Ministers warned not to copy Wes Streeting’s release of messages with Peter Mandelson
Ministers have been warned not to publish their messages with Peter Mandelson after Wes Streeting released his private WhatsApp exchanges with the disgraced former ambassador,In a message to officials, the Cabinet Office is understood to have said members of government should not share material that could be covered by a Commons motion forcing the release of documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador,The Met police are investigating alleged misconduct in a public office following claims that Mandelson passed market sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein when he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government in 2009,The Met police issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was “vital due process is followed” so as not to jeopardise its investigation,In an effort to draw a line under his relationship with Mandelson, Streeting published dozens of messages that the pair exchanged between August 2024 and October 2025.
In the messages, Streeting said the government lacked a growth strategy and questioned No 10’s communications operation – remarks that appeared to form part of an effort to position himself for a potential leadership contest.Asked about the issue at an event in Hertfordshire, Keir Starmer said the release of information must be a “managed process” and that his government should be “acting together in this”.He said: “The issue of text messages and all information that’s being gathered as a result of the humble address last week, that needs to be a managed process, both in government and obviously, there’s a police element to it.”Asked if he had told off Streeting for releasing his own messages unilaterally, the prime minister added: “I do think that we all need to ensure that we’re all acting together in this, because all the information needs to be pulled together.”Officers have searched two properties connected to Mandelson as part of the Met police investigation.
In a statement on Tuesday, a Met police spokesperson said: “An investigation into alleged misconduct in public office is under way and it is vital due process is followed so that our criminal investigation and any potential prosecution is not compromised.“As part of our inquiries, we will review material identified and provided to us by the Cabinet Office to assess whether publication is likely to have a detrimental impact on our investigation or any subsequent prosecution.“We will work alongside the Cabinet Office to review relevant documents over the weeks ahead.The process to decide which documents should ultimately be published remains a matter for government and parliament.“As we have stated previously, this investigation may be complex but we are focused on a timely and thorough process so that justice is served in this case, or future ones linked to the Epstein files.
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UK wealth manager and price comparison site shares fall amid AI fears
Wealth managers and price comparison sites have become the latest companies to be hit by fears that their businesses will be disrupted by new artificial intelligence innovations.Shares in UK wealth management firms tumbled on Wednesday morning, after the AI company Altruist Corp launched a service that it said helps advisers create personalised tax strategies by reading clients’ pay stubs, account statements and other documents.The UK wealth manager St James’s Place fell almost 10% in early trading, with rival Quilter down 5.2% and AJ Bell losing 5.7%, as investors anticipated that agentic tools that can sort tax affairs, or provide advice, could eat into their revenues
‘Unsustainable’ gaps in policing of franchise businesses must end, MPs say
The UK government needs to eradicate “unsustainable” gaps in the policing of franchise businesses after a series of scandals to hit the sector, a parliamentary committee has found.The conclusion forms part of the business and trade committee’s small business strategy report and follows a Guardian investigation in December which revealed claims that Adrian Howe, a former Vodafone employee who had agreed to become a franchisee in 2018, drowned after becoming convinced his deal with the multinational company would prove financially disastrous.The cross-party committee highlighted further allegations from Vodafone franchisees of an imbalance of power in their agreements, which prompted them to launch a high court claim in December 2024. Vodafone is contesting the claim.The MPs also raised separate allegations of “widespread sexual harassment and abuse in McDonald’s restaurants” and how franchisors could “fail to maintain adequate oversight of their franchisees’ employment practices”
Apple and Google pledge not to discriminate against third-party apps in UK deal
Apple and Google have committed to avoid discriminating against apps that compete with their own products under an agreement with the UK’s competition watchdog, as they avoided legally binding measures for their mobile platforms.The US tech companies have vowed to be more transparent about vetting third-party apps before letting them on their app stores and not discriminate against third-party apps in app search rankings.They have also agreed not to use data from third-party apps unfairly, such as using information about app updates to tweak their own offerings.Apple has also committed to giving app developers an easier means of requesting use of its features such as the digital wallet, and live translation for AirPod users.The commitments have been secured as part of a new regulatory regime overseen by the Competition and Markets Authority, (CMA), which has the power to impose changes on how Apple and Google operate their mobile platforms after deciding last year that they had “substantial, entrenched” market power
Beats Powerbeats Fit review: Apple’s compact workout earbuds revamped
Apple’s revamped compact workout Beats earbuds stick to a winning formula, while slimming down and improving comfort.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The new Powerbeats Fit are the direct successors to 2022’s popular Beats Fit Pro, costing £200 (€230/$200/A$330)
The Spin | Aiming for the moon: the rise of the slower ball, from Stephenson to Curran
Franklyn Stephenson’s throaty chuckle rolls down the phone line. “You know the hardest thing about bowling that ball? I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw how the batsmen were trying to play it! They’d be jabbing here or ducking there, most of them were so clueless!”Since the earliest days of cricket, bowlers have bamboozled batters with deceptive changes of pace. You can picture those old tricksters now, flannelled and moustachioed, deploying an assortment of sky-high lobs and skiddy, scudding deliveries with a glint in the eye, wreaking havoc on the wealds and downs of southern England.A couple of hundred years later, the Surrey and England bowler Bill Lockwood was said to possess a slower ball “of almost sinful deceit” at the turn of 20th century. Lockwood was hailed by Wisden’s Almanack as “one of the game’s first great fast bowlers” but could deploy his slower ball without any discernible change to his action
‘It is hard to forgive’: former girlfriend of Norwegian Olympic biathlete responds to apology for affair
The former girlfriend of the Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid has responded to his public apology for having an affair, saying it “is hard to forgive” what he did.It was after Lægreid had won bronze in the individual 20km on Tuesday that he, unprompted, opened up on what he described as the “hardest week of my life,” saying: “Half a year ago I met the love of my life. The world’s most beautiful and nicest person. Three months ago I made the mistake of my life and cheated on her, and I told her about that a week ago. This has been the worst week of my life
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Synthetic opioids may have caused hundreds more UK deaths than thought