Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 23rd January)

Former head of bank regulation says growth is thanks to too much borrowing, of the kind that caused the bust

The former head of the Financial Service Authority, Lord Turner, has compared Britain's rapidly recovering economy with the "hair of the dog" treatment for a hangover. Turner, who was on the shortlist to be governor of the Bank of England before Mark Carney was chosen for the job, told an HSBC breakfast that the economy had reverted to its pre-crisis model of growth. He said: "We have spent the last few years talking about the need to rebalance the economy away from a focus on property and financial services and towards investment and exports. We are now back to growth without any rebalancing at all." GUARDIAN

Osborne backs minimum wage rise to £7 an hour

Chancellor George Osborne has acted to try to outflank Ed Miliband over the cost-of-living issue by calling for a dramatic increase in the national minimum wage to restore it to its pre-recession value. Osborne has thrown his weight behind a proposal that would raise the minimum wage from £6.31 to £7 an hour from October 2014 – seven months before the general election. The chancellor said he believed businesses would be able to absorb the increase, now that the economy was growing again. GUARDIAN

Cap on rip-off pension fees 'shelved for at least a year'

Government plans to cap charges on workplace pensions will be delayed for at least a year, it emerged last night. The cap on charges above 0.75 per cent was meant to be introduced in April and intended to protect millions of workers being automatically enrolled into company pensions from paying high fees. The original plan first announced in October and dubbed a “full frontal assault” on pension charges, set out options including an outright ban on fees higher than 0.75 per cent, or 1 per cent for savers automatically enrolled in a workplace pension. Groups which had campaigned against high charges said news of the delay was a blow to millions of savers. The industry has furiously lobbied ministers to drop or delay the policy, warning that the government was “creating hugely significant practical and operational risk” for its auto-enrolment pensions programme by introducing the cap. TELEGRAPH

Ofgem accuses Npower of 'misleading' report on power costs

A report by power supplier Npower, claiming bills will rise due to higher energy distribution costs, has been dismissed by regulator Ofgem as "misleading". Npower, one of the UK's big six suppliers, said the report was designed to "shine a light" on company costs. In it, the company argues that energy suppliers make small profits and have little control over customer bills. In response to Ofgem, Npower corrected its figures and cut its projections for increased network costs. Ofgem said it was pleased npower had changed its numbers downwards but still questioned whether the energy company had yet got it right. GUARDIAN

Goldman Sachs plots a way round EU bonus cap

Goldman Sachs is devising ways to hand its highly-paid bankers a third element to pay in response to the EU's bonus cap, which prevents bonuses of more than 100% of salary being paid out, unless shareholders specifically approve 200%. Goldman Sachs’ 32,900 staff on average received pay of $383,000 (£233,000) in 2013. As a result of the cap, banks such as Barclays and HSBC are preparing to make additional awards of shares to staff which do not count as salary or bonuses. GUARDIAN

G4S’s Oakwood prison disorder was full-scale riot, reveals officer

A disturbance at a jail described as an incident of "concerted indiscipline" by authorities was in fact a "full-scale riot", an unnamed prison officer has revealed. Describing the situation, he said:"Wires had been strung as tripwires at leg level and at chest and neck level as well, to try and prevent us from moving in an orderly fashion down the wing and sort of break us as we went through... I would sum it up as a full-scale prison riot and we were very lucky that it only took place on one unit and didn't spread." G4S, which runs the prison, said about 15 to 20 prisoners were involved. But the officer, who went inside to tackle the violence, told the BBC many more inmates had been involved and they took over an entire wing of the jail. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has said the site, which has space for 1,600 inmates, is meant to be the blueprint for future prisons. But last year Oakwood was given the lowest performance rating possible by the Ministry of Justice. BBC NEWS

Yet another mis-selling scandal? Recruitment agencies face probe over flogging workers useless insurance to protect against pay falls

Six employment companies stand accused of misleading workers into buying personal accident cover they did not need. The companies named are Blue Arrow, Staffline, Acorn, Taskmaster, Randstad and Meridian, which together employ over 100,000 workers. The firms sold the insurance at a profit even though workers did not need it as they were already covered by their employers. Business Secretary Vince Cable described the practice as indefensible and possibly illegal. He told MPs the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills would investigate the companies and did not rule out a broader inquiry into the practice. DAILY MAIL

Emails reveal UK government helped shale gas industry manage fracking opposition

Shale gas executives and government officials collaborated in private to manage the British public's hostility to fracking, emails released under freedom of information rules reveal. Officials shared pre-prepared statements with the industry last year before major announcements and hosted high-level dinners with "further discussion over post-dinner drinks", while the industry shared long lists of "stakeholders" to be targeted. Critics said the government was acting as an arm of the gas industry" and was guilty of cheerleading, but officials said facilitating discussions was "right and proper". GUARDIAN

Record levels of young adults living at home, says ONS

The number of young adults living with their parents has increased by a quarter since records began in 1996, caused by high house prices and growing youth unemployment. A total of 3.3 million 20- to 34-year-olds lived with their parents in 2013. This is despite the proportion of the population aged between 20 and 34 remaining broadly the same. Between April and June 2008, 13% of the economically active population aged 18-24 was unemployed, a figure that had increased to 19% by the same period of 2013. The ONS said that in 1996, the typical first-time buyer had to raise 2.7 times their salary to afford to buy a home, but by 2013 the figure stood at 4.47. GUARDIAN