Royal Mail workers will be offered a 10% stake in the company as the Government steps up plans for a flotation amid a recent rally in financial markets, it has been reported.

Ministers are in advanced talks about giving the shareholding to staff at Royal Mail, who could be offered attractive incentives to buy shares or even be offered them for free, according to The Sunday Times.

The privatisation will be the country's biggest for more than 25 years, since the British Telecom and British Gas shares sales in the 1980s.

It is thought that investment bank UBS tested the market appetite for a stock market listing before Christmas and that the recent gains seen on the FTSE 100 Index - which enjoyed its best January for 24 years - has spurred on plans for a possible flotation.

But the terms of the staff share deal must reportedly be put in place before a listing can go ahead.

Royal Mail also needs to finalise a new pay deal with unions as a two-year pay agreement is set to expire at the end of next month.

A stock market flotation is only one option for Royal Mail's privatisation, with the Government also considering the potential for a sale to a rival or private equity fund.

Published: 17 February 2013

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BBC journalists will stage a 24-hour strike on Monday in a row over jobs, threatening disruption to radio and TV news programmes.

Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) will walk out from midnight as part of a campaign against compulsory redundancies.

The union said jobs were set to be axed across the corporation, including BBC Scotland, Five Live, the Asian Network and the World Service. The BBC said it could not speculate on possible disruption to programmes.

Picket lines will be mounted outside BBC offices across the UK, including London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Birmingham.

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: "NUJ members across the BBC are taking action to defend jobs and quality journalism at the corporation. They are angry and frustrated at the poor decisions being taken at the top of the BBC - decisions that are leading to journalists being forced out of their jobs and quality journalism and programming compromised.

"Instead of making sure that the redeployment process works properly in all areas of the BBC, managers are prepared to waste public money on needless redundancies and sacrifice the livelihoods of experienced and talented journalists, at the same time as advertising other jobs externally. It's particularly disappointing that the BBC has failed to engage meaningfully in attempts to resolve this dispute - an abdication of responsibility for a public service broadcaster."

A BBC spokesperson said: "We understand how frustrating and difficult situations involving redundancies can be, but it is disappointing the NUJ have chosen to take this action.

"We are working hard to ensure that we succeed in getting staff redeployed wherever we can and will continue to work with the unions to ensure that their members receive the right redeployment support.

Published: 17 February 2013

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Retailers are set to be given some cheer when figures show sales volumes rebounded last month - despite the snow storms which blanketed many parts of Britain.

Economists are pencilling in a 0.5% month-on-month rise in sales in January, amid signs shoppers were tempted out by clearance sales and treated themselves to must-have technology.

The expected return to growth will boost hopes the UK economy can avoid a triple-dip recession and will be welcome news after a spate of high profile retail collapses and a dismal 0.1% fall in volumes over the crucial December trading period.

Fears that snow and ice in mid-January would deter shoppers were calmed by the British Retail Consortium's figures for the first two weeks of January, which showed a strong start to the year with like-for-like sales up 3%.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, said: "It is feasible that the survey is correct and retail sales are recovering. Employment has risen by over 500,000 over the past year while real net household incomes are estimated to have risen by 2.8% in the year to the third quarter."

He is expecting a 0.6% rise in monthly volumes, but said: "More importantly this would increase our confidence that the economy is about to recover gradually rather than fall into a triple dip."

The BRC said shoppers bought televisions, tablet computers and smartphones and demand for footwear was strong, with Wellington boot sales boosted by the snow.

Published: 14 February 2013

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A university graduate has won her Court of Appeal claim that requiring her to work for free at a Poundland discount store was unlawful.

Three judges in London ruled that the regulations under which most of the Government's back-to-work schemes were created are unlawful and quashed them.

Cait Reilly, 24, from Birmingham, and 40-year-old unemployed HGV driver Jamieson Wilson, from Nottingham, both succeeded in their claims that the unpaid schemes were legally flawed.

Their solicitors said later the ruling means "all those people who have been sanctioned by having their jobseeker's allowance withdrawn for non-compliance with the back-to-work schemes affected will be entitled to reclaim their benefits". The ruling was made by Lord Justice Pill, Lady Justice Black and Sir Stanley Burnton.

In November 2011, Miss Reilly had to leave her voluntary work at a local museum and work unpaid at the Poundland store in Kings Heath, Birmingham, under a scheme known as the "sector-based work academy". She was told that if she did not carry out the work placement she would lose her jobseeker's allowance. For two weeks she stacked shelves and cleaned floors.

Mr Wilson, a qualified mechanic, was told that he had to work unpaid, cleaning furniture for 30 hours a week for six months, under a scheme known as the Community Action Programme. He objected to doing unpaid work that was unrelated to his qualifications and would not help him re-enter the jobs market. He refused to participate and as a result was stripped of his jobseeker's allowance for six months.

After the ruling, Public Interest Lawyers, who represent Ms Reilly and Mr Wilson, said the Court of Appeal's unanimous decision was a "huge setback for the Department for Work and Pensions, whose flagship reforms have been beset with problems since their inception". They said that "until new regulations are enacted with proper parliamentary approval, nobody can be compelled to participate on the schemes".

