10:06 pm, April 17, 2023
Two arrests after Just Stop Oil protest disrupts World Snooker Championship
Two people have been arrested after Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the evening session of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
A man wearing a ‘Just Stop Oil’ T-shirt interrupted the match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry at the Crucible Theatre by jumping onto one of the tables and tipping out orange powder.
A woman was prevented from executing a similar stunt on the other table by the referee Olivier Marteel.
Sunak under investigation by standards watchdog over interest declaration
Rishi Sunak is under investigation after facing allegations of a possible failure to declare the shares his wife holds in a childcare agency that was boosted by the Budget.
Parliament’s standards watchdog opened the inquiry into the Prime Minister under rules demanding MPs are ‘open and frank’ when declaring their interests.
The investigation relates to the shares Akshata Murty holds in Koru Kids, a Downing Street source told the PA news agency on Monday.
Nearly 200,000 hospital appointments rescheduled due to junior doctor strike
Nearly 200,000 hospital appointments and procedures in England had to be rescheduled due to a strike by junior doctors.
Tens of thousands of junior doctors staged a 96-hour strike in a dispute over pay between April 11 and 15.
NHS England data showed 20,470 inpatient procedures had to be rescheduled, along with 175,755 outpatient appointments, making a total of 196,225.
MG’s new electric sports car is coming to the UK in 2024
MG is returning to the sports car market with the Cyberster – an electric drop-top due on sale in the UK in 2024.
MG has a fantastic history when it comes to sports cars, with the former British brand producing the excellent MG Midget and MGB. The last MG sports car sold was the TF, which was stopped in 2011.
While MG was revived from the ashes by Chinese automotive brand SAIC, so far its focus has been on sensibly-priced hatchbacks and SUVs.
Monday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Dealers complain new VW, Audi and Porsche cars stuck in huge German port backlog
- Burrows Motor Company’s pre-tax profit drops by 15 per cent to just above £3m despite revenue upswing
- Carwow study finds more than a quarter of buyers would consider Chinese vehicle but concerns remain over familiarity
- Car sales expected to accelerate as three-fifths of motorists say they plan to buy or lease during next year
- Pye Motors agrees deal to buy family-run dealership that closed down after almost 60 years of trading
- Motorpoint prep centre manager prepares for epic cycle ride in aid of hospice
- Motorvogue’s holding company J.A.P.S saw profits double last year as bosses pay tribute to staff’s ‘amazing efforts’
Leaked Network Rail presentation warns train delays set to worsen
A leaked internal Network Rail presentation has revealed train delays will worsen over the next five years due to rising costs and funding, which the Shadow Transport Secretary called a ‘dismal Conservative failure’.
The presentation was seen by The Independent and reportedly said the current funding would not let Network Rail ‘operate, maintain and renew’ their tracks, bridges and earthworks infrastructure.
The ‘official-sensitive-commercial’ presentation was intended for rail industry bosses.
FTSE quiet ahead of US results season
There was little excitement on London’s top index on Monday as shares remained largely unchanged on the day.
By the end of the day London’s FTSE 100 index had risen by just 7.6 points, a 0.1 per cent increase which saw it close at 7,879.51.
It fared better than its international peers though. The Dax in Germany fell by 0.1 per cent while France’s Cac 40 dropped 0.3 per cent.
Mini produces one-millionth current-generation 3-door Hatch at Oxford factory
Mini has announced it has produced the one-millionth example of its iconic 3-door hatch of the current generation.
Manufactured at ‘Plant Oxford’ in Cowley, the facility employs around 3,500 people and makes up to 1,000 vehicles per day. Since 2001, nearly all of Mini’s 3-door Hatch models have been manufactured in Oxford, though the model was also briefly manufactured in Born, The Netherlands.
Today, the factory makes the soon-to-be-axed Clubman and the current-generation Mini 3-door Hatch, which has been around in its current generation since 2013, and of which the millionth example has been produced.
Government considers proposals to make renewables greener and more innovative
The Government is considering new proposals which it hopes would speed up the roll-out of renewable energy, cutting emissions and increasing energy security, but which may also add to household bills.
If adopted, officials might consider whether a project will help create more sustainable supply chains, innovate, or encourage job creation on top of considering the cost of delivering electricity from the wind or solar farm or tidal energy project.
At the moment renewable energy projects are awarded so-called contracts for difference (CfD) based purely on who can build at the lowest price.
Weather outlook…
Today, low cloud and mist will soon clear, leaving a dry and sunny day. Some patchy clouds will move into southern England later on. Mild, but a little chillier along the eastern coasts, the BBC reports.
Tonight, much of the UK will be largely clear and it will turn a little chilly. A few areas of cloud in southern areas and some mist and fog may develop as well. The odd shower in the far south-west.
Tomorrow will see mist and fog lift to leave plenty of sunshine for much of the UK. A few areas of cloud lingering in Wales and the south-west. Breezy and mild, but chillier along eastern coasts.
