The BBC’s business editor has apologised to Nigel Farage over “incomplete and inaccurate information” in his story about the former Ukip leader’s bank account. The 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars appears to be in doubt, after Rishi Sunak refused to confirm it will go ahead. And BBC newsreader George Alagiah has died, prompting tributes from across the broadcasting industry.
Simon Jack says sorry to Nigel Farage over ‘inaccurate’ bank story
The BBC’s business editor has tweeted an apology to Nigel Farage after admitting that his story about the former Ukip leader’s bank account was based on “incomplete and inaccurate information”. Simon Jack had long been under pressure to say sorry for suggesting that Mr Farage lacked the funds needed to hold an account with Coutts. The Telegraph later revealed it was partly closed because his political views were judged not to “align” with those of the bank, despite him being commercially viable.
Rishi Sunak refuses to confirm 2030 petrol and diesel car ban
The ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from the end of the decade has been thrown into doubt as leading Tories voice concerns about net zero. Rishi Sunak refused to confirm that the 2030 ban would go ahead, simply saying “of course net zero is important to me” when asked whether he would stand by the proposal. His comments came after Conservative grandees such as Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, urged the party to scale back environmental policies to help win the next election.
George Alagiah dies after long struggle with bowel cancer
Tributes have poured in from across broadcasting after the death of George Alagiah. Famous as the face of BBC news bulletins, the 67-year-old presenter had long battled bowel cancer after first being diagnosed in 2014. Tim Davie, the corporation’s director-general, said Alagiah was “one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation”, while Naga Munchetty broke down in tears while interrupting a sports bulletin on Radio 5 Live to announce his death. You can read our obituary of George Alagiah here.
Today’s essential headlines
Travel companies are scrambling to repatriate thousands of tourists from Rhodes after the Greek island was ravaged by wildfires.
Pressure on travel firms to fly Britons out of Rhodes
Hundreds of holidaymakers running for their lives to escape the blaze have revealed they feel abandoned by travel companies, with one saying “it was like Dunkirk”. Government officials held emergency meetings on Sunday as they called for more help for those stranded in Rhodes, with British holidaymakers spending a second night in temporary accommodation. EasyJet announced it would be running three repatriation flights back to the UK for those forced to flee from their hotels at the start of peak holiday season. Hayley Dixon and Dominic Penna have more details on when the repatriation flights will take place.
The first repatriation flights have taken place from Rhodes as wildfires continue to rage across Greece. The Foreign Office is under pressure to change its travel advice to dissuade Britons from travelling to the island, as 34-year-old mother Nicola Barlett described the mad scramble for the last remaining seats on coaches evacuating tourists as being “like the Titanic”.
Eleven dead after school gymnasium roof collapses on girls’ volleyball team
The concrete roof of a school gymnasium collapsed in the Chinese city of Qiqihar, killing 11 people – with many of the dead believed to be young female volleyball players. See here for the full story.
Business news: High interest rates ‘to condemn economy to years of stagnation’
High interest rates have already caused financial turmoil for many, but economists have now warned they could spark a prolonged economic slump. The EY Item Club, which uses the same model as the Treasury, has slashed its growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025, with years of stagnation predicted. Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said interest rates could be higher for longer and cautioned: “It will hit harder next year than this.” The S&P Global/CIPS flash UK purchasing managers’ index also said the private sector has grown at its slowest pace for six months.
Tuesday July 25
Pressure mounts on NatWest chairman over Farage bank scandal
Dame Alison’s career is hanging in the balance after the BBC apologised on Monday for an inaccurate story that claimed Coutts, which is owned by NatWest, shut down Mr Farage’s bank accounts because he did not meet its financial requirements. The broadcaster said the story, by Simon Jack, its business editor, had come from “a trusted and senior source”. Mr Jack sat next to Dame Alison at a charity dinner in London the night before the article was published. Sir Howard Davies, NatWest’s chairman, is now facing calls to launch a board-level inquiry into the leak. Simon Foy has a profile of the NatWest chairman who now faces a fateful decision over Mr Farage’s ‘debanking’.
BBC double-checked if NatWest was happy with story
A Greek firefighting plane has crashed on the island of Evia, killing the two pilots on board. Footage showed the aircraft clipping a tree before falling nose-first and exploding. Officials said the aircraft crashed into a ravine close to where a wildfire started on Sunday. “A Greek Canadair plane, with at least two people on board, crashed near Platanisto,” said spokesman Yannis Artopios. The plane was among at least three other aircraft and around one hundred firefighters battling the blaze on the island. The accident occurred as Greece battles wildfires on three major fronts, including on the tourist islands of Rhodes and Corfu. Authorities evacuated nearly 2,500 people from Corfu yesterday, after tens of thousands had already fled Rhodes, with many tourists scrambling to return home on evacuation flights.
