Tory rebellion aimed at stopping trade deals with genocidal regimes fails March 22, 2021 A rebellion of Tory MPs who were trying to make it harder for the government to sign trade deals with genocidal regimes has fallen just short. The amendment to the government’s trade bill – which would have made the government explain trade deals with potentially genocidal governments to parliament – lost by 318 to 300, [...]
Say what you will about Dominic Cummings, he’s spot on about science funding March 22, 2021 This week saw the return of Dominic Cummings to the public stage as he gave evidence to a parliamentary committee on the launch of his brainchild, ‘ARIA’, the new UK Advanced Research and Invention agency. At least that’s what he was meant to be there for. Inevitably, the focus drifted into a broader discussion of [...]
Barclays expands private bank to France and Italy in bid to grow EU business March 22, 2021 Barclays has expanded its private banking division to France and Italy as it looks to grow its European wealth business in the wake of Brexit. The bank said on Monday that it had appointed Bernard Corneau and Carlo Baronio as heads of private bank coverage in France and Italy respectively. The duo will be supported [...]
Is Sadiq Khan’s re-election as London Mayor inevitable? March 22, 2021 On Thursday 6 May, Londoners will go to the polls. Or, more likely, many won’t; turnout last time was 45 per cent to elect a new mayor, or else confirm the incumbent in office. This is the largest single exercise in democracy the UK has, excepting referendums, with an electorate of around five and a [...]
Union boss Len McCluskey and Keir Starmer have not spoken in past year March 21, 2021 Powerful union boss Len McCluskey has today said he has not spoken to Sir Keir Starmer since he became party leader last April and that “that personal relationship broke down”. McCluskey, who is general secretary of Unite, called for Starmer to be more conciliatory toward the hard left of the party. The Labour leader has [...]
The greatest space mission will be tackling climate change and protecting our planet March 21, 2021 Efforts around the world are focused on making businesses more sustainable, with ever greater emphasis on innovative technology to help solve the climate crisis we face. There was a dearth of climate-related announcements in Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech earlier this month. Sunak did, however, reiterate the Government’s plan to establish the UK as a “science [...]
Don’t believe naysayers predicting the death of London and a exodus to rural idyll, the capital will be rich with post-pandemic opportunities March 20, 2021 London, as I know and love it, is a place of streets swelling with people, of shimmering, seductive shops, enticing bars and restaurants from every corner of the earth, and of constant sound – the hum of the UK economy. The capital attracts more than 20 million overseas visitors a year, drawn in by theatres, [...]
Exclusive: Texas law firm Vinson & Elkins on half a century in London March 20, 2021 Texan law firm Vinson & Elkins just celebrated 50 years in London, having set up shop in the capital in 1971 to take advantage of the booming oil and gas industry, after oil was discovered in the North Sea. The firm began its London life with two English lawyers working in temporary space near Piccadilly [...]
Exclusive: ‘EU will remain our key trading partner’, says London’s Deputy Mayor for business March 19, 2021 Last week it was announced that the rapid rollout of Covid-19 vaccines has led to business confidence hitting its highest levels in three years. The increase has been driven by the success of the vaccine rollout, especially in the UK, which has left firms more confident that restrictions will soon be lifted. Despite the increased confidence, UK’s [...]
SFO closes investigation into Texan engineering company KBR’s UK subsidiary March 18, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed its bribery and corruption investigation into KBR’s UK subsidiary after four years. In a statement today the SFO said: “The evidence in this case did not meet the evidential test as defined in the code for crown prosecutors.” KBR, a Texan engineering, procurement and construction company listed on [...]