What the other papers say this morning – 28 May 2014 May 27, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Pilgrim’s Pride bid disrupts deal Poultry company Pilgrim’s Pride has offered to buy Hillshire Brands for $6.4bn (£3.8bn) including debt, in a deal meant to head off Hillshire’s recent bid for Pinnacle Foods and create one of the US’s largest meat producers. Pilgrim’s offer of $45 a share – a roughly 22 per [...]
G4S to pay government £109m over tagging contracts March 12, 2014 G4S has agreed to reimburse the government £109m plus value-added tax for overcharging on the company's contract to electronically tag prisoners, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The figure is significantly higher in cash terms than the £24m that G4S offered in November. The MoJ said it would consider asking for larger amount if [...]
EU doubles down on drug war failure April 17, 2014 The European Parliament has voted for a host of new laws and regulations governing so called "legal highs." The time taken to ban psychoactive substances deemed to be harmful has been slashed from two years to ten months. If there is perceived to be an immediate risk, a substance can be placed under a one [...]
Government names preferred bidders for electronic tagging contract August 20, 2013 The Ministry of Justice has selected preferred bidders for four contracts to deliver new satellite technology to track the movement of offenders in the community, including outsourcing giant Capita and British family-run company buddi (release). It’s the first time the service has been let nationally, and is expected to generate significant efficiency savings for the [...]
Barristers in court walkout January 6, 2014 CRIMINAL barristers across England and Wales are set to stage a mass walkout this morning to protest against legal aid cuts proposed by the government. Up to 2,000 barristers are expected to stay away from court until 2pm today, with protests planned outside the Old Bailey and Southwark Crown Court. The Ministry of Justice wants [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 28 April 2014 April 28, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Pfizer renews interest in AstraZeneca Pfizer, the US pharmaceuticals group, has renewed its interest in a takeover of UK rival AstraZeneca, in what would be one of the global drugs industry’s largest ever deals. The US group approached AstraZeneca, which has a market value of £51.5bn, within the last week and could make [...]
Ex-Rabobank traders charged January 13, 2014 Three former traders at Rabobank were criminally charged yesterday with manipulating the Yen Libor benchmark interest rate, the US Department of Justice said. The trio include Briton Paul Robson, as well as Australian and Japanese ex-employees of the Dutch bank. Charges included alleged wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Department said. Rabobank [...]
Stock drops on Serco warning over earnings January 30, 2014 TROUBLED outsourcing firm Serco yesterday warned that profits would fall in 2014, overshadowing the good news that its ban on winning new government work had been lifted. The FTSE 100-quoted company was barred from winning fresh government contracts due to allegations of fraud, but yesterday the Cabinet Office said that the firm “had developed a [...]
The government’s wasting £50m a year on technology that doesn’t work March 14, 2014 The founder of electronic tagging company Buddi, Sara Murray, has said this morning that the government’s "wasting £50m a year by buying old technology from Serco and G4S that doesn't work." Her words follow those of Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who said the government “urgently needs to get its house in [...]
Capita picks up government tagging contracts after Serco and G4S scandal December 12, 2013 Outsourcing group Capita will be assuming responsibility for the government's so-called tagging contracts for monitoring prisoners, Justice secretary Chris Grayling said today. The coalition plans to introduce state-of-the-art satellite tagging, which'll save time and money when it comes to tracking criminals, and policing, it says. The statement confirmed that the Ministry of Justice will have [...]