Wasps enter administration with MPs set to question rugby’s chiefs October 18, 2022 Wasps, one of English rugby’s most decorated clubs with a history dating back 155 years, has gone into administration as the Premiership yesterday lost its second team in a month. The Coventry-based side admitted last week that they were likely to be handed over to administrators within days and that came to pass on Monday [...]
Ed Warner: British amateur sport must take a match to bonfire of bureaucracy April 13, 2023 Different patterns of belonging in this social media age are a stiff challenge to those of us attempting to build membership rosters for sporting bodies. What can we offer to persuade amateur athletes and casual fans to give a chunk of their identities – and a few quid from their virtual wallets – to organisations [...]
Facebook and Twitter tell Ukrainian users to protect themselves against hacking February 25, 2022 Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter have warned Ukrainian users they may be vulnerable to hacking, after Ukraine experienced a series of cyberattacks in the wake of Russia’s invasion. In a tweet, former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, head of global affairs and communications at Facebook owner Meta said the firm would be monitoring its [...]
Britishvolt: We did not enter the EV battery market ‘in a race to the bottom’ November 7, 2022 Beleaguered battery darling Britishvolt has said that comparing the price points for Chinese and British electric vehicle (EV) batteries is like “comparing apples with pears and not a fair reflection”. The firm responded to claims made by an unnamed potential customer, quoted in The Telegraph yesterday, that its lithium-ion batteries were up to a third [...]
Magistrates call for fewer online hearings after defendant tuned in while having a bath April 13, 2022 The rise of remote hearings in magistrates’ courts saw defendants tune into tribunals while having a bath, a new report from the Magistrates Association has said. The use of video calls during the pandemic saw some defendants show a “complete lack of respect” for the court, by appearing “half-naked” and treating the process like “social [...]
Kenny Shiels: Football manager sparks row by claiming women are more emotional than men April 13, 2022 The manager of the Northern Ireland women’s football team, Kenny Shiels, has claimed that it is difficult to stop women’s teams conceding one goal after another because they are “more emotional than men”. Shiels, who is due to lead the team in their major tournament debut at Euro 2022 this summer, said an “emotional imbalance” [...]
Network Rail slams RMT for ‘needless’ Christmas strikes December 19, 2022 Network Rail’s chief executive Andrew Haines has accused the union RMT of “causing needless misery” to its members and the UK wider economy as workers strike during Christmas. RMT members working at Network Rail will down tools from 6pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on 27 after rejecting a nine per cent offer. “RMT suggestions [...]
Rishi stole the crypto thunder with an NFT as Whitehall fights to go digital April 11, 2022 Last week, away from the grinding tragedy of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing fears over rising costs of living, Rishi Sunak unveiled an eye-catching plan. The Royal Mint is set to launch its own non-fungible token (NFT), marking the beginning of the government’s plans to wade into the cryptocurrency sector. NFTs have been [...]
‘It’s not hard to imagine a future where the IPL simply is cricket’ May 18, 2023 As the ICC is set to change the way it distributes revenue, with India getting a significant portion, Ed Warner states that it is not hard to imagine a world where the IPL simply is cricket. The venality and self-interest that drive decisions in international cricket have been so well known for so long that [...]
Conservative ideology is in turmoil as they cling to online speech crackdowns June 29, 2022 A little known internet safety green paper was the genesis of the Online Safety Bill. It was initiated by the Cameron government and published five years ago, with a focus on a voluntary code of practice and transparency requirements for social media. This would have been a relatively incremental step, a collaborative approach to addressing [...]