Tag: News Story

STORY

An energy services firm has paid more than £500,000 to HM Revenue and Customs after breaching Russia sanctions regulations. Petrofac Facilities Management Limited paid a £569,157 compound settlement and has become the first company to be publicly named by HMRC after accepting such a penalty. The breaches took place in 2022 and 2023 while the company was winding down its Russian operations.

HMRC said the company supplied sanctioned industrial goods to individuals connected to Russia and provided technical assistance relating to those goods. Petrofac Facilities Management Limited self-reported the breaches and fully cooperated with the investigation.

The decision to name the company marks a change in HMRC’s approach to compound settlements for strategic export and sanctions offences. The department said naming companies in appropriate cases would improve transparency and bring its approach more closely into line with other UK sanctions enforcement bodies.

Edwige Hill, Deputy Director in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said non-compliance with Russia sanctions was a serious offence. She said the Government, together with international partners, had implemented the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy, and that naming those involved sent a clear message about the consequences of breaching sanctions rules.

HMRC said it may now include public naming as a condition when offering compound settlements for strategic export and sanctions offences. The department said the approach would support consistency with bodies such as the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.

A compound settlement allows HMRC to settle alleged sanctions and strategic export offences out of court through the payment of money. HMRC said such settlements are offered only where it believes there is sufficient evidence to prosecute.

The case underlines the continuing enforcement risks for companies connected to Russian operations, even where firms are in the process of withdrawing from the market. HMRC said businesses breaching sanctions may face large financial penalties or referral for criminal prosecution.

STORY

The Low Pay Commission has paid tribute to Nigel Cotgrove, who has died after a short illness while on holiday. Cotgrove, a member of the Commission, was remembered by Simon Sapper on behalf of colleagues as a highly respected figure in the British trade union movement who devoted his working life to the service of others. The tribute said he had championed the interests of workers across telecommunications, information technology, financial services and other sectors.

He spent 31 years with the Communication Workers’ Union, first as a research officer and then as a national officer. By the time he retired in 2020, he was the union’s longest serving officer. The Commission said he had earned a reputation for diligence, integrity and a strong understanding of the issues affecting working people.

Cotgrove was particularly known for his work on pensions, leading negotiations across the telecommunications and financial services sectors and helping to secure and protect members’ retirement benefits. His work included negotiations on BT pension arrangements and major reforms, including the development of the BT Hybrid Scheme.

After retiring from the CWU, Cotgrove continued in public service. He became a trustee director of the BT Pension Scheme, served on the members’ panel of the National Employment Savings Trust and was appointed to the Prison Service Pay Review Body. He was appointed a commissioner of the Low Pay Commission in 2024 and also served as a member of the Central Arbitration Committee.

The tribute described Cotgrove as a thoughtful, principled and effective advocate who combined a sharp analytical mind with genuine concern for people. It said his work was shaped not by personal recognition, but by a belief that working people deserved dignity, security and a voice in decisions affecting their lives.

Low Pay Commission colleagues said they would remember him as a kind and thoughtful colleague and a good man. The Commission said he leaves a legacy of gratitude and respect among colleagues, friends and those who benefited from his work.

STORY

Businesses can now apply for a new Youth Jobs Grant worth £3,000 for every eligible young person they hire. The Department for Work and Pensions said the scheme would support people aged 18 to 24 who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for six months.

The funding will be paid in two instalments after employment and earnings are verified. Ministers said the programme could help up to 60,000 young people over three years and would sit alongside more intensive jobcentre support for almost one million young people.

Merlin Entertainments has been named as an early backer of the scheme and is expected to offer 300 jobs for young people over the next three years. The Government said the initiative formed part of its Youth Guarantee and wider attempt to improve opportunity for young people.

STORY

The Competition and Markets Authority has launched a consultation on new requirements for Apple and Google under the UK’s digital markets competition regime. The proposed rules are intended to make mobile platforms more open and reduce restrictions on app developers.

The CMA said the measures would allow developers to steer customers towards off-platform payment options, potentially helping them avoid mandatory fees imposed through app stores. Apple currently bans such steering in the UK, while Google restricts it.

