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Up to 750 jobs are at risk at Santander bank under plans to close nearly a quarter of its high street branches.

The high street lender has announced plans to close 95 of the bank’s existing 444 UK branches.

Of the remaining branches, 36 will operate on reduced hours branches and 18 will be “counter-free”.

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Only 290 full-service Santander branches will remain.

The continued move to online banking has been given as a reason for the closures. The bank said financial transactions completed in branches fell 61% since 2019, while the use of internet banking to open accounts and conduct banking rose.

“Closing a branch is always a very difficult decision and we spend a great deal of time assessing where and when we do this and how to minimise the impact it may have on our customers,” a spokesperson said.

With the closures, Santander said 93% of the UK population will continue to be within 10 miles of a Santander branch.

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It pointed out its customers can conduct banking in 11,000 Post Office branches nationwide and 112 banking hubs.

Closing branches are all within one mile of the nearest Post Office, Santander said.

The 750 staff are at risk of redundancy after consultation with unions, it added.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) and the Advance union have been contacted for comment.

The following branches are to close before the end of the year:

Aberdare
Arbroath
Armagh
Blackwood
Blyth
Bognor Regis
Borehamwood
Brecon
Brixton
Caernarfon
Camborne
Canvey Island
Clacton
Cleveleys
Colne
Colwyn Bay
Crowborough
Croydon
Cumbernauld
Didsbury
Downpatrick
Dungannon
Edgware Road
Eltham
Exmouth
Falmouth
Farnham
Felixstowe
Finchley
Fleet
Formby
Gateshead
Glasgow St Vincents Street
Glasgow The Avenue
Greenford
Hackney
Hawick
Herne Bay
Hertford
Holloway
Holywell
Honiton
Kidderminster
Kilburn
Kirkby
Launceston
Louth
Magherafelt
Malvern
Market Harborough
Musselburgh
New Milton
Peterhead
Plympton
Portadown
Pudsey
Rawtenstall
Ross-On-Wye
Ruislip
Rustington
Saltcoats
Seaford
Shaftesbury
Sidcup
St Austell
St Neots
Stokesley
Strabane
Surrey Quays
Swadlincote
Tenterden
Torquay
Tottenham
Whitley Bay
Willerby
Wimborne
Wishaw

No date has been given for the closure of the following branches:

Bexhill
Billericay
Dover
Droitwich
Dunstable
East Grinstead
Holyhead
Ilkley
Larne
Lytham St Annes
Maldon
Morley
North Walsham
Redcar
Saffron Walden
Turriff
Uckfield
Urmston

There had been reports in recent months that the Spanish bank could leave the UK.

Last month it again sought to assure the UK it would remain, saying, “While challenges remain, and there have been mixed signals about the UK’s recent economic performance, the outlook for our business has improved.”

Union reaction

The largest union operating within Santander UK, Advance said it had been “extensively involved in consultation”.

“This news is incredibly disappointing, not only in the scale of the closures but also the very minimal number of redeployment opportunities”, Advance general secretary Jim Leonard said.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it has raised concerns regarding the closures and remained “fully committed” to minimising job losses.

“The CWU wants staff to be given opportunities for retraining, reskilling, and redeployment where possible.”

“We believe Santander UK should be doing everything it can to protect its workforce and the local economy… We will remain engaged with the bank to help our members achieve their desired outcomes,” the union said.

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Bodycare to close 56 remaining stores – with nearly 450 to be made redundant

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Bodycare to close 56 remaining stores - with nearly 450 to be made redundant

High Street beauty chain Bodycare is to close its 56 remaining stores, resulting in 444 redundancies, administrators have said.

Last week it announced the closure of 30 shops, having collapsed into administration earlier this month.

A shortage of stock and the cost of running stores meant it was no longer viable to keep its 115 stores open, administrators said at the time.

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Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

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Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

Donald Trump has revealed that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could be part of a deal in which TikTok in the United States will come under American control.

The US president also namedropped Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, as a possible participant in the deal during an interview with Fox News, which is owned by the Murdochs.

