Britain 2030: How far will UK foreign policy tilt toward the Asia Pacific? August 13, 2021 Boris Johnson’s victory in dragging the UK out of the EU was supposed to herald a new dawn for the country’s foreign policy, with his “Global Britain” agenda at the fore. It is perhaps unsurprising we are not much clearer about what this phrase means 20 months on, despite the release of a much heralded [...]
UK competition watchdog investigating ‘immediate’ government action on PCR test prices August 13, 2021 The UK competition regulator has said it is exploring what immediate action the government can take to quash the hugely variable prices charged by private providers of Covid PCR tests for travel, after the health secretary, MPs and the travel industry called for an intervention. In a statement published yesterday, the Competition and Markets Authority [...]
Just 15 per cent of central London workers back in the office, says think tank August 12, 2021 Just 15 per cent of central London workers have returned to their place of work, according to new figures from the Centre for Cities think tank. The new figures for the last week of July showed that central London has the lowest amount of workers who have returned to the office out of any city [...]
US judge orders Trump’s accountants to hand over tax records to Senate August 11, 2021 A US judge has ordered Donald Trump’s accountants to hand over some of the former president’s tax records to a House of Representatives committee. District judge Amit Mehta today ruled that Mazars must provide documents related to Trump’s hotel in Washington DC, saying the committee had proved it needed them to evaluate potential legislation and [...]
UK lobbying regulator investigating Philip Hammond August 11, 2021 Former chancellor Philip Hammond is being probed by the UK’s lobbying regulator, after contacting a Treasury official on behalf of a bank he was working for. The Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists is investigating whether Hammond should have disclosed his contact with senior Treasury mandarin Charles Roxburgh in July 2020. Hammond was contacting [...]
Rumours swirl about potential future Gavin Williamson replacements as education secretary August 11, 2021 Rumours are swirling that education secretary Gavin Williamson is set to be sacked at the next reshuffle, with two potential replacements touted. Treasury minister Kemi Badenoch and vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi have both been tipped in the past 24 hours of being chosen to replace Williamson, after the former chief whip struggled through a series [...]
David Cameron denies lobbying for genetics firm to get £123m contract August 11, 2021 David Cameron has denied lobbying Matt Hancock on behalf of a genetics firm that won a £123m government contract. Cameron works as a paid adviser for US-based gene sequencing firm Illumina, who won the contract after the former Prime Minister wrote to Matt Hancock about attending a conference with him. The Times reports that Cameron [...]
Andrew Cuomo resigns as New York governor in wake of harassment allegations August 10, 2021 Andrew Cuomo has sensationally resigned as New York State governor today after being accused by 11 different women of sexual harassment. The Democrat said that “the best thing he can do is step aside”, but also claimed that the accusations were “politically motivated”. He will officially stand down in 14 days’ time. An investigation from [...]
Russia launches criminal probe into two allies of Kremlin critic Navalny August 10, 2021 Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into two top allies of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, for raising money for his political network – which has been labelled extremist. Allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, who have already been exiled from the country, are at the centre of the investigation which was opened after a [...]
Hong Kong leader backs to adopt China anti-sanctions law August 10, 2021 Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said today she supports implementing China’s anti-foreign sanctions law in the city through local legislation. At her weekly press conference, Lam said she supports Beijing’s law to be listed in the annex of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution known as the Basic Law. “We will do its utmost to fulfil its [...]
