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There was much excitement when, in April, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the launch of a new taskforce between the Treasury and the Bank of England to co-ordinate exploratory work on a potential central bank digital currency.

The currency was immediately nicknamed ‘Britcoin‘ although it is unlikely to take that name if or when it is eventually launched.

As part of the work, the Bank was asked to consult widely on the benefits, risks and practicalities of doing so.

That work is ongoing but, in the meantime, the Bank has published a discussion paper aiming to broaden the debate around new forms of digital money.

The issue is of huge importance to the Bank because its two main functions, as an institution, are to maintain both the monetary and financial stability in the UK. The rise of digital money has implications for both.

The Bank has already made clear that it is sceptical about cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, which its governor, Andrew Bailey, has said “has no intrinsic value”.

Yet these currencies must be differentiated from a central bank digital currency.

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The concept of a central bank digital currency may be confusing to some but Sir Jon Cunliffe, the Bank’s deputy governor for financial stability, said it was actually quite straightforward.

File photo dated 20/09/19 of the Bank of England, in the City of London, which has left interest rates unchanged at 0.1%. Issue date: Thursday February 4, 2021.
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The Bank of England is responsible for UK monetary policy and financial stability

He told Sky News: “At the Bank of England, we issue banknotes, the notes that everybody holds in their pocket, but we don’t issue any money in digital form.

“So when you pay with a card or with your phone on a digital transaction, you’re actually using your bank account, you’re transferring money from your bank account to somebody else’s.

“A central bank digital currency, a digital pound, would actually be a claim on the Bank of England, issued by us, directly to the public.

“At the moment we only issue digital money to banks, we don’t issue to the general public, so it will be a digital pound – and it will be similar to some of the proposals being developed in the private sector.”

Sir Jon, who is co-chairing the taskforce with the Treasury’s Katharine Braddick, said that, while a central bank digital currency and a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin might use the same technology, there were big differences.

He went on: “[Central bank digital currencies] use the same technology but…they aim to have a stable value. They’re called stable coins and some of the technology companies, the big tech platforms, are just thinking about developing digital coins of that sort.

The European Central Bank is in Frankfurt
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The European Central Bank is exploring a similar digital currency for the euro area

“A central bank digital currency would be a digital coin, actually a digital note, issued by the Bank of England.”

Sir Jon said such currencies would have to the potential to bring down costs for businesses depending on how they were developed.

He added: “They do offer the potential to bring down cost. At the moment the average cost, I think, for a credit card transaction is about just over half a per cent, but of course if you’re a small tea room in Shoreham-on-Sea, you’re going to be paying more than that in some cases, well over 1% for that transaction.

“So it could be cheaper, it could be more convenient. These new forms of money offer the ability for them to be integrated more with other things through their software. So you can think of smart contracts, in which the money would be programmed to be released only when something happened. You could think, for example, of giving the children pocket money but programming the money so that it couldn’t be used for sweets.

“There’s a whole range of things that money could do – programmable money, as it’s called – which we can’t do with the current technology.

“Now whether there’s a market, whether there’s a demand for that, whether that’s something people want in their lives, I think is another question – but we need to stay at the forefront of thinking.

“We need to stay ahead of these issues because we’ve seen changes can happen really fast in the digital world – people didn’t think smartphones had much or a market when the iPhone was first introduced – and it’s important we keep abreast of those issues.”

He noted that, under one ‘illustrative scenario’ set out in the Bank’s discussion paper, the cost of credit could rise in the event of people withdrawing deposits from the banking sector and migrated to a form of digital money.

This is why the Bank is seeking, in this discussion paper, to establish the conditions under which people might prefer using new forms of digital money to existing forms, such as cash or ‘private money’ like bank deposits. But that is easier said than done.

Sir Jon added: “It’s very difficult to know what the demand for something like this will be. It could be quite small – people might just want to keep a small wallet of digital coins for use on the internet, or whatever, but it could be quite large.

“That’s one of the things we want to try and understand better and [that’s why] we want to get views on how it would operate.

