Category: News Story

STORY

The CBI has announced that Tony Danker, the Director General of the lobbying group, has been dismissed following an internal investigation. The organisation is facing additional reputational issues following damaging allegations made in the Guardian newspaper about misconduct, sexual harassment and rape at the CBI.

The CBI said:

“Tony Danker is dismissed with immediate effect following the independent investigation into specific complaints of workplace misconduct against him. The Board wishes to make clear he is not the subject of any of the more recent allegations in The Guardian but has determined that his own conduct fell short of that expected of the Director General.”

They added:

“We are pleased to announce that Rain Newton-Smith, former CBI Chief Economist and currently Managing Director, Strategy and Policy, Sustainability and ESG for Barclays, has agreed to rejoin the CBI as its new Director General. She brings with her a formidable track record as a leader and expertise on a wide range of business issues. We thank Chief Policy Director Matthew Fell for his vital work as interim Director General during these difficult last few weeks and look forward to him again driving forward our policy work for members.”

RESOURCES

CBI Press Release on Tony Danker

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

CBI

STORY

Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, who served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1983 and 1989, has died at the age of 91. Lawson was the editor of the Spectator Magazine between 1966 to 1970, then serving as the Conservative MP for Blaby between 1974 and 1992. He was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury between 1979 and 1981, then the Secretary of Energy from 1981 until 1983 before becoming Chancellor. Lawson has been a controversial figure in recent years as a climate change sceptic and also for supporting Brexit but moving to France.

Sir John Major, the Chancellor from 1989 until 1990 and Prime Minister from 1990 until 1997, said in a statement:

“Nigel Lawson was a commanding Chancellor and, together with Geoffrey Howe, one of the essential pillars of the 1980s Conservative Government. His influence was respected well after he left government, and he will be long remembered.”

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, said:

“One of the first things I did as Chancellor was hang a picture of Nigel Lawson above my desk. He was a transformational Chancellor and an inspiration to me and many others. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

STORY

Adrian Usher has been appointed as the new Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, a role he will hold for three years commencing on 24 April 2023. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said:

“Mr Usher has recently retired from an extensive career as a Senior Police Officer for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), joining in 2003. He has previously served on both Counter-Terrorism and Anti-Corruption Commands and has been a Senior Investigating Officer in a variety of roles. He retired as Commander for Learning and Development in the MPS where he led the training requirements across policing operations including changing training to accommodate new legislation, law enforcement best practice and improving policing standards.”

Usher has previously been announced in January 2023 as the preferred candidate for the role and he will succeed Sue McAllister.

RESOURCES

Ministry of Justice Press Release on the Appointment [March 2023]

Usher is Preferred Candidate Press Release [January 2023]

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

STORY

Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, has been formally blocked for standing for the party at the next General Election by the NEC. The NEC voted by 22 votes to 12 votes to prevent Corbyn from standing for the party following comments he made about anti-semitism. A spokesperson for the Labour Party confirmed that “Jeremy Corbyn will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour party at the next general election”.

RESOURCES

NEWS STORY : Jeremy Corbyn Won’t Stand for Labour – Keir Starmer

Jeremy Corbyn – 2023 Statement on NEC Banning Him from Standing for Labour Party

STORY

Three companies belonging to William Hill have been fined a total of £19.2 million by the Gambling Commission for failing to protect their customers. Andrew Groves, the Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission said in a statement:

“When we launched this investigation the failings we uncovered were so widespread and alarming serious consideration was given to licence suspension. However, because the operator immediately recognised their failings and worked with us to swiftly implement improvements, we instead opted for the largest enforcement payment in our history”.

888, the new owners of the William Hill brand, said:

“After William Hill was acquired, the company quickly addressed the identified issues with the implementation of a rigorous action plan.”

