Fair Work Agency’s priorities criticised days before its launch
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026

Cornerstone of the UK’s Employment Rights Act ‘in danger of becoming a dead duck’, says Unite boss

The government has asked its new employment rights watchdog to reduce the regulatory burden on business, it has emerged, a request that worker advocates said risks turning the agency into “a dead duck”.

The Fair Work Agency (FWA), which is being launched on Tuesday, is a cornerstone of Labour’s Employment Rights Act. It will bring together several existing labour enforcement bodies and its responsibilities will include policing the minimum wage, holiday pay and modern slavery.

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Former Co-op boss was paid almost £2m before leaving after group’s difficult year
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026

Shirine Khoury-Haq and other managers did not receive annual bonus after damaging cyber-attack in 2025

The former boss of the Co-op collected almost £2m before her sudden departure last month despite a difficult year when the retailer was pushed into the red by a damaging cyber hack.

Shirine Khoury-Haq’s total annual pay package amounted to £1.9m in 2025, including a £165,000 “rewarding growth” bonus that was approved by the mutual’s board despite falling sales and the slide to an underlying loss of £125m.

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Iran war driving up funeral costs in the UK
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026

Average traditional funeral now costs £4,623, up 1.3% since January, says report from Pure Cremation

The war in Iran is pushing up the cost of living in the UK but it is also driving up the “cost of dying” as higher gas prices feed through to funerals.

A report has found the average cost of a funeral in Britain is running ahead of inflation, with the war seemingly partly to blame as it has pushed up the price of gas used in crematoriums.

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‘It’s all fear and headlines’: energy traders race to keep pace with volatile oil markets
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026

Market volatility caused by Middle East conflict exposes energy traders to heavy losses and rumours of insider trading at the highest level

On the weekend that US-Israeli drones first began to rain down on Tehran, energy traders across the world’s major financial centres began to redraw their strategies.

When they returned to their trading desks on that March Monday morning, they found oil and gas prices spiking amid a market nightmare made real: the unprecedented shutdown of the vital trade route through the strait of Hormuz.

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An AI bot invited me to its party in Manchester. It was a pretty good night
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026

After forgetting the nibbles, refusing my costume requests and emailing GCHQ, ‘Gaskell’ did at least get us to show up

Two weeks ago, an AI bot invited me to a party it was organising in Manchester. It then promptly lied to dozens of potential sponsors that I’d agreed to cover the event, and misled me into believing there would be food.

Despite all this, it was a pretty good night.

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UK’s leading AI research institute told to make ‘significant’ changes
Posted on Friday April 03, 2026

Alan Turing Institute told by funder to offer better strategy and more value for money after board was reminded of legal duties by watchdog

The UK’s leading AI research institute has been told to make “significant” changes by its main source of taxpayer funding.

The Guardian revealed last week that the board of the Alan Turing Institute was reminded of its legal duties by the charity watchdog after a whistleblower complaint.

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West Ham v Leeds buildup plus Scottish Premiership and Women’s FA Cup – matchday live
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026

• Buildup to Sunday’s football action

• Get in touch: mail Simon and follow us on BlueSky

On the one hand, he did well to coax a title out of a squad whose best players are ageing; on the other, it was Jürgen Klopp’s team and it relied upon Mo Salah delivering half a season of dead-cat bounce brilliance that had little to do with anyone’s tactics.

And as for this season, who signed off on all the summer business? Changing five players is never going to be seamless, but ignoring the major weaknesses in the squad – the middle of defence and the middle of midfield – to splurge on an attack that didn’t need that level of refreshment, was a colossal error.

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‘Let’s do it’: Deontay Wilder targets Anthony Joshua fight after beating Chisora
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026

• Former world champions may finally meet in the ring

• Eddie Hearn says Joshua is ready for fight after car crash

Deontay Wilder called out Anthony Joshua for a long-awaited matchup between the former heavyweight champions, after Wilder edged Derek Chisora to clinch a split-decision victory in London on Saturday.

Wilder came face to face with Joshua as he walked past the Briton after the fight. The two fist-bumped, and the American said: “Let’s do it. It wasn’t a few words, I dapped it up with him and I said, now let’s get it on. I’m ready for whoever, [as] long as these guys are in the heavyweight division, I am here. You can call me Mr Clean, because I want to clean up the whole division. The division is nothing without Deontay Wilder.”

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