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Four out of five employers have been impacted by the increase in national insurance contributions, a new study suggests. A survey of more than 1,100 employers by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found the rise in employer contributions to national insurance (NI) from 13.8% to 15.05% had increased staffing costs for many, forced some to put up their prices, and meant others would be limiting their investment. The BCC […]

Airline easyJet hopes to be back to carrying nearly as many customers at the end of this financial year as it did before the pandemic. The budget flight provider also revealed on Thursday that it had reduced losses over the six months to the end of March. It said that pre-tax loss hit £557 million over the half-year period, down from £645 million a year earlier. “EasyJet has reduced its […]

Royal Mail has said it will need to hike prices and slash costs to offset soaring inflation amid an “uncertain” outlook for the economy as it posted a rise in annual earnings. The group cautioned over “significant headwinds” as it faces higher wage demands, surging energy and fuel costs. It is cutting costs by more than £350 million to help mitigate the hit, but said it would also have to […]

Police investigating an alleged on-pitch attack on Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp have charged a 30-year-old man with assault. Robert Biggs, of Derbyshire, has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and going on to the playing area at a football match, Nottinghamshire Police said. Sharp was knocked to the ground near the touchline at the City Ground at the end of the Championship play-off semi-final against Nottingham Forest on […]

A Tory MP accused of rape and sexual assault offences spanning seven years has been released on bail pending further inquiries. Scotland Yard said the unnamed man in his 50s was also detained on suspicion of indecent assault, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office. Tory chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris urged the MP to stay away from Parliament but has not suspended the whip, meaning the suspect […]

Roman Abramovich and the UK Government have found a legal resolution that should now usher through the Chelsea sale to Todd Boehly Lawyers for Abramovich and the Government are understood to have found common ground on how to handle the Stamford Bridge club’s £1.5billion debt to the Chelsea owner. Abramovich has wanted to write off that debt since putting Chelsea up for sale on March 2, but Downing Street sanctions […]

Fewer early years pupils have reached expected development standards because of the pandemic’s disruption to their education, a new report has found. The study of reception year children aged four to five was focused on a cohort who were all aged three or four during the first lockdown from March 2020, while in the second and third lockdowns they were in their reception year. It found that parents and schools […]

Jamal Edwards has been announced as the first person to receive posthumously the Music Industry Trusts (MITS) Award in recognition of his contribution to the sector. The entrepreneur found fame after setting up the music platform SBTV in 2006, and was credited with helping to launch a string of UK music acts to stardom, including Ed Sheeran, Dave and Jessie J. He died on February 20 from a heart attack […]

Britain’s jobless rate has fallen to its lowest level for over 47 years but workers have seen their pay fall further behind rocketing inflation, according to official figures. The rate of unemployment dropped to 3.7% in the three months to March – the lowest since October to December 1974, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. For the first time, there were fewer unemployed people than job vacancies, although the […]