Ex-soldier accused of terrorism is hunted by police after prison escape

Police are continuing to hunt for a former soldier accused of terrorism who is believed to have escaped from a prison kitchen by clinging to a delivery van.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing in his cook’s uniform from HMP Wandsworth (pictured) on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

There are fears the fugitive – who has been missing since 8am on Wednesday – might be attempting to flee the country.

Network Rail due in court over fatal derailment

Network Rail is due in court over a train crash which claimed three lives.

Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died in the derailment near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, on August 12, 2020. The case will call at the High Court in Aberdeen on Wednesday.

The ScotRail train derailed at 9.37am after it struck a landslide, hitting gravel and other stony material washed out from a drain.

UK expected to rejoin EU’s Horizon science programme

The UK is expected to rejoin the European Union’s £85bn Horizon science research programme which it was locked out of in a Brexit row.

Science secretary Michelle Donelan appears set to confirm Britain’s associate membership as she tours broadcast studios on Thursday morning, the PA news agency understands, drawing a line under months of tense talks. Sources familiar with the negotiations between the two sides said a day earlier that Rishi Sunak had given the go-ahead for a deal to be finalised.

Britain continued to participate under the post-Brexit trade deal brokered with Brussels but was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in a dispute over Northern Ireland arrangements.

UK ‘much nearer’ to peak interest rates, Bank of England governor says

The Bank of England’s governor has said the UK is ‘much nearer’ to the top of the cycle of interest rates but cautioned that inflation could rise again in August due to the impact of fuel prices.

Andrew Bailey told a group of MPs during a Treasury Committee session that there is no longer a clear upward path for interest rates, which currently stand at 5.25 per cent. Rates have been rising steadily for more than a year-and-a-half, putting pressure on borrowers but rewarding savers in a bid to bring UK inflation back down to its two per cent target.

Some economists think rates will rise to 5.5 per cent this month as pressure on the Bank to control inflation remains.

Wednesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed

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• BMW’s Neue Klasse won’t be a sub-brand, says boss
• Flying cars, nude photos and six packs – read the latest car dealer headlines from around the world

Google faces £7bn legal claim over anti-competitive search engine practices

Google is the subject of a new multibillion-pound legal claim in the UK which accuses the tech giant of shutting out competition in mobile search and driving up prices for consumers as a result.

The claim, filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, is seeking around £7bn in damages for UK consumers.

It accuses the company of breaking competition law by using its dominance of the search engine market to raise the prices paid by advertisers for prominence on Google search pages, with these higher fees ultimately passed on to consumers, who are then charged higher prices for the goods and services they buy.

Starbucks cheers ‘good progress’ in plan for 100 new UK shops

Coffee giant Starbucks has hailed ‘good progress’ in its expansion plans to open 100 new stores in the UK over the current year.

On Thursday, the retail and hospitality firm will open its latest drive thru site in Oldham, greater Manchester, amid the continued growth of its drive thru business, which now represents a quarter of all UK shops.

Its UK openings will particularly target city and drive-thru locations, with the company investing in smaller stores with increased digital innovation. It comes a year after reports in The Times newspaper that Starbucks was exploring a potential sale of its UK operation amid intense competition from rival chains.

Weather

Scattered cloud in the west and north will bring a chance of thundery downpours. Meanwhile, in the south, it’ll be another hot day, reports BBC Weather. High-20s and low-30s expected temperature wise.

Showers will clear tonight leaving clear spells for most. The south-west will see low cloud and mist.