Rishi Sunak held green card while made chancellor meaning Tory bigwig was permanent resident in US April 8, 2022 Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy reportedly held US green cards allowing permanent residence there, while he served as chancellor. It was reported he obtained it while living there before becoming an MP, and continued to hold it when he moved back to the UK, for at least a year of his chancellorship which [...]
Government still ‘committed’ to Holocaust memorial near Parliament despite High Court quashing planning permission April 8, 2022 The government is still “committed” to building a Holocaust memorial next to Parliament, despite a High Court decision to block planning permission for it. Peers have clashed after campaigners won a decision to delay a £100m project for a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Garden in Westminster. Lord Pickles, co-chair of the [...]
Police raid Unite’s HQ over bribery, fraud and money laundering claims, with one employee under investigation April 8, 2022 Police raided trade union Unite’s London offices over allegations of bribery, fraud and money laundering, while one of its employees is subject to a criminal investigation. Its Holborn offices were raided with “files, documents and a computer” being taken by officers, as part of a nationwide operation involving multiple forces. According to the Telegraph, the [...]
Fighting back: Rishi Sunak dismisses wife’s non-dom tax controversy as ‘unpleasant Labour smears’ April 8, 2022 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has come out fighting for his wife Akshata Murthy, who is facing claims of avoiding tax due to her Indian citizenship and non-dom status. The Tory heavyweight insisted that his wife, who owns a 0.9 per cent stake in her billionaire father’s firm Infosys, is “100 per cent doing everything this country [...]
Environmental activists block Tower Bridge causing travel disruption, with campaigner abseiling off of the London landmark April 8, 2022 Environmental protestors hung a banner saying “end fossil fuels now” as they blocked traffic on Tower Bridge and caused travel disruption as it was forced shut. Footage shared on social media showed one activist abseiling and dangling above the Thames, as police attended at the London landmark at around 7am. The campaigners, urging an end [...]
British embassy guard facing nine charges of spying for Russia under official secrets act April 7, 2022 A British man who was an embassy guard in Germany is facing nine charges under the Official Secrets Act, accused of spying for Russia. David Ballantyne was extradited from Germany, where he was living in Potsdam and working as a security guard. The 57-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court today, over alleged offences committed [...]
Amazon sellers get five star status with bogus reviews of toys, investigation finds April 7, 2022 Amazon sellers have been manipulating its review system to boost their review status to five stars, a deep-dive by a consumer choice group has claimed. Businesses are making the most of a loophole with the online retail giant, using items such as cuddly toys and umbrellas to help inflate rating sand sell products. An investigation [...]
Days after comparison to ‘negotiating with Hitler’, Macron’s dialogue with Putin is ‘splitting Nato’ April 7, 2022 Days after Poland accused France’s president of “negotiating with Hitler” by speaking to Vladimir Putin, France has now been accused of “splitting Nato” with its continued attempts to talk with Russia. Its president Emmanuelle Macron has been keeping an open dialogue with Moscow’s leader, along with Germany. Putin has been accused of war crimes, a [...]
Grant Shapps gave private ‘assurance’ to top Tory about scrapping of £3bn HS2 branch from bill April 7, 2022 A proposed £3bn branch of HS2 linking Crew and Manchester with the west coast may be scrapped, the transport secretary reportedly told a senior Tory MP. The government insists no decisions have been made about the Golborne Link element of the project, despite claims Grant Shapps privately promised the chair of the 1922 committee, Sir [...]
Ikea owner splashes out on £285m for solar parks across Europe April 6, 2022 The owner of Ikea has invested almost £285m across Europe with the purchase of nine solar park projects. Ingka Group has bought solar photovoltaic (PV) parks in Germany and Spain, from developer Enerparc, which have a combined capacity of 440 megawatt. “The expected production will be sufficient to cover all IKEA stores and warehouses in [...]