British banking watchdogs have given their blessing to a takeover of Credit Suisse by its Swiss peer UBS, as financial regulators around the world race to contain the industry’s biggest crisis since 2008.
Sky News understands that the Bank of England has indicated to international counterparts and to UBS that it will support the emergency transaction, which both European banking giants want to announce later on Sunday.
Credit Suisse has been brought to the brink of financial calamity despite securing a $54bn (£44bn) credit line from Switzerland’s central bank several days ago.
The move, which was designed to reassure markets and depositors, failed to halt a rush of customer withdrawals, prompting a request from the Swiss government for UBS to explore a takeover of its historic rival late last week.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, and Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England governor, are being kept informed about developments relating to the most significant global banking merger since the financial meltdown of 15 years ago.
Although Credit Suisse has a market capitalisation of just $8bn (£6.6bn) – down from close to $100bn (£82bn) at its 2007 peak – fears for its future have sent shockwaves through financial markets across the world.
Its vast investment bank balance sheet is reported to represent a stumbling block in the talks with UBS, and the precise structure of a deal remained unclear on Sunday morning.
UBS’s board, chaired by the former Morgan Stanley executive Colm Kelleher, is said to have been reluctant to explore a deal with its fellow Swiss bank, which has been forced into a string of capital-raisings after huge fines and restructuring charges.
City sources said authorities in the US had pressed the Swiss government to expedite a solution to the crisis during the course of this weekend.
Advertisement
Reports suggest that UBS wants the Swiss government to provide a multibillion dollar backstop to insure it against losses arising from the takeover of its smaller rival.
The current tumult in the global banking sector was sparked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US earlier this month.
Its UK branch was rescued by HSBC for £1, but a number of other mid-sized American lenders have also been forced to seek emergency funding.
Hopes takeover will avert contagion
Nevertheless, there are hopes that a takeover of Credit Suisse will avert the kind of contagion that evokes genuine comparisons with the crisis of 2008, when banks including Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers collapsed.
Credit Suisse employs approximately 5,000 people in the UK, making it one of the largest investment banking employers in the City.
The Bank of England declined to comment on Sunday, while Credit Suisse and UBS have been contacted for comment.
An emergency debate will take place in parliament today over Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as his ambassador to the US.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has agreed to allot three hours for questions about what the government, and particular the prime minister, knew and didn’t know about the depth of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Lord Mandelson was appointed in January 2025 to the UK’s most senior overseas diplomatic position – the ambassador to the US.
Among the tributes to Epstein in it, Lord Mandelson had described him as “my best pal”.
Image: A picture of Epstein and Mandelson together in the ‘birthday book’ released by the US Congress. Pics: US House Oversight Committee
Then, emails published by The Sun and Bloomberg were even more damning, showing the former Labour minister sympathising with the convicted sex trafficker, saying: “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.”
Lord Mandelson was removed from his ambassadorial post on Thursday, but not before Sir Keir had defended him at PMQs the day before. He has come under fire over his handling of the issue.
He told Channel 4 News he was “angry” to have ended up in a situation where he pivoted from defending him to sacking him within 24 hours, suggesting he was unaware of the “detailed allegations” before PMQs.
But questions remain about what exactly the PM – or the vetting team – knew, and the government has declined to release the details of the procedure Lord Mandelson underwent before he was appointed.
The Conservatives hope to use today’s emergency debate to increase pressure on the government to publish all the information – just hours before Donald Trump lands in the UK for a state visit.
The US president is himself embroiled in questions about his own relationship with the disgraced billionaire.
It’s all added up to a rotten start to the new parliamentary term for the prime minister, who just two weeks ago confidently declared “phase two” of his government was now under way.
He’s ruled out resigning, despite discontent on his backbenches and Reform UK’s sustained lead in the polls.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:00
Former PM Gordon Brown rallied to Sir Keir’s defence
But former prime minister Gordon Brown has come to Sir Keir’s defence.
Image: Constance Marten and Mark Gordon. Pic: Met Police/PA
‘No genuine expression of remorse’
Judge Mark Lucraft told the pair during sentencing that “neither of you gave much or any thought to the care or welfare of your baby”.
