Author: Blake Anderson

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK is set to sign a controversial deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as soon as Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter.The deal, which is expected to see the UK agree a multibillion pound payment to retain access to the Diego Garcia US-UK military base while transferring sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, has been keenly awaited due to the site’s strategic importance. The long-planned arrangement for the British Indian Ocean Territory has been heavily…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner wrote to chancellor Rachel Reeves shortly before the Spring Statement to make the case for big tax increases, in a sign of deep splits at the top of the government over economic policy. Rayner proposed eight potential tax rises. including reinstating the pensions lifetime allowance and a higher corporation tax rate for banks. in a memorandum to Reeves.The measures would raise £3bn to £4bn a year, according to estimates cited in the document, which was sent two weeks…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Government plans for a dozen new towns in England in the coming years could cost up to £48bn according to a report examining the best locations to build the new wave of conurbations. The study by consultancy WPI Strategy identified Milton Keynes as the most favourable of 12 potential “trailblazer” locations for new settlements of 10,000 homes or more. The research, which has been submitted to the government’s new towns task force, looked at spatial and economic tests as well as potential public acceptability…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A second man has been arrested in connection with the alleged arson attacks targeting properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Metropolitan Police said. The arrest of the 26-year old suspect at Luton airport on Saturday follows charges being brought against Roman Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, this week, after three fires including one at Starmer’s family home. Counterterror police have been leading the investigation. Lavrynovych, 21, has been charged with three counts of arson with an intent to endanger life. The…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Labour’s growth strategy “cannot rest” solely on projects in the south-east, party grandee David Blunkett has warned, as northern leaders intensify their lobbying for investment in June’s spending review. The former home secretary is leading a new rail investment pitch for Yorkshire, launched by the area’s mayors on Friday, calling on ministers to take the economic potential of the region’s creaking infrastructure seriously. Separately, the north-west’s two Labour mayors, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, are pitching their own plan for a “northern…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The scale of tax avoidance and evasion by wealthy people could be much higher than the UK tax authority previously thought, a report by the National Audit Office has found.Wealthy people, defined by HM Revenue & Customs as those who either earn more than £200,000 a year or with assets of more than £2mn, paid £119bn in personal taxes in 2023-24, an average of £140,000 per person. The sum represented 25 per cent of the UK’s personal tax receipts.But the complexity of…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK tycoon Mike Lynch’s ill-fated superyacht Bayesian had “vulnerabilities” that made it prone to capsizing in strong winds, a preliminary British investigation has found. The 56-metre vessel, once described by its builder as “unsinkable”, sank while dragging its anchor off the coast of Sicily last year after being struck by hurricane-force winds. Lynch, his daughter, four friends and a crew member all died, while 15 survivors, including Lynch’s wife, were rescued. The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said on Thursday that Bayesian…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK government has unveiled plans to move 12,000 civil service jobs out of London and close 11 offices in the capital by 2030.Pat McFadden, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on Wednesday set out proposals to relocate the roles to 13 cities and towns across the UK, including to a new digital and AI campus in Manchester and an energy hub in Aberdeen.Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York are also set to benefit from…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK consumer spending grew strongly in April, boosted by warmer weather and the late timing of Easter, despite increased uncertainty over US trade tariffs and rising costs, industry data showed.The value of retail sales increased at an annual rate of 7 per cent in April, well above the 12-month average of 1.4 per cent, according to figures published by the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “The sunniest April on record brought with it a boost…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain’s development minister will tell MPs that “the days of viewing the UK government as a global charity are over”, as she considers suspending aid to overseas projects supporting education and feminist organisations.Baroness Jenny Chapman will set out her vision for aid as the government budget is radically reduced over the next two years, when she appears in front of parliament’s international development committee on Tuesday. The UK’s Foreign Office must pivot from paternalism to partnership and focus more heavily on helping…