By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Professional Services Editor Maria Ward-Brennan is the Professional Services Editor at City AM, focused on law, Big Four, and other management and accounting consulting firms. She was previously a litigation reporter at The Lawyer. Contact her via email at maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B.

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FCA orders lenders to pay £11bn in motor finance compensation

October 7, 2025

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it expects lenders to make 14.2 million payouts to individuals affected by unfair motor finance agreements, totalling around £11bn in compensation. The FCA estimates people would receive around £700 per agreement, on average. It has also been calculated that around 85 per cent of eligible consumers would [...]
Labour’s tobacco bill risks empowering black market, warns shadow minister

October 7, 2025

The Labour government’s proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill could hand a significant boost to criminal gangs and fuel the growing black market in illicit goods across the UK, the shadow policing minister has warned. Matt Vickers MP has told City AM that the legislation, aimed at curbing smoking and youth vaping, fails to address the [...]
Jenrick pledges to sack judges accused of pro-migration activism

October 7, 2025

Robert Jenrick announced a sweeping crackdown on what he describes as “pro-migration bias” in the judiciary, vowing to remove so-called “activist” judges. Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, claims to have identified more than 30 judges, both full-time and part-time, who previously volunteered for or provided free legal services to open-border organisations. He told the crowd [...]
Governments owe $80bn in investor-state Arbitration losses

October 7, 2025

Investor-state disputes have more than doubled over the last decade, with decisions against governments totalling over $250m (£186m), and governments’ debts accumulating over $80bn (£60bn). Investor-state disputes enable overseas investors to recoup some of their investment if a government breaches its investment treaty obligations. Arbitration, an out-of-court method, is the preferred system for resolving these [...]
Regulator fines KPMG for N Brown Group audit errors

October 7, 2025

Big Four firm KPMG and a former partner have received heavy fines and formal reprimands from the accountancy regulator for serious failures in their audit of N Brown Group plc’s 2022 accounts. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) found that KPMG and Anthony Sykes failed to meet international auditing standards, with the firm admitting to serious [...]
European President set to face yet another no-confidence vote

October 6, 2025

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is back in Strasbourg to defend herself against a no-confidence motion, just months after her last one. On Monday evening, two motions of no confidence against the President will be debated at the European Parliament, as von der Leyen is set to defend herself against [...]
Deloitte refunds Australian government after AI ‘made up citations’ in report

October 6, 2025

Big Four firm Deloitte is set to issue a partial refund to the Australian federal government after a report it issued contained several errors caused by the use of AI. Deloitte was commissioned by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) to review a targeted compliance framework and its IT system in December 2024. [...]
China spying case collapse leads to ‘interference’ accusations

October 6, 2025

Senior officials have pointed fingers at the Labour government over the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the espionage case against two men accused of spying for China. Senior UK government figures told the Financial Times that the government fatally undermined the Chinese spying case in order to protect the UK’s commercial and [...]
London’s Hippodrome Casino VAT recovery hopes dashed by Tribunal

October 6, 2025

London’s Hippodrome Casino has failed to overturn a ruling on the method used to calculate the tax recovery for residual input tax. The 24-hour casino, located in the heart of Leicester Square, also features restaurants, bars, and a theatre, where Magic Mike Live has been performing since 2018. While most people attend the Hippodrome for [...]
Ladbrokes and Coral owner files copyright claim against matched betting rival firms

October 3, 2025

Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, has filed an intellectual property lawsuit against two of the largest matched betting companies, OddsMonkey and Outplayed. The claim, filed with the English High Court by law firm Wiggin, alleges unauthorised use of its brand logos and copyrighted materials, with Entain describing the matched betting business model as [...]

Cowes Week announces Horner-linked North Sails as title sponsor

Cowes Week announces Horner-linked North Sails as title sponsor

Jinkx Monsoon’s Judy Garland musical proves drag is serious art

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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