Latest news with #GregHands
Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Kemi Badenoch to channel her inner dame at PMQs
Kemi Badenoch thinks she's cracked PMQs after a choppy start to her weekly duels with Sir Keir Starmer. The Tory leader believes she was too much like a lawyer, and she needs to channel her inner dame. 'I realised this isn't a courtroom where I'm prosecuting a witness — it's a panto,' she told The Political Party at the Duchess Theatre. She may find that PMQs is not the only part of parliament which is like a panto. After all Kemi, where is the biggest threat to your leadership? Badenoch's attempt to be more mainstream is being helped by her children, who are broadening her tastes in popular culture. Her son has taken her to a football match while her daughter has introduced her to the music of Taylor Swift, though they're yet to see the singer live. Badenoch said: 'Rachel Reeves took all the tickets.' Tory transports of delight With some ministers disgruntled by the spending review, reshuffle rumours are swirling, but the former Tory minister Greg Hands warns that a beleaguered premiership can make strange decisions. He discovered this when Theresa May asked him to become a transport minister. 'I replied that I couldn't drive, couldn't ride a bike and was one of four government ministers given a derogation to oppose government policy on Heathrow expansion,' Hands said. May let him keep his job at trade, but he wasn't the first Tory to be baffled by the suggestion of a job at transport. When Margaret Thatcher sent Ken Clarke there in 1979 he told her he knew nothing about transport. 'My dear boy,' she said tersely. 'You will pick it up!' • What will be in the spending review? The winners and losers Euphemisms around death often irk more than they soothe and, on that point, the former Newsnight journalist Michael Crick has made his wishes clear. 'If anybody uses the word 'pass' when I die, then I promise that my ghost will come back to haunt them,' he said. ''Passing' is for footballers.' Something to remember when he reaches full-time. Herbal diarrhoea The producer Cameron Mackintosh may have a magic touch in the theatre, but that hasn't necessarily extended to the garden. While his Somerset home has wonderful greenery, it is tended to by his partner, Michael Le Poer Trench, who tells Country Life that the theatre impresario turns into Mrs Malaprop when dealing with things horticultural. Hellebores, for instance, become 'herbivores', though this is not as alarming a confusion as the time Mackintosh meant epimedium but instead said 'Imodium'. Forsyth right on target As a creature of the Cold War it was fitting that Frederick Forsyth had works banned by both the Russians and the Americans, though the latter did it only in their Guantanamo Bay prison for alleged terrorists. 'I suspect the Americans have banned The Kill List because it might give the detainees ideas,' the author, who died this week, said in 2014. His masterpiece The Day of the Jackal was never published in the USSR, though the Soviets were very keen on the story of an assassination attempt on a French statesman right up to the point that someone had a pop at Brezhnev. Suddenly, the launch party was off. As Forsyth noted: 'Authoritarian systems don't like people to speak about how to kill the boss.'
Scotsman
03-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Thames Water takeover M&S boss pay rise business video
From calls to overhaul the water industry and Thames Water's failed investor talks, to Greg Hands' new role at Royal Mail and a £7.1m payday for the M&S boss - here are today's top UK business stories. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Today's bulletin focuses partly on the water sector - because there are several big stories. Firstly - England and Wales' water industry needs a 'fundamental reset', according to a new report. The Independent Water Commission says failures across the industry are 'deep-rooted and systemic'. It's calling for a tougher, more hands-on approach from regulator Ofwat. Thames Water deal collapses and ex-UK trade minister Greg Hands joins Royal Mail: More Business in Brief Meanwhile, Thames Water says talks with investor KKR have collapsed, dealing a blow to its rescue plans. KKR had been the preferred partner in efforts to recapitalise the troubled utility. But it's now pulled out, meaning Thames Water will shift focus to a plan backed by senior creditors. Chairman Sir Adrian Montague says the company remains committed to finding a sustainable solution. The owner of South West Water has also said today rising bills will help fund £3.2 billion in upgrades. | Getty Images The owner of South West Water has also said today rising bills will help fund £3.2 billion in upgrades. Pennon Group posted a £72.7 million loss this year - much deeper than last year's £9.1 million. It blames record investment and efforts to cut customer water use. Average bills jumped 28 per cent in April, helping to cover a third of its long-term plans. In other news, Irish hotel group Dalata has received a potential €1.3 billion cash offer. The early-stage proposal comes from hotel property company Pandox and real estate specialist Eiendomsspar. They're offering €6.05 a share - a 27 per cent premium on Dalata's March price. Talks are under way, but there's no guarantee a formal bid will follow. Former UK trade minister Greg Hands has joined Royal Mail's new owner as a strategic adviser. The ex-Conservative MP will work full-time for Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group. He'll focus on the UK and Germany as the company takes full control of Royal Mail. Finally - Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Machin has seen his pay rise to £7.1 million. The jump comes as he steers the retailer through a major cyber attack. His package includes £4.6 million in long-term bonuses he can't touch for two years. A strong year also earned him a £1.6 million performance bonus.
