Salons could ‘pull down shutters for good’ as business rates bite February 2, 2026 The British Beauty Council has urged the government to extend support on business rates to hair and beauty salons, or watch firms up and down the country “pull down their shutters for good”. Victoria Brownlie, chief policy and sustainability officer at the British Beauty Council, warned that the profitability of beauty salons has been “hollowed [...]
Chair of elite law firm Paul Weiss made personal requests to Jeffrey Epstein February 2, 2026 The chairman of one of the most prominent law firms in America, Paul Weiss, was included in the US Department of Justice’s latest round of bombshell revelations in relation to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. One of the US’s leading litigators and corporate advisers, Brad Karp has been Paul Weiss’s chairman since 2008. Paul Weiss is [...]
Mandelson to Epstein: JP Morgan should ‘threaten’ UK over banker tax February 2, 2026 Lord Peter Mandelson told Jeffrey Epstein that the boss of banking giant JP Morgan should “mildly threaten” the UK Treasury over a tax on banker bonuses whilst the peer was serving as business secretary. New bombshell revelations in the latest drop of the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice showed Mandelson, who worked [...]
Hundreds of Treasury jobs at risk in civil servant cost-cutting shakeup February 2, 2026 Rachel Reeves wants to slash about 300 of her department’s roughly 2,100 staff by 2030, as HM Treasury plans to offer officials up to £100,000 to take voluntary leave.The proposed cuts to the Treasury are part of a wider drive to reduce Whitehall’s administrative costs by 16 per cent, according to the Financial Times. The [...]
Starmer looks to woo Japanese investors amid Asia trip backlash January 31, 2026 Keir Starmer said he would hold discussions with investors and business owners in Japan after landing in Tokyo, with the Prime Minister hoping to defy critics of his recent trip to China with new deals to boost the UK economy. Speaking on a plane from Shanghai to Tokyo, Starmer said discussions with Prime Minister Sanae [...]
Betfred brothers, Alex Gerko, Mike Ashley: Top UK taxpayers revealed January 31, 2026 Betting entrepreneurs Peter Done and Denise Coates, traders Alex Gerko and Chris Rokos, and high street kingpins Tim Martin and Mike Ashley are among the top taxpayers in the UK, new analysis has revealed. Betfred founders Fred and Peter Done paid the most cash into HMRC over the past year, according to The Sunday Times’ [...]
‘Absolutely bonkers’: Labour minister hits back at Trump’s criticism of China trade January 30, 2026 A Labour minister has hit back at comments from President Donald Trump that trading with China was “very dangerous” for the UK. Sir Chris Bryant, who has served as trade minister since September 2025, said it would be “absolutely bonkers” for the UK not to do business with China. “You have to challenge China on [...]
Business confidence drops in blow to Labour January 30, 2026 Business confidence fell again at the start of the year, according to a tracker frequently cited by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, dealing a blow to the government in its hopes of boosting the UK economy before difficult elections in May. Starmer and Reeves have frequently pointed to the Lloyds Bank business barometer when speaking [...]
‘No comment’: City firms on Starmer China trip keep schtum January 29, 2026 When Sir Keir Starmer boarded a British Airways flight to Beijing earlier this week, he brought with him a coterie of leaders from British industry to help fly the flag. More than 50 delegates were invited on the PM’s trip, many from top City institutions such as law firm Clifford Chance and accounting giant PwC. [...]
Starmer: Businesses ‘cry out’ for more trade with China January 29, 2026 Keir Starmer has said businesses are “crying out for ways” to export to Chinese markets as he struck a new deal for British travellers. After meeting President Xi Jinping in China, Starmer defended his government’s ambitions to boost relations with the world’s second largest economy despite questions over security threats posed by state-backed spies and [...]