A third of mid-market firms were whacked by hacker outages in 2021 March 7, 2022 New research has revealed that one in three mid-market firms suffered from a hacker induced outage in 2021. According to a report by cyber firm Censornet, one in five companies were forced to pay hackers to deactivate ransomware, with the average pay-out hitting £144,000, and seven per cent handing out more than £500,000. “For the [...]
Exclusive: Tax probe yields hit staggering £30bn as HMRC fights to recoup lost Covid revenues March 5, 2022 The total revenue HMRC generated from tax investigations and other compliance activity has risen to £30.8bn in 2021, up from £28bn in 2020 as it looks to pursue tax lost to evasion or avoidance during the pandemic, lawyers have told City A.M. this morning. HMRC had to suspend some tax investigations work for part of [...]
Wife of Russian on Kremlin’s ‘most-wanted list’ told to pay up for lights at her £22m Surrey home March 4, 2022 A Russian woman whose husband is said to be on “the Kremlin’s most-wanted list” must pay more than £160,000 after being sued by a company that installed fountains and garden lights at her “£22 million” home in Surrey, a judge has ruled. GSL Installations said Elsina Khayrova owed more than £240,000 for work done at [...]
Kremlin accuses BBC of being used to undermine Russia’s political stability March 3, 2022 The Kremlin made very some very serious accusations today as it said the BBC was being used to undermine the political situation in Russia. “The fact that Russian journalists are still at least somehow able to work in Britain is associated solely with London’s fears of jeopardising the position of the BBC radio and television [...]
UK services economy surges after end of Plan B curbs despite inflation reaching record high March 3, 2022 Brits rushed back to pubs, bars and restaurants after the end of Plan B measures, boosting the UK’s services economy, but firms are raising prices at a record rate, reveals a closely watched survey released today. Activity among British services firms climbed to an eight month high, hitting 60.5 in February, according to IHS Markit’s [...]
London renters compete for homes with Powerpoint presentations and pet CVs as stock levels sink March 3, 2022 Prospective renters are going above and beyond to win landlords’ affections as stock levels for homes have diminished. The disappearance of Covid restrictions has sparked a revival for the capital’s rental market, while estate agents report historically low levels of stock. High demand has seen rents surge past pre-pandemic levels and London landlords are once [...]
Editorial: This Tube strike is self-defeating in the extreme March 3, 2022 When Ukrainian citizens are sheltering in underground stations, it can at best seem glib, or heartless, to complain about our own trivial woes. A tube strike is a trivial woe; some will work from home when the RMT go on strike today, some will walk a little further than usual, some may even try getting [...]
Supporting your employees with their mental health in 2022 March 3, 2022 In the UK an estimated 91 million workdays are lost every year due to mental health problems and the ongoing pandemic has unfortunately been a catalyst in increasing stress and anxiety. Our pioneering mental initiative This is Me aims to change attitudes towards mental health in the workplace by reducing stigma, dispelling myths and raising [...]
Terrible Thursday: Chaos returns to central London as TfL staff walk out in yet another tube strike March 3, 2022 Another tube strike has just begun with Londoners facing another day of travel chaos as the refusal by thousands of Transport for London workers is expected to cripple transport services today. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out for 24 hours in a deadlocked dispute over jobs, pensions and conditions, [...]
Are charities losing our trust and donations? March 3, 2022 The UK charity sector needs to rethink its foundations, writes Leah Montebello