6:55 am, June 1, 2022
Ethics adviser raises questions over Boris Johnson’s Ministerial Code compliance
Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser has suggested the Prime Minister’s partygate fine may have breached the Ministerial Code.
Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on the Ministerial Code, said a ‘legitimate question’ had arisen as to whether the case of the fixed penalty notice (FPN) might have constituted a breach of the ‘overarching duty within the Ministerial Code of complying with the law’.
The Prime Minister was issued with an FPN over a birthday party thrown in his honour in the Cabinet Room in June 2020 at a time when indoor socialising was banned.
Labour’s Starmer and Rayner receive police questionnaires in ‘beergate’ probe
Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary as the force investigates a gathering held in party offices during lockdown.
Both the Labour leader and his deputy have said they will stand down if fined by police.
Sir Keir was caught on camera drinking a beer in an MP’s office after a day of campaigning for the local elections in Durham in April 2021.
‘Beautiful and brilliant’ Bradford named UK City of Culture 2025
Bradford has been hailed for its rich history and diverse community as it was named the UK City of Culture 2025.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the win, announced live on television by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries on Tuesday, builds on the ‘dynamism of the city’.
Bradford beat fellow finalists County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough.
Buoyant Unilever helps save FTSE from global falls
The FTSE 100 was bookended by two companies posting unusually big movements in opposite directions as it managed to eke out its fifth straight session in the green.
The index managed modest growth as the heft of Unilever, its best performer on Tuesday, managed to outweigh a plunge by retailer B&M.
By the end of the day the FTSE was up 7.6 points, or 0.1 per cent, hitting 7,607.66. Elsewhere the German Dax index dropped 1.3 per cent while Paris’s Cac 40 was 1.4 per cent lower.
Average cost of petrol up nearly 3p per litre in a week
Petrol prices rose by nearly 3p per litre over the past week, figures show.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts was a record 170.4p on Monday.
That was up from 167.6p a week earlier.
Tuesday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Car ownership sees first annual consecutive drop in more than a century
- Cazoo takes up basketball in Germany as it becomes Alba Berlin’s new main partner and jersey sponsor
- Bristol Street Motors sales executive raises £2,500 for charity with trek through the Himalayas
- Fiat to go fully electrified this summer after announcing plan to scrap all petrol and diesel models
- Isuzu celebrates nearly 50,000 sales of D-Max in UK over 10 years
Credit card borrowing grows at fastest annual rate since 2005
Households’ credit card borrowing grew at the fastest annual rate since 2005 in April, according to Bank of England figures – just as a string of price rises started to hit.
The annual growth rate for all consumer credit, which includes borrowing on credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans and car finance, increased to 5.7 per cent in April from 5.2 per cent in March. This was the highest rate since February 2020.
Within the total, the annual growth rate of credit card borrowing was 11.6 per cent – marking the highest rate since November 2005 – the Money and Credit report said.
Andrew ‘seeking to make amends’ as Archbishop urges nation to be more forgiving
The Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested the disgraced Duke of York is “seeking to make amends” as he urged the nation to be more forgiving.
Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, and paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case to a woman he claimed never to have met.
He was cast out of the working monarchy and no longer uses his HRH style after Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. The duke denied the claims.
James Bond star Sir Sean Connery’s Aston Martin DB5 is up for sale
Sir Sean Connery’s Aston Martin DB5 is expected to fetch up to £1.4 million at auction.
The family of the James Bond actor, who died in October 2020 aged 90, is selling the 1964 classic car to raise money for a philanthropy fund set up in his name.
The DB5, synonymous with the Bond franchise, has been listed as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ as it is the only car personally owned by Sir Sean.
Broad Arrow Auctions is thrilled to announce the consignment of the personal Aston Martin DB5 of legendary actor and icon, Sir Sean Connery, for the upcoming auction to be held at the Monterey Jet Center this 18 August. Visit https://t.co/q4wNFEgqwC for more information. pic.twitter.com/DNkuwOElZA
— Broad Arrow Group (@BroadArrowGroup) May 19, 2022
Sunny spells for most
Today most will see a mix of sunny spells, patchy cloud and scattered showers, these thundery at times in the east. Further south will be cloudier with rain clearing eastwards, turning brighter later, the BBC reports.
This evening will see showers clear, with plenty of late sunshine for all. Overnight will then be dry, clear and calm for all, with the odd patch of mist and fog forming under clear skies.
Tomorrow, Northern Ireland will see cloud build in, followed by spells of rain. Elsewhere, a drier day with sunny spells and just the odd shower around, mostly in the north. A warmer day.
