Future of HS2 uncertain as Grant Shapps will not ‘blindly follow’ decades old-plans October 4, 2021 Speculation over the future of the eastern route of the HS2 is mounting after Grant Shapps said he is not planning to “blindly follow” plans dawn up 20 years ago. In an interview with the Financial Times today, the Transport Secretary signalled that a major rethink of the high-speed rail project between Birmingham and Leeds [...]
UK travel rules are changing from today as traffic light system is scrapped October 4, 2021 Travel rules are changing significantly today, with the UK’s traffic light system involving green, amber and red lists being scrapped, with locations categorised as either on the red list or not. It comes amid reports the number of countries on the red list will be slashed to nine from 54 later in the week, with [...]
The sky is not the limit for Barbie as she takes zero-gravity flight to space October 4, 2021 When young girls and boys think of Barbie, they may not imagine her floating around on a zero-gravity flight. But the brand has teamed up with the European Space Agency (ESA) and its only active female astronaut to inspire young girls to see the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) field as a viable career [...]
Watchdog mulls investigation for EY and Deloitte over Southeastern audits October 3, 2021 The accountancy watchdog is debating whether to launch a probe into the auditors of the Southeastern train line after the company last week admitted to hiding £25m owed to the state. The Financial Reporting Council is looking into whether audit giants EY and Deloitte have a case to answer, sources told the Sunday Telegraph. Last [...]
City corruption: Company of Tory donor Ayman Asfari paid tens of millions in bribes across Middle East October 3, 2021 A company whose biggest shareholder is a major Tory donor did not stop its employees from paying out more than £32m in bribes in order to secure a range of contracts across the Middle East. Petrofac, one of the world’s largest service providers to oil and gas producers, won business worth £2.7bn in Iraq, Saudi [...]
Government writes to thousands of Germans in the UK: ‘Please drive a lorry’ October 2, 2021 The government has sent out thousands of letters to German nationals based in the UK, urging them to consider a career as a lorry driver, even if they have never driven one before. The letters, signed by transport minister Baroness Vere, encourages people to “consider returning” to the HGV driving sector. It is understood Germans [...]
Record high: Energy bills for 15m UK households to increase by at least £139 October 1, 2021 As suppliers grapple with soaring wholesale prices, energy bills for around 15m UK households will increase by at least £139 to a record high from today under Ofgem’s latest price cap. The regulator decided in August that energy customers on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see the sharpest jump in prices since the [...]
Fuel crisis: Shortages at petrol stations to persist for at least another week, govt admits October 1, 2021 A government minister admitted this morning that the shortages at petrol filling stations may persist for at least another week. Policing minister Kit Malthouse said there was still strong demand for fuel in some parts of the country and that Boris Johnson will have to review the situation if it deteriorates further. He told the [...]
Holiday-goers could fork out as much as £105m on airport drop-off fees next year October 1, 2021 Holiday-goers leaving the UK could fork out as much as £105m in airport drop-off fees once traveller numbers return to pre-pandemic levels, according to new research. Most of the country’s busiest airports charge such fees, with the average cost standing at £3.54 – while Heathrow is set to introduce a £5 fee from November, the [...]
World’s longest sub-sea power cable linking UK and Norway starts operations October 1, 2021 A 450-mile subsea power cable linking the UK and Norway has started commercial operations, allowing the two countries to share renewable energy, National Grid said this morning. Water flowing from mountains to fjords and harnessed by hydropower stations in Norway will power British homes, as the world’s longest “interconnector” hooks up the two countries’ grids. [...]