Business

Young drivers with automatic-only licences face paying £760 more for car insurance than those who can also drive a manual vehicle, according to new figures. In what is described as a “concerning” rise, figures from comparison site Compare the Market show motorists under 25 with automatic licences now pay £2,803 on average. That is a

Rachel Reeves is winning a sizeable minority of former Conservative backers despite nagging worries about Labour overspending if they get into power, Sky News Voters Panel has revealed. The Voters Panel, a two-week online community run by YouGov, who backed Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in 2019, has been asked to explain their preference for either Tory

The Post Office’s embattled chief executive has been issued with a final chance to submit the 80-page investigation into his conduct before a committee of MPs look to formally summon the report. After a number of lapsed deadlines to provide the report, Nick Read has been told by the Business and Trade Committee chair he

The independent directors appointed to oversee the sale of The Daily Telegraph have been warned that the removal of the newspaper’s two most senior executives breached a government order – and that any subsequent transgression could result in a multimillion pound fine. Sky News has learnt that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

Britain’s biggest banks have been placed on alert over hundreds of ‘rogue’ filings which appear to have been lodged at Companies House, the UK’s central corporate register. Sky News has obtained a note issued by UK Finance, the banking trade association, which warned its members that approximately 800 forms relating to the discharging of financial

Cash-strapped train travellers are being priced off the railways, campaigners have warned as fares in England and Wales are hiked by nearly 5% despite high levels of cancellations. Critics argue passengers are being “punished” and will be angry at Sunday’s rises given the “shocking state” of the network, against a backdrop of disruption caused by

The Post Office should be “handed over” to postmasters, its former chairman has said, accusing the government of using it as a “fig leaf” for stalling and evasion. In a letter seen exclusively by Sky News, Henry Staunton told the business and trade committee the government has “consistently hidden behind the Post Office’s skirts, spinning

The long-standing owner of the Moto GP global motor-racing series is in advanced talks to sell the business for more than £3bn. Sky News has learnt that Bridgepoint, which is the biggest shareholder in Moto GP’s parent company, Dorna Sports, is seeking a valuation of up to €4bn (£3.4bn) in its negotiations with prospective buyers.

Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire owner of Tesla and X, is suing artificial intelligence company OpenAI, accusing the firm of prioritising profit over developing AI for the public good. Mr Musk is bringing the suit against OpenAI, which he co-founded, and its chief executive, Sam Altman, for breaching a contract by reneging on its pledge to

The UK car industry has pleaded with the chancellor to help get the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) back on track when he delivers his budget next week, accusing the government of creating an own goal. The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said it was clear that the decision to delay the ban

Post Office Limited (POL) “intended to pervert the course of justice” by relying on knowingly flawed cash accounts, an inquiry submission filed today alleged. Sir Edward Henry KC, who represents former sub-postmasters Lee Castleton and Seema Misra, among others, in the Post Office scandal, made the remarks in a closing statement for the Horizon inquiry.

The Home Office immigration system statistics for 2023 tell a different story to the one that dominates the political discourse. While government commentary and policy has focused on illegal migration via small boats, the largest driver of rising immigration is people coming to work, primarily in a health and care sector that would not function

Vape ads across social media platforms “need to stop” and advertisers pleading ignorance is not an excuse, the advertising regulator has warned. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) – which regulates non-broadcast adverts – launched a crackdown on e-cigarette advertisers, warning the law prohibits them from marketing vapes containing nicotine that are not licensed as

Labour will inherit the worst economic situation of any incoming government since the Second World War, Rachel Reeves warned today, accusing the Conservative Party of “burning the house down” during its time in government. Talking in the run-up to next week’s budget, the shadow chancellor said that while George Osborne had promised to “fix the

MPs have raised concerns over the treatment of small businesses by major banks after figures showed more than 140,000 accounts were shut down by lenders over the past year. As part of an inquiry into access to finance, the Treasury Committee gathered information from eight banks, including the so-called big four, on how many business

Jeremy Hunt has held talks with the boss of Shein, the Chinese-founded fast fashion giant, in a bid to persuade the company to commit to what would be one of London’s biggest-ever corporate flotations. Sky News can exclusively reveal the chancellor met Donald Tang, Shein’s executive chairman, this month as part of British regulators’ and

The UK will “miss out” on economic growth unless it finally comes up with an industrial strategy to green the economy, the leading business group has warned. As the UK economy has stagnated in recent years, the value of green industries like renewables, eco-friendly heating and energy storage is growing and will help unlock further

The UK has seen a “persistent under delivery” of new homes, according to the competition watchdog which has launched an investigation into eight housebuilders. Too few new homes are being delivered due to a “complex and unpredictable” planning system, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. Its report into the housebuilding industry also identified “substantial

The prime minister has revealed how some of the money from abandoning the HS2 northern leg will be reallocated. Northern England will get £2.5bn and the Midlands £2.2bn after plans to run the high-speed line to the North were scrapped last year. The cash will go to a “local transport fund” to help towns, rural

A former private secretary to Prince Andrew is playing a key role in the deliberations of a Chinese online retail giant over a possible bid for Currys, the high street electrical goods chain. Sky News has learnt that Amanda Thirsk, who quit as the Duke of York’s private secretary nearly four years ago, is working