6:42 am, July 23, 2023
Labour should ‘stick to their guns’ on Ulez, urges Chris Packham
Labour should ‘stick to their guns’ on expanding a charge on the most-polluting vehicles in London, according to TV presenter Chris Packham.
The environmental campaigner told Times Radio a Labour government could consider taxing the profits of oil and gas giants to help pay for motorists to switch to cleaner vehicles as part of Labour mayor Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez).
The opposition party is embroiled in a debate about the Ulez extension after senior figures appeared to blame the mayor’s plans to extend it for Labour’s failure to win the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election on Thursday.
Jeremy Clarkson warns that some of his cider might explode
Jeremy Clarkson has issued a warning to consumers who have bought his cider, saying the drink could ‘explode’.
The 63-year-old presenter has garnered new fans through his popular show Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime, which documents the workings of his 1,000-acre operation in the Cotswolds.
In a Twitter post, Clarkson wrote: ‘There’s been a massive cock up and as a result, there’s a very slim chance some of our Hawkstone cider bottles might, there’s no easy way of saying this, explode. If the cap has the code L3160, open it underwater, pour it away and get in touch for a refund.’
Ocado to be paid £200m in deal to settle robot patent case
Ocado is to be paid £200m in a deal with Norwegian company AutoStore that accused it of breaching patents.
In a joint statement released yesterday, automated supermarket company the Ocado Group and AutoStore said they had settled their long-running dispute over six robot patents.
A High Court judge ruled in March that AutoStore’s ‘patents were invalid’ and that, regardless, Ocado did not infringe them.
Government introduces new medal to honour humanitarian efforts
The government has introduced a new medal to honour people who provide aid during major humanitarian crises, such as floods and earthquakes.
The Humanitarian Medal, which has been approved by King Charles, will be awarded to staff in public service organisations and charities who respond in support of human welfare at home and abroad, either during or in the immediate aftermath of a significant event.
Crises could range from natural and conflict-related disasters to significant industrial accidents and biological emergencies, such as an epidemic.
McDonald’s to investigate allegations Irish worker was taunted over rape
McDonald’s is to investigate allegations that an employee in Ireland was subjected to taunts at work after she was raped at a house party.
Ciara Mangan waived her right to anonymity and spoke publicly this week after a former co-worker was convicted of raping her 10 years ago.
She said was taunted at work with ‘rape songs’ and ‘rape comments’ after the attack. In a statement, the company’s UK and Ireland CEO Alistair Macrow said: ‘I commend Ciara’s bravery in speaking about her horrific experience. I am deeply appalled by these new allegations and commit to investigating them to our fullest extent through our investigation-handling unit.’
Fire causes travel chaos for holidaymakers on Rhodes
Holidays have been disrupted as a blaze sweeps across the Greek island of Rhodes, with some people forced to evacuate from resorts.
British tourists described ‘terrifying’ scenes of turmoil as the five-day fire continues to rage, with power cuts causing ‘chaos’ and an absence of information from travel agencies.
In previous days, the wildfire was confined to the island’s mountainous centre, but aided by winds, very high temperatures and dry conditions, it spread yesterday towards the coast on the island’s central-eastern side.
Gove to announce plans to make home extensions and loft conversions easier
Michael Gove is planning to slash red tape to pave the way for more home extensions and conversions of shops into houses in efforts to address the housing crisis.
As part of plans due to be unveiled tomorrow, the housing secretary said new rules will be drawn up to give greater freedom to carry out property extensions and to open up lofts.
Officials said the proposals will allow families to expand their home as their family grows but while still ensuring neighbours’ interests are protected.
SNP leader in Westminster writes to top mandarin over ‘tighter controls’ on Scottish government
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has written to the head of the civil service raising concerns that the UK government is ‘exerting ever tighter control on Scotland’s national democratic institutions’.
He insists that Westminster is seeking to ‘stop the Scottish government from carrying out the work it was elected to do’ with regards to a second independence referendum, and has written to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service.
It comes in the wake of comments from Case that civil servants in Scotland could be issued with new guidance on this within weeks.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Consumer Duty – What is it and should dealers be worried?
- Thirty jobs to be created as Marshall wins approval for replacement Volvo showroom in Nottingham
- Opinion: The industry needs to stand together and direct frustrations regarding EV adoption to those at the top
- Van-tastic! Electric Townstar proves a big hit for Nissan on tour
Weather outlook
Today will see cloudy skies and heavy spells of rain in northern and central England as well as north Wales, says BBC Weather. Southern Scotland and Northern Ireland will have patchier rain, while elsewhere will have sunshine and showers.
Monday will see rain moving south over central and southern England, clearing later but remaining cloudy. Elsewhere, there will be patchy cloud and light showers, heavier in the far north-west and with thicker cloud in places.
