09/01/2016 BBC Weekend News

The City Regulator has defended its decision to abandon

an inquiry into the culture and behaviour of staff

Tracey McDermott, who's acting head of the Financial Conduct Authority,

rejected criticism that she had gone soft on the banks,

and said that tough penalties remained in place.

Critics have accused the government of instructing the FCA

Our Business Correspondent Joe Lynam reports.

Many people blamed the banks and their

behaviour for the collapse in markets and the deepest recession

The regulator, the FCA, was investigating banking

behaviour and culture last year before suddenly dropping its probe

Some people accuse the FCA of going soft on banks

but the acting chief executive rejected that claim today.

We are not being told what to do by the

We have objectives which are set for us by Parliament in statute

and we are determined to deliver on those and if you look

at what we have been doing over the past six months whilst I've been

in the role as Chief Executive, you will see that we have continued

to take action against the industry, both in terms of penalties on firms

and in terms of penalties on individuals.

But some members of the all-party Treasury Select Committee

think the Government leaned on the regulator

Hopefully prove precisely how they have interfered.

The FCA hasn't reached its own conclusions.

That claim has been flatly rejected by the Treasury minister Greg Hands.

"Ministers had no involvement in and, indeed, no advance notice

of this decision by the independent regulator.

To suggest otherwise is utterly false."

For now, the FCA, which issued ?900 million in fines to banks last year,

will continue to monitor them and their

behaviour on an individual, rather than collective, basis.

The regulator will also be looking for a new Chief Executive.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will consider changes

in the law to make it easier to deport migrants

It follows a series of sex attacks in Cologne on New Year's Eve

by men described of North African and Arab appearance.

They've provoked debate the influx of more than a million migrants

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has for the first

time called for a change to the laws in Germany to make it

Joining us from Cologne is our correspondent Anna Holligan.

Angela Merkel is convincing the public that there is a long-term

plan and limits to tolerance. What we have been hearing after

discussions with MPs, is that the party agreed to deny asylum to

foreigners convicted of crimes. And we are also hearing she is expected

to tighten the laws or deportation. So any asylum seeker convicted of a

crime may be subject to a fast-track deportation. In terms of what is

happening outside of the Cologne station today, this is an

antifascist movement here. They are accusing the far-right movements of

trying to use the attacks as a propaganda tool. Germany is facing a

critical moment in its asylum policy.

Anna, thank you very much. Suspected militants wounded three

tourists in a knife attack yesterday evening at a hotel in

the Egyptian Red Sea resort According to Egypt's Interior

Ministry, security forces shot and killed one attacker and wounded

another at the beachside The wounded tourists -

two Austrians and a Swede - Grants of ?1,500 are to be

given to all households, businesses and charities affected

by recent flooding in Scotland. Scotland's First minister

Nicola Sturgeon - who's been under pressure from opposition parties

over the speed of the Scottish government's response -

made the announcement on a visit to the Aberdeenshire town

of Inverurie this morning. Six months after escaping

from a maximum security prison, one of Mexico's most

notorious drug lords, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has been

recaptured and is on his way The authorities took the opportunity

to parade the captured kingpin in front of the media at Mexico City

airport, as he was bundled Katy Watson reports

from Mexico City. Paraded in front of the television

cameras, the authorities didn't miss a chance to make sure everybody

could see that Mexico's most notorious criminal

had been captured. This is a dose of revenge

after El Chapo's audacious escape Marines acting on a tip-off raided

a home in Sinaloa early on Friday. This was the first

picture taken of El Looking dishevelled,

he tried to escape by Ivan Gastelum, one of the cartel's

regional chiefs, was also captured. TRANSLATION: The arrest of these

criminals is the result of more than six months' hard work

from the security cabinet, as well as the professionalism,

courage and loyalty Today, the institutions

of the Mexican state have done their

duty to the people. These were the images

of El Chapo just two years ago, after he was originally

rearrested after more than a decade Last summer, he slipped down a small

hole in the shower of his prison cell and made a run for it

in a mile-long man-made tunnel. It's unclear whether Mexico

will try to keep hold of its most notorious criminal or if

the US will want him What is clear, though,

is that as El Chapo returns to the prison he escaped

from last July, the authorities are hoping they can

hang onto him for good this time. The National Lottery's biggest

jackpot of ?57.8 million The prize has rolled over 14 times

and if nobody matches six numbers, it will be divided among

those with five and the bonus ball. The odds of winning are now 1 in 45

million after more balls were added You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel. The next news on BBC One

is at 5.50pm, bye for now.