6:45 am, August 8, 2023
Suella Braverman says task force will target ‘crooked immigration lawyers’
The government has announced a new ‘task force’ to identify unscrupulous lawyers after reports that false asylum claims are being submitted for a fee.
The Home Office said the unit would bring together regulatory bodies, law enforcement teams and other government departments to take action against advocates found to be deceiving the courts.
It comes after the Daily Mail reported that a number of solicitors agreed to help an undercover journalist posing as an economic migrant submit a false application in exchange for thousands of pounds.
Man charged with causing death of 12-year-old boy in M62 collision
A man has been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child after a 12-year-old died in a collision on the M62 on Saturday, West Yorkshire Police said.
Matthew Rycroft, 36, of Nowell View, Leeds, will appear before Leeds Magistrates’ Court charged with causing the death of Callum Rycroft and failing to provide a specimen, the force said.
Callum was struck by a Toyota C-HR between junctions 25 and 26 at around 9.50pm. Police believe that he had been walking on the motorway with a man after an earlier collision involving an Audi Q5 on the slip road to Hartshead Moor services.
Energy price cap ‘costing consumers money and driving inflation’
Ofgem’s energy price cap is preventing customers from accessing lower tariffs, contributing to inflation and should be abolished, according to a new report.
The cap has gone ‘far beyond’ its original purpose of providing protection for customers to become a ‘de facto regulated market price’, centre-right think tank the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) said.
For almost two years almost all tariffs have been priced at or just below the capped level, with no evidence this will change in the near future – meaning the government is effectively setting the market price for energy and eliminating any chance of customers switching to a better deal, CPS energy and environment researcher Dillon Smith said.
Andrew Malkinson: £1m compensation ‘not enough’ after miscarriage of justice
A man who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit has said £m is ‘not enough’ to compensate him for his ordeal.
Andrew Malkinson criticised the maximum amount of compensation payable under the miscarriage of justice compensation scheme – £1m for more than 10 years’ imprisonment – the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
Appeal judges quashed the 57-year-old’s conviction on July 26 after DNA linking another man to the crime was produced. He told the newspaper: ‘It’s pretty lamentable. £1m sounds like a lot of money, but that represents nearly two decades of living hell and lost opportunities and lost love and everything else that makes life precious.’
Russian missile strikes hit eastern Ukraine, killing five and injuring 31
Two Russian missile strikes hit the city centre of the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region on Monday, killing five people and wounding at least 31, Ukrainian officials have said.
The strikes, which targeted the Ukrainian portion of a region partially occupied by Russia, occurred within 40 minutes of each other, according to Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
The attack damaged nine- and five-story buildings, residential houses, a hotel where foreign journalists used to stay, dining establishments, shops and administrative buildings, he said. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said one of the strikes, which targeted the Ukrainian portion of a region partially occupied by Russia, killed four civilians, and the other killed the deputy head of the regional branch of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
July washout helps drive down retail sales
Retail sales slowed in July as the washout weather gave consumers no reason to restock their summer wardrobes, figures show.
Total UK retail sales increased by just 1.5 per cent – even taking into account high inflation – over the four weeks to July 29, a marked downturn from the previous July’s 2.3 per cent growth and below the three-month average of 3.5 per cent, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)- KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
Food and drink, and items for the home were the best sellers on the high street, while the wet weather meant no need to shop for summer clothes, with all categories of clothing falling into negative sales territory in what is usually a busy month for fashion retailers.
Police reviewing ‘all available evidence’ on cause of fire at historic pub
Police have said they are ‘reviewing all of the available evidence’ on the cause of a fire that gutted a historic pub.
The Crooked House in Himley, West Midlands, was extensively damaged by the blaze on Saturday evening. The fire, which required 30 firefighters to extinguish, came just two weeks after the building was sold by brewer Marston’s to a private buyer.
On Monday, Staffordshire Police said that investigations into the cause of the fire at the 18th-century pub were ongoing, with a cordon still in place around the site.
Monday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Car finance lending trio may have to pay out nearly £1bn after class action claiming overcharging is launched
- Holdcroft saw turnover soar by nearly £200m in 2022 but used car shortage took toll on profits
- ‘The emperor’s got no clothes’: Hear industry expert’s damning indictment of Cazoo on latest episode of Car Dealer Podcast
- GWM Ora adds Holdcroft and Citygate to fast-growing UK dealer network
- JCT600 buys warehouse site in York to use as vehicle preparation centre
- Cox Automotive forecasts ‘steady’ improvement for UK’s used car market
- Macklin Motors offers huge 50% discount on cars as it drums up awareness of upcoming Toyota dealership
Mercedes-Benz chooses Ohme as its new official smart charger partner
Mercedes dealers will now be offering Ohme home chargers to EV customers.
Showrooms will display the firm’s Home Pro Charger, which connects to the national grid in real time and automatically adjusts its charging for drivers to take advantage of all the times of low price charging with smart off-peak tariffs.
The Ohme partnership with Mercedes-Benz follows similar deals with the Volkswagen Group and Motability.
Volkswagen gives glimpse of upcoming hybrid California
Volkswagen’s new California will be offered with a plug-in hybrid setup and an even more practical layout than the current version.
Hinted via new concept sketches, the upcoming California replacement will be based on the current-generation Multivan. But key to the new model’s changes is the introduction of a plug-in hybrid engine setup which Volkswagen says will deliver ‘even more flexibility and a remarkable level of comfort on the road’.
Volkswagen has said that the new California – which is expected to debut at the upcoming Caravan Salon trade fair in Dusseldorf – will feature a new tablet-style screen that’ll give access to all of the van’s various settings and functions. Twin sliding doors are likely to feature too – something the current California doesn’t offer.
Weather
Wales and central and southern England will be cloudy with patchy rain, reports BBC Weather, although clearing later on. It’ll be dry with sunny spells in other areas; a slightly chilly 16 to 20 degrees expected today.
A dry night for most with the small chance of the odd spot of rain for Wales and south-west England.
