Category Archives: UK news

Jeremy Hunt aims to spur business investment with ‘full expensing’ tax break

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Measure over next three years will allow firms to write off costs of IT equipment and machinery against tax on profits

Jeremy Hunt has launched a flurry of tax breaks to encourage investment by businesses after the double blow of microchip designer Arm opting for a New York stock market listing and AstraZeneca deciding to build a new factory in Dublin.

Businesses that invest in IT equipment and machinery will be able to claim back the cost by writing it off against tax on their profits, the chancellor announced in his budget on Wednesday.

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Jeremy Hunt makes U-turn on planned cut to energy support

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Campaigners unite with suppliers to call on ministers to give long-term help to struggling households

Ministers are under pressure to announce plans for a social tariff to help Britons struggling with their energy bills over the long term, after the government performed a U-turn on a planned cut to support for households.

On the morning of the chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget speech, the government confirmed the energy price guarantee would continue at its current rate, which limits a typical annual household bill to £2,500. It is being extended from April, when it was due to expire, for a further three months until the end of June.

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Budget pension shake-up is £4bn tax giveaway for wealthy, critics say

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Jeremy Hunt criticised for scrapping lifetime allowance and increasing annual contribution cap

The chancellor has been accused of unveiling a £4bn tax giveaway that will benefit the wealthiest people in the UK by dramatically increasing how much they can stash away in pensions while enjoying the full tax benefits.

Jeremy Hunt announced a major shake-up of the rules governing how much people can pay into their retirement pots, which will have no impact on the vast majority of the population but could lead to huge gains for the top few per cent of wealthy, older pension savers. Labour claimed it was a handout for “the richest 1%” and that someone with a £2m pension pot would pay up to £275,000 less in tax as a result.

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Hunt’s disability plans put 1m at risk of losing £350 a month, IFS says

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Charities and disability campaigners say chancellor’s proposals set out in his budget more ‘stick than carrot’

Up to 1 million people currently claiming incapacity benefits could lose hundreds of pounds a month as a result of plans outlined in the budget to push ahead with the “biggest reforms to the welfare system in a decade,” experts have said.

The warning came as ministers unveiled a range of measures to try to drive more people back into the workplace, including scrapping controversial “fit for work” tests for disabled claimants and stepping up the threat of benefit sanctions against part-time workers.

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GCHQ declines to comment on role of US defence official stabbed in Cheltenham

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Counter-terror police question man over stabbing of woman said to have been working at British spy agency

A US defence official working at GCHQ was stabbed last week in a car park in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, a couple of miles from the British spy agency’s distinctive doughnut-shaped headquarters.

The victim, a woman, survived the incident which took place outside a leisure centre in the evening. A 29-year-old man from the town was arrested, initially on suspicion of attempted murder, and then on suspected terror offences.

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Who will replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s next first minister? – podcast

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The battle to replace Nicola Sturgeon is dividing the SNP and growing increasingly bitter, reports Libby Brooks

When Nicola Sturgeon announced her imminent departure from the leadership of the Scottish National party, she assured her supporters that there was a wealth of talent vying to take her place.

As Scotland correspondent Libby Brooks tells Hannah Moore, the resulting leadership contest has been a period of cold realisation for many supporters of Scottish independence. Not only do they not have a successor with anything like the stature of Sturgeon, the candidates are divided on economic as well as social policies and even the best route to independence.

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Foreign Office asks for India torture claim to be heard in secret court

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British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal was detained and says he was tortured after alleged tipoff by UK intelligence

The Foreign Office has asked for claims to be examined in a secret court that a British citizen was detained and tortured after the security services passed intelligence to the Indian government, newly filed court papers show.

The government department is refusing to confirm or deny claims that Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh activist, was detained in India in 4 November 2017 after an alleged tipoff to the Indian security services.

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UK homeowners still better off than renters despite spike in interest rates

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Average monthly cost of owning 3-bed home is £500 a year less than renting, but the gap is narrowing

Homeowners in the UK are nearly £500 better off a year than renters, according to new research from Halifax.

The average monthly cost of owning a three-bed home for first-time buyers is now £971, which is £42 lower than the average cost of renting an equivalent property, the mortgage lender said. Renters pay on average £1,013 each month – 4% more.

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Caffeine may reduce body fat and risk of type 2 diabetes, study suggests

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Findings could lead to use of calorie-free caffeinated drinks to cut obesity and type 2 diabetes – but more research needed

Having high levels of caffeine in your blood may lower the amount of body fat you carry and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, research suggests.

The findings could lead to calorie-free caffeinated drinks being used to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes, though further research is required, the researchers wrote in the BMJ Medicine journal.

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Special relationship becomes personal as Sunak and Biden bond in San Diego

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College football, Mexican cola and muffins – UK prime minister has plenty to talk about in private hour at Aukus

It is common for British and American leaders to try to show the “special relationship” between their two countries extends to them personally.

When Rishi Sunak landed in San Diego for a flash visit to see Joe Biden, the world’s media were spared any such attempts verging on the grandiose.

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UK refuses to say if it investigated reports of Syria drone strike casualties

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MoD refuses to say whether it has looked into claims civilians were injured in December strike

Britain’s Ministry of Defence is refusing to say whether it conducted an investigation into reports of civilian casualties after an RAF drone strike conducted against a terrorist target in northern Syria last December.

