DARPA exec Highnam set to lead Cummings’ £800m research agency ARIA January 31, 2022 Peter Highnam is set to become the new chief executive of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, the UK’s new pioneering research body and the brainchild of Dominic Cummings. Dr Highnam is currently working as the deputy director of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and an official announcement is expected this week [...]
Weekend Read: Legal minds discuss how Sue Gray report could prejudice police probe into partygate January 30, 2022 Publishing the findings of Sue Gray’s inquiry could prejudice the police investigation into allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, the Metropolitan Police said yesterday morning. However, lawyers have questioned how this could be the case, as they zoom in on both investigations and look at the legal aspects of finding the truth in what [...]
Fraud minister who resigned this week opens up: ‘I didn’t want to blow my top, but I was very angry’ January 29, 2022 The government minister who quit this week over the “schoolboy” handling of fraudulent Covid-19 business loans said of his resignation during a speech at the despatch box in the House of Lords: “I didn’t want to blow my top, but I was very angry.” Lord Agnew of Oulton, who was the Tories’ anti-fraud minister, says [...]
Sajid Javid to nationalise GPs in effort to reduce hospitalisations January 29, 2022 Health secretary Sajid Javid is considering whether to nationalise GPs as a way to reduce hospitalisations. Shaking to the core the 70-year-old NHS structure, Javid’s plan could mark the end of GP surgeries as doctors would directly be employed by hospital trusts. “Whilst there are some strengths to the system of primary care, it’s also [...]
Sue Gray furious after police intervention as Scotland Yard contacts ‘partygate’ suspects January 29, 2022 Sue Gray, the civil servant looking into the lockdown-breaking parties allegedly held at No 10, is furious after the Met’s intervention. Gray, who was told by Scotland Yard on Friday to make “minimal reference” to the parties, was frustrated and angered by the situation, as her report is expected to be published within days, the [...]
Ukraine: Boris Johnson to call Putin and visit Eastern Europe January 29, 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to call Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next days, visiting Eastern Europe as part of the UK’s diplomatic efforts to solve the Ukrainian crisis. Downing Street said Johnson will focus on Russia’s need to “engage diplomatically”, reiterating “the need for Russia to step back,” the BBC reported. In [...]
Sadiq Khan: London home-building ‘at risk of stalling’ amid hiked construction costs January 28, 2022 Skyrocketing construction materials are slowing house-building progress in London, Sadiq Khan has warned. The Mayor of London warned new-build developments and extension projects were being hit by a cocktail of rising costs thanks to Brexit and the pandemic. Prices for materials, including steel, timber, and concrete, shot up 23 per cent last year, according to [...]
Scotland Yard urges Sue Gray to make only ‘minimal reference’ to events investigated by police January 28, 2022 Scotland Yard asked for the Whitehall inquiry into allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street to make only “minimal reference” to the events being investigated by police. In a statement, it said: “For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report. “The Met did [...]
PM mulls tax hike U-turn as govt awaits Sue Gray’s report: ‘Boris would now do anything to survive’ January 28, 2022 While questions loom over the future of Boris Johnson’s premiership in light of an official inquiry into partygate allegations, the prime minister is reportedly wavering on controversial plans to raise national insurance. The PM is under pressure from some Tory MPs to scrap the tax hike to win back support as he awaits the findings [...]
FCA requested to review buildings insurers as Gove says leaseholders hit with ‘rapidly escalating’ costs January 28, 2022 The financial services regulator has been requested to review the buildings insurance market for blocks of flats. In a letter to the regulator, housing minister Micheal Gove said he was “extremely concerned” to hear from leaseholders about their experience of “rapidly escalating” insurance premiums on high and medium-rise blocks. There have been cases where insurance [...]