South East Water chief executive to forgo his bonus over ‘unacceptable outages’

The chief executive of South East Water has said he will forgo his bonus in an act of penitence for “unacceptable outages” that left thousands of customers in Kent and Sussex without water.David Hinton told MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs select committee that he had decided not to accept an additional “performance payment” this year. Instead, he will receive only his £400,000 salary.In a statement released after his appearance in parliament on Tuesday, Hinton apologised to customers, half of whom in one town were now stockpiling bottled water in anticipation of future incidents, MPs also heard.South East Water customers in Tunbridge Wells faced significant supply disruptions in November and December

Reeves arrives at IMF with little leeway to prove its UK downgrade wrong

The Iran war is bad news for the global economy. But for some countries, the unfolding conflict is having a bigger impact than for others. The International Monetary Fund’s verdict is that Britain is the G7’s biggest loser.Amid the rising damage from the Middle East war, the Washington-based fund warned UK economic growth rate would be 0.5 percentage points lower this year than it had predicted back in January – the biggest downgrade among the club of wealthy nations

BP’s new boss to overhaul structure after retreat from green strategy

BP’s new boss has set out plans to reinstate the company structure the fossil fuel supermajor ditched six years ago as part of its failed attempt to reorganise the business to pursue a green agenda.Meg O’Neill told staff that the 117-year-old company would return to a “simpler, stronger” two-business arrangement including an upstream oil and gas production unit and a downstream business focused on refining and distributing fuels and retail activities.“In service of becoming a simpler, stronger, more valuable BP, we intend to build an organisation with a clear upstream and downstream,” O’Neill said.The planned overhaul is the latest step in dismantling the legacy of former chief executive Bernard Looney who in 2020 restructured BP to include a gas and low-carbon energy division as part of a wide-ranging mission to “reimagine” BP as a green energy company.The green agenda raised concerns among BP’s investor base, and made the company a target of activist investor Elliott Management, which called for BP to return its focus to fossil fuels and simplify its structure

Jamie Dimon says private credit defaults are not threat to major banks

The boss of JP Morgan, Wall Street’s biggest bank, said a downturn across the $3tn private credit market would not put financial stability at risk, adding that losses would have to be “very large” before the pain rippled out to major banks.Dimon played down the potential impact that a series of private credit loan defaults would have on the wider financial system, arguing that while there were some areas of of weakness, the unregulated industry did not pose a “systemic” risk.“The actual credit hasn’t gotten that much worse. There are pockets where it has … so we’ll be watching it closely,” Dimon told analysts during an earnings call on Tuesday. “The big point, to me, is … I don’t think it’s systemic

United Airlines CEO reportedly pitched merger with American, sparking competition fears

The CEO of United Airlines is said to have pitched a blockbuster merger with American Airlines during a meeting with Donald Trump, floating the combination of the world’s two largest carriers.Scott Kirby, who leads United, raised the prospect during an encounter with the US president in late February, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. Such a deal would overhaul the global air travel industry – and would likely face intense competition scrutiny.United declined to comment. American and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment

UK growth forecasts slashed by IMF as Iran war hurts global economy – as it happened

Newsflash: The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for UK growth this year and in 2026, as the Iran war hurts the global economy.The UK has been hit by the sharpest growth downgrade in the G7 in the IMF’s new economic forecasts, just released, at its spring meeting in Washington DC.UK GDP is now expected to rise by just 0.8% this year, down from a previous forecast of 1.3% – a bigger downgrade than other major economies

China Evergrande’s billionaire boss pleads guilty to fraud

A former steelworker who rose to become one of China’s richest people has pleaded guilty to charges including fundraising fraud after the collapse of Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer.The property group’s founder, Hui Ka Yan, “pleaded guilty and expressed remorse” in trial proceedings at a court in China’s southern city of Shenzhen against him and Evergrande, the court said in a posting on its official WeChat account. He also pleaded guilty to misuse of funds and illegally taking public deposits.Evergrande, once China’s biggest real estate company, has defaulted since 2021 on most of its $300bn (£222bn) in liabilities, emblematic of China’s property sector woes that have long dragged on the country’s economic growth.Evergrande’s failure to repay billions of dollars of wealth management products unleashed frustration among the lower and middle classes, many of whom had their investments wiped out, provoking protests and threatening social stability

