UK Foreign Office to pay £423,000 to settle whistleblower’s employment claim July 4, 2022 The UK government has agreed to pay £423,000 to settle an employment lawsuit brought forward by one of its former prosecutors, over claims she was pushed out of her job at the Foreign Office, after she sought to blow the whistle on corruption involving suspected Kosovo criminals and officials from the EU. International prosecutor Mariah [...]
Staffing agencies slam govt’s plans to use agency staff as strikebreakers June 30, 2022 Staffing agencies have hit out at the government’s plans to lift a ban on using agency staff as strike breakers. In a letter to the government seen by City A.M., a group of the world’s biggest staffing agencies slammed the plans, put forward by business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, to overturn laws banning agency staff from [...]
UK government is failing to match words with action in stamping out dirty money, MPs say June 30, 2022 The UK government is failing to match its rhetoric with real efforts to crack down on dirty money, MPs have warned. The government is continuing to let the UK become a “safe deposit box” for morally bankrupt billionaires, despite its rhetoric around “clamping down” on Russian money, the Foreign Affairs Committee said. The committee said [...]
UK’s charity watchdog opens probe into Captain Tom Foundation June 30, 2022 The UK’s charities watchdog has launched an investigation into The Captain Tom Foundation, over concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving the late Army officer’s family. The Charity Commission today said it had opened an inquiry into The Captain Tom Foundation over concerns about the charity’s management. The watchdog said a company that is controlled [...]
UK should ban facial recognition technology until clear legal framework is set, new report says June 29, 2022 The UK should ban all use of facial recognition technology until a clear legal framework has been developed to regulate it, an independent report has said. A new report from the Ada Lovelace Institute has said there is an “urgent” need for a new framework governing “biometric” technologies – including facial recognition technologies – before [...]
Slater & Gordon shakes up boardroom after setting out plans to split June 29, 2022 Slater & Gordon has said company chief executive David Whitmore will step down from his position, after setting out plans to split its business in two, with a view to separating its “essential” and “specialist” legal services segments. The law firm said Whitmore – who took up his CEO role in January 2018 – will [...]
Government strengthens judges powers to grant access to online court hearings June 29, 2022 The government has given courts new powers to let journalists and members of the public watch court hearings online. The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act, which came into force yesterday, will give judges in courts and tribunals the power to let reporters and others tune into hearings remotely. The new powers come as a [...]
Employers could be sued if they cut remote and hybrid workers salaries, lawyers say June 28, 2022 Employers giving pay cuts to remote and hybrid workers could face discrimination lawsuits, employment lawyers have said. Companies that pay higher salaries to workers who come into the office risk being subject to sexual discrimination lawsuits, due to the fact women are more likely to work from home than men, lawyers told City A.M. Fiona [...]
EY agrees record $100m settlement with US regulator over ethics exam cheating scandal June 28, 2022 EY has reached $100m (£82m) settlement with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) over claims the Big Four firm’s auditors cheated on accounting exams and later misled the watchdog’s investigators. The US financial watchdog said in a statement that EY had agreed to pay the highest penalty ever imposed on an audit firm by [...]
Russia defaults on international debts after being cut out of financial system by Western sanctions June 28, 2022 Russia yesterday defaulted on its international debts for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution after being unable to pay its creditors due to the impacts of Western sanctions. Ratings agency Moody’s yesterday said Russia’s failure to make payments on two Eurobonds worth $100m officially constitutes a default after its extended deadline to make the [...]