Rape victim calls on Alun Cairns to quit cabinet amid Ross England row November 6, 2019 A rape victim has urged cabinet minister Alun Cairns to quit after his former aide “sabotaged” her trial. Welsh secretary Alun Cairns’ former aide, Ross England, made claims about the victim’s sexual history – that she denied – that led to the trial’s collapse in April 2018. Read more: Why London could hold the key [...]
Not all engineers wear hard hats and high-vis jackets November 6, 2019 What do prosthetic limbs, cosmetics, clean water, YouTube, and biodegradable plastic alternatives have in common? None of them would exist without engineers – but that would likely come as a surprise to most people. Unfortunately, we suffer from narrow and outdated stereotypes of what engineers do and the role they play in society. And this [...]
The Berlin Wall is not just a piece of history – the manner of its crumbling contains lessons for the present November 6, 2019 Thirty years ago this Saturday, on 9 November 1989, one of the greatest symbols of oppression the world has ever known began to be dismantled. The Berlin Wall had stood since 1961, built by its East German masters to encircle Allied-controlled West Berlin. But it was much more than simply a barricade. It became the [...]
DEBATE: Was MacDonald’s right to sack its chief executive for a consensual relationship with an employee? November 6, 2019 Was MacDonald’s right to sack its chief executive for a consensual relationship with an employee? Martin Townsend, a partner at communications consultancy Pagefield, says YES. “You can’t help who you fall in love with” is one of the great romantic clichés. Unfortunately, if you are the £12.3m-per-year boss of McDonald’s, this is not an excuse [...]
If you were chancellor, what would be in your Budget? November 6, 2019 Today was scheduled to be the first Budget of Boris Johnson’s premiership. The chancellor announced the Budget last month, saying: “This is the right and responsible thing to do – we must get on with governing.” Unfortunately, to misquote a phrase, the best-laid plans of chancellors and Prime Ministers often go awry. The Budget has [...]
Is the concept of the ethical CEO too good to be true? November 6, 2019 “A fish rots from the head down.” It’s a worn cliché, perhaps, but one that resonates strongly in a world where increasing scrutiny is being placed on those at the helm of global companies. Investors, customers, governments, and even chief executives themselves, are finally starting to take real action based on the idea that unethical [...]
From World War II to the financial crisis, our institutional memory is fading fast November 6, 2019 The young contestants on Lord Sugar’s reality TV show The Apprentice sparked outrage last week. They appeared to have virtually no knowledge about the Second World War. The online clips of the sequence capture to perfection their expressions of bovine outrage at even being expected to know such an esoteric thing as how long the [...]
City Moves for 6 November – Who’s switching jobs at Quadrant, Trend Micro and Liontrust Asset Management? November 6, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Quadrant, Trend Micro and Liontrust Asset Management Quadrant UK real estate asset management and development company Quadrant has appointed Rowan Jenkins as partner. Rowan specialises in development and project management and brings 25 years’ experience in delivering large-scale retail, commercial and residential developments, including managing acquisitions, concept design, planning approvals and [...]
Why London could hold the key to December’s Brexit election November 5, 2019 Cat Neilan explores the state of play in the capital ahead of the 12 December – and identifies eight battleground seats While some have identified “Workington Man” as the decisive demographic in this election, the capital is home to a number of significant marginal seats which could play a central role in deciding who claims [...]
Mothercare shuts up shop in UK as PwC called in for administration November 5, 2019 Mothercare has called in the administrators, meaning it will shutter its 79 UK stores and put 2,500 jobs at risk. Administrators from PwC said the baby retailer’s outlets will go in a phased closure, after the UK business had been “loss making for a number of years” despite its international franchises being profitable. On Monday, [...]