Scotsman
03-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Thames Water takeover M&S boss pay rise business video
From calls to overhaul the water industry and Thames Water's failed investor talks, to Greg Hands' new role at Royal Mail and a £7.1m payday for the M&S boss - here are today's top UK business stories. Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Today's bulletin focuses partly on the water sector - because there are several big stories. Firstly - England and Wales' water industry needs a 'fundamental reset', according to a new report. The Independent Water Commission says failures across the industry are 'deep-rooted and systemic'. It's calling for a tougher, more hands-on approach from regulator Ofwat. Thames Water deal collapses and ex-UK trade minister Greg Hands joins Royal Mail: More Business in Brief Meanwhile, Thames Water says talks with investor KKR have collapsed, dealing a blow to its rescue plans. KKR had been the preferred partner in efforts to recapitalise the troubled utility. But it's now pulled out, meaning Thames Water will shift focus to a plan backed by senior creditors. Chairman Sir Adrian Montague says the company remains committed to finding a sustainable solution. The owner of South West Water has also said today rising bills will help fund £3.2 billion in upgrades. | Getty Images The owner of South West Water has also said today rising bills will help fund £3.2 billion in upgrades. Pennon Group posted a £72.7 million loss this year - much deeper than last year's £9.1 million. It blames record investment and efforts to cut customer water use. Average bills jumped 28 per cent in April, helping to cover a third of its long-term plans. In other news, Irish hotel group Dalata has received a potential €1.3 billion cash offer. The early-stage proposal comes from hotel property company Pandox and real estate specialist Eiendomsspar. They're offering €6.05 a share - a 27 per cent premium on Dalata's March price. Talks are under way, but there's no guarantee a formal bid will follow. Former UK trade minister Greg Hands has joined Royal Mail's new owner as a strategic adviser. The ex-Conservative MP will work full-time for Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group. He'll focus on the UK and Germany as the company takes full control of Royal Mail.
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Ex-minister Greg Hands to advise Royal Mail after takeover by 'Czech Sphinx' billionaire
A former trade minister has been appointed as an adviser to the new owner of Royal Mail. Greg Hands, who lost his seat as a Conservative MP in last year's election, will advise Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group on business matters in the UK and Germany. The appointment came as Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), formally left the London Stock Exchange after being bought by Czech billionaire Kretinsky. The departure from the stock market also saw a number of IDS board members resign, including chairman Keith Williams. The £3.6billion takeover by Kretinsky saw the more than 500-year-old firm fall into foreign hands for the first time.
Powys County Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
New Royal Mail owner appoints former minister Greg Hands as adviser
Former UK trade minister Greg Hands has been appointed as an adviser to the new owner of Royal Mail. Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's business EP Group announced that the former Conservative minister has been made a full-time strategic adviser on Monday. Mr Hands, who was minister for trade policy until last summer when he lost his seat in the House of Commons, will advise the business with a 'special focus on the UK and Germany', the investment business said. He said in a statement on LinkedIn that he has known Mr Kretinsky, who has been dubbed the Czech Sphinx, for 'a long time'. The appointment came as Royal Mail's parent firm, International Distribution Services (IDS), formally left the London Stock Exchange on Monday after being taken over by Mr Kretinsky. In April, shareholders approved the £3.6 billion takeover deal, giving the more than 500-year-old company a foreign owner for the first time. Mr Hands said: 'I am honoured to join EP Group as strategic adviser for the UK and Germany. 'I have known Daniel Kretinsky for a long time, and I know that EP Group has a strong track record in energy and infrastructure. 'I look forward to contributing to its continued growth and commitment to energy security and sustainable energy solutions in these regions.' Mr Kretinsky said: 'We are delighted to welcome Greg Hands to EP Group. 'His deep understanding of the UK and German business and energy landscapes, coupled with his extensive experience in government and international trade, will be invaluable as we navigate the evolving sectors in these key markets. 'Greg has unique capabilities for the job, including fluency in German and good Czech, and understands many of our markets very well.'
