Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, pubs, Silicon Valley, Sky
The UK will not water down rules to protect its financial services sector in the wake of Brexit, the chancellor said on Wednesday as he sent a message to his counterparts in the EU that he would not tolerate protectionist measures being imposed to lure business way. Philip Hammond also told his audience of financiers in a set-piece speech in the City that his priority was to devise policies that would allow the UK to retain its place as a leading global financial centre. – Guardian
The great British boozer is under threat as a result of spiralling business rates, according to a campaign group which warns they are a “ticking time bomb” which could devastate the sector. The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is calling for an annual £5,000 reduction in business rates for every pub across England, after revealing that since the early 1970s nearly 30,000 pubs have called “last orders” and closed their doors for good. – Guardian
The Government is stepping up pressure on Silicon Valley giants to take responsibility for unlawful material online and share the spoils of the internet with media companies. The digital minister Matt Hancock told a gathering of technology lobbyists that the likes of Google and Facebook must intervene to help preserve freedom and liberal values. The shift is an opportunity for Britain to gain a “massive advantage” after Brexit by being the first country to make sure offline principles apply online. – Telegraph
It couldn’t happen again, could it? It is more than six years since Rupert Murdoch abandoned his last bid for Sky in the teeth of the phone hacking scandal and suffered what he said was the most humble day of his life in Parliament. Much has changed. He has cleaved his empire in two, promoted his sons to lead alongside him and got divorced, and remarried. Yet this week may feel like deja vu all over again for the 86-year-old mogul. The Government said on Tuesday there were “non-fanciful” concerns about governance and compliance at Fox News, including around its sexual harassment scandal. It means 21st Century Fox, the vehicle for the bid, faces an investigation of its commitment to broadcasting standards by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). – Telegraph
Drax could build one of the world’s largest batteries and create Britain’s biggest gas plant under ambitious plans to transform its North Yorkshire power station. The Drax coal and biomass plant near Selby is already the country’s biggest power station, capable of generating 3.9 gigawatts, or about 7 per cent of the country’s electricity needs. - The Times
The rapid growth in “dinner party landlords” looks set to end, according to surveyors and estate agents, who are warning of a likely rise in the number of landlords leaving the lettings market. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that 61 per cent of its members believed there would be more landlords quitting, rather than joining, the market over the coming year. Just over half of its members believe that this will remain the case over the next three years. – The Times