6:56 am, March 1, 2023
Hancock disputes ‘distorted’ leak over care home testing
Matt Hancock rejected advice to give coronavirus tests to all residents going into English care homes, an investigation based on a leaked trove of more than 100,000 WhatsApps alleges.
The MP denied the ‘distorted account’ with a spokesman alleging the messages leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott after she worked on his Pandemic Diaries memoir have been ‘spun to fit an anti-lockdown agenda’.
The Telegraph’s investigation claims chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty told the then health secretary in April 2020 there should be testing for ‘all going into care homes’. But the messages suggest Hancock rejected the guidance, telling an aide the move just ‘muddies the waters’, and introduced mandatory testing for those coming from hospitals.
Search for aristocrat’s baby continues amid fears child may have ‘come to harm’
An urgent search for the baby of aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon is continuing amid police fears the child may have come to harm.
The pair were further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter on Tuesday after being stopped in Brighton on Monday following several weeks of avoiding the police, but the baby was not with them.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said police still hoped to find the child safe and well, with a helicopter, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones being used in the search.
Energy suppliers need to be ‘ready’ to pass on cuts to consumers – Shapps
Energy suppliers ‘must be ready’ to pass on cuts to wholesale energy prices to consumers, Grant Shapps is set to warn.
The energy secretary is expected to use a speech at Chatham House in London to put suppliers on notice as he sets out his aim of ensuring the UK has ‘amongst the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe’.
It comes as Downing Street indicated measures that could see households face a 20 per cent hike in energy bills from April are being kept under review, with the energy price guarantee cap set to rise from £2,500 a year for the typical property to £3,000 in April.
At least 32 killed in fiery fatal head-on train crash in northern Greece
A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday, killing multiple people and injuring scores of others.
Fire Service Officials said 32 people were killed and at least 85 were hurt after multiple train cars derailed and at least three caught on fire after the crash near Tempe, some 235 miles north of Athens.
Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn on Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors.
Give DUP time and space with Brexit deal and don’t create ‘drama’, pleads Sunak
Rishi Sunak has told Tory MPs to give the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ‘time and space’ to consider his Brexit deal as they were warned it is the best offer they will get.
The prime minister said he was ‘confident’ they would back it as he urged colleagues not to create another ‘Westminster drama’ after his new Windsor agreement for Northern Ireland was broadly welcomed.
But Conservatives were waiting with ‘bated breath’ to see if the DUP will back the deal, which is hoped to restore powersharing to Stormont after a year-long absence.
Shop price inflation reaches record high, figures show
Shop price inflation has reached a record high amid warnings that consumers are unlikely to see prices dropping again for months.
Shop prices are now 8.4 per cent higher than they were a year ago, up from an eight per cent increase in January and well above the three-month average of 7.8 per cent, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index.
Food inflation accelerated to a record 14.5 per cent in February, up from 13.8 per cent in January, while fresh food prices are also now a record 16.3 per cent higher than a year ago, up from 15.7 per cent in January. A weaker pound resulted in imports of fresh food from Europe, especially vegetables, rising in price.
Tuesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Former Lookers directors Andy Bruce and Nigel McMinn pump cash into new tech firm
- No ‘compelling argument’ for agency sales – Suzuki boss lays out the pros and cons in detail
- Honda executive says delays on government’s electric vehicle plans could cause ‘chaotic fiasco’
- Dealer group Lookers expands into new market with mobile cosmetic repair operation
- Motorpoint to create up to 30 new jobs with opening of new store in Ipswich
- Nissan ramps up electrification plans and will sell next to no ICE models in Europe by 2026
- Ben expecting to take 14,000 calls for assistance, charity fundraising boss tells Car Dealer Podcast
Marks & Spencer invests nearly £60m in pay rises for 40,000 store staff
More than 40,000 store workers across Marks & Spencer are set to see a pay rise from April as the supermarket said it has invested almost £60m in staff wages.
Customer assistant staff will see their hourly pay increase to £10.90 from £10.20 from April 1, M&S revealed. This will take it ahead of the national living wage which has been set at £10.42 an hour for those over the age of 23 from April this year. Employees in London stores will see their hourly wages upped to £12.05 from £11.25.
The move will cost the upmarket retailer £57m and mark its biggest ever investment into its front-line workers’ rewards.
Volkswagen updates ID.3 with new look, more tech and upgraded interior
Volkswagen has unveiled its refreshed ID.3, bringing a range of enhancements to the compact electric car.
The exterior gets a new front bumper and the headlights now resemble a human’s eye, ‘waking up’ when the driver approaches. The rear, meanwhile, gets a new design for the light clusters.
Inside, the doors have been remodelled to include larger handrests, while everything inside the car is completely animal-free. There’s a new 12-inch central display – and a larger 12.4-inch version arriving later – however UK versions won’t get this upgrade just yet. Pricing will be revealed shortly.
Weather outlook
A cloudy day for most with light showers, reports BBC Weather. The far south-east will see brighter spells, while the north-west will be the driest and brightest of all.
A clear night in the north while cloud will build in the south. There’s a chance for light rain under thicker cloud.
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