UK steel exports to EU at risk as bloc doubles tariffs and halves quotas

The EU is to go ahead with plans to double tariffs and halve quotas on imports of steel from July, in a move designed to curb Chinese imports but which could damage UK exports to the bloc.The decision by EU lawmakers and member states after late night talks on Monday, will reduce duty-free quotas by 47%. Exact country allocations have yet to be determined.The EU industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, hailed the agreement as the “strongest ever” safeguard agreed and a “victory for our steel mills, our steelworkers and our industrial sovereignty”.A flood of cheap imports from China was thought to be the driving force behind the measures

IMF warns ‘unprecedented’ energy crisis could trigger global recession as Australia prepares for Washington talks

The International Monetary Fund has warned the US-Israel war on Iran risks creating an “energy crisis of an unprecedented scale” that could tip the global economy towards recession.The grim warning contained in the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook comes as Jim Chalmers prepares to attend the organisation’s spring meetings in Washington DC this week, where he said he would be “joining with other countries continuing to call for an enduring end to the war”.As the United States began its blockade of the critical strait of Hormuz in an effort to force Iran back to the negotiating table, the IMF’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said “the world economy faces another difficult test”.“The closing of the strait of Hormuz and serious damage to critical facilities in a region central to global hydrocarbon supply raise the prospect of a major energy crisis should hostilities continue,” Gourinchas said.As higher fuel costs smash household and business confidence in Australia, the treasurer will hold bilateral meetings with his foreign counterparts from the nation’s major fuel suppliers, including South Korea, Singapore, Japan and China

Nissan turnaround plan pins hopes on ‘AI-defined vehicles’

Nissan has said it will add self-driving abilities to the vast majority of its cars and cut a fifth of its models in the latest stage of the Japanese carmaker’s drawn-out turnaround efforts.Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s chief executive, said the company was pinning its hopes on “AI-defined vehicles”, with an aim of installing autonomous driving technologies on 90% of its vehicles in the future.The carmaker endured years of turmoil under a succession of bosses. Espinosa took over last year and has set about a painful programme of seven factory closures and 20,000 job losses in an effort to cut costs.On Tuesday he announced at an event at Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, that the company would reduce the number of cars it made from 56 to 45 models in order to divert investment to more profitable models

Gina Rinehart and rival heirs brace for court verdict on claim to billion-dollar fortune

Gina Rinehart faces the possibility of losing billions of dollars in riches from her Pilbara iron ore empire and her mantle as Australia’s wealthiest person when a long-awaited court verdict is delivered in Perth on Wednesday.The Western Australian supreme court judgment will rule on whether Rinehart must share the spoils of some of Hancock Prospecting’s most lucrative iron ore projects with the family of her late father’s business partner.At stake is billions of dollars in royalties and assets arising from the tenements pegged out by her father, mining pioneer Lang Hancock, and his business partner Peter Wright, through the Hanwright partnership in the 1950s and 1960s.At the centre of the claim is the lucrative Hope Downs mining complex near Newman in north-west Western Australia which is a joint venture between Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto, and which delivered an $832m profit to Hancock Prospecting in 2025.The Wright family heirs, including billionaire Angela Bennett and her nieces Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt, claim they are entitled to an equal share of the 2

HSBC says Iran war is hitting confidence as businesses warn over economic risks

HSBC bosses have said the Iran war is already hitting global economic confidence, as a string of business leaders warned over the impact of the conflict.Georges Elhedery, the Lebanon-born chief executive of the bank, told Bloomberg Television at a HSBC conference in Hong Kong: “We’re saddened and concerned with what’s happening in the Middle East, and we’re concerned not just with what’s happening but also with how long this will take.“Unfortunately, some of these uncertainties have initially started to weigh on general confidence. We worry that the continuation of this conflict will have that impact globally way beyond the Middle East,” he said, pointing to the price of goods, oil and refined products, but also fertilisers and metals.After rising above $100 (£74) a barrel on Monday, Brent crude dipped 0

Cornichon shortage leaves British sandwich shops in a pickle

With their sharp flavour and crunch, pickled cucumbers are an essential component of any sandwich worth its salt.But an unexpected shortage of cornichons has caused consternation in sandwich shops across the country as cafes scramble to get their hands on jars of the small green pickles.A favourite sandwich of hungry office workers is the simple jambon beurre. A staple across the Channel, the French sandwich contains ham, a generous amount of butter, and, crucially, a sharp, crunchy cornichon to cut through the fat.Sandwich chain Pret a Manger brought it to popularity in the UK, and a jambon beurre retails for about £4 in its shops

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for chilli eggs with miso beans and spinach | Quick and easy

