Train strikes hit London July 30, 2009 RAIL strikes caused havoc for commuters travelling on the National Express East Anglia train services yesterday, as members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Aslef unions took industrial action over a pay dispute. The 48-hour walk-out had “crippled” services, the unions said. Many commuters stayed at home as a limited peak-time service failed [...]
Kingman loss is a huge blow to Brown July 28, 2009 THERE is a great anecdote about John Kingman, the civil servant who yesterday shocked the City by announcing his resignation as CEO of UKFI, the holding company for state-owned banks. Back in 1994, the 25-year old Kingman, still fresh out of Westminster School and Oxford University, was working as private secretary to the financial secretary, [...]
Kingman loss is a huge blow to Brown July 28, 2009 THERE is a great anecdote about John Kingman, the civil servant who yesterday shocked the City by announcing his resignation as CEO of UKFI, the holding company for state-owned banks. Back in 1994, the 25-year old Kingman, still fresh out of Westminster School and Oxford University, was working as private secretary to the financial secretary, [...]
CONDOM MAKER DUREX TO FACE A NASTY ITCH AT ANNUAL MEETING July 22, 2009 PRICKLY business is in the offing at today’s annual meeting for investors in Durex condom maker SSL International, as minor shareholder Tariq Siddiqi prepares to take a stand. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Siddiqi shot to fame back in 2005, when he persuaded David Blunkett to take up the bioscience job that eventually [...]
BT BOSS CAN’T GET BROADBAND AT HOME July 20, 2009 ARE YOU unable to get broadband access at home because of your postcode? Well, it turns out that you are in good company. Not even BT chairman Sir Michael Rake is able to access broadband in the usual way from his Hambledon Valley home, and is instead forced to be a guinea pig for the [...]
Identity cards will now be voluntary June 30, 2009 THE government has dropped plans to bring in compulsory biometric identity cards for airport workers and revealed the multi-billion pound scheme will be voluntary for all Britons. Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the government now planned to go ahead with the introduction of the £30 cards, which contain personal details, fingerprints and a facial image, [...]
GLAMOUR GALORE AT ASCOT’S LADIES DAY June 18, 2009 IT WAS Ladies’ Day yesterday at Royal Ascot, traditionally the most hotly-anticipated event in the calendar for dressing up to the nines. As usual, the racegoers didn’t let us down – among the extravagant hats on show were a blackbird, a giant ice-cream cone, a creation made out of 800 marshmallows, and even a headdress [...]
Government debt rises by 20bn in May June 18, 2009 GOVERNMENT borrowing in May increased by the largest amount since monthly records began and could reach as high as £200bn this fiscal year if it continues at its current pace, official data showed yesterday. Figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that public sector net borrowing was £19.9bn in May 2009 and the public [...]
MP expenses are censored June 18, 2009 OVER a million pages of MP expenses were made available to the public yesterday in a bid for transparency, but the government was hit by accusations of a cover up after huge swathes of crucial information was censored. Items hidden under thick black blocks include addresses of second homes, destinations on train tickets and the [...]
FIRST WOMEN GATHER AT GALA TALENT SHOW June 11, 2009 THERE’S nothing a bunch of hard-working businesswomen like better than listening to one of their own knowing how to send herself up in style. So it should come as no surprise that the star of this year’s First Women Awards, held last night in the luxurious surroundings of the Marriott Grosvenor Square, was Deloitte veteran [...]