Jeremy Hunt to meet CMA, Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom over ‘profiteering’ concerns June 26, 2023 Jeremy Hunt will ask industry regulators what they are doing about any companies exploiting rampant inflation by raising prices. The Chancellor is set to meet the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the watchdogs for energy, water and communications on Wednesday. He will press them on whether there is a profiteering problem in their sectors [...]
Chechen leader says his forces are ready to help put down Wagner mutiny June 24, 2023 Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Saturday his forces were ready to help put down a mutiny by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and to use harsh methods if necessary. Kadyrov in a statement posted on Telegram called Prigozhin’s behaviour “a knife in the back” and called on Russian soldiers not to give in to [...]
Putin promises to ‘defend the people’ amid Wagner group rebellion call June 24, 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin has called an armed rebellion led by the Wagner mercenary group chief a “betrayal”, and has promised to “defend the people” and Russia. Mr Putin addressed the nation on Saturday morning after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops reached the key Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. The Russian leader said the [...]
Brexit Day: Sadiq Khan ‘effectively banned’ from flying EU flag at City Hall June 23, 2023 London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been been “effectively banned” from flying the EU flag at City Hall on the seventh anniversary of the Brexit referendum. The European Union flag, which features 12 gold stars on a blue background, was removed from a list of exemptions which do not require planning permission before being flown. A [...]
Hunt and big banks vow to ease mortgage pain with repossessions grace period June 23, 2023 Mortgage holders will get a 12-month grace period before banks begin repossessions on their homes, Jeremy Hunt has announced, after a crunch meeting with lenders at No11. The Chancellor said ministers were “particularly worried” about people falling behind on payments or having to switch deals at the end of a fixed rate mortgage. He announced [...]
NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays and Santander leaders meet Jeremy Hunt in ‘productive’ mortgage crisis talks June 23, 2023 Bank bosses held a “productive” meeting with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as the rates increase worsens the mortgage crisis. Natwest chief executive Alison Rose, speaking to reporters as she left Downing Street, said lenders were “doing everything we can” and were “very keen” to help customers. Lloyds Banking Group boss Charlie Nunn described the meeting as [...]
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to meet lenders as mortgage crisis worsens June 23, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will ask banks if they can do more to support struggling households after a shock interest rate hike deepened the mortgage crisis. He is meeting large lenders including HSBC and Santander in Downing Street this morning as the government comes under pressure to relieve the pain. Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Hunt [...]
Not ‘sufficient thought’ into stopping Covid-19, Chris Whitty tells inquiry June 22, 2023 Government “did not give sufficient thought” into stopping the pandemic in its tracks, Sir Chris Whitty has told the official Covid-19 inquiry. The chief medical officer for England has said options to stop a disease outbreak on the scale of coronavirus were not considered fully enough by ministers ahead of the crisis. Giving evidence today, [...]
Sadiq Khan says Shaun Bailey should lose peerage over ‘Jingle & Mingle’ video June 22, 2023 Sadiq Khan has said his former mayoral rival Shaun Bailey should not receive his peerage after a video of staff dancing and drinking at a Christmas party during Covid-19 emerged. The mayor of London described the footage of staff, who joked about bending the rules in the video filmed at CCHQ on 14 December 2020 [...]
Musk vs Zuck: Twitter and Facebook bosses agree to a… cage fight June 22, 2023 Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Facebook owner Meta’s boss Mark Zuckerberg appear to have agreed to a cage fight. The social media billionaires will scrap it out after Musk, who also owns Tesla, said he was “up for a cage fight” with his tech giant rival. Zuckerberg posted a story on Instagram this morning, showing [...]