Looking back on my year as lord mayor, I am fully optimistic about London’s future October 29, 2018 As I approach the end of my year as lord mayor, the pace of activity across the City is accelerating rather than slowing down This week, the governor of Tokyo will visit the Square Mile, further strengthening ties with our Japanese friends after my trip earlier this year. This visit follows the Dutch King and [...]
‘French Spiderman’ who climbed London’s Heron Tower handed suspended prison sentence and £5,500 fine October 26, 2018 The man dubbed the "French Spiderman" has been ordered to pay £5,500 in compensation and given a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, after he climbed the Heron Tower in central London yesterday. Alain Robert, 56, was arrested for a 'public nuisance offence' on Thursday afternoon after pulling off the stunt in which he climbed [...]
Police charge ‘French Spiderman’ Alain Robert after he climbed London’s Heron Tower October 26, 2018 Police have charged the so-called 'French Spiderman' who scaled Heron Tower yesterday with a public nuisance offence. Alain Robert, 56, is a renowned skyscraper climber and was seen ascending the 754ft Salesforce building at around lunchtime as a number of onlookers watched. Police reprimanded Robert on the scene after they were forced to close off roads [...]
Competition watchdog hits Heathrow with £1.6m fine October 25, 2018 Heathrow Airport has been slapped with a £1.6m fine over limiting competition for parking prices and infringing competition law. Britain’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said this afternoon that the airport and the owner of Heathrow T5 Hotel Limited had infringed competition law. The company commented: "The CMA found that the Arora Group [...]
Deutsche Boerse steps up clearing battle with London October 25, 2018 Deutsche Boerse has stepped up its challenge to the Square Mile by expanding its clearing house partnership, as rival cities bid to replace London as Europe’s financial capital after Brexit. The London Stock Exchange Group’s LCH is currently Europe’s hub for clearing euro-denominated derivatives – used by firms to balance risk – and has become [...]
Police close roads around Heron Tower as ‘French Spiderman’ ascends Salesforce’s building October 25, 2018 A real-life Spiderman scaled the 754ft high Heron tower today, leading police to close roads around the area. Alain Robert, who has also climbed the Empire State Building and some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, made the ascent – where Salesforce is headquartered in the UK – without any safety gear or even a rope. The stunt [...]
Small firms must prepare for no-deal Brexit, City governing body warns October 25, 2018 Small firms must speed up plans for a no-deal Brexit, the Square Mile’s governing body has warned, as negotiations with the EU faltered with five months to go until Britain’s leave date. There is no guarantee that a withdrawal agreement will be reached, Canada Corporation (CLC) said today, and small and medium [...]
The FCA cannot afford to focus on Brexit alone October 25, 2018 It has been a mixed few months for the City's watchdog. On the one hand, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has delivered long-awaited reforms to the asset management industry, while its chief Andrew Bailey has made several strong interventions in the Brexit debate, such as pointing out the absurdity of EU negotiators attempting to rule [...]
Calls for a second referendum are unwise, undemocratic, and playing with dynamite October 25, 2018 “I want to be absolutely clear, this government will never accept a second referendum.” This statement from the Prime Minister in September should have been the end of the matter. Alas, it wasn’t. The so-called “people’s vote” scenario runs something like this. Enough Conservative MPs vote with Labour against any final EU agreement, defeating it [...]
Go for growth and pursue the untapped potential of Crossrail October 25, 2018 You may have watched Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, but it’s unlikely that you realised that much of the depiction of war-torn Vietnam was actually filmed on location in south east England. Beckton gasworks, less than a mile from London City Airport, was used as the set for the Vietnamese city of Hue, [...]
