Civil service to be ordered to cut more than £2bn from budget – as Reeves rules out tax rises in spring statement
The civil service is to be told to cut more than £2bn from its budget as part of the government’s spending review.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to unveil spending cuts during the spring statement next week – and has reportedly ruled out tax rises.
The FDA union has said the government needs to be honest about the move, first reported by The Telegraph, and the “impact it will have on public services”.
Civil service departments will first have to reduce administrative budgets by 10%, which is expected to save £1.5bn a year by 2028-29.
The following year, the reduction should be 15%, the Cabinet Office will say – a saving of £2.2bn a year.
Administrative budgets include human resources, policy advice and office management, rather than frontline services.
The chancellor has also said she won’t be putting up taxes on Wednesday, telling The Sun On Sunday: “This is not a budget. We’re not going to be doing tax raising.”
Ms Reeves added: “We did have to put up some taxes on businesses and the wealthiest in the country in the budget [in the autumn].
“We will not be doing that in the spring statement next week.”
The chancellor has repeatedly insisted she won’t drop her fiscal rules which preclude borrowing to fund day-to-day spending.
:: Rachel Reeves, Mel Stride and Daisy Cooper appear on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from 8.30am
Civil service departments will receive instructions from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden in the coming week, The Telegraph reported.
“To deliver our Plan for Change we will reshape the state so it is fit for the future. We cannot stick to business as usual,” a Cabinet Office source said.
“By cutting administrative costs we can target resources at frontline services – with more teachers in classrooms, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat.”
The move comes after the government last week revealed welfare cuts it believes will save £5bn a year by the end of the decade.
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈
FDA general secretary Dave Penman said the union welcomed a move away from “crude headcount targets” but that the distinction between the back office and frontline is “artificial”.
“Elected governments are free to decide the size of the civil service they want, but cuts of this scale and speed will inevitably have an impact on what the civil service will be able to deliver for ministers and the country…
“The budgets being cut will, for many departments, involve the majority of their staff and the £1.5bn savings mentioned equates to nearly 10% of the salary bill for the entire civil service.”
Ministers need to set out what areas of work they are prepared to stop as part of spending plans, he said.
“The idea that cuts of this scale can be delivered by cutting HR and comms teams is for the birds. This plan will require ministers to be honest with the public and their civil servants about the impact this will have on public services.”
Read more:
Analysis: UK growth forecast set for major downgrade
What could be announced in the spring statement?
The spring statement – what you need to know
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What to expect from the spring statement
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, warned that “a cheaper civil service is not the same as a better civil service”.
“Prospect has consistently warned government against adopting arbitrary targets for civil service headcount cuts which are more about saving money than about genuine civil service reform.
“The government say they will not fall into this trap again. But this will require a proper assessment of what the civil service will and won’t do in future.”
Efforts to pass crypto legislation in the US Senate face mounting resistance amid growing ethical concerns around US President Donald Trump’s ties to crypto.
In a May 5 letter to the Office of Government Ethics, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley said that Trump and his family stand to personally profit from an investment involving UAE state-backed firm MGX, crypto exchange Binance and World Liberty Financial (WLFI).
The senators called for an urgent probe, warning the deal may violate the US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause and federal bribery statutes.
At the center of the controversy is WLFI’s USD1 stablecoin, reportedly chosen for a $2 billion investment MGX plans to make into Binance.
The senators said the transaction amounts to a potential backdoor for foreign influence and self-enrichment, with Trump’s allies allegedly set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars:
“This deal raises the troubling prospect that the Trump and Witkoff families could expand the use of their stablecoin as an avenue to profit from foreign corruption.”
Further complicating ethics concerns, Trump hosted a $1.5 million-per-plate dinner on May 5 at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. The event came just days after hosting a $1 million-per-plate fundraiser for the MAGA super PAC.
He also plans to hold a gala dinner with major Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin holders on May 22, despite multiple US lawmakers expressing concerns.
Related: America’s crypto renaissance is already failing; but we can fix it
GENIUS Act faces roadblocks
The Trump family’s controversial $2 billion crypto deal comes as the Senate prepares to vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and other crypto-related bills.
The fallout is already being felt in Congress. Some Democratic lawmakers are pushing for additional hearings before advancing any legislation, while others question whether Trump’s personal stake in digital assets is undermining bipartisan support for crypto regulation.
On May 5, Senate Majority Leader John Thune signaled a willingness to amend the GOP-backed stablecoin legislation to pass the bill in the coming weeks.
Speaking to reporters, Thune said changes can be made on the floor and that he is waiting to hear what Democrats are asking for, per a report from Politico.
Internal GOP challenges also remain, with Senator Rand Paul expressing uncertainty about backing the bill, according to the report.
The stalling isn’t limited to the Senate. House Financial Services Committee ranking member Representative Maxine Waters plans to block a Republican-led event discussing digital assets on May 6.
The hearing, “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets,” will discuss a new crypto markets draft discussion paper pitched by the House agricultural and financial services committee chairs, Representatives Glenn Thompson and French Hill, respectively.
