Lobbyists given access to confidential government Covid briefings November 15, 2020 An influential lobbyist was given access to UK government Covid briefings on future restrictions and briefed clients about an upcoming lockdown, it has been revealed. Former Sun political editor, and current chairman of Portland Communications, George Pascoe-Watson worked as an unpaid adviser to the UK government during the first wave of Covid in April. He [...]
Weekly outlook, 16-20 November: will FTSE rally continue? November 15, 2020 After the best week for the FTSE 100 since April, investors will be keen to see if markets can keep the rally going, with a slew of heavyweights set to report. Last Monday Pfizer’s announcement that its vaccine was 90 per cent effective in treating the coronavirus disease sent stocks soaring. Traders cheered the news, [...]
Snitches get riches: HMRC payments to tax evasion whistleblowers up 63% in 2019/20 November 15, 2020 HMRC reported a 63% increase in payments to whistleblowers for reporting tax evasion in the 2019/2020 tax year, paying £473,000 to informants during the period. In the previous tax year HMRC paid £290,250 to informants – around £182,000 less than in 2019/20. The figures were published in HMRC’s annual reports and accounts 2019 to 2020. [...]
Bookshop.org: How a ‘scrappy’ online bookseller is trying to take on Amazon November 15, 2020 While the tech revolution has worked its way into all parts of daily life, few industries have experienced as extreme an overhaul as publishing. US bookstore sales have dropped from highs of more than $17bn (£12.9bn) to less than $10bn, while Amazon’s market share has grown to over 50 per cent. But now there’s a [...]
Our recovery from Covid-19 is a chance not to build walls, but to cooperate November 15, 2020 As we make our way through the second round of national Covid-19 restrictions, life today is very different to what we expected 12 months ago. The UK last week passed the tragic milestone of 50,000 deaths linked to this terrible virus, while many businesses and households across the country continue to struggle due to the [...]
Brexit: ‘Some progress’ made in trade talks this week, says UK negotiator November 15, 2020 There has been “some progress” this week in UK-EU post-Brexit trade talks, according to UK chief negotiator David Frost. Frost tweeted today that the two sides “largely have common draft treaty texts, though significant elements are of course not yet agreed” and that talks will restart today in Brussels. This week’s soft deadline to get [...]
Belgium v England TONIGHT: Why Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford, Ezri Konsa and Karl Darlow deserve to be in the England squad November 15, 2020 Gareth Southgate has frequently stated his preference to pick England squads based on the form rather than reputation. So, ahead of matches against the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland, how should Southgate objectively measure a player’s form? One way is through quantitative analysis of the kind we at Carteret Analytics provide to leading football [...]
Duncan Goodhew: If decision makers got their hair wet occasionally, our swimming pools would still be open November 15, 2020 I was saddened to see sport, and the benefits it brings, stopped with the start of a second lockdown. It has been an immensely difficult year, but if we’ve learnt nothing else, it’s that health matters. For that reason, I believe any form of exercise that can support health and wellbeing should surely be encouraged [...]
Labour calls for anti-vax conspiracy theories to be censored on social media November 15, 2020 Labour is calling for anti-vaccine conspiracy theories to be censored on social media. The opposition has called for Boris Johnson to bring forward legislation to “stamp out dangerous anti-vax content” as UK regulators prepare to assess Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine candidate. Labour wants this to include financial and criminal penalties for social media sites that [...]
Aer Lingus set to snub Stobart Air over new deal November 14, 2020 Stobart Air looks set to stop running regional flights for Aer Lingus from 2023 after the Irish carrier suggested it was unlikely to renew its current contract. Yesterday Aer Lingus told the company that it would not be the preferred supplier for the new commercial arrangement. It came as it emerged that new carrier Emerald [...]
