SRA backs down on high profile sexual misconduct case January 14, 2021 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided not to appeal a High Court ruling that followed a high-profile case featuring jagerbombs, a magic circle law firm and alleged sexual misconduct. The SRA will not appeal a High Court ruling in favour of an ex-Freshfields partner who allegedly took advantage of a junior colleague. The SRA [...]
EY gender pay gap shrinks as ethnicity pay gap widens January 14, 2021 Ernst & Young has reported a 32.4 per cent gender pay gap among its staff, as at April 2020, and a nearly 37 per cent ethnicity pay gap. EY UK chairman Hywel Ball said the gender pay gap at the Big Four firm had improved by 4.7 per cent in the last year, which was [...]
Chris Tremlett: Sri Lanka Test series is chance to showcase wealth of England options January 13, 2021 England are in good shape as they prepare to kick off a big year with a two-Test series in Sri Lanka, starting tomorrow. The tourists have a very balanced squad and a lot of depth to choose from; that hasn’t always been the case in previous years. With Ben Stokes, Rory Burns, Moeen Ali, Chris [...]
Hits Don’t Lie: Shakira sells entire song catalogue to Hipgnosis January 13, 2021 Shakira has become the latest musician to cash in on her song rights after selling her entire back catalogue to music royalty fund Hipgnosis. The London-listed company today said it has acquired the rights to Shakira’s portfolio of 145 songs, including hits such as Hips Don’t Lie, She Wolf and 2010 World Cup anthem Waka [...]
Tiktok tightens privacy features as online harm laws loom January 13, 2021 Tiktok has tightened its privacy features for young users as the government prepares to roll out tough new rules to improve safety on social media. The hit video-sharing app today said that all users under the age of 16 will have their accounts set to private by default, meaning only approved followers can view their [...]
We travel to Europe’s first psychedelic mushroom retreat January 11, 2021 Lockdown has scuppered even the best laid plans. Far from going on holiday somewhere exotic, or embarking on an adventure of self discovery, we’re stuck in a country where walking in the park with a flask of tea may get you arrested. So as we dream of better times and sunnier climes, we’re starting a [...]
Is “Londonograd” hiding a culture of dirty tricks in banking? January 11, 2021 A legal dispute is coming to a head concerning an alleged banking fraud committed during the sale in 2016 of Vivacom the largest Bulgarian telecoms company. Vivacom, the largest Bulgarian telecoms company, was sold in August 2016 by VTB Capital Plc (“VTBC”), a UK-based investment subsidiary of the Russian state-owned VTB Bank, in a pledge [...]
JD Sports shares pop as firm raises profit outlook January 11, 2021 Sportswear giant JD Sports saw its shares rise 4.6 per cent this morning after the firm announced that full-year profit would “significantly ahead” of estimates. In a trading update, the FTSE 100 firm said that “robust” sales during the pandemic would see it come in ahead of the £295m forecast. That’s despite the fact the [...]
Sir Keir Starmer: Don’t hit UK families with tax hikes January 10, 2021 Sir Keir Starmer has called for the government to reverse its decision last year to effectively raise council taxes, while casting Labour under his leadership as the “party of the family”. Starmer said the “importance of family hasn’t been talked about enough during this crisis” and that the country’s households deserve “far more from a [...]
Life after lockdown: Negotiating our way to herd immunity January 8, 2021 Former Google strategist Paul Alexander, founder and president of London-based Alexander & Associates, argues negotiation principles could play a role in achieving herd immunity via a comprehensive Covid-19 vaccination programme. Two vaccines are being rolled out across the UK as we speak. Care homes, once the frontline of the pandemic, are now rapidly becoming [...]