Author: Loveworld UK

British financial institutions in South Africa may have been used as conduits for laundered money, a former Cabinet minister has suggested. Ex-Northern Ireland secretary Lord Hain said that Chancellor Philip Hammond had agreed that the matter would be looked into. Lord Hain told the Press Association: “I have written to the Chancellor asking for British authorities to investigate British financial institutions that may have been used as conduits for money laundering.” The Labour peer, who was a leading anti-apartheid campaigner, is set to raise his concerns in the House of Lords on Thursday. Lord Hain said it has been estimated…

Vauxhall has announced plans to cut 400 jobs at its factory in Ellesmere Port by the end of the year – nearly a quarter of the workforce. Just under 1,800 people work at the Cheshire plant, which has made the Astra since 1979, and makes about 680 of them each day. Vauxhall said it took the decision due to “challenging European market conditions and a declining passenger car market”. “Vauxhall needs to adjust production volumes at its Ellesmere Port production facility to the current level of demand and to improve its performance, in order to protect its future,” the company…

Austria’s foreign minister is on course to become the country’s next chancellor and the world’s youngest head of government. Sebastian Kurz, 31, has declared victory after near-final results from Sunday’s election put his People’s Party on 31.4%. That figure is not enough for an overall majority, meaning he would either have to form a coalition or a minority government to become chancellor. The eurosceptic Freedom Party is in second place with 27.4% and the centre-left Social Democrats are third with 26.7%. Both Mr Kurz’s People’s Party and the Freedom Party have focused their campaigns on concerns about immigration and Islam.…

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has failed to give a clear answer about whether he has declared independence for Catalonia. He has written a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy requesting a meeting within the next two months. The letter, made public in Catalan media, does not directly answer the question of independence, but says the “offer of dialogue is sincere despite everything that has happened.” Mr Rajoy had demanded a definitive statement on independence by 10am on Monday, after a contested referendum in Catalonia on 1 October. About 90% of those who voted in the referendum backed separating from…

Storm Ophelia is set to bring “potentially deadly” gusts of up to 80mph from the Atlantic to Ireland and parts of the UK. The Met Office has warned that remnants of Ophelia – which was previously classified as a hurricane – have “the potential for injuries and danger to life”. The Republic of Ireland’s meteorological service, known as Met Eireann, extended a “status red” weather alert – its highest – across the entire country on Sunday night. It described the storm as the most powerful hurricane to have ever been this far east in the Atlantic. All schools and colleges have been…

Theresa May will make an unannounced trip to Brussels today to meet the key players negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU. Sky News understands the Prime Minister will accompany Brexit Secretary David Davis on the trip, which is expected to include dinner with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, and Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president. Government sources say the meeting has been planned for “a while” and therefore “it would be wrong to say it represents any view on negotiations”. However, it follows a marked ramp-up in high level discussions between the Prime Minister and fellow leaders, including telephone conversations…

A price cap on energy bills proposed by the prime minister last week is unlikely to take effect before winter. Theresa May had vowed to revive a plan to cap charges for an extra 12 million consumers. However, Ofgem said it would have to wait for legislation to be in force before it could take action on standard variable tariffs. Until then a more limited price cap will cover another one million low income households, the regulator said. That move will, on average, save households £120 a year the regulator said. Last week Business Secretary Greg Clark said a gas…

More than 150 people are missing in wildfires that have ravaged northern California’s wine region, police say. At least 17 people are now confirmed dead and more than 2,000 buildings have been destroyed by the fires which broke out on Sunday. Eleven of the deaths have been in Sonoma County. One of the worst affected towns there is Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco, where entire districts have been destroyed. The Sonoma County sheriff’s office said 155 people were still unaccounted for, although that could be due to the chaotic pace of the evacuations. In neighbouring Napa County, victims included…

Chancellor Philip Hammond has suggested he will refuse to budget this year for a ‘no deal’ exit from the European Union. In a move likely to rile Brexiteers reportedly calling for billions to be set aside in November’s Autumn Budget, Mr Hammond said he would only commit the money “when it’s responsible to do so”. He insisted the Treasury was “planning for every outcome” of negotiations and that “we will find any necessary funding”, in an article for The Times. And he added: “We must be honest about the near-term challenges and complexities as we prepare to leave.” Mr Hammond’s…

The retail sector says EU nationals must be allowed to continue working in the UK freely after Brexit, or shoppers could face rising prices and slower deliveries. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) sounded the warning after its annual workforce survey highlighted concern among its members over the future of employees from EU nations. It said 22% of firms had already reported staff returning to the continent amid uncertainty over their future in the UK. EU nationals make up 6% of the retail sector’s workforce. That is 170,000 people. If they were to go, the BRC said, it would spark shortages…