Boris Johnson appoints ex-Tesco boss as ‘expert supply chain adviser’ to ease crisis
Boris Johnson has appointed the former boss of Tesco as an expert supply chain adviser.
Sir David Lewis, former chief executive of the supermarket giant, will assist both the prime minister and newly appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Stephen Barclay on both immediate improvements and any necessary long-term changes to UK supply chains for goods, Downing Street said.
Sir David will be in the role until the end of the year and will work with government officials to quickly resolve acute, short-term issues, they added.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News ‘we’re right at the tail end’ of the situation with fuel supply pressures
He will also co-chair a new supply chain advisory group which will be based in the Cabinet Office.
The announcement comes as data revealed around one in six adults in Britain have been unable to buy essential food items in the last fortnight.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), some 17% of adults said they had not been able to purchase such goods because they were not available.
Almost a quarter (23%) said the same for non-essential food items.
In a statement on Friday, Downing Street said: “This includes both identifying the causes of current blockages and pre-empting potential future ones, and advising on resolutions either through direct government action or through industry with government support.”
The prime minister added he is “pleased” that Sir David is joining the team who have been “working on future-proofing our supply chains across the United Kingdom as we recover from the pandemic”.
People have had to queue for petrol over the last few weeks
“There are currently global supply issues which we are working with industry to mitigate and Dave brings a wealth of experience which will help us continue to protect our businesses and supply chains,” the PM said.
Sir David, who stepped down from the his role at Tesco in September last year, will take up his new position on Monday.
No 10 said businesses have faced “a range of challenges” over recent months “as they recover from the global pandemic which has impacted supply chains across Europe and around the world”.
“The government has acted quickly to introduce a series of measures to relieve pressure on vital supply chains, including by streamlining the testing process for HGV drivers, creating skills boot camps to train up HGV drivers, as well as introducing short-term visas for fuel drivers, food haulage drivers and poultry workers to ease pressures facing these supply chains,” they added.
Speaking to Sky News earlier on Friday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said “we’re right at the tail end” of the situation with fuel supply pressures, following weeks of individuals having to queue to refuel at stations.
Boris Johnson said Sir David will bring a ‘wealth of experience’ to the role
Mr Shapps said in “most parts of the country” problems have ended, and that London and the South East are the only two areas “where we’re seeing any continued problems”.
Sky News understands that, as of 9am on Friday, places in the government’s ‘green’ category with average stock levels of fuel include: Scotland, Northern Ireland, North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber, West Midlands, East Midlands, Wales and the South West.
Eastern and South East areas of England alongside London are in the amber category, with reduced stock levels. No areas are in the red zone.
Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates is yet to receive a reply from Sir Keir Starmer, despite writing to him over a month ago.
Sir Alan said he had written to the prime minister to remind him the “clock is still ticking” on a financial redress deadline for victims.
In his letter, he demanded a March 2025 deadline for compensation for sub-postmaster victims of the Horizon scandal.
Sir Alan confirmed to Sky News he was yet to hear back from the prime minister.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“It was over a month ago,” he said.
“I sent him a reminder yesterday. I told him the clock is still ticking and it’s now five months from the March deadline, which I’m told is still achievable by other professionals.
“So let’s get on with it, that’s all we want. Get on with it.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
A £15bn merger between two of the UK’s biggest mobile networks could get the green light – if they stick to their commitments to invest in the country’s infrastructure, the competition watchdog has said.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the merger of Vodafone and Three had “the potential to be pro-competitive for the UK mobile sector”.
Announced last year, the proposed £15bn merger would bring 27 million customers together under a single provider.
The watchdog previously warned that tens of millions of mobile phone users could end up paying more if the merger went ahead.
However, the two groups recently set out plans to protect consumer pricing and boost network investment.
The CMA has now laid out a list of “remedies” required for the deal to go-ahead.
They include the networks committing to freezing certain tariffs and data plans for at least three years to protect customers from short-term price rises in the early years of the network plan.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From September: ‘A transformation for the UK’
Stuart McIntosh, chair of the inquiry group leading the investigation, said on Tuesday: “We believe this deal has the potential to be pro-competitive for the UK mobile sector if our concerns are addressed.
