6:32 am, February 6, 2026
Bank of England holds interest rates but future cuts ‘likely’
The Bank of England has said future interest rate cuts are ‘likely’ amid a slowdown in inflation, despite policymakers voting to hold rates at 3.75% on Thursday.
It came as the central bank also warned that economic growth is now set to be weaker than previously expected while unemployment is on track to jump higher.
A five-to-four majority of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to keep rates unchanged at 3.75%, two months after they were cut from 4% in its previous meeting. In their report alongside the decision, Bank rate-setters said it is currently ‘likely’ that interest rates will be cut further.
Financial ombudsman sees steadier complaint levels after ‘extraordinary demand’
Complaints to the financial ombudsman have reduced in recent months, following a period of ‘extraordinary demand’, according to the service.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said it received 47,300 complaints between October and December 2025. In the previous quarter, it received 46,300 complaints. A big factor has been the he Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) complaint handling pause and announced plans for a redress scheme for motor finance commission cases.
The ombudsman received around 400 motor finance commission complaints between October and December 2025, compared with 14,400 in the same period a year earlier.
Who are The Grand Tour’s new presenters?
The Grand Tour, once presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, went off air two years ago and is now making a comeback with a fresh trio of presenters.
Francis Bourgeois, James Engelsman and Thomas Holland will be the new faces of the popular motoring show when it returns to our screens later this year.
Amazon has not revealed any details on the trio’s adventures for the new series, but Bourgeois, Engelsman and Holland have been spotted crossing the Angolan desert in track cars, exploring Malaysia’s car culture, and in California, testing a selection of performance cars.
Francis Bourgeois
Francis Bourgeois will be at the forefront of the show, with the 24-year-old rising to fame in 2021 for his ‘trainspotting’ reaction videos on TikTok, featuring him wearing a head-mounted GoPro to capture the footage.
James Engelsman
James Engelsman is best known for co-presenting the popular car YouTube channel, Throttle House.
The Canadian-based channel has racked up more than 3.3m subscribers and produces in-depth car reviews and track tests.
Thomas Holland
Thomas Holland is a Canadian motoring journalist who was the founder of the car YouTube channel, Throttle House, and co-presents alongside James Engelsman.
Holland has also written for Canadian motoring magazines such as ‘DoubleClutch’ and has been a regular presenter on Throttle House since he founded the company in 2015.
The markets
Stocks in London slumped on Thursday, tracking US and European counterparts, as investors weighed rate calls in Europe and the UK and as merger talks between Glencore and Rio Tinto collapsed once more.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 93.12 points, 0.9%, at 10,309.22. The FTSE 250 ended down 229.80 points, 1.0%, at 23,103.35, and the AIM All-Share fell 11.45 points, 1.4%, at 802.90.
The pound was quoted lower at 1.3536 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, compared with 1.3656 dollars on Wednesday. The euro stood slightly lower at 1.1791 dollars, against 1.1798 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 156.96 yen compared with 156.69 yen.
Wait for Mandelson papers set to drag on as PM apologises for believing peer
The wait for the publication of Peter Mandelson’s vetting papers is set to drag on after Parliament’s intelligence watchdog said it could not provide a timetable for releasing the documents.
The Intelligence and Security Committee has been tasked with reviewing whether some of the papers should be withheld for national security reasons. But in a letter to Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday, the committee said it could not commit to a publication date ‘until we know the size of the task at hand’.
Earlier on Thursday, the prime minister said he wanted to publish the documents ‘as quickly as possible’ but had been advised by the police that releasing certain information could prejudice an investigation into Lord Mandelson.
Trump says Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal was ‘the best he could make’
Donald Trump has suggested Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal was the ‘best he could make’ in an apparent signal of support after attacking the agreement last month.
The US president, who weeks ago branded the deal an ‘act of great stupidity’, said he had ‘very productive discussions’ with the prime minister about Diego Garcia, where a UK-US military base is located.
Under the deal, which will cost £35bn over the next century, the UK will cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius but lease back the facility on the island.
Thursday on Car Dealer
Amazon Autos UK launch ‘lined up for 2026’ as web giant to go head to head with Autotrader
Amazon Autos – a rival to Autotrader – is set to launch in the UK by the end of 2026, sources have told Car Dealer.
American car dealers want to block Chinese manufacturers from gaining a foothold in the US
American car dealers are seeking to block Chinese manufacturers from entering the market with cheap vehicles.
Audis led the way in strong January as used car prices and consumer demand jumped
Used Audis saw a chunky rise in retail values in January as the market rebounded after a weak end to 2025.
January new car registrations soared by 3.4%, but EV uptake sparks alarm
New car registrations jumped by 3.4% in January, but alarm bells have been rung over EV uptake.
FCA fires warning shot to claims management firms as car finance scandal rumbles on
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fired a warning to law firms who are representing clients involved in motor finance commission claims.
Weather
A mostly cloudy day with rain spreading north and east, turning to snow over the Pennines and Grampians, reports BBC Weather.
Blustery showers develop later, locally thundery in the south-west. Tonight brings a brief clear slot in the south before cloud and rain return, with hill snow further north.
