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 [...]
Margaret Ferrier: MP suspended from Commons over 2020 Covid breach – and risks by-election June 6, 2023 Margaret Ferrier has been suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days for breaching coronavirus rules. The Commons voted 185 to 40, majority 145, to approve the motion to suspend the independent MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West. Ms Ferrier, a former SNP MP, was in the Commons chamber as MPs approved her suspension. [...]
Government preparing for legal fight with Covid inquiry (it set up) over Boris Johnson WhatsApp messages June 2, 2023 Ministers are preparing for a high-profile legal battle with the Covid-19 inquiry as the Government seeks to challenge the request for Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks. Bereaved families and opposition parties hit out at the Government after the Cabinet Office took the highly unusual step of seeking a judicial review of inquiry chairwoman [...]
Boris Johnson probed by cops over fresh lockdown breach allegations May 24, 2023 ‘Partygate’ PM Boris Johnson is under police investigation following fresh claims he allegedly breached lockdown rules, it emerged last night. The disgraced ex-prime minister has been reported to the Met Police by the Cabinet Office after new evidence came to light that he may have breached the Covid-19 pandemic rules. Johnson allegedly hosted friends at [...]
Sadiq Khan hosts crunch business talks with City figures May 23, 2023 Sadiq Khan has warned London’s businesses are facing “the most difficult period in living memory” as a result of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis. The Mayor of London has called for the government to devolve some immigration powers to City Hall as a means of tackling regional labour shortages sparked by the [...]
Covid cash lost to fraud down by third because we’re ‘going after everybody’, Sunak claims May 3, 2023 Government cash lost to fraud and error via Covid-19 business and jobs support schemes has been reduced by a third thanks to “hundreds of criminal investigations”, Rishi Sunak has claimed. The prime minister defended the pandemic business loans and job support and vowed his government was “going after everybody” in a bid to reclaim the [...]
MP Andrew Bridgen expelled by Tories over tweet on Covid data and the Holocaust April 26, 2023 MP Andrew Bridgen has been expelled from the Conservative Party over a controversial tweet saying the the delay in releasing safety data on Covid-19 vaccines was the worst crime since the Holocaust. The The MP for North West Leicestershire condemned his expulsion “under false pretences” and claimed it represented the “toxic culture which plagues our [...]
GSK brings in zosta lot more cash as drugs giant’s turnover boosted by shingles vaccine and HIV medicines April 26, 2023 Drugs giant GSK has posted better-than-forecast revenues for the first quarter thanks to strong sales of its shingles vaccine and HIV medicines. The FTSE 100 group saw earnings fall 15 per cent on a constant currency basis to £2.1bn in the first quarter as revenues dropped eight per cent to £7bn after sales of its Covid-19 treatment [...]