Bank increases CEO’s bonus and plans bigger shareholder payout as it faces pressure from investor Ping An
HSBC has increased bonus payouts for its chief executive after fourth-quarter profits more than doubled on the back of a jump in mortgage and loan costs for its borrowers.
The London-headquartered lender said it had increased Noel Quinn’s bonus by 36% to nearly $2.2m (£1.8m), taking his overall pay to $5.5m for 2022. That compares with his $4.9m payout in 2021.
Continue reading...Surprise surplus lands the chancellor with a dilemma – but he is unlikely to listen to calls to change course
Inflation is the chancellor’s friend if he only considers his income.
The official figures for the public finances show total tax revenues rose by 13.2% in January from the same month a year ago.
Continue reading...Body of missing 22-year-old campaigner who also took part in Just Stop oil protests found in London park
A young activist who campaigned with THE climate groups Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil has been found dead after going missing almost a week ago.
Xavier Gonzalez-Trimmer, 22, was found in Richmond Park on Monday after searches by friends and relatives in the area.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Farming groups welcome grants but say money has been recycled from previous underspend
Farmers in the UK will gain access to robots that can harvest crops in the absence of migrant workers, sensors on tractors to measure the nutrient level of soils, and cow mattresses to help prevent lameness in dairy cattle, under government measures announced on Tuesday.
Mark Spencer, the farming minister, hailed the £168m in grants to farmers as a way for farmers to increase productivity and improve animal health. “The role farmers play in putting food on our tables as well as looking after our countryside is crucial. We know that sustainable food production depends on a healthy environment, the two go hand in hand,” he told the annual National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham.
Continue reading...Senior Brexiter Maria Caulfield says PM must be given ‘time and space’ to conclude talks with EU
A senior Brexiter minister has urged colleagues to give Rishi Sunak “time and space” to finish negotiations with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol, as warnings grew of potential ministerial resignations.
Sunak has been told he is facing the possibility ministers may quit if his deal does not significantly rewrite the protocol or remove any powers for the European court of justice.
Continue reading...Family of British antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford, who died in 2020 while awaiting trial for art trafficking, returns 77 Khmer artefacts
Dozens of pieces of Angkorian crown jewellery stolen from Cambodia, many never seen by the public, have been returned after resurfacing in London, the Cambodian culture ministry said on Monday.
The trove includes crowns, necklaces, amulets and other treasures from the Angkor period, which ran from the ninth to the 14th century AD, when the Khmer empire was a dominant force in south-east Asia.
Continue reading...Ten of thousands to take part in industrial action in escalation of row between NHS staff and government
Hundreds of thousands of operations and medical appointments will be cancelled in England next month and progress in tackling the huge care backlog will be derailed as the NHS prepares to face the most widespread industrial action in its history.
Junior doctors are poised to join nurses and ambulance workers in mass continuous walkouts in March after members of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action.
Continue reading...‘Catastrophic’ failings that allowed gunman to kill five people increase pressure to overhaul 1968 legislation
Senior police officers, families of shooting victims and anti-gun campaigners have called for a “radical reform” of the firearms licensing system after an inquest jury found “catastrophic” failings allowed the Plymouth gunman, Jake Davison, to legally possess a shotgun that he used to kill five people.
Pressure is mounting on the UK government to overhaul the 50-year-old licensing legislation and ensure police forces are adequately funded to allow them to fully examine the suitability of gun owners.
Continue reading...Supermarkets say they are working with farmers to ensure wide range of produce is available
Supermarkets are facing shortages of salad crops, including tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and cucumbers, as well as broccoli and citrus fruits amid cold weather in producing countries such as Spain and Morocco.
Shoppers complained on social media about low stocks, particularly of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, as importers said supplies had been affected by a mixture of unseasonable weather and storms in the Mediterranean combined with a reduction in the amount of crops planted in heated glass houses in the Netherlands as energy bills have soared.
Continue reading...Professor of mathematical biology to succeed Sir Patrick Vallance after advising MoD and working with Sage during pandemic
Dame Angela McLean has been appointed as the UK’s chief scientific adviser – the first woman to hold the post.
