The annual rate of inflation has hit 6.2% as the chancellor prepares to outline how he will help households with soaring living costs in his Spring Statement 2022. The consumer prices index (CPI) increased in February from 5.5% in January and remains at the highest level in 30 years, according to the Office for National
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A change in the law signed off by former Conservative minister Chris Grayling cleared the way for P&O Ferries to legally sack 800 staff last week without telling the government, a leading maritime lawyer has told Sky News. Legislation to protect employees in the UK was amended by Mr Grayling in 2018 so that the
The UK supply arm of Russia’s state-owned gas firm Gazprom is expected to be placed under taxpayer control within days as customers attempt to flee the firm in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom Energy supplies over a fifth of gas used by commercial and public sector customers in the UK including companies like
800 P&O Ferries workers fired suddenly last week are only being given redundancy pay on the condition they sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), according to the Transport Secretary. Grant Shapps told the House of Commons that the company is using the agreements to try and “keep the employees quiet” while behaving in a “shameful and unacceptable
Two and a half million households with children will be in fuel poverty once the new energy price cap comes into effect on 1 April, according to estimates from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. That’s equivalent to two in five households, and it rises to more than half if we look just at single-parent homes.
The Indian-born businessman who owns the Sacramento Kings basketball team has joined forces with the former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton in his effort to buy Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that Vivek Ranadive, who made a fortune from the technology industry, has agreed to make a minority investment in the Premier
Rishi Sunak is pledging a £5.5bn crackdown on Whitehall waste as he faces pressure to tackle the cost of living crisis in his mini-budget. Ahead of his spring statement on Wednesday, the chancellor claims the efficiency savings will both curb inflation and fund vital public services. “During these challenging times it’s vital that every single
P&O Ferries has restarted a limited service two days after sacking 800 crew members without notice in what it says is a cost-cutting exercise. The Dubai-owned travel firm said the Liverpool to Dublin ferry set sail on Saturday morning and has now resumed a normal service. The company’s other ships are still tied up as
The 9pm deadline for bids to buy Chelsea has passed, with consortiums led by Nick Candy, the Ricketts family and Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe among the bidders. The sale has come amid UK and EU sanctions on Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Chelsea also under a number of restrictions.
The London property entrepreneur Nick Candy is lining up backing from two South Korean groups as he prepares to lodge a takeover bid for Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that Hana Financial Group, a major Seoul-based lender, and C&P Sports, a sports management firm, were on Friday in discussions about joining Mr Candy’s
All remaining COVID travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for unvaccinated arrivals, have now ended in the UK. A range of “contingency measures” will be kept in reserve so ministers can take “swift and proportionate action” if needed to tackle new variants, according to the Department for Transport. It is understood that
The Bank of England has hiked the interest rate by 0.25% to 0.75% as it forecast inflation surging to 8% next month – and even higher in the autumn. It is the third increase in a row in as many policy meetings by the bank’s rate-setters and restores the cost of borrowing to pre-pandemic levels.
Ministers’ hopes of getting Britain’s new “moonshot” scientific research agency off to a flying start have been dealt a blow by the withdrawal of the boss appointed to lead it just six weeks ago. Sky News has learnt that Dr Peter Highnam, deputy director of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has decided
The US central bank has fired the starting pistol on interest rate rises as the world’s largest economy faces up to a surge in inflation that is only predicted to accelerate during Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate, for the first time since 2018, by a quarter point to a
Boris Johnson will hold talks with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as he bids to end the West’s “addiction” to Russian oil and gas. With Vladimir Putin’s increasingly barbaric assault on Ukraine set to enter a third week, the prime minister is visiting the Gulf in a stepping-up of his
The UK government has placed an export ban on luxury goods to Russia and hiked up import tariffs from the country on iconic products such as vodka. British vehicles, high-end fashion and art are some of the luxury goods that will no longer be exported to Russia as the UK and other G7 leaders continue