Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle is taking shape September 4, 2012 YESTERDAY’S reshuffle left the great offices of state untouched but the changes David Cameron made to his cabinet provide an insight into the Prime Minister’s plans for the second half of this government. He has turned to trusted allies, with aides saying the focus is on ensuring government policies pass into legislation within the timeframe of [...]
ADVISERS GLENSTRATA MERGER June 27, 2012 LAZARD NICHOLAS SHOTT SPIRO YOUAKIM CHARLIE FOREMAN “Three cheers for the Qataris,” crowed one Xstrata shareholder yesterday after the Qatar Investment Authority made a surprise demand for better terms for its stake in the mining group. The Lazard bankers advising the QIA, which has quietly built up an 11 per cent holding in Xstrata over [...]
Lib Dems will not back Hunt in key vote June 12, 2012 COALITION tensions will rise further today as Liberal Democrats abstain in a parliamentary vote on whether culture secretary Jeremy Hunt should be referred to the ministerial watchdog. Lib Dem MPs agreed to stay out of the vote, which has been called by Labour in an attempt to force an investigation by Sir Alex Allan, the Prime Minister’s [...]
Cameron denies a pact with News International and Tories June 14, 2012 DAVID Cameron yesterday said it was “nonsense” that News International and the Conservative Party “got together” in a deal to exchange press support for policy influence. “I don’t believe in this theory there was a nod and a wink and some sort of agreement”, he added. Cameron was also quizzed over his decision to hire former [...]
Ofcom rules out caps on media ownership June 19, 2012 OFCOM yesterday came out in opposition to imposing limits on media ownership just days after Ed Miliband called for caps on media market share. Publishing its response to a handful of questions proposed by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt in October, Ofcom said a review of media plurality should be conducted every four or five years. The [...]
WEB OF INFLUENCE: HOW THE DAY UNFOLDED AT THE LEVESON INQUIRY AND IN WESTMINSTER April 25, 2012 10.30 – The Strand Rupert Murdoch appears before the Leveson Inquiry. Seeming much more confident than the contrite performance he gave to the Commons committee in July, he insists: “I’ve never asked a prime minister for anything”. 11.40 Murdoch defends his media empire: “I go to the polls every day… people can choose to stop buying [...]
Hunt and Blair to face a grilling from Leveson inquiry this week May 27, 2012 GOVERNMENT ministers will appear before Lord Justice Leveson this week, as his inquiry into media ethics probes the coalition’s relationship with the Murdoch stable. Jeremy Hunt, whose close ties with high-level staff at News Corp have landed him in hot water, is set to answer questions about his behaviour and that of his employees on [...]
Cameron pledges to do more to boost economy April 29, 2012 PRIME Minister David Cameron has said his government will “redouble all our efforts” to turn around the UK economy in the face of a fresh recession and “a very long and painful process” to fix the Eurozone. Cameron said last week’s confirmation of a double dip recession in Britain was “very disappointing”. He said: “What’s [...]
Hunt called to answer to House of Commons ahead of Leveson May 14, 2012 JEREMY Hunt yesterday received fresh calls to face the House of Commons and answer to email evidence that he supported News Corp’s takeover of BSkyB. Shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman asked whether it was appropriate for Hunt to refuse to answer parliamentary questions “because instead he’s going to tell Lord Justice Leveson”. Speaker John Bercow [...]
The City gains seven sculptures June 18, 2012 A NUMBER of City of London-based businesses, including Hiscox, Aviva, British Land, IVG UK and Aon, have clubbed together with the City of London Corporation to create Great St Helen’s: Sculpture Space in the heart of the City. Set among London’s iconic architectural landmarks, including the Gherkin and the Lloyd’s building, a free curated exhibition [...]