City stalwart quits as PM’s LGBT+ business champion over conversion therapy row April 5, 2022 City stalwart and Cicero/amo chair Iain Anderson has quit as Boris Johnson’s LGBT+ business champion over the government’s position on conversion therapy. The communications executive, who was appointed to the unapid role in 2021, announced today that the government’s decision not to ban trans conversion therapy was the catalyst for his resignation and was “deeply [...]
Speculation rages that top civil servants will be implicated in full Gray partygate report April 5, 2022 Top Whitehall staff are reportedly braced for senior civil servants to be implicated in Sue Gray’s full report into partygate, after the government’s ex-ethics chief was handed a police penalty notice last week. Former head of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office Helen MacNamara was given a £50 fine by the Metropolitan Police, after [...]
UK poised to hit Russia with more sanctions in light of Bucha war crimes April 4, 2022 The UK will soon hit Russia with more economic sanctions in light of recent war crimes committed by Vladimir Putin’s troops, with a ban on Russian gas and coal set to come. Foreign secretary Liz Truss today said evidence of mass civilian graves in Ukraine was “truly horrifying” and that “Britain has helped lead the [...]
French election: Macron’s lead over Le Pen cut days before first vote April 4, 2022 Polling for the French Presidential race has drastically tightened with less than a week before the first round of voting. Emmanuel Macron’s large lead over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen has shrunk over the past month, with a recent IFOP poll showing the incumbent ahead 53-47 in a head-to-head run-off. Macron and Le Pen are [...]
Asda chair hammers government for ‘tin eared’ response to cost of living crisis April 3, 2022 The government has delivered a “tin-eared and slow” response to the UK’s cost of living crisis, according to the chair of Asda. Tory peer Lord Stuart Rose said chancellor Rishi Sunak should put together a new package to ease the pain of soaring costs for households, adding that “the main problem that the government has [...]
Vitali Klitschko accuses Russians of genocide as mass graves found near Kyiv April 3, 2022 Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine, after a mass grave with 280 bodies was found in a city just outside Kyiv. Ukrainian soldiers won back Bucha, 17 miles to the West of Kyiv, over the weekend as the country’s troops continue its counter-offensive against Russian positions. The Ukraine Defence [...]
Sunak and Javid stand by NI rise days before it comes into place April 3, 2022 Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid have come out today to outline their support for this month’s hike in National Insurance, despite the growing cost of living crisis. Sunak said the £12bn-a-year increase in health and social care spending, which will come from the tax hike, was a “top priority” for the government. The chancellor said [...]
Energy strategy: Shapps says he doesn’t support ‘vast increase’ of onshore wind farms April 3, 2022 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said he does not support a “vast increase” in the amount of onshore wind farms in the UK, just days before Boris Johnson is set to announce the government’s new energy strategy. Shapps today said onshore wind farms are “eyesores” in a statement that will fuel speculation of a growing [...]
UK expands sanctions to include Russian generals and media personalities March 31, 2022 The UK has hit a further 14 people with sanctions in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with media personalities and a senior Russian general targeted. Foreign secretary Liz Truss said the latest tranche of sanctions were aimed at stopping the “torrent of lies” and propaganda coming from the Kremlin about the invasion. Rossiya [...]
Putin facing Russian military rebellion over Ukraine invasion, says spy chief March 31, 2022 Vladimir Putin is facing a growing military rebellion over his invasion of Ukraine and is being lied to by his advisers about the faltering war, according to a UK spy chief. Sir Jeremy Fleming, the director of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said this morning that the Russian President had “massively misjudged” the strength of his army [...]
