Union fury at Natwest plans for staff to attend the office TWO DAYS a week Business Natwest is facing backlash from trade union Unite over a new plan to require workers to attend the office for a mandatory two days a week. On Tuesday Unite, which represents over 1 million workers across private, public, and voluntary sectors, including some Natwest employees, said the lender’s decision was “out of touch with the [...]
The sugar rush is over: The Big Four must wake up from their pandemic dream Big Four The pandemic was the worst thing that could have happened to the Big Four giants and the overall consultancy market. At the time, these firms were flying high, flooded with inquiries from businesses needing help to navigate the ‘once-in-a-lifetime ‘ event, but this ‘sugar rush’ didn’t last forever, and it gave the industry a false [...]
Regulator wins decade-long pricing tussle with Pfizer Legal The UK competition watchdog has won permission to appeal in a case against US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer after a long-running legal battle over allegations of excessive pricing, overturning a previous decision by the Tribunal. The court said the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), was “wrong to set aside the [Competition and Market’s Authority’s] decision” in relation to [...]
Government aid ‘worth £28bn’ handed to terrorists, criminals and hostile states June 9, 2026 Billions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money has been misspent as government aid and Covid relief funds ended up in the hands of terrorists, hostile states and criminal gangs, according to reports. A Cabinet Office dossier, unearthed by the Telegraph, found that more than £28bn ended up in the hands of the Islamic State and [...]
Treasury still has £5bn to spend on Covid-19 – taking total bill to £385bn May 28, 2026 The Treasury has said it still needs to spend £5bn more on Covid-19 measures more than four years after the last lockdown restriction was lifted, taking the total estimated costs to taxpayers to £385bn. In a cost tracker update on Thursday, the government said it had already spent £380bn on Covid-19 support since the pandemic [...]
Jet fuel crisis worse than Covid for airlines, says AirAsia chief May 7, 2026 The global jet fuel shortage caused by the Iran war has caused a bigger crisis for airlines than the Covid-19 pandemic, the chief of AirAsia has warned. Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia, said: “I thought I’d seen it all with Covid […] but having seen jet fuel go up almost three times — this is much [...]
Economic optimism slumps to lowest level since records began April 22, 2026 Brits’ optimism in the state of the UK economy has fallen to the lowest level since records began in a fresh blow to Rachel Reeves, with the majority expecting the situation to get even worse. That’s according to new data from the latest Ipsos Economic Optimism Index (EOI), published the same day that the rate [...]
End of the runway for Gatwick as top court kicks out insurance lifeline April 22, 2026 Gatwick Investment’s appeal against insurance giant Liberty Mutual has been struck down over whether insurers can deduct government furlough payments from business claims. The Supreme Court ruled that insurers do not have to pay an estimated £1bn to the hospitality and leisure companies involved in the case that suffered financial losses during the pandemic because [...]
Britain is still paying a heavy price for Covid lockdowns March 31, 2026 Six years on from the first lockdown, Britain hasn’t returned to its pre-Covid path – instead becoming a high-tax, low-growth less free nation, says Alex Pugh A little over six years ago, 27m people watched UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tell them to “stay home” to tackle the spread of coronavirus. Johnson said you should [...]
Stalling Starling revs up Engine in rebrand September 24, 2025 Veteran of the UK fintech industry Starling has overhauled its brand with a fresh colour palette, a new slogan and even a new name. The digital lender announced last week it would drop the word “Bank” from its banking arm’s name in a move analysts have described as a “significant” step in its evolution. The [...]