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☆ Britain's M&S the latest supermarket to cut prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies M&S cuts prices of 70 products, holds prices of 150Morrisons cuts prices of 47 productsMoves follow other reductions across sectorBank of England keeping close eye on food inflationLONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) on Monday became the latest supermarket group in Britain to cut food prices, adding to signs that a surge in inflation is set to abate. M&S cut the price of 70 staple products, such as beef mince, Greek style yoghurt, salmon fillets, chickpeas and tortilla wraps, by between 3% and 25%. Also on Monday, Morrisons, Britain's fifth largest supermarket group, said it was cutting the prices of 47 products by an average of over 25%. On Friday, market leader Tesco (TSCO.L), said Britain's food inflation has peaked. EXPLAINER-Why is UK food inflation so stubbornly high?

Persons: Spencer, Rishi Sunak's, Kantar, James Davey, Kylie MacLellan, Susan Fenton Organizations: Bank of England, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Thomson Locations: Britain

☆ UK lawmakers set to back report that Boris Johnson misled them over 'partygate'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - British lawmakers are expected to back a report on Monday that said former Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over rule-breaking parties at the heart of government during coronavirus lockdowns. "Obviously, this is a matter for the House (of Commons), not for the government," Sunak told ITV when asked how he would vote. "This committee was established under the former prime minister ... Labour leader Keir Starmer challenged Sunak to show up for the vote, saying he has to "show leadership". "What his predecessor got up to was unacceptable," Starmer told the BBC.

Persons: Boris Johnson, coronavirus, Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Keir Starmer, Starmer, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan, Ed Osmond Organizations: Conservative Party, Times, ITV, Labour, BBC, Thomson Locations: London

☆ UK's Nationwide readies another increase in fixed mortgage rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Nationwide Building Society (NBS.L), one of Britain's largest mortgage lenders, will raise fixed rates on mortgages offered via brokers by up to 0.7 percentage points on Friday, it said in an email to intermediaries. "This includes rates across our New Business, Switcher, Additional Borrowing and Existing Customer Moving Home ranges," the email said. The quoted rate offered by Nationwide on a 2-year fix for new borrowers, available for a 999-pound ($1,267) fee, will rise on Friday to 5.69% across most loan-to-value ratios, from 5.24% currently. Earlier this week, HSBC (HSBA.L) also announced a shake-up in its mortgage line, with higher rates taking hold on Thursday. ($1 = 0.7885 pounds)Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar and Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andy Bruce, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: Building Society, New, Nationwide, Bank of England, HSBC, Thomson

The more than 100-page report detailed six events held at Downing Street, the prime minister's offices and residence. There is no precedent for a prime minister having been found to have deliberately misled the House (of Commons, lower house of parliament)." It recommended that he should not be entitled to a former member's pass, which enables most former prime ministers and lawmakers to gain automatic access to parliament. But so-called Partygate spelt the beginning of the end for his tenure as prime minister. They have also rowed this week over the former prime minister's resignation honours list.

Persons: Johnson, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Mr Johnson, Sunak, Thangam Debbonaire, Elizabeth Piper, Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill, Kylie MacLellan, Muvija, William James, Kate Holton, Frank Jack Daniel, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Conservatives, Downing, Street, Labour Party, Conservative Party, Thomson Locations: COVID

☆ UK's Boris Johnson and the 'partygate' scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

10 Downing Street, in December 2020, when such gatherings were banned. Dec. 1 - Johnson, asked about a December 2020 party, tells parliament: "All guidance was followed completely in No. Dec. 8 - Johnson tells parliament: "I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken." May 19 - The police hand out 126 fines relating to eight dates when events were held at Downing Street and the Cabinet Office. March 22 - In a combative public hearing, Johnson tells the committee that "hand on heart" he did not lie to parliament.

Persons: Boris Johnson, Johnson, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip's, Sue Gray, Carrie, Rishi Sunak, Gray, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan, William James, Andrew MacAskill, Gareth Jones, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: ITV, Downing Street, Police, Privileges, Downing, Conservative, Thomson Locations: Downing

☆ Glenda Jackson, British actor turned politician, dies aged 87
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Raw-boned, pallid and angular, with striking, sharp eyes, she had starred on stage, television and film before quitting to take up politics, declaring: "An actor's life is not interesting". Jackson also won two Emmy awards for her portrayal of England's Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC's 1971 television series "Elizabeth R". After more than three decades on stage and film, Jackson quit acting and took her no-nonsense, straight-talking style into politics. In 1992, at the age of 55, Jackson won a seat in parliament representing the left-of-centre Labour Party in a constituency in north London. In parliament, Jackson was vociferous in her condemnation of the Conservative Party which she accused of instilling a "dreadful, dreadful moral malaise" in Britain.

