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The European Union’s planned ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 is set to be watered down, according to senior figures in the European Parliament, in a move that is likely to trigger fierce opposition from environmental campaigners. The decision, which is expected to be outlined by the European Commission this week in Strasbourg, would mark a significant retreat from one of the central planks of the EU’s Green Deal....

UK companies could be hit with fines of up to £60,000 per worker under proposed changes that would require right-to-work checks to be carried out on freelancers and other casual workers, a move that many business owners remain unaware of. Under current rules, employers have been legally required since 2008 to carry out right-to-work checks on employees engaged under traditional employment contracts. However, a government consultation — closing on Wednesday 10 December and forming part...

Evoke, the heavily indebted gambling group that owns William Hill in the UK as well as the 888 brand, has put itself up for sale as it grapples with rising costs and regulatory pressure. The company said it is undertaking a review of its strategic options, which includes the possibility of selling the business. Investment banks Morgan Stanley and Rothschild have been appointed as joint financial advisers to oversee the process, although Evoke cautioned that...

Fast-food chain Leon is set to close a number of restaurants and cut jobs after entering administration, just weeks after being bought back by its co-founder John Vincent in a deal reported to be worth between £30 million and £50 million. The business has applied for an administration order to enable the formulation of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), which it said is intended to accelerate a wider restructuring of the group. Leon’s immediate priority...

The British Design Fund (BDF) has secured a £5 million commitment from the British Business Bank to support early-stage UK businesses designing and manufacturing physical products, strengthening access to equity finance for product-led innovation across the country. The investment, made through the British Business Bank’s Regional Angels Programme, will support BDF’s mission to back founders building scalable, UK-based product businesses in sectors such as health, sustainability and assistive technology. The programme was launched in 2019...

The UK economy unexpectedly contracted for a second consecutive month in October, underlining the fragility of growth as households and businesses reined in activity ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget. Gross domestic product fell by 0.1 per cent in October, matching the decline seen in September, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics. Economists had expected the economy to return to modest growth, forecasting an expansion of 0.1 per cent at the...

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has been targeted by almost a quarter of a million cyber attacks over the past year, a dramatic surge that comes just weeks after the fiscal watchdog accidentally leaked the Chancellor’s Budget online. Freedom of Information data obtained by the Parliament Street think tank shows the OBR faced 238,678 hostile incidents in the past 12 months, including spam, malware, and phishing attempts. The figure represents a 162% increase on...