evening defended his threat to use controversial presidential powers to prevent companies from avoiding US taxes.

Campaigners last night demanded David Cameron scrap his savage welfare reforms after the number of emergency food parcels handed out soared to more than a million.

Companies claw back almost two-fifths of cash paid out to shareholders since start of financial crisis

Britain’s credit standing has suffered a further blow after Fitch became the second international agency to strip the country of its AAA rating.