UK urged to deploy EU-style ‘trade bazooka’ against Trump’s tariffs

UK business leaders have called on the government to build an EU-style “trade bazooka” to protect Britain’s economic interests in response to the latest tariff threats from Donald Trump.As transatlantic tensions rise, the British Chambers of Commerce said the UK’s “inadequate economic security” was putting growth and jobs at risk.The lobby group, which represents thousands of firms, urged Keir Starmer to take the lead in protecting Britain from external crises, saying there had been “years of neglect by successive governments”.Geopolitical tensions, the impact of Brexit, the Covid pandemic, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East mean UK companies are navigating an increasingly fraught global backdrop for international trade.The US president last week threatened to impose “a big tariff” on the UK unless it drops a digital services tax that impacts US technology companies

Royal Mail investigating claims that postal worker ‘binned Reform UK election leaflets’

Royal Mail is investigating allegations that a postal worker claimed to have “dumped” Reform UK campaign leaflets in a bin ahead of local elections on 7 May.A post on a Facebook group for Royal Mail staff said: “My DO had reform party’s D2D today. I dumped them all in a bin. They can sack me! Idgaf!”“DO” is an acronym for delivery office, “D2D” for door-to-door or unaddressed advertising mail, and “IDGAF” means “I don’t give a fuck”.The message was shared to a private 30,000-member Facebook group called Royal Mail Chat

Greggs rolls back self-service cabinets in shoplifting hotspots

Keir Starmer will attempt to call time on a “disgraceful” shoplifting epidemic afflicting the UK’s retailers, as Greggs became the latest to take action to deter thieves.The bakery chain has axed self-service display cabinets in stores that have been most severely hit by shoplifters.They are the latest measures aimed at combating a problem plaguing the high street. Last year official figures revealed annual shoplifting offences in England and Wales had passed half a million offences for the first time, and since then many retailers have reported high levels of crime in their shops.Starmer, whose government is attempting to introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, will say on Monday: “Working people – grafters – go to work, do the right thing, keep our high streets thriving and yet too often they are abused or assaulted by people who think they can get away with it and just cheat the system

Bosses don’t like the sound of a ‘four-day workweek’. Maybe it’s time to rebrand it

We keep hearing that the four-day workweek is the future. So why are so few businesses actually adopting it?Belgium, Iceland and Lithuania have passed legislation requiring the practice, and other countries in Europe are piloting the idea. Hundreds of companies in the UK have signed up for to give this a try. Microsoft tested the concept in Japan. Non-profits such as the 4 Day Week Foundation and WorkFour are dedicated to expanding the concept

Ryanair to shut Berlin base as it blames rise in German aviation tax

Ryanair is to shut its Berlin operating base and cut its winter schedule to the German capital in half, blaming soaring aviation taxes in the country.The Irish budget carrier said its relocation of seven aircraft to other centres would reduce its Berlin passenger numbers from 4.5 million to 2.2 million a year, with flights in and out of the city served from October by planes based at other airports.Staff at the facility are being offered transfers to other European bases

NatWest faces AGM showdown over ‘climate backtracking’

NatWest is at risk of an embarrassing showdown at its shareholder meeting this week as investors and scientists call for an urgent reversal of what they describe as “climate backtracking”.Campaigners including ShareAction are calling for protest votes against the bank’s chair, Rick Haythornthwaite, at its annual meeting in Edinburgh on Tuesday.The call is part of efforts to hold the board to account after NatWest watered down restrictions on lending to the oil and gas sector and dropped some decarbonisation targets “without robust explanation”, according to the campaigners.Investors including the Church of England have already thrown their weight behind the campaign, saying they will vote against the reappointment of board members.ShareAction will present letters at the AGM, including a statement signed by investors with $1