6:55 am, June 27, 2023
PM prepared to make decisions ‘people may not like’ on public sector pay awards
The Prime Minister has warned he will not shy away from making decisions ‘people may not like’ to control inflation as he again refused to commit to accepting recommendations for public sector pay rises.
Ministers have suggested they could choose to ignore advice by independent review bodies to hike public sector pay as part of UK Government attempts to calm the rate of rising prices — an option the Prime Minister has refused to take off the table.
Rishi Sunak has set halving inflation by the end of the year as his top priority ahead of a likely general election in 2024.
56% of mortgage holders ‘say cost-of-living squeeze to make payments a struggle’
One in 10 (10 per cent) mortgage holders feel they will not be able to afford their home loan if the cost of living continues to rise, a survey has found.
Two-fifths (41 per cent) expect to make cuts elsewhere to be able to pay their mortgage, with some saying they would need to borrow money from family or friends.
More than half (56 per cent) said the cost-of-living crisis will make it more of a struggle to pay their mortgage, according to research by insights agency Opinium.
BMW confirms new M5 Touring
BMW will bring back the M5 in Touring estate car guise in 2024, the German firm has confirmed.
Set to arrive in 2024, it will be the first time the M5 has been offered in wagon form in three generations and 14 years. The last M5 Touring, fitted with a legendary V10 engine, was sold between 2007 and 2010, with only 1,099 versions sold worldwide.
BMW will be hoping this new M5 Touring will sell in greater numbers, and will be one of the first ‘M’ cars to use an electrified powertrain, with a 4.4-litre V8 petrol-electric plug-in hybrid setup expected.
Matt Hancock to appear before Covid inquiry
Matt Hancock will become the latest high-profile politician to appear before the Covid-19 Inquiry, as hearings continue into Government preparedness for the pandemic.
The former health secretary, who became one of the best-known politicians in the country as he helped steer the coronavirus response before being forced to quit in June 2021, will give evidence to Lady Hallett’s inquiry on Tuesday morning.
His attendance at the inquiry comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, another former health secretary, admitted that a ‘groupthink’ helped lead to a ‘narrowness of thinking’ that failed to expand pandemic preparedness beyond planning for a flu outbreak.
Tory MP Virginia Crosbie apologises for attending ‘birthday drinks’ during Covid
A Conservative MP has apologised for attending an event in Parliament while Covid restrictions were still in place.
The Guido Fawkes website reported that Virginia Crosbie, MP for Ynys Mon, was the co-host of an alleged drinks event on December 8 2020, with the site quoting a WhatsApp message from Baroness Jenkin describing the event as ‘joint birthday drinks’ to mark the pair turning 54 and 65 respectively.
The event came under the spotlight when Boris Johnson lashed out at the Privileges Committee ahead of its damning report into his conduct, and accused Sir Bernard Jenkin of ‘monstrous hypocrisy’ for allegedly attending the event with his wife.
Monday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Family-run car dealership loses Peugeot franchise after 54 years due to Stellantis ‘restructuring’
- Serial fraudster is jailed after car garage became one of his victims in Land Rover deceit
- Drivalia franchise – Have you got what it takes?
- Burglar jailed after stealing machinery, keys and an Audi TT from family-run garage
- Aston Martin strikes deal with Lucid to make ultra-luxury high-performance EVs
- Britishvolt future plunged into fresh doubt as owner’s offices are raided as part of tax investigation
FTSE 100 dips but European traders largely shake off Russia impact
European stocks were largely steady on Monday as the financial markets shrugged off the latest political instability in Russia.
The FTSE 100 was weaker as UK banks finished slightly down amid concerns over the borrowing market after last week’s shock interest rate hike.
London’s top index moved 0.11 per cent, or 8.29 points, lower to finish at 7,453.58. Meanwhile, Germany’s Dax index fell by 0.13 per cent while the Cac 40 closed up 0.29 per cent.
Wagner mutiny was ‘unprecedented’ threat to Putin’s authority, Cleverly says
The Wagner mutiny in Russia was an ‘unprecedented’ attack on Vladimir Putin’s authority that exposed “cracks” in domestic support for the war in Ukraine, the Foreign Secretary has said.
James Cleverly said the ‘mask slipped’ when warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin ‘drove a coach and horses’ through the Russian president’s case for the invasion during their bitter row.
The feud between Mr Prigozhin and the Kremlin’s military top brass culminated with him sending his mercenaries on a march towards Moscow over the weekend.
Fiat stops producing grey cars as it wants customers to be more colourful
Fiat has taken the unusual step of stopping production of grey-coloured cars as it wants to make customers choose more colourful shades.
Grey has been the UK’s most popular new car colour for five consecutive years and accounted for 25.7 per cent of all new cars sold last year, followed by black (20.1 per cent) and white (16.7 per cent).
But Fiat is keen to change that as it wants to be more ‘distinctive’. It says Italy is known as ‘the land of colours’, and it wants Fiat to be recognised as the ‘brand of colours’ as a result.
Read the full story here.
What do a grey Fiat, our CEO and a huge can of orange paint have in common? Apparently… a lot!
In Lerici, a small town in Liguria, Our CEO Olivier François decided to confirm once again that Fiat is the brand of colours: we present to you Operation No Grey! pic.twitter.com/MNb0WbtHS2— Fiat (@fiat) June 26, 2023
Nicola Bulley drowned after entering cold river water, inquest told
Mother-of-two Nicola Bulley drowned after entering cold river water – and there is no evidence anyone else was involved in her death, her inquest has heard.
Two witnesses said they heard a scream coming from the area of the River Wyre where the 45-year-old was last seen on the day she disappeared, Preston Coroner’s Court heard.
Drowning experts told the hearing entering into cold water can cause a victim to gasp and inhale water and drown within seconds.
Weather outlook…
Today will see any early sunshine in the east replaced by cloudy skies for all. Rain will continue to sweep in across northern and western areas, reaching eastern parts later in the day, the BBC reports.
Tonight, rain will clear east leaving drier conditions and variable cloud. A few spells of rain lingering in southern Scotland and northern England. Showers arriving for Northern Ireland by dawn.
Tomorrow, after some early brightness, it will turn cloudy from the west as another band of showery rain pushes east for most. Behind this, sunny spells and scattered showers in the north-west.
