World leaders push back against Saudi account of journalist’s death October 21, 2018 The backlash against Saudi Arabia over the death of Jamal Khashoggi stepped up again yesterday, with world leaders uniting to condemn the Gulf kingdom’s claims that the journalist and critic died in a “fist fight” at its consulate in Istanbul. German chancellor Angela Merkel described Khashoggi’s killing as “horrific”, saying events “still haven’t been cleared [...]
Britain should only allow extended Brexit transition to prevent Irish backstop, says Brexit secretary Dominic Raab October 21, 2018 Brexit minister Dominic Raab has said the UK should reject an extended transition period unless the EU abandons its demand for an Irish backstop. Theresa May's suggestion that the UK could remain attached to the European Union after December 2020 could only be an "alternative" to the backstop suggestion, Raab wrote in the Telegraph. Read [...]
Who the heck is Nick Clegg? Seven facts about Facebook’s new spin chief October 20, 2018 Facebook’s decision to hire the UK’s former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg as its communications chief was one that seemed to come out of left field. Clegg had previously held a prominent role in British public life as head of the UK’s third party the Liberal Democrats between 2007 and 2015 and the UK’s deputy prime minister between [...]
Thousands expected to march for second EU referendum in London October 20, 2018 Thousands of people are expected to march in central London today for a final referendum on the Brexit deal, the so-called people’s vote. Read more: UK ready to agree Irish backstop deal to speed Brexit talks The march started at midday in Park Lane and finishes in Parliament Square where marchers will hear speakers, including TV [...]
UK ready to agree Irish backstop deal to speed Brexit talks October 20, 2018 UK Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly prepared to agree a backstop deal for the border between the UK and Ireland which does not have a time limit. Bloomberg reported yesterday that May is willing to make the move to help speed Brexit talks. Read more: Varadkar says even with Brexit transition extension Irish ‘backstop’ [...]
Saudi Arabia admits missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its consulate October 20, 2018 Saudi Arabia admitted yesterday that missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its Istanbul consulate, but claims he died in a fight. The admission follows two weeks of denials from Saudi Arabia that it was involved in the dissident journalist’s disappearance, despite CCTV footage showing Khashoggi entering the embassy and claims from Turkish authorities that they had [...]
What the Clegg? Facebook taps former Lib Dem leader as its next head of global affairs October 19, 2018 Facebook has hired former Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg to be its next head of global affairs and communications, with the ex-politician set to move to Silicon Valley in January. Clegg will take over from the role's former occupant Elliot Schrage, who personally led the search for his replacement after announcing he would be leaving Facebook following [...]
Tory MP says he wouldn’t vote for his own party today October 19, 2018 A Conservative MP has said he wouldn't vote for his party if he wasn't already in parliament, labelling Theresa May's government a "s**tshow". Johnny Mercer, elected in 2015 as the representative for Plymouth Moor View, told the parliament's The House magazine yesterday that there was "absolutely no chance" he would run for a Tory candidacy [...]
Solving workplace equality will need more than ethnicity pay reporting October 19, 2018 Theresa May’s call to make companies report their ethnicity pay gap comes from a good place. It harks back to her 2016 “burning injustices” speech, in which she pledged to tackle social inequality – and suggests that she meant it. It also comes after some success with gender pay gap reporting, which it clearly hopes [...]
Public borrowing falls to a 16-year low ahead of Philip Hammond’s autumn Budget October 19, 2018 Public borrowing fell to a 16-year low for the current financial year-to-date, figures released today reveal. The deficit stood at £19.9bn for the year to September, £10.7bn less than the same period a year ago and the lowest for the year-to-date since 2002. Read more: British consumer borrowing growth slowest since 2015 as debt stutters [...]