Business

A former chair of the Post Office has told the Horizon IT scandal inquiry that in-house lawyers advised him against sharing a report he commissioned on the accounting system. Tim Parker, who held the role for almost seven years from October 2015, said he regretted taking the advice the findings of the review by Jonathan

Fraud groups take billions of dollars a year out of the music industry through fake streams, a streaming technology company has warned. At least 10% of all song streams are fraudulent, and this takes between $2bn and $3bn (£1.6bn and £2.4bn) out of the global music industry each year according to Beatdapp, the streaming fraud

Financial markets are giving their first reaction to the early evidence of a record-breaking win for Labour in the general election. A respected exit poll by Ipsos, carried out for broadcasters including Sky News, was the first to put an estimate on the size of the majority expected for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. The 170

Sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have failed to achieve any of their aims, the country’s ambassador has told Sky News. Andrey Kelin was speaking to Sky News as an investigation by Sky’s Ed Conway revealed glaring loopholes in the restrictions regime, which has allowed British companies – legally – to help

Inside Out has become the first film of the year to take over $1bn worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film of the year. It is the first to reach the milestone since Warner Brothers’ movie Barbie last year, gaining the accolade faster than any animated film in history. Image: Pic: Disney/Pixar It has held the

This is the story of how an obscure company based in an office block on a quiet street in Glasgow became an accessory in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. It is the story of how Europe and Russia remain locked in a tense relationship of economic dependence, even as they supposedly cut their ties. It

As the latest reduction in the energy price cap takes effect, households are being warned of a big lift in bills ahead due to higher wholesale gas prices. The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge per unit of energy, fell by 7% overnight in the wake of the latest three-month review by industry regulator

The outgoing boss of Boots is leaving to run Veonet, one of Europe’s largest chains of ophthalmology clinics. Sky News has learnt that Sebastian James is to become the new group chief executive of Veonet, which is owned by the private equity firm PAI Partners and Canada’s Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. He will leave Boots

The chief executive of Boots, Britain’s biggest high street pharmacy chain, is quitting after its owner’s plans for a £5bn sale or stock market listing stalled. Sky News has learnt that Sebastian James, who has run Boots since 2018, will leave the company in November. City sources said this weekend that he had accepted a

Britain’s fourth-biggest household energy supplier is lining up bankers to explore options including bringing in a new investor or a sale, 15 years after it launched in a bid to challenge the industry’s oligopoly. Sky News has learnt that OVO Group, which was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick, is close to hiring Rothschild to assist with

Nationwide, HSBC and Virgin Money customers have been affected by problems affecting their banking services. Nationwide said there was a “delay with some customers receiving their salary or pension payments today”. Meanwhile, HSBC and Virgin Money said it was aware of issues affecting its online and mobile banking – with the former saying it was

An expert on the Post Office Horizon IT systems has denied suggestions he was “protecting the monster” in evidence he gave to the trial of a sub-postmaster who was wrongly convicted while pregnant. Former senior Fujitsu engineer Gareth Jenkins told the Post Office Inquiry he did not hide glitches in the branch accounting system at

The UK’s exit from recession during the first three months of the year was stronger than initial figures suggested, according to official data. In an update on its first growth estimate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.7% between January and March. It had originally said on 10

Around three million UK households will see their mortgage repayments rise over the next two years as high interest rates continue to take effect, the Bank of England has said. As many as 400,000 homes are likely to experience “very large increases” of more than 50%, its financial policy committee said. Money latest: 27 areas

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group – the UK’s biggest lender – has warned whoever wins the general election that they will not be able to fuel growth by increasing government borrowing. Charlie Nunn said the UK’s national debt had been forced higher in the last decade and a half due to “massive shocks”

A key figure behind the flawed IT system that led to hundreds of sub-postmasters being wrongly jailed has told the Post Office inquiry he had “not remembered” legal advice he was given about his obligations as an expert witness. Former senior Fujitsu engineer Gareth Jenkins was crucial in the prosecutions process because he was one

New details have been unveiled for Universal’s first UK theme park – including plans for the attraction to be open 365 days a year. Universal Destinations & Experiences – which is owned by Sky’s parent company Comcast – has bought land near Bedford as it plans to build Europe’s largest theme park with more than

One of the architects of the Post Office Horizon accounting system has admitted there were “discreet” bugs but it generally “worked well”, dismissing suggestions he had knowledge of widespread flaws. Gareth Jenkins, who was a lead engineer at Horizon supplier Fujitsu, told the public inquiry into the IT scandal that while pilots for both Horizon

Prospective bidders for The Daily Telegraph have been told to submit indicative offers by July 19 if they want to take control of two of Britain’s most influential newspaper titles. Sky News has learnt that interested parties have been given the deadline, which comes barely two weeks after the general election, as they seek to

Weekly wages have increased by just £16 in 14 years when inflation is factored in, according to research from living-standards think tank the Resolution Foundation. Workers have experienced an “unprecedented” pay squeeze since 2010 with real weekly wage growth of £16 due to two crises and Brexit, the foundation said. The sum factors in price