[ Rolls-Royce has slimmed down its plans to build two mini new nuclear factories in the UK after a government design competition was delayed, according to reports. The engineering giant planned to make a factory to make heavy pressure vessels for its SMRs and another that would make the building blocks of the reactors to … Read more
[ Labour is poised to launch a snap general election campaign as soon as next week as Rishi Sunak weighs up when to go to the polls, party insiders say – but some remain worried about whether Sir Keir Starmer is ready for the final fight over who gets the keys to 10 Downing Street. … Read more
[ Labour risks placing itself directly in the political firing line under its proposals to bring the railways back under public control, former party grandee Ed Balls has warned. Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh on Thursday unveiled wide-ranging plans to renationalise the rail system within five years of coming to power. Under the policy, the … Read more
[ Spotify has announced record profits, but the music streaming heavyweight will still go ahead with raising its subscription prices next month. The Swedish company’s quarterly gross profit was more than €1bn for the first time after it reigned in marketing spending, although that meant the music-streaming giant missed its forecast for monthly active users. … Read more
[ Brexit is fueling UK shortages of life-saving drugs such as antibiotics and epilepsy medication following a “shock rise” in global supply problems, a think-tank has warned. Researchers at The Nuffield Trust urged the Government to carry out a review of the UK’s “broken” medicine supply chain after finding the impact of leaving the European … Read more
[ The UK’s biggest rail factory has entered “intense” negotiations with the Department of Transport on a last-minute deal to manufacture Elizabeth Line trains which could save it from closure. Production lines at the 147-year-old Alstom plant in Derby stopped work on new trains last month due to a lack of orders, with no new … Read more
[ China is allegedly flooding Britain with counterfeit Royal Mail stamps, a newspaper investigation has claimed. Sources close to Royal Mail said fakes from China were causing a rise in complaints that stamps bought from legitimate stores were being deemed fraudulent, which can result in a £5 penalty, the Daily Telegraph reported. The newspaper identified … Read more
[ Thames Water’s parent company is set to default on key loans, as the embattled water firm struggles to pay back debts. On Friday, Kemble Water Finance issued a formal notice of default to its bondholders, announcing that interest payments on a £400m bond due to debtors had not been paid. The holding company, which … Read more
[ Food suppliers have warned of higher prices and empty supermarket shelves thanks to a new post-Brexit border charge being introduced at the end of the month. Importers will have to pay up to £145 to bring small amounts of products such as cheese, salami and fish through the port of Dover or the Eurotunnel … Read more
[ Britons looking to get away for the bank holiday weekend and the start of the school holidays have been warned not to travel between 11am and 6pm amid an expected onslaught of Easter getaway traffic. More than 14 million people are set to take to Britain’s roads over the four-day weekend with drivers told … Read more