HSBC is first major lender to cut mortgage rates
HSBC is the first high-street bank to cut mortgage rates after better-than-expected inflation figures last week. The bank said rates across 16 mortgage deals would fall from tomorrow, while smaller lenders also announced reductions. The Telegraph understands HSBC will cut its standard two-year fixed mortgage rate from 6.24 per cent to 6.14 per cent for those remortgaging – a drop of 0.1 percentage points. Its five-year fixed mortgage rate for those remortgaging is expected to fall by 0.2 percentage points, from 5.84 per cent to 5.64 per cent. It comes after official figures last week showed inflation eased to a 16-month low of 7.9 per cent in the year to June. This was down from 8.7 per cent in May and well below the 8.2 per cent expected by economists.
Holiday chaos as Gatwick cancels one in 10 flights
Passengers have seen their holiday plans plunged into chaos after Gatwick Airport was forced to cancel one in 10 flights owing to bad weather and staff shortages. Holidaymakers complained of mass cancellations and 24-hour delays to trips after the issues caused air traffic control problems. Heavy thunderstorms across European skies led to restrictions on certain flight routes, and an “unforeseen issue” reduced the number of available air traffic controllers. This led to 40 out of Gatwick’s 405 scheduled flights being cancelled yesterday, while many more were hit by lengthy delays.
World news: Putin ‘failed to act over Wagner coup despite warning by spies’
The Russian president was warned in advance that the boss of the Wagner mercenary group was plotting a coup but took no action to prevent it, according to European officials. Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to have caught the Kremlin unawares when he marched from Russia’s south to within 125 miles of Moscow, in protest over what he said was the defence ministry’s incompetent handling of the war. But intelligence assessments shared with The Washington Post today claim the Russian security forces warned Putin at least two or three days in advance that Prigozhin was preparing a rebellion, but was paralysed to prevent it.
Netanyahu urges reservists ‘who love Israel’ to back down from protests
Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has died at the age of 56, according to the Irish Times.
The acclaimed Dublin performer released 10 studio albums during her career. Her single Nothing Compares 2 U was named the world number one single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.
Kevin Spacey has been cleared of sexually assaulting four men. And £850m has been wiped off the value of NatWest in the wake of the Nigel Farage row.
Kevin Spacey found not guilty of sexual assault
Kevin Spacey, the Oscar winning Hollywood actor, has been cleared of sexually assaulting four men. The 64-year-old star of American Beauty, The Usual Suspects and House of Cards, was found not guilty of nine sexual offences against four complainants between 2001 and 2013. After almost 12 hours of deliberation, jurors at Southwark Crown Court acquitted him on all counts. The actor had tears in his eyes as the verdict was read out and later nodded at jurors as they left the court. Letting out a big sigh in the court room, Mr Spacey thanked the guard in a hushed voice and received a pat on the back from his legal team. During the trial, Prosecutor Christine Agnew KC had accused Mr Spacey of using his position as the “golden boy of the London theatre scene” to do what he wanted, confident his alleged victims would not be believed.
NatWest boss quits after Nigel Farage leak admission
Dame Alison fell on her sword just hours after Downing Street expressed “significant concerns” about plans for her to remain in her post. Sir Howard Davies, chairman of NatWest, said in a statement: “The Board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group.” He added that it was “a sad moment”. NatWest’s board was locked in emergency talks on Tuesday night over Dame Alison’s future. The board had initially expressed full confidence in her, but indicated it would dock her £5m-a-year pay and bonuses in a last ditch attempt to save her skin. Hours before quitting, Dame Alison admitted to a “serious error of judgment” in speaking to a BBC journalist about Nigel Farage’s relationship with private bank Coutts. You can read Dame Alison’s statements in full here.
Farage calls for whole NatWest board to resign
Nigel Farage has said the “whole board needs to go” at NatWest following the resignation of Dame Alison. Mr Farage said her decision to step down was “a start”, but that Sir Howard Davies, the NatWest chairman, should “absolutely” resign. He added that he believed Peter Flavel’s position as chief executive of Coutts was no longer “tenable”. Bank chiefs will be quizzed by the City minister today to discuss concerns about the closure of customer accounts over political views. Andrew Griffith’s meeting with bank bosses comes ahead of proposed government reforms requiring banks to explain and delay these decisions.
Nigel Farage row wipes £850m off NatWest value
NatWest’s shares have declined as much as 4.1 per cent, wiping more than £850m off the value of the bank, after Dame Alison Rose quit as chief executive. She stepped down after admitting that she leaked private banking information about Nigel Farage to the BBC. Shareholders are now said to be ramping up pressure on Sir Howard Davies to resign as chairman over the botched handling of the scandal. One top-20 investor said: “He’s clearly not in charge… Banking is about trust and confidence. That’s sacrosanct and starts with the tone from the top.” Another said: “My suspicion is that he will end up going, but probably shouldn’t have to.” Mr Farage has called for Sir Howard and the entire board to quit following Dame Alison’s resignation. Follow the latest developments in our live blog.