Undated handout photo issued by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of a poster for Luno, a cryptocurrency exchange service
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The value of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have fluctuated wildly since their conception

“It’s important to say, given that it’s so difficult to estimate whether something like this would take off, that, if it were introduced, I think one would have to be quite careful at the beginning – you wouldn’t want to be in a position where something became very popular and had impacts that you hadn’t foreseen.”

To that end, the Bank’s discussion paper also considers the potential risks posed to economic stability by new forms of digital money.

The deputy governor went on: “It’s really fundamental that people can trust the money they use every day in the economy, that they don’t have to think about ‘I’m holding one form of money rather than another form of money, is this one more safe than another?’

“So the regulation is going to have to make sure – and the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England made this really clear – that if you issue these new forms of money, the users have to have the same level of confidence and security that they have in the money that circulates in this country at the moment, either Bank of England cash or commercial bank money in the form of bank accounts.

“It’s really crucial that people trust the money they use – we’ve seen from history that when confidence in money breaks down, for whatever reason, the social cost is enormous.”

All of which explains that, while most analysts assume the Bank will ultimately launch its own digital currency, it is taking its time to assess what the impact may be.

It is also clearly giving much thought to how it explains to households and businesses why such a move may be necessary.

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Administrators lined up for North Sea oilfield services group Petrofac

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Administrators lined up for North Sea oilfield services group Petrofac

Administrators are on standby this weekend to handle the collapse of Petrofac, the oil and energy services group – an insolvency which could threaten the future of more than 2,000 jobs in Scotland.

Sky News has learnt that directors of Petrofac has lined up Teneo for an administration process which could be confirmed as early as Monday morning.

The company’s board, chaired by former Anglo American finance director Rene Medori, is said to be holding emergency talks this weekend.

One industry executive said a decision to file for administration was likely to be taken before the stock market opens on Monday.

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and other ministers have been briefed on the situation, with more than 2,000 Scottish-based jobs potentially at risk.

Kroll, the advisory firm, has been engaged by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to work with ministers and officials on the unfolding crisis.

Government sources claimed this weekend that Petrofac’s UK operations were “growing”.

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“This government is supporting jobs and investment in Scotland including building a world leading carbon capture industry in the North Sea, alongside our biggest ever investment in offshore wind,” one official said.

A source close to Petrofac said on Saturday that the UK arm of the group had not been beset by any lossmaking contracts and would be in a strong position to secure its future.

The administration process would affect the parent company, Petrofac Limited, which does not directly employ the company’s workforce, they added.

Petrofac’s potential collapse comes at a sensitive time for Mr Miliband, who is coming under enormous pressure to permit more North Sea oil and gas drilling despite Labour’s manifesto commitment not to grant licences on new fields.

Petrofac employs about 7,300 people globally, according to a recent stock exchange filing.

It designs, constructs and operates offshore equipment for energy companies.

The company’s shares have been suspended since April.

Petrofac, which now has a market capitalisation of barely £20m, has been mired in financial trouble for years.

Once-valued at more than £6bn, it has been drowning in a sea of debt, and faced a Serious Fraud Office investigation which resulted in a 2021 conviction for failing to prevent bribery, and the payment of more than $100m in penalties.

In a stock exchange announcement on Thursday, Petrofac said the cancellation of a contract by TenneT, an operator of electricity grids in Europe which is its biggest customer, meant that a solvent restructuring was now not viable.

“Having carefully assessed the impact of TenneT’s decision, the Board has determined that the restructuring, which had last week reached an advanced stage, is no longer deliverable in its current form,” the company said.

“The group is in close and constant dialogue with its key creditors and other stakeholders as it actively pursues alternative options for the group.

“In the meantime, Petrofac remains focused on serving its clients and maintaining operational capability and delivery of services across its businesses.”

Founded in 1981 in Texas, Petrofac has been in talks about a far-reaching financial restructuring for more than a year.

A formal restructuring plan was sanctioned by the High Court in May 2025 with the aim of writing off much of its debt and injecting new equity into the business.

This was subsequently overturned, prompting talks with creditors about a revised agreement.

