Government set to launch coronavirus ‘contact tracking’ app April 1, 2020 The government is gearing up to launch a new app that will alert users if they have come too close to someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. The contact tracking app, which Brits can download on a voluntary basis, will be rolled out either just before or just after the lockdown is lifted, Sky [...]
Coronavirus: Aerospace giants lobby for Virgin Atlantic rescue deal April 1, 2020 Several members of the UK aviation sector are lobbying the government to support Virgin Atlantic with financial aid through the coronavirus crisis, Sky News reported today. Aerospace giants Airbus and Rolls-Royce have written separately to transport secretary Grant Shapps, as has UK’s biggest airport Heathrow, asking the government to “do all it can to support [...]
Bank junction to be used as drone taxi landing zone April 1, 2020 The City of London Corporation is preparing to designate the newly pedestrianised Bank junction as a drone taxi landing zone, City A.M. can reveal. Taxi drones could be zipping through the skies of the capital as soon as the summer after ministers backed a plan to prioritise new regulations allowing passenger transit on autonomous flying [...]
Coronavirus: Government poised to unveil rescue deal for bus industry March 31, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said that a sector-specific deal for the UK’s bus operators will be announced shortly after passenger numbers collapsed nearly 80 per cent. Speaking to Sky, Shapps said that he was “working very hard on a package” for buses, having announced a set of emergency measures to protect the UK’s struggling [...]
Grant Thornton asks employees to take 40 per cent pay cut March 31, 2020 Grant Thornton has asked its UK employees to volunteer a 40 per cent reduction in their pay to avoid redundancies. The challenger audit firm has asked its 4500 employees in the UK to take a cut to avoid the need for an alternative package that would involve unpaid leave and layoffs, according to Sky News. [...]
Some police may have taken coronavirus powers too far, says minister March 31, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has admitted that some police officers have gone too far in enforcing the coronavirus lockdown amidst claims the UK was at risk of becoming a “police state”. Speaking to Sky News this morning, Shapps said police were doing a good job, but he was “sure there are individual examples where perhaps [...]
CMA clears Paddy Power owner Flutter’s £10bn gambling merger March 31, 2020 A gambling mega-merger between Paddy Power owner Flutter and Sky Bet owner Stars got the green light today from the UK’s competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) cleared Flutter’s £10bn purchase of Stars after opening an investigation into the tie-up at the start of February. The CMA found punters would not receive less [...]
Arcadia cancels supplier orders amid coronavirus crisis March 30, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia has cancelled all orders from its suppliers and extended its payment terms as it seeks to conserve cash during the coronavirus pandemic. Arcadia, which owns high street giants Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burtons, has written to its supply chain to say all orders have been cancelled and payment terms will be [...]
Public support for Boris Johnson’s coronavirus response soars March 29, 2020 Public approval of Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus has soared in the past week after announcing a police-enforced lockdown. A new ORB International survey has found that 67 per cent of Britons think the government has handled the coronavirus outbreak well – an 18 per cent increase from a week ago. A YouGov/Sky News also [...]
Coronavirus: Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia pauses pension scheme payments March 29, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia is planning to pause payments to its pensions scheme in a bid to save cash during the coronavirus crisis. Green’s retail empire, which includes Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, will defer its deficit recovery contributions, after all non-essential retailers were forced to close as part of a government lockdown to slow the [...]