Tag: News Story

STORY

Tower Hamlets Council is facing renewed scrutiny over the pace at which money collected from property developers is being spent on local infrastructure. Financial Times analysis found that developers have contributed about £269.3 million through Section 106 agreements, with 54% of that money spent, while the borough has collected £179.8 million through the Community Infrastructure Levy since 2015 and spent £65.1 million.

The figures have prompted criticism as the east London borough continues to experience rapid development around areas including Canary Wharf. One focus is the proposed South Dock Bridge, intended to improve pedestrian access in the area, which remains unbuilt after years of planning. The project has incurred about £2.3 million in planning costs and its expected cost has risen by around a quarter to £25 million, according to the report.

Tower Hamlets said much of the money that has not yet been spent is already allocated to projects and that infrastructure expenditure depends on construction programmes and delivery schedules. Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy are intended to ensure that development contributes towards facilities and infrastructure needed by growing communities. The council publishes annual statements setting out receipts and expenditure from both funding mechanisms.

Nigel Farage will attempt to return to Parliament in the Clacton by-election on Thursday against a record field of 34 candidates, including satirical candidate Count Binface. Farage resigned as MP for the Essex constituency in July before standing again for Reform UK, creating an unusual contest in which Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens have all chosen not to field candidates.

Tendring District Council says the 34 names on the ballot are believed to represent a record for a UK parliamentary election, exceeding the 26 candidates who stood in the 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election. Alongside Farage and Count Binface, the ballot includes candidates from smaller parties and a large number of independents. Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm on 13 August, with the result expected after counting begins that night.

The campaign has attracted national attention because Farage is seeking to regain the same seat only weeks after vacating it, while the absence of the main Westminster parties has given greater prominence to the smaller candidates. Count Binface, the political character created by comedian Jon Harvey, has used the contest to promote a satirical manifesto. Farage remains the best-known candidate in a constituency he won at the 2024 general election.

STORY

Prime Minister Andy Burnham could need tax rises worth up to £25 billion to fund Government spending commitments while continuing to meet the fiscal rules, according to an assessment by Capital Economics. The consultancy’s deputy chief UK economist Ruth Gregory said additional spending could reach £30 billion to £40 billion, creating pressure for substantial new revenue measures at the autumn Budget.

The calculation reflects commitments including higher defence spending, a large programme of council housebuilding and measures intended to reduce household costs. Burnham has said the Government will continue to follow its fiscal rules, limiting the extent to which additional day-to-day spending can simply be funded through borrowing. Capital Economics said households were likely to bear a significant share of any tax increases required to close the gap.

No package of tax rises of this size has been announced by the Government and the £25 billion figure is an independent forecast rather than Treasury policy. Burnham has committed not to increase the main rates of VAT, national insurance or income tax, which would restrict the Chancellor’s options if further revenue is required. The Government is due to set out its tax and spending decisions at the Budget on 28 October.

STORY

Labour has moved ahead of Reform UK in the latest YouGov voting intention poll for The Times, with the governing party on 24%, Reform on 22% and the Conservatives on 21%. The result leaves the three largest parties separated by only three percentage points and marks a further improvement for Labour since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in July.

The poll suggests Labour is recovering support among people who backed the party at the 2024 general election. The proportion of Labour’s 2024 voters saying they would now vote for the party again has risen from 49% in June to 60%, while Labour support among 18 to 24-year-olds has increased from 14% to 25%. Reform has meanwhile fallen to its lowest level in YouGov’s tracker since March 2025.

The Conservatives remain close behind both parties, underlining how fragmented voting intention remains. YouGov’s figures put all three leading parties within the normal margin of error of one another, meaning the poll does not establish a decisive national lead. The Greens and Liberal Democrats each fell by one point in the latest survey, while the broader trend shows Labour regaining ground after the leadership change.

STORY

A Bradford second-hand car dealer has been ordered to repay £66,917 after fraudulently securing a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan for his business. Javed Akhtar was given a confiscation order at Bradford Crown Court on 6 August and must repay the money within three months. If he fails to do so, he could face six months in prison while still remaining liable for the full amount.

Akhtar had previously admitted fraudulently applying for the maximum £50,000 Bounce Back Loan available for Natasha Motors Ltd in May 2020. He claimed the company had a turnover of £400,000, but the Insolvency Service said that declaration was false. During an interview under caution, Akhtar gave differing figures for the company’s 2019 turnover and said the loan application had been completed on his instruction by the firm’s accountant. He was sentenced in March to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.

