Cases

A shadow minister has claimed that Parliament is "not a safe place to work" amid controversy surrounding the resignation of the deputy chief whip over groping allegations. Shadow armed forces minister Luke Pollard told Sky News that "wholesale change" is needed as he called for "higher standards" in politics. The prime minister has been criticised over his delay in suspending deputy chief whip Chris Pincher from the Tory parliamentary party over claims he drunkenly assaulted two men. Mr Pincher had already been forced to quit his role in the Tory whips' office - in which he was responsible for party discipline and the smooth running of government business at Westminster - after the claim emerged this week. Now, after a formal complaint was made against him to parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), he will be forced to sit as an independent outside the Conservative group . Advertisement Commenting on the case, shadow armed … [Read more...] about Parliament ‘not a safe place to work’ claims shadow minister in wake of Pincher case

Facebook should be forced to ­require advertisers to pass identity checks, a coalition of the world’s biggest brands has demanded amid rising concern over fraud and misinformation. The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), which represents thousands of companies including top spenders such as Unilever, Vodafone and Volkswagen, has said forthcoming European laws should require social media networks to verify all advertisers. It is the latest case of big brands putting pressure on social media companies to clean up their services following a row over hate speech earlier this year and revelations that Facebook was ­providing faulty data about how ­effective adverts had been. In a submission to a European Union consultation on its forthcoming Digital Services Act, a new set of rules to ­govern the internet, the WFA said large companies that publish or carry online advertising should follow laws modelled on the “know your customer” rules that regulate banking. Illicit adverts … [Read more...] about Facebook should verify all advertisers to crack down on fraud, top brands demand

The tech giants will 'run rings around the Government' if duty of care laws simply adopt the companies' own rules, a group of senior peers have warned the Prime Minister. The cross-party House of Lords group, which includes the Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft and former children’s presenter Baroness Floella Benjamin, said the new online regulator had to be given ‘real powers’ to police social media algorithms that spread dangerous content. The warning comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is currently considering proposals drawn up by the Home Secretary Priti Patel and culture secretary Oliver Dowden for imposing a statutory duty of care on tech companies to better protect their users. Under the proposals, which The Telegraph has campaigned for since 2018, a new online regulator - likely to be Ofcom - could levy huge fines and potentially prosecute executives of tech firms that breached the duty. Ministers have previously said they want the regulations to prevent a repeat of the … [Read more...] about Tech giants will ‘run rings’ round Government if duty of care only enforces companies’ rules, peers warn Prime Minister

Britain’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has not had a good 2020. The Government ignored its recommendations made last year for a new regulator for the audit industry , and has not acted on the agency’s calls for stronger consumer protection powers. Its warnings to businesses against raising prices during Covid were criticised by economists for potentially leading to shortages of things like food and PPE . And the CMA’s chairman, ex-MP Andrew Tyrie, was ousted last month in a coup by board members unhappy with Tyrie’s political, attention-seeking style. This week it released the final report in its study of the digital advertising market . In it, the CMA concluded that the digital advertising market was uncompetitively dominated by Google and Facebook – Facebook via its social media apps, and Google via the popularity of Youtube, Google Search, and the company’s network of advertising on third party websites. The report is … [Read more...] about The UK has badly missed the mark on how to regulate Big Tech

Damascene conversions happen all the time in politics. Winston Churchill was once a high-flying Liberal, but ended up as the mightiest Conservative Prime Minister. The Gang of Four split with the Labour party to form the SDP in the early 1980s. But sometimes strategic or ideological u-turns can happen almost by accident. The current Government, for example, is packed with free marketeers boasting impeccable libertarian credentials that are heading the most interventionist, high-spending administration since the Second World War. How did this happen? Partly it is the understandable result of  Covid emergency measures. But it also appears to be influencing longer-term strategy. One of the most dramatic conversions may well be that of Kwasi Kwarteng, who was appointed as Business Secretary last month . Once known for his trenchant economic liberalism, as a co-author of the 2012 book Britannia Unchained , the newly-elevated cabinet minister's short tenure has been marked by a … [Read more...] about Kwasi Kwarteng: from ‘Britannia Unchained’ to shackling business

