From Moscow to Kensington: transparency can end properties funded by corruption March 10, 2022 Look around the borough of Kensington and Chelsea and you’ll see why so many diplomats refer to our city as “Londongrad”. Over 6000 properties are registered to anonymous foreign shell companies in places like Jersey and the British Virgin Islands. While 3000 households are on the housing wait list many of these properties stand empty. [...]
Editorial: Shocks happen – and our institutions weren’t ready for this one March 10, 2022 And Rishi Sunak thought the hard bit was over. Wearing the scars of a two-year fight against a global pandemic, he may have thought he’d have some respite to get the public finances in order in time for some pre-election giveaways. That increasingly looks a long prospect. It may feel glib to discuss such matters [...]
Russia-Ukraine war to take tax cuts off the table, IFS warns March 10, 2022 Even higher inflation triggered by Russia invading Ukraine will take promised tax cuts off the table, a leading think tank warned today. Surging energy prices driven by concerns over the security of oil and gas supplies amid a ramping up in tensions between Moscow and the West will eat into Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s room to [...]
Wages continue to surge amid tightening jobs market March 10, 2022 Strong competition for workers amid a tight jobs market is accelerating starting pay at near record highs, reveals a fresh survey published today. A shortage of available workers is driving businesses to hike pay to out muscle competitors from poaching top talent, according to research from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG. Starting [...]
Investigation finds errors in Carillion’s drain caused Stonehaven crash March 10, 2022 Errors in the Carillion-built drainage system caused the 2020 Stonehaven rail crash, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said today. According to the investigation, design differences and the way the system was built meant that it was unable to sustain the amount of rail falling on the morning of 12 August 2020 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. [...]
CBI calls for more government help for businesses and consumers to pay energy bills March 10, 2022 The government must provide more direct support for businesses and consumers dealing with a coming surge in energy prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the UK’s top business bodies has said. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today urged the government to “support energy intensive industries that lie at the heart of [...]
Kwarteng commits to North Sea oil and gas as UK phases out Russian energy supplies March 9, 2022 Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said the government is committed to North Sea fossil fuel
EU regulators set to give Amazon’s £6.4bn MGM snap up the green light March 9, 2022 EU antitrust regulators are set to clear Amazon's proposed acquisition of US movie studio MGM, insiders have told Reuters.
‘An atrocity’: Russia accused of bombing Ukraine hospital during ceasefire March 9, 2022 Russia was today accused of breaking a ceasefire to bomb a hospital in the under siege city of Mariupol in what was described as an “atrocity” and act of terror by Volodymyr Zelensky. The city has faced heavy shelling over the past week and has become the site of an impending humanitarian disaster, with civilians [...]
Magic Circle law firm Freshfields drops sanctioned Russian bank as client in battle over sacred Jewish manuscripts March 9, 2022 One of London’s oldest law firms, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has pulled out of representing Russia’s state-backed development bank, VEB.RF, in a legal battle between the Russian bank and a Hasidic Jewish group, over a collection of thousands of sacred Jewish texts that fell into the hands of the Soviet Union during the Bolshevik revolution. Freshfields [...]
