Devil in the non-doms detail was Labour's biggest blunder
R achel Reeves scored a hat-trick at this week's Times CEO Summit. Not a triple round of applause, but her third appearance in a row. Thursday's was the first as chancellor rather than in opposition and flocks of chickens were circling, ready to come home to roost. At the start of the event I asked delegates about Reeves's promise the previous year that a Labour government would be the most business-friendly ever. Had deed followed word? No one raised their hand.
This was an audience ready not to be pleased, but in the end Reeves did well. She didn't duck difficult questions, defended her choices — in particular on last year's national insurance increase for employers, the biggest bugbear for those in the room — and stayed calm in the face of accurate and persistent questions from Mehreen Khan, economics editor of The Times.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edinburgh Reporter
31 minutes ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
How MOT Check is empowering first-time drivers across the UK
MOT Check, a London-based online MOT information service founded by Connor Evans in 2024, is a fresh player in the UK automotive market that has already achieved thousands of daily users thanks to its comprehensive toolkit. The company has been especially successful in helping first-time drivers safely get on the road by effectively conveying the importance of timely background MOT checks for those who are looking to purchase their first vehicle. 'The UK is sadly known for its bad vehicle sales practices, with many sellers providing insufficient or downright incorrect MOT information to get a better deal. This isn't something we can overlook — in some cases, people buy cars that are heavily damaged without ever realizing it, and that can lead to very costly repairs at best and terrible road accidents at worst. Inexperienced drivers often fall victim to these scams, which is why we find this audience highly important to protect — hence, our detailed and convenient database,' says Connor Evans, CEO of MOTCheck. MOT Check functions as a website that offers drivers the ability to enter their vehicle's registration number to quickly get an in-depth report on its MOT history, technical information, taxes, and more. This way any driver can quickly estimate if the vehicle they are about to purchase is indeed in good condition and if it had any issues in the past that need to be addressed. 'There are lots of areas that newcomers aren't properly aware of. For example, a vehicle that is known to have been in use by a company is much more likely to have a significantly higher mileage. Its condition is generally worse as well. There are many things that people who are only starting their journey as licensed drivers need to understand to ensure safety for everyone and avoid extra costs or fines,' says Connor Evans. This is why MOT Check doesn't simply analyze multiple official sources and reliable third-party services — the resulting report also contains helpful tips that enable drivers to get a full picture of what their car's MOT history means. 'Raw data is only as good as you can understand it, and our goal was to ensure that we don't just provide it with no context. It is easier, sure, but modern users are accustomed to an entirely different level of convenience in every other industry, so we believe that we have to attain it as well. Our reports aren't just comprehensive: they are analytical and we ensure that anyone can understand the true meaning behind the data, regardless of their expertise in the field. We are proud to say that our systems provide the most inclusive and accessible results in the local market,' says Connor Evans. As Evans adds, the team behind MOT Check currently works hard on increasing their algorithms' capabilities in order to provide even more information in a convenient way. The company is also focused on delivering new helpful features that will be particularly useful for first-time drivers, such as SMS notifications and email reminders for timely checks. 'We are a new and highly motivated team, so our hands are always busy, but we are happy to use all of our expertise to ensure that the UK's roads and the automotive market in general become friendlier and more understandable for everyone. We have gathered all of this information and spent years working in the niche so that everyone else can get our knowledge in a matter of seconds — this is what the future holds,' says Evans. Like this: Like Related
The Independent
37 minutes ago
- The Independent
Fraudulent City boss ordered to pay back £64 million
A City boss compared to the The Wolf Of Wall Street has been ordered to pay back £64 million over his role in a multi-million pound Ponzi-style investment scam, prosecutors said. Anthony Constantinou remains on the run after he fled the UK during his fraud trial at London's Southwark Crown Court in June 2023. Hundreds of investors were duped out of a total of £70 million between 2013 and 2015 while he ran Capital World Markets (CWM). A spokesman for City of London Police said a confiscation order was made against him on Thursday for the sum of £64 million, which is payable within three months. The default period of imprisonment was set at 14 years. Police released photographs of some of the luxury vehicles Constantinou spent his fraudulent money on, including a Porsche, Range Rover and luxury motorbike. They previously said he was thought to be in Turkey or Dubai after being stopped in Bulgaria with a fake Spanish passport. CWM had high-profile sponsorship deals with the Honda Moto GP, Chelsea Football Club, Wigan Warriors rugby league club, Cyclone Boxing Promotions and the London Boat Show. The seven-week trial heard how Constantinou spent £2.5 million of investors' money on his 'no expense spared' wedding on the Greek island of Santorini in September 2014, while his son's first birthday party a few days earlier cost more than £70,000. More than £470,000 was paid for private jet hire to fly him and his associates to Moto GP races across Europe as well as a return flight to Nice for a 150,000-euro five-day yacht cruise around the Mediterranean to Monaco. The firm paid £200,000 a quarter to rent 'plush' offices in the City's Heron Tower, while nearly £600,000 was spent on just six months' rent of his large home in Hampstead, north-west London, where his luxury cars were parked in the drive. Promised returns of 60% per year on risk-free foreign exchange (FX) markets, a total of 312 investors trusted their money to CWM. Some were professionals but most were individuals who handed over their life savings or pension pots, with a large number of Gurkhas paying into the scheme, said prosecutor David Durose KC. Constantinou denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of one count of fraud, two counts of fraudulent trading and four counts of money laundering and sentenced to 14 years in prison in his absence. Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: 'This was a callous scam targeting members of the public. Many people lost their hard-earned money because of Constantinou's greed and false promises in this fake investment scheme. 'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly with the City of London Police, where we identify available assets to disrupt and deter large-scale frauds like this case. 'In the last five years, over £478 million has been recovered from CPS obtained confiscation orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.' Constantinou was previously jailed for a year at the Old Bailey in 2016 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during after-work drinks. One of the victims described how the parties were just like the raucous scenes depicted in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as rogue New York trader Jordan Belfort.
The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
Palestine Action to be banned after break-in at RAF base
The Home Secretary is preparing to ban Palestine Action following the group's vandalism of two planes at an RAF base, the PA news agency understands. Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action. The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police. The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'. Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers. Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company Wagner Group. Another 14 organisations connected with Northern Ireland are also banned under previous legislation, including the IRA and UDA. Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Friday's incident at Brize Norton, described by the Prime Minister as 'disgraceful', prompted calls for Palestine Action to be banned. The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) welcomed the news that Ms Cooper intended to proscribe the group, saying: 'Nobody should be surprised that those who vandalised Jewish premises with impunity have now been emboldened to sabotage RAF jets.' CAA chief executive Gideon Falter urged the Home Secretary to proscribe the Houthi rebel group and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, adding: 'This country needs to clamp down on the domestic and foreign terrorists running amok on our soil.' Former home secretary Suella Braverman said it was 'absolutely the correct decision'.
