Vodafone terminates contracts of 12 franchisees who joined £120m lawsuit

Vodafone has terminated the contracts of 12 franchisees who have continued running the brand’s high street stores while also being part of a £120m high court claim against the telecoms group.The legal case was launched in December, when 62 franchisees claimed Vodafone had “unjustly enriched” itself at the expense of scores of vulnerable small business owners by slashing commissions to franchisees operating the mobile phone company’s retail outlets.A dozen of the claimants had remained in the franchise programme even though they had joined 50 former colleagues in pursuing the legal case. Some of the 62 said they had had suicidal thoughts because of the pressure exerted by the telecoms group – while many claimed the company’s actions made them fear they would lose their livelihoods, homes or life savings after running up personal debts of more than £100,000.Vodafone, which says the legal claim is worth £85

Letting banks loose is back on the agenda as UK politicians chase growth at any cost

As the old ways of turning a profit become more difficult – from assembling cars to selling soap powder – politicians of all stripes want the City to inject some dynamism into the economy.From Labour to Reform, the siren call of London’s financial district is strong. If only, they ask, the wheels of the banking industry could be cranked to spin faster, surely much more money could be generated and we would all be rich.While Rachel Reeves boasted of the huge benefit to economic growth from public investments in rail and renewable energy as central pillars of the government’s spending review, in truth it is not enough to propel the economy forward.To generate the kind of income that will pay for the next 30 years of an ageing society, plans to link Manchester and Liverpool by a marginally faster and more reliable train, though good in itself, is not the answer

Grilled cheese shop offers Minnesotans a second chance after prison

All Square, a neon-lit diner in Minneapolis, specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches with a twist. Variations on the menu include Jamaican jerk chicken with guava jam, brown sugar bacon doused in ranch dressing, and Granny Smith apple slices coated in brie and mozzarella.But the sandwich shop offers more than elevated comfort food. All Square, which also operates a food-truck catering service, exclusively hires formerly incarcerated Minnesotans.“It started with the idea of: how do we respond to this systemic issue of excluding formerly incarcerated folks from, well, everything once we welcome them home?” said Emily Hunt Turner, a civil rights lawyer who founded the restaurant in 2018

There hasn’t been a ‘big chancellor’ since Osborne: IFS chief gives final mark

“In my lifetime, who have been the big chancellors?” says Paul Johnson, as he prepares to hang up his spreadsheets as the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. “You’ve had Healey, Lawson, Clarke, Brown. Arguably Osborne. We haven’t had one since then. They’re the long-lasting ones

‘Grenfell was caused by corporate greed’: report calls for far stronger penalties over unsafe cladding

Companies who are found responsible for unsafe cladding should face unlimited fines and permanent bans from public contracts, according to a report that also says England’s existing laws have not gone far enough to prevent future tragedies.The thinktank Common Wealth said the law fails to effectively hold companies to account for corporate negligence, leaving the door open for another disaster like the Grenfell fire, which killed 72 people in June 2017.The report’s author, Leela Jadhav, said England was falling behind other countries which have stronger due diligence laws.“The Grenfell Tower fire was a disaster caused by corporate greed, not an accident,” she said. “Justice in real terms means sanctions, prosecutions and a more robust and enforceable accountability regime

M&S ‘praying for sun’ but full recovery from cyber-attack unlikely this summer

The bosses at Marks & Spencer will surely be praying for sun.As UK temperatures rise over the coming week, M&S will be hoping it prompts shoppers to fill their virtual baskets with shorts, swimwear and sandals to get its summer sales back on track.After six weeks of costly disruption as the result of a cyber-attack, the retailer started taking internet orders again on Tuesday, making a selection of its fashion ranges available for standard home delivery in England, Scotland and Wales.However, the partial resumption of online services does not mark the end of the website woes. Shoppers in Northern Ireland were told they would have to wait a little while longer before theycould place orders, while click-and-collect and next-day-delivery services would only become available again in the coming weeks