Ministers were accused of betraying British troops last night after it emerged they will be hit by the EU raid on Cypriot banks after all.
Servicemen will only be compensated for ‘reasonable losses’ if their funds are ‘connected with their service in Cyprus’.
Last night MoD officials said that could mean those who have transferred funds to Cyprus to save for their retirement could lose out.
The volte-face came 24 hours after Chancellor George Osborne insisted the military would not suffer.
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Servicemen will only be compensated for 'reasonable losses' if their funds are 'connected with their service in Cyprus'
Hands off: Demonstrators protest as Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades's convoy drives to parliament in Nicosia
Anger: A protestor outside the parliament
building in Nicosia where the president and minsters are meeting to
discuss possible alterations to the deal
Elderly expats won’t get any money until at least Thursday when Cypriot banks are due to reopen – and thousands may have to change their bank account to try to dodge the tax raid.
Suspended: Treasury Minister Greg Clark said
that pension payments to expats living in Cyprus had been suspended
until the island's parliament voted on a controversial levy on bank
deposits
On a day of fresh drama:
- Panic spread as it was revealed Cypriot banks will be closed for three more days
- Stock markets fell around the world and around 0.4 per cent was wiped off the value of the euro
- A vote on the tax grab in Cyprus was delayed until today
- The Cypriot government suggested deposits below 100,000 euro being hit with just a 3 per cent tax, rising to 15 per cent for those above 500,000 euro (£430,000)
- Last night a spokesman for the eurozone also hinted that all depositors with less than 100,000 euro could be protected
But it was the volte-face on the 3,000 troops that angered MPs at Westminster.
At the weekend, Mr Osborne said: ‘For people serving in our military and our government out in Cyprus, we are going to compensate anyone affected by this bank tax.’
Yesterday the Treasury refused to say that all their losses would be compensated for.
A Treasury spokesman said: ‘We will compensate on reasonable losses – whether they are from current or savings accounts – if they are a result of serving in Cyprus.’
Despair: Traders in
London react this morning as markets struggled in light of the decision
by eurozone leaders to part-fund a bailout of Cyprus by taxing bank
deposits
Labour MP Kate Hoey said British expats were ‘having their money stolen on the orders of the German government’.
Uncertainty: The news has sent shockwaves throughout world markets, with European bank shares falling by more than two per cent
Blame: A police officer stands in front of a bus
station where an anti-bailout banner blames German Chancellor Angela
Merkel for stealing 'life savings'
Anything less would be seen as betrayal across the military community and throughout the country.’There are around 18,000 Britons of pensionable age in Cyprus, of whom around 12,000 claim a UK pension.
In a tense Commons debate, Treasury Minister Greg Clark announced that pension payments to the island are being frozen so the money doesn’t end up in accounts that might be raided.
‘Any UK pensioners in Cyprus can be assured that their future pension payments are being held safely and a normal payment service will resume as soon as the situation in Cyprus becomes clear,’ he said.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2295115/Cyprus-bailout-crisis-Betrayal-Our-Boys-Cyprus-Ministers-pledged-protect-UK-soldiers-cash-Now-say-savings-WILL-hit.html
Talks: Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades
(left) and President of the Parliament Yiannakis Omirou (right) who are
discussing possible amendments to the bailout deal
Under pressure: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades arrives at the presidential palace in today
But not all pensioners are likely to go online and ‘switch the bank account to which payments are made’ as Mr Clark urged.Mr Clark said that they should contact the International Pension Centre through the Department for Work and Pensions website ‘as soon as possible’ for details of how to switch the bank account that they use to receive their cash.
Frozen pension payments will be reviewed when there is a deal in Cyprus.
A statement from eurozone finance ministers yesterday urged Cyprus to alter the terms of its levy in order to exempt smaller savers and shift the burden onto accounts above €100,000.
'Small depositors should be treated differently from large depositors,' the statement said as it suggested that the principle of protecting deposits below six figures should not be breached.
Criticism: Russia's President Vladimir Putin said the levy was 'unsafe, unprofessional and dangerous'
Withdraw: The news of a levy on bank deposits caused panic on Saturday evening as Cypriots rushed to withdraw money from banks
He is reported to have told Mr Rehn: ‘When I warned you that there would not be a parliamentary majority to pass the agreement, you didn’t want to listen. Give my regards to Mrs Merkel.’
Expats living in Cyprus yesterday told Mrs Merkel to keep her ‘hands off’ their money. Almost all cash machines on the island have been drained meaning Britons have been forced to borrow from friends or use credit cards.
Former Tory Defence Minister Sir Gerald Howarth said: ‘Most service personnel would have invested in British banks but some may have invested locally with a view to retiring in Cyprus. Unless they were warned that they shouldn’t invest in local banks, this is an example of where the military covenant should be invoked.’
Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former colonel, said: ‘There can be no question that if Her Majesty has asked her troops to serve overseas in Cyprus then the Government must protect their financial wellbeing.
'I’m sure they can pay for it the generals take a pay cut for a couple of days or sack the latest soft furnishings refurbishment officer in the MoD.’
