Yoghurt giant Muller takes on HMRC over corporation tax in legal battle February 3, 2026 The makers behind Muller Corner and Muller Rice are taking the UK tax authorities to court over a long-running dispute about corporation tax. Muller UK and Ireland Group, Muller Dairy UK, Robert Wiseman and Sons, and TM UK Production are in a battle with HMRC over whether a company can claim tax breaks on ‘goodwill’ [...]
Farage’s Reform UK backtracks on key benefits policy to support pubs February 3, 2026 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has ditched its backing of Labour to support the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap as it set out policies to back pubs facing rising costs. In May last year, Farage said the party backed lifting the two-child benefit cap as part of a string of proposals to boost birth rates [...]
ICO opens probe into Elon Musk’s Grok AI over sexualised content February 3, 2026 The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has opened investigations in relation to the Grok AI system and its potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content. The probe into the tech tool owned by Elon Musk’s Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC) and X.AI comes after the chatbot made headlines last month over the generation of explicit, [...]
Waymo raises $16bn ahead of London launch February 3, 2026 Alphabet-owned Waymo has raised $16bn (£12.6bn), valuing the self driving vehicle company at $126bn, as its London launch edges closer. The investment round, led by Dragoneer, DST Global and Sequoia, comes as the firm steps up preparations for its UK debut, with its cars already spotted testing on the streets of the capital. London is [...]
Musk’s SpaceX swallows xAI ahead of mega IPO February 3, 2026 Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has acquired his AI firm xAI in a deal valuing the combined business at roughly $1.25 trillion (£910bn) as the billionaire tightens control of his empire, ahead of a long-trailed IPO. The all-stock transaction, announced on SpaceX’s own website on Monday, values SpaceX at about $1 trillion, and xAI at [...]
Insurance industry must do more to build consumer trust, says FCA deputy executive February 3, 2026 The insurance industry must do more to build consumer trust amid outdated practices and a flurry of corporate scandals, the boss of Britain’s financial regulator has said. Speaking at the annual Association of British Insurers conference, Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), noted that despite ongoing innovation within the sector [...]
‘Very clever’ – Mandelson shared sensitive advice with Epstein at height of Eurozone drama February 3, 2026 Peter Mandelson sent Jeffrey Epstein sensitive advice concerning the liquidity of the UK financial system and the stability of the euro that had been shared with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In the exchange, which took place in May 2010 at the height of the Eurozone debt crisis and in the turbulent political aftermath of the [...]
Bank of England names first fintech cohort for scale-up regulator February 3, 2026 The Bank of England has named the first handful of UK fintech talent which will be overseen by the new regulatory ‘Scale-Up’ unit. Small business lenders OakNorth and Allica Bank – which was named the fastest-growing fintech ever by Deloitte – were listed as two of the firms that had been accepted into the first [...]
NFL chiefs back Bad Bunny Super Bowl LX show amid Trump protest fears February 3, 2026 NFL chiefs have defended choosing Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl LX half-time show amid fears he will ignite a row over President Trump’s immigration crackdown. The Puerto Rican declared “ICE out” at the Grammy Awards on Sunday in protest at federal agents’ hardline approach, including the fatal shooting of two people in Minneapolis [...]
Rolls-Royce: FTSE 100 giants shares eye all-time high in tariff comeback February 3, 2026 Shares in aerospace giant Rolls-Royce were back on the march to an all-time high after a tariff salvo from the US sent the City giant’s stock tumbling. The FTSE 100 titan’s stock was up 1.6 per cent to 1,250.50p on Tuesday morning, making it one of the top risers on the blue-chip index. The Derbyshire-headquartered [...]