Ryanair makes further cuts to Italian flights as travel lockdown begins March 9, 2020 Ryanair has announced more cuts to its flight schedules to and from Italy today after the Italian government put the north of the country into lockdown yesterday. As of tomorrow, the budget airline is suspending all Italian domestic flights to and from Milan’s Bergamo and Malpensa airports, as well as those from Parma and Treviso, [...]
Downing Street to publish draft FTA before second round of trade talks March 9, 2020 Downing Street is planning to publish draft legal texts including a free trade agreement ahead of the second round of trade talks with the EU, government revealed today. Boris Johnson’s sherpa David Frost met with his counterpart Michel Barnier last week for the first round of talks, with both sides agreeing there were significant differences, [...]
Coast Capital renews attempt to force break-up of bus operator First Group March 9, 2020 Coast Capital has renewed its attempts to engineer a break-up of transport operator First Group, saying it will try to force an emergency general meeting of shareholders unless the group announces a separation. First Group has long been under pressure from several of its investors to separate the company’s North American operations into independent businesses, [...]
TfL releases designs for temporary Hammersmith Bridge March 9, 2020 Plans to build for a temporary cyclist and pedestrian bridge alongside the partially closed Hammersmith Bridge have been unveiled by Transport for London (TfL). The temporary bridge would allow the Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed to traffic since April, to completely shut in order to prepare for restoration works. The temporary structure would provide [...]
Coronavirus: Supermarkets call for competition laws to be waived March 9, 2020 The bosses of the UK’s biggest supermarkets are expected to warn the government that the outbreak of coronavirus could require competition law to be paused to allow them to collaborate. During a phone call with environment secretary George Eustice at least one of the big four grocers will reportedly call for the suspension of the [...]
Lord Ashcroft’s Devonshire Club at risk of closure as coronavirus stalls takeover March 9, 2020 An exclusive private members’ club co-owned by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft is fighting for survival after a planned takeover deal collapsed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Devonshire Club, close to Liverpool Street station in the City, had agreed terms with an unnamed buyer, with the deal set to complete this week. However, the firm [...]
UK aviation industry rejects decision to leave EU Aviation Safety Agency March 9, 2020 The UK aviation industry has hit back at plans to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by the end of the year, saying that the move posed a risk to highly skilled jobs in the UK. The calls come after US magazine Aviation Week reported that transport secretary Grant Shapps had confirmed that [...]
Aon to buy Willis Towers Watson for nearly $30bn in insurance mega-deal March 9, 2020 Aon said today it had agreed to acquire Willis Towers Watson for nearly $30bn (£22.9bn) in an all-stock deal that will create one of the world’s largest insurance brokers. The deal between the two would create a company with a combined value of approximately $80bn. Aon confirmed last year it was in early stage talks [...]
Downing Street defends coronavirus strategy after Italy lockdown March 9, 2020 Downing Street said today the coronavirus will spread in a “significant way” across the UK, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a Cobra meeting on the outbreak. A Number 10 spokesman said Britain is still officially trying to contain the virus as part of its four-step coronavirus strategy. But the government said experts now believe [...]
Coronavirus: TfL worker tests positive for Covid-19 March 9, 2020 A Transport for London (TfL) worker has tested positive for coronavirus, it was reported, as the outbreak continues to spread across the UK. The employee in question works at the body’s control centre at Palestra House in Blackfriars, rather than on a part of the underground network, TfL confirmed. TfL said that it had ordered [...]