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Tata Steel, the UK’s largest steelmaker, faces potential exclusion from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new tariff-free trade agreement with the United States, prompting urgent talks between ministers and US counterparts. The company, which operates the vast Port Talbot site in south Wales, fears it may fall foul of stringent US origin rules that threaten its $100 million annual export business to America. Speaking on Wednesday, Starmer confirmed that the agreement – brokered with US President...

Stores opened their doors at midnight across the globe as Nintendo fans scrambled to get their hands on the highly anticipated Switch 2, the gaming giant’s first direct console sequel. The launch saw eager queues from Tokyo to Toronto, with UK tech retailer Currys calling it their “biggest gaming pre-order ever” after selling 30,000 units ahead of release. Despite the fanfare, the rollout wasn’t without hiccups. Retailer Game cancelled a number of pre-orders, and earlier...

More than 2,500 leading voices from the UK’s arts sector, including the heads of the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, have signed an open letter warning that Labour’s proposed changes to the Access to Work scheme risk excluding disabled people from the workforce entirely. Indhu Rubasingham, artistic director of the National Theatre, and Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans, co-artistic directors of the RSC, were among the signatories to the letter, which accuses the government...

Scammers stole £47 million from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by fraudulently accessing more than 100,000 taxpayer accounts using phishing tactics, the tax authority has revealed. The large-scale fraud was exposed during a Treasury Select Committee hearing, where senior HMRC officials were criticised for failing to inform MPs earlier. According to the department, the criminals used stolen personal details to impersonate taxpayers and claim false tax rebates, diverting funds meant for legitimate claims. HMRC has...