Presenter Adrian Chiles wins tax appeal after seven years February 16, 2022 After more than seven years and two tribunal hearings, the broadcaster and writer Adrian Chiles has finally won his IR35 case relating to services provided to the BBC and ITV between the five tax years spanning 2012 to 2017. The tribunal’s partial analysis found that all the contracts created the initial impression of contracts of [...]
Met Police investigate cash-for-honours allegations against Prince Charles’ charity February 16, 2022 The Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation into cash-for-honours allegations linked to the Prince of Wales’ charity the Prince’s Foundation. Scotland Yard said in a statement this morning: “The Metropolitan police service has launched an investigation into allegations of offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. “The decision follows an assessment of a [...]
Ad world enters the metaverse: Havas snaps up plot of virtual land to build brand legitimacy February 16, 2022 The world of advertising and public relations finally meets the world of the metaverse, with the French ad firm Havas snapping up its own plot of virtual land in The Sandbox video game with plans to make its first virtual Village (the 69th Havas Village).
Museums struggle to get people through the door with visitors still 50 per cent lower than pre-pandemic February 16, 2022 The number of people visiting museums is still 50 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels, as iconic sites struggle to get visitors back through the door. According to data from the Department for Digital, Culture, Music and Sport released today, there were a total of five million visits to the DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries between [...]
HMRC splashes £12m on data analysts February 16, 2022 HMRC has almost tripled its yearly spend on data analyst and data scientist roles over the past five years, according to official figures. The data, retrieved via the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) and analysed by the Parliament Street think tank, revealed a large uptake in data analyst and data science staff year on year [...]
Disney hires new exec to drive metaverse growth February 15, 2022 Disney has appointed a new executive to drive its metaverse strategy as the media group tries to push innovation to attract audiences. Disney chief executive Bob Chapek sent an email to employees earlier today announcing that Mike White, a current executive in group, would take on the new role as senior vice president of Next [...]
Big tech rule book could be agreed as soon as April as EU clamps down on Google and Apple February 15, 2022 Landmark EU rules aimed at curbing the power of tech giants could be agreed between lawmakers and EU countries as soon as April. Although the rules have faced some obstacles, lawmaker Andreas Schwab told Reuters that he is optimistic that an agreement could be reached in record time for a key piece of legislation. Known [...]
Former Post Office call for former chiefs to face prison time following Horizon scandal February 15, 2022 Former Post Office sub-postmasters and mistresses have called for former bosses to face prison time as they continue to provide evidence for the public inquiry on the Horizon scandal, which started this week. More than 700 branch managers were given criminal convictions between 2000 and 2014 when faulty accounting software called Horizon made it look [...]
EU set to launch internet satellite system moving away from Chinese dependency February 15, 2022 The EU is gearing up to launch its own satellite internet system to keep up with the likes of Amazon and Elon Musk owned SpaceX, removing European reliance on Chinese-built infrastructure.
Elon Musk makes £4.2bn in charitable donations in 2021 amid Tesla uncertainty February 15, 2022 Eccentric entrepreneur Elon Musk donated $5.7bn (£4.2bn) worth of Tesla shares last year, making him the second-biggest philanthropic of the year according to a new security filing. According to this document, the Tesla boss donated 5,044,000 shares to an unnamed charity. If this filing is correct, this puts the South African-born businessman just behind Bill [...]