‘Step forward for your country’: Matt Hancock urges Brits to get coronavirus vaccine December 8, 2020 Matt Hancock has told Britons to “step forward for your country” and get the coronavirus vaccine, as the NHS today started the largest vaccination programme in British history. “Today marks the start of the fight back against our common enemy coronavirus,” said the health secretary told the Commons this afternoon. “And while today’s the day [...]
V-Day: All your vaccine questions answered December 8, 2020 Ninety-year-old Margaret Keenan this morning became the first person in the world to receive a coronavirus vaccine outside of a trial, marking the start of Britain’s largest vaccination programme in history. Jabs of the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine will be administered at dozens of hospital hubs across the country from today, dubbed V-Day by health secretary Matt [...]
High-flying business figures exempted from travel quarantine rules December 4, 2020 Business travellers who arrive back into England will no longer have to self-isolate if they come in from a country not on the government's travel corridor list.
Tit for tat: Ann Summers launches CVA following rent dispute during pandemic December 4, 2020 Ann Summers has launched a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) following a dispute over the lingerie brand’s rents during the pandemic. The CVA follows extensive discussions with the company’s landlords over plans to switch to turnover-based rents due to changing consumer behaviour during the coronavirus crisis. Ann Summers said it wants to ensure “the company’s property [...]
Hush money: Bank of England pressured to find ‘missing’ £50bn in cash December 4, 2020 The Bank of England must launch an investigation to find £50bn of “missing” banknotes that have been “stashed” around the country, the government’s spending committee has warned. In a rare exchange with Threadneedle Street, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today called on the Bank to “get a better handle on the national currency it controls”. [...]
Switzerland to sign deal with UK allowing free travel for professional workers December 4, 2020 Switzerland is set to sign off on a deal with the UK this afternoon allowing professional workers to travel freely between the two countries after Britain leaves the EU. The agreement will mean around 383,000 Brits who regularly make business trips to the country will not need work permits to keep doing so post-Brexit. Switzerland [...]
Second national lockdown wipes £430m off Primark’s balance sheet December 4, 2020 England’s second national lockdown wiped an estimated £430m off Primark’s balance sheet, as the pandemic continues to decimate British high street retailers. Speaking ahead of Primark’s annual general meeting later today, chairman Michael McLintock said: “Our estimate for the loss of sales for the announced periods of closure this autumn is now some £430m.” The [...]
O Come, Emmanuel: Hopes of Brexit trade deal run thin as Macron toughens stance December 4, 2020 The latest Brexit talks between the UK and EU “did not go well”, according to reports, as British officials accused French President Emmanuel Macron of making fresh demands at the eleventh hour. Macron is understood to have remained unwavering in his demand that France preserves a substantial portion of existing fishing rights in British waters [...]
Peacocks offered lifeline with management buy-out proposal that could save 5,000 jobs December 4, 2020 Peacocks could be rescued from collapse after a consortium of managers this morning announced a buy-out proposal, in a move that could save almost 5,000 jobs and 500 stores. Peacocks collapsed into administration last month alongside fashion brand Jaeger, after owner Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) failed to find a buyer for both businesses. But [...]
Supermarket heavyweights the Co-op and Waitrose face mounting pressure to return business rates relief December 4, 2020 High street titans the Co-op Group and Waitrose are facing mounting pressure to follow their peers and hand back millions of pounds of business rates relief dished out to keep the companies afloat during the pandemic. The Co-op is facing growing disquiet from members after refusing to emulate rivals Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Aldi, [...]
