Whistleblowing reports of consumer detriment jump 15 per cent in 2020 April 12, 2021 The number of whistleblower reports relating to consumer detriment increased last year, and is likely to jump further in 2021 following the launch of a new campaign by the City regulator. In 2020, the number of reports rose from 15 per cent, from 161 in 2019 to 185 in 2020, according to law firm RPC. [...]
Italian firm launches surprise bid in race for the National Lottery April 11, 2021 Italian firm Sisal has launched a surprise bid to run the National Lottery, posing a threat to incumbent Camelot, which has run the lottery since its launch more than a quarter of a century ago. Investment firm CVC Capital is backing the bid, which will be led by Sisal, the operator of Italy’s most popular [...]
Viewers switch off amid wall-to-wall royal coverage April 11, 2021 Viewing figures across all major TV channels plummeted on Friday night amid wall-to-wall royal coverage following the death of Prince Philip. ITV’s Friday night viewing figures fell 60 per cent, according to reports, with the BBC suffering similar losses. Gogglebox, which was broadcast on Channel 4 at 9pm on Friday night, won the battle of [...]
Astra factory faces closure without government deal April 11, 2021 Vauxhall will stop producing the Astra at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire and close the plant entirely in April next year if the government fails to incentivise it to build a new and electric model at the site. A briefing on manufacturing volumes issued by Vauxhall’s parent company Stellantis showed the production of the current model [...]
Greensill lobbying row: Matt Hancock ‘had private drink’ with Cameron and Lex Greensill April 11, 2021 Matt Hancock met former PM David Cameron and financier Lex Greensill for a “private drink” in which the pair lobbied the health secretary to introduce a payment scheme that was later offered by the NHS. The “private drink” took place in October 2019 and the trio were joined by Bill Crothers, the former head of [...]
Brooks Brothers UK goes into administration as suits fall out of fashion April 9, 2021 The UK division of US business attire retailer Brooks Brothers had gone into administration, after suffering from a lack of demand for its products as people worked from home. Begbies Traynor were yesterday appointed the company’s administrators, website Bisnow first reported. “The reason for my appointment as administrator of the UK company is of course [...]
Biden sets aside $14bn to fight climate change in 2022 budget April 9, 2021 President Joe Biden has proposed $14bn in spending on initiatives to fight climate change in the 2022 budget, including large cash injections for environmental regulation and science research. The proposal underscores the administration’s ambitions to decarbonising the economy by 2050 to stem global warming, reversing a policy direction set by former President Donald Trump to slash red [...]
Biden to create commission to look into expanding Supreme Court April 9, 2021 US President Joe Biden will order the creation of a bipartisan commission to study potential reforms to the Supreme Court, including whether to expand the number of justices. The commission would tackle the “merits and legality” of specific high court reform proposals, the White House said in a statement, along with the contentious idea of [...]
Law firm Irwin Mitchell gears up for London stock market float April 9, 2021 Irwin Mitchell is readying itself to float on the London Stock Exchange, in a move the law firm hopes would value it at around £500m. The firm, which offers legal and wealth management services, is working with investment bankers at Rothschild on plans for a potential IPO that could take place this year, Sky News [...]
Wizz Air replaces ops chief after he told team to list pilots for redundancy who ’caused grief’ April 8, 2021 Wizz Air has replaced its flight operations chief after he was recorded telling his team to draw up a redundancy list of pilots who were often sick or “caused grief” while sparing cheaper contract crew. In a letter to staff dated April 4, seen by Reuters, Wizz said its head of flight operations Darwin Triggs [...]