Related: Elizabeth Warren joins call for probe of Trump over crypto tokens
Crypto community slams political pushback
Prominent crypto figures are speaking out as political resistance threatens to derail stablecoin legislation in the Senate.
“Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer haven’t learned their lesson,” Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, posted on X.
“If they want Democrats to continue losing elections, they will continue standing in front of crypto legislation like the stablecoin bill which they are stalling out in the Senate.”
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius, has blasted the government’s 20-year “venom-laced” sentence request, declaring it a “death-in-prison sentence.”
The US Department of Justice requested Mashinsky receive at least 20 years behind bars in the May 8 sentencing for his role in misleading Celsius users and profiting from the price manipulation of Celsius (CEL), which would make the 59-year-old 79 if he serves the whole sentence.
Lawyers acting for Mashinsky argued in a May 5 reply memorandum filed in a New York district court that he should receive no more than 366 days, because the DOJ hasn’t taken into account his status as a nonviolent first-time offender with a previously unblemished 30-year history in business.
“The government’s venom-laced submission recasts this case as one involving a predator with an intent to target victims, harm them, and steal their money,” they said.
“It concludes by recommending that a first time, nonviolent offender who pled guilty and accepts responsibility receive a death-in-prison sentence.”
Mashinsky pleaded guilty to two out of seven charges
As part of a plea agreement, Mashinsky pleaded guilty in December 2024 to commodities fraud and manipulating the price of CEL, earning $48 million by selling his holdings before Celsius collapsed in June 2022. Prosecutors initially filed seven charges in July 2023.
Lawyers acting for Mashinsky allege the DOJ’s push for a 20-year sentence is because their client is unwilling to “capitulate to the government’s exaggerated characterizations of his actions,” specifically that he was a “fraud from the get-go.”
“Alex is inserted as the scapegoat for every corporate action, every group decision, every unanimous vote, every market fluctuation, and every employee’s watercooler speculation,” they said.
As part of its April 28 sentencing request, the DOJ said Mashinsky’s guilty plea showed that his crimes were deliberate, calculated decisions to lie, deceive and steal.
Days earlier on April 23, US federal prosecutors also filed statements from hundreds of victims who lost money due to the Celsius collapse. They detailed how some had entrusted their life savings to the protocol, believing Mashinsky’s assurances that it was safe.
Related: What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?
Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022, owing $4.7 billion to creditors after halting withdrawals in June, citing volatile market conditions.
In November 2023, a US bankruptcy court approved Celsius’ restructuring plan to repay customers, and in August 2024, $2.53 billion was paid to 251,000 creditors.
Former Celsius chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon also pleaded guilty in September 2023 to similar charges, but his Dec. 11 sentencing has been delayed until after Mashinsky is sentenced.
Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight
A Russian-Israeli citizen allegedly involved in the $190 million Nomad bridge hack will soon be extradited to the US after he was reportedly arrested at an Israeli airport while boarding a flight to Russia.
Alexander Gurevich will be investigated for his alleged involvement in several “computer crimes,” including laundering millions of dollars and transferring stolen property allegedly connected to the Nomad Bridge hack in 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported on May 5.
Gurevich returned to Israel from an overseas trip on April 19 but was ordered to appear before the Jerusalem District Court for an extradition hearing soon after, according to the report.
On April 29, Gurevich changed his name in Israel’s Population Registry to “Alexander Block” and received a passport under that name at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport the next day.
He was arrested at the same airport two days later, on May 1, while waiting to board a flight to Russia.
Gurevich allegedly identified a vulnerability in the Nomad bridge, which he exploited and stole roughly $2.89 million worth of tokens from in August 2022.
Dozens of copycat hackers discovered and capitalized on the security vulnerability soon after, leading to a total loss of $190 million.
Gurevich allegedly reached out to a Nomad executive on Telegram
Prosecutors allege that shortly after the hack, Gurevich messaged Nomad’s chief technology officer, James Prestwich, on Telegram using a fake identity, admitting that he had been “amateurishly” seeking a crypto protocol to exploit.
He allegedly apologized for “the trouble he caused Prestwich and his team” and voluntarily transferred about $162,000 into a recovery wallet the company had set up.
Prestwich told Gurevich that Nomad would pay him 10% of the value of the assets he had stolen, to which Gurevich responded that he would consult his lawyer. However, Nomad never heard back from him after that.
At some point during the negotiations, Gurevich demanded a reward of $500,000 for identifying the vulnerability.
Related: Do Kwon is in US custody after extradition battle
US federal authorities filed an eight-count indictment against Gurevich in the Northern District of California on Aug. 16, 2023, in addition to obtaining a warrant for his arrest. California is where the team behind the Nomad bridge is based.
The US submitted a formal extradition request in December 2024, the Post noted.
The money laundering charges that Gurevich faces carry a maximum of 20 years, significantly harsher than what he would face in Israel.
Gurevich is believed to have arrived in Israel a few days before the $190 million exploit occurred, prompting Israeli officials to believe he carried out the attack while in Israel.
Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway