Kwarteng hits out at energy companies ‘complaining’ about price cap September 22, 2021 Kwasi Kwarteng has launched an attack on energy companies calling for a lifting of the price cap so they can pass on soaring gas costs to consumers, saying that firms went into business with their “eyes open”. The business and energy secretary told MPs again today that he was committed to keeping the price control, [...]
Minister: Joe Biden doesn’t understand ‘complicated’ Northern Ireland Protocol September 22, 2021 Joe Biden does not “fully appreciate” the complex nature of the Northern Ireland Protocol and is “wrong” about the state of negotiations, according to environment secretary George Eustice. Eustice said today that Biden was probably “just reading the headlines, reading what the EU is saying, reading what Ireland might be saying, which is that they would [...]
MPs to grill social media giants over ‘inaction’ on financial fraud September 21, 2021 MPs will tomorrow probe the role of online giants like Facebook and Google in preventing financial fraud amid concerns the companies are letting scammers run rampant on their platforms. Westminster’s Treasury Select Committee will grill senior figures from Amazon, Google, Facebook and eBay for its inquiry into “combatting economic crime”, with one MP lamenting “the [...]
Joe Biden doubles US climate change aid to $11.4bn a year in lead up to Cop26 September 21, 2021 The US will double its annual climate change aid budget and give $11.4m per year by 2024 to developing countries, President Joe Biden announced today. Biden said at the UN General Assembly that the new commitment will make the US “the leader of public climate finance” just months before the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow. [...]
Aviation bosses warn UK sector is falling behind European competitors due to hotel quarantine rules September 21, 2021 Aviation bosses have today warned that the UK’s airlines and airports are falling behind European competitors due to stricter government travel rules. Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye told MPs that “the UK aviation sector will go from one of the strongest in the world to one of the weakest in the world” post-Covid due [...]
Jennifer Arcuri to give evidence to London Assembly today September 21, 2021 Boris Johnson’s alleged former lover Jennifer Arcuri will later today give evidence to the London Assembly over her dealings with the ex-mayor of London. Arcuri, an American tech entrepreneur, will face the assembly’s oversight committee over her presence on three foreign trade missions while Johnson was mayor. Her relationship with Johnson, and the £126,000 she [...]
Joe Biden lifts US travel ban for fully vaccinated UK and EU passengers September 20, 2021 Joe Biden’s White House has confirmed that fully vaccinated UK and EU passengers will be able to travel to the US from November, sending aviation stocks soaring this afternoon. The news sent shares in IAG, owner of British Airways, up by 11 per cent at the close today, while Air France, KLM and Lufthansa are [...]
Kwarteng says government will not bail out energy firms as more collapses expected September 20, 2021 Kwasi Kwarteng has said the government will not bail out collapsed energy firms as global shortages push more suppliers to the brink. The business and energy secretary said “we may well expect to see further companies exiting the market over the coming weeks”, after holding crunch meetings with energy firms today. Wholesale gas prices are [...]
Dutch PM Mark Rutte tried to mediate Northern Ireland Protocol talks, Johnson says September 20, 2021 Boris Johnson has claimed that Dutch leader Mark Rutte offered to mediate contentious UK-EU talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Johnson told journalists today that Rutte made the offer during the pair’s Downing Street meeting on Friday. However, Dutch diplomats have disputed the claim and have told the Financial Times that no such offer was [...]
Labour plots crackdown on private equity tax loophole September 20, 2021 Labour will crack down on private equity bosses by closing tax loopholes on their bonuses if victorious at the next election. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will today say that by ending the carried interest loophole, the government could raise another £440m in tax revenues. Carried interest payments are given as bonuses to private equity bosses [...]
