Four men arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran March 6, 2026 Four men have been arrested on the suspicion of spying for Iran on the Jewish community, the Metropolitan Police has said. The men were suspected of conducting surveillance of Jewish people in London. One Iranian national and three British-Iranian nationals were arrested in the early hours of Friday morning in Barnet and Watford. They were [...]
Iran war: blood, sweat, toil and Keir March 6, 2026 Trump is right: weak, vacillating and indecisive Keir Starmer, overly influenced by his worst cabinet minister Ed Miliband, is no Winston Churchill, says Alys Denby In war, Britain once offered blood, toil and tears – now we must make do with blood, toil and Keir. There is a case to be made that America and [...]
How geopolitics is influencing investment March 6, 2026 The UK’s classification of AI as critical infrastructure is being paradoxically balanced by increasingly strict national security scrutiny on ownership, investment, and partnerships, introducing political risk into the innovation pipeline, says Claire Trachet Britain classified AI as critical national infrastructure last September, sitting it alongside defence, energy and telecommunications. At Davos this year, former UK [...]
‘And so it begins’ – Mortgage lenders kick rates back up amid Middle East crisis March 5, 2026 A number of mortgage lenders are kicking the their rates back up, with more expected to follow, as market conditions remain volatile due to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East. HSBC UK has said it will increase some of its mortgage rates for first-time buyers, movers and re-mortgagers and the UK’s largest building society, [...]
Starmer vows to ‘resist pressure’ over Iran policy amid criticism of UK response March 5, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “resist” pressure on the UK’s response to the conflict with Iran as he defended Britain’s “level-headed” military response. In a press conference on Thursday, Starmer suggested President Trump had left the Middle East “plunged into chaos” with his attack on the Iranian regime over the weekend. He said the [...]
War in Iran sparks professional services remote work boom in Gulf March 5, 2026 Professional service giants have triggered emergency business continuity plans, shifting hundreds of staff to remote work across the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia amid deepening conflict in the Middle East. Since Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise attack on Tehran in the early hours of Saturday morning, Iran has retaliated with strikes on major cities [...]
Watch: War brings Reeves’ failures into focus March 5, 2026 War in the Middle East rendered the Chancellor’s Spring Statement “irrelevant” according to City analysts as the economic impacts of the Iran conflict become frighteningly clear. Rachel Reeves made just a passing mention of the Iran war when she addressed MPs on Tuesday, referring briefly to global instability while trying to paint a picture of [...]
Barclays set to cash in on market frenzy amid Middle East crisis March 5, 2026 Barclays and its UK banking peers could be set for a cash boost from the brewing crisis in the Middle East as investors quickly dump equities and fears of an inflation spike spread. FTSE 100 giant Barclays has been noted as uniquely shielded by analysts due to its mammoth market divisions. Jefferies analysts said the [...]
Let the market fix the oil crisis March 5, 2026 The conflict in Iran is unlikely to lead to 1970s-style oil rationing, but policymakers must use price mechanisms and encourage domestic energy investment to insure against unpredictable escalations, says Andy Mayer In 1979 the Iranian Revolution sparked the ‘second oil crisis’ as the price of crude oil more than doubled to $40 per barrel. Although [...]
Spring Statement: Rachel Reeves ‘in denial’ as growth slumps March 4, 2026 Rachel Reeves has been accused of being “in denial” as she insisted that her economic plan was working even as growth forecasts were slashed and unemployment was predicted to surpass pandemic-era highs. Responding to yesterday’s Spring Statement, shadow chancellor Mel Stride said Labour’s economic agenda, which has raised the tax burden to a post-war high, [...]