At least £325bn of ‘dirty money’ flows through UK each year, says report
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

Call for crackdown as finance linked to corruption, tax evasion and money laundering is estimated at 10% of GDP

At least £325bn worth of dirty money is flowing through the UK every year, according to research that is causing concern about funding for state investigators and the government’s push into crypto assets.

The figure is equivalent to more than 10% of UK GDP and includes illicit funds linked to financial crime, money laundering, corruption, illegal trade and tax dodging, according to the report by the Finance Innovation Lab charity.

Read more...

With oil markets nearing the danger zone, a US-Iran deal can’t come soon enough | Heather Stewart
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

Global prices are approaching a tipping point that could trigger inflation, shortages and, over time, recession

If a US-Iran deal is about to be reached, three months on from the launch of Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, it will not be a day too soon for oil markets, which are approaching a dangerous tipping point.

The cost of a barrel of crude on the spot market – for immediate purchase, effectively – has bounced about $100 since Iran predictably responded to the onslaught from the US and Israel by closing the strait of Hormuz.

Read more...

Nationwide pressed to address ‘emerging governance issues’ as AGM looms
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

Labour MP writes to chair amid concerns building societies are overusing quick votes and failing to add members to boards

Nationwide is under pressure to address “emerging governance issues” across the building society sector, amid concerns bosses are bundling voting options and failing to allocate board seats for members.

The Stockport Labour MP Navendu Mishra has sent a formal letter to the chair of Nationwide, Kevin Parry, outlining growing unease over the way executives, including at Nationwide, have been engaging with members who ultimately own their building societies. A letter raising similar concerns was sent to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in recent weeks.

Read more...

How an Essex valley became one of the UK’s most exciting new wine regions
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

English wine grown in Crouch Valley is fast becoming globally renowned – even the French are taking notice

It was a Thursday afternoon spent basking in the sunshine, strolling through rolling hills and expansive plains laced with fruit-bearing vines. Surely I must have been dispatched to Tuscany or Bordeaux but no, this was the scene a mere 20-minute drive from Chelmsford, Essex.

While the unassuming city might be better know as the stomping ground for the cast of The Only Way is Essex, with ITV cameras a frequent sight, the surrounding area could soon have another claim to fame as an emerging capital of English wine, which is on the up.

Read more...

‘AI washing’: firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

PR executives say UK companies are forcing them to present ordinary automation as artificial intelligence

UK companies are performing “yoga-level” stretches to describe themselves as AI specialists in an attempt to capitalise on the buzz around the technology, public relations firms have said.

Weary communications executives tasked with securing media coverage for brands have complained that bosses in low-tech industries or running businesses that use automation but not generative AI, are increasingly demanding they are pitched to journalists as artificial intelligence companies.

Read more...

‘We’re expanding the cinematic toolbox’: AI fault lines on show at Cannes
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

Darren Aronofsky among proponents of using technology, while Guillermo del Toro says he would ‘rather die’

Under a white marquee on Cannes’ Croisette beach, with the Mediterranean glistening behind him and superyachts drifting across the horizon, the director Darren Aronofsky addressed an audience of executives and tech evangelists gathered for an “AI for Talent” summit.

“There’s so much pushback against AI,” said Aronofsky, who has faced criticism over his embrace of generative AI projects though his new studio, Primordial Soup, at a time when artificial intelligence has become one of the film industry’s most divisive fault lines.

Read more...

West Ham relegated to Championship despite emphatic victory over toothless Leeds
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

As the minutes ticked away and the trap door widened, the home crowd made light of the misery and amused themselves by turning on the man who has done more than anyone to condemn West Ham to relegation. David Sullivan watched and squired. The West Ham fans showered him with abuse and nothing summed up the vacuum of leadership at the top of their club more than the sight of Sullivan leaving his seat in the directors’ box before full-time.

The 77-year-old was not there to face the music. Perhaps he needed a moment of quiet, space to work out where it has gone wrong. The answer, though, comes back to Sullivan’s outdated methods. Others have underperformed, not least Nuno Espírito Santo since taking over as manager last September, but ultimately this is Sullivan’s mess. He is the largest shareholder and it is hard to see anything changing until he hands power to someone with the vision to capitalise on West Ham’s potential.

Read more...

Spurs secure survival as João Palhinha sees off Everton to seal West Ham’s fate
Posted on Sunday May 24, 2026

It was a question of dignity, according to Roberto De Zerbi, which was certainly a valid starting point. But for Tottenham, it was so much else besides. Reputations. Livelihoods. The very future of the club. Everything was on the line because the ­consequences of a first relegation from English football’s top division since 1977 did not bear thinking about. Even if everybody had thought about them all the same.

It was impossible to ignore the feeling of foreboding. It was there as the Spurs fans made their way to the stadium, which has been a house of horrors for them in the Premier League this season. No club in the division had a worse home record than them at the start of the day. It was there throughout the game, rising exponentially in the second half as West Ham, needing to beat Leeds at the London Stadium to make it very interesting, scored three times. And it hammered on into the 12 minutes of stoppage time; only nine had been signalled.

Read more...