3 h. ago Michelle Mone told us ‘business isn’t easy’ during Covid. How are things now, your ladyship? | Marina Hyde

After a company she was linked to was ordered to repay £122m it made from pandemic deals, the baroness has embarked on a masterclass in victimhoodBy their own accounts, there have been two Westminster-adjacent victims of inflammatory language this week. One is the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, hurt to the point of requiring smelling salts by some politically commonplace words spoken by the prime minister. And the other is legally besieged bra baroness Michelle Mone, who has always been performatively sensitive, with chaos as her rising sign.Alas, far from their shared victimhood drawing our two snowflakes closer together, in Michelle, we may have finally found the Tory from whom Nigel would not accept a defection to Reform. Which really means something, considering Britain’s would-be next prime minister currently has precisely zero peers in the House of Lords. Like the PPE she provided during the pandemic, Michelle would be deemed incredibly expensive and absolutely unusable.Marin...

Politics

8 h. ago Fraudster who stole £50,000 from elderly victims in call centre scam is jailed and will be kicked out of the country

Jeevan Bathula, 28, played a vital role in the nationwide operation in which victims were duped into believing their savings were at risk.

Events

51 h. ago Police Scotland needs 'Government bailout' to enforce new law criminalising Scots who pay for sex

Ash Regan is pushing legislation at Holyrood which would hit sex buyers with fines of up to £10,000 and possible jail sentences.

Events

6 d. ago Rogue travel agent who swindled Alexander McQueen's former PA out of £155,000 to blow on gambling is jailed

Miles Caldwell, 47, received huge payments to book hotel rooms and business class flights - but pocketed the lot.

Politics

6 d. ago Man jailed after using £50,000 Covid business loan to buy a house

Mohammed Rashidzadeh, 34, attempted to close down his company just eight days after the funds were paid

Economics

7 d. ago Council leaders and MPs call for international railways links to reopen in Kent

On Friday, Kent County Council hosted an event to entice ‘competitors’ to Eurostar, and underline the desire for renewed railway links with Europe.

Politics

7 d. ago Macron comes under pressure to PARDON his shamed predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy after French ex president was sentenced to five years in jail for criminal conspiracy

A Paris court sentenced Sarkozy, to five years in jail and a €100,000 fine over allegations he sought millions from Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 election campaign.

Events

8 d. ago Colombian criminals who spotted vulnerable victims withdrawing large amounts of cash in banks then distracted them to steal £63,000 are jailed

Armet Cortes and Willmer Guzman were part of a gang that operated in the North East and used 'silent' signs to communicate once they had identified a potential target.

Economics

8 d. ago Government considers support measures for JLR supply chain firms

However, it is not expected to launch a Covid-style furlough scheme for the suppliers despite appeals from unions.

Politics

9 d. ago Prolific shoplifter who stole more than £100,000 of goods from London Boots stores is jailed

Liam Hutchinson, 32, has been banned from entering the borough of Kensington and Chelsea for the next five years and every Boots store in the UK for ten years

Economics

1 week ago Former Celtic starlet found with £400,000 cash in back of his van in money laundering plot is jailed for more than a year

James Keatings, 33, who most notably made his name playing for Edinburgh clubs Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian, turned his hand to criminal activity following his retirement from football.

Economics

1 week ago Former professional footballer jailed over £400,000 money laundering handover

Ex Celtic, Hearts and Hibernian forward James Keatings, 33, was sentenced to 13-and-a-half months in prison

Economics

2 w. ago Former Institute of Directors boss disqualified as a company director

The Insolvency Service said the move followed Covid loan abuse.

Politics

2 w. ago Edinburgh woman who swindled £30,000 from vulnerable victims to feed gambling habit spared jail

She was placed on a 12 month supervision order.

Events

3 w. ago Big pharma will stop investing in UK, warns eminent scientist Sir John Bell

Warning follows news of US drugmaker Merck’s decision to scrap planned £1bn London research centreSir John Bell, a prominent scientist who brought business and government together during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, has warned that other big pharmaceutical companies will stop investing in the UK, after Merck’s decision to scrap its planned £1bn London research centre.Bell, a former regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told the BBC’s Today programme that he had spoken to several chief executives of large companies in the past six months “and they’re all in the same space, and that is, they’re not going to do any more investing in the UK”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Big pharma will stop investing in UK, top scientist warns after Merck’s £1bn exit

Comments by former professor of medicine at Oxford follow scrapping of planned London research centre Sir John Bell, a prominent scientist who brought business and government together during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, has warned that other big pharmaceutical companies will stop investing in the UK, after Merck’s decision to scrap its planned £1bn London research centre.Bell, a former regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told Today on BBC Radio 4 that he had spoken to several chief executives of large companies in the past six months “and they’re all in the same space, and that is, they’re not going to do any more investing in the UK”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Dundee crime: Primary school worker jailed for 16 months after stealing £28,000 from school funds

The administrative officer spent the stolen money on items including PlayStation games, beauty products and pet goods.

Economics

3 w. ago Scots primary school teacher jailed for embezzling £28,000 from school trip fund

She splurged on items including PlayStation games, supermarket goods, beauty products, shoes, home items and pet goods.

Economics

3 w. ago Pensioner who smuggled £640,000 worth of cocaine in mobility scooter jailed

Ronald Lord, from Montreal in Canada, was stopped at Gatwick Airport where border force staff found eight kilograms of the drug hidden in his scooter.

Economics

4 w. ago NHS surgeon who had his legs removed to satisfy sexual interest is jailed for fraud

Neil Hopper took nearly £500,000 from insurers after falsely claiming he needed amputation because of sepsisA surgeon who froze his legs so they would require amputation to satisfy a sexual obsession before making nearly £500,000 in insurance claims has been jailed.Neil Hopper, a 49-year-old vascular surgeon, was given 32 months after he pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation. This related to claims made to insurance companies that his legs had been amputated because of sepsis rather than self-inflicted injury. Continue reading...

Events