An Insolvency Service financial investigation identified assets including three cars and a solar panel investment worth more than £150,000. Officials said this showed Akhtar had sufficient assets to repay the Bounce Back Loan in full, together with an uplift reflecting the change in the value of money since 2020. Akhtar was separately disqualified as a company director in August 2023 for failing to provide adequate accounting records, with his six-year ban running until August 2029.

STORY

Civil Nuclear Constabulary Chief Constable Simon Chesterman has joined calls opposing the potential early release of two men involved in the death of Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper. Chesterman said Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers should remain in prison for the remainder of their sentences, arguing that early release would damage public confidence and police morale.

PC Harper, 28, was killed in August 2019 while responding to the theft of a quad bike in Berkshire. He was dragged behind a vehicle along a country road while carrying out his duties. Three teenagers involved in the incident were subsequently sentenced to a combined 42 years in prison, with Cole and Bowers each receiving 13-year sentences. Under current proposals, the pair could potentially become eligible for release after serving half of their custodial terms.

Chesterman, who served with Thames Valley Police between 1984 and 2007, said he felt compelled to express solidarity with Harper’s family, friends and former colleagues. He said police officers routinely face dangerous situations while protecting the public and argued that allowing those involved in Harper’s death to benefit from early release would fail to reflect the seriousness of the offence and the continuing impact on his family and the policing community.

STORY

A disqualified company director who claimed to be in an induced coma when he was due to appear in court has been jailed after admitting that he continued to run a football magazine business while banned. Peter Etherington, 68, of Ilkley, West Yorkshire, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court to 18 and a half months in prison, including five months from an activated suspended sentence. He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for a further ten years, taking the ban through to August 2036.

Etherington admitted acting as a director of PP Global Media Limited between April 2019 and October 2022 while disqualified. The company produced Professional Player, described as a luxury lifestyle magazine for professional footballers and their families. The Insolvency Service said Etherington exercised control over the company’s finances, staffing and contracts despite other people being formally listed as directors. Bank records showed that he received more than £100,000 from the company account, more than any named director during the same period.

Etherington had been due before Bradford Magistrates’ Court in January, but an email said to have been sent by a family member claimed that he was in an induced coma. The Insolvency Service contacted two local hospitals and found no record of him being a recent inpatient, while he had also updated his Facebook profile and signed a legal document during the same period. Officials said information suggested that he “may have been seen in Tesco”. Etherington had previously been disqualified as a director three times, in 2017, 2020 and 2022.

STORY

Britain’s permanent jobs market showed signs of stabilising in July, with a survey of recruiters recording no fall in permanent placements for the first time in 45 months. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG said their permanent placements index rose to 50.0 from 49.1, the level separating expansion from contraction.

Temporary hiring remained in growth territory, with the temporary staff placements index at 51.9, compared with 52.7 in June. Temporary vacancies increased for the first time in two years, while the availability of temporary workers rose by the smallest amount since May 2023. Starting pay also strengthened, with salary growth for newly hired permanent staff reaching a six-month high and temporary pay growth its strongest in 26 months.

The survey was based on responses from around 400 recruitment agencies between 9 and 27 July. KPMG said businesses would now be looking for evidence that policies from the new Government could translate into confidence to invest and recruit. The Bank of England is also monitoring pay pressures closely as it assesses inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

STORY

A reported 230 people have arrived in Dover after crossing the English Channel in a single small boat, which would be the highest number recorded on one vessel. The boat arrived in the early hours of Monday after travelling from the French coast, surpassing the previous reported single-vessel record of 165 people set in July.

The development comes as smugglers have increasingly placed larger numbers of people on individual boats. A vessel carrying 173 people capsized earlier this month after its engine caught fire. Overall small boat arrivals in 2026 have nevertheless been lower than in 2025, with the total at the end of July reported to be around 45% below the equivalent point last year.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the latest crossing as evidence of what he called a national security emergency. The Home Office has previously said criminal smuggling gangs are using increasingly dangerous tactics and the Government has expanded co-operation with France, including additional resources for enforcement activity on the French coast.

STORY

The Government has announced nearly £130 million of public and private investment for zero-emission vehicle technology, including funding for automotive research and connected transport projects. Almost £65 million will come from public funds, with the remainder being provided by industry partners.

Nearly £50 million of Government funding has been awarded to automotive companies and research partners to develop and scale technologies intended for zero-emission vehicles. A further £17 million is being provided for nine connected and automated mobility projects covering areas including sensors, brake-by-wire systems and artificial intelligence simulation.

Industry minister Blair McDougall said the Government wanted the next generation of vehicles to be designed and manufactured in Britain. The funding forms part of wider efforts to support the automotive sector as manufacturers prepare for the transition away from new cars powered solely by petrol or diesel, sales of which are due to end in 2030, with all new cars required to be zero-emission by 2035.