Bailout critic to head Greece's Finance Department

Greece’s new prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has picked an outspoken bailout critic as his new finance minister – signalling his resolve to take a tough line with eurozone lenders in an effort to write off a massive chunk of rescue debt.

Economist Yanis Varoufakis, 53 – who has described the bailout as “fiscal waterboarding” – took up the position amid a rating agency warning of a worsening financial situation that sent the country’s stock market sharply lower.