A 15-year-old boy was fighting for his life in hospital today after he was shot several times. Although he has returned from trips abroad with trinkets, he has never been questioned before about the prices at which he has taken personal possession of his holiday presents This could land him in trouble. For he has so far failed to provide a clear answer to the question of whether he has paid any duty or tax on his swag If not, he could have broken the ministerial code.. In his nine years in office, Mr Blair has been presented, in his official capacity, with a range of rather exclusive items as a token of other leaders’ esteem – the full list of which The Independent on Sunday has obtained for the first time.

When most people want a bargain, they consult eBay. Tony Blair, it seems, has another source for life’s little luxuries – like a new camera or a dinner service to impress the neighbours: his fellow heads of state. I have enjoyed representing the area for six years on the London Assembly and I hope to have the opportunity to do so as its Member of Parliament.”. A spokesman said A-listers need not be chosen to fight by-elections, but would be selected to fight the next general election.Bernard Jenkin, the Tory vice-chairman, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Bob has been selected.”He is a natural successor to Eric Forth with his unparalleled experience and local knowledge.”Mr Neill, who is expected to face a challenge from the Liberal Democrats for the seat, said: “It is a great honour to be selected to fight Bromley and Chislehurst. Mr Forth’s widow, Carroll, entered the race to succeed him, but did not make it to the final shortlist.Mr Neill, 53, who represents the area on the London Assembly, saw off A-list candidates Julia Manning, chair of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, and Syed Kamall, an MEP, in the final run-off.Last night, the Conservative Party put a brave face on the choice and denied that it was a snub. Up to 1,000 Tory party members in Bromley and Chislehurst rejected candidates on Mr Cameron’s A-list and chose Bob Neill, leader of the Conservatives on the London Assembly, to represent them.
The by-election has been prompted by the death of the sitting MP, Eric Forth, who died suddenly from cancer last month.The seat is seen as a key Tory stronghold, where the majority at the 2005 general election was 13,342. David Cameron’s efforts to modernise the Conservative Party with an A-list of women and ethnic-minority candidates was dealt a blow last night when a Tory constituency chose a local man to fight a forthcoming by-election.

Jack Straw emerged last night as the compromise candidate to take over from John Prescott as Deputy Prime Minister and unite the warring Brown and Blair factions. As new tensions arose in the Labour Party over a Blairite “plot” to sacrifice the Deputy Prime Minister to save Tony Blair, the former foreign secretary was being spoken of in No 10 as a preferred choice to succeed Mr Prescott.. Reveals much of the business taken on in previous years is loss-making.* 31 May 2006: Members back plans for demutualisation. Standard promises to publish prospectus for stock market flotation in June.. Early exit penalties on some policies now at 25 per cent.* 31 March 2004: Crombie announces Standard now believes customers and members will be best-served by demutualisation.* 2004-5: Standard cuts 1,000 jobs and moves into losses, as Crombie restructures. Insurer concedes it is no longer wedded to mutuality.* 13 January 2004: Chief executive Iain Lumsden takes early retirement and is replaced by Sandy Crombie.* 30 January 2004: Standard slashes pay-outs for fifth time in two years.

Insurer argues that while members would stand to receive average windfalls of up to £6,000, their interests would be better served by remaining mutual.* 2001-2: Standard criticised for maintaining its investment funds’ exposure to equities as global stock markets fall by 50 per cent.* 2003: Following collapse of Equitable Life, the Financial Services Authority, the chief City regulator, introduces new rules requiring insurers to increase capital adequacy reserves.* January 2004: After talks with the FSA, Standard is forced to sell £7.5bn- worth of equities at the bottom of the market. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s award Standard AAA ratings as insurer continues to top performance tables for savings, endowment and pension policies.* April 2000: Standard narrowly defeats attempt by carpetbaggers to force it to demutualise and float on the London Stock Exchange. “If you have some time to go to maturity, switching may make sense,” he argues.Standard’s road to the stock market: the highs and lows of a once-proud insurer* 1825: Standard Life Assurance Company established in Edinburgh.* 1925: Standard mutualises, with ownership of the insurer transferred from shareholders to members who have with-profits policies.* 2000: Company celebrates record year for new business as stock market continues to surge towards record highs. BestInvest’s Keith Murphy says: “It remains to be seen whether Standard Life will do the decent thing and slash MVRs on with-profits policies.”Tom McPhail, of independent financial adviser Hargreaves Lansdown, says that Standard Life policyholders should start by checking what exit penalties apply on their plans. Prudential, by comparison, made 20 per cent on its with-profits fund.One issue stopping Standard customers moving their money is the market value reductions (MVRs) on most policies – penalties they must pay if they withdraw money. The insurer has been forced to reduce its with-profits fund’s exposure to shares, which means long-term returns are likely to be lower.Standard Life’s fund, 31 per cent invested in equities, made 16.1 per cent last year according to financial adviser BestInvest. However, since investors will have to come up with cash, many may be less keen.WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY STANDARD POLICIES?Many advisers believe that the prospects for Standard Life’s with-profits savings, pension and endowment policies are not good.

They will be entitled to buy additional shares at a discount to the listing price – expected to be between 5 and 10 per cent.Whether or not you take up the offer depends on similar factors to those mentioned above. In the case of Standard shares, members will pay nothing to buy the holdings, so the full value of any sale is potentially taxable, minus any dealing costs.However, as everyone is allowed a certain amount of tax-free profit each tax year – £8,800 in 2006-7 – the majority of Standard members will not be affected by CGT, unless they have profits this year from other investments.CAN I BUY MORE SHARES?On 15 June, when Standard publishes its flotation prospectus, it will unveil details of a preferential share offer for members, customers and employers. Standard shares could be boosted by that factor.WILL I HAVE TO PAY TAX ON MY SHARES?Not on receiving them, but you may have to pay capital gains tax when you sell CGT is payable at 40 per cent on investment profits. For example, Greig Paterson, of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, says that Standard’s operating earnings would have to grow by 50 per cent to justify a valuation at the top end of the price range.Bruno Paulson, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein, says that while Standard’s results have improved, its target for return on embedded value, a key indicator for insurers, is still behind the rest of the sector.Jim Wood Smith, head of research at Christows, adds: “The share prices of life assurers are highly susceptible to movements in stock markets as these affect both profits on their investments and new business flows as the confidence of savers ebbs and flows.”On the other hand, the insurance sector has been a hotbed of takeover and merger speculation this year. It has a promising business selling self-invested personal pensions and subsidiaries are performing well.However, many insurance analysts remain sceptical, particularly given the price at which Standard’s advisers expect it to float.