Criminal investigation into Trump Organisation launched by New York state May 19, 2021 The New York attorney general’s office has opened a criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s company, it confirmed today. Attorney general Letitia James has been investigating whether the Trump Organisation has obscured property values to bag loans and tax breaks. It signals an escalation of the legal threat the former Republican president faces, just four months [...]
Boris Johnson backs Australia free trade deal despite farmers’ fears May 19, 2021 Boris Johnson believes Australia should be offered a free trade deal with the UK, despite fears domestic farmers could be hit by price competition from overseas. Johnson will back plans to offer Australian agricultural exporters the same zero-tariff, zero-quota terms as those enjoyed by the European Union. There has been backlash from the UK’s National [...]
Biden charges up $174bn electric vehicle plan in Michigan speech May 18, 2021 US President Joe Biden today called for government grants for new battery production facilities as he made the case for his $174bn (£123bn) electric vehicle plan today. During a speech at a Ford electric vehicle plant in Michigan, Biden vowed to “set a new pace” for the technology and reverse what he described as the [...]
Frost: City of London needs to ‘get on and do its own thing’ post-Brexit May 18, 2021 Lord David Frost has said City of London firms need to “get on and do its own thing” post-Brexit as he signals that equivalence is unlikely. Boris Johnson’s UK-EU relations minister also told a House of Lords committee today that Brussels will continue to take decisions on equivalence that are “in their interest”. UK financial [...]
BA boss demands US go on travel green list as Hancock warns Brits off Spain holidays May 18, 2021 BA boss demands US go on travel green list as Hancock warns Brits not to holiday in Spain and France
Boris Johnson: England on track to lift Covid restrictions on 21 June ‘as things stand’ May 18, 2021 Boris Johnson has said today that England is still on track to lift Covid restrictions on 21 June “as things stand”, but cautioned there will be a more conclusive answer in a few days’ time. He said there was “nothing conclusive in the data” on the spread of the Indian Covid variant “to say we [...]
Dominic Cummings to reveal only copy of ‘crucial Covid document’ May 18, 2021 Dominic Cummings has asked Twitter if he should give a “crucial…document from Covid decision making” to a Westminster committee or to auction it off for charity, before quickly backtracking and saying he will do both. Cummings will appear in front of a House of Commons committee meeting next week to give evidence about the government’s [...]
Frost: EU needs to get used to UK controlling its own fishing waters May 18, 2021 The EU needs to “get used to” the UK having control over its own fishing waters post-Brexit or else there will continue to be “difficulties”, according to Lord David Frost. The minister for UK-EU relations also told MPs yesterday that the post-Brexit relationship will be “a bit bumpy for a time”. There have been complaints [...]
‘Ferocious’ row blazing in Whitehall over Australia trade deal May 18, 2021 Ministers are divided over whether to sign off a trade deal with Australia after the department of agriculture and the department of internal trade could not come to an agreement on the terms. Ministers were battling over whether to grant tariff-free access to Australian farmers, the Financial Times reported, a move that could spark backlash [...]
Indian Covid-19 variant growing in 86 local authorities in England May 17, 2021 Five or more cases of the Indian Covid-19 variant have been found in 86 English local authorities, with Bolton and Blackburn the two worst affected areas. Health secretary Matt Hancock said today that there were 2,323 cases of the more transmissible Covid strain in England, with 483 of them in Bolton and Blackburn where it [...]