Veolia takes legal action against Unite
Veolia said it has started legal action against Unite and its general Sharon Graham, claiming defamation.
The company said the move followed months of protests and 'smear campaigns' by the union and attempts to harm its business.
Since August 2024, dozens of Unite members based in Sheffield have been on strike in pursuit of union recognition, which Veolia claimed included a campaign of defamation.
The company said Unite's actions seek to pressure it into breaking an existing union recognition agreement in place at its Sheffield site with the GMB union.
A Veolia spokesperson said: 'We do not take this legal action lightly, but we must stand up against Unite's excessive tactics that are in total contrast to the quality of our industrial relations in the UK.
'Despite working closely with five trade union partners across the UK, including Unite, we find ourselves targeted by this defamatory campaign.
'We will always support good industrial relations but we will not allow anyone to attack our business, our reputation, our colleagues or our partners with baseless accusations.'
Unite has been approached for a comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Cowboy builder went on foreign holidays and golf trips as he left work unfinished and swindled customers out of £150,000
A cowboy builder went on luxury holidays and golf trips leaving unfinished work for customers swindled out of £150,000. Paul Atkinson, 46, failed to finish building work at a number of homes despite taking cash from vulnerable clients. A court heard Atkinson was 'difficult to reach after funds were transferred' - and took time off for luxury breaks. One victim employed him to build an extension to help her wheelchair-bound son but she was left unable to contact him. The mother said Atkinson dug a trench in her garden meaning she had to carry her son in his wheelchair to get to their car. She said: 'What upset me most was he knew how dependent we were on the garden.' Newport Crown Court heard Atkinson turned up at her house 'angry' when she asked for her money back. A proceeds of crime hearing was told Atkinson took a total of £147,500 from his customers between September 2019 and July 2022. Prosecutor David Elias KC previously said he appeared to be 'open, professional, and knowledgeable about what he was going to do' when first meeting his customers. But the work that was carried out was of a poor standard and in many cases work had to be removed and rectified at great expense. The court heard Atkinson would rarely respond to message after deposits had been transferred - and would make excuses for delays. In a victim personal statement, one family said their daughter suffered from health complications at the time they were conned by Atkinson. They were forced to take extra hours in work and cancel holidays after the ordeal prevented them from spending more time on their daughter. Another couple said: 'This has left us financially and emotionally drained. I felt upset and stupid for falling for a conman's tricks and my mental health has been affected.' Atkinson, of Porthcawl, South Wales, operated using the company names Protecta Home Improvements and Protecta Design and Build Ltd. He later went on to use the company name MET Construction Ltd. Atkinson pleaded guilty to eight counts of being a trader knowingly or recklessly engaging in a commercial practice and 24 counts of dishonestly making false representation to make gain for himself or another or causing loss to another or exposing another to risk. He also admitted one count of carrying on a business of company with intent to defraud creditors or for other fraudulent purpose. Atkinson was jailed for three years and six months in September last year. The POCA hearing heard Atkinson's available assets were £71,250 including half the equity of a house. Judge Carl Harrison ordered him to pay that sum within three months.
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Rachel Reeves eyes £5bn Bitcoin sale to help plug black hole
Rachel Reeves could be on the brink of a Bitcoin windfall worth billions as she battles to fill her budget black hole. The Home Office is working with police forces to sell off a hoard of seized cryptocurrency estimated to be worth at least £5bn in a move that could ease pressure on the beleaguered Chancellor. It plans to develop an official crypto storage system that would handle sales of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. The potential sell-off comes amid growing concerns about a black hole in the public finances, following Sir Keir Starmer's about-turns on welfare and the winter fuel allowance. Economists believe the Chancellor must find as much as £20bn in the autumn as she struggles to balance the books in the face of higher borrowing costs and weak growth. Stubborn inflation figures have threatened to keep interest rates high, raising the cost of borrowing. Ministers have indicated that taxes will have to rise to fill a budget black hole. Cryptocurrency sales are handled by law enforcement agencies, but the Treasury is understood to be monitoring the situation. A recent rise in the price of digital currencies promises to multiply the already significant sums involved. The total amount of seized cryptocurrency currently held by police is unknown. But a single raid in 2018 recovered 61,000 Bitcoin from the proceeds of a Chinese Ponzi scheme being stashed in Britain. Bitcoin's value hit $123,000 (£92,000) last week, making the stash worth more than £5.4bn, up 20-fold from its value when seized. Prices have surged as Donald Trump has ushered in a series of changes in the US to broaden access to and adoption of cryptocurrencies. Lawmakers in the US passed the country's first major national cryptocurrency legislation, known as the Genius Act, on Friday. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has called for Britain to establish a national Bitcoin reserve, an idea that has been rejected by Labour. Home Office plans for a 'crypto storage and realisation framework' would allow law enforcement to securely store frozen digital currencies and sell them. It is unclear how much would accrue to the Treasury from any sales. However, in many criminal seizures the Treasury takes a substantial portion of the proceeds if sums cannot be returned to victims. In the case of the 2018 raid, Chinese victims of the investment fraud have asked for the Bitcoin to be returned. The public purse is in dire need of extra revenue as growth falters. Last week Richard Hughes, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, suggested higher taxes would not be enough to address a looming debt crisis. Experts said crypto seizures represented a potentially lucrative avenue for raising funds. 'There is oil under our feet in terms of digital assets, from an illicit perspective, that could have hundreds of millions of pounds coming back into the UK each year,' said Aidan Larkin, the chief executive of seizure company Asset Reality. Cryptocurrencies are increasingly used to evade financial controls and carry out investment scams, making them a key target for police seeking to stop criminal activity. Law enforcement agencies have sold Bitcoin seized from criminals in the past, but plans for a centralised system suggests ministers recognise the growing significance of cryptocurrency as a potential revenue source. Last week, the US Marshals Service said it had more than $3.4bn in seized Bitcoin. The Trump administration has vowed to create a strategic reserve using the cryptocurrencies. Tender documents from BlueLight Commercial, the Home Office's procurement body for law enforcement, said the contract would be worth up to £40m. The provider would be paid a commission based on cryptocurrency sales. The project's future is unclear after an updated notice said it had not received acceptable bids, although it is expected to continue in some form. Proceeds of crime that are not returned to victims are split between central government accounts and a pot for law enforcement programmes. The decision to sell Bitcoin is ultimately made by crime-fighting agencies. Bitcoin's price has doubled in the last year on the prospects of the Trump administration treating the digital currency favourably in contrast to a series of investigations launched by the Biden White House. Speaking in Las Vegas in May, Mr Farage said that he would establish a UK Bitcoin reserve if he was made prime minister as part of a plan for a cryptocurrency 'revolution'. Labour has rejected the idea, saying it is too volatile to store sovereign funds in. Analysis | Britain is sitting on billions in Bitcoin. Can it rescue Reeves? Selling crypto may offer a quick fix for the cash-strapped Chancellor – but it risks repeating a historic mistake Gordon Brown's decision to sell the majority of Britain's gold reserves in 1999 has been dubbed by some as one of the worst investment decisions ever made by the government. The 401 tonnes of gold the former chancellor sold at the market's nadir brought in $3.5bn, far from the $40bn it would be worth today. A quarter of a century later, one of Brown's successors is sitting on a potentially similarly sized goldmine of the digital variety, as well as another potentially perilous selling decision. Britain's Bitcoin stockpile, confiscated from various criminal enterprises, is today estimated in the billions, a development that has led to calls for Rachel Reeves to cash in to ease pressure on the public finances. The value of these holdings has soared after the price of Bitcoin recently hit a record high above $123,000 – double its level a year ago. While there is no estimate of the amount of cryptocurrency seized from criminals, a single raid in 2018 recovered a wallet containing 61,000 Bitcoin from Jian Wen, a takeaway worker who was jailed last year for money laundering. At the time of the raid, Bitcoin was worth around $6,000, with the total haul more than £300m. Today, it is worth more than £5.4bn according to Arkham Intelligence, a company that analyses cryptocurrency transactions. Last week, the US Marshals Service, an arm of the Department of Justice, said it had around $3.4bn in Bitcoin, although experts have said the US government's total haul is likely to be much higher. Publicly, the Treasury says it does not hold any Bitcoin. The proceeds of crime such as investment scams are managed by police and are first meant to be returned to victims. But this is often not possible and in reality 20 to 30pc is kept, says Aidan Larkin, the chief executive of Asset Reality, a company that specialises in seizing the proceeds of crime. Cryptocurrency prices fluctuate wildly and seizures are handled by local forces, making it impossible to know how much has been seized. But Larkin is adamant that the Treasury is in line for a potential windfall. 'If I'm in the Treasury, I'm thinking of this as our Norway oil moment. I do think digital assets will lead to a large windfall for government agencies and the public purse over the next five to 10 years,' Larkin says. Making crime pay Since 2019, £1.4bn has been seized and frozen from the proceeds of crime. 