RESOURCES

Gambling Commission Press Release

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

Gambling Commission

William Hill

STORY

The new leader of the SNP and the Scottish First Minister has been confirmed as Humza Yousaf, who won with 52.1% of the total votes after the votes of third placed candidate Ash Regan were redistributed. The three candidates to replace Nicola Sturgeon who had held the role of party leader since 2014 and had announced her resignation on 15 February 2023 were Humza Yousaf, Ash Regan and Kate Forbes. The result was announced by Lorna Finn, the National Secretary of the SNP, at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh with a 70% turnout of SNP members.

Previous leaders of the party have been:

Alex Salmond (1990-2000)

John Swinney (2000-2004)

Alex Salmond (2004-2014)

Nicola Sturgeon (2014-2023)

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

SNP

STORY

The Bank of England have confirmed that interest rates will be increased from 4% to 4.25% in a bid to control inflation. The increase is the 11th rise in a row, although there are signs that the increases may be coming to an end if the level of inflation can be brought down.

The Bank of England said in a statement:

“The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sets monetary policy to meet the 2% inflation target, and in a way that helps to sustain growth and employment. At its meeting ending on 22 March 2023, the MPC voted by a majority of 7–2 to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 4.25%. Two members preferred to maintain Bank Rate at 4%.

Global growth is expected to be stronger than projected in the February Monetary Policy Report, and core consumer price inflation in advanced economies has remained elevated. Wholesale gas futures and oil prices have fallen materially.

There have been large and volatile moves in global financial markets, in particular since the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and in the run-up to UBS’s purchase of Credit Suisse, and reflecting market concerns about the possible broader impact of these events. Overall, government bond yields are broadly unchanged and risky asset prices are somewhat lower than at the time of the Committee’s previous meeting”.

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

Bank of England

STORY

ONS figures released today have shown that consumer price inflation has risen to 10.4% for the year ended February 2023, an increase of 0.3% from the January 2023 figures. The figures were higher than the markets expected and they may put pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates at their policy meeting to be held on 23 March 2023.

A spokesperson for the ONS said:

“The largest upward contributions to the monthly change in both the CPIH and CPI rates came from restaurants and cafes, food, and clothing, partially offset by downward contributions from recreational and cultural goods and services (particularly recording media), and motor fuels”.

RESOURCES

ONS – Press Release and Data (in .pdf format)

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

ONS

 

STORY

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed a $15.6 billion (£12.8 billion) loan to Ukraine to help it rebuild following the military invasion of the country by Russia. The loan agreement comes following a change of policy in the IMF which previously limited loans to countries with high levels of uncertainty, with a spokesperson from the international economic organisation saying:

“The programme has been designed in line with the new fund’s policy on lending under exceptionally high uncertainty, and strong financing assurances are expected from donors, including the G7 and EU”.

Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, said in a statement:

“In conditions of a record budget deficit, this program will help us finance all critical expenditure and ensure macroeconomic stability and strengthen our interaction with other international partners”.

Gavin Gray who led the IMF loan team said:

“In addition to the horrific humanitarian toll, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to have a devastating impact on the economy: activity contracted by 30 percent in 2022, a large share of the capital stock has been destroyed, and poverty levels have climbed. Acute macroeconomic challenges persist due to the scale of the shock and the expansion of the fiscal deficit. The authorities have nevertheless managed to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability, thanks to substantial external support and skillful policymaking”.

RESOURCES

IMF Press Release on Loan

EXTERNAL LINKS

IMF

President of Ukraine

STORY

Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister, has presented a 52 page bundle of evidence to the Privileges Committee which are investigating whether he knowingly lied to Parliament. Johnson has said that he was not guilty of deliberate misinformation and rule-breaking and lied to Parliament by accident rather than by design. The former Prime Minister will this week face the Privileges Committee to answer questions about his level of knowledge of parties which were being held at 10 Downing Street.

The committee will also investigate an allegation that Johnson was slow to correct the record and whether he should have been aware of the parties that were taking place at 10 Downing Street given that he lived at the property. The committee will issue a report which will conclude whether they believe he was guilty of contempt of Parliament, with a range of possible sanctions available including a recommendation that he be suspended from the House of Commons.

RESOURCES

Boris Johnson – Evidence to Privileges Committee

EXTERNAL LINKS

Privileges Committee