Court rules Grant Shapps’ plan to build £1.7bn tunnel near Stonehenge is ‘unlawful’ July 30, 2021 Transport secretary Grant Shapps was found to have made a “material error of law” over his controversial road building plans that include a tunnel near Stonehenge. In a court ruling on Friday, Shapps’ decision to approve the £1.7bn scheme to overhaul eight miles of the A303 and build a two-mile tunnel near Stonehenge was ruled [...]
High Court to hear legal challenge to UK’s North Sea oil plan July 28, 2021 The High Court has today agreed to hear a case brought by environmental campaigners claiming that the government’s plans for the North Sea oil basin are unlawful. Three activists are arguing that the Oil and Gas Authority’s (OGA) new strategy for the continental shelf, which was released earlier this year, conflicts with its legal duty [...]
Queen’s Birthday Honours: the full 2021 list June 12, 2021 Below the full list of names for this year ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) The Rt. Hon. Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, The Earl Howe. For political and parliamentary service. (Amersham, Buckinghamshire) ORDER OF THE BATH Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) [...]
Tesco staff win legal argument against employer in European Court of Justice June 3, 2021 Thousands of current and ex-Tesco workers won a legal argument in the European Court of Justice today, in a fight they argue centres on equal pay. The court today ruled that employees working in stores can compare their roles to colleagues working in distribution centres for the purpose of equal pay. Mostly female supermarket shop [...]
Home Office loses immigration data case against 3.6m EU citizens in UK May 26, 2021 Campaigners have won a Court of Appeal challenge over an “unlawful” exemption to data protection rules in immigration cases. The Open Rights Group and the3million said the “immigration exemption” introduced in the Data Protection Act (DPA), which came into force in May 2018, denies people access to their personal records in immigration cases. The exemption [...]
Captain Tom’s family open fundraising drive at Lords April 30, 2021 Members of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s family were at Lord’s Cricket Ground today to mark the start of the Captain Tom 100 Challenge – a weekend of fundraising in honour of the second world war veteran who raised £38.9m for the NHS at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. They were joined by former England [...]
Asda loses first stage of landmark equal pay case at Supreme Court March 26, 2021 Asda has lost the first stage of its appeal in a landmark equal pay case that could cost the supermarket giant millions of pounds. The Supreme Court this morning upheld the findings of a 2016 employment tribunal and a Court of Appeal case in 2019, which ruled that roles of Asda store workers can be [...]
Uber: What does the workers’ rights U-turn mean for the ride-hailing giant? March 17, 2021 Uber agreed yesterday to give its 70,000 UK drivers holiday pay and pensions following a landmark ruling in the Supreme Court. The court ruled that all UK drivers are employees of the taxi giant — rather than being self-employed — and are therefore eligible to receive holiday pay on a fortnightly basis. Susannah Streeter, senior [...]
How New York invented the business breakfast February 25, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Melissa York’s trip to New York to find the original business breakfast. ••• Every morning, Leigh Wynn, the maitre d’ of the most expensive and exclusive breakfast spot in New York, wakes up at [...]
Supreme Court rules that Nigerians can sue Shell over oil spills February 12, 2021 The Supreme Court has today ruled that a group of 42,500 Nigerians farmers and fishermen can sue oil giant Shell for numerous oil spills in the Niger Delta. Judges found that claimants could sue the firm for the activities of its Nigeria-based subsidiary. The local Ogale and Bille people alleged their lives and health have [...]