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - Incoming Bank of England rate-setter Megan Greene signalled on Tuesday that the central bank may have a tough job returning British inflation to its 2% target, even if it drops quickly at first from double-digit figures. British inflation fell in April from double digits to 8.7% but this was still jointly the highest reading among Group of Seven countries, along with Italy. Short-dated British government bond yields rose to their highest level since 2008 as Greene spoke. She described inflation expectations in Britain as pretty well-anchored, but said there were lessons from the 1970s on how not to conduct monetary policy. Greene will replace MPC member Silvana Tenreyro, who has voted against the BoE's rate increases in recent months.

Persons: Megan Greene, Greene, Kroll, BoE, Silvana Tenreyro, Kylie MacLellan, Suban Abdulla, Sarah Young, Catherine Evans Organizations: Incoming Bank of, Monetary, parliament's, MPC, Thomson Locations: Italy, Britain, U.S

☆ Scotland's leader won't suspend Nicola Sturgeon from party after arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attends her last First Minster's Questions at the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Russell CheyneLONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf said on Monday he would not suspend his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon after her arrest as part of a police inquiry into the finances of the governing, pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP). "I see no reason to suspend their membership," Yousaf told the BBC. After she was released on Sunday, Sturgeon said she had committed no offence and was innocent of wrongdoing. Angus MacNeil, one of the SNP’s longest-serving members of the British parliament, said on Sunday Sturgeon should be suspended.

Persons: Nicola Sturgeon, Russell Cheyne, Humza Yousaf, Yousaf, Sturgeon, Peter Murrell, Scotland's, Ash Regan, Angus MacNeil, Andrew MacAskill, Kylie MacLellan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Scottish, REUTERS, Scottish National Party, BBC, Labour Party, Labour, Thomson Locations: Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, Scottish, United Kingdom, Westminster

☆ Bank of England can't rule out more rate rises, MPC's Haskel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of England may need to raise interest rates more than once from their current level of 4.5% to bring inflation under control, Monetary Policy Committee member Jonathan Haskel said on Monday. "My own view is that it's important we continue to lean against the risks of inflation momentum, and therefore that further increases in interest rates cannot be ruled out," Haskel wrote in an article for The Scotsman newspaper. "As difficult as our current circumstances are, embedded inflation would be worse," he added. "We are monitoring indicators of inflation momentum and persistence closely," Haskel said on Monday. Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar and Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jonathan Haskel, Haskel, BoE, David Milliken, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: Bank of England, Monetary, Scotsman, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington

☆ UK's Sunak faces down critics after Boris Johnson honours row
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | Thomson Reuters | Sachin Ravikumar Is A Correspondent For Reuters In London Covering General News Across The Uk. Over Nine Years At Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends the London Tech Week at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, Britain June 12, 2023. Responding to critics within his ruling Conservative Party, which has been rocked in recent days by Johnson's dramatic Friday night decision to quit parliament, Sunak added that he had no sympathy for those who did not like his decision. Sunak has the power to overrule HOLAC's advice, but said he chose not to. As prime minister, Johnson had himself overruled HOLAC when appointing a Conservative Party donor in 2020. Johnson resigned from parliament on Friday in a protest against lawmakers investigating whether he misled parliament over illegal parties during COVID lockdowns at his Downing Street office when he was prime minister.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Queen Elizabeth II, Ian Vogler, Boris Johnson, Sunak, Johnson, HOLAC, COVID lockdowns, Sachin Ravikumar, Alistair Smout, William James, Kylie MacLellan, Alex Richardson Organizations: British, London Tech, Queen Elizabeth II Centre, REUTERS LONDON, Conservative Party, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, parliament's

☆ UK must seize opportunities of AI to remain a tech capital, Sunak says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Britain must act quickly to remain a tech capital, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will tell tech leaders on Monday, urging them to grasp the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence. Sunak, speaking at the start of London Tech Week, will say the "tectonic plates of technology are shifting". And I feel a sense of urgency and responsibility to make sure we seize it." During a visit to Washington last week, Sunak said Britain would host a global summit on artificial intelligence safety later this year to consider the risks of AI and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. "I want to make the UK not just the intellectual home, but the geographical home of global AI safety regulation."

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Kylie MacLellan, Sharon Singleton Organizations: London Tech, Thomson Locations: Britain, Washington

☆ Former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon arrested over SNP funding probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Kylie Maclellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The arrest is deeply embarrassing for the SNP, which has dominated Scottish politics for most of the last two decades. Sturgeon stood down earlier this year and support for the party and its aim of independence has since dropped. "Nicola Sturgeon has today, Sunday 11th June, by arrangement with Police Scotland, attended an interview where she was to be arrested and questioned," a spokesperson for Sturgeon said. Opposition parties have accused the SNP of being mired in scandal and too focused on independence to govern Scotland properly. The Labour Party's Scotland spokesperson Ian Murray said there was a culture of "secrecy and cover-up" in the SNP.

