Former Westminster council employee guilty of stealing nearly £1m from pension fund October 15, 2018 A former Westminster city council employee has been found guilty of stealing nearly £1m from its pension fund. Ian Woodall, the former interim head of pensions and investments at the wealthy council for nearly three years, was convicted of one charge of fraud by abuse of position and a second charge of concealing criminal property at [...]
No deal ‘more likely than ever’ says EU as Theresa May is given another chance to sell her Brexit plan October 15, 2018 Theresa May will be given one final chance to sell her Brexit plan to the EU on Wednesday – with a warning from Brussels that no deal is “more likely than ever before”. European Council president Donald Tusk has invited the Prime Minister to address her EU counterparts in a bid to persuade them to [...]
Theresa May refuses to set end date for when the UK will leave the EU customs union October 15, 2018 Theresa May today repeatedly refused to guarantee when the UK would stop being part of the EU’s customs union if a trade deal wasn’t completed by December 2020. Speaking to MPs 24 hours after Brexit talks seemed to breakdown in Brussels, the Prime Minister was asked to set a date for when her so-called ‘backstop’ [...]
Stand up to EU ‘bullies’, Boris Johnson tells Prime Minister after Brexit negotiations stall October 15, 2018 Boris Johnson today called on the Prime Minister to push back against the EU “bullies” following the collapse of Brexit talks between the UK and the bloc. The former foreign secretary claimed that negotiations are in the “moment of crisis” and warned that Theresa May must “stand up to bullies” as he applies pressure to [...]
Speaker John Bercow ‘must quit’ over damning report into parliamentary bullying October 15, 2018 Commons speaker John Bercow needs to quit in order for widespread bullying and harassment in parliament to be properly dealt with, a damning report has suggested. An investigation into working life in parliament found bullying and sexual harassment has been allowed to “thrive” thanks to a culture of tolerance and concealment “cascading from the top [...]
Downing Street: Theresa May will rule out a customs union if no Brexit deal is reached October 12, 2018 Downing Street said today that Theresa May would never agree to a permanent customs union with the EU, as the Prime Minister attempts to set cabinet ministers at ease over the Brexit negotiations. “The Prime Minister would never agree to a deal which would trap the UK in a backstop permanently,” a spokeswoman told the [...]
Turkish court ends US pastor’s house arrest, allowing him to leave country October 12, 2018 A Turkish court has allowed US pastor Andrew Brunson to be freed from house arrest and leave the country, putting an end to two-year long case which saw the US impose heavy sanctions on Turkey. Brunson was freed from house arrest in Izmir, Turkey this afternoon, and is now able to leave the country immediately. A Turkish prosecutor had called [...]
London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey faces fresh wave of criticism over teenage pregnancy remarks October 12, 2018 Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has faced fresh criticism after comments he made about contraception and teenage pregnancy came to light this week. Bailey said that the act of giving young people access to condoms and abortion services "normalise[s] sex" and pushes them towards a life of crime. "You have had local authorities up and [...]
Hammond predicts economic boost from ‘Brexit deal dividend’ October 12, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond said today that securing a Brexit agreement with the EU will lift the economy. Speaking in the run up to the Budget later this month, Hammond told the BBC that there has been a “measurable change of pace” in the negotiations between the UK and the EU, adding that the UK could [...]
Outrage-induced regulation will not fix the broken audit market October 12, 2018 The audit market is broken. Don’t take my word for it – ask Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP who chairs the BEIS select committee, or Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, or even the Conservative business secretary Greg Clark, who last month ordered an inquiry into competition in the sector. With such cross-party concerns, it should not [...]