6:20 am, February 24, 2026
US tariffs are ‘here to stay’, warns Bank of England rate-setter
US tariffs are “here to stay” and could lead to shockwaves across the economy for ‘many years’, a Bank of England policymaker has warned.
Alan Taylor, one of the central bank’s nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), nevertheless indicated that it would take time for the impact of recent changes to tariff plans to feed through.
On Friday, a US Supreme Court ruling struck down large parts of president Donald Trump’s major tariff programme launched last year. The president responded by saying he would be increasing the global tariff rate to 15%, ‘effective immediately’, hitting back at the Supreme Court’s ruling as an ‘extraordinarily anti-American decision’.
Violence and abuse against retailers falls by a fifth, but ‘unacceptably high’
Violence and abuse against retail workers fell by a fifth last year – but remained at its second highest level on record, figures show.
Incidents involving physical violence against retail staff remained largely unchanged from the previous year, at 118 per day, and there were on average 36 incidents per day involving a weapon, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Crime Report.
The BRC hailed ‘hard-won’ progress that resulted in the overall number of incidents falling from 2,000 a day to 1,600, but said levels remained ‘unacceptably high’ – and far beyond the 455 incidents a day registered before the pandemic.
Lexus UX model range gets refresh with new trim levels
The Lexus UX crossover has received a flurry of updates to its model range, including new trim levels and more standard equipment.
Premium, F Sport Design, F Sport Design Tech, F Sport, and Takumi now forms the range, with prices for the Premium starting at £38,095. It features features wireless smartphone charging, blind spot monitoring, LED headlights and keyless entry with push button start.
Top-of-the-line Takumi cars start at £49,495 and add a 13-speaker Mark Levinson premium audio system, a head-up display and heated and ventilated front seats.
The markets
The FTSE 100 closed slightly lower on Monday as strength in mining stocks was offset by concerns about US trade policy.
The FTSE 100 index closed down just 2.15 points at 10,684.74. The FTSE 250 ended down 204.91 points, 0.9%, at 23,546.65, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.15 points, 0.1%, at 816.26.
The pound climbed to 1.3505 dollars on Monday afternoon from 1.3492 dollars at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood higher at 1.1801 dollars from 1.1780 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at 154.33 yen compared to 154.95 yen.
Lord Mandelson released on bail pending further investigation
Lord Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Metropolitan Police said.
The former Labour minister has been accused of passing sensitive information onto paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his time as business secretary.
In a statement issued just after 2am on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation.’
Andrew used taxpayers’ money for massages and travel, ex-civil servants claim
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor used taxpayers’ money for massages and excessive travel costs during his time as the UK’s trade envoy, retired civil servants have claimed.
The BBC reported that one ex-civil servant refused to pay to cover the costs of a massage for Andrew, but was overruled by senior staff, telling the broadcaster: ‘I thought it was wrong… I’d said we mustn’t pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway.’
A former Whitehall official, who oversaw finances, separately told the BBC they had ‘absolutely no doubt’ about the authenticity of the claim after having seen similar expenses for his overseas trips. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing over his links to the convicted sex offender, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.
Monday on Car Dealer
Rivian: Can this American Tesla rival crack the UK? Watch our exclusive video
You might be thinking the last thing the UK needs right now is another electric car brand – but one US-based giant hopes you’re wrong.
Meet the brands set to shake up car dealerships in 2026
If you’re looking for inspiration for your dealership in 2026, more brands have signed up to compliment our packed agenda at Car Dealer Live.
CarGurus remains ‘fully operational’ despite falling victim to ‘cybersecurity incident’
CarGurus says its platforms remain ‘fully operational’ after the firm fell victim to a ‘cybersecurity incident’.
Weather
Central, southern and eastern England will be dry, mild and bright with sunny spells, while other areas stay cloudier, with rain affecting western Scotland and Northern Ireland, reports BBC Weather. It will be breezy overall.
Tonight brings clear spells and patchy mist or fog in the south and east, with cloud and rain lingering in the west.
