The government says it still supports the Sizewell C nuclear power plant and is hoping to get a deal over the line to fully fund the project as soon as possible.
Funding towards the Suffolk plant totalling £700m was signed off by Boris Johnson at the start of September in one of his last acts as prime minister.
But the site’s future was cast into doubt overnight after reports claimed it was being reviewed ahead of the chancellor’s autumn statement in just under two weeks – with Treasury sources telling Sky News “all options are on the table” to fill the fiscal black hole in government finances.
Now, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson says the reports are “not accurate” and “our position remains the same”, adding negotiations are “ongoing and constructive”.
The £20bn Sizewell C project aims to generate enough low-carbon electricity to supply six million homes and help protect the UK from energy market volatility.
The plant is a joint endeavour with French energy giant EDF and is expected to take a decade to build.
While it has the backing of the Labour Party and unions, critics say the plans are too expensive and the new power source will take too long to come online.
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A spokeswoman from Stop Sizewell C said the project “definitely should be under review”, adding: “It is certainly not crucial to meeting our net zero obligations or ensuring energy security.
“All it can offer is short term pain – with more money on our energy bills – and long term pain, with huge uncertainty about build cost and time, for electricity far more expensive than readily available renewables.”
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They added: “Today’s response by Downing Street looks more like reassurance to EDF, France and the nuclear lobby, than any clear statement of what the government actually intends to do about spiralling pressure on public spending.”
But a government spokesperson said Sizewell C was “crucial to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, increasing our energy security, and meeting our net zero ambitions with reliable clean energy”.
“We have made up to £700m available for the deal, as part of the £1.7bn for developing a large-scale nuclear project to the point of final investment decision in this parliament.”
Burberry is kicking off a formal search for a new chairman nearly a year after installing the latest in a string of chief executives charged with reviving the luxury fashion brand.
Sky News understands that Burberry is working with headhunters on a hunt for Gerry Murphy’s successor.
Mr Murphy, who also chairs Tesco, is not expected to step down this year, although the precise timing has yet to be formally determined, according to insiders.
Last summer, Sky News reported that Burberry had commenced a search for a non-executive director capable of taking over from Mr Murphy in due course.
That mandate is now said to have evolved into a more straightforward hunt for a new chair, sources suggested.
Planning for his departure comes as Burberry and other luxury goods manufacturers grapple with the uncertainty of swingeing tariffs amid an escalating international trade war.
The company is now being run by Joshua Schulman, the former Jimmy Choo boss, who was drafted in last July to arrest its decline.
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Mr Schulman replaced Jonathan Akeroyd, who left in the wake of a string of profit warnings.
Shares in Burberry closed on Tuesday at 738.8p, giving it a market value of about £2.6bn.
The stock is down by more than a third over the last year.
A spokesperson for Burberry said: “In the normal course of business, we look at succession planning for board roles as they reach term.”
Food inflation has hit its highest level in almost a year and could continue to go up, according to an industry body.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported a 2.6% annual lift in food costs during April – the highest level since May last year and up from a 2.4% rate the previous month.
The body said there was a clear risk of further increases ahead due to rising costs, with the sector facing £7bn of tax increases this year due to the budget last October.
It warned that shoppers risked paying a higher price – but separate industry figures suggested any immediate blows were being cushioned by the effects of a continuing supermarket price war.
Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks trends and prices, said spending on promotions reached its highest level this year at almost 30% of total sales over the four weeks to 20 April.
It said that price cuts, mainly through loyalty cards, helped people to make the most of the Easter holiday with almost 20% of items sold at respective market leaders Tesco and Sainsbury’s on a price match.
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Its measure of wider grocery inflation rose to 3.8%, however.
Wider BRC data showed overall shop price inflation at -0.1% over the 12 months to April, with discounting largely responsible for weaker non-food goods.
But its chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said retailers were “unable to absorb” the surge in costs they were facing.
“The days of shop price deflation look numbered,” she said, as food inflation rose to its highest in 11 months, and non-food deflation eased significantly.
