Portrait of the week | 12 March 2011

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Special forces accompanying British intelligence officers in a nocturnal visit by helicopter to territory near Benghazi were detained by the Libyan opposition before being taken off by the frigate Cumberland. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, told the Commons he had known of the mission but not of the operational details. George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that the Government would set up new enterprise zones. Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, criticised bank bonuses and the concept of being ‘too big to fail’. Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, received a £6.5 million bonus. Northern Rock made an annual loss of £232 million. A review by Tom Winsor recommended cuts to police overtime and allowances. The Royal Mail issued first-class stamps depicting Lord Voldemort.

The Duke of York was criticised for remaining a friend of a rich American who had been convicted of sexual relations with an underage girl.