The government is to unveil a new plan for trade aimed at boosting exports and protecting UK firms at a time of growing uncertainty for businesses following the introduction of US tariffs. It aims to remove obstacles for UK businesses selling abroad while also bolstering the country’s trade defences to avoid the threat of cheap...
Guy Lambert Society reporter Francesca Gillett BBC News PA Media The government will meet food delivery companies for talks next week after reports that some asylum seekers are working illegally as couriers within hours of arriving in the UK. The Sun newspaper reported that Channel migrants were able to rent out other people’s Deliveroo and...
The Spanish government has said that the national grid operator and private power generation companies were to blame for an energy blackout that caused widespread chaos in Spain and Portugal earlier this year. Shortly after midday on 28 April, both countries were disconnected from the European electricity grid for several hours. Businesses, schools, universities, government...
Chi Chi Izundu and James Stewart BBC News Investigations BBC/Ben Lack/Getty Images “Ticket Queen” Maria Chenery-Woods and Peter Hunter made millions as touts When a judge dismissed an appeal by prolific ticket tout Peter Hunter and his husband and accomplice David Smith against their landmark conviction for fraud, he sounded an alarm. The evidence, he...
UK companies are holding back on hiring or are not replacing departing workers, sending job vacancies tumbling, official figures suggest. The number of available jobs fell by 63,000 between March and May while the unemployment rate ticked higher. “There continues to be a weakening in the labour market,” said Liz McKeown, director of econonic statistics...
Justin Rowlatt Environment Editor BBC It is 1am on 3 June. A near gale force wind is blasting into Scotland. Great weather for the Moray East and West offshore wind farms, you would have thought. The two farms are 13 miles off the north-east coast of Scotland and include some of the biggest wind turbines...
Simon Browning, Nick Marsh, and Faarea Masud BBC News Sam Williamson Train passengers are suffering unfair penalties for minor and often genuine mistakes in buying tickets, an inquiry has found. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said Britain’s fare system was “complex” and that rail firms must stop taking “disproportionate action” against travellers. Sam...
The parasite outbreak, which contaminated the local water supply, led to hospitalisations and more than 100 reported cases of illness, including symptoms such as diarrhoea. Pennon said about 800 staff and supply chain partners worked intensively over eight weeks to restore safe drinking water to the affected communities. In addition to the outbreak costs, the...
Damian Grammaticas Political correspondent Francesca Gillett BBC News EPA The company building the HS2 rail line between London and Birmingham says it is investigating “allegations” about the practices of some “labour suppliers” to the project. HS2 Ltd is looking into two firms supplying workers to build the West Midlands section of the high-speed line. It...
Nike is set to raise prices on some trainers and clothing from 1 June, weeks after rival Adidas warned it would have to hike the cost of products due to US tariffs. The BBC understands Nike’s decision was taken due to a number of internal and external factors and the sportswear giant said it regularly...
Jonathan Morris & Scott Bingham BBC News, South West BBC Bottled water was handed out to residents by South West Water People in the south Devon fishing town of Brixham remember 15 May 2024 for all the wrong reasons. That was date the UK Health Security Agency confirmed the parasite cryptosporidium was present in tap...
Yolande Knell Middle East correspondent Reuters A third of the community kitchens in Gaza have been forced to shut down over the past two weeks The US has confirmed that a new system for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through private companies is being prepared, as Israel’s blockade continues for a third month....
PA The takeover of Deliveroo by its US counterpart DoorDash is an illuminating example of the differing fortunes and attractions of US and UK stock markets. Deliveroo and DoorDash are similar companies. Both started out as food delivery services offering customers convenient and speedy access to their favourite restaurants and offering restaurants the ability to...
Jon Kay BBC Breakfast presenter André Rhoden-Paul BBC News ‘You don’t know what your children are looking at’ warn parents of teen Jools Sweeney A group of British parents who believe social media played a part in the death of their children have travelled to the US to demand better online safety protections for children....
Getty Images Lloyds Bank business customers and whistleblowers have accused it of failing small firms as it tried to reduce lending after the financial crash of 2008. Business owners who borrowed from Lloyds around that time have told the BBC their firms collapsed after the bank introduced them to its Business Support Unit (BSU), intended...