6:32 am, June 17, 2026
UK inflation set to bounce back to 3%
UK inflation is set to have increased again last month over more expensive airfares and car duty.
Economists have predicted that the rate of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose to 3% in May, from 2.8% in April. It would mean that price increases for goods and services accelerated compared with the previous month.
Inflation had slowed to its lowest level for more than a year in April because of a decline in household energy prices for the month.
£10bn Thames Water rescue bid poses ‘unfair costs to customers’ – minister
A £10bn rescue bid for Thames Water poses an ‘unfair cost to consumers’, environment secretary Emma Reynolds has warned.
Reynolds told the Commons she had written to regulator Ofwat to say that she did not believe the plan to relieve the stricken utility goes far enough to protect customers or the environment.
She warned the deal, which Thames Water hopes to secure to stave off temporary nationalisation after being left close to collapse by nearly £20bn of debt, posed unfair costs to customers, and delays to vital infrastructure investments and environmental improvements.
Audi’s A6 Allroad returns with more rugged focus
Audi has revived its A6 Allroad for a new generation, introducing an even more rugged approach to its go-anywhere estate car.
It stands 11cm wider than the regular A6 Avant and has a 34mm boost in ground clearance, too, with larger tyres there to improve traction. There’s additional underbody protection at the front and rear to help deflect impacts, while the sideskirts incorporate ‘allroad’ badging – a touch which has been found on all previous generations of this car.
The A6 Allroad will also be available with a choice of engines, including a 3.0-litre V6 diesel and a plug-in ‘e-hybrid’, with the latter able to deliver up to 59 miles of electric-only power. Pricing will be revealed shortly.
The markets
The FTSE 100 made strong progress on Tuesday as oil fell further amid growing confidence in the US-Iran peace process.
The FTSE 100 closed up 63.59 points, 0.6%, at 10,494.21. The FTSE 250 ended down 36.04 points, 0.2%, at 23,326.58, while the Aim All-Share fell 1.36 points, 0.2%, to 803.93.
The pound traded at 1.3422 dollars on Tuesday afternoon, down from 1.3436 dollars on Monday. Against the euro, sterling ebbed to 1.1567 euro from 1.1580 euro on Monday.
Starmer unveils £1bn French and Indian investments at G7
French and Indian companies will pour £1.3bn into clean energy and AI projects in the UK, Sir Keir Starmer has said at the G7 summit.
The investment will bring more than 1,400 jobs to Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.
It includes £1bn from French private equity firm InfraVia for battery storage and a flexible energy platform. Another £25m will come from India’s Hexaware Technologies and £300m from Atri Energy Transition to develop large-scale battery storage.
Streeting prepared to trigger leadership contest as early as next week
Wes Streeting indicated he is prepared to trigger a Labour leadership contest as early as next week as he urged Sir Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure if Andy Burnham wins this week’s Makerfield by-election.
The former health secretary insisted he has the backing of the 80 MPs required to stand in a contest as he accused Sir Keir of not listening to the party or his Cabinet in a series of public appearances on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said he would prove his rivals wrong and ‘carry on with what I was elected to do’ and ‘bring back the change that people desperately need’ as he fights for his political future.
Tuesday on Car Dealer
Vertu backs reported ZEV Mandate rethink as industry splits over EV targets
The car industry has reacted strongly to reports that the government is considering a major reduction in ZEV Mandate targets.
Ford taps into market for genuine used car parts and launches new online store
Ford has launched a new online store for genuine used car parts.
Ben calls on car industry to come together during Loneliness Awareness Week
Ben is calling on the automotive industry to ‘come together’ and ‘look out for one another’ during Loneliness Awareness Week.
Weather
Today will start cloudy with patchy rain in many areas, reports BBC Weather. Conditions will improve through the afternoon, becoming mostly dry with sunny intervals, although Scotland will remain cloudier with showers.
Tonight stays largely cloudy across the UK, with showers in north-west Scotland and rain reaching Northern Ireland later, while southern and eastern areas enjoy some clearer spells.