Persons: Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Summers, Sturgeon, Nicola, Sturgeon's, Peter Murrell, Colin Beattie, Murrell, Beattie, Scots, Ian Murray, Humza Yousaf, Westminster, YouGov, party's, Yousaf, Kylie MacLellan, Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout, Alex Richardson, Frances Kerry, Sharon Singleton Organizations: NHS, Treatment, Labour LONDON, Scottish First, Scottish National Party, Scottish, Police Scotland, Twitter, Police, Scotland's, England, Conservative, Labour Party's, Scotland, Labour, Thomson Locations: KIRKCALDY, SCOTLAND, NHS Fife, Kirkcaldy, Scotland, Scottish, Glasgow, Westminster

☆ Three British tourists missing after fire on boat in Red Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Plumes of smoke erupt from a yacht on fire in Marsa Alam, Egypt, June 11, 2023 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Mohamed Al-Saif/Handout via REUTERSCAIRO, June 11 (Reuters) - Three British tourists were missing and 12 had been rescued after a motor boat caught fire on Sunday off the Egyptian Red Sea coast, Egyptian officials and security sources said. The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit on the boat, which was named Hurricane and had been on a trip since June 6 in an area just north of Marsa Alam, the statement said. Images posted on social media showed a white motor yacht with the same name on fire at sea, with thick smoke billowing into the sky. "We saw smoke from the boat, it was around 9km from the beach," said Ahmed Maher, a diving manager at Marsa Shagra village.

Persons: Mohamed Al, Saif, Handout, Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Ahmed Hassan, Farah Saafan, Kylie MacLellan, Aidan Lewis, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS, Red Sea, Thomson Locations: Marsa Alam, Egypt, REUTERS CAIRO, Marsa Shagra

☆ UK minister: 'The world has moved on' from Boris Johnson
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - The world has moved on from former British prime minister Boris Johnson and the governing Conservative Party and the rest of the country do not miss the drama of his period in office, energy minister Grant Shapps said on Sunday. Asked about criticism from Johnson and his allies that he was forced out, Shapps told Sky News: "The world has moved on. "I really like Boris and I worked very closely with him," Shapps told BBC TV. He also took aim at current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. "I think Boris Johnson feels that there is an opportunity for him now to go off and lick his wounds, but also seize new opportunities."

Persons: Boris Johnson, Grant Shapps, Johnson, Shapps, Boris, Harri, Rishi Sunak, Kylie MacLellan, Jason Neely Organizations: Conservative Party, Sky News, BBC, Thomson Locations: Downing, Britain

"The last few days have shown that we can move forward and destroy the enemy even in such extremely difficult conditions," he said. The Kremlin, for its part, said it did not believe the added British hardware would change the course of the conflict. Moscow has acknowledged retreating north of the city, and the head of the Wagner private army fighting inside Bakhmut has said Russia's regular forces have fled positions on the northern and southern flanks. The public rift between Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and the commanders of regular Russian forces has deepened over the past two weeks, with Prigozhin releasing daily audio and video messages denouncing the Russian military brass. However, both he and the Kremlin dismissed a Washington Post report citing U.S. intelligence leaks that Prigozhin had offered to betray the positions of regular Russian forces in January in return for Kyiv pulling back some troops in Bakhmut.

Last week Britain became the first country to start supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, which will allow its forces to hit Russian troops and supply dumps deep behind the front lines. Zelenskiy visited Berlin, Rome and Paris over the weekend to meet with European leaders as he seeks to drum up further military and financial support for Ukraine. The British government said Zelenskiy had arrived in Britain and would meet Sunak at his Chequers country residence. After the United States, Britain has been one of the largest suppliers of military aid to Ukraine, contributing 2.3 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) worth of support last year and pledging a similar amount for 2023. In January, Britain said it would send 14 of its battle tanks to Ukraine, a pledge that was followed by other nations including the United States and Germany.

☆ Britain to send long-range attack drones to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Britain will send hundreds of new long-range attack drones with a range of over 200km to Ukraine, the government said on Monday after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in the country for talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. "Today the Prime Minister will confirm the further UK provision of hundreds of air defence missiles and further unmanned aerial systems including hundreds of new long-range attack drones with a range of over 200km," the government said in a statement. "These will all be delivered over the coming months as Ukraine prepares to intensify its resistance to the ongoing Russian invasion." Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ London's Big Ben fails to bong as clock briefly stops
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Elizabeth Tower of the Houses of Parliament, commonly known as Big Ben, is seen in London, Britain, June 30, 2022. REUTERS/John SibleyLONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - London's famous Big Ben bell failed to chime on Wednesday when the dials of the Great Clock at Britain's Houses of Parliament briefly stopped working. "We are aware that the clock dials on the Elizabeth Tower were temporarily displaying the incorrect time on Wednesday afternoon," a spokesperson for parliament's lower house, the House of Commons, said. "Clock mechanics worked quickly to rectify the issue and the clock is now functioning as normal." The 13-tonne Big Ben bell was largely silenced for five years while a major restoration of the Elizabeth Tower took place, with the so-called 'bongs' finally resuming regular service in November 2022.

