Just 15 per cent of central London workers back in the office, says think tank August 12, 2021 Just 15 per cent of central London workers have returned to their place of work, according to new figures from the Centre for Cities think tank. The new figures for the last week of July showed that central London has the lowest amount of workers who have returned to the office out of any city [...]
US judge orders Trump’s accountants to hand over tax records to Senate August 11, 2021 A US judge has ordered Donald Trump’s accountants to hand over some of the former president’s tax records to a House of Representatives committee. District judge Amit Mehta today ruled that Mazars must provide documents related to Trump’s hotel in Washington DC, saying the committee had proved it needed them to evaluate potential legislation and [...]
UK lobbying regulator investigating Philip Hammond August 11, 2021 Former chancellor Philip Hammond is being probed by the UK’s lobbying regulator, after contacting a Treasury official on behalf of a bank he was working for. The Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists is investigating whether Hammond should have disclosed his contact with senior Treasury mandarin Charles Roxburgh in July 2020. Hammond was contacting [...]
Rumours swirl about potential future Gavin Williamson replacements as education secretary August 11, 2021 Rumours are swirling that education secretary Gavin Williamson is set to be sacked at the next reshuffle, with two potential replacements touted. Treasury minister Kemi Badenoch and vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi have both been tipped in the past 24 hours of being chosen to replace Williamson, after the former chief whip struggled through a series [...]
David Cameron denies lobbying for genetics firm to get £123m contract August 11, 2021 David Cameron has denied lobbying Matt Hancock on behalf of a genetics firm that won a £123m government contract. Cameron works as a paid adviser for US-based gene sequencing firm Illumina, who won the contract after the former Prime Minister wrote to Matt Hancock about attending a conference with him. The Times reports that Cameron [...]
Andrew Cuomo resigns as New York governor in wake of harassment allegations August 10, 2021 Andrew Cuomo has sensationally resigned as New York State governor today after being accused by 11 different women of sexual harassment. The Democrat said that “the best thing he can do is step aside”, but also claimed that the accusations were “politically motivated”. He will officially stand down in 14 days’ time. An investigation from [...]
Russia launches criminal probe into two allies of Kremlin critic Navalny August 10, 2021 Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into two top allies of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, for raising money for his political network – which has been labelled extremist. Allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, who have already been exiled from the country, are at the centre of the investigation which was opened after a [...]
Hong Kong leader backs to adopt China anti-sanctions law August 10, 2021 Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said today she supports implementing China’s anti-foreign sanctions law in the city through local legislation. At her weekly press conference, Lam said she supports Beijing’s law to be listed in the annex of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution known as the Basic Law. “We will do its utmost to fulfil its [...]
China court rejects Canadian citizen’s death sentence appeal August 10, 2021 A Chinese court has upheld today a death sentence against Canadian citizen Robert Schellenberg for drug smuggling. Schellenberg has been detained in China since 2014 after he was accused of drug smuggling. In December 2018, he was sentenced to 15 years in jail and he appealed for a retrial. But the Dalian intermediate people’s court [...]
US Democrats want more EV charging point funding to lower emissions in $1 trillion spending bill August 10, 2021 A group of 28 US House Democrats says the $1 trillion (£725bn) infrastructure bill poised for vote in the Senate falls short in electric vehicle (EV) funding. The current one trillion dollar bipartisan bill includes $7.5bn in electric vehicle infrastructure funding. The 28 Representatives have asked congressional leaders to add $85 billion towards an EV [...]