David Davis: Huawei deal is ‘worst intelligence decision since Cambridge Five’ February 23, 2020 Former Tory cabinet minister David Davis has lambasted the government’s 5G deal with Chinese tech firm Huawei, branding it the “worst intelligence decision since MI6’s recruitment of Kim Philby”. Davis, who served as Brexit secretary under Theresa May, warned the verdict posed a huge risk to national security and likened it to the appointment of [...]
Recruiter Cordant scrambles to raise cash after clash with lenders February 23, 2020 Cordant, one of the largest recruitment agencies in the UK is rushing to raise new cash after coming close to collapse following a row with its lenders. The company, whose clients include Lloyds, Amazon and Tesco, is racing to secure a deal with investors that would end the majority ownership of the Ullmann family, who [...]
MI5 officials limit information they give home secretary Priti Patel February 23, 2020 The Home Office turf war between Priti Patel and the civil service has escalated, after claims that Mi5 do not trust the home secretary. It has been claimed that officials from the security service have limited the number of briefings they give Patel and that they “roll their eyes” when she contributes at meetings. A [...]
House of Lords allowances surge in ‘rolling expenses scandal’ February 23, 2020 Expenses and allowances claimed by peers in the House of Lords rose by one-third last year in what has been described as a “rolling expenses scandal”. Analysis, by the Sunday Times, found that peers’ daily attendance allowance and expenses rose by 29 per cent to £23m in the year to March 2019. The analysis found [...]
Murdoch’s media empire hit by phone hacking charges as Sun suffers hefty loss February 23, 2020 Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspapers have posted another year of deep losses after the publisher was forced to pay out millions of pounds to settle phone hacking cases. News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes the Sun and the Sun on Sunday, reported a pre-tax loss of £68m in the year to the end of June 2019. [...]
Mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita wants to ‘Love London Better’ February 22, 2020 For a brief moment in 2019, the Liberal Democrats looked a serious chance of upending Britain’s two-party political hegemony. After years in the political wilderness, the party rode a wave of Brexit uncertainty and parliamentary division to top Westminster YouGov polling in late May, eliciting cries of jubilation from long suffering Lib Dem supporters. It’s [...]
HMRC sets up secret unit to probe inheritance tax avoidance February 22, 2020 HM Revenue & Customs has implemented a secret unit to investigate the use of family investment companies (FIC) by the very wealthy to avoid paying inheritance tax. It puts family offices with a combined total of more than $1tn in assets within its sights. The tax authority set up the team in April last year [...]
JPMorgan Chase set to launch UK digital consumer bank this year February 22, 2020 JPMorgan Chase is close to launching a range of personal banking products in the UK. The world’s biggest lender by market capitalisation is set to introduce savings and loans products using the Chase brand in the next few months, according to Sky News. The New York-listed bank is due to hold an investor day next [...]
Waitrose ranked best UK supermarket in annual Which survey February 22, 2020 Waitrose has been ranked as the best supermarket in the UK in an annual satisfaction survey conducted by Which. The chain, which is owned by John Lewis, hit five stars on most categories, but did come joint-last in value for money. Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl continue to be ranked highest in terms of value. [...]
Coronavirus: Two dead in Italy while cases in South Korea more than double February 22, 2020 The number of coronavirus cases outside of China continues to grow as the virus claimed its first two lives in Italy on Saturday. In South Korea the number of confirmed cases has more than doubled in one day bringing the total to 433. World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the spread outside [...]