Three killed as wildfires ravage Sicily
Wildfires in Sicily have killed three people, authorities said, as deadly blazes struck nations around the Mediterranean. The burnt bodies of a couple in their 70s were discovered in their scorched home on the outskirts of Palermo, according to local media reports. Another woman in her late 80s died nearby after an ambulance failed to reach her home. Renato Schifani, the Sicilian president, said that “scorching heat and unprecedented devastating fires” had turned yesterday into “one of the most difficult days in decades“. Italian firefighters said they had battled nearly 1,400 fires over three days, including 650 in Sicily and 390 in Calabria. Follow the latest developments in our live blog.
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Thursday July 27
NatWest is facing a possible investigation into whether it broke the law as the fallout from the Nigel Farage banking scandal wiped £850 million off the company’s value.
Coutts chief steps down over Nigel Farage de-banking scandal
The chief executive of Coutts, Peter Flavel, has resigned with immediate effect after the private bank closed Nigel Farage’s accounts because his views were at odds with the lender’s “values”.
Mr Flavel’s exit comes less than two days after Alison Rose stepped down as NatWest chief executive amid the row with Mr Farage.
Trouble continues for NatWest today as the chief executive of Coutts quit over the Nigel Farage banking scandal, with the Prime Minister declining to back group chairman Sir Howard Davies over the row.
Coutts chief resigns as pressure mounts on NatWest
A phone-hacking claim by the Duke of Sussex has been thrown out, while Andrew Malkinson has vented his anger at having to pay prison “board and lodgings” should he win compensation for being wrongly convicted of rape.
The Duke of Sussex has been dealt a blow in his phone-hacking claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN), after a judge ruled that only part of his lawsuit will go to trial at the High Court. The Duke has accused Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group of unlawful activities to gather information on him from the mid-1990s until 2016. The royal claimed an agreement between Buckingham Palace and NGN to delay any claims until other litigation over hacking had concluded prevented him from taking action earlier. However, Mr Justice Fancourt ruled in favour of an argument by NGN that the Duke was aware enough of the phone-hacking scandal to bring his case sooner.
Miscarriage of justice victim will have to pay prison ‘board and lodgings’
Andrew Malkinson may now be a “free man” after being wrongly jailed for 17 years for rape, but the miscarriage of justice victim’s battle is far from over. The 57-year-old has said that he now faces an “uphill battle” to win compensation – and even if he does, he will be liable to pay prison “board and lodgings”. Mr Malkinson said the idea of such deductions “is so abhorrent to me that I am sickened by it”.
Scottish independence | Humza Yousaf has unveiled a blueprint for Scotland to copy the EU and revert to burgundy passports should the country gain independence. A Scottish Government report said a separate Scotland would follow the bloc’s “recommended layout, size and colour”, even though experts have warned it could take years to gain membership. Mr Yousaf claimed that switching passport colours could speed up the membership process.
Kevin Spacey should never have been cancelled, says Hollywood boss
Around the world: Kim Jong-un meets Russia’s defence minister as Putin woos Pyongyang
Russia’s defence minister has pledged to boost military ties with North Korea after meeting Kim Jong-un on a rare high-level visit to the reclusive nuclear-armed regime, reports Nicola Smith.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, both centre, visit an arms exhibition in Pyongyang
Sadiq Khan hails Ulez ruling as ‘good news’ for London
Sadiq Khan has hailed a “landmark decision” to allow the expansion of London’s Ulez to go ahead as “good news” for the capital. Five Conservative-led councils challenged whether Mr Khan had the power to impose the controversial daily £12.50 charge in outer boroughs but Mr Justice Swift ruled at the High Court that it was within the Labour Mayor’s remit. Mr Khan said it “means we can proceed with cleaning up the air in outer London”, but fears persist about the fairness of the scheme – with analysis by Auto Trader claiming that motorists are being hit with a “price penalty” of up to £3,000 for Ulez-compliant cars. Ross Clark writes that there is still a way to stop the Ulez expansion.
Public must be spared huge burden of net zero, warns Blair
The former Labour prime minister stressed that climate change was the “single biggest global challenge” and said “Britain should play its part” in tackling it. However, he pointed out that what the UK could achieve would be dwarfed by the impact of actions by countries such as China, report Ben Riley-Smith and Dominic Penna. His cautious note comes as Labour and the Conservatives publicly debate how quickly to embrace the transition to net zero after the surprise Tory by-election win in Uxbridge last week. Fraser Nelson writes that the ex-PM may be only too happy to fill Labour’s vacuum of ideas.