Britain cannot spend its way to prosperity, the Business Secretary has warned amid a growing Tory debate over state spending in the run-up to the Budget in March. Kwasi Kwarteng, promoted to the Cabinet earlier this month, signalled that a squeeze on public spending is coming with the Government deficit, fuelled by Covid handouts, forecast to exceed £400 billion this month. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, is keen to rein in public spending and start setting out future tax rises in the Budget. But Tory backbenchers and several senior Government ministers are pushing for further public spending increases and believe this is the way to boost the economy in the wake of the pandemic. Speaking to The Telegraph , Mr Kwarteng insisted that a booming private sector was the way in which Britain will recover after the virus crisis. He said: "Let me be very clear – without a thriving private sector, we will not be able to afford good public services. Great public services rely on a … [Read more...] about Britain can’t spend way to prosperity after Covid, Kwasi Kwarteng warns

Furious couples and disappointed holidaymakers demanding refunds for cancelled weddings and getaways have driven a wave of complaints to the competition watchdog during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 60,000 consumers have complained to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about firms treating them unfairly during the pandemic, the watchdog said. The majority of complaints since mid-April related to cancellations and refunds as customers struggle to recover cash for cancelled flights, holidays and weddings. Holidays and airlines accounted for 27,000 of the 60,000 issues reported to the watchdog between March 10 and May 17 as travel companies knocked by a liquidity crisis battled to hang on to cash - despite many having a legal obligation to hand out refunds. The CMA launched its Covid-19 taskforce in March to prevent firms from using the crisis to exploit consumers. Earlier this week it asked the Government to pass emergency laws to help it tackle … [Read more...] about 60,000 coronavirus complaints to competition watchdog

Despite attracting advocacy from across the economic spectrum, the concept of a basic income for all is bound to fail – but this won't stop the Labour Party from trying Amidst all the current anxiety about poverty and inequality and the suggestions for combatting them, there is one proposal that stands out for its boldness, namely the idea of the state granting a guaranteed income for all, without any restrictions or qualifications. This is usually referred to as a Universal Basic Income (UBI), or sometimes a Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI). This idea might sound like pie in the sky, but you shouldn’t just write it off. It has received warm support from senior Labour Party figures and may yet appear in the Labour Party’s programme. Nor is this just another example of Labour Party wackiness. The idea has received considerable support from senior figures in the Democratic Party in America. Moreover, it has a very distinguished pedigree and has won the support of a large … [Read more...] about Universal Basic Income is a specious concept

Britain's competition watchdog is gearing up to launch a string of probes into Big Tech firms over the coming months amid a growing backlash against their dominance, according to its chief executive Andrea Coscelli. Speaking to the Financial Times , Mr Coscelli said the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was "actively scanning the players, the complaints we have received, the cases that others are doing, what could be done in parallel with others, where are the gaps in the work the European Commission is doing". He said the watchdog was expecting to open more investigations over the next year. It comes ahead of the establishment of a "digital markets unit" within the CMA in April, a group which is expected to be handed sweeping new powers to curb how large tech giants including Facebook, Amazon and Google are allowed to become. The CMA has suggested the new unit should put in place tailored rules for each of the technology companies, to account for the fact they hold … [Read more...] about Competition watchdog warns Big Tech of imminent UK probes

Scottish firms put up their prices at a record rate last month amid “unprecedented inflationary pressures”, new analysis has shown, as rising costs continue to bite. Business activity north of the boarder rose at the fastest pace for three months in February, according to the Royal Bank of Scotland’s latest Business Activity Index, but continued to lag the UK trend. The index, where anything above 50 shows growth, saw the measure of combined manufacturing and service sector output climbing to 55.5 last month, up from 53.7 in January. Malcolm Buchanan, chairman of the Scotland Board at the Edinburgh-based bank, said business activity rose as demand strengthened and Covid-19 rules were scaled back. Recommended Over £130m handed to housing providers named and shamed by regulator “That said, the stronger performance was dampened slightly by unprecedented inflationary pressures in February,” he said. “Firms continued to face surging energy, fuel, … [Read more...] about Scottish firms put prices at record rates as rising costs bite