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, told MPs on Monday that a Reaper drone was used to attack “a leading Daesh [Islamic State] member in al-Bab, northern Syria” on 20 December, the latest strike in controversial policy of attempted targeted killing.

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Boris Johnson ‘Partygate’ evidence to be heard next Wednesday afternoon – UK politics live

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Former prime minister’s session with inquiry will be televised

Humza Yousaf, the Scottish health secretary who is seen by many as the frontrunner in the SNP leadership contest, claimed this morning that his support has “dramatically increased” among SNP voters.

Speaking on a visit in Dundee, he acknowledged that he and his opponents’ approval ratings were a long way behind Nicola Sturgeon’s. “What we’re trying to do is build upon that legacy,” he said.

In three weeks I’ve also quadrupled my support among the Scottish public.

If I’ve been able to do that in three weeks, I believe that bodes well for the next three months and even the next three years.

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Credit Suisse warns of ‘material weaknesses’ in financial reporting

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Swiss bank’s shares fall as annual report reveals another blow to its bid to recover from string of scandals

Credit Suisse has said it found “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting controls and that clients were still withdrawing cash, the latest blow to the Swiss bank as it tries to recover from a string of scandals.

The bank’s shares fell as much as 5% on Tuesday, dropping as low as 2.12 Swiss francs – close to the record low on Monday – before recovering some ground to be down 1.7%. Credit Suisse’s bonds also weakened to record lows on Tuesday, after comments in its delayed annual report.

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Internal government briefing admits HS2 delays will increase costs

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DfT document appears to undermine ministers’ claims, saying jobs are likely to go and construction firms could be at risk

An internal Department for Transport briefing on the HS2 project has admitted delays to the high-speed railway will increase costs, appearing to undermine ministers’ claims.

The document seen by the Guardian says the decision to delay the project is also likely to cost jobs, put construction firms at risk of going into administration and that the department could face compensation claims.

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Eleanor Williams jailed for eight and a half years after rape and trafficking lies

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Twenty-two-year-old from Barrow posted photos on Facebook falsely claiming she had been abused

A woman has been jailed for eight and a half years after being found guilty of lying about being raped and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang, and making false rape claims against a series of other men.

Eleanor Williams, 22, from Barrow-in-Furness was convicted in January of nine counts of perverting the course of justice.

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Asylum seekers win permission for Rwanda policy legal challenge

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Ten people from conflict zones threatened with removal to Africa claim there has been a failure to consider risks of deportation

A court of appeal judge has ruled that a group of asylum seekers can bring a legal challenge against the Home Office for what they claim has been a failure to consider the dangers and risks of deporting them to Rwanda.

Lord Justice Underhill, the vice-president of the court of appeal’s civil division, has granted permission for the group to appeal against the government’s controversial policy on some grounds.

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Man who racially abused Brentford’s Ivan Toney gets English stadium ban

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  • First such ban issued under new legislation
  • Antonio Neill given three-year ban for Instagram message

A man who racially abused Brentford’s Ivan Toney on social media has become the first person to be banned from every English stadium under the police, crime, sentencing and courts act. Antonio Neill, 24, sent the message via Toney’s Instagram account in October last year and the player shared it publicly, prompting a police investigation.

Neill pleaded guilty on 25 January to sending an offensive message. On Monday, he received a four-month sentence suspended for two years and a three-year ban from attending football matches in England.

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What is the Aukus submarine deal and what does it mean? – the key facts

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The four-phase plan has made nuclear arms control experts nervous … here’s why

In a tripartite deal with the US and the UK, Australia has unveiled a plan to acquire a fleet of up to eight nuclear-powered submarines, forecast to cost up to $368bn between now and the mid-2050s. Australia will spend $9bn over the next four years.

From this year Australian military and civilian personnel will embed with US and UK navies, including within both countries’ submarine industrial bases. From 2027 the UK and the US plan to rotate their nuclear-powered submarines through HMAS Stirling near Perth as part of a push to step up training of Australians.

Embedded personnel and port visits: Australian military and civilian personnel will embed with the the allies’ navies. US nuclear-powered submarines will increase their visits to Australian ports, with Australian sailors joining US crews for training.

Submarine rotations: From 2027 the UK and the US plan to rotate one UK Astute class submarine and up to four US Virginia class submarines through HMAS Stirling.

Sale of US Virginia-class submarines: From the early 2030s – pending approval by Congress – the US intends to sell Australia three Virginia-class submarines, with a potential option for two more if required.

SSN-Aukus: A combination of UK submarine design and US defence technology will contribute to the development of the new SSN-Aukus submarine – intended as the future attack submarine for both the UK and Australia. Both Australia and the UK intend to start building SSN-Aukus submarines in their domestic shipyards before the end of this decade. The first such boat may enter into UK service in the late 2030s, but the Australian navy will receive its first Australian-built SSN-Aukus submarine in the early 2040s.

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BoM shifts to El Niño watch after La Niña officially declared over – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Daniel Hurst is out of the Aukus lockup – here is his first take.

The main phases of the plan:

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