The Bribery Act: Ten years on January 11, 2021 This year marks ten years since the Bribery Act came into force. It was enacted in 2010 but was not active until the following year. In May 2019 a House of Lords Select Committee of which I was a member scrutinised the Bribery Act and concluded that overall it was working well. The immediate reaction from businessmen at the outset when the Bribery Bill was [...]
Brexit: Boris Johnson hails ‘new starting point’ in UK-EU relationship December 28, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson today hailed a “new starting point” for the UK’s relationship with the EU after the two sides agreed a post-Brexit trade deal. In a call with European Council president Charles Michel this afternoon, Johnson welcomed the agreement as a fresh start “between sovereign equals”. “We looked forward to the formal ratification [...]
David Cameron ‘did nothing wrong’ in his dealings with Greensill, says Kwasi Kwarteng March 30, 2021 David Cameron “did absolutely nothing wrong” in his dealings with Greensill Capital, according to a senior government minister. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said “everything was above board” with the former prime minister’s connection to the financial services company which collapsed earlier this month. Speaking on Sky News this morning, Kwarteng said that, with Cameron having [...]
Government looks at widening review into financial markets March 11, 2021 The government is planning to widen its review into financial markets as it looks to boost London’s prospects after Brexit. John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, said the government is reviewing financial rules to include regulations on market structure, transparency rules and commodities. It comes just a week after Lord Hill’s review into stock [...]
New City lobby: Big bank influence is holding UK financial services back post-Brexit February 18, 2021 A new pro-Brexit City of London lobby group has taken aim at competitor The CityUK, saying that the established body is “dominated by multinational banks” that do not care about the UK’s prosperity. The CityUnited project was formed earlier this week by a group of Eurosceptic City figures and politicians, with the group aiming to [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak to outline post-Brexit regulatory shakeup for the City of London March 2, 2021 Rishi Sunak will outline plans to improve the City of London’s post-Brexit competitiveness in tomorrow’s Budget as he releases a highly anticipated report from the UK’s former EU commissioner for financial services. Sunak is planning to create a new stock listings regime in London to compete with other global financial centres that have benefited from [...]
Dial “Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise” for this economic emergency December 2, 2020 Never before has a chancellor had to stand in the House of Commons and present quite such dire economic news: the largest fall in output in 300 years; the highest level of borrowing in our peacetime history; and unemployment set to rise by over a million in the next six months. Amid this economic emergency [...]
You’re required: Alan Sugar urges public to get back to work September 11, 2020 Business tycoon Lord Alan Sugar today urged Brits to “put on a suit, put on a dress and get back to work” amid rising calls to kickstart the faltering economy. Speaking to LBC radio, Sugar said people’s resilience meant “they get back, they recover, they get over it”. “If you do the right things which [...]
Exclusive: David Blunkett becomes adviser to financial firm Elementary B September 15, 2020 Former Labour home secretary Lord David Blunkett has become a strategic adviser to financial services start-up Elementary B, City A.M. can reveal. Elementary B is a new financial services company that seeks to help medium-sized firms better manage their businesses by providing new technology and advice. Blunkett – also a former education and work and [...]
Rishi Sunak announces post-Brexit outline for City of London November 9, 2020 Rishi Sunak has outlined the City of London’s future after Brexit, which will aim to provide stability for EU financial services firms operating in the UK while also trying to open up the sector to more international markets. Sunak said the Treasury today was unliterally publishing “a set of equivalence decisions for EU and EEA [...]