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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Manchester United's ‘Wembley of the North' stadium plan facing delays over land deal
Manchester United's plans to build a 100,000-seat stadium next to Old Trafford are facing delays due to a standoff over the price of land needed to begin work on the construction of the proposed ground Sir Jim Ratcliffe has called 'the Wembley of the North'. The club want land used as a rail freight terminal to complete the Old Trafford Regeneration Project, which they claim will bring £7.3bn a year to the UK economy. United have held talks with Freightliner, the haulage company that owns and operates the terminal, about buying the land, but negotiations are deadlocked due to a disagreement over the price. While Freightliner is understood to have expressed a willingness to relocate from Trafford Park to nearby St Helens, the company is seeking around £400m for the land, with United valuing it at between £40m and £50m. Ratcliffe has made it clear United are unwilling to accept the asking price set by Freightliner's parent company, Brookfield, and initial discussions are believed to have reached an impasse. A source said Freightliner 'have United over a barrel'. The company is willing to relocate to a proposed new site that would offer increased capacity for trains, but it is in no rush to move. The club's view is that Freightliner will only receive what would be a significant windfall if they are willing to drop the asking price. When unveiling designs for the Old Trafford master plan, produced by Foster + Partners, in March, Ratcliffe set an ambitious target of completing what he described as a five-year build by 2030. United had been hoping to begin preparatory building work by the end of this year, but failing to secure the Freightliner site will delay the start date. United's options at this stage would be to increase their offer, wait for Freightliner to lower its demands, or scale back the project so that the freight terminal land is not required. It is also possible the new Old Trafford Mayoral Development Corporation, chaired by Sebastian Coe, could issue a compulsory purchase order, although that would be subject to legal challenges and would lead to further delays. Completion by 2030 was always seen as an ambitious target outside the senior leadership team at Old Trafford, given United have yet to obtain planning permission, secure ownership of all the land required or formally appoint architects. While Foster + Partners produced the artist impressions and videos of the proposed new stadium, the club plan to run a formal tender process to appoint architects. At a Fans Forum event on 30 June, United conceded that securing the land required could prove an obstacle to beginning work this year. United were asked by supporters whether building would commence in 2025 or 2026 and responded: 'Planning work is continuing, including the consultations with fans discussed during today's meeting. 'Discussions are also ongoing with local authorities, land owners and potential funding partners with a view to securing the land and the finance we need to proceed with the project. It remains our ambition to proceed with the project as quickly as possible, but we can only do this once the necessary land and funding is in place.' United have estimated the cost of the project at £4.2bn, but claim it will bring huge social and economic benefits to the local community and wider region, including 92,000 jobs, more than 17,000 new homes as well as attracting an extra 1.8 million visitors annually. The cost for the stadium has been projected by United to be around £2bn, although given the tented roof alone is likely to cost £300m, industry sources say £3bn is a more realistic budget. Freightliner's demands for £400m could result in the redevelopment being significantly over budget from the start. United are not seeking any public money to build the stadium itself. The club declined to comment on a private commercial negotiation. The Guardian
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Dragon's Den star stripped of MBE after judge slams high-flyer as ‘selfish & untrustworthy' over £200k in unpaid bills
A FORMER Dragon's Den star has been stripped of her MBE after refusing to pay £200,000 in legal fees. Julie Meyer was slammed by a judge for being "selfish" after she failed to pay her lawyers or attend court hearings. 4 Julie Meyer from Dragons Den Online 4 Julie starred on Dragon's Den online in 2009 Credit: BBC 4 Julie Meyer on Dragon's den Online Credit: BBC In 2022, the 58-year-old venture capitalist became embroiled in a legal row with law firm Farrers & Co. She claimed she had received a poor service and refused to pay £197,000 after they represented her during a case in Malta. An arrest warrant was issued for the entrepreneur after she failed to turn up to court and provide documents for the case. Meyer claimed she was unable to travel from Switzerland as she was suffering with conjunctivitis and didn't have a Covid vaccine. Read more News But it was decided her reasoning was insufficient to avoid attending hearings in person. Meyer was later slapped with a six-month sentence after she was ruled to be in contempt of court. And last night, the Cabinet Office revealed that the businesswoman had been stripped of her MBE. Her name appeared on a recently updated list of shamed individuals who have forfeited their honours since 2023. Most read in The Sun Disgraced former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells