Business

Retail sales in Great Britain fall despite heatwave increasing food and drink demand
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026

Volume of goods sold in stores and online dropped 0.5% in July, ONS says

Business live – latest updates

Retail sales across Great Britain weakened last month despite the men’s football World Cup and record temperatures boosting the demand for food and drink.

The Office for National Statistics said the volume of goods sold in stores and online fell 0.5% in July. That is down from 0.7% rise in June – revised down from initial estimates of 1% – and a 1.3% rise in May.

UK reports unexpected deficit of £1.8bn as John Healey prepares for first budget
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026

July data shows total public debt was £2.98tn, or 94% of GDP – up £96bn on a year earlier

Business live – latest updates

The UK government ran a larger-than-expected £1.8bn deficit in July, underlining the challenges facing the chancellor, John Healey, as he draws up his first budget.

City economists had expected a shortfall of zero for July, a month when Treasury receipts tend to be swollen by self-assessment income tax payments.

Airbus bows to remote working demands after series of strikes
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026

Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a week

Airbus has bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series of strikes over its chief executive’s return-to-the office orders.

The world’s largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. At present, staff are able to work remotely for two.

Jamie and Jools Oliver pay themselves £1.5m dividend as profits almost halve
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026

Pre-tax earnings slump at chef’s food and media group after one-off costs including for a new cookery school

Jamie and Jools Oliver have paid themselves a £1.5m dividend – more than 40% down on last year – after profits at their cookery and media empire almost halved.

Sales at Jamie Oliver Holdings remained broadly steady at £28.4m in 2025, £160,000 less than in the previous year, as a strong performance at the group’s own restaurants, franchise business, cookery schools and TV productions offset a decline in royalties, licensing and endorsements.

Proposed London datacentre ‘incompatible’ with net zero with 1m-tonne carbon footprint
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026

Exclusive: Planning documents show annual emissions from North Ockendon project would be equivalent to 8,480 flights to New York

A “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 8,480 flights from London to New York, planning documents show.

The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in North Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218 hectares of green belt to run servers and data storage systems for AI and cloud computing. Its developer, Digital Reef, has described the scheme as “a unique opportunity to create a sustainable datacentre campus of the future”.

JD Vance reportedly mocks Carney for trying to ‘out-tough’ Trump on trade
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026

Audio recording of US vice-president apparently made at New York fundraiser and shared with Canadian Press

Leaked audio from a private event has reportedly captured the US vice-president, JD Vance, mocking Canada for apparently capitulating in a trade deal and taunting the prime minister, Mark Carney, for trying to “out-tough” Donald Trump.

The recording, which was reportedly made at a fundraiser and shared with the Canadian Press, comes in the last stretch of a difficult negotiation in which the US president has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canada.

Quarter of branded baby foods in UK still have too much sugar, analysis finds
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026

Exclusive: Of 224 branded infant foods and snacks, more than half are in breach of guidelines brought in a year ago

Almost a quarter of popular branded baby foods sold in UK supermarkets still contain excessive amounts of sugar, analysis suggests, a year after the government introduced voluntary industry guidelines.

In August 2025 the government gave baby food manufacturers 18 months to reduce the sugar and salt content of their products, stop marketing snacks to infants under 12 months and address misleading and inaccurate labelling that makes some infant foods appear healthier than they actually are.