Rachel Reeves urged to rip up ring-fencing in banking growth push July 7, 2025 Rachel Reeves is facing renewed pressure to scrap the ring-fencing regime imposed on British banking giants in a bid to bolster the sector’s international competitiveness and bolster economic growth. The Chancellor has been lobbied by top banking chiefs to ditch the “redundant” 15-year-old legislation, which requires major banks to separate their retail banking operations from [...]
British basketball at war: How can BBF and SLB bloody battle be resolved? July 4, 2025 British basketball is no stranger to turmoil but even by its warped standards the raging civil war between SLB clubs and governing body the BBF is extraordinary. At its heart is a power struggle for the right to run the domestic league. But it also involves claims of dishonesty, mission creep, vindictiveness and outright illegality [...]
CBI on hunt for Soames successor July 3, 2025 The CBI has kicked off its hunt for a new chair to succeed Rupert Soames, the man credited with saving the lobby group from the brink of collapse. The UK’s business industry body has enlisted headhunters to help with the search for Soames’ successor in one of the most prominent roles in corporate Britain. Soames, [...]
Top Tory slams FCA ‘mission creep’ after misconduct rules expanded July 3, 2025 Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has slammed the UK financial watchdog for expanding rules on “non-financial misconduct”, which spans from bullying to harassment and violence. In a post on X the former city minister described the new regulations as “grade A mission creep”, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) broadened their reach to apply to [...]
Women’s sport needs to convert online fandom into ticket sales July 3, 2025 With England’s Euros defence getting underway on Saturday, how does women’s sport convert online fandom into ticket sales? Attendances down, TV viewing figures falling, but TikTok and Instagram metrics up. This is the current state of engagement with women’s professional sport in the United Kingdom. Phone surfing can be monetised, but there is an urgent [...]
These three things make a great entrepreneur July 3, 2025 Richard Harpin created and sold a £4bn business – now he wants to help others do the same Like Sophi Horne, I wanted to be running businesses even before I left school. You may not be familiar with Sophi’s name but, if you’re lucky, you might be enviously staring at one of her super-sleek yachts [...]
Mark Kleinman: BP risks being left a Shell without new chair July 3, 2025 BP risks being left a Shell without new chair A not-so-supermajor? Speculation about a Shell tilt at BP to establish a £200bn oil and gas behemoth has been running wild since a Bloomberg News report in May that the Anglo-Dutch group was “studying” such a move. Last week, that speculation lurched into overdrive, when the [...]
BBC facing fight to retain £60m Wimbledon broadcast rights July 2, 2025 The BBC faces the prospect of having to significantly increase its rights fee to the All England Club to extend their exclusive coverage of Wimbledon beyond 2027 amid increased competition for tennis amongst broadcasters. While Wimbledon’s status as a Category A “crown jewel” event means live coverage has to remain available on free-to-air channels, the [...]
Sue Barker rebuffed approach from Sky Sports to front tennis coverage June 30, 2025 Tennis broadcasting stalwart Sue Barker has revealed she rebuffed an approach to work for Sky Sports as the former face of Wimbledon’s BBC coverage remains away from the cameras. The former French Open winner left the BBC in 2022 after a 30-year broadcasting career which included fronting the Wimbledon Championships and Queen’s, as well as [...]
Kneecap at Glastonbury 2025 review: ‘f*ck Keir Starmer’ chants, flares and mosh pits June 28, 2025 The Prime Minister calling Kneecap’s Glastonbury 2025 performance not “appropriate” was always going to achieve the exact opposite of what Sir Keir Starmer had hoped. The festival was never going to cancel the booking, it would have been viewed as a mark against free speech, and in the end, Starmer’s comments quadrupled the crowd size. [...]