The consultation is politically significant because it tests the Government’s post-Brexit competition framework for large technology firms. Ministers and regulators have argued that stronger digital market rules could reduce prices, support innovation and improve choice for consumers and businesses.

STORY

Domestic killers could face an additional 10 years in prison under changes announced by David Lammy. The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary said the Government intended to close a sentencing gap affecting murders committed by partners or former partners.

Under current rules, many domestic murders have a 15-year sentencing starting point because they take place in the home using a weapon already at the scene. Other murders where a weapon is taken to the scene with intent can have a 25-year starting point. Ministers said they wanted domestic murders to be treated with comparable severity.

The change is part of the Government’s wider pledge to halve violence against women and girls. The Ministry of Justice said safeguards would remain for cases where a victim of domestic abuse kills their abuser, and that the new starting point would apply only to future murders after implementation.

STORY

The Government has announced that the UK’s first Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner will be appointed as part of reforms to improve safety, accountability and consistency in care. The announcement followed Baroness Amos’ independent investigation into maternity and neonatal services.

The commissioner will provide independent leadership, co-chair the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce with the Health Secretary and help ensure that women, babies and families are heard in decisions about care. Ministers said a National Action Plan would be published in December to set out longer-term reform.

The Government also announced £41 million of additional investment to address urgent safety risks in maternity and neonatal facilities, including fire safety, ventilation and outdated infrastructure. The move comes after repeated warnings about failures in maternity care and inequalities faced by women and families.

STORY

New reporting has highlighted warnings from minority communities, unions and policy experts that increasingly hostile anti-migrant politics is contributing to a resurgence of racism in Britain. Reuters spoke to people of colour who said recent political rhetoric and high-profile crimes had made them feel less safe.

The issue has become politically sensitive after violent incidents and disorder in Southampton, Belfast and Edinburgh, with some activists and politicians using crime and immigration to frame wider arguments about national identity. Keir Starmer has rejected claims that British institutions are prejudiced against white people and has warned that racist language is returning to public life.

Unions told Reuters that members had reported more racist incidents at work, including in healthcare settings. The report adds to pressure on ministers and opposition parties to avoid language that inflames tension while still addressing public concern about immigration, crime and community safety.

STORY

Asylum seekers could be required to pay £10,000 before applying to settle in the UK under new Home Office plans reported as part of Shabana Mahmood’s wider asylum reforms. The charge would apply as ministers seek to toughen the settlement route and recover some costs linked to state support.

The proposals form part of a broader effort to present a stricter approach to immigration and asylum. The Government has also been looking at faster returns, tighter checks and safe legal routes, while trying to respond to pressure over small boat crossings and wider public concern about the asylum system.

Refugee campaigners and critics have condemned the proposed charge, arguing that it would penalise people who have already been recognised as needing protection. Ministers are likely to face further scrutiny over whether the plans are workable, lawful and compatible with the Government’s wider claim to offer a controlled but humane asylum system.

STORY

The UK economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026, the Office for National Statistics has confirmed, leaving its earlier estimate unchanged. Services were the main driver of growth, with computer programming, wholesale and advertising helping to offset weakness in rental and recruitment activity.

The figures also showed pressure on household finances, with real household disposable income per head falling by 0.8% in the first quarter. The savings ratio also declined, suggesting that households were putting less money aside even before the economic effects of the US-Iran conflict began to feed through.

The data gives the incoming Labour leadership a mixed inheritance. Growth at the start of the year was stronger than expected, but economists warned that tighter financial conditions, weaker household spending and uncertainty would continue to constrain the Government’s room for manoeuvre.

STORY

Andy Burnham has sought to reassure markets and Labour MPs by saying his plans for Government would remain within Labour’s existing fiscal rules. The Labour MP for Makerfield, widely expected to succeed Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, said his approach would be consistent with the party’s 2024 manifesto.

Burnham said his programme would be backed by sound public finances and the discipline of current fiscal rules, including balancing day-to-day spending with tax revenues and reducing debt as a share of national output. He also repeated Labour’s manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT for working people.

The remarks were designed to answer concerns about whether a Burnham Government would move sharply away from the Treasury framework inherited from Starmer and Reeves. They came after his Manchester speech setting out a wider plan to shift power away from Whitehall and offer what he called more breathing space for the country.