UK Treasury questions OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta over AI in financial services September 18, 2025 The Treasury Committee has sent letters to six major technology firms, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, seeking detailed information about the role they play in providing AI services to the UK financial sector. The correspondence is part of the Committee’s inquiry into AI in financial services, ahead of forthcoming sessions with regulators and HM [...]
Reeves considering ‘staggered stamp duty payments’ to boost housing market September 18, 2025 A proposal to spread stamp duty payments across several years, in an effort to drive growth and boost the housing market, is among changes to property tax being considered by the Treasury ahead of Budget discussions with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Suggested reforms to stamp duty would allow house buyers to pay the [...]
Labour warned Employment Rights Bill will damage jobs market September 17, 2025 Labour’s Employment Rights Bill must be changed immediately to prevent the UK’s jobs market crisis from worsening, top business groups have warned Peter Kyle in a last-ditch attempt to secure growth-focused changes. The government’s workers’ rights reforms have faced strong opposition from thousands of businesses across the UK, with bodies representing their interests claiming changes [...]
Knives are out in Whitehall after Chinese espionage case collapsed September 17, 2025 Whitehall is seething with anger following the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decision to drop its espionage case against two men accused of spying for China. Christopher Cash (30), a former parliamentary researcher and director of the China Research Group, and Christopher Berry (33), a former English teacher in China, were charged last year with providing [...]
EU chief von der Leyen hit with defamation lawsuit by MEP September 17, 2025 The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has been hit with legal action by an MEP for alleged defamation in comments she made at the European Parliament. Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, from the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), has filed a claim at the EU Court of Justice. According to his statement, as [...]
Inflation: Brits ‘paying the price for years of poor economic management’ September 17, 2025 Inflation hit 3.8 per cent in the year to August, according to official data, sending a warning to Bank of England officials ahead of a crucial interest rate vote on Thursday. The previous reading for inflation in July was 3.8 per cent, with the August figure likely to confirm Bank of England rate-setters will vote [...]
Employers are barely an afterthought for Labour September 17, 2025 The economy is flatlining. Unemployment is rising. Investors are fleeing our shores. At times like these, businesses needs support. But instead of a shot in the arm, they get a series of knives in the back. One of Labour’s first acts after coming to power was to hike Employer National Insurance Contributions. And now the employers [...]
Tech investment provides Starmer with some light relief September 17, 2025 The Special Relationship will be on display this week, but it will also be tested. On a commercial level, things are rumbling along rather nicely; £30bn of US investment into the UK’s AI infrastructure is nothing to sniff at. Donald Trump’s state visit comes with its own political baggage, on which more in a moment, [...]
OBR ‘downgrades productivity’ in major pre-Budget blow to Rachel Reeves September 16, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has reportedly told Chancellor Rachel Reeves that it will downgrade productivity forecasts for the UK economy, blowing a hole in the public finances and making tax hikes all but guaranteed at this year’s November Budget. In another setback for the Labour government, the OBR has informed the Treasury that [...]
Keir Starmer pressed to ‘come clean’ on Mandelson sacking September 16, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been pressed to “come clean” on how the sacking of former ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson unfolded and the process that led to his appointment last year. Starmer, who was not present at an emergency debate on Mandelson’s sacking on Tuesday, said on Monday that he would not have [...]