Forest swerves TfL’s e-scooter trial January 15, 2026 Major bike lenders are snubbing Transport for London’s e-scooter rollout as the capital’s micromobility players question regulations around trials. TfL opened the bidding for the next phase of its e-scooter experiment last week. But major electric bike operators may snub the chance to introduce e-scooters into fleets of rental vehicles across the capital, City AM [...]
Defence splurge cannot fund planned expansion, military chief says January 14, 2026 The Labour government’s commitment to increase defence expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP from next year will not fully fund the planned expansion of the armed forces, a top military official has warned. Sir RIchard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, told MPs on Monday the rise in government funding would not be enough [...]
‘Downfall’: Home REIT faces SFO probe into suspected bribery and fraud January 14, 2026 The UK’s top financial crime unit has unveiled a major probe into the past management of Home REIT after identifying as much as £300m in suspected fraud and bribery. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it has carried out raids and arrests into the former London-listed social housing company, including searches at homes in Altrincham, [...]
Game, set, appeal: Wimbledon’s £200m expansion hits the court January 14, 2026 The battle over Wimbledon’s £200m expansion has reached match point: while tournament chiefs aim for a net gain of 39 new courts, a campaign group is fighting back by dragging the planning decision to the Court of Appeal. The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plans to build 39 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium [...]
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke becomes largest private landowner in US January 14, 2026 Arsenal’s billionaire owner Stan Kroenke has flexed his financial muscle to become the largest private landowner in the US, according to a new ranking. Trade publication The Land Report’s annual list of the top 100 US landowners places Kroenke top following his acquisition of almost 1m acres of New Mexico last month. The real estate [...]
January health advice: 8 tips to improve your night’s sleep January 14, 2026 As I write this, my husband is asleep next to me. It’s just past 12am – how did that happen? I’m up in a few hours for a long day of catering. Midnight might not seem late for some but I am usually in bed by 10pm… Are you also reading this while trying to [...]
Tories call Miliband’s latest offshore wind push ‘a vanity project’ January 14, 2026 Ed Miliband has reaffirmed the UK’s ambitious 2030 clean power goal with the biggest ever expansion of offshore wind farms that could add as much as £1.8bn a year onto households’ energy bills. The government unveiled an auction of offshore energy sites with a total capacity of 8.4 gigawatts, far outstripping analyst estimates and enough [...]
Bank of England’s Taylor: Trade with China to drive interest rate cuts January 14, 2026 Cheap goods flooding into the UK from China will lower inflation and prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates further, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee has said. Alan Taylor, considered to be the most dovish rate-setter on the MPC, warned that cheap goods flowing in from China would lower inflation over [...]
Starmer to U-turn on mandatory digital ID January 14, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is expected to perform another U-turn by scrapping plans to make a national digital ID compulsory for all Brits. After backtracking on a number of policies, from the farm tax to the end of winter fuel payments, the Prime Minister is set to reveal that the government will no longer make all [...]
Revenue at pawnbroker Ramsdens rockets as Brits cash in on soaring gold prices January 14, 2026 Revenue at pawnbroker Ramsdens has risen to a fresh high as Brits take advantage of soaring gold prices. The London-listed business, which has over 160 stores across the UK, posted a 22 per cent jump in turnover to £117m in the year to end September amid a more than 50 per cent in profit from [...]