Cuba anger at US militant verdict

9 April 2011 Last updated at 22:24 GMT Posada Carriles' acquittal ended a four-year prosecution Cuba and Venezuela have condemned a US court's decision to acquit a veteran anti-communist militant and former CIA agent, Luis Posada Carriles.

A Cuban official called the outcome a "shameful farce"; Venezuela said the US was protecting a known terrorist.

Mr Posada Carriles was cleared of US immigration charges on Friday.

Cuba and Venezuela accuse him of staging bomb attacks and plotting to kill Fidel Castro, and have demanded his extradition.

Mr Posada Carriles, 83, spent decades fighting to overthrow the communist government in Cuba and stop the spread of left-wing influence throughout Latin America.

He was on trial in Texas on charges of lying to immigration officials about how he entered the US and about his alleged involvement in bomb attacks in Havana in 1997 in which an Italian tourist was killed.

But a jury found him not guilty, ending a four-year effort by US federal prosecutors to convict him.

'Act of theatre'

The head of Cuba's parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, told the Associated Press the federal judge in Texas had prevented jurors from seeing evidence that would have convinced them of his guilt.

"The US government is as much a liar as he is because it converted a killer who has been sought for decades into a simple old liar," he said.

The Venezuelan government expressed "indignation" at "an act of theatre" designed to "protect the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles".

It said it would renew its request to have Mr Posada Carriles extradited for his alleged role in the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1973, which killed 73 people.

The US has previously refused to send Mr Posada Carriles to Cuba or Venezuela, saying he might face torture.

Long struggle

Cuba's communist government regards Mr Posada Carriles as one of its most dangerous enemies.

In 1976 he was jailed in Venezuela over the airline bombing, but escaped from prison in 1985.

He was then jailed in Panama in 2000 for plotting the assassination of his arch-enemy, the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, but was pardoned and released four years later.

Mr Posada Carriles has always denied involvement in the airline bombing and the alleged plot against Castro in Panama, but admits fighting for "freedom" in Cuba.

Declassified US documents show that he worked for the CIA between 1965 and 1976.

He is also said to have worked for the intelligence agencies of Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Argentina and Chile, and to have supported Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

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Councils' anger at publicity ban

12 February 2011 Last updated at 06:57 GMT By Robin Brant BBC News political correspondent Councils are restricted to four newspapers a year under the guidelines The government has moved to ban local councils using taxpayers' money to fund publicity it has labelled "vanity PR".

Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has published new guidelines, including limiting councils to publishing four newspapers a year.

The move follows a row with one London council that put up posters apparently critical of government spending cuts.

Critics say the changes will threaten councils' communication with the public and central government.

'Lobbying on rates'

Labour, the Local Government Association and the Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) have all attacked the changes.

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The rules ...will do nothing to help councils to communicate both with council tax payers and with decision-makers”

End Quote Gavin Devine APPC The new guidelines also ban local authorities from employing lobbyists.

Eric Pickles claimed some authorities were "lobbying on the rates".

The role of outside consultants to advocate for local authorities was justified by the Local Government Association.

Its chairman Margaret Eaton told the BBC: "Whitehall is a maze of complexities and I think its very legitimate for local authorities who have a big issue... to use someone who can navigate the Whitehall complexities."

Asked why local politicians might need private consultants to communicate with other politicians, she said: "I don't think individual councillors know the complexities."

Part of the role of the organisation she leads, the LGA, is to represent and speak up for local government in its relationship with central government.

There is a statutory requirement for local authorities to engage with and communicate with voters and people in their areas.

The body which speaks for private lobbyists believes this will be under threat.

Gavin Devine, from the APPC, told the BBC: "The rules announced today will do nothing to help councils to communicate both with council tax payers and with decision-makers, and may well drive up costs.

"At a time when councils are under particular pressure that is deeply regrettable."

It is claimed that using in-house PR or lobbying specialists would be more expensive and likely less effective.

But these new guidelines from the Department for Communities and Local Government make it clear that private lobbyists will no longer be welcome.

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