By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Senior Reporter Maria Ward-Brennan is a senior reporter focused on law and professional services. Contact her via email on maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B

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Labour’s inheritance tax reforms face legal test as farmers argue unlawful consultation

March 16, 2026

The UK government is set to defend its inheritance tax raid on agricultural assets and family firms in the High Court this week. The proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) represent one of the biggest shifts in UK inheritance tax (IHT) policy in decades. After a year of protests [...]
Government overhauls FOS to curb ‘quasi-regulator’ role

March 16, 2026

The government has announced the most significant overhaul of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) since its inception. Following a public consultation held last year that sought views on how to address concerns, it was found that in a small but significant minority of cases, the FOS has acted as a ‘quasi-regulator’. As part of the [...]
Starmer urged to tighten law on Slapps following Mandelson scandal

March 16, 2026

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to tighten the law to prevent the powerful and wealthy from stopping stories about them, following the Lord Mandelson scandal. A dozen Labour MPs have written to the Prime Minister to ensure that strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as Slapps, is included in the King’s Speech in May. [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jump, Oil spikes, fresh Thames Water rescue deal

March 16, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. This morning Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 1.8 per cent to $104.98 per barrel during early trading in Asia. It follows President Trump stating he is unwilling to make a deal with Iran and his energy secretary warning the war will [...]
Lord Roborough refused to stay at Odey Asset Management over ‘lack of trust’

March 13, 2026

Lord Roborough, a former partner at Odey Asset Management (OAM), has rejected claims made by Crispin Odey that the City watchdog directly pressured the firm’s executives to find against him. In a legal battle against the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), disgraced financier Odey claims the OAM executive committee was subject to “undue pressure from the FCA” [...]
Miliband and Reeves to meet petrol retailers as fuel costs spike

March 13, 2026

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said the government “will not tolerate” energy firms profiteering from the rising price of oil amid the war in Iran. Oil prices climbed back above $100 a barrel on Thursday despite the International Energy Agency (IEA) saying on Wednesday that it would release a record 400 million barrels of oil [...]
Estee Lauder sues Jo Malone

March 12, 2026

Beauty giant Estee Lauder has launched legal action against perfumer Jo Willcox (nee Malone) over her new perfume brand with Zara. Estee Lauder bought Malone’s self-named perfume brand and naming rights ⁠in 1999 for ‘undisclosed millions’. She stayed on as creative director until 2006, when she left her eponymous perfume brand. After a five-year legal [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks drop as oil returns to near $100 after tankers attacked

March 12, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The price of oil shot back above triple digits this morning, rising as much as nine per cent in Asian trading following the news two tankers were struck in the Gulf. An Iraqi news agency broke the news that 38 crew members have been rescued [...]
Closed shop? Not for long: How new laws are opening doors for trade unions

March 12, 2026

The first wave of the Employment Rights Act hit the statute books last month, signalling a potential end to the decades-long decline of UK trade unions, but businesses are already feeling the turbulence, triggering a surge of work for City employment lawyers. The Employment Rights Act has caused turmoil in businesses, not just because of [...]
Reeves’ £1.2bn consultancy savings plan in doubt, watchdog warns

March 11, 2026

Despite Rachel Reeves’ focus on cutting government spending on external consultancy services, a damning report stated that the government is unable to set meaningful targets to reduce its reliance on external firms. The UK government has said it wants to put an immediate stop to all non-essential consultancy spending and halve consultancy spending in future [...]

Starmer blocks sleaze inquiry despite Tory and Labour pressure

NBA and EuroLeague hold ‘constructive’ talks over NBA Europe cooperation

These are the best bottles of wine to buy for the warmer weather

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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