logo
James McMurdock took bank salary while ‘claiming Covid loans'

James McMurdock took bank salary while ‘claiming Covid loans'

Times2 days ago
A former Reform MP who allegedly borrowed tens of thousands of pounds in Covid loans received a salary from an international bank throughout the pandemic.
James McMurdock suspended himself from Reform UK last week after The Sunday Times posed questions about £70,000 he borrowed through two firms in 2020: one previously dormant, the other with negligible assets.
The South Basildon & East Thurrock MP later said he had quit Nigel Farage's party after taking 'specialist advice' which 'is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time'.
He remains under investigation by the parliamentary commissioner for standards and was separately referred to the Public Sector Fraud Authority by the Covid corruption commissioner last week. Reform has called for him to resign so a by-election can take place.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lloyds and Aberdeen Investments use tokenised collateral for FX trades
Lloyds and Aberdeen Investments use tokenised collateral for FX trades

Finextra

time2 hours ago

  • Finextra

Lloyds and Aberdeen Investments use tokenised collateral for FX trades

In a UK-first, Lloyds Banking Group and Aberdeen Investments have used tokenised real-world assets as collateral for foreign exchange trades. 0 Tokenised units of Aberdeen Investment's money market fund and tokenised UK gilts were issued, transferred, and securely held by FCA-regulated digital asset exchange Archax on the Hedera Hashgraph public permissioned blockchain. Archax says digital assets can be programmed to automatically follow the rules of trading agreements streamlining the margining process, reducing operational costs, enhancing collateral efficiency, and minimising counterparty risk. Wider adoption of tokenised funds as collateral could also help reduce systemic risk during periods of market stress by enabling digital transfers instead of forced asset sales, thereby reducing volatility. Peter Left, head, digital finance, Lloyds, says: 'This groundbreaking initiative proves that digital assets can be used in regulated financial markets under existing legal frameworks here in the UK. It's a major step forward in demonstrating how tokenisation can enhance collateral efficiency, reduce friction, and unlock new trading opportunities.'

The law change that could transform toxic workplaces
The law change that could transform toxic workplaces

The Guardian

time2 hours ago

  • The Guardian

The law change that could transform toxic workplaces

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) were created to stop sensitive commercial information being shared. But the MeToo movement – and the crimes of Harvey Weinstein – shone a light on how the contracts were being used to silence victims of workplace abuse. Zelda Perkins was Harvey Weinstein's PA. When she broke the NDA that stopped her from talking about her terrible experiences with the film mogul she helped galvanise the MeToo movement. Since then she has been campaigning against the use of NDAs, which she says have helped cover up abuse in the workplace and allow powerful people to escape the consequences of their actions. Alexandra Topping tells Nosheen Iqbal how widespread the use of NDAs has become in British workplaces and how a change in the law could help put an end to them being misused. She explains how allowing employees to speak out could help change workplace culture for the better.

The BBC must react more decisively to scandal
The BBC must react more decisively to scandal

Times

time2 hours ago

  • Times

The BBC must react more decisively to scandal

Gregg Wallace subjected programme staff to sexually explicit language over a prolonged period JEFF SPICER/GETTY IMAGES N o one could accuse the British Broadcasting ­Corporation of being undermanaged. In the year 2023-24 there were 88 senior executives commanding salaries of £178,000 or more, up 21 from 2022-23. Layer upon layer of lavishly remunerated executives, courtesy of the licence payer. All, presumably, capable of spotting potholes in the road; all able to anticipate trouble and deal with it before it becomes an issue. Well, no actually. If there is one thing the BBC can be depended upon to do it is to allow a problem to fester for years without tackling it, or to fail in a basic area of responsibility such as ensuring journalistic neutrality. The results of this systemic failure were on show on Monday when the national broadcaster released the results of reviews into two scandals. One ­involved the MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace, who was found to have subjected programme staff to sexually explicit language over a prolonged period, without obvious challenge from above. The other involved the failure of those overseeing a documentary on Gaza to realise that its child presenter was the son of a Hamas minister. Different situations, but the product of the same neglect. • Gregg Wallace: I never set out to harm or humiliate Dame Melanie Dawes, head of the media ­regulator Ofcom, said at the weekend that the BBC was guilty of 'own goals', explaining: 'What frustrates me and others is that when these things go wrong it can take a long time for the BBC to see that something's happened, when everybody else was there within a matter of hours. So I would say to the BBC: they need to get a grip quicker, get these reports and investigations concluded ­sooner, otherwise there is a real risk of a sort of loss of confidence in the BBC.' Dame Melanie is correct. Even when the most serious crimes have been involved the corporation has previously displayed a lamentable lack of curiosity about the off-screen behaviour of its 'talent'. In 2016 Dame Janet Smith, author of a report on the crimes of Jimmy Savile, spoke of a 'climate of fear' at the BBC that prevented staff from speaking out in case it resulted in the loss of their jobs. The organisation, she said, needed to reassess its attitude to big stars. Fear of harming the BBC's reputation trumped ­concern even about the safety of children. This ­instinctive corporate circling of the wagons is still the order of the day. After the BBC's transmission of the Glastonbury act Bob Vylan calling for the deaths of IDF soldiers, Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, asked why no one had been sacked for airing the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, giving voice to a narrator linked to Hamas. On Monday, however, Ms Nandy declined to repeat her call for deputy heads to roll, saying the broadcaster had made 'big strides' to ensure that such fiascos could not be ­repeated. It is true that first-hand reporting­ from Gaza by news organisations has been blocked by Israel, but that does not allow the BBC to lay most of the blame on the independent production ­company that made the documentary. It was the duty of BBC bosses to ensure it adhered to the ­corporation's editorial standards as rigidly as any in-house production. Ms Nandy may be confident that the BBC has finally got a grip on itself. History is not encouraging, but it must be hoped that this is the case. There is a danger that once the heat has died down, the innate complacency of the BBC bureaucracy will reassert itself. That would only result in more scandal, more obfuscation and more loss of trust.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store