6:45 am, June 6, 2023
Covid inquiry chairwoman expected to address ministers’ High Court challenge
The chairwoman of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry is expected to respond for the first time to a High Court challenge of her request for Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages.
Baroness Heather Hallett is due to hold a preliminary inquiry hearing on Tuesday in which she is set to address ministers’ decision to bring forward a judicial review.
The retired senior judge’s deadline for the UK government to hand over the former prime minister’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks in an unredacted format was missed by the Cabinet Office last week, with ministers instead announcing plans to challenge the request in the courts.
Children’s doctors call for ban on disposable vapes
Paediatricians have warned that ‘youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children’ as they called on the government to ban disposable vapes.
In response to the government consultation on e-cigarettes, which closes on Tuesday, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) warned that e-cigarettes ‘are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so than traditional cigarette’.
It is calling for urgent action to protect youngsters, saying experts agree that longer-term data is needed on the effects of vaping, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease.
Harry due to give evidence at High Court in case against Daily Mirror publisher
The Duke of Sussex is due to give evidence at the High Court on Tuesday in his case against the Daily Mirror’s publisher over alleged unlawful information gathering.
On Monday, Harry’s individual case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) got under way.
Barrister David Sherborne claimed the duke was subjected to unlawful information-gathering activity ‘right from when he was a young boy at school’ into adulthood, adding: ‘Nothing was sacrosanct or out of bounds.’
Man accused of 2020 Croydon police station murder set to go on trial
The trial is due to start of a man accused of murdering Met Police sergeant Matt Ratana, who was shot inside Croydon police station in 2020.
Louis De Zoysa, from Banstead, Surrey, pleaded not guilty to the charge in April during a hearing at Northampton Crown Court.
The 25-year-old held up a whiteboard with not guilty written on it during the previous hearing, to enter his plea via a video-link to a hospital.
Keir Starmer bids to persuade unions to back plan for shift to green energy
Sir Keir Starmer will try to persuade unions to back his plan for a shift to green energy as part of a ‘new business model for Britain’.
The Labour leader will address the GMB union’s conference after its general secretary criticised the Opposition’s plan to ban new oil and gas extraction licences in the North Sea.
In a speech on Tuesday Sir Keir will pledge to work with unions to ‘seize the opportunities’ of hydrogen power and carbon capture and storage projects. GMB general secretary Gary Smith said the party’s policy on North Sea licences would create a ‘cliff edge’ that will hit jobs.
Bank holidays fail to boost sales growth amid ongoing inflation worries
May’s trio of bank holidays failed to get shoppers spending as sales growth slowed to its lowest level in six months, latest figures show.
Total UK retail sales increased by 3.9 per cent last month, against a decline of 1.1 per cent in May 2022 and below the three-month average growth of 4.7 per cent, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
Food sales were up 9.6 per cent on a year ago, boosted by the coronation but still not sustained across the month. Meanwhile, growth in discretionary spending continued to tumble as the high cost of living squeezed households.
Monday Car Dealer headlines you may have missed
- Former Inchcape boss James Brearley appointed COO of family-owned car dealer Peter Vardy Group
- Used Tesla Model 3 and X prices are back on the rise as buyer interest piques
- New car sales rose again in May with Ford reclaiming best-seller title
- Auto Trader Group share price predicted to rise by 10 per cent
- Screwfix boss joins board of Vertu Motors as independent non-executive director
- New van market enjoys fifth month of growth in a row
- Big Motoring World head office to move as car supermarket prepares for growth plans
Post Office should be ‘ended in current form’ after Horizon scandal – tax expert
The Post Office should ‘be ended in its current form’ and run as a mutual, according to the head of non-profit organisation Tax Policy Associates.
Dan Neidle, tax lawyer and founder of the group, described the Post Office Horizon scandal as ‘the single greatest challenge to the rule of law’.
The scandal saw more than 700 Post Office branch managers handed criminal convictions after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it appear as though money was missing. A public enquiry into the scandal – which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history – was launched after a series of convictions were overturned after the Post Office settled the cases of 555 claimants.
Listen to the latest Car Dealer Podcast
Cap HPI’s Derren Martin joins the team to discuss the top headlines over the past week. Listen via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Augmented reality headset Vision Pro is ‘most advanced device ever’ – Apple
Apple has unveiled an augmented reality headset which it claims to be ‘the most advanced personal electronic device ever’.
Called Vision Pro, it is labelled as ‘mixed reality’ as it combines ‘virtual reality’ – in which the wearer is fully immersed in the digital world – with ‘augmented reality’ – where digital images are overlaid onto the real world. The device, which resembles a pair of ski goggles, features a glass 23-million-pixel screen which covers the upper face and is controlled using the wearer’s eyes, hands and voice.
Vision Pro will cost 3,499 US dollars (£2,800) – roughly 10 times the price of the Meta Quest 2, the leading VR headset from Facebook’s parent company, which retails for £299.99. It will be available online and in Apple stores in the US from early next year and will come to more countries ‘later next year’.
The new LBX enters Lexus into crossover segment
Lexus has launched into the competitive crossover segment with its new LBX.
Arriving as the smallest Lexus in the range, the LBX – which stands for Lexus Breakthrough Crossover – will only be available with a 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain. Designed ‘with a focus on European customers’ the LBX uses the same TNGA-B platform which underpins the Toyota Yaris Cross.
Inside, there’s a clean and stripped-back design with both full leather and vegan-friendly upholstery available. A 12.3-inch full digital instrument display makes an appearance in a Lexus vehicle for the first time, while in the middle there’s a 9.8-inch central infotainment setup. Deliveries are expected from March 2024.
Weather
Another sunny and warm day for the majority of the country once cloud has eased this morning, reports BBC Weather, although eastern areas may hang on to some cloud. Highs of 22 degrees celsius.
The east will see more cloud tonight and so too will northern Scotland with the odd chance of a shower. Elsewhere it’ll be clear and dry.
