6:42 am, December 16, 2025
Not all jobs could be saved in Covid but ‘mass unemployment’ prevented – Sunak
Not all jobs could be saved during the Covid-19 pandemic but the government prevented ‘mass unemployment’, Rishi Sunak has told the Covid inquiry.
Module 9 of the independent public inquiry is looking into the economic response of the government and has already heard evidence from officials including Alok Sharma, the former business secretary, and Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England’s governor.
Sunak said the government was ‘successful in preventing mass unemployment’ and that the impact on jobs was ‘considerably better than what anyone had forecast at the early stages of the pandemic’.
BT and Three facing Ofcom investigations after outages
The communications watchdog has launched investigations into BT and Three after major outages in the summer.
The outages resulted in disruption to mobile call services, including to emergency services, across the UK, Ofcom said.
The watchdog said it will seek to find out whether the two mobile firms failed to comply with their regulatory obligations as a result of these incidents.
Smart #2 city car spotted testing at facility in China
Smart has revealed images of its #2 city car undergoing testing at a facility in China.
The new model will be called the #2 and will sit below the firm’s #3 and #4 electric SUVs, while the car will utilise Smart’s ‘Electric Compact Architecture’ platform.
No details on the car’s powertrain have been revealed at this stage; however, Smart has confirmed the car will come with an electric powertrain and it will have a rear-wheel drive layout, just like its predecessor.
The markets
The FTSE 100 marched higher on Monday, ahead of a raft of key economic data and an expected interest rate cut by the Bank of England later this week.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 102.28 points, 1.1%, at 9,751.31. The FTSE 250 ended 172.61 points higher, 0.8%, at 22,049.16, but the AIM All-Share ended down 2.13 points, 0.3%, at 749.23.
The pound was quoted higher at 1.3390 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Monday, compared to 1.3356 on Friday.
Sir Keir Starmer: Resident doctors strikes ‘irresponsible’
Sir Keir Starmer has condemned strike action by resident doctors as ‘irresponsible’.
The prime minister said he is ‘very gutted’ that medics have voted to go ahead with walkouts this week and appealed to members of the British Medical Association (BMA) to ‘push back against’ the union.
Members of the BMA rejected a new offer from the government and will strike for five days from 7am on Wednesday.
Australian police say Bondi terror attack was ‘inspired by Islamic State’
Early indications from the police investigations into the Bondi terror attack suggest the killers were ‘inspired by’ the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, Australia’s federal police commissioner said.
Fifteen innocent people were killed when father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram, armed with what police described as ‘long guns’, opened fire on more than 1,000 people attending a Jewish festival in the Archer Park area of the popular beach at 6.47pm local time on Sunday.
NSW Health said 25 people remain in hospital as of Tuesday afternoon local time with six in a critical condition.
Monday on Car Dealer
Evolution Funding Group completes ‘hugely exciting’ takeover of Automotive Compliance
Evolution Funding Group has completed a ‘hugely exciting’ deal to acquire Automotive Compliance in a move which will offer car dealers ‘new opportunities to grow and innovate’.
FCA ends consultation over car finance redress scheme as industry calls for ‘fairer’ approach
The FCA has officially wrapped up its consultation on a proposed redress scheme for customers impacted by the motor finance scandal.
JLR denies sacking design boss Gerry McGovern as rumours about departure continue to swirl
JLR has denied ‘speculative’ reports that design chief Gerry McGovern has been sacked from his role after more than two decades with the carmaker.
Weather
Cloud and rain affect the south-east today, while the north-west of Scotland stays windy with showers, reports BBC Weather. Elsewhere is largely dry with variable cloud and hazy sunshine.
Tonight, rain reaches the north-west later with strengthening winds, the south-east clears after early rain, and most areas turn cold, dry and clear with patchy fog.
