Hand it over: David Cameron ordered to show lobbying text messages April 21, 2021 Former prime minister David Cameron has been given two weeks to pass on the details of his text messages in which he attempted to lobby the chancellor on behalf of failed finance firm Greensill. In a letter to Cameron, the chairman of the Treasury select committee urged the former prime minister to release details of [...]
CMA teams up with Australian and German authorities to tackle problematic mergers April 20, 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has teamed up with its Australian and German counterparts to better enforce mergers, with healthy competition crucial to post-pandemic economic growth. The CMA, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Germany’s Bundeskartellamt have signed up to a statement which said that “without strong merger control regimes, there is a [...]
Prince William and Harry begin to rebuild bridges, an insider says April 20, 2021 Following last month’s televised interview between Harry, Meghan and Oprah Winfrey, it has been reported that William and Harry have begun rebuilding bridges. The controversial interview, mirroring that of their mother Diana’s BBC Panorama interview in 1995, caused rifts between royal followers and family members alike. However, with Harry back in the UK for [...]
Sold: Esken sells stake in Stobart Air for £2 April 20, 2021 Aviation and energy group Esken has sold its stake in Irish flight operator Stobart Air for £2 this morning to avoid the company collapsing. A buyback sale of £1 for aircraft leasing company Propius was initially tabled by Esken in April 2020 when the pandemic sprung into full force in the UK. The buyback was [...]
Tesco slapped with £7.56m fine for selling out-of-date food April 20, 2021 Tesco was slapped with a £7.56m fine for selling out of date food at three of its stores by a Birmingham judge on Monday. The judge at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court also ordered the supermarket giant to pay a victim surcharge of £170, alongside the prosecution costs of £95,500, Birmingham City Council said. The penalty was handed [...]
Markets: Wall Street slips from record levels April 19, 2021 Major U.S. stock indexes fell from record levels on Monday as investors sought cues from first-quarter earnings reports to justify the rich valuation of equities. Tesla was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with the electric-car maker down three per cent after a Tesla vehicle, which was believed to be operating [...]
Inside Sheikh Mohammed’s British property empire April 17, 2021 Sheikh Mohammed, the controversial ruler of Dubai, has become one of the UK’s largest landowners, exceeding that of the Queen’s personal property portfolio. Spanning 40,000 hectares, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s properties can be found on the most exclusive streets in London and in the most elusive locations in the Scottish Highlands, according to the [...]
Hospitality set for a booming weekend as punters flock to pub gardens April 16, 2021 London bookings are up 220 per cent this weekend, according to a hospitality bookings app, as pub gardens finally opened to customers on Monday. Tripadvisor-owned TheFork, formerly known as Bookatable, has reported seeing more than double the number of bookings this weekend in comparison to the ‘Super Saturday’ weekend on the 4th and 5th [...]
UK population growth hit record low, ONS data suggests April 16, 2021 The UK population grew by just 0.5 per cent from 2019 to June last year, in what would be one of the smallest increases on record. Preliminary analysis by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggested that the population grew by 316,000 people, to 67.1m in total. “There is significant interest in what impact the [...]
Science Museum faces climate pressure after Shell revealed as ‘major sponsor’ April 16, 2021 The Science Museum has come under fire today as it revealed that Shell is a “major sponsor” of its flagship climate exhibition. The exhibition set for its reopening on 19 May, will focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which Shell has said is “essential for society to reach the goals of the Paris [...]