Ben Hardy on EastEnders and his new LGBTQ film Unicorns: We’re all multi-faceted. Why stick to one label?
Sunak says he is not ‘ignoring’ the billions of pounds of Covid fraud January 26, 2022 Rishi Sunak has moved to assure people he is not “ignoring” or “writing off” billions of pounds stolen from the government’s Covid support schemes. The chancellor today said that “criminals sought to exploit our support schemes”, but that “we’re doing everything we can to get that money back”. Treasury minister lord Theodore Agnew resigned spectacularly [...]
Ex-minister says Kwarteng was right to sack Treasury’s top civil servant September 13, 2022 Kwasi Kwarteng was right to sack the Treasury’s top civil servant and his exit was a “cause for celebration”, according to a former Treasury minister. Former fraud minister Lord Theodore Agnew said the sacked Treasury permanent secretary Tom Scholar was the embodiment of “the malign influence of the Treasury orthodoxy”. Kwarteng has immediately tried to [...]
Publicans loaned £138m to own businesses in battle for survival November 1, 2021 Pub owners injected £138m in loans to their own businesses to keep them afloat during the pandemic. Private equity investment firm Growthdeck found that some 1,730 UK pubs and bar companies ran so short of cash last year that their directors had to make loans to them from their own personal resources. As hospitality venues [...]
Angry Lord Agnew says Boris Johnson ‘failed spectacularly as fraud in government is rampant’ at £30bn a year January 25, 2022 The Tory minister who quit yesterday in what has been described as “one of the most dramatic moments ever seen” in the House of Lords has claimed that fraud is rampant in the Government. Lord Agnew of Oulton had been the minister for efficiency and transformation before announcing his resignation at the despatch box and [...]
Starling Bank hits first full year profits at £32m July 21, 2022 Starling Bank revealed it has hit its first full year profits today as the digital lender swings into the black from a £30m loss last year.
CEO: ‘Incredible year’ for £88bn Covid loan bank as it helped 1.6m businesses to bounce back September 22, 2021 The taxpayer-owned bank that helped funnel billions of pounds worth of loans to British companies said it went through a “gigantic shift” during the pandemic year, the chief of the British Business Bank said this morning. Catherine Lewis La Torre said this morning that the BBB, which she leads, had an “important role” in the [...]
Fraud convictions on the up as post-Covid-19 crackdown begins November 1, 2021 An increase in post-Covid-19 fraud checks by the Insolvency Service has seen the number of company directors convicted of fraud spike, according to new research. The number of directors convicted of criminal activity has increased to 122 in the year to the end of September, a 205 per cent hike on 2020 levels. Mazars, the [...]
Covid emergency loan schemes push UK challenger bank lending to record high August 30, 2021 Lending by British challenger banks surged to a record high last year driven by businesses rushing to capitalise on emergency Covid loan schemes, according to new figures published today. Research by accountancy firm BDO shows challenger bank lending climbed 11 per cent over the last year to £143bn, a record high, up from £128bn in [...]
British Business Bank’s oversight of Greensill was ‘woefully inadequate’ with £335m of taxpayers’ money at risk November 20, 2021 A new report has warned that up to £335m of taxpayers’ money is at risk due to failures by the British Business Bank to properly scrutinise bust lender Greensill Capital. The Public Accounts Committee of MPs found that the bank, which oversaw the billions lent to businesses during the pandemic in loans backed by the [...]
NatWest chief warns supply chain crisis curtails growth among army of small firms October 18, 2021 NatWest’s business banking boss has said the supply chain crisis is holding back growth among Britain’s army of small firms and warned over mounting problems if shortages persist. Andrew Harrison said poor availability of key goods and materials was “curtailing” growth in the sector, which comes at a vital time for small firms as they [...]