The police criminal inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal is investigating more than 45 individuals, with seven identified as main suspects, The Guardian reports this morning. The police would not reveal the names of the seven suspects, but four of them have been interviewed. The number of formal suspects is expected to rise.
The BBC also reported on this story this morning but said the trials may not start until 2028, according to the police officer leading the investigation. “The teams need to be really meticulous and [pay] attention to detail, but actually we are making some real progress,” Met Cdr Stephen Clayman said.
Unilver has acquired personal care brand Dr Squatch for $1.5bn, the Financial Times reports. The FTSE 100 group announced on Monday that it had agreed to buy Dr Squatch from private equity firm Summit Partners for an undisclosed sum, to shift its portfolio into more upmarket, higher growth areas. The ‘natural’ soap brand has seen significant growth fuelled by vital marketing campaigns and celebrity partnerships including adverts featuring Sydney Sweeney and Mike Tyson.
Should we be letting flies eat our food waste?, is the question the BBC has asked. In Vilnius, Lithuania, fly larvae have officially been given the job of processing the 2,700 tonnes of food waste the city’s 607,000 residents put out for collection each year, alongside that of the six neighbouring councils.Energesman, the waste management company, doesn’t charge the city for the service but has plans to turn the flattened fly larvae into a new income stream with use in animal feed or industrial uses.
There are growing signs that the UK jobs market is slowing as employers respond to higher national insurance contributions by cutting hiring and offering weaker pay rises, the governor of the Bank of England has warned. Andrew Bailey said the combined effect of lower employment and weaker wages growth would be considered by the Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) when it next meets in August to set interest rates, which now stand at 4.25%.(The Guardian)
The government has unveiled a plan for trade to boost exports and protect UK firms, the BBC reports. The new plan aims to remove obstacles for UK businesses selling abroad while also bolstering the country’s trade defences to avoid the risk of cheap imports undercutting domestic companies.
Elsewhere in the government, the Office for National Statistics has been found to have ‘deep-seated’ problems and is in need of an overhaul. The Devereux Review on performance and culture called for radical measures and warned of the likelihood that past statistics would need to be revised (The Guardian).
The Financial Times added that the UK would split the role of the country’s top statistician into two during a turnaround effort at the agency. To stabilise the ONS, Sir Robert Devereux said a temporary role of ONS permanent secretary should be created to run the agency, allowing the national statistician to focus on statistical advice, leadership and international engagement, in a role akin to that of the UK’s chief medical officer.
The pound also briefly hit its highest level against the dollar for almost four years after markets were unnerved by a report that US President Donald Trump could bring forward the naming of a new head of the US central bank. Sterling rose above $1.37, which is the strongest since October 2021. (BBC News)
The general secretary of the union Prospect has said the UK government needs to urgently rethink a key element of its flagship workers’ rights reforms to avoid inadvertently creating a “veto on all contractual change”. Provisions in the employment rights bill intended to stop employers using controversial “fire and rehire” tactics to impose worse terms and conditions on their staff could backfire unless the draft legislation was amended, he said (Financial Times).
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