Fears: The developments in Cyprus have prompted fresh concerns that the eurozone could break up
Enlarge
Risk map: Most of the nations at 'extreme' risk from a eurozone collapse are in Europe but some are in Africa
Daylight robbery! Expats blast the 'bullies in Brussels'
They arrived in Cyprus dreaming of a carefree life in the Mediterranean sunshine.But last night these expats were left in a state of anxiety after their Cypriot current and savings accounts were frozen in the EU raid.
They said they felt ‘trapped’, and blasted the move as ‘daylight robbery’.
Since the banks closed on Friday they have been unable to access their money either via cash machines or online. Some could lose thousands in hard-earned euros.
Even those who might lose a more modest amount are worried it could happen again and plan to close their accounts permanently when the banks open again, possibly on Thursday.
At a lively meeting in a coffee shop in the village of Pyrgos, they spoke of their anger at Germany and the European Union, who they blame for the unprecedented bank tax.
These expats were left in a state of anxiety
after their Cypriot current and savings accounts were frozen in the EU
raid. Since the banks closed on Friday they have been unable to access
their money either via cash machines or online. Some could lose
thousands
1 The bingo winner
Cath
Bradbury, 61, from Littleborough, Lancashire organised the meeting. She
has had a house on the island for ten years and moved there permanently
last year.The cash machines in Cyprus are mainly empty but Cath was lucky that a bingo win last week meant she had some cash in her purse.
She could lose hundreds of euros from her Cypriot current account. Mrs Bradbury said: ‘We’ve worked all our lives to come here, sometimes with three or four jobs at a time. We sold our home and bought here putting money into the Cypriot economy.
‘But now I feel ripped off, cheated and bullied. Not by Cyprus but by Brussels and the Germans. It is all so Angela Merkel can win her election in September. Europe needs to be warned that if they do this here they will be able to do it anywhere.’
2 The programmer
Computer
expert Roger Varley, 56, from Kent is set to lose up to 2,000 euros in
his savings and current account after moving to Cyprus six years ago
when he was made redundant. He said: ‘I am not old enough to retire so I work out here, I pay taxes and contribute to the economy. My wages go straight into my current account but because of the time of the month that the account was frozen I won’t lose as much as I could have done. It could have been much worse.’
3 The accounts worker
Pat
Sharman, 71, a former accounts worker from London has lived in Cyprus
for 12 years and is set to lose 5,000 euros from her savings. She said: ‘This is daylight robbery there is no other way to describe it. Merkel has justified this to her own people by saying the people who are responsible for this mess should pay for it. But we are not responsible for the banks, we have worked hard all our lives and paid our taxes.
'I have worked since I was 15, at times I have had four jobs so that we could eventually sell our house and come here. I’m furious that hard working people living on this tiny island have been targeted in this way.’
4 The former engineer
David
Sharman, 71, is Pat’s husband. He said: ‘We have sold our homes and
invested in this island, we have put money in the economy. It is wrong
that we are being punished.
5 The widow
Christina
Allbeson, 66, from Oldham, has been forced to borrow from friends after
her current account that her state pension is paid into was frozen. She moved to Cyprus with her husband Rodney ten years ago but he died of a heart attack after two years.
She said: ‘I have been surviving on my pension and things get harder every year. I need my pension to pay for everything. I am down to what is left in my freezer to eat.’
6 The cattery owner
Walter
Litherland, 67, a former civil engineer from Liverpool runs a cattery
on the island with wife Teresa and is set to lose money from his current
account.
7 The nurse
Cilla Rowland, 65, a former nurse from Taunton, Somerset, moved to Cyprus to retire with her sister Delise five years ago. She will lose 500 euros and plans to withdraw all her savings.
She said: ‘I started work at 15 and spent more than 40 years in nursing to be able to afford to move out here and retire. We are not extravagant and don’t spend a lot. We live off our pensions and losing 500 euros will hit us hard. As soon as the banks are allowed to open I will be closing my account.’
8 Closing his account
Stewart Bradbury, 64, from Littleborough, Lancashire had put £1,000 into his bank current account to buy a new shotgun. He could lose up to 100 euros.
He said: ‘It is outrageous that we are going to lose money because of an edict from Brussels dictated by the German chancellor.
'The biggest economy in the EU is bullying one of the smallest and the victims are people who have worked all their lives and are surviving on pensions. We will be closing our accounts.’
9 The housewife
Carol
Jones, 67, a housewife from Birmingham has lived in Pyrgos for five
years and can’t access her money from her current account. 10 the
importerTony Mooney, 49, from Wembley, moved to the island ten years ago and runs a business importing alcohol to sell to local bars.
He was due to pay for a big order and is set to lose 15,000 euros. He said: ‘This is theft, pure and simple. I work hard all year and pay my taxes, now they are putting my business at risk.’
11 The animal lover
Walter
Litherland’s wife Teresa, 60, said: ‘What worries me is that as the
people on the island suffer more we are going to see an increase in the
number of animals being abandoned. ‘We are already seeing more cats being abandoned and brought to us. People are really starting to suffer financially.’
12 The traveller
Chris Pook, 71, from East Grinstead travelled before settling in Cyprus several years ago, he can’t access his account
13. Locked out
June
Burton, 60, who moved to the island several years ago, says she feels
desperate after being locked out of her current account.
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