Greek referendum poll - NO leads #VoteOxi --- [Updated 22:15]

The results of the Greek bailout referendum are trickling in and with 13.58% of votes counted, every polling district has so far rejected the terms of the Troika's bailout deal.

Currently 60.22% have voted no with 39.78% voting yes.

20:16 With nearly 60% of the vote counted, the No vote has held up with 61.29% voting against the bailout deal and 38.71% voting in favour. The polls had the result much closer before the referendum. The closest result by polling district is Lakonias - home to the Spartans - where the No vote is just 1.59% ahead. The biggest gap is in the Cretan polling district of Chanion where the No vote is 46.55% ahead.

21:22 Over 80% of the vote has been counted and the No vote has an unassailable 61.55% of the vote. Greece has rejected austerity, rejected the bailout and possibly more than anything else (in their minds at least) they have German hegemony. What this means for Greece's place in the €uro and the EU remains to be seen but for Greece this can only be a good thing.

22:15 Just over 90% of the vote has been counted and the No vote is fractionally down at 61.4% but the result isn't going to change. The Oxis have declared victory, the leader of the opposition New Democracy party Antonis Samaras has resigned and thousands of Greeks have taken to the streets to celebrate.

Keep Calm and #VoteOxi

The Greeks are voting today on whether to accept an EU bailout with more punishing austerity measures attached.

Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tspiras, called a snap referendum last week after it became clear that no deal would be reached with Germany by the deadline for their IMF loan repayments and is urging the Greek people to vote no.

Greece's debt is unsustainable and its membership of the €uro is damaging to the Greek economy. Dropping out of the single currency and returning to the Drachma will boost Greek industry and attract foreign investment. Greece is too left wing for its economy to fully recover and the country will inevitably default so this is about damage limitation. Greece already has €230bn of bailout loans it can't afford to pay - do they want to add another €60bn to it just to delay the inevitable?

Greek government establish Truth Committee to examine legality of EU-imposed austerity

The Greek government have established a "Truth Committee" tasked with examining whether the crippling loans they were forced to take out as part of the EU-imposed austerity programme were legal.

The committee will examine the legality of the memorandum that was signed by the previous Greek government which effectively turned the country into a vassal of the EU, the ECB and the IMF. The committee is potentially looking at bringing criminal charges against those responsible for signing the memorandum and may call former IMF, ECB and EU officials as witnesses.

Half the committee is made up of non-Greeks and the experts sitting on the committee are both politicians and members of civil society who are experts in their field. It will report fully in a year but will present a preliminary report on June 18th, just before the current austerity agreement ends.

The Ecuadorian government established a similar committee and used the findings as justification for cancelling debt repayments. Whether this is the intention of the Greek government or if it is a psychological move isn't clear but it will be causing a few sleepless nights in Berlin which has already been hit with a demand for war reparations from the Greek government.

Cyprus punished heavily in EU bailout deal

We knew the terms of the EU bailout deal for Cyprus would be punishing because they went to the Russians first but what has been agreed overnight is worse than anyone would have imagined.

Accounts held with the Popular Bank of Cyprus (Laiki) with deposits over €100k will be confiscated and used to pay the bank's debts and what is left will be moved to the Bank of Cyprus.  Laiki will then be closed down and its toxic assets will be transferred to a "bad bank".  Savings over €100k in Bank of Cyprus will also be plundered by an unspecified amount.  Bond holders in Laiki will be "wiped out" according to the Dutch Finance Minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

As well as the legalised theft of peoples' savings Cyprus will be subjected to a destructive and degrading EU austerity programme.  The Cypriot economy hasn't just been wounded, it's been comprehensively destroyed and all because they went to Russia for money rather than subject themselves to EU austerity.

Nigel Farage has already warned people to take their money out of Spanish banks because he predicts the collapse of the Spanish banking system and now the EU has shown that it is prepared to sanction the theft of ordinary peoples' savings you would be foolish not to follow his advice.  The whole banking system is based on trust and that trust has been fatally undermined not just in Cyprus but the whole €urozone.  The "save the €uro at all costs" mantra really does mean at all costs, even if it means stealing citizens' savings.