Middle East war ‘could wipe out 75% of chancellor’s budget headroom’; UK inflation climbs to 3.3% – business live
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

Oil prices rise again closer to $100 a barrel as strait of Hormuz remains closed, amid reports of attacks by Iran on two cargo ships

Here’s more reaction to the rise in UK inflation to 3.3%.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said:

Today’s uptick in inflation looks like it is just the beginning. Before the war in Iran, workers were already forecast to get poorer. The outlook is now looking increasingly bleak.

Workers must not pay the price yet again, for a crisis not of their making. As a minimum the government must take decisive action on soaring energy bills.

Households are feeling the pain from Trump’s illegal war. Big rises in petrol prices are pushing up inflation and shockwaves from the war are putting recent improvements in growth under threat.

But the Bank of England must remain focused on cutting rates as soon as possible. Coupled with Trumpflation, higher interest rates would increase the pressure on already stretched families and businesses. But lowering rates would provide vital support for economic growth, which is an important part of the Bank’s remit too.

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City watchdog faces legal action over £9.1bn compensation scheme for car loan victims
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

Exclusive: Lawyers for group Consumer Voice notified FCA they are challenging redress scheme as inadequate

A consumer group is preparing to take the City watchdog to court in the hope of overhauling a £9.1bn compensation scheme that it claims massively shortchanges victims of the UK car loan scandal.

Lawyers working for Consumer Voice have written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), notifying them that they intend to challenge the redress programme in order to protect drivers’ interests, according to sources familiar with the group’s plans.

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UK firms to face tougher checks on export licences to bolster sanctions on Russia
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

News follows Guardian report on licence given to British firm exporting machinery to Armenian firm linked to Russian war effort

British firms will face “much tougher” controls to prevent their goods from reaching Russia via other countries, undermining sanctions and aiding Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.

Under plans to be unveiled on Wednesday, the government will be able to require UK manufacturers to obtain a licence if they want to export to a country suspected of acting as a staging post for exports ultimately destined for Russia.

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Tui cuts profit forecast as effects of Iran war cost travel group €40m
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

Firm had to repatriate almost 12,000 guests and staff, including from two cruise ships in Abu Dhabi and Doha

The Iran war has cost the travel company Tui €40m (£34.7m) so far, including repatriating almost 12,000 holidaymakers and staff, and forced it to cut its profit forecast for this year.

Europe’s biggest holiday operator said that it had taken the hit in March owing to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, as it was forced to bring home 5,000 guests from two cruise ships anchored in ports in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

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Anthropic investigates report of rogue access to hack-enabling Mythos AI
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

‘Handful’ of people allegedly gain unauthorised access to model adept at detecting cybersecurity vulnerabilities

• Business live – latest updates

The AI developer Anthropic has confirmed it is investigating a report that unauthorised users have gained access to its Mythos model, which it has warned poses risks to cybersecurity.

The US startup made the statement after Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that a small group of people had accessed the model, which has not been released to the public because of its ability to enable cyber-attacks.

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‘An element of exploitation’: the world of TikTok child skincare influencers
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

Experts say regulation of child influencers sits in a legal grey area as children promote products on social media

• #ToddlerSkincare: the ‘dark and exploitative’ world of children’s beauty videos on TikTok

In a TikTok video a young girl – her age anywhere between 10 and 15 – sits unboxing package after package of products she says were sent to her by skincare brands. She calls it a “PR haul”.

In another video, a 16-year-old opens a box of products she received from a well known brand. She says: “I know I have younger people watching,” before reading out a note from the brand that says: “Can’t wait for you to share your thoughts.”

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Gianluigi Buffon: ‘You have a perception that you are unbeatable, almost omnipotent’
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

Italy’s legendary goalkeeper on getting used to retirement, the decline of Italian football and why he blames himself for Zidane’s World Cup final red card

“I tear the gloves off my hands and my bare knuckles, reddened and soaked with sweat, shine in the neon light,” Gianluigi Buffon writes when he remembers leaving the pitch at half-time during the final game of his remarkable career, in May 2023. “I really feel dead inside. I am 45 years old, and around me many of my teammates walking in shorts towards the dressing room could easily be my children.”

The gripping and intimate tone of Buffon’s book, Saved, which opens with his last-ever game in a Serie B playoff for Parma, is matched by his warm and open character. The great goalkeeper played professionally for 28 years and his reflections are as moving as they are sombre. “Can you live without it, Gigi?” he asks. “No, I can’t … when you have outlived your youth, and the time when you feel strong and all-powerful has ended, and your muscles, joints and reflexes start to wear out, then it really is like dying.”

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The Spin | Glitzy socials are one thing but it is more valuable to hear cricket’s most important voice
Posted on Wednesday April 22, 2026

The ICC chair Jay Shah has dominated social media posts from global tournaments but his views on the future direction of the game are harder to find

“Visuals that the whole nation will remember for ages,” reads the social media post by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, introducing a 37-second video clip. It captures the celebrations after India’s T20 World Cup triumph in Ahmedabad last month, a victory built by an astounding squad; strong enough to exclude names such as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, nerveless enough to thump 255 in the final against New Zealand. But one man in a suit dominates the footage: Jay Shah.

The chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC) is in most of the shots, embracing the players and soaking in the moment alongside their head coach, Gautam Gambhir. He is all smiles alongside former India captains Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, and at one point there is a frame of him on his own holding the trophy. He goes on to help Suryakumar Yadav lift it. Shah is not the honorary secretary of the BCCI any more; the whole sport is his responsibility. Yet here he was, transformed into the protagonist of a story that did not belong to him.

This is an extract from the Guardian’s weekly cricket email, The Spin. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions

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