Crossrail to renegotiate pay with Bechtel over ‘value for money’ concerns July 11, 2019 Crossrail is looking to renegotiate the pay and incentives of Bechtel, its delivery partner, amid concerns they are no longer offering “value for money”. Crossrail is angling to restructure the pay of Bechtel to “support the delivery of the revised schedule”, TfL board papers released earlier this week reveal. Read more: Crossrail contractors could ask [...]
Jet2 owner Dart Group enjoys profits boost from package holiday business July 11, 2019 Dart Group, the owner of British airline and tour operator Jet2, posted a 36 per cent increase in pre-tax profits as it enjoyed a boost from its package holiday business. Pre-tax profits increased from £130.2m in 2018 to £177.5m for the year ending 31 March, which the company attributed to the “growing success” of its [...]
Centaur Media to keep hold of leading title The Lawyer July 11, 2019 Magazine publisher Centaur Media has pulled its sale of the Lawyer after deciding it was a “more attractive option” to keep hold of the title. Centaur made the announcement on completing a divestment programme which began last October. Read more: Centaur Media continues digital push It has now sold off four businesses, with the sale [...]
Ryanair’s chief operating officer to step down after 18 months in role July 11, 2019 Ryanair’s chief operations officer Peter Bellew is to step down after just 18 months in the role, in which he has overseen the airline’s fraught relationship with staff. Chief executive Michael O’Leary said in an internal memo to staff that Bellew, who quit the top job at Malaysia Airlines to return to Ryanair in December [...]
Sadiq Khan on course to miss another housing target, critics claim July 10, 2019 Sadiq Khan is on course to miss one of his key housing targets, critics have claimed, after new figures show that just over 300 homes have been built on land owned by Transport for London (TfL). In May 2016, TfL said it had set a target to build 10,000 homes by 2020. However, new figures [...]
UK ambassador ‘thrown to the wolves’ over Trump leaks, says Sir John Major July 10, 2019 Former Tory Prime Minister Sir John Major has said the UK’s ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, has been “thrown to the wolves” following leaked emails in which the diplomat criticised Donald Trump. Major issued a strong defence of Darroch and said the government should keep him in post even if it meant a [...]
Watchdog warns of ‘real risk’ of repeat to no-deal Brexit ferry fiasco July 10, 2019 The government could waste even more taxpayer money due to its lack of preparation for a no-deal Brexit, a top watchdog has warned, after the Department for Transport (DfT) blew £85m on botched ferry contracts. The DfT’s lack of preparation risks cornering the government into further high-risk procurement contracts, parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said [...]
Under-fire ambassador Sir Kim Darroch has ‘full support’ of PM following leaked Trump emails July 9, 2019 Downing Street has confirmed its “full support” for Sir Kim Darroch, the UK’s under-fire ambassador to the US, after Donald Trump said he would no longer deal with him. In a series of tweets yesterday evening, the US president criticised Theresa May’s handling of Brexit, saying she and her “representatives” had created a “mess”. Read [...]
Electric vehicle projects to receive £40m in government funding July 9, 2019 The government is to inject nearly £40m into a number of transport projects to push ahead electric chargepoint infrastructure in the UK. Twelve engineering projects, including those that will create underground and wireless charging systems, will receive £37m between them to invest in improving electric vehicle infrastructure across the country. Read more: BMW to hit [...]
Court told of Treasury’s ‘pervasive’ impact on controversial RBS unit GRG July 8, 2019 The government’s influence over a disgraced wing of RBS in the years following the financial crisis was “pervasive”, a court was told today. An internal bank memo from June 2010 raises concerns about the Treasury’s involvement in the global restructuring unit (GRG) of RBS. The GRG has been accused of driving small businesses into the ground as [...]