Covid-19 inquiry: No-deal Brexit prep stopped intensive care drugs ‘running out’, says Matt Hancock June 27, 2023 Preparations for a no-deal Brexit meant vital intensive care drugs were prevented from running out during the pandemic, Matt Hancock has told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Crucial medicines were “within hours of running out” in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the former health secretary said while giving evidence to the UK’s official inquiry. Asked [...]
Not ‘sufficient thought’ into stopping Covid-19, Chris Whitty tells inquiry June 22, 2023 Government “did not give sufficient thought” into stopping the pandemic in its tracks, Sir Chris Whitty has told the official Covid-19 inquiry. The chief medical officer for England has said options to stop a disease outbreak on the scale of coronavirus were not considered fully enough by ministers ahead of the crisis. Giving evidence today, [...]
Covid-19 inquiry: Flu-based pandemic prep meant herd immunity was seen as ‘inevitable’, says Hunt June 21, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the focus on any future pandemic being flu-based meant there was a “shared assumption herd immunity was inevitably” going to be the strategy used to contain a new virus. He admitted being part of “groupthink” when he was health secretary, leading to a “narrowness of thinking” that failed to expand [...]
Wagamama owner waves goodbye to CFO as part of top team shake up June 21, 2023 Wagamama’s owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) is waving goodbye to its chief financial officer, Kirk Davis, as part of a shake up of its top team. The hospitality group, which also owns high street eateries such as Frankie & Bennys, said that Davis will step down after the publication of its interim results in September [...]
‘Mistake’ to focus on flu in pandemic preparedness, David Cameron admits June 19, 2023 David Cameron has admitted it was a “mistake” for his government to focus too heavily on preparing for an influenza wave rather than a potential coronavirus pandemic. The former Conservative prime minister told the official Covid-19 inquiry, which is currently examining the UK’s readiness to respond to a disease outbreak, the decision led to “many [...]
‘Painful’: MPs to vote on Boris Johnson report on his birthday June 15, 2023 MPs are set to vote on the Privileges Committee report which found Boris Johnson “deliberately misled” Parliament on the former prime minister’s birthday. A free vote is expected to be held in the House of Commons on Monday (19 June) – the former PM’s 59th birthday. It is also the third anniversary of the illegal [...]
Analysis: The Boris Johnson report and the end of a self-styled Cincinnatus June 15, 2023 Boris Johnson, the man who led us through an unprecedented pandemic, set his own precedent when he misled Parliament over breaking lockdown rules.
Boris Johnson ‘deliberately misled’ Parliament and faced suspension for 90 days, damning report finds June 15, 2023 Former prime minister Boris Johnson “deliberately misled” Parliament and if he were still an MP should be suspended for 90 days, a report from the privileges committee has found. The report says he also deliberately misled the committee itself, “impugned” the committee and was “complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the [...]
Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group still owes £167m to unsecured creditors following collapse June 14, 2023 Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group empire is understood to still owe money to unsecured creditors following its collapse almost three years ago. The cluster of retail assets, which included Jaeger, Peacocks, Bonmarché, and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, fell into administration in 2020 after sales declined during the pandemic. However, administrator reports for the brands now [...]
Government price tag for making tax digital has ballooned, report warns June 12, 2023 The credibility of the government’s plans to allow people to file their tax bills digitally has been undermined by repeated delays and a bill that has increased about sixfold, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. The official auditors said that the final bill is currently expected to be £1.3bn, an increase of more than [...]