My go-to cheat ingredient for a dash of heat is White Mausu’s peanut rāyu – it has a gentler flavour profile than, say, Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli in oil, and works perfectly in this dish of creamy, lemon-spiked beans and eggs. I recommend using jarred white beans for the speediest cook time. For an easy, get-ahead breakfast, make and chill the spinach and beans the night before, then reheat the next morning and crack in the eggs when the beans are piping hot.Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Serves 2-32 tbsp neutral oil 2 onions, peeled and roughly sliced2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated200g baby spinach, roughly chopped570g jar white haricot or butter beans, drained and rinsed (400g net)2 heaped tsp red miso paste (white will work, too) 150ml single cream Juice of ½ lemonSalt (optional)2 eggs 2-3 tbsp White Mausu peanut rāyu, to tastePut the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat, then add the onions and stir-fry for five minutes, until just colouring around the edges. Stir in the garlic, turn down the heat to low, then partly cover the pan and cook for five minutes, to soften

The US small town coffee shop that created a viral drink: ‘I still don’t understand how it went so far’

A viral coffee drink created by a little college town coffee shop on the outskirts of Minneapolis is now making its way around the world after its inventors decided to give the recipe away for free.After Little Joy Coffee’s raspberry danish latte, a spring seasonal drink, went viral in March, the shop’s owners decided to encourage coffee shops to rip off the recipe directly and add it to their menus.Posting both a home recipe and step-by-step instructions for coffee shops, they asked shops if they wanted to be added to a map of places that will serve the raspberry danish latte. Hundreds of shops quickly signed up. A map of the shops shows a presence on every continent except Antarctica, with pins in dozens of countries

How to make Southern fried chicken – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Let’s be honest, fried chicken is one of those things that’s almost always good, but making it yourself has the benefit of allowing you to be sure of the provenance of the meat. Where fast-food restaurants tend to rely on pressure fryers for a juicy result, at home I brine the meat first using buttermilk – its slight acidity will also have a tenderising effect. Double win.Prep 5 min Marinate 4 hr+Cook 40 min Serves 2-3300ml buttermilk (see step 1)2¼ tsp salt 6 pieces of chicken of your choice – I like a mixture of drumsticks and thighs110g plain flour 40g cornflour, or rice or potato flour (see step 4)½ tsp freshly ground black pepper ½ tsp smoked paprika ¼ tsp MSG (optional)Neutral oil (vegetable, sunflower, groundnut or lard), for fryingButtermilk is the ideal consistency for this, but if you can’t get hold of any, instead whisk a little water into natural yoghurt to make it pourable. Put 275ml in a container large enough to hold all the meat, then stir in two teaspoons of salt – this improves the chicken’s ability to hold on to moisture, giving a juicier texture

Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, London WC2: ‘A rollicking list of cosy British joys’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

The British may not have the most sophisticated palates, but we are adorable in our culinary urgesAs we sit awaiting the beef rib trolley in the Grand Divan dining room at the whoppingly sized Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, we fizz with ideas of how to describe its wildly unfettered quaintness. “It’s all a bit Hogwarts, isn’t it?” I say to my friend Hugh.He’s been four times already, but then, Simpson’s is that kind of place: a handy-as-heck, posh canteen a short stroll from Covent Garden. There’s a twinkly, ye olde cocktail bar upstairs as well as Romano’s with its more European-style menu. But, for now, let’s concentrate on the Grand Divan

Benjamina Ebuehi’s sweet and salty chocolate chip cookies recipe | The sweet spot

Everyone has different ideas on what makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie, with everything from thickness and chewiness to the amount of chocolate up for debate. In my opinion, no cookie is worth eating if it’s not well salted; without it, everything feels a little off balance and flat. My not-so-secret way of salting cookies is to use a bit of miso. Not so much that it becomes a miso cookie, but just enough to bring a slightly savoury, umami vibe that makes the cookies a bit more complex-tasting and not sickly sweet.Prep 5 min Cook 30 min Chill 3 hr+ Makes 12100g unsalted butter, softened 110g dark brown sugar 110g caster sugar 35g white miso paste 1 large egg 220g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 100g milk chocolate, roughly chopped100g dark chocolate, roughly choppedPut the butter and both sugars in a large bowl and beat for two to three minutes until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often

