Chancellor to deliver parts of his medium-term fiscal plan today, Treasury says

Published

3 years ago

October 17, 2022

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver parts of his medium-term fiscal plan later today, the Treasury has said.

In a statement the Treasury said the chancellor was fast-tracking the plans, which will be released in full on 31 October.

It said it followed conversations with Prime Minister Liz Truss over the weekend and a meeting with the governor of the Bank of England and the head of the Debt Management Office on Sunday night.

Politics latest: More U-turns expected on mini-budget

Ms Truss is facing calls to resign from three Tory MPs following the economic turmoil in the wake of the mini-budget.

Tory MPs Crispin Blunt, Andrew Bridgen and Jamie Wallis have publicly stated they believe she should resign, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on Ms Truss to face parliament and accused her of being “in office but not in power”.

The Daily Mail reported that Tory MPs will try to oust Ms Truss later this week, with more than 100 ready to submit letters of no confidence.

Last week Ms Truss sacked her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with Jeremy Hunt as she ditched a major chunk of the mini-budget.

Mr Hunt has insisted the prime minister is still in charge during media appearances over the weekend, though he said a tough package of tax rises and spending cuts was necessary in order to steady the UK economy.

Sir Keir said Ms Truss’s brief news conference to explain her latest U-turn on Friday “completely failed to answer any of the questions the public has”.

He said: “Mortgages are rising and the cost of living crisis is being felt ever more acutely. The Conservative government is currently the biggest threat to the security and the finances of families across the country.

“That’s why the prime minister must come to parliament on Monday, to explain what she plans to do to turn the situation around.

“If the prime minister won’t take questions from journalists, Liz Truss must at least take them from MPs representing the families whose livelihoods she’s putting at risk.”

MPs believe it is simply not sustainable for Truss to remain as PM

I was told by a cabinet source Liz Truss had no option but to sack Kwasi Kwarteng because it was made clear to her he’d lost the confidence of markets and her only hope of steadying the ship was removing him.

But what follows from that is obvious: as a second cabinet source put it to me over weekend, what the markets do in the coming few days will be critical for Ms Truss too.

The firewall provided by the chancellor is now burnt through and if there’s no improvement, the signal will be that the problem is her.

Politically the view settling amongst MPs is that it’s simply not sustainable for her to remain as prime minister.

All eyes are now on Sir Graham Brady, the only person who knows when a leadership election has been triggered, to see what he does. Party rules say Ms Truss has a year’s grace, but they can change the rules.

But there’s also a view, shared by some Truss rivals and backers alike, that the PM has bought a bit of time.

As one cabinet minister told me: “Despite the hysteria, the reality is we need to calm down, let Liz decide her new priorities and Jeremy deliver his budget. Nothing will be gained in the next 14 days by more fratricide.”

But the point is, as Conservative Home’s Paul Goodman put it, it’s over for Ms Truss whether she’s pushed out or not.

Her economic project is finished and her authority is gone. And that makes it very hard to see how she can lead the party into a general election.

I’ll be watching the markets and Sir Graham very closely on Monday.

In a sign of divide within the Tory Party, former culture secretary Nadine Dorries criticised her colleagues.

“I cannot imagine there’s one G7 country which thinks we’re worthy of a place at the table,” she tweeted.

“The removal of one electorally successful PM, the disgraceful plotting to remove another by those who didn’t get their way first time round is destabilising our economy and our reputation.”

To register your interest and share your story, please email TheGreatDebate@sky.uk

Business

Customer details stolen in Renault UK cyber attack

Published

3 hours ago

October 3, 2025

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Customer details stolen in Renault UK cyber attack

Renault UK has become the latest car company to be hit by a cyber attack.

The firm said some customer personal data had been accessed during a breach of one of its third-party data providers, but that no financial information or passwords had been compromised.

A spokesman said this included “customer names, addresses, dates of birth, gender, phone numbers, vehicle identification numbers and vehicle registration details”.

It comes after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was forced to suspend production at its UK factories following a cyber attack on 31 August.

JLR said earlier this week that it planned to resume limited production “in the coming days”, but no firm date has been announced.

Renault UK said none of its systems had been compromised, and manufacturing has not been affected.

A spokesperson added: “The third-party [data] provider has confirmed this is an isolated incident which has been contained, and we are working with it to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken. We have notified all relevant authorities…

“We wish to apologise to all affected customers. Data privacy is of the upmost importance to us and we deeply regret that this has occurred.”

Renault UK confirmed it was in the process of contacting all customers affected and advised them “to be cautious of any unsolicited requests for personal information”.

It refused to say how many were affected “for ongoing data security reasons”.

Retailers, airports and even a nursery chain have been targeted by cyber criminals during a spate of online attacks in recent months.

Business

Furniture retailer Cotswold Company lays groundwork for sale

Published

4 hours ago

October 3, 2025

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Furniture retailer Cotswold Company lays groundwork for sale

The long-standing owner of The Cotswold Company, the premium furniture and homewares brand, is paving the way for a sale after retaining investment bankers to oversee discussions with potential buyers.

Sky News has learnt that True, the private equity firm, recently appointed Rothschild-owned Arrowpoint Advisory to formulate a long-term disposal plan.

Sources said an auction of the premium handcrafted furniture retailer was not imminent, but acknowledged True was expected to pursue a sale in the next couple of years.

The investor has owned the business since 2016.

News of the prospective sale comes two weeks after The Cotswold Company reported a 30% rise in sales in the six months to August 30.

It said the rise had been driven by strong momentum behind the brand, as well as improvements to its digital offering.

The company has more than 250,000 active customers, and opened two new showrooms during the half-year period.

Ralph Tucker, The Cotswold Company’s chief executive, said it provided “alternatives to soulless and low-quality furniture”.

It recently recruited TV personality Will Kirk as its quality expert, which it hopes will cement its credentials as a seller of products known for their craftsmanship and sustainability.

True and The Cotswold Company declined to comment.

Business

Japan could be hours away from running out of Asahi

Published

11 hours ago

October 3, 2025

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Japan could be hours away from running out of Asahi, the country’s most popular beer.

Dozens of factories nationwide have ground to a halt following a cyber attack on Monday.

The breach disabled the company’s ordering and delivery systems – and also took its call centre operations offline.

Supermarkets and Japanese pubs known as izakayas risk running super dry, with some retailers raising fears of potential panic buying.

According to NHK, Asahi Group has now had to suspend plans to launch new products including soft drinks, coffee and throat lozenges.

One wholesaler expects to run out of beer kegs by Saturday at the latest, meaning they’ll no longer be able to supply booze to retailers.

They are now considering whether to start selling other brands as a temporary measure.

Akira Kudo, who runs an izakaya in Tokyo, has been told that one of the two brands of Asahi he regularly purchases is now out of stock.

He’s now unable to predict when pints can be poured again.

“We have received beer from the wholesaler to replace Asahi, but we would like to avoid using other manufacturers if possible, so we will consider our options until the very last minute,” Akira added.

A shortage may leave Japanese drinkers unimpressed. While there are other breweries in the country, Asahi has a fiercely loyal following.

Figures from Kirin Holdings suggest that the typical consumer drank 34.5 litres of beer a year in 2022, the equivalent of 54 large bottles.

Asahi executives are now consulting with the police and trying to determine whether the company has fallen victim to ransomware.

They have stressed that no personal information or customer data has been leaked.

Brewing operations outside of Japan – including in the UK – are also unaffected.

There have been a series of high-profile cyber attacks on well-known brands in recent months – including Marks and Spencer, the Co-op and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).