Dominic Raab demands immediate release of Alexei Navalny January 18, 2021 The UK has demanded the immediate release of Alexei Navalny after he was arrested at a Moscow airport yesterday. Kremlin critic Navalny was detained by police as he got off the plane on his first return to Russia since being poisoned last year. Writing on Twitter, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “It is appalling that [...]
24-hour vaccination sites to be piloted in London by end of January January 18, 2021 Vaccination sites open 24 hours a day will be piloted in London by the end of January, as the government looks to speed up the UK’s vaccination progress against coronavirus. Speaking on Sky News this morning minister for vaccine deployment Nadhim Zahawi said the UK was vaccinating 140 people per minute on average. “You’ll see [...]
Interactive Investor to buy EQi in latest acquisition January 17, 2021 Interactive Investor (II) is close to announcing the purchase of EQi, a division of Equiniti, a FTSE-250 support services group. The direct-to-consumer share platform has agreed to pay in the region of £50m for EQi, Sky News reported this weekend. II is the second largest direct to consumer platform in the UK, behind Hargreaves Lansdown. [...]
UK arrivals face hotel quarantine to stop mutant variant spread January 17, 2021 Ministers have been asked to draw up plans to strengthen Britain’s borders, to stop new variants of coronavirus undermining the vaccination effort. Officials have been told to prepare for the creation of quarantine hotels for those arrived in Britain, and to use GPS and facial-recognition technology to check that people are staying in isolation, the [...]
Deliveroo’s fresh funding round brings valuation to over $7bn ahead of IPO January 17, 2021 Food delivery startup Deliveroo has secured $180m in new funding, pushing its valuation to over $7bn ahead of its long-awaited float. The Series H funding round was led by Durable Capital Partners and Fidelity Management & Research and indicates the strong demand from investors ahead of its IPO. The British unicorn is preparing for a [...]
Best of travel: A food odyssey across the South China Sea January 16, 2021 Throughout January we’re remembering better times and sunnier climes by reposting some of our favourite travel stories from the last decade. In this instalment, our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen eats a path across the South China Sea. ••• Hong Kong’s most celebrated restaurants are the kind of Michelin-rated palaces to gastronomy that you can find [...]
ITV taps headhunter Stuart Spencer to pick new chairman January 15, 2021 ITV is said to have hired executive search firm Stuart Spencer as it kicks off the hunt for a replacement to outgoing chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette. The broadcaster’s nominations committee, led by former Jupiter Fund Management boss Edward Bonham Carter, has tapped the US headhunter to scout out potential applicants, Sky News reported. Bazalgette, who [...]
FTSE 100 drops to October lows on recession fears January 15, 2021 The FTSE 100 sunk into the red today, capping off its worst weekly performance since the end of October amid fresh Covid woes. The blue-chip index closed down 0.97 per cent at 6,735 points after new data showed UK GDP fell 2.6 per cent in November, sparking fears of a double-dip recession. London’s main market [...]
Minister insists vaccine works against Brazilian Covid variant as travel ban begins January 15, 2021 A Brazilian variant of the coronavirus is concerning enough to justify stopping flights from South America, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said today. Shapps insists that the decision, which came into force at 4am this morning, was precautionary and does not mean vaccines would not work against the variant. “As with the variant that we saw [...]
Ladbrokes owner Entain ‘lines up’ first female gambling boss January 14, 2021 Ladbrokes owner Entain is said to be lining up the first female chief executive of a major listed UK gambling firm as it pushes back against a £8bn takeover approach from MGM. Entain, formerly known as GVC, is in advanced talks to appoint board member Jette Nygaard-Andersen as its new boss, Sky News reported. It [...]