“Our provisional view is that binding commitments combined with short-term protections for consumers and wholesale providers would address our concerns while preserving the benefits of this merger.
“A legally binding network commitment would boost competition in the longer term and the additional measures would protect consumers and wholesale customers while the network upgrades are being rolled out.”
Today’s announcement is provisional, with a final decision due before 7 December. The inquiry group is inviting feedback on today’s announcement by 5pm on 12 November.
Read more:
The lesser-known tricks estate agents use to secure sales
Bosses rail at business secretary over ‘avalanche of costs’
The CMA also published a list of potential solutions – which it called remedies – to issues it identified with the merger.
If the networks want the merger to go ahead, the watchdog requires Vodafone and Three to:
• Deliver a joint network plan to set out network upgrades and improvements over eight years;
• Commit to keeping certain existing tariff costs and data plans for at least three years to protect customers from price hikes;
• Commit to pre-agreed prices and contract terms so Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) – mobile providers that do not own the networks they operate on – can obtain competitive wholesale deals.
Vodafone and Three are two of the biggest mobile firms in the UK, and their networks support a number of MVNOs including Asda Mobile, Lebara, Voxi, and Smarty.
Responding to the watchdog’s announcement, a spokesperson for Vodafone on behalf of the merger said: “The merger will be a catalyst for positive change.
“It will bring significant benefits to businesses and consumers throughout the UK, and it will bring advanced 5G to every school and hospital across the country.
“The merger is also closely aligned with the government’s mission to drive growth and to encourage more private investment in the UK.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Earlier this year, Three’s chief executive hit out at the UK’s “abysmal” 5G speeds and availability as he urged regulators to approve the company’s merger with Vodafone.
Robert Finnegan noted his firm’s “cash flows have been negative since 2020 and our costs have almost doubled in five years, meaning investment in [the] network is unsustainable”.
“UK mobile networks rank an abysmal 22nd out of 25 in Europe on 5G speeds and availability, with the dysfunctional structure of the market denying us the ability to invest sustainably to fix this situation,” he added.
Business leaders expressed frustration with ministers on Monday amid a growing budget backlash that bosses said would trigger an “avalanche of costs” and leave them with no choice but to slash investment and increase prices.
Sky News has learnt that bosses of large retail and hospitality companies and trade associations told Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, that last week’s budget risked damaging consumer confidence and exacerbating challenges facing the UK economy.
Among the dozens of companies represented on the call are said to have been Burger King UK, Fuller Smith & Turner, Greene King, Kingfisher and the supermarket chain Morrisons.
Mr Reynolds is said to have acknowledged that Rachel Reeves‘s inaugural fiscal statement had “asked a lot” of British business, with James Murray, the financial secretary to the Treasury, understood to have described it as “a once-in-a-generation budget”, according to several people briefed on the call.
Jonathan Reynolds. Pic: PA
One insider said that Nick Mackenzie, the chief executive of Greene King, had highlighted that the increase in employers’ national insurance (NI) contributions would cause “a £20m shock” to the company, while Fullers is understood to have warned that it would be forced to halve annual investment from £60m to £30m as a result of increased cost pressures.
Rami Baitieh, the Morrisons chief executive, told Mr Reynolds that the budget had exacerbated “an avalanche of costs” for businesses next year, and asked what the government could do to mitigate them.
Sources added that the CBI, the employers’ group, said its impact would be “severe”, while the British Beer & Pub Association added that there was now a disincentive to invest and flagged “a tsunami” of higher costs.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How will the budget affect businesses?
The range of comments on the call with ministers underlines the scale of discontent in the private sector about Labour’s first budget for nearly 15 years.
Only a small number of interventions during the discussion are said to have been in support of measures announced last week, with the Federation of Small Businesses understood to have praised the doubling of the employment allowance, which would see many of the smallest employers having their NI bills cut by £2,000.
The Department for Business and Trade has been contacted for comment, while none of the companies contacted by Sky News would comment.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway