Britain slashes spending to stem deficit

THE British Government has largely mirrored its Irish counterpart in identifying the areas of education, transport, justice and energy for spending cuts, in order to try to rein in one of the largest budget deficits in the EU.

In his first major act since the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition realised power earlier this month, new Chancellor George Osborne yesterday revealed plans to save £6.2 billion (€7.2bn) this year, through spending cuts.

The announcement comes ahead of an emergency budget, which will take place on June 22.