[1/2] Royal fans wait on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the coronation of Britain's King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, in London, Britain, May 5, 2023. REUTERS/Maja SmiejkowskaLONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Heavy bursts of rain could dampen King Charles' coronation celebrations in London on Saturday, according to Britain's Met Office forecaster. Charles is due to leave Buckingham Palace and travel along a mile-long ceremonial procession through the capital before the coronation ceremony at 1000 GMT. If it does rain on his parade, Charles will not be alone: the last two monarchs endured wet weather on their big day according to Met Office data. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth in June 1953 saw "light rain throughout the day" while 8.2 millimetres (0.32 inches) of rain fell during George VI's 1937 crowning.

☆ Missile maker MBDA signs 1.9 billion pound deal with Poland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - The UK arm of European missile maker MBDA on Friday agreed a 1.9 billion pound ($2.37 billion) deal with Poland to provide it with a British-designed air defence system, the British government said. "I am delighted that the UK and Poland’s deep and historic defence ties take another step forward with the signing of the largest ever UK defence export deal with Poland," British defence minister Ben Wallace said in a statement. The missile deal will see Britain deliver 22 Polish air defence batteries with British Common Anti-Air Modular Missiles (CAMMs) and launchers. The government said the contract would support more than 500 jobs at MBDA UK. The government said the British-designed CAMMs developed by MBDA UK are already deployed to Poland with the British Army to protect its airspace following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

GMB's backing means the offer has been accepted by four unions representing National Health Service (NHS) workers whose members include midwives, physiotherapists and ambulance workers. The NHS Staff Council, which includes representatives from NHS employers and trade unions, is due to meet on May 2 to vote on whether to accept the offer. The GMB's leadership said it would now vote in favour of the pay offer, after 56% of its members who voted in a ballot accepted the deal. "This new pay offer would not have happened without the strike action taken by ambulance and other GMB health workers," said Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary. "Our members recognise that progress has been made - from the government originally offering nothing, health workers will be thousands of pounds better off."

☆ UK train drivers target FA Cup final, Eurovision with fresh strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ASLEF said the strikes would take place on May 12, May 31 and June 3. As well as the FA Cup final, the action will likely impact those travelling to the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, taking place between May 9 and 13. "Consequently, we have today announced three more days of strike action." "More strike action is totally unnecessary and will only heap more pressure on an industry already facing an acute financial crisis," an RDG spokesperson said. "We urge the ASLEF leadership to re-join us at the negotiating table and work with us to find a solution."

☆ Jerry Springer, raucous talk show host, dead at 79
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Television personality Jerry Springer at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File PhotoLONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Television personality Jerry Springer, known for a long-running talk show that featured raucous audiences, controversial topics and fist-fighting guests and who briefly served as Cincinnati mayor, died at age 79 on Thursday, his family said. Springer was born in London on Feb. 13, 1944, and immigrated to New York City when he was 4 years old. In 1991, Springer landed his own television program, a syndicated talk show broadcast across the United States until 2018. The daytime program, known as "The Jerry Springer Show," was initially a politically oriented show but later featured everyday people discussing sensationalistic topics, often related to unconventional sexuality.

☆ Britain's King Charles unveils Eurovision competition stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles and his wife Camilla unveiled the stage for next month's 2023 Eurovision Song Contest during a visit to the venue in the northern English city of Liverpool on Wednesday, saying he would be watching. Liverpool is set to host the competition, on behalf of last year's winner Ukraine after it was unable to stage the competition because of the Russian invasion. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Pool 1 2 3Following a countdown by onlookers, Charles and Camilla unveiled the competition stage by pressing a large pink button which initiated a series of colourful dancing stage lights and a pulsating beat. In February, Britain's government said it would make 3,000 tickets for the Eurovision Song Contest available to displaced Ukrainians and provide 10 million pounds ($12.47 million) of funding to help host the competition. The song contest will be hosted between May 9 and 13.

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday set out long-awaited plans to crack down on problem gambling as it aims to bring regulations up to date with a rise in betting online and on smartphones. The reforms would give extra powers to gambling regulators to take down illegal betting sites and tackle unauthorised operators. Campaign group Charity Gambling with Lives, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, welcomed the changes but said they did not go far enough. It had called for an end to all gambling advertising and affordability checks at 100 pounds of monthly losses. Habits have changed significantly since then, with an exponential rise in online betting.

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