Trying to impeach Boris would be an unmitigated catastrophe October 2, 2019 Rumours are swirling in Westminster of a plot to impeach Boris Johnson. The news broke over the weekend that, inspired perhaps by the US Democrats’ move against Donald Trump, opposition parties are considering moving to strip the Prime Minister of his position. This is foolish and dangerous. For a start, it is entirely unclear if [...]
DEBATE: Have the Conservatives re-established themselves as the party of law and order? October 2, 2019 Have the Conservatives re-established themselves as the party of law and order? Jack Powell, editor of 1828, says YES. The home secretary stands in front of the police federation, berating them about everything from decades-long scandals to not working with her constructively enough Five years later, one of her successors pledges to give her full [...]
Ex-Freshfields lawyer says incident with married partner left her with mental health problems October 1, 2019 A former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer told a court today that an alleged incident of non-consensual sexual activity with a married partner at the firm had left her feeling “absolutely terrible” and in need of ongoing mental health support. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard the lawyer give evidence from behind a screen about the allegations [...]
Audit watchdog beefs up standards in response to corporate failures September 30, 2019 Accountancy regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today announced it was beefing up audit standards in response to a string of major corporate failures. The FRC said it was introducing a new standard related to going concern status, where auditors judge a company’s financial position. Outsourcer Carillion and department store chain BHS both received clean [...]
Burford Capital goes to High Court to demand identities of traders who tanked its stock September 30, 2019 Litigation funder Burford Capital today said it had been the victim of market manipulation and said it had gone to court to get the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to disclose the identities of those involved. Burford’s shares tanked in value last month in response to a short attack by activist fund Muddy Waters. Read more: [...]
Woman who spent £16m in Harrods will not be extradited to Azerbaijan September 26, 2019 A judge ruled today that a woman who spent £16m in Harrods and was the target of the UK’s first unexplained wealth order (UWO) will not be extradited to Azerbaijan. Zamira Hajiyeva, whose banker husband is serving a 15-year sentence for fraud and embezzlement, faced extradition to Azerbaijan to stand trial on multiple fraud charges. [...]
We should celebrate the glory of Britain’s unwritten constitution September 25, 2019 For most of the Cold War, there sat in a safe in Whitehall a 16-chapter document. It was a game plan for when the bombs started falling. In four minutes, as the warning sirens wailed, the United Kingdom would be turned from a constitutional monarchy to 12 regional mini-kingdoms. Each would be overseen by a [...]
Watch out for the unintended ripples of the Supreme Court verdict September 25, 2019 There are times in the life of a nation when a single decision made by an authority can have ramifications well beyond the narrowness of the issue at hand. When the US Supreme Court decided in Roe versus Wade in 1973 that a pregnant woman should have the freedom to choose to have an abortion [...]
Muddy Waters says Burford ‘continues to evade key questions’ about its accounting policies September 24, 2019 Shortseller Muddy Waters today slammed Burford Capital’s defence of its accounting policies and said the litigation funder “continues to evade key questions”. Muddy Waters launched a bear attack on Burford last month, questioning its use of fair value accounting and sending its share price down 40 per cent. Burford funds legal cases in return for [...]
Spending advice for the chancellor September 19, 2019 With the ongoing constitutional soap opera unfolding in Westminster, it’s hardly surprising that the Spending Round announcement from Sajid Javid didn’t make many headlines earlier this month. With parliament suspended until mid-October, there is some breathing space and time to reflect on the critical role that the Treasury will play in creating an environment where [...]