Gentleman’s Relish is toast after its maker axes the pungent anchovy spread

Fans of traditional British cuisine were heartbroken by news that Gentleman’s Relish was being discontinued by its manufacturer.But Jeremy King, who last month reopened Simpson’s in the Strand, has instructed his chef to create a version of the pungent anchovy-based condiment almost identical to the real thing for the 198-year-old London restaurant.King, who has run famed establishments including the Ivy, the Wolseley and Le Caprice, told the Guardian: “We actually make our own, due to the difficulty in obtaining, so are able to continue to serve it.”Simpson’s, which offers traditional fare including spotted dick and roast beef carved on a silver trolley, serves the relish on toast for £6.50

Cream sherry: a forgotten taste that’s worth rediscovering

By the time I knew her, my granny was in her whisky and water era, but my dad clearly remembers a bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream in the drinks cupboard, ready to pour for friends after church in the 1970s. This is the enduring image of cream sherry, one that it has struggled to shake off. While other sherries – bone-dry fino and manzanilla (made by ageing palomino grapes under a yeast layer called flor), oxidative amontillado or oloroso, and sweet, single varietals such as pedro ximénez (PX) – have acquired new cachet among younger drinkers, not least because they’re relatively affordable, cream is the emblematic Little English tipple of a bygone time.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

From soups and greens to roots, how to survive the ‘hungry gap’

Spring may have firmly sprung – I write this with a view of vivid yellow forsythia blossom in next door’s garden, and the melodious warble of full-throated birdsong – but though the greenery may be flourishing in our gardens, it’s a different story at the farmers’ market. Despite a few spindly spears of asparagus and miniature jersey royals making an appearance on our Easter tables last weekend, the new season of British produce doesn’t kick off in earnest for another few weeks yet. That means we’re now heading into the so-called “hungry gap”, an annual quirk of our relatively northern latitude, when temperatures are too high for much winter veg such as kale and brassicas, but too low for the more delicate likes of peas and broad beans to ripen – let alone high-summer treats such as berries, squash and stone fruit.Happily, many hardy winter crops store well, and are versatile enough to shake off their heavy winter coat of cream and butter in favour of a lighter treatment. The late Skye Gyngell gifted us a carrot, celery, farro and borlotti bean soup, Nigel Slater has an early spring laksa with purple sprouting broccoli (and some spinach, which I suspect you could use frozen), and Nicholas Balfe offers a ceviche with celeriac and a baked beetroot dish (pictured top) – both of which look just the thing to wake up your taste buds

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for hazelnut and chocolate cake | A kitchen in Rome

Having been kept waiting for three hours, Dick Dewy leaves Miss Fancy Day snipping and sewing her blue dress. The plan is that he will return for her a quarter of an hour later, however, Dick convinces himself that he has been scandalously trifled with by Fancy and decides that, to punish her, he will not return. Instead, he leaps over the gate, pushes up the lane for two miles, takes a winding path called Snail-Creep, and crawls through the opening to the hazel grove in Grey’s Wood.Getting a class of 15-year-olds to relay/read the opening of chapter four of Under the Greenwood Tree, which is memorably entitled “Going Nutting”, is an extremely effective way to engage them with the majesty of Thomas Hardy. And the title is nothing compared to the line (as Dick vanished among the bushes): “Never man nutted as Dick nutted that afternoon

How to make cauliflower cheese using the whole plant – recipe | Waste not

This recipe, adapted from one in my cookbook, is a very elaborate way to serve humble cauliflower cheese. The whole plant, including the leaves and core, is seasoned with nutmeg and roasted, and it’s then dressed with a satisfying layer of rich cheese sauce and grilled until charred and bubbling. Choose a cauliflower with plenty of leaves, because they go deliciously crisp when roasted.This is perhaps the most decadent cauliflower cheese I’ve ever made. Inspired by an orange-coloured cauliflower I found sitting proudly in a box at my local Brockley Market in south London, I decided to make a vibrant and very orange cauliflower cheese using red leicester cheese and turmeric

How to save limp herbs | Kitchen aide

What can I do with herbs that are past their best?Joe, by email Happily, Joe and his on-the-turn herbs aren’t short of options. “The obvious choice for hard herbs is to chuck them in a sandwich bag and freeze them for future stock-making,” says Alice Norman, founder of regenerative bakery Pinch in Suffolk. Alternatively, Sami Tamimi, author of Boustany, would be inclined to dry his excess herbs. In summer, he’d simply pop them on a tray and put them outside in the sun, but right now he “dries them in a 60-70C oven, then packs in containers, ready for the next time you’re short of fresh herbs”.Norman’s current MO is to blitz languishing herbs (“rosemary and/or thyme work best”) with a 3:4 ratio of fine salt