Business

Scrapping the HS2 rail line to Manchester would be a “gross act of vandalism”, senior Tories have warned Rishi Sunak. Former chancellor George Osborne and ex-deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine said the move would mean “abandoning” the North and Midlands. Writing in The Times, they warned the prime minister: “Governments are remembered for what they

One of Britain’s most prominent university spinout ventures is backing a developer of therapies for neurological diseases as part of a capital-raising to fund it through to clinical trials. Sky News understands that Crucible Therapeutics, which was founded by University of Sheffield academics at its Department of Neuroscience, will announce this week that it has

The northern section of the HS2 high speed rail line looks set to be scrapped by Rishi Sunak, Sky News understands. It comes as a number of Sunday newspapers reported that any decision would be announced before next weekend’s Conservative Party conference. Sky News political correspondent Tamara Cohen said: “The widespread view in Westminster is

KPMG is in advanced talks with regulators about a record fine running into tens of millions of pounds for failings in its auditing of Carillion, the construction company which collapsed in 2018 with the loss of thousands of jobs. Sky News has learnt that discussions between the accountancy firm and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC)

Amazon Prime customers will face a choice between watching adverts or paying more to remove them when updates to the firm’s streaming service kick in at the start of next year, The company also warned that live events, such as sports, will continue to include commercials even if people have upgraded to the new ad-free

The return of summer weather last month helped retail sales recover despite a hit from weaker demand for fuel, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a 0.4% rise – a figure that grew to 0.6% when the effects of fuel sales were excluded. It said stronger clothing sales drove the

Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chair of Fox and News Corp. His son Lachlan will become the sole chair of News Corp – and continue as executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation. In an announcement, Lachlan congratulated his father on a “remarkable 70-year career” – and said the 92-year-old will continue to provide

It is arguably the most exciting non-event in recent economic history. For 14 successive monetary policy meetings, the Bank of England raised its official interest rate – all the way from 0.1% up to 5.25%. Today, for the first time since late 2021, it voted to leave borrowing costs unchanged. Reaction to BoE’s decision –

Rishi Sunak has confirmed he will be easing a series of green policies under a “new approach” designed to protect “hard-pressed British families” from “unacceptable costs”. Delivering a speech from Downing Street, he said he is still committed to reaching net zero by 2020, but the transition can be done in a “fairer and better

The rate of inflation has eased slightly to 6.7% confounding the predictions of economists that it would rise. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index (CPI) measure slowed in the 12 months to August, from the 6.8% figure reported the previous month, thanks to food rising at a weaker pace during

Avanti West Coast has had its contract renewed to operate its UK rail routes, despite issues with delays and cancellations. Both Avanti and another operator, CrossCountry, were awarded agreements lasting up to nine and eight years respectively. Avanti West Coast will continue to operate routes from Scotland, Wales, Manchester and Liverpool to London while CrossCountry

A former governor of the Bank of England has told Sky News that while it was too slow to turn off the stimulus taps after the COVID pandemic, its actions to tame inflation are now “in the right area.” Lord Mervyn King, who presided over the Bank’s response to the global financial crisis in 2008,

The government has announced a new fixed sum payment for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in an effort to provide quicker compensation. An award of £600,000 is on offer to the 86 postmasters who have had their convictions over turned after faulty Horizon software made it appear they were stealing. Anyone who has

An unrepentant Liz Truss has sought to blame a left-wing infiltration of thinktanks, the Bank of England and other “institutions” for the market turmoil during her brief premiership. Ms Truss was speaking at an Institute for Government event about what she believes are the issues with the UK economy. Her 49 days as prime minister

A former governor of the Bank of England has launched a scathing attack on Liz Truss – accusing her government of turning Britain into “Argentina on the Channel”. Mark Carney also said Brexiteers such as the former Conservative leader – who became the shortest-serving prime minister in history when she resigned last year – had

More than a third of homes for sale have had at least one price cut – the highest proportion recorded in more than a decade, according to a leading property website. The average size of the reduction is also the largest since January 2011 at 6.2%, said Rightmove. When applied to the average asking price,

Mike Ashley, the high street billionaire, is in talks to sell the online clothing label Missguided to Shein, the giant Chinese online fashion player. Sky News has learnt that the two sides are in detailed negotiations about a deal, which would represent Shein’s first acquisition of a British fashion brand. City sources said that Shein

At the main roundabout outside Port Talbot steelworks, union reps and those on their lunch break gathered holding a banner: “British Steel – Back It or Lose It!” Some 4,000 are employed by Tata Steel here, more than 12% of the town’s entire population. One of them is Greg Coggins, who has worked for Tata

Business secretary Kemi Badenoch has had a busy week. It started on Monday with a £75m cheque to BMW to secure 4,000 jobs tied to future production of electric Minis at its Oxford plant. It ends with a £500m subsidy to sweeten the decarbonisation, by Indian industrial giant Tata, of its Port Talbot steel plant

Thousands of jobs are expected to be lost at Britain’s largest steelworks despite a £500m rescue package. The government will make the offer to assist Tata Steel employees who may face redundancy at its site in Port Talbot, as it moves from blast furnaces to greener steel production. Tata is expected to contribute £700m towards