Author: Blake Anderson

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Reforms to change how environmental concerns are addressed in the UK planning system have sparked job security fears among thousands of ecologists, according to senior industry figures. The proposed measures will significantly reduce the number of protected species surveys required for development to be approved, as part of a government drive to speed up delivery of major infrastructure projects.The planning and infrastructure bill, which faces its second reading in parliament on Monday, is intended to “get Britain building” and remove obstructive regulation. But…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The head of English rugby union faces a crunch vote on his future this week after a pay row exposed deep divisions over the state of the game’s finances and governance.Members of the Rugby Football Union, which oversees both the professional and amateur games in England, have been called to a special general meeting on Thursday by a group agitating for the removal of RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney. The Whole Game Union, which includes a referees union and more than 100 professional,…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Tens of thousands of Britons are set to lose almost two-thirds of their income as a result of welfare cuts announced by Sir Keir Starmer’s government, according to Financial Times calculations.Tougher eligibility for personal independence payments (Pips) and incapacity benefits will mean some people now in line to receive £15,000 a year, excluding housing support, will instead receive just £5,400 — a drop of 64 per cent.The figures highlight the dramatic impact that the government’s cuts will have on people who are…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Heathrow airport reopened on Saturday morning following a complete shutdown caused by an electrical outage, but airlines warned of further disruption as they restarted operations.The airport fully reopened for flights on Saturday morning and the first aeroplanes took off just after 6am.Heathrow said it was “open and fully operational”, but airlines had cancelled nearly 100 of Saturday’s flights by 8am as they began the logistical challenge of restarting their operations with planes, crews and passengers out of place and scattered across the…

Veteran jockey Frankie Dettori is feeling “saddened and embarrassed” after filing for bankruptcy last week, after being unable to resolve a long-running case of tax avoidance with HM Revenue & Customs.“Bankruptcy is a major decision and its consequences will affect me for many years,” he said in a statement, adding that he would “advise others to take a stronger rein over their financial matters”. (no pun intended, I’m guessing)Advisers say the fact that the tax authority pursued the 54-year-old flat racer with such relentless determination is in line with its more muscular attitude to tax dodging.“They can’t be seen to…

Inheritance tax liabilities rose to their highest level on record one month ahead of the end of the tax year, driven frozen tax thresholds and rising property values.HM Revenue & Customs recorded £7.6bn in IHT receipts in the first 11 months of 2024-25, exceeding the full-year total of £7.5bn for 2023-24.The news come as financial planners encourage consumers to take advantage of their gift allowance to get ahead of changes to inheritance tax in the coming years.Reforms announced in last year’s Budget mean pensions will become subject to IHT from April 2027, affecting people who had spent years building retirement…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldUS President Donald Trump has revoked security clearances for Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, his former rivals for the White House, as he expands his campaign of retribution against political opponents. Trump announced on Friday night that the former vice-president, and former First Lady and secretary of state, would be included in a list of individuals he wants stripped of access to sensitive government information. He defeated Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and Harris in 2024.Trump’s list also included…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK tax myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The UK is in discussions with the US about slashing or abolishing altogether Britain’s digital services tax before April 2 as it seeks to avoid the worst of US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.US ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson told the Financial Times that the “tax itself is under discussion”, and signalled that a variety of options were on the table other than scrapping it entirely.People briefed on the discussions said that the options being examined by the UK Treasury depended on whether…

Air travellers face days of disruption as Heathrow struggles to recover from a fire that shut down Europe’s busiest airport, leading to 1,300 flight cancellations and raising questions about the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure.The blaze at a local electricity substation caused a power outage that closed the airport in the early hours of Friday morning and forced inbound flights to divert to other hubs, such as Paris and Amsterdam, or return to their original airports.Some transatlantic flights ended up wherever space was available, including an Air Canada flight from Toronto diverted to Goose Bay, Newfoundland.At its height, 70 firefighters…

Firefighters in Hayes, west London, got the call to investigate smoke billowing out of the area’s North Hyde power substation around 11:20pm on Thursday, and raced to the site located less than two miles from Heathrow airport.Within hours, one of the world’s busiest airports was closed to all air traffic, incoming planes from as far as New Delhi and Los Angeles were turning back, and the recriminations had begun.“How is it that critical infrastructure — of national and global importance — is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative,” asked Willie Walsh, director-general of International Air Transport…