City lawyer pleads not guilty to insider dealing charges Legal A City lawyer has pleaded not guilty to five counts of alleged insider dealing for trading in the assets of maternity fashion brand Seraphine Group. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed in July that it charged Richard Bloomfield, 38, with allegedly using inside information he obtained while advising on the buyout of London-listed maternity brand [...]
FTSE boss calls on City businesses to hire former offenders Business Beazley chief executive Adrian Cox has encouraged City business leaders to hire ex-offenders as he believes in “looking beyond convictions and recognising potential”. The boss of the FTSE specialist insurer, which agreed to be acquired by Zurich Insurance for approximately £8.14bn earlier this year, said: “City employers can transform lives while strengthening their organisations’ access [...]
Lawyer struck off for using fake AI evidence in his own disciplinary case Law An immigration lawyer who was referred to a Tribunal after a criminal conviction has been struck off after using AI-generated evidence as part of his own defence. Abhishek Kumar, 41, a registered foreign lawyer, was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after his 2024 criminal conviction at the Central Criminal Court, after he knowingly [...]
Citi hit with £5m fine for violating UK sanctions on Russia September 2, 2026 Citi has been hit with a fine of nearly £5m after regulators found it violated the UK’s sanctions regime on Russia. The Wall Street giant’s London branch was found to have processed £19.7m in illicit transactions spanning 970 payments. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ruled that, in one instance, Citi failed to freeze [...]
FCA bans wealth manager trio behind £35.5m investor visa scam August 26, 2026 The financial watchdog has banned and fined a trio of former wealth managers after discovering they operated a scheme designed to help clients slip past UK investor visa rules. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that three Dolfin Financial executives had run a scheme designed to create the false impression that visa requirements to enter [...]
Travelodge boss quits amid backlash over hotel sexual assault August 20, 2026 Travelodge boss Jo Boydell has quit as the budget hotel brand pursues an overhaul of its safety measures following a sexual assault at one of its sites. The group said on Thursday that Boydell will depart with immediate effect after 13 years in the role, thanking the chief executive for her “dedication” to the group. [...]
The Simon Levy case proves some criminals can never be rehabilitated August 13, 2026 Prisons aren’t meant to punish or rehabilitate, they’re meant to keep dangerous, evil people away from the rest of us, says Tom Harwood How many times must a violent sexual predator be arrested, released, arrested, imprisoned, released, re-imprisoned, released, arrested and investigated for murder, released, and re-arrested again before we start to think that this [...]
Policing alone won’t solve London’s shoplifting epidemic August 6, 2026 Shoplifting is damaging London’s reputation as a global city. It’s time the entire justice system pulled together to tackle it, says Dee Corsi London’s attractiveness as a globally renowned destination for culture and tourism isn’t going anywhere. But recent research from New West End Company has found that safety and policing is holding it back. [...]
The Debate: should we release female prisoners to make space for men? August 5, 2026 Could an answer to the prison overcrowding crisis be to let out women offenders? Two writers go head to head Yes: We are locking up women who’ve been failed by the system Right now, prisons contain women who shouldn’t be there. Prison doesn’t work and it harms women. Almost 70 per cent of women in [...]
Nearly half of retail workers considering quitting over mental health June 12, 2026 Nearly half of the UK’s millions of retail workers are considering quitting the sector over concerns for their mental health, as the majority report facing abuse at work. Retail is the sector in which the most workers (52 per cent) have faced verbal abuse in the past year, as 44 per cent mull quitting the [...]