Starmer blocks sleaze inquiry despite Tory and Labour pressure April 28, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has won a vote to block a parliamentary inquiry into whether he misled MPs over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite significant pressure from opposition parties and some Labour MPs. Labour backbenchers voted down a Tory motion to launch a so-called “sleaze inquiry” by the Privileges Committee [...]
NBA and EuroLeague hold ‘constructive’ talks over NBA Europe cooperation April 28, 2026 The NBA and EuroLeague have held fresh talks aimed at finding a solution to their stand-off over the US giant’s plans to launch a European basketball league next year. No deal has been struck but the meeting, held in Switzerland today, is being seen as a step towards a peace deal that would pave the [...]
OpenAI-linked shares plummet after it fails to hit growth targets April 28, 2026 Companies with financial ties to the fate of OpenAI sold off sharply on Tuesday after it emerged the ChatGPT maker had fallen short of internal targets for revenue and user growth. Shares in Japanese investment giant Softbank and data centre hyperscalers Coreweave and Oracle plunged by between four and eight per cent reigniting nerves over [...]
Airtel eyes fintech IPO spin off in $10bn boost for London market April 28, 2026 British telecommunications giant Airtel is mulling listing its mobile money business on the London Stock Market in what could be one of the largest public debuts on a European exchange in years. Airtel Money – a digital commerce service that allows users to store money, transfer funds and buy mobile data – is said to [...]
John Lewis hit with click-and-collect lawsuit April 28, 2026 John Lewis is being sued by the owner of London’s Brent Cross shopping centre over claims it should pay for online sales collected in store on top of its annual turnover, despite the lease being signed decades before the surge of online shopping. Hammerson and Standard Life Investments, the property company which operates the North [...]
Housing stocks drag on FTSE as inflation woes build into Bank of England interest rates call April 28, 2026 Fears about the impact of interest rates on the UK’s struggling economy echoed around the City into this week’s set-piece interest rate meeting at the Bank of England. A trio of Tuesday trading updates from London-listed firms with direct exposure to the housing market revealed rising costs. The insight reverberated across an industry which depends on affordable mortgages [...]
Barristers that ‘failed in duties’ to face probe over Post Office scandal April 28, 2026 Barristers who ‘failed in their professional duties’ when representing the Post Office during the Horizon IT scandal will face potential disciplinary action, the watchdog has warned. The Bar Standards Board (BSB), which oversees more than 18,000 English and Welsh barristers, said it currently has ten live investigations into possible misconduct, which are “progressing”, and added [...]
Chaos: Now Downing Street rules out rent freeze after backlash over ‘reckless’ rumours April 28, 2026 Downing Street has ruled out a rent freeze just hours after the Chancellor refused to distance herself from the policy while speaking in the Commons. The apparent kite flying sparked 24 hours of panic among residential landlords and economists, who dubbed the rumoured policy a would-be “disaster”. Reeves had reportedly been considering the policy to [...]
Government risks British Grand Prix jeopardy over F1 visa issues April 28, 2026 Formula 1 has said the government risks jeopardising the British Grand Prix and damaging the country’s soft power by dragging its feet over visa issues. The Home Office has been accused of being slow to adapt to visa requirements specific to hundreds of Formula 1 workers, where delays force employees used across the entire calendar [...]
Reeves rent freeze: How did Chancellor turn to a Mamdani-style policy controversy? April 28, 2026 Reports of plans in Downing Street for a rent freeze came as a shock after a housing minister said Labour opposes the policy. Felix Armstrong explores why rent controls stoke so much controversy, from New York to Sweden. Rumours that Rachel Reeves is considering slapping a freeze on private rents shocked the property market on [...]