Britain's Deficit

Available for over a year

Fears have increased that the market panic induced by the plight of Greece will spread to other highly indebted European countries. But could the contagion extend beyond the eurozone to one of the biggest economies in the world, the United Kingdom? As the UK heads towards its general election on May 6th, one prominent British businessman has told Business Daily that none of the political parties are confronting the great yawning reality of the UK's deficit. Jon Moulton, who's a veteran player in the private equity industry and is the chairman of Better Capital, has been looking at Britain's financial plight today, compared to its situation in the 1970s when it was forced to call in the International Monetary Fund. He tells Lesley Curwen that Britain is in a worse position now, and suggests the only solutions are shrinking the state, taxing the population 'to death' or allowing the pound to collapse. Plus, Rafael Saakov from the BBC's Russian Service reports on the decline of Russian figure-skating in international competitions. And the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo describes the changing face of Tokyo's taxis, as the city's army of cabs is made more environmentally friendly.