also features on the list, after she was formally stripped of her CBE by the King. She had already committed to relinquish the gong following fury at her role in the Horizon postmaster scandal. The document said that Meyer's gong had been taken away after she brought "the honours system into disrepute". She was awarded the MBE in 2012 for services to entrepreneurship. Sara Davies breaks silence on shock Dragon's Den exit as star says she struggled to 'juggle' her busy career Meyer was chosen to star on the online version of Dragon's Den in 2009. After her appearance on the BBC Two show, she was appointed as David Cameron's Government a year later. She has previously supported huge tech brands such as and Skype. Handing her the six-month suspended sentence three years ago, Mr Justice Kerr slammed Meyer as "selfish and untrustworthy". He added: "I am satisfied there is every prospect that the defendant will continue to flout orders of the court unless coerced into obeying them." Later the same year, Meyer lost an appeal to overturn her suspended prison sentence. Three disgraced former submarine captains Top brass urged ministers to withdraw the prestigious gongs from the trio over sex and bullying scandals. One had The third was found guilty of bullying on nuclear-powered attack sub All three were commanders — James Bond's rank — and led crews of more than 130. The Navy asked the Cabinet Office Forfeiture Committee to strip the men of their awards and King Charles gave final approval. Last year, In 2020, he made a string of shocking comments on Twitter, branding Jewish people "too touchy," and saying Israel "is not yours." The Met confirmed they were investigating the tweets after he was dropped by his manager and banned from the website. 4 Julie Meyer on Dragon's den Online Credit: BBC
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Trump fires official overseeing jobs data after dismal employment report
Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. 'I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' The charge that the data was faked is an explosive one that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the U.S. government's economic data, which has long been seen as the 'gold standard' of economic measurement globally. Economists and Wall Street investors have for decades generally accepted the data as free from political bias. Trump's move to fire McEntarfer represented another extraordinary assertion of presidential power. He has wielded the authority of the White House to try to control the world's international trade system, media companies, America's top universities and Congress' constitutional power of the purse, among other institutions. McEntarfer's firing was roundly condemned by a group that included two former BLS commissioners, including William Beach, who was appointed by Trump to the position. They particularly objected to the charge that the data was altered for political reasons. 'This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers,' the statement from the group, the Friends of BLS, said. In addition to Beach, the statement was signed by Erica Groshen, BLS commissioner under former President Barack Obama. 'Firing the Commissioner ... when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all government statistics,' Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said on X. 'I can't stress how damaging this is.' After Trump's initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump's tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president's tariffs. 'What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,' Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from a previously revised 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%. 'No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,' Trump wrote. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.' Trump has not always been so suspicious of the monthly jobs report and responded enthusiastically after the initial May figures came out on June 6, when it was initially reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs. 'GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG!' Trump posted at the time. That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, prior to the most recent revision down to just 19,000. During the 2016 campaign, Trump was more critical: He often attacked the jobs figures as they showed the unemployment rate steadily declining while Obama was still president, only to immediately switch to praising the data once he was in office, as steady job gains continued. The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent U.S. market indexes about 1.5pc lower on Friday. The revisions to the May and June numbers were quite large and surprising to many economists. At the same time, every monthly jobs report includes revisions to the prior two months' figures. Those revisions occur as the government receives more responses from businesses to its survey, which helps provide a more complete picture of employment trends each month. In the past decade, companies have taken longer to respond, which may have contributed to larger monthly revisions. The proportion of companies responding to the surveys has also fallen steadily over the past 10 years, but the survey still gets responses from roughly 200,000 business locations, which can be independent companies or franchises of larger chains. The monthly jobs report has long been closely guarded within the BLS, with early copies held in safes under lock and key to prevent any leaks or early dissemination.
