Business

Royal Mail has halted deliveries to Europe, except for the Republic of Ireland, due to a UK travel ban triggered by the discovery of a new faster spreading coronavirus strain. The company has also added Canada and Turkey to its “on suspension” list due to delays caused by “severely limited” air capacity. In addition, Royal

Britain’s second biggest supermarket has warned gaps will start to appear on shelves within days after France’s ban on freight from the UK. Sainsbury’s said there would be shortages on products including lettuce, salad leaves and cauliflowers if transport ties with the continent are not restored quickly. However the supermarket said it had “plenty” of

The Port of Dover has halted all exports to France for at least 48 hours, urging freight and passenger customers to stay away. It comes after France joined Ireland and a growing list of European countries to impose travel restrictions on the UK over a new strain of coronavirus. Transport Secretary Grant Schapps warned of

The European Union must make a “substantial shift” if Brexit trade talks are to be saved. That was the warning from Britain in the final days of negotiations between the two sides ahead of the transition period ending on 31 December. Talks are continuing in Brussels this weekend but UK sources say it is increasingly

Britain’s retail sector has warned of “severe” consequences from new Tier 4 restrictions, meaning non-essential shops in affected areas will have to close in the week before Christmas. The British Retail Consortium said thousands more jobs could be at risk – in an industry already devastated by months of pandemic disruption. It criticised the government’s

Six months ago, I was with Laurent Merlin as we entered British coastal waters in the middle of the night. As he guided his boat through heavy waves, circling around the lobster pots, he spoke of his nervousness about the uncertainty of Brexit. Now, nervousness has turned to anxiety, blended with anger. A fortnight before

The bosses of some of Britain’s best-known technology companies have been courted by Boris Johnson as they contemplate public flotations that would make them collectively worth tens of billions of pounds. Sky News has learnt that the prime minister held talks on Friday afternoon with executives from businesses including Deliveroo and Revolut, the digital banking

Retail sales fell by 3.8% last month when a four-week lockdown in England closed shops selling non-essential goods, official figures show. While the monthly drop from October ended six consecutive months of growth within the sector, overall sales remained above their pre-pandemic levels, the Office for National Statistics said. In November 2020, clothing store sales

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has apologised after an independent report severely criticised the City regulator that he led at the time of a £237m investment scandal. The report found the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was “wholly deficient” in the oversight of minibond provider London Capital & Finance (LCF). Former Court of Appeal judge

An outsourcing firm helping operate the UK’s coronavirus Test and Trace programme alongside the NHS, has revealed it is to repay furlough cash. Serco, which has provided call-handlers to the effort, said its ability to “trade strongly” throughout the COVID-19 crisis meant it would also reward 50,000 staff with a one-off bonus. It said the

Stockpiling has resulted in supply chain delays for 45% of manufacturing firms, according to a closely-watched survey of activity. The IHS Markit/CIPS flash composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for the services and manufacturing sectors suggested a return to growth early this month after coronavirus lockdowns dragged on the economy in November. But the report said manufacturing’s

Climate activists have lost a long-running legal battle to stop a third runway at Heathrow. The Supreme Court has overturned a previous Court of Appeal ruling in a case brought by Friends of the Earth and others against Heathrow Airport. The court was asked to consider if the government’s failure to take into account the

A new testing scheme designed to reduce the quarantine period for people arriving in England has suffered what has been described as a “chaotic start”. Launched on Tuesday, the scheme offered travellers the chance to cut the 10-day self-isolation by paying to take a coronavirus test after five days, and receiving a negative result. But

The latest job statistics show 819,000 fewer people in payrolled employment since the start of the coronavirus crisis in the UK. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the estimated figure, using PAYE (pay as you earn) data from HM Revenue & Customs, covered November as England entered its second national lockdown amid tougher COVID-19

British eating habits have transformed in the 47 years since the UK joined the common market. There was a time when olive oil was only available in chemists and rationing constrained the national palate to a narrow spectrum. Fast-forward half a century and Britain is a country that sloshes the extra-virgin around like cheap aftershave,

The government says it is to start talks with French energy firm EDF on a new nuclear power plant in Suffolk as part of a wider commitment to a clean energy future. It said the proposed £20bn Sizewell C plant would have to pass stringent affordability and value checks as the company makes the case