“Your focus was on yourselves,” he said, before adding: “There has been no genuine expression of remorse from either of you.
“Whilst there have been expressions of sorrow about the death throughout, you’ve adopted the stance of seeking to blame everyone else other than yourselves for what happened.”
Sky’s home affairs reporter Henry Vaughan reported that neither showed much emotion during sentencing, and that after they stood up, Gordon stared at Marten as she left the dock.
Image: Constance Marten being interviewed by police.
Pic: Met Police/PA
They had previously been found guilty of perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, and child cruelty after an Old Bailey trial lasting almost five months.
A second trial was ordered after the first jury failed to reach a verdict on the manslaughter charges.
Marten is now seeking permission to appeal against her conviction for manslaughter. A previous application to appeal her conviction of cruelty to a child was rejected in February this year.
Both trials were hampered by disruption and delays, taking up more than 33 weeks of court time, which – at an estimated £30,000 per defendant a day – could have cost in the region of £10m.
A search for Marten and Gordon was launched after a placenta was found in the couple’s burnt-out car on a motorway in Bolton in January 2023.
Marten said they went on the run so their fifth child would not be removed from them after her other children were “stolen by the state”.
The couple spent vast sums of cash from her family trust fund on taxi journeys as they travelled from Bolton, to Liverpool, to Harwich in Essex, to London and then to Newhaven on the south coast.
Image: Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were captured on CCTV with their baby
Baby’s clothing inadequate, judge says
Prosecutors said the baby was inadequately clothed in a babygrow and that Marten had got wet as she carried the infant underneath her coat, alleging Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping.
Judge Lucraft said that while Marten and Gordon claimed they wanted dignity for Victoria’s body, their “conduct showed the opposite”.
He also said the baby had died by 12 January 2023, and that the couple then concealed her and perverted the course of justice before her “decomposed body” was found.
“When you were arrested,” the court heard, “neither of you was willing to give any assistance to the police about the whereabouts of your daughter’s body.
“Your silence at that stage of events is highly significant.”
Image: Police at the allotment where Victoria’s body was found
Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, who led the investigation, said the couple’s “selfish actions” resulted in the death of Victoria, “who would have recently had her second birthday and should have had the rest of her life ahead of her”.
She added: “We know today’s sentencing won’t bring Victoria back, but I am pleased our investigation has resulted in the couple who caused her death finally being brought to justice.”
Prosecutors have dropped charges against two men, including a former parliamentary researcher, who had been accused of spying for China.
Christopher Cash, 30, and Christopher Berry, 33, had both denied accusations of providing information prejudicial to the interests of the state in breach of the Official Secrets Act between December 2021 and February 2023.
It was alleged they obtained, recorded and published information “for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state” and which could be “directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy”.
They were due to go on trial next month, but prosecutor Tom Little told London’s Old Bailey they would offer no evidence against the pair.
He said: “We simply cannot continue to prosecute.”
A spokesperson for the Home Office said it was “disappointing” the pair would not face trial “given the seriousness of the allegations”.
They said the decision was made by the Crown Prosecution Service “entirely independently of government”.
“National security is the first duty of government and we remain steadfast in upholding this responsibility,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to use the full range of tools and powers to guard against malign activity.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “In accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the evidence in this case has been kept under continuous review and it has now been determined that the evidential standard for the offence indicted is no longer met. No further evidence will be offered.”
Mr Cash’s lawyer said his client was “entirely innocent and should never have been arrested, let alone charged”.
Speaking outside court, Mr Cash said: “While I am relieved that justice has been served today, the last two and a half years have been a nightmare for me and my family.”
He said he hoped “lessons are learned from this sorry episode”.
China had dismissed the charges as “self-staged political farce”.
Mr Cash previously worked as a parliamentary researcher and was closely linked to senior Tories including former security minister Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns, who served as chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
He was director of the China Research Group, which was chaired by Mr Tugendhat and then Ms Kearns.
Mr Berry has worked in various teaching posts in China since September 2015.