McLean will take over the role of providing independent scientific advice to the prime minister and members of the cabinet on 1 April, after the end of Sir Patrick Vallance’s five-year term. She will also advise on aspects of science and technology policy, and work to improve the quality and use of scientific evidence and advice in government.
Continue reading...Call for more personalised approach on back of broader efforts to build deeper relationships with families
Personalised text messages to parents could be used to help improve school attendance rates, as teachers struggle to re-engage children and their families after the disruption of Covid, according to experts.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said there was a “national persistent truancy crisis” in England, with significantly more children now missing lessons compared with before the pandemic.
Continue reading...James Cleverly’s comments come after No 10 said ‘no deal has been done as yet’
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, will discuss the Northern Ireland protocol in a call with the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič this afternoon, PA Media reports. They will be joined by the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, amid expectations both sides are inching closer to a deal.
Micheál Martin, the Irish foreign minister and tánaiste (deputy PM), has urged UK politicians not to play politics with the Northern Ireland protocol negotiations. Speaking in Brussels, where he has been attending the EU foreign affairs council, he said:
I think what’s very important is that everybody now from here on think about the people of Northern Ireland.
Not power play, not politics elsewhere, I think the people of Northern Ireland have had enough of that, of people playing politics with their future. And, in my view, my only concern is that the people of Northern Ireland voted [in last May’s assembly election], they want their institutions [at Stormont] restored.
Continue reading...Home secretary indicates she does not think Rishi Sunak should abandon legislation in seeking deal with EU
The home secretary, Suella Braverman, has hinted Rishi Sunak should not abandon the Northern Ireland protocol bill in his quest for a deal to break the deadlock, as hopes faded that an agreement could be struck by Tuesday.
Braverman, a former chair of the European Research Group (ERG) of hard Brexiters, struck a note of caution about plans to freeze the bill. The legislation would have allowed the UK to unilaterally override the protocol. Sunak is prepared to drop the bill should agreement be reached for changes.
Continue reading...Punk IPA maker says it wants to sell more of its craft beer in world’s biggest market
BrewDog has said it plans to brew in China as part of a deal with Budweiser China to expand sales in the world’s biggest market for beer.
Budweiser China would start brewing BrewDog’s Punk IPA, Hazy Jane and Elvis Juice beers by the end of March at its Putian craft brewery near the south-east coast, the companies announced on Monday.
Continue reading...Mortgage adviser, 45, went missing while walking her pet after dropping off daughters at school
A body has been found in the search for the missing woman Nicola Bulley after a tipoff by members of the public, police have said.
Bulley, 45, a mortgage adviser from Inskip, Lancashire, vanished while walking her dog after dropping off her daughters, six and nine, at school more than three weeks ago, on 27 January.
Continue reading...Delivery of rental cars using remote driving could be outlawed after Law Commission recommendations
The remote driving of vehicles from overseas, such as for the delivery of rental cars, could be banned following a government-commissioned review.
The review was carried out by the Law Commission of England and Wales, which recommended ministers regulate the technology.
Continue reading...Two-thirds of local authorities did not prosecute anyone for disabled parking scheme fraud, data reveals
Four councils are responsible for bringing more than half of the prosecutions in England for people abusing the use of disabled parking badges.
Figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) show that Lambeth, Birmingham, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Bromley carried out 54% of all legal cases for people misusing the blue badge system, for the year up to the end of March 2021.
Continue reading...Majority of job losses are at large retailers such as Tesco and Asda, according to Centre for Retail Research
Nearly 15,000 British retail jobs have already been cut since January in a “brutal start to the year” for the high street.
A total of 14,874 retail job losses have been announced by companies so far, according to analysis from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).
Continue reading...Met police say investigation under way after fatal accident in Greenwich on Sunday evening
A man has died after being hit by a motorcycle in south-east London, the Metropolitan police said.
An investigation is under way after a fatal collision in Plumstead Road, Greenwich on Sunday evening.
Continue reading...Longtime Ireland correspondent McDonald, 57, lauded after untimely death following treatment for cancer
Political leaders in Northern Ireland have led tributes to the writer and former Guardian and Observer correspondent Henry McDonald, who has died at the age of 57.
Family, friends and media colleagues expressed shock and sadness on Sunday after McDonald died at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast, where he was being treated for cancer.
Continue reading...