Who will the PM hire as the press conference spokesperson? July 29, 2020 The Prime Minister today launched a search for a spokesperson to host White House-style daily televised press briefings, in a bid to boost government transparency during the pandemic. An advert for the job posted on the Conservative’s Linkedin page suggested that the successful candidate will be a well-known figure on the political circuit, and assured [...]
Tories turn to Linkedin to recruit £100k host of White House-style briefings July 29, 2020 Boris Johnson has launched a search for a new £100,000-a-year spokesperson to front Downing Street’s press briefings, as the Prime Minister looks to step back from the limelight. The Conservatives posted the vacancy on their Linkedin page this morning, describing it as a “unique opportunity” to work at the heart of the political circuit. The [...]
Openreach to deliver fibre to 3.2m extra homes as it slams government inaction July 29, 2020 BT’s infrastructure arm Openreach has pledged to extend its fibre service to 3.2m extra homes by 2025, as it said the government was “running out of time” to meet its connectivity targets. Openreach today unveiled plans to bring full-fibre broadband to the UK’s “hard-to-reach” areas, as part of BT’s £12bn plan to connect more than [...]
Corporate spy firm tries to clean up ‘James Bond’ industry’s image July 29, 2020 Technology firm Ground Truth Intelligence (GTI) has today launched its ethical investigations platform in London, as the company seeks to shake-up the corporate intelligence industry following high-profile scandals involving companies such as Lekoil and Credit Suisse. The London-headquartered firm is set to provide an “alternative approach” to the global intelligence and investigations industry, offering ethical [...]
Zuckerberg defends Facebook: ‘Companies aren’t bad just because they’re big’ July 29, 2020 Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg is set to tell Congress that “companies aren’t bad just because they are big,” as the world’s biggest social media company today faces a historic investigation into its size and power. Zuckerberg is expected to tell the US Congress that Facebook became successful “the American way, by starting out with nothing [...]
Heathrow airport accuses government of playing ‘quarantine roulette’ July 29, 2020 Heathrow airport has accused the government of “playing a game of quarantine roulette” without an operational testing system, as the transport hub reported a record loss of more than £1bn for the first half of the year during the pandemic. The airport saw a 96 per cent slump in passenger numbers for the three months [...]
Aston Martin revenue plummets amid ‘challenging period’ for luxury car firm July 29, 2020 Aston Martin more than quadrupled its operating loss for the first six months of 2020 as the luxury car firm reported a steep plunge in sales and revenue during the pandemic. The results Total retail sales sank 41 per cent to £1.77bn in the six months to June, down from £3bn in the same period [...]
Next shows signs of recovery after sales plunge during pandemic July 29, 2020 Next has reported signs of recovery in the second quarter of 2020 after sales picked up slightly following store reopenings, with the company now expecting profit of £195m for the year. The results Full price sales in the three months to 25 July dropped 28 per cent year on year, but showed signs of improvement [...]
Amber Heard slams Johnny Depp trial as ‘incredibly painful’ July 28, 2020 Amber Heard has described ex-husband Johnny Depp’s libel trial at the High Court as “incredibly painful”, adding that it has been “traumatic” to broadcast intimate details of her life to the public over the past few weeks. Depp is suing the Sun’s publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) and the Sun’s executive editor Dan Wootton over [...]
Chinese hackers target senior Tory MP in impersonation campaign July 28, 2020 Chinese agents are believed to be behind a series of cyber attacks on senior Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, including email personations and hacking attempts. Tugendhat, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee and co-founder of the Sino-sceptic China Research Group, last night said he had been subjected to cyberattacks intended to smear his reputation. [...]
