Connect with us

Published

on

The UK information regulator has apologised to the former NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose, who resigned after discussing the banking affairs of Nigel Farage with a journalist.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said its comments last month – in which the regulator said a NatWest employee shared information when they should not have done, and there were two privacy breaches – wrongly gave the impression it investigated the actions of Dame Alison.

“We confirm that we did not investigate Ms Rose’s actions, given that NatWest was the data controller under investigation,” the ICO said.

It added: “Our investigation did not find that Ms Rose breached data protection law and we regret that our statement gave the impression that she did…

“…we apologise to Ms Rose for suggesting that we had made a finding that she breached the UK GDPR [general data protection regulation] in respect of Mr Farage when we had not investigated her.

“Our investigation did not find that Ms Rose breached data protection law and we regret that our statement gave the impression that she did.”

In its ruling in October, the ICO said there were two privacy breaches involved in the disclosure to BBC News business editor Simon Jack.

More from Business

This enabled him to report Mr Farage no longer met the financial criteria to hold an account with Coutts, which is part of the NatWest Group.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

Business

Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

Published

on

By

Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

Aston Martin is steering a path towards a twin-pronged pay row with shareholders as it grapples with the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on car manufacturers.

Sky News can reveal that the influential proxy voting adviser ISS is urging investors to vote against both of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings’ remuneration votes at next week’s annual general meeting.

The pay policy vote, which is binding on the company, has attracted opposition from ISS because it proposes significant increases to potential bonus awards to Adrian Hallmark, the company’s new chief executive.

“Concerns are raised regarding the increased bonus maximums, which are built upon competitively[1]positioned salary levels and do not appear appropriate given the company’s recent performance,” ISS said in a report to clients.

More from Money

Aston Martin is also facing a meaningful vote against its pay report for last year – which is on an advisory basis only – because of the salaries awarded to Mr Hallmark and other executive directors.

The company’s shares have nearly halved in the last year, and it now has a market value of little more than £660m.

Despite the ISS recommendation, Aston Martin will win the vote by virtue of chairman Lawrence Stroll’s 33% shareholding.

The luxury car manufacturer has had a torrid time as a public company and now faces the headwinds of President Trump’s tariffs blitz.

This week it said it would limit exports to the US to offset the impact of the policy.

Aston Martin did not respond to a request for comment ahead of next Wednesday’s AGM.

Continue Reading

Business

Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

Published

on

By

Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

A financial wellbeing platform which counts the alcohol-free beer producer Lucky Saint among its clients has landed a £6m funding injection from a syndicate of well-known investors.

Sky News understands that Mintago, which was founded in 2019, will announce in the coming days that Guinness Ventures has jointly led the Series A round alongside Seed X Liechtenstein and Social Impact Enterprises.

Mintago, which also counts car rental firm Avis and Northumbrian Police among its customers, aims to help employees save and manage their money more effectively.

More from Money

A number of the start-up’s current investors, Love Ventures and Truesight Ventures, are also understood to have reinvested as part of the fundraising.

MINTAGO
Image:
The company, which counts Lucky Saint and Avis among its users, has finalised a Series A funding round

The company was set up by Chieu Cao and Daniel Conti, and claims to offer more salary sacrifice schemes than any other UK provider.

It also provides independent financial advice, a service for finding lost pension pots, retail discounts and GP services.

“We realised that organisations are crying out for the same help we provide their staff,” Mr Conti said.

“The benefits of providing that support impact everyone.

“When a company improves their salary sacrifice benefits engagement, they can save thousands in National Insurance Contributions, but their employees save too, easing the strain on their finances.”

The new capital will be used to develop additional products using artificial intelligence, according to the company.

“Mintago is enabling its customers to become truly people-centric organisations by giving them the tools to support their employees’ financial wellbeing,” Mathias Jaeggi, a partner at Seed X Liechtenstein, said.

Continue Reading

Business

iPhones sold in US will no longer come from China – as Apple reveals impact of Trump’s tariffs

Published

on

By

iPhones sold in US will no longer come from China - as Apple reveals impact of Trump's tariffs

Apple says devices sold in the US will no longer come from China, as the tech giant tries to mitigate the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Most iPhones will be sourced from India instead, with iPads coming from Vietnam, to prevent dramatic price rises for American consumers.

Unveiling financial results from January to March, the company said the US president’s escalating trade war has had a limited impact on its performance so far.

However, Apple CEO Tim Cook believes the tariffs will add £677m in costs during the current quarter – assuming Trump’s policies don’t change.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

How Trump 2.0 changed the world

Revenue for the first three months of the year stood at £71.8bn, with earnings of £18.6bn also beating analyst expectations.

High demand for iPhones during this period may have been driven by US shoppers rushing to make purchases before the new tariffs came into force.

But the full impact of any panic buying will only emerge when Apple reports its results from April to June later in the year.

More on Apple

Apple’s reliance on Chinese factories to manufacture its iPhones meant the company was far more exposed to the impact of Trump’s trade war than others.

Read more from Sky News:
NHS may offer weight loss jabs over counter
Trump’s national security adviser to leave role
North Korean hacker caught red-handed

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump: Tariffs making US ‘rich’

After the president unveiled plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries – now largely paused for 90 days – Apple’s stock plunged by 23%, wiping out £582bn of value.

While its share price has recovered slightly, it remains 5% lower than before “Liberation Day”.

Growing tensions between Washington and Beijing are also having an impact on Apple’s sales in China, which fell 2.3% between January and March.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Is your iPhone data less secure?

Addressing the planned changes to manufacturing, Mr Cook added: “We have a complex supply chain. There’s always risk in the supply chain. What we learned some time ago was that having everything in one location had too much risk with it.”

Devices sold outside of the US will continue to be made in China.

Continue Reading

Trending