6:53 am, January 24, 2023
Zahawi under severe pressure after Sunak orders investigation into tax affairs
Rishi Sunak has ordered a potentially far-reaching investigation into Nadhim Zahawi as he defied calls to sack the Tory party chairman over the multimillion-pound tax dispute he resolved by paying a penalty.
The Prime Minister retained confidence in the former chancellor on Monday even as Downing Street indicated Mr Sunak did not know about the penalty when he defended Mr Zahawi in the Commons.
Mr Sunak said he was not leader at the time of the allegations and insisted the advice he received when he gave Mr Zahawi a senior role was that there was ‘no reason’ not to appoint him.
Households to be paid to cut power use two days in a row as margins remain tight
Households will be paid to reduce their electricity use for two days in a row as coal plants were again set on standby in case electricity supplies fell too low.
The grid operator said it would call the second ever live run of a scheme which pays businesses and households to turn off some appliances for an hour or two.
The Tuesday session of the Demand Flexibility Service will come just 24 hours after the first live run took place between 5pm and 6pm on Monday.
Nissan’s Qashqai named UK’s most reliable car – survey
The Nissan Qashqai has been given the title of the UK’s most reliable car following a recent survey.
The Sunderland-built Qashqai was crowned the winner as part of the Which? annual reliability survey, which spoke to 50,000 consumers. It received a five-star reliability rating, with testers impressed by its practicality, dependability and family-friendly appeal.
Only available with hybrid powertrains, the Qashqai is also fitted with Nissan’s latest e-Power system, which offers a more EV-like driving experience but with the added security of a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
London stocks move higher again after tech and retail gains
Tech and consumer retail stocks led the way as London stocks picked up where they left off on Friday with modest gains.
The FTSE 100 finished the day up 14.08 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 7,784.67.
The German Dax improved 0.46 per cent by the end of the session, and the French Cac finished 0.52 per cent higher
Monday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Jardine Motors poised to be bought by US group Lithia in £300m deal
- All Cazoo staff will get redundancy payouts if they lose their jobs, confirms online used car dealer
- Used Tesla prices fell £1,400 OVERNIGHT after new price drop, says Auto Trader
- Volvo dealers in UK could switch to agency sales from May – report
- Hackers demand millions in ransom from Arnold Clark or else face massive upload of customer information to dark web
- Car salesman could lose job after magistrates ban him for drink-driving
- Used car market off to strong start in January as prices rise on last month
Elon Musk gives evidence on second day of Tesla tweet trial
Elon Musk has returned to federal court in San Francisco, saying he believed he had locked up financial backing to take Tesla private during 2018 meetings with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – although no specific funding amount or price was discussed.
The billionaire Tesla chief executive and Twitter owner is facing a class action lawsuit filed by Tesla investors alleging he misled them with a tweet saying funding was secured to take his electric car company private – for 420 dollars per share.
The tweet resulted in a $40m (£32m) settlement with securities regulators after the deal never came close to happening.
Ghislaine Maxwell: ‘I wish I had never met Jeffrey Epstein’
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell wishes she ‘never met’ disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The 61-year-old was sentenced to 20 years in a US prison last year after being found guilty of luring young girls to massage rooms so Epstein could molest them between 1994 and 2004.
In an interview for TalkTV’s Jeremy Kyle Live: Ghislaine Behind Bars, which aired on Monday evening, Maxwell also said she believes Epstein was murdered.
Whitehall watchdog to investigate appointment of BBC chairman amid Johnson claim
The public appointments watchdog is to investigate the selection of BBC chairman Richard Sharp amid concerns over his role in helping Boris Johnson secure a loan.
William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments, said he is to review the way competition for the post was run to ensure it was in compliance with Whitehall rules.
Earlier Mr Sharp announced that he was referring his appointment to the nominations committee of the BBC board following claims of a possible conflict of interest.
Weather outlook…
Today, the north-west will be largely cloudy with light rain and drizzle in places. The south and east will generally be drier and brighter, but chillier in the far south-east with cloud lingering, the BBC reports.
Tonight, a band of rain will move south-eastwards across Northern Ireland and Scotland. England and Wales will remain mostly dry with clear spells and variable amounts of cloud.
Tomorrow, it will be mostly cloudy in England and Wales as the band of patchy rain gradually moves south-eastwards. The north will have bright spells, and northern Scotland will see scattered showers.
Car Dealer Live – the future of the car dealer – exclusive conference features talks from leading car dealers, Google and Auto Trader among much more. Find out the full event details and book tickets.