“Everyday essentials including bread, meat, and fish, all increased prices on the month. This comes in the same month retailers face a mountain of new employment costs in the form of higher employer National Insurance Contributions and increased NLW [national living wage],” she added.
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Five hacks to beat rising bills
While retail sales growth has proved somewhat resilient this year, it is believed big rises to household bills in April – from things like inflation-busting water, energy and council tax bills – will bite and continue to keep a lid on major purchases.
Also pressing on both consumer and business sentiment is Donald Trump’s trade war – threatening further costs and hits to economic growth ahead.
A further BRC survey, also published on Tuesday, showed more than half of human resources directors expect to reduce hiring due to the government’s planned Employment Rights Bill.
The bill, which proposes protections for millions of workers including guaranteed minimum hours, greater hurdles for sacking new staff and increased sick pay, is currently being debated in parliament.
The BRC said one of the biggest concerns was that guaranteed minimum hours rules would hit part-time roles.
On the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, factory workers at Dony Garment have been working overtime for weeks.
Ever since Donald Trump announced a whopping 46% trade tariff on Vietnam, they’ve been preparing for the worst.
They’re rushing through orders to clients in three separate states in America.
Sewing machines buzz with the sound of frantic efforts to do whatever they can before Mr Trump’s big decision day. He may have put his “Liberation Day” tariffs on pause for 90 days, but no one in this factory is taking anything for granted.
Image: Staff have been working overtime
Workers like Do Thi Anh are feeling the pressure.
“I have two children to raise. If the tariffs are too high, the US will buy fewer things. I’ll earn less money and I won’t be able to support my children either. Luckily here our boss has a good vision,” she tells me.
Image: Do Thi Anh
That vision was crafted back in 2021. When COVID struck, they started to look at diversifying their market.
Previously they used to export 40% of their garments to America. Now it’s closer to 20%.
The cheery-looking owner of the firm, Pham Quang Anh, tells me with a resilient smile: “We see it as dangerous to depend on one or two markets. So, we had to lose profit and spend on marketing for other markets.”
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That foresight could pay off in the months to come. But others are in a far more vulnerable state.
Some of Mr Pham’s colleagues in the industry export all their garments to America. If the 46% tariff is enforced, it could destroy their businesses.
Down by the Saigon River, young couples watch on as sunset falls between the glimmering skyscrapers that stand as a testament to Vietnam’s miracle growth.
Image: Cuong works in finance
Cuong, an affluent-looking man who works in finance, questions the logic and likelihood that America will start making what Vietnam has spent years developing the labour, skills and supply chains to reliably deliver.
“The United States’ GDP is so high. It’s the largest in the world right now. What’s the point in trying to get jobs from developing countries like Vietnam and other Asian nations? It’s unnecessary,” he tells me.
But the Trump administration claims China is using Vietnam to illegally circumvent tariffs, putting “Made in Vietnam” labels on Chinese products.
There’s no easy way to assess that claim. But market watchers believe Vietnam does need to signal its willingness to crack down on so-called “trans-shipments” if it wants to cut a deal with Washington.
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The US may also demand a major cutback in Chinese manufacturing in Vietnam.
That will be a much harder deal to strike. Vietnam can’t afford to alienate its big brother.
Image: Luke Treloar, head of strategy at KPMG in Vietnam
Luke Treloar, head of strategy at KPMG in Vietnam, is however cautiously optimistic.
“If Vietnam goes into these trade talks saying we will be a reliable manufacturer of the core products you need and the core products America wants to sell, the outcome could be good,” he says.
But the key question is just how much influence China will have on Vietnamese negotiators.
Anything above 10-20% tariffs would be intensively challenging
This moment is a huge test of Vietnam’s resilience.
Anything like 46% tariffs would be ruinous. Analysts say 10-20% would be survivable. Anything above, intensely challenging.
But this looming threat is also an opportunity for Vietnam to negotiate and grow. Not, though, without some very testing concessions.