If Petrofac does fall into administration, it is expected to be broken up, with some of its assets – including key contracts – likely to be taken over by other industry players.

Petrofac has been contacted for comment.

A DESNZ spokesman declined to comment.

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Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack pushes overall UK car production down more than a quarter

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 Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack pushes overall UK car production down more than a quarter

UK car production fell by more than a quarter (27.1%) last month as a cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover halted manufacturing at the plant, industry figures show.

The total number of vehicles coming off assembly lines – including cars and vans – fell an even sharper 35.9%, according to September data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

“Largely responsible” for the drop was the five-week pause in production at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) due to a malicious cyber attack, as other car makers reported growth.

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JLR’s assembly lines in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside were paused from late August to early October as a result.

During this time, not a single vehicle was made. Production has since restarted, but the attack is believed to have been the “most financially damaging” in UK history at an estimated cost of £1.9bn, according to the security body the Cyber Monitoring Centre.

It was the lowest number of cars made in any September in the UK since 1952, including during the COVID-19 lockdown.

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Despite the restart, the sector remains “under immense pressure”, the SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes said.

The phased restart of operations led to a small boost in manufacturing output this month, according to a closely watched survey.

Of the cars that were made, nearly half (47.8%) were battery electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid.

The vast majority, 76% of the total vehicles output, were made for export.

The top destinations are the European Union, US, Turkey, Japan and South Korea.

JLR was just the latest business to be the subject of a cyberattack.

Harrods, the Co-Op, and Marks and Spencer, are among the companies that have struggled in the past year with such attacks.

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English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday file for administration

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English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday file for administration

Championship club Sheffield Wednesday have filed for administration, according to a court filing, which will result in the already struggling side being hit with a 12-point deduction.

The South Yorkshire club currently sit bottom of the Championship, the second tier of English football, with just six points from 11 games.

Known as The Owls, Wednesday are one of the oldest surviving clubs in world football, with more than 150 years of history.

Court records confirm the club have filed for administration. A notice was filed at a specialist court at 10.01am.

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Sky’s Rob Harris reports on the news that Sheffield Wednesday have filed for administration

What has happened?

The Owls, who host Oxford United on Saturday, have been in turmoil for a long time.

On 3 June, owner Dejphon Chansiri, a Thai canned fish magnate who took over the club in 2015, was charged with breaching EFL regulations regarding payment obligations.

Sheffield Wednesday fans protest the ownership at a game away to Leeds United in January. Pic: Reuters
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Sheffield Wednesday fans protest the ownership at a game away to Leeds United in January. Pic: Reuters

Weeks later, Mr Chansiri said he was willing to sell the club in a statement on their official website.

Sheffield Wednesday's troubles have sparked furious protests from fans. Pic: PA
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Sheffield Wednesday’s troubles have sparked furious protests from fans. Pic: PA

Their crisis deepened just days later when another embargo was imposed on the club relating to payments owed to HMRC, before players and staff were not paid on time on 30 June.

In the months that followed, forwards Josh Windass and Michael Smith left the club by mutual consent. Manager Danny Rohl, now at Rangers, also left by mutual consent.

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Frustrated Sheffield Wednesday supporters have targeted their embattled club’s owner in a highly-visible protest during their opening match of the season.

The Owls were forced to close the 9,255-capacity North Stand at Hillsborough after a Prohibition Notice was issued by Sheffield City Council.

‘Current uncertainty’

On 6 August, the EFL released a statement, saying: “We are clear that the current owner needs either to fund the club to meet its obligations or make good on his commitment to sell to a well-funded party, for fair market value – ending the current uncertainty and impasse.”

On 13 August, the Prohibition Notice was lifted, but a month later, news emerged of a winding-up petition over £1m owed to HMRC.

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Last season, Wednesday finished 12th. They had already been placed under registration embargoes in the last two seasons after being hit by a six-point deduction during the 2020/21 campaign, for breaching profit and sustainability rules.

With a 12-point deduction, the Owls would be 15 points away from safety in the Championship.

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