Soft power: Hard-headed diplomacy January 17, 2025 A new Soft Power Council convened by the government will bring leaders from sport, education, culture and business together to craft a unifying narrative that will enhance Britain’s influence around the world, says foreign secretary David Lammy Almost ten years ago, relations between the United Kingdom and South Korea took a big step forward. In [...]
Pensions industry hopes mini-reshuffle could ‘revive’ auto-enrolment debate January 17, 2025 Industry figures hope that Torsten Bell's appointment as pensions minister could "revive" discussions about increasing the contribution rate for auto-enrolment pensions.
Chinese embassy: ‘Alarm bells’ over security fears for London mega-site January 16, 2025 MPs have warned of “serious alarm bells” for the UK’s security over reports senior cabinet ministers have intervened on a Chinese planning application for a huge new London embassy. Foreign secretary David Lammy, who visited China last year, and home secretary Yvette Cooper have indicated their support for the proposed new 20,000 square metre mega-site [...]
Financial sector splashes out for cyber resilience January 16, 2025 Costs to UK businesses and employees rise as the financial sector prepares for the launch of the Digital Operations Resilience Act (DORA), which comes into effect on Friday. The regulation was designed to increase the financial system’s resilience to cyber threats by introducing requirements for ICT risk management, operational testing and contingency planning. Nearly half [...]
UK ‘lacks understanding’ on tech procurement as taxpayer foots bill January 16, 2025 The UK’s approach to technology procurement ‘lacks understanding’, resulting in costly setbacks whilst leaving its public services on outdated systems. The government has accumulated 29 years of delays across major IT projects and £3bn in cost overruns, according to a recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO). This comes as Keir Starmer recently launched [...]
Gatwick hopes for China travel boom with second runway January 16, 2025 The government is expected to make a decision on Gatwick's second runway proposals at the tail-end of February.
‘The Silicon Beach dream was a lie’: Onbuy quits home with parting shot January 16, 2025 Technology company Onbuy has quit its home town of Bournemouth and hit out at the local council saying there is no support for the industry. Chief executive Cas Paton took to LinkedIn to announce the news that the business will now mainly operate from London and New York. He added that while Onbuy “will always” [...]
Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft: The £30bn legal headache for Big Tech January 16, 2025 Headlines have been popping about class actions in the UK with the main target on the other side, Big Tech firms. But why them?
Hargreaves Lansdown founder: Labour has ‘worst cabinet of all time’ January 16, 2025 The billionaire founder of Hargreaves Lansdown has said that the current Labour administration has the worst cabinet of all time and will “wreck the economy” over the course of a full term. Peter Hargreaves, who set up the investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown from his bedroom in 1986, slammed the Labour government’s first six months in [...]
Sadiq Khan to hike his share of London council tax bills January 16, 2025 Sir Sadiq Khan is set to hike Londoners’ average council tax bills by almost £19 a year – with City Hall’s share of the yearly total reaching almost £500. The London mayor is planning to increase his average ‘precept’ – or the amount he adds onto residents’ bills from their local councils – by four [...]