The US Department of State is planning to spend $400m buying new Tesla armoured vehicles, even as the carmaker’s boss, Elon Musk, leads efforts to slash government spending under Donald Trump. A procurement forecast produced by the department showed the $400m (£320m) proposed spending on “armoured Tesla (production units)”. They are likely to be Cybertrucks,…

Train drivers on the Elizabeth line are to strike on four separate days over the coming weeks in a dispute over pay. Members of the union Aslef will take industrial action on Thursday 27 February, Saturday 1 March, Saturday 8 March and Monday 10 March. Virtually all drivers on the line are in the union,…

The activist hedge fund targeting BP has amassed a stake in the oil company worth almost £3.8bn, or 5% of its shares, to become its third biggest shareholder, according to reports. Elliott Management is widely expected to use its grip on the 120-year-old company to demand sweeping changes, including a potential break-up of the company,…

Illegal imported sweets that contain banned additives linked to cancer and behavioural problems are “flooding UK high streets”, councils have said. The warning first came from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), which said that demand for American confectionery was being driven by influencers on social media platforms. Colourful drinks and sweets being showcased on…

The UK prime minister has been forced to cut short a visit to a housing development after a noisy protest by farmers, who played Sandstorm on their tractors. The vehicles could be heard sounding musical horns while the prime minister spoke to workers at a housing development in Buckinghamshire. About a dozen tractors and agricultural…

A high street slot machine operator has been fined almost £100,000 by the gambling regulator after the Guardian revealed how staff allegedly exploited a vulnerable cancer patient. Wendy Hughes, then 64, lost nearly £2,000 in the Stockport branch of Merkur Slots UK over the course of two spells lasting 16 hours in November 2023, months…

UK beats forecasts as GDP rises 0.1% in October-December Newsflash: Britain’s economy has avoided dropping into recession, after posting modest growth at the end of last year. UK GDP rose by 0.1% in October-December, better than City economists had expected – they’d pencilled in a 0.1% fall in activity. This will be a relief for…

We moved into our current home, a new-build at the time, 15 years ago. Our end-of-terrace is next door to a block of flats that is part of the same development. Just inside the block’s car park there is an electricity feeder pillar that powers the gates. Because of an admin error, when the site…

Poorer households could cut their energy bills by a quarter if solar panels were installed on their rooftops, a report has found. However, the upfront costs mean that those who stand to benefit most from decreased energy bills are prevented from getting panels installed, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank. Economists behind the research have…

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Russell Vought speaks with reporters during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, March 11, 2019. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent termination notices to several dozen employees late Tuesday, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The affected staff…