Spotify brings back political ads as the US gears up for midterm primaries May 25, 2022 Spotify has quietly brought back political adverts in the US, after pausing them in the lead up to the contentious 2020 election.
Sue Gray day: Who is the cat-loving former pub landlady from Tottenham who probed partygate? May 25, 2022 It’s D-Day in Westminster. Sue Gray has published her long-awaited report in the Downing Street parties during lockdown. The document is currently with the Prime Minister. Gray took on the civil service investigation into allegations of coronavirus rule-breaking at No 10 in December. As a result, over the course of the last six months, Gray [...]
Govt owes itself £263m in back taxes as Whitehall departments failed to comply with payroll rules May 25, 2022 Due to a failure of Whitehall departments to comply with rules on off-payroll working, MPs have stated that the Government owes itself hundreds of millions of pounds in back taxes. The Commons Public Accounts Committee said it was “not acceptable” that central government was paying out to cover tax owed for individuals who had been [...]
Emotional Tedros survives global Covid storm as he is re-elected as WHO head for five more years May 25, 2022 The World Health Organization’s (WHO) members re-elected Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as Director General by a strong majority for another five years. After taking his oath, Tedros gave a speech in which he spoke about his brother who died at a young age from what he now thinks was measles. Watch the full report.
Former head of Civil Service accuses Boris Johnson of ‘intentionally’ misleading Parliament over partygate: ‘It is pretty clear’ May 25, 2022 Boris Johnson “intentionally” misled Parliament over partygate, the former head of the Civil Service believes. Lord Kerslake said junior members of staff in Downing Street are now telling the story in their own words about the lockdown events and “that is quite damaging for the Prime Minister”. Lord Kerslake told Times Radio: “He (Mr Johnson) [...]
D-Day for Boris Johnson as Downing Street hold its breath ahead of today’s Sue Gray partygate report May 25, 2022 The long-awaited Sue Gray report – into Downing Street parties during the coronavirus lockdowns – is to be published today. Downing Street is holding is breath as it is widely expected the document may contain some harsh conclusions. In fact, the senior civil servant’s report is expected to be heavily critical of the culture in [...]
Grab ’em by the Porsche: EU plans to confiscate and sell Russian oligarchs’ cars, villas and other assets May 25, 2022 The EU’s executive body, the European Commision, is planning to roll out proposals to allow EU countries to confiscate assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, and then to sell them off. Assets that are currently frozen by authorities across EU member states should be sold, rather than merely frozen, two EU officials told the publication Politico. [...]
European round up: Germany puts coal power on standby while EU pushes for Russian oil ban May 24, 2022 Germany is preparing to extend the life of coal-fired power stations which would have been discontinued over the next two years.
Partygate: Khan writes to Met to demand answers on why PM only received one fine May 24, 2022 Sadiq Khan has written to the Metropolitan Police to demand a “detailed explanation” of why Boris Johnson was not given a second Covid fine, after pictures yesterday emerged of him drinking at a work event. The London mayor invoked his powers as London’s police and crime commissioner to ask acting Met commissioner Sir Stephen House [...]
EC chief Von Der Leyen lashes out at Putin as she calls out ‘Russia’s blackmail’ on food and fuel May 24, 2022 Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, today denounced Russian aggression and its use of “hunger and grain to wield power”, in an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Global cooperation is the antidote to Russia’s blackmail,” she said. Her message focused on strategic priorities for Europe since the invasion. Boosting military spending [...]
