UK watchdog to look at Paramount’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Deal to create a streaming and sports powerhouse will be scrutinised by Competition and Markets Authority

The UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into Paramount Skydance’s $110bn (£82bn) takeover of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).

The deal will create a media powerhouse controlling assets including the Paramount and HBO Max streaming services, Channel 5 and TNT Sports, which broadcasts Champions League, Premier League and the Olympics, the Hollywood studios behind franchises including Superman, Batman and Top Gun, as well as HBO, home to shows including Game of Thrones, The White Lotus and Succession.

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UK’s biggest retailers urge government to act on youth unemployment
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Bosses of M&S, Sainsbury’s and Tesco among those writing to Starmer that the ‘ladder of opportunity’ is wobbling

• We would like to hear from young people in the UK about their job-hunting experiences

Some of the UK’s biggest retailers are planning to write to the prime minister urging him to tackle the youth unemployment crisis, with signatories expected to include the bosses of Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Lobby group the British Retail Consortium said it had drafted a letter to Keir Starmer calling for action, and is circulating it among its 200 members, which include all the main UK retailers (with the exception of Games Workshop) as well as smaller shops. The letter is expected to be published on Wednesday.

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Car finance payouts could be delayed by years over legal challenges, says FCA
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Complaints-led approach could pile £6bn of extra costs on to lenders, says City watchdog

• Business live – latest updates

The City watchdog has warned that a wave of legal challenges to the compensation scheme for victims of the motor finance scandal could leave drivers waiting three more years for payouts, while piling £6bn of extra costs on to lenders.

Bosses at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who have consistently hit out at lenders and a consumer claims group for challenging its scheme, told MPs the scandal could affect lenders for years, and have “consequences” by stretching its resources.

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Former Burberry boss leads rescue mission for Burleigh Pottery
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

175-year-old Stoke-on-Trent company says Christopher Bailey’s investment will ensure continued production

Christopher Bailey, the fashion designer who turned the British trenchcoat maker Burberry into a global brand, has acquired the Stoke-on-Trent company Burleigh Pottery along with a small group of private investors.

The ceramics company, founded in 1851 and best known for its intricate floral designs, said Bailey’s investment would ensure that production of its cups, saucers and plates could continue without interruption at the city’s Middleport Pottery site.

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Palantir to sue Sadiq Khan over blocked £50m Met police contract
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

US spy-tech company to challenge London mayor’s intervention after he raised concerns over breach of procurement rules

Palantir intends to sue the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, after he blocked a contract between the US spy-tech firm and the Metropolitan police.

The Met had planned to use Palantir’s software to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, until Khan intervened in late May, sparking a row between the UK’s largest police force and the mayor’s office.

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Spyware firm targeted WhatsApp users in defiance of US court order, Meta says
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Tech company says it ‘caught and disrupted’ NSO Group’s attempts to access accounts in Jordan and Lebanon

A spyware firm has been targeting WhatsApp users with malicious links in contravention of a US court order forbidding it from doing so, Meta has said.

In a post, Meta said WhatsApp had “caught and disrupted spear phishing attempts” by NSO Group, which a spokesperson said targeted a handful of users in Jordan and Lebanon. It had also caught the group creating “test accounts and groups” on WhatsApp.

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Ben Stokes set to be left out of England squad for second New Zealand Test
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

• England captain considering his long-term future

• ECB continuing investigation into nightclub incident

Ben Stokes is highly unlikely to be included in England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand after the 35-year-old asked for space and time to consider his long-term future amid the fallout from a nightclub incident in the early hours of Monday morning.

The England and Wales Cricket Board is determined to bring the latest furore surrounding the culture of the men’s Test team under control before the start of the Women’s World Cup on Friday, with a temporary end to Stokes’s time as captain expected to be confirmed when the squad is announced within the next 48 hours.

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Bukayo Saka is playing through pain barrier, says Tuchel, as World Cup looms
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

• Arsenal forward still struggling with achilles injury

• ‘Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing’

Bukayo Saka continues to play through the pain of an achilles injury, according to the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, and must be managed carefully as the start of the World Cup looms large.

The Arsenal winger joined up with the England squad in West Palm Beach on Saturday after being given an extra week off after his involvement in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Tuchel gave a similar break to his other Arsenal players Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.

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