6:55 am, March 4, 2023
Evidence rule breaches ‘obvious’ to Johnson, partygate ‘lies’ inquiry says
Evidence strongly suggests breaches of coronavirus rules would have been ‘obvious’ to Boris Johnson during partygate, the inquiry into whether he lied to MPs with his denials has said.
The cross-party Privileges Committee said the Commons may have been misled at least four times, as it set up a live showdown with the former prime minister later this month.
Mr Johnson remarked a mid-pandemic leaving party in No 10 was ‘probably the most unsocially distanced gathering in the UK right now’, according to written evidence in an interim report published on Friday.
Chancellor expected to cancel £500 energy price rise
The Chancellor is expected to cancel a planned £500 hike in average energy bills which was due to come into force next month.
Treasury officials are looking at plans to guarantee that households continue to pay 34p per unit of electricity and 10.3p per unit of gas that they use.
For the average household that means bills will stay at around £2,500, instead of going up to £3,000 as was previously announced.
‘How bad are the pics?’: Messages show Hancock’s reaction after CCTV leak
New leaked messages between Matt Hancock and officials show the then health secretary scrambling to save his career after footage emerged of his embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo.
They are among the latest set of WhatsApp correspondence to emerge from the leak of more than 100,000 messages by journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph.
The latest tranche to be published centre on the hours after Mr Hancock discovered that leaked footage, showing him breaching social distancing rules, would appear on the front page of the Sun in June 2021.
London markets finish trading higher but outperformed by European rivals
London stocks moved higher on Friday, but were outperformed by European peers following a weak session for commodity stocks.
The FTSE 100 moved 0.04 per cent, or 3.07 points, higher to finish at 7,947.11.
The German Dax rose by 1.64 per cent, and the French Cac 40 increased by 0.88 per cent at close.
Friday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Used car prices grow for 35th month in a row as Auto Trader data also reveals huge leap in new car costs
- Exclusive: Snows poised to take over flagship Cazoo used car site in Southampton
- Stellantis and Renault ask staff to retrain as HGV drivers as shortages continue to halt deliveries
- Polestar slashed losses in Q4 as revenues and sales jumped
EU postpones vote on petrol and diesel car ban amid member opposition
A final vote on the EU’s plan to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 has been put on hold after it risked being blocked by opposition from governments in Germany and Italy.
While approved by the European Parliament on February 14, the vote still has to go to the European Council. Though due to take place on March 7, this has now been postponed to a ‘later council meeting’ in ‘due time’, after it’s believed it would not receive enough of a qualified majority to get the go-ahead.
The postponement was confirmed by a spokesperson of Sweden, who holds the current presidency of the Council of the EU.
Teaching union suspends strike action and urges members to accept new deal
A teaching union has urged members to accept a new pay offer presented by the Scottish Government.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union made the announcement it is to ballot its members on a revised pay offer that was presented by local authority employers, with a recommendation that the offer should be accepted.
Some 20 days of rolling strikes had been planned by the EIS across Scotland, targeting every local authority north of the border between March 13 and April 21.
Fuel prices fall again in February yet diesel drivers continue to be hit
The cost of both petrol and diesel fell for the fourth consecutive month in February, yet drivers requiring diesel continue to be overcharged at the pump, according to new data.
The price of an average litre of unleaded dropped by another penny to 147.2p, according to data from RAC Fuel Watch, while diesel fell by 3.19p to 167.9p.
As a result, the cost of filling up an average-size 55-litre family car with petrol is now £81.25, down from £81.94 a month earlier.
Weather outlook…
This morning will see a few sunny spells in west Scotland, Wales and north-west England. Cloudy elsewhere for much of the day, with a few showery spells of rain in eastern areas, the BBC reports.
Tonight will see mostly cloudy skies across the UK, with a few showers in central and southern England and northern Scotland, these wintry over the hills. A few clearer spells in west Scotland.
Tomorrow will see another overcast day with gentle winds. A few showery spells of rain at times, these most persistent in northern and north-eastern areas and wintry over the hills. Trending colder.
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