P&O fires seven agency workers for drinking on the job April 20, 2022 Disgraced ferry operator P&O said t has fired seven agency workers for drinking while on duty. The employees, P&O said, were dismissed “with immediate effect” after breaching “our strict guidelines on alcohol consumption.” “The safety of our passengers and crew is our foremost priority and we continue to operate a zero tolerance policy towards drinking [...]
FirstGroup snatches former telecoms boss for chief executive role April 20, 2022 Former telecoms boss Graham Sutherland was appointed chief executive of FirstGroup, the transport colossus announced today. The new boss will assume office from 16 May. Sutherland – who was previously at the helm of LSE-listed telecommunications company KCOM from 2018 until its sale to an infrastructure fund – will succeed Matthew Gregory, who stepped down [...]
Synectics: Trade ahead of expectations thanks to UK contracts including National Grid April 20, 2022 Surveillance systems maker Synectics said trading in the first quarter was slightly ahead of its board’s expectations. Synectics chairman David Coghlan put a good performance down to “an improved contribution from public space and infrastructure security systems in the UK, including the National Grid contract.” The Sheffield-based company won a five-year contract to provide surveillance [...]
Watching movies gets green light, but ban on mobiles remains, as Highway Code updated for self-driving cars April 20, 2022 Drivers will be able to watch movies at the wheel of a driverless car, but the ban on using your mobile remains, as The Highway Code is set to be updated. Under the proposed changes put forward by the Department for Transport, users of driverless vehicles will not be responsible for crashes but instead the [...]
P&O could face bankruptcy following insurance increase, analysts warn April 19, 2022 P&O could face bankruptcy, analysts told City PM as they warned a drop in the ferry operator’s safety rating is set to see its insurance bills soar. The company faces a “sky-high insurance bill” after its safety ratings sank to the “riskiest bracket,” in the face of mounting scrutiny from the UK government over its [...]
Elizabeth line to cut journey times in half April 19, 2022 Elizabeth line services are expected to connect the whole of London east to west, cutting journey times in more than half. Set to open in the next few weeks, the first chunk of the line, from Abbey Wood to Paddington, will see services between Abbey Wood to Paddington take 29 minutes instead of 55, while [...]
‘Great British Rail Sale’ lambasted as website crashes April 19, 2022 The UK Government’s decision to sell one million train tickets at half price was lambasted today for excluding millions of commuters. Launched today, the “Great British Rail Sale” aims to help struggling Brits travel amid a cost-of-living squeeze but it only applied to advance fares or off-peak tickets for companies who don’t offer an advance. [...]
Stellantis halts Russia production amid war-induced logistical difficulties April 19, 2022 Automotive giant Stellantis has halted production in Russia as a result of logistical difficulties caused by Western sanctions on Moscow. The owner of Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot announced today it was closing its plant near Moscow. “Given the rapid daily increase in cross sanctions and logistical difficulties, Stellantis has suspended its manufacturing operations in Kaluga to ensure [...]
Coastguard raises concerns over survival craft on P&O vessel April 19, 2022 The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) revealed today that an inability to deploy lifeboats and rafts was one of the 31 failures discovered aboard of P&O’s vessel European Causeway. Agents said that the “launching arrangement for survival craft” on the vessels were “not as required” while inflatable evacuation slides were not properly maintained. Other failures [...]
UK will not offer Indians more visas in post-Brexit trade talks April 19, 2022 The government will not allow more Indians to come to the UK through new visa routes in any UK-India free trade deal. City PM understands the prospect of special Indian visas has not been discussed in the first two rounds of trade negotiations and that international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has not put the issue [...]