Tag: News Story

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”.

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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

STORY

The Baroness Casey report into the Met Police has been published following its commission in October 2021 after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer. The report was critical of the Met Police and concluded that the force was institutionally racist, sexist, and homophobic, and that significant structural reforms were needed to address these failings. She also questioned whether the Met Police was able to police itself and added that austerity had seriously impacted the force with 126 police stations closed in recent years.

The review followed a number of high-profile incidents involving the Met Police, including the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the shooting of Mark Duggan, which had raised concerns about institutional racism within the force. The report found that the police had failed to address these issues adequately and had not done enough to increase diversity within their ranks.

The Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said in a statement:

“This report sparks feelings of shame and anger but it also increases our resolve. I am proud of those people, our officers and staff, whose passion for policing and determination to reform moved them to share their experiences with such honesty. This is, in many ways, their report. It must be a catalyst for police reform. This report needs to lead to meaningful change. If it only leads to pillory and blame of the exceptional majority of officers then only criminals will benefit”.

The report gave incidences of inappropriate behaviour, including:

“There have been a number of incidents where baptised [Sikh] officers are picked on. One officer had his beard cut because an officer thought it was funny. Another officer had his turban put into a shoe box because they thought it was funny. Unless we educate our officers then this will happen.”

An example was given of a Muslim police officer who told the report:

“I found bacon left in my boots inside my locked locker. I was horrified but kept an open mind as to who this could be. I was hoping to identify who the culprit was and take appropriate action. I didn’t want to be branded a person who played the race card and out of fear of reprisals did not tell anyone at the time”.

The report also mentioned WhatsApp messages from police officers, noting:

“There are comments after intranet articles, along the lines of ‘why can’t we just get on with the day job, why do we have to care about bi-sexual people?’”

The Casey report concluded:

“Public confidence and trust in the Met have been falling, calling public consent into question, and the relationship with Black Londoners in particular remains unfixed. In these circumstances, good communication, consultation and engagement with the public – giving them a real say in how London is policed – becomes more important than ever”.

RESOURCES

Baroness Casey Report into the Met Police

Met Police Press Release on the Report’s Publication

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

Metropolitan Police

STORY

The Polish Government has confirmed that it is sending four Soviet-era MiG-29s military aircraft to help Ukraine defend themselves from Russian military attack. The Polish President, Andrzej Duda, said that the aircraft were approaching the end of their life but they were still in full working order. He indicated that more fighter jets might be sent from Poland and the decision may also encourage other nations to send military aircraft to Ukraine. The UK has ruled out any immediate transfer of fighter jets, but said that it may reconsider this decision in the future.

STORY

The SNP has confirmed that its membership numbers have fallen to 72,186 from the party’s high point of 125,000 in 2019. The party had initially been reluctant to publish the figures but had decided to do so to ensure transparency during the leadership election which is taking place to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, the current leader and First Minister. The result of the leadership election is expected to be announced on 27 March 2023.

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

SNP

STORY

The TikTok app has been banned from UK Government devices with immediate effect following a statement made by Oliver Dowden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Dowden said in a statement:

“The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices. The use of other data-extracting apps will be kept under review.”

Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, criticised the Government for taking so long to respond to the threat. Politicians such as Grant Shapps have indicated that they will be continuing to use the app, which they can do by using their personal phones. TikTok said in a statement that they were disappointed by the decision and stated that no data from the app was sent to the Chinese Government. They stated:

“We remain committed to working with the government to address any concerns but should be judged on facts and treated equally to our competitors”.

RESOURCES

Government Press Release on Ban

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

Tiktok