The Huawei ‘U-turn’ isn’t enough to keep Britain safe July 15, 2020 Yesterday, the UK government announced the results of its long-awaited review into Huawei’s role in our country’s 5G system. Following months of speculation and increasingly public and political concern about the influence of China, the new plan revises the January 2020 decision giving the Chinese telecoms giant a 35 per cent stake in Britain’s network [...]
Rishi Sunak orders review into UK capital gains tax July 14, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has commissioned a report into capital gains taxes, which could lead to the government increasing the tax burden to help pay for its coronavirus spending. Sunak has asked the Office of Tax Simplification to conduct the review, with the body launching a survey today asking for “evidence to seek views about capital [...]
Huawei banned from UK’s 5G network after government U-turn July 14, 2020 The government will ban new Huawei products from being a part of the UK’s 5G network from next year and all its existing infrastructure will be removed by 2027 in a major U-turn. Huawei will also be banned from supplying equipment to the UK’s new full fibre broadband network, with the embargo likely to begin [...]
UK has now approved £46.7bn of coronavirus business loans July 14, 2020 British businesses have now accessed £46.7bn of loans through the government’s package of emergency coronavirus support schemes. New figures released today showed that £31.70bn of bounce back loans -lending of up to £50,000 which the government 100 per cent underwrites – have now been approved for 1.05m businesses. A further £11.85bn to 54,538 businesses has [...]
Former BP boss Lord Browne to step down as Huawei UK chair July 14, 2020 Lord John Browne has resigned as UK chairman of Huawei, ahead of an expected ban on the telecoms provider to be announced later today. He will step down from the board in September, ending his tenure seven months early. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden is expected to tell MPs this afternoon that the government will ban [...]
Face coverings to be made compulsory in shops in England July 14, 2020 Face coverings are to be made compulsory in all shops in England from 24 July, with a fine of up to £100 for those who do not comply, the government is expected to announce today. Since May, the public have been advised to wear face coverings in enclosed meeting spaces, but they have only been [...]
My son needs medical cannabis — but the UK approach remains a national disgrace July 14, 2020 For any parent to hear a child’s horrific scream as they have a seizure, not breathing or responding, is a rude wakeup call that life will be far from normal. Alfie was just eight months old and diagnosed as suffering from a rare form of epilepsy. For us as a family, every day became crisis [...]
Government dragging its feet on audit reform, says business committee July 14, 2020 The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee has accused the government of dragging its feet on proposed audit reforms. The government has today published its response to the committee’s inquiry into the collapse of Thomas Cook last year. In the original findings from the inquiry last October, the committee expressed disappointment that the government [...]
Brexit: UK completes assessments for City of London to retain EU access July 13, 2020 The UK has now submitted all paperwork necessary for the City of London to potentially retain access to the EU, after missing the original deadline two weeks ago. The 28 assessments were due on 1 July, however Downing Street previously blamed the EU for missing the deadline as they received much of the paperwork, which [...]
Major UK mobile networks vow not to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit July 13, 2020 The UK’s four major phone networks — EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 — have vowed not to reintroduce roaming charges when Britain leaves the bloc in January, after the government today urged Brits to check with their mobile carriers for price changes ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline. The UK government today called on the [...]