Brexit to bring blow to UK Covid-19 recovery – KPMG November 18, 2020 Brexit could hamper the UK’s economic recovery from the coronavirus, with the UK economy not expected to reach pre-Covid levels until late 2022, according to KPMG forecasts. The manufacturing sectors hardest hit by Brexit, including textiles, chemicals and electrical manufacturing, could see output at the end of 2021 between 6% and 12% lower than in [...]
Pfizer chief insists company did not delay vaccine results until after US election November 17, 2020 Pfizer’s chief executive has insisted the biotech company “didn’t conspire with anyone” to delay releasing its phase three trial results until after the US presidential election. Speaking at a New York Times conference today, Albert Bourla also said the company has already hit the required safety milestone for phase three trials of the vaccine and [...]
Liz Truss: Joe Biden and Democrats are committed to UK-US trade deal November 17, 2020 President-elect Joe Biden and the Democrats are committed to negotiating a UK-US trade deal, according to international trade secretary Liz Truss. Truss said today that talks would continue with the incoming administration, despite widespread speculation that a cross-Atlantic deal may be scrapped by Biden. A source from the former Vice President’s transition team told The [...]
Jeremy Corbyn set to be readmitted to Labour by ruling body November 17, 2020 Jeremy Corbyn is reportedly set to be readmitted to the Labour party after being suspended for his comments on antisemitism. The Guardian is reporting that the former Labour leader will be readmitted, after a committee of the party’s ruling NEC voted in favour of bringing him back. The former Labour leader was suspended weeks ago [...]
City of London businesses have received average of £8 each from new Covid grants November 17, 2020 Businesses in the City of London have received an average of just £8.09 from the government’s latest £1.3bn Covid grant programme. Figures released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) showed that businesses in the local authority received the smallest proportion of the grant money released in November, with its 24,020 businesses [...]
Rishi Sunak refuses to disclose whether he will profit from Moderna vaccine November 17, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has refused to disclose whether he will profit from a surge in Moderna’s share price, after the US biotech firm yesterday announced its coronavirus vaccine proved almost 95 per cent effective in trials. Sunak was a founding partner of London-based hedge fund Theleme Partners — a major investor in Moderna — before [...]
Labour’s Anneliese Dodds extends public olive branch to City of London November 17, 2020 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has today made overtures to the City of London, telling a virtual conference that Labour wants to work with the financial services sector and prevent it from “turning inwards…[and] eschewing responsibility”. Dodds, speaking at a virtual conference for the TheCityUK advocacy group, said Labour understood the value the sector has to [...]
Government hits back at claims the UK is ‘back of the queue’ for Covid vaccines November 17, 2020 The government has hit back at claims that Britain is “back of the queue” for coronavirus vaccines and denied that there was a “scramble” to secure a supply of the drug being developed by US biotech firm Moderna. The business department today slammed reports in the Guardian and Metro claiming the UK had failed to [...]
Government faces lawsuit over £250m PPE contract with US jewellery firm November 17, 2020 The government is facing legal action after awarding a £250m contract for personal protective equipment (PPE) to an American jewellery company with no experience producing healthcare equipment. The Good Law Project today filed legal proceedings against the government over its multimillion-pound deal with Saiger LLC to provide equipment such as gowns and face masks to [...]
Boris Johnson tests negative for coronavirus November 17, 2020 Boris Johnson has tested negative for coronavirus after taking a rapid Covid-19 test, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson has confirmed. Johnson will continue to self-isolate at Number 10 despite not having the virus and claiming he was “bursting with antibodies”, after being told to do so by NHS Test and Trace. The PM on Sunday announced [...]