“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

Mr Trump said that Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of software firm Oracle, was part of the same group. His involvement in the potential TikTok deal had previously been revealed.

President Donald Trump speaking to reporters outside the White House. Pic: AP/Mark Schiefelbein
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President Donald Trump speaking to reporters outside the White House. Pic: AP/Mark Schiefelbein

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday that Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security, with Americans set to control six of the seven seats for a planned TikTok board.

This comes after Mr Trump said he and China’s Xi Jinping held a “very productive call” on Friday, discussing the final approval for the TikTok deal, much of which is still unknown.

Once confirmed, the deal should stop TikTok from being banned in the US after lawmakers decided it posed a security risk to citizens’ data.

More on Tiktok

Officials warned that the algorithm TikTok uses is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push specific content on the social media platform in a way that is difficult to detect.

Congress had ordered the app shut down for American users by January 2025 if its Chinese owner ByteDance didn’t sell its assets in the country – but the ban has been delayed four times by President Trump.

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Mr Trump said on Sunday that he might be “a little prejudiced” about TikTok, after telling reporters on Friday: “I wasn’t a fan of TikTok and then I got to use it and then I became a fan and it helped me win an election in a landslide.”

After the call with Mr Xi, Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post: “We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

Mr Trump later told reporters at the White House that Xi had approved the deal, but said it still needed to be signed.

Representatives for the Murdochs, Mr Dell and Mr Ellison have not yet commented on a potential TikTok deal.

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Gatwick second runway given green light by government

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Gatwick second runway given green light by government

Gatwick’s second runway has been given the go-ahead by the government.

The northern runway already exists parallel to Gatwick‘s main one, but cannot be used at the same time, as it is too close.

It is currently limited to being a taxiway and is only used for take-offs and landings if the main one has to shut.

The £2.2bn expansion project will see it move 12 metres north so both can operate simultaneously, facilitating 100,000 extra flights a year, 14,000 jobs, and £1bn a year for the economy.

It would also mean the airport could process 75 million passengers a year by the late 2030s.

Gatwick is already the second busiest airport in the UK, and the busiest single runway airport in Europe.

No public money is being used for the expansion plan, which airport bosses say could see the new runway operational by 2029.

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The expansion was initially rejected by the Planning Inspectorate over concerns about its provisions for noise prevention and public transport connections.

Campaigners also argued the additional air traffic will be catastrophic for the environment and the local community.

A revised plan was published by the planning authority earlier this year, which it said could be approved by the government if all conditions were met.

The government says it is now satisfied this is the case, with additions made including Gatwick being able to set its own target for passengers who travel to the airport by public transport – instead of a statutory one.

Nearby residents affected by noise will also be able to charge the airport for the cost of triple-glazed windows.

And people who live directly under the flight path who choose to sell their homes could have their stamp duty and estate agent fees paid for up to 1% of the purchase price.

CAGNE, an aviation and environmental group in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, says it still has concerns about noise, housing provision, and wastewaster treatment.

The group says it will lodge a judicial review, which will be funded by local residents and environmental organisations.

‘Disaster for the climate crisis’

Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised the second runway decision, posting on X: “Aviation expansion is a disaster for the climate crisis.

“Anyone who’s been paying any attention to this shambles of a Labour Govenrment (sic) knows they don’t care about people in poverty, don’t care about nature nor for the planet. Just big business & their own interests.”

Friends of the Earth claimed the economic case for the airport expansion has been “massively overstated”.

Head of campaigns Rosie Downes warned: “If we’re to meet our legally-binding climate targets, today’s decision also makes it much harder for the government to approve expansion at Heathrow.”

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden welcomed the decision but said it “should have been made months ago”, claiming Labour have “dithered and delayed at every turn”.

“Now that Gatwick’s second runway has been approved, it’s crucial Labour ensures this infrastructure helps drive the economic growth our country needs,” he said.

A government source told Sky News the second runway is a “no-brainer for growth”.

“The transport secretary has cleared Gatwick expansion for take-off,” they said. “It is possible that planes could be taking off from a new full runway at Gatwick before the next general election.

“Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements.”

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