'We could double that by having a greater focus on digital assets,' Larkin says. Under current legislation, the proceeds of crime that are not returned to victims are split between frontline police agencies and the central government. Bitcoin's growing value has led to suggestions that Reeves should sell what Bitcoin she can, with Norman Lamont, the former chancellor, saying she should spend it 'right away'. However, in reality, selling crypto is more difficult than seizing it and untangling crypto-related crimes can take years. In the case of Jian Wen, victims of fraud have asked for their money back. The Home Office did not provide any update on the case. 'With the delays in court hearings that we're getting now, you have to seize it and then maintain it for a long time,' says Professor Michael Levi of Cardiff University, an expert on asset seizures. However, there are signs that the Government is taking steps to offload Bitcoin. A branch of the Home Office has sought bids for a 'crypto storage and realisation framework' that would centralise and organise the sale of various cryptocurrency seizures. The provider would earn up to £40m in commission when cryptocurrencies are sold, indicating that at least hundreds of millions of pounds worth are earmarked to be sold. If the Government were to confiscate the proceeds of Jian Wen's Bitcoin seizure, it could boost the Treasury's coffers by around £2.6bn, roughly half the cost of Sir Keir Starmer's recent benefits climbdown or a third of the cost of the Afghan data breach revealed last week. While the decision is meant to be taken by law enforcement, the sums at stake – and Bitcoin's famous volatility – suggest the Chancellor would take an interest. The Treasury is understood to be keeping tabs on the potential for a cryptocurrency windfall. A quick-fire sell-off could lead to accusations of selling too early, especially given Bitcoin's blistering rise over recent years. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has said he would establish a Bitcoin reserve if made prime minister, following in the footsteps of ally Donald Trump, who has already ordered officials to create a reserve from seized cryptocurrency. Labour has recently turned down the idea, with Emma Reynolds, the Economic Secretary, saying that Bitcoin's volatility makes it 'less suitable as a reserve asset for the UK'. Yet, the strain on the public purse suggests Reeves could do with the money now.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Fat cat water regulator bosses get millions of pounds in salaries while failing to get a grip on the sewage crisis
GREEDY water regulator bosses paid themselves millions in salaries while failing to get a grip on the sewage crisis. Ofwat's senior management team netted more than £2 million in pay last year. 2 Chief exec David Black received a total remuneration package of £250,000 to £255,000 including pension. The failing regulator also handed out over £6 million to external consultants in two years, according to official contracts. It comes as Ofwat is set to be abolished under reforms announced on Monday. The useless watchdog has been blasted for failing to stop water companies spewing sewage into waterways while lining the pockets of their shareholders. Now it can be revealed the regulator has been spaffing taxpayer cash on companies for communication advice and training staff for grillings by MPs. A £15,000 contract was given to Moxy Communications for advice including 'training for Select Committees'. This is despite Ofwat having around 16 people on their comms team with salaries for their senior director advertised at around £105,000. Recently, advisors Strand Partners won a £100,000 seven-month contract to 'reduce the pressure on Ofwat and free up resource'. 2 A separate £30,000 contract was spent on an online tool to schedule content to go live on Ofwat social media channels. And another £80,000 went on a 'social listening tool' to 'gain valuable insights' from social and digital media. Senior Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said: 'It is shocking that Ofwat bosses have the audacity to award themselves millions for failure, and this unnecessary spending is an insult to every single bill payer who sees their charges rocket, while the state of our waterways plummets. 'This isn't just incompetence; it's a betrayal of public trust and we need a radical overhaul. 'It's time to pull the plug on Ofwat. We need a powerful, new regulator that can finally force these companies to clean up their act and stop the sewage scandal for good.' Tory shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: 'As families watch bills rise by the month, Ofwat bosses are busy signing off million-pound consultancy contracts and paying themselves bumper salaries. "Spending £80,000 to listen to tweets and £15,000 on Select Committee coaching is a slap in the face to every household footing the bill.' For the first time the Government will promise to cut sewage pollution with a clear deadline. Environment Secretary Steve Reed has announced that pollution from water companies will be cut in half by the end of the decade. And a record £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes and build new sewage treatment works. He said: 'One of the largest infrastructure projects in England's history will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.' He is expected to announce a consultation on creating a new regulator to coincide with the results of a major review into the water industry directed by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe. An Ofwat spokesperson said Mr Black's salary takes account of the 'scale, complexity and challenges of the role'. They added: 'Decisions on pay and bonuses for the Senior Leadership Team are made by the Board's People Committee in line with guidance from the Cabinet Office and the Senior Salaries Review Body. The process and the salary increase applied was in accordance with the Government pay guidance for Senior Civil Servants.'
