Single Covid vaccine is 80 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations among over-80s March 1, 2021 A single injection of either the Astrazeneca/Oxford jab or the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine is more than 80 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisation among over-80s, the health secretary has announced. Speaking at this evening’s Downing Street press conference, Matt Hancock hailed the new data from Public Health England as “extremely good news,” adding that it may [...]
FCA calls for social media giants to be held accountable for fraudsters on their platforms in wake of LCF scandal March 1, 2021 Social media companies should be punished when fraudsters use their platforms to advertise scams as a part of new online harms legislation, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) chief executive. Nikhil Rathi told MPs today that social media platforms were becoming “one big vector” for fraudsters and that firms like Twitter and Facebook should [...]
Budget 2021: Sadiq Khan calls for funding guarantees for new police officers March 1, 2021 Sadiq Khan has called for Wednesday’s Budget to include specific support for London’s boroughs and a guarantee the capital will see funding for 6,000 new police officers. The mayor of London also asked the chancellor in a letter seen by City A.M. to extend a range of Covid support schemes – including the furlough scheme, [...]
Former French President Sarkozy sentenced to three years in jail March 1, 2021 Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in jail for corruption charges, after he was found guilty of trying to bribe a magistrate. Two years of the three-year sentence will be suspended, and it is unlikely the former President will spend a single day in jail. The remaining one-year prison term [...]
Brexit: Labour calls for ‘more ambitious’ UK-EU financial services talks March 1, 2021 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has called for the UK to be “more ambitious” in its post-Brexit talks with the EU on future financial services regulation. Dodds said today that the government “seems to be trying to manage expectations down” about the Memorandum of Understanding talks and that getting equivalence from the EU should be the [...]
Labour’s Anneliese Dodds hints at support for online sales tax on tech giants March 1, 2021 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has called for the government to level the taxation playing field between digital and bricks and mortar retail in a potential call for new online taxes. Dodds said at a pre-Budget address on Bloomberg that there was a “big gulf on how businesses based in bricks and businesses based on clicks [...]
Rail commuters to get flexible season tickets in back to office bid March 1, 2021 Commuters are set to be offered flexible season rail tickets as a part of the government’s bid to try and get people back to offices by summer. The new flexi-tickets will reportedly be introduced by 21 June when England Covid restrictions are due to end and could save commuters hundreds of pounds a year. The [...]
Rishi Sunak should axe 20 UK taxes in Budget, says think tank March 1, 2021 The UK should axe inheritance tax, stamp duty, the TV licence fee and 18 other taxes to simplify the UK’s taxation regime post-Covid, according to a free market think tank. The Institute for Economic Affairs’ (IEA) pre-Budget release has called for Rishi Sunak to “simplify the tax system, reduce the overall burden of taxation, and [...]
Budget 2021: UK to spend extra £1.65bn on Covid vaccine rollout February 28, 2021 Rishi Sunak will boost the UK’s Covid vaccine rollout in Wednesday’s Budget by pledging to spend a further £1.65bn on the distribution of the two available jabs. The chancellor said last night that the programme had been “a great success” and that it was “essential we maintain this momentum” by providing more funding for the [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak eyes tax on online deliveries and freelance workers February 28, 2021 Rishi Sunak is reportedly preparing to announce new taxes on online deliveries and freelance workers in Wednesday’s Budget to help pay off the UK’s Covid spending. The tax would likely target online firms like Amazon and Asos who have seen profits soar over the past year, after people spent much of 2020 in lockdown. It [...]