6:50 am, May 24, 2023
Boris Johnson reported to police over new ‘potential lockdown breaches’
Boris Johnson has been referred to the police by the Cabinet Office over further potential rule breaches during the pandemic.
Information has been passed to two forces over alleged events at both Chequers and within Downing Street.
It relates to entries in the former prime minister’s official diary and came to light during a review of documents ahead of the Covid public inquiry.
Inflation set to ease back below double figures for first time in eight months
Inflation is expected to fall sharply to reach single figures for the first time in eight months when official figures are released on Wednesday as rises in the cost of living slow after last year’s painful energy bill hikes.
The Office for National Statistics is set to reveal Consumer Prices Index inflation dropping to 8.2 per cent in April from 10.1 per cent in March – the first time it has been below 10 per cent since August last year – according to most economists.
The predicted fall will reflect last April’s sky high rise in energy prices dropping out of the calculation, with the energy price cap having jumped higher a year ago as wholesale prices rocketed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Climate change protesters try to storm the stage at tense Shell AGM
A shareholder rebellion against Shell’s board has secured a fifth of votes at a shareholder meeting where climate change protesters tried to storm the stage.
Suit-clad members of the security team in London linked hands to shield chairman Sir Andrew Mackenzie and chief executive Wael Sawan as a handful of protesters attempted to run onto the stage.
Campaign group Fossil Free London later claimed responsibility for the rush, while several other groups also sang songs and chanted slogans against the producer of oil and gas.
UPDATE: Climate protesters attempt to storm the stage of Shell AGM!!!
As Shell continues to cause climate chaos, we will continue to do everything in our power to #ShutDownShell pic.twitter.com/yl2tJlZXUD
— Fossil Free London (@fossilfreeLDN) May 23, 2023
Quarter of drivers have had a flat battery in the last year – survey
A new survey has found that 25 per cent of motorists have had a flat battery in their car in the last year, but more worryingly that many didn’t know what to do to fix it.
Jump leads, which allow the power from a working car to start a vehicle with a flat battery, were carried by 38 per cent of the 2,000 drivers surveyed, though 24 per cent said they would need professional assistance in order to get their vehicle up and running again.
The research comes from roadside assistance firm Green Flag, which said that 36 per cent of all its breakdown callouts in 2022 were down to flat batteries in cars.
FTSE 100 drops in tough day for European markets
Markets continued to hold their breath on Tuesday as top US politicians failed to solve the impasse over the country’s debt ceiling.
In a meeting on Monday evening European time, US president Joe Biden failed to reach a deal with House speaker Kevin McCarthy which would prevent the Republican Party from causing the US to default on its debt.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.1 per cent, or 8.04 points, ending at 7,762.92, while the German Dax index dropped 0.4 per cent and France’s Cac 40 dropped 1.3 per cent.
Tuesday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Family-run Fish Brothers finished 2022 booking a £3.95m profit
- ALD Automotive acquires LeasePlan for £4.2bn
Think tank calls for drivers to be taxed on a per-mile basis
Drivers should be charged on a per-mile basis in a major overhaul of the UK’s motoring taxation system, according to a new report.
A pay as you drive scheme in the UK should initially apply to zero emission vehicles such as electric cars before being expanded to cover all vehicles, centre-right think tank the Centre for Policy Studies said.
This would replace the ‘outdated and onerous tax system’ of fuel duty and vehicle excise duty, the document stated.
Elon Musk claims governments could create ‘drone wars’ with AI developments
Elon Musk has revealed he expects artificial intelligence (AI) to be used by governments across the world to develop weapons before anything else.
The owner of Tesla, Space X and Twitter was speaking via video link at the annual Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) CEO Council Summit in London on Tuesday.
Opening the event, in an interview with the WSJ’s Thorold Barker Mr Musk said: ‘I think we generally operate with the much of an assumption that civilisation is robust and nothing can be brought down – a sentiment that has been common throughout history among empires shortly before they crumble.’
London Underground workers vote to extend strike action mandate
London Underground workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending their mandate to continue taking strike action in a long-running dispute over jobs, pensions and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) voted by 96 per cent to continue taking action for the next six months.
Unions have to re-ballot their members every six months for industrial action to continue.
Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock for £46m after UK blocked GIF platform purchase
Shutterstock has said it is buying Giphy from Meta Platforms for $53m (£46m), the final step to unwind a deal blocked by British regulators over competition concerns.
The stock image service said it is paying cash for the GIF-sharing platform, which has 1.7 billion daily users and partners including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok and Twitter.
Shutterstock said it signed a deal to give Meta continued access to New York-based Giphy’s content across Meta’s platforms.
Citroen’s ‘My Ami Buggy’ to come to the UK
Citroen has announced that it will introduce a new version of its ‘My Ami Buggy’ to the UK.
The Ami is Citroen’s funky electric quadricycle, with Citroen producing 50 ‘Buggy’ versions last year for the French market. Many hoped for a wider launch of the striking, more rugged Ami, which Citroen has now delivered on.
On this Buggy model there are no doors and no roof, though there are new plastic covers to provide an ‘almost closed passenger compartment.
Weather outlook…
Today, areas of cloud will push southwards across northern parts, with patchy drizzle in Northern Ireland and west Scotland. Sunshine elsewhere, but patchy cloud in the south-east and the north-west, the BBC reports.
Tonight will become largely dry and settled. Long clear spells for most, but some patchy cloud in the north-west. Areas of thicker low cloud moving southwards across eastern and central England.
Tomorrow will see sunshine for many although low cloud will become quite extensive in central and eastern England and Northern Ireland. Chance of the odd spot of rain under the thickest cloud.
