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The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Coroner issues warning over unregulated e-bike batteries after man's death in house fire
A coroner has warned that batteries sold on online market places for e-bike conversions pose a significant and growing risk after a man died in a fire thought to be linked to one left charging. Mohsin Janjua, 28, died after his converted e-bike caught alight while charging overnight at his Bradford home. Martin Fleming, senior coroner for West Yorkshire Western, is asking the government to reassess the law on sales of lithium-ion batteries used to convert bikes into e-bikes. Following an inquest into Mr Janjua's death, the coroner said it was "more likely than not that the fire was caused by a catastrophic failure" of the battery he had bought from a site on eBay. Mr Janjua converted his bike using an electric motor in 2022, and replaced the motor with a 52-volt battery a week before the fatal fire in December 2023. After his death, investigators made test purchases and found that the test-purchase battery and charger, thought to have emanated from China, did not conform to UK safety standards and regulations. Although the battery found after the fire showed similarities with the test purchase, the extent of its damage prevented further identification. The coroner said in a report to the government Office for Product Safety and Standards: 'At the moment it is my understanding that online market places disclaim responsibility for the safety of third-party goods, so I ask that you give consideration to the appropriateness of regulations to make online marketplaces jointly responsible for ensuring the safety and legal compliances of products sold on their sites.' It is the fifth such report on prevention of deaths surrounding lithium-ion batteries in electrically powered bikes and converted or modified devices. Luke Osborne, technical director of charity Electrical Safety First said: 'Substandard batteries sold freely via online marketplaces pose a life-threatening risk to the public. 'The fires that may result when these devices fail can be catastrophic, releasing toxic gases and reaching temperatures of over 600C.' The government is planning a consultation on online marketplaces and dangerous goods sold on them. The charity is calling for the introduction of third-party certification for e-bikes and their batteries, to reduce the risk of substandard devices being sold, and is also calling for stricter rules on conversion kits for e-bikes.
Scottish Sun
2 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Primark owner to buy 135-year-old business in huge deal
It is expected to be announced at the end of the week Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PRIMARK'S London-listed parent company is set to make a huge deal to buy a 135-year old business. The deal that will unite brands Kingsmill and Hovis under the same ownership is expected to be announced by the end of the week. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Hovis has been parented by private equity firm Endless since 2020 Credit: Getty 3 It is the second largest brand of slice bread in Britain Credit: Getty - Contributor Associated British Foods (ABF), which is the London-listed parent of Primark, are set to pay about £75 million to acquire Hovis, according to Sky News. The final touches of the landmark transaction between ABF and private equity firm Endless are reported to have been put in place on Wednesday. It will see ABF acquire the 135-year-old brand, with an announcement likely to come at the end of the week. The timeline, however, is subject uncertain and subject to delay as warned by banking sources. The second and third largest suppliers of packaged bread in Britain's major supermarkets will as a result come together in this deal. The move is therefore likely to ignite lengthy reviews from competition regulators. Sources in the industry have suggested that as a combined group, benefits of up to £50 million in annual cost savings could be made from the merger. The overall bakery market in the UK is estimated to be worth around £5 billion in annual sales, which equates to roughly £11 million loaves of bread sold each day. ABF owns Kingsmill's parent, Allied Bakeries, that has been struggling in recent years. Challenges have been linked to continual price inflation, changing consumer preferences and competition from other large rivals like Warburtons, as well as new entrants into the market. Huge A-list actress follows Samuel L Jackson and Robert De Niro to star in TV ads for bread firm Warburtons Family-owned business, Warburtons, is the largest bakery in the UK, with an estimated 34% share of the branded sliced breads. Hovis holds 24% and Allied Bakeries 17%, making their merger give them the largest segment of the market. Jon Jenkins, who is the current chief executive of Hovis, is also a former boss of Allied Milling and Baking. Prior to being owned by Endless, Hovis came under Premier Foods which also makes Mr Kipling, and the Gores family. The Hovis brand has a deep history, dating back to 1890, when its name was derived from the Latin 'Hominis Vis' meaning 'strength of man'. ABF has been seeing a number of changes in its brands, particularly with Primark recently. The merger from Primark's owner comes just months after the retailer introduced click & collect services in all its 187 stores across the UK. They also opened a brand new type of store, called Primark Home. The new iteration of Primark Home came just in time for the summer, and is dedicated to interiors for shoppers want a new range of homeware. The retailer also launched it's app for the first time in the UK just this week, with some greatly-anticipated features.
BBC News
2 minutes ago
- BBC News
Gordon Brown calls for gambling tax to cut child poverty
Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has repeated his call for higher taxes on gambling to lift half a million children out of has backed a think tank report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), saying the move could raise £3.2bn to fund scrapping the two-child limit and benefit who was also chancellor under Tony Blair, said taxing online casinos and slot machines would be "the first crucial step in the war we must wage against child poverty".A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council rejected the proposals, describing them as "economically reckless" and claiming they could push gamblers onto the black market. The Department for Media, Culture and Sport has been contacted for comment. The two-child limit and benefit cap affects 1.6 million children and is blamed for rising rates of food insecurity by anti-poverty campaigners, who say getting rid of the cap is the "single most effective" step the chancellor could take to reduce child two-child limit restricts child tax credit and universal credit (UC) to the first two children in most households, while the benefit cap sees the amount of benefits a household receives reduced to ensure claimants do not get more than the government is expected to publish a child poverty strategy in autumn, and children's charities and campaign groups have been united in calling for the two-child limit to be in the Guardian, Brown states: "Britain is now enduring the worst levels of child poverty since modern records began, even worse than in the Thatcher-Major years, and far worse than in most European countries..."These are austerity's children, the victims of 14 years of Tory rule, an era whose most vindictive act was to treat newborn third and fourth children as second-class citizens, depriving them of all the income support available to their first and second siblings."Flagging that child poverty is set to rise to "a wholly unacceptable" 4.8 million, Brown urges Chancellor Rachel Reeves to make "a straightforward budget choice" to raise taxes on online gambling companies to fund tackling child proposals focus on online gambling firms - the fast-growing part of the industry - and avoid any changes to bingo or lotteries. The IPPR suggested increasing taxes on online casinos from 21% to 50% and raising those on slots and gaming machines from 20% to 50%.Many online gambling firms are based offshore and pay little or no UK corporation tax, the IPPR report flags, and already benefits from unique tax advantages, including a complete exemption from VAT. The IPPR said raising gambling taxes in the way they suggested would be unlikely to reduce overall government Parkes, principal economist and head of quantitative research at IPPR, said: "The gambling industry is highly profitable, yet is exempt from paying VAT and often pays no corporation tax, with many online firms based offshore. "It is also inescapable that gambling causes serious harm, especially in its most high-stakes forms."Set against a context of stark and rising levels of child poverty, it only feels fair to ask this industry to contribute a little more."But a spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council said they rejected the "economically reckless, factually misleading" proposals which they insisted "risk driving huge numbers to the growing, unsafe, unregulated gambling black market, which doesn't protect consumers and contributes zero tax".They added: "Further tax rises, fresh off the back of government reforms which cost the sector over a billion in lost revenue, would do more harm than good - for punters, jobs, growth and public finances." Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
