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Last week, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a damning statement in Athens. Two former Greek government ministers are suspected of facilitating a long-running scheme to defraud the European Union’s farm subsidy system. According to investigators, citizens across Greece received millions of euros in EU agricultural funds for neither owned nor leased pastureland, and for work they never performed. The result has been significant financial penalties for Greece, including a €400 million fine imposed by...

High earners in the UK are facing a sharp rise in tax investigations as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) intensifies scrutiny of the wealthiest Britons following a record-breaking year for compliance revenue. A Freedom of Information request by accountancy firm Pinsent Masons has revealed that HMRC’s wealthy and mid-sized business compliance directorate raised more than £1.5 billion from investigations in 2024 — double the figure from the previous year. The directorate focuses on individuals earning...

Transport for London (TfL) has signed a major green energy deal with EDF Renewables UK to supply the Tube with clean electricity from a new solar farm in Essex, marking a significant step towards its goal of running the capital’s transport network on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030. The 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) will see EDF’s subsidiary, Longfield Solar Energy Farm Limited, provide around 80 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually to...

The Co-op has announced it will stop selling produce from Israel and 16 other nations it deems “countries of concern” over human rights violations, in a move that has drawn criticism from politicians and praise from ethical sourcing campaigners. The supermarket chain said the shift in policy is part of its broader commitment to ethical trading and peace advocacy, following a mandate from its members. Under the revised guidelines, it will phase out products where...

The UK’s Big Four accountancy firms have slashed graduate recruitment and cut hundreds of early-career roles as artificial intelligence begins to automate the junior work once assigned to school-leavers and university graduates. Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — who together employ around 100,000 staff across the UK — have scaled back their graduate and school leaver intake over the past two years, with some reducing hiring by nearly a third. KPMG made the steepest cuts,...