Barclays hit by protests over tax avoidance

Several branches were closed to the public as protesters staged peaceful sit-ins, impromptu reading groups and creches in dozens of cities and towns across Britain, including Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool and Lewes, the Guardian reports. Barclays has been accused of occupying a "parallel universe" following the disclosure it paid just £113m of corporation tax on its £11.6bn of annual profits; a rate amounting to just 1%. Supporters of UK Uncut, the group which organised the protests, said the plan was not to shut the banks down but to "open them up". Ruth Griffiths, 36, a U...