Pensioner dragged under bus after driver closed doors on her
A pensioner has been left “trapped in a broken body” after she was dragged under the wheels of a bus when the driver refused to let her board. Joan Scott, then 83, was trying to get on a double-decker in Wallsend, North Tyneside, when Scott Cliff closed the doors and pulled away, reports Ewan Somerville. Unknown to him, her walking stick was trapped under the door – causing her to be dragged under the tyres. The pensioner had to have a double leg amputation. Cliff, 49, was jailed for 27 months after he admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Today’s essential headlines
NatWest | The under-fire chairman of NatWest has blamed political pressure for the downfall of Dame Alison Rose over the Nigel Farage de-banking scandal. Sir Howard Davies, who initially fought to keep the chief executive when it emerged she discussed details of the former Ukip leader’s account with a BBC journalist, called her a “great leader” and cited the “political reaction” for her departure, reports Simon Foy. Jeremy Hunt has also commented on the furore, saying: “In a free society we need to know that no one is ‘de-banked’ for their political views.”
Outcry as Singapore executes woman for drug trafficking
Human rights groups have criticised Singapore for hanging a 45-year-old woman for drug trafficking, despite calls not to execute her. Saridewi Binte Djamani was convicted of trafficking more than twice the volume that merits the death penalty under the law. Chiara Sangiorgio, from Amnesty International, said the killing “cast a harsh and tragic spotlight on the complete lack of death penalty reform in Singapore”. It was the city state’s first execution in more than 20 years.
Around the world: How a pro-Putin coup threatens Europe’s nuclear supplies
The Telegraph today reveals that second-home owners face paying twice the amount of council tax under new laws set to hit nearly half of properties. Plus: Ukraine appeared to fire missiles at ports inside Russia for the first time as the conflict in the Black Sea intensifies.
Anti-car schemes | Rishi Sunak has ordered the Department for Transport to carry out a review of low traffic neighbourhoods, which often use cameras, giant planters and bollards to turn away cars. In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Sunak said the vast majority of people “are dependent on their cars” and that “anti-motorist” policies fail to take account of how “families live their lives”.
Sinéad O’Connor, the singer who has died aged 56, was best known for her brilliantly simple yet highly emotional cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U (1990), accompanied by a video in which tears spontaneously trickled down her face as she sang. Her version of the song was to make her career, largely by accident, although she virtually destroyed it two years later when she tore up an image of the Pope on American television.
The health benefits of your morning cup of coffee
The previous weeks, the editor-in-chief of this site was told to cut down on coffee. Marcus Ampe had a habit of drinking quite a few cups of coffee in one day. His cups were with a lot of milk, but always without sweeteners, because he knows that not good at all.
says Dr Federica Amati, a medical scientist and nutritionist at Imperial College London, who has been intrigued by the various benefits of coffee for many years.
Whether we have an espresso shot, a frothy cappuccino or a milky latte, many of us are as reliant on a caffeinated pick-me-up as we are on our alarm clock. But now there is an increasing amount of evidence to suggest that the many ingredients within coffee could help with aspects of our health.
For sure, the litres of coffee Marcus drank in a day was damaging his health. Dr Ally Jaffee, NHS doctor and co-founder of Nutritank says:
“Daily consumption of more than seven and a half cups of coffee has been suggested to have a negative impact on heart and brain health.”
The recent discovery in a Belgian field by archaeologists and former soldiers might be the first mass grave ever found from the conflict
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The prospect that the Waterloo quarry may yet prove to be a mass grave is, for the team on site, tantalising and hugely significant. But it was not an Indiana Jones-esque instant discovery, explains Professor Tony Pollard, director of Glasgow University’s Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, who is leading the dig. It was only through the careful excavation of layers of earth – coupled with a metal detector survey, which exposed high levels of magnetic anomaly – that Waterloo Uncovered were able to expose the quarry, layer by layer. By reading the soils and assessing artefacts, such as impacted musket balls, the team eventually uncovered the ovoid depression that has the potential to change history.
The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) Stair Scheme has previously estimated that 38 per cent of women have a fall going up or down the stairs each year, compared to 28 per cent of men.
The plank, an isometric core-strength exercise that involves maintaining a position similar to a push-up for the maximum possible time, is both feared and prized in fitness circles.
A joint effort of several authors who do find that nobody can keep standing at the side and that “Everyone" must care about what is going on in today’s world.
We are a bunch of people who do not mind that somebody has a totally different idea but is willing to share the ideas with others and to be Active and willing to let others understand how "today’s decisions will influence the future”. Therefore we would love to see many others to "Act today".
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