Met Police short of 1,000 officers as force admits it faces an uphill battle to recruit quality candidates March 8, 2023 The Met Police is set to be short of more than 1,000 officers this year, the force has said, amid an ongoing crisis in public trust and confidence. Officer numbers will be down by around 1,060 less than the target strength of 34,490, the Met Police has told City Hall. It comes as new commissioner [...]
Musk says sorry to sacked Twitter worker after exchange claiming he does ‘no actual work’ went viral March 8, 2023 Twitter owner Elon Musk has apologised to a sacked worker after their exchange on the social media platform went viral. Icelandic entrepreneur Halli Thorleifsson had sent a direct public tweet to the billionaire after he was locked out of his work’s computer system, telling Musk he could not get HR to respond to him. Musk [...]
Almost all London councils set to raise taxes as funding situation becomes ‘unsustainable’ March 7, 2023 More than half of local councils in England are set to make cuts to services while raising council tax by the highest possible amount amid an “unsustainable” funding system. A fifth of London councils say budget cuts will be evident to the public and almost 95 per cent will raise residents’ council tax bills, the [...]
Labour tells Jeremy Hunt to ‘get a move on’ with Solvency II reforms March 7, 2023 Labour has hit out at the government over delays to overhauling EU-era Solvency II rules demanding that it needs to “get a move on”. Shadow city minister Tulip Siddiq called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to reform the rules – which govern the sums of money insurers must hold on their balance sheets to protect themselves [...]
Jeremy Hunt is at sharp end of economic consensus on childcare revolution March 7, 2023 It’s rare for consensus to emerge in economics. Quibbles about the role of the state in society, the level of taxation and where to spend taxpayers’ money often turn into heated arguments thrashed out in just a handful of words on social media. But for once people interested in policymaking are behind around one area [...]
Twitter: Trolling, disinformation and exploitation rife since Musk takeover, BBC Panorama claims March 6, 2023 An explosive BBC Panorama documentary this evening will claim Twitter is failing to protect users from trolling, state-co-ordinated disinformation and child sexual exploitation. The deep-dive programme at 8pm on Monday features a raft of insiders at the social media company, building on academic researched shared with the broadcaster. This comes after billionaire Tesla owner Elon [...]
Sadiq Khan urges government to commit to making all public bodies a ‘safe haven for women’ March 6, 2023 Sadiq Khan is urging the government to back his call for a review of “women-friendly” workplace policies ahead of International Women’s Day. The mayor of London is calling for public bodies to commit to supporting female workers with domestic abuse, gynaecological pain, leadership development, and the menopause. He has written to work and pensions secretary [...]
Boris Johnson puts father Stanley Johnson forward for knighthood – reports March 6, 2023 Boris Johnson has put his father Stanley forward for a knighthood as part of his resignation honours list, according to reports. The Times newspaper reports that the former prime minister, who left office last September, has nominated Stanley Johnson for the honour. A spokesperson for the Johnson said: “We don’t comment on honours.” The PA [...]
Chancellor to face ‘tough choices’ in delivering Spring Budget despite having to borrow £30bn less March 6, 2023 Jeremy Hunt will be forced to make tough decisions in his upcoming Budget, experts have warned, despite the Chancellor having considerably more wiggle room than previously thought. Improvements in the state of the British economy mean Jeremy Hunt will have to borrow £30bn less than the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) November forecast showed, according [...]
Sadiq Khan criticised for ULEZ cameras for ‘pay-as-you-drive’ charge plans March 5, 2023 London mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised over plans to use ULEZ cameras for a possible future ‘pay-as-you-drive’ road user charging scheme. Transport for London (TfL) is looking into replacing existing schemes such as the congestion charge and the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) with a “single, integrated road user” charge. Just 300 of the [...]