High Court rules hiring process to bring in Dido Harding and Mike Coupe was unlawful February 15, 2022 The High Court ruled today that the process behind the Government’s appointment of Dido Harding and Mike Coupe to senior emergency healthcare jobs without competition was unlawful. The Court declared that the processes by which Matt Hancock appointed Dido Harding as Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection and Mike Coupe as Director of [...]
Brexit: City firms to be cut off from EU derivatives clearing access after June 2025 February 15, 2022 UK-based derivatives clearing houses will no longer have access to the European Union after June 2025, the EU’s financial services chief has said. Mairead McGuinness confirmed that the EU will no longer allow non-EU, UK-based firms to operate within the bloc from the summer of 2025, “I am very clear that June 2025 is the [...]
Less time but no pay cut: Wales looking to introduce four day work week February 15, 2022 The Welsh government is mulling to embrace a four day work week for most employees across the British nation. According to Sophie Howe, who is Wales’ future generations commissioner, a shorter work week at full pay would lead to a healthier work-life balance and give productivity a boost, as well as creating 38,000 new jobs [...]
Police commander who wrote Met’s drug strategy took LSD and mushrooms while on holiday in France February 15, 2022 A London Metropolitan Police commander has been accused of taking cannabis, LSD and magic mushrooms while on a holiday in France. Julian Bennett, who wrote the Met’s current drug strategy and chaired multiple misconduct hearings, reportedly took the while on vacation in France between February 2019 and July 2020. A gross misconduct hearing was told [...]
Workers in these sectors could be owed thousands from HMRC as cost of living set to spiral February 15, 2022 With the cost of living set to spiral, research by tax refund experts, accountants have told City A.M. this morning many UK workers are unaware of the thousands of pounds they could be owed via a tax refund, particularly those working within construction, security, in offshore oil and gas or within the armed forces. It’s shaping [...]
See for yourself: Videos show Russian army closing in on Ukraine border amid warning invasion may start tomorrow February 15, 2022 The build-up of Russian armed forces approaching the Ukrainian border is in full swing, according to various media reports overnight. This includes submarines, landing ships in the Black Sea as well as tanks and howitzers, according to CNN. The news channel geolocated and authenticated a range of social media videos. A number of videos were [...]
Tory MP Nigel Adams pushed for biomass subsidies while receiving £62,000 in donations from industry February 15, 2022 It has been reported that one of the strongest biomass supporters in parliament, Nigel Adams MP, received more than £60k in donations from the industry while lobbying the government to provide biomass companies with subsidies. Adams reportedly accepted £62,411 in donations between 2012 and 2016, including more than £30,000 to attend a number of conferences [...]
Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro gives green light for extensive gold mining in Amazon rainforest February 15, 2022 The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, announced last night his government has launched plans to allow a significant expansion of gold mining activities in the Amazon rainforest. The decision was condemned and criticised by environmentalists around the world amid warnings more mining could further damage the Amazon, namely by deforestation and pollution. Bolsonaro signed a [...]
Number of Brits on payrolls accelerates as close to 30m are in employment February 15, 2022 The UK job market continued its recovery as the number of payrolled workers jumped last month but wages have continued to lag behind soaring inflation, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics said this morning that the number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 108,000 between December and January to 29.5m. The [...]
Ukraine fears building: Markets hold their breath after Monday wiped off £43bn of London shares February 15, 2022 Billions were wiped off the stock exchange in London yesterday after global markets were thrown into turmoil in the second Monday collapse in less than a month. Nearly £58bn had been removed from the value of London’s top 350 companies just a couple of hours after markets opened on Monday. However, the companies clawed back [...]