Published: 12 February 2013

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Britain must make sure its borders are "as open as possible" to genuine foreign business visitors and investment, Business Secretary Vince Cable has said.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Cable said the UK is not "inward looking" and welcomes talent from emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Focusing on Chinese investment and tourism, the Business Secretary said Britain's share of Chinese visitors has been dropping with evidence of people labelling the visa system as "unfriendly and inflexible".

A recent crackdown on immigration has drawn criticism for deterring talented individuals and businesses from applying to work or study in the UK.

Mr Cable said: "Of course, it is necessary to prevent abuse of the immigration rules. But equally we cannot allow red tape to deter the very people that we want to come to the UK and help make the economy stronger. We want to create and promote an image of Britain which means and delivers what it says on the tin: open for global business."

The Government is clamping down on bogus foreign students through initiatives such as interviews with applicants from high-risk countries and barring more than 500 colleges from taking non-EU students.

Universities have condemned the crackdown, claiming it had driven large numbers of genuine overseas applicants to competitor countries.

Published: 11 February 2013

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BBC journalists are to stage a one-day strike unless the corporation agrees to end compulsory redundancies, it has been warned.

The National Union of Journalists said its members at the corporation will walk out on February 18 and launch a work to rule from Friday.

The action will go ahead unless talks between the two sides next week resolve a dispute over jobs.

Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: "The BBC is prepared to waste public money on needless redundancies rather than secure redeployment opportunities for those at risk.

"This demonstrates the significant failures of some managers to uphold key aspects of the redeployment agreement, let alone the spirit of the deal.

"In the meantime we have meetings planned with the BBC and we want to engage in meaningful negotiations to resolve this dispute. I hope common sense prevails and a sensible solution is agreed which will mean that strike action is not necessary."

The NUJ said the BBC was planning around 30 compulsory redundancies, affecting areas including BBC Scotland, the Asian Network, the World Service and English regions.

Published: 11 February 2013

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Clothing retailer SuperGroup has reported soaring Christmas sales, helped by demand for its jackets and knitwear.

The SuperDry owner posted a better-than-expected 10.6% hike in like-for-like retail sales to £89.9 million in the 13 weeks to January 27, as its hats, gloves, scarves and headphones also flew off the shelves.

Shares in the group, which started life as a market stall in Cheltenham, leapt 8% as the solid festive performance kept it on track to meet City expectations that full year profits will jump 15% to £49.3 million.

Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said that while trading conditions remained volatile and unpredictable, the strong sales and response to its new season ranges provided the group with "ever increasing confidence for the future".

Margins also improved as the group sold more products through its own shops and website.

Jean Roche, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said the UK retail performance seemed all the more impressive given the pressure on high street footfall in January.

Published: 08 February 2013

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Tories have been warned not to expect a direct boost in support from Chris Huhne's fall from grace as they unveiled their candidate for the Eastleigh by-election.

Maria Hutchings, who failed to topple Huhne in 2010, will fight the seat again after a guilty plea to dodging a speeding penalty ended the ex-cabinet minister's political career.

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps and Mrs Hutchings both spoke about "trust" ahead of a weekend blitz in what promises to be a brutal battle with their Liberal coalition partners. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had earlier urged voters not to exact retribution for his former leadership rival's disgrace.

But former Tory Treasurer Lord Ashcroft warned his party that though it started the contest in the lead, his polling suggested few voters were likely to "switch out of disgust". The survey conducted for the peer in the immediate wake of Huhne's resignation put the Tories on 34%, with Lib Dems on 31%, Labour on 19% and Ukip fourth with 13%.

Sources said the Tories were preparing a "big push" in the Hampshire town as local Lib Dems meet to select the party's candidate. It is defending a 3,864 majority.

Mr Clegg said: "I think the choice for the people of Eastleigh in the by-election is what kind of an MP do they want to have now. I hope that it will be on that basis rather than in a mood or spirit of retribution that the debate will be conducted in Eastleigh."

Labour sources are hoping for a strong showing, but privately accept they have little chances of winning despite being nine points up on their 2010 showing in the Ashcroft-commissioned poll. The figures represent a fall of almost 16 points in Lib Dem support since the 2010 general election, when Huhne scooped 46.5% of the vote.

Published: 08 February 2013

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David Cameron has arrived in Brussels for marathon EU budget talks, insisting there would be no deal unless the cost of running Europe for the rest of the decade comes down.

On the table is a seven-year budget plan the Prime Minister has warned he will flatly reject unless he sees savings which show the EU is sharing the pain of the austerity measures being taken back home.

He walked into the summit building with a curt declaration amounting to a direct challenge to those warning that the EU must have a big enough budget to foster jobs and growth and meet the costs of policies requested by EU leaders themselves.

"The numbers are much too high. They need to come down - and if they don't come down there won't be a deal," said the Prime Minister. "The European Union should not be immune to the sorts of pressure we have to reduce spending, find efficiencies and spend wisely - what we are all doing."

As he arrived, the official summit start time was put back to give more time for behind-the scenes efforts to reach a compromise - although there was little sign that gaps have closed since a first round of budget talks collapsed last November.

On that occasion Mr Cameron and other major contributors to the EU kitty rejected a cut from a planned spending package of about one thousand billion euros (£860bn) for 2014-2020 to about £756bn.

German chancellor Angela Merkel arrived for the latest effort to reach a deal admitting that national positions remained "far apart", and French president Francois Hollande went in saying compromise was needed, but making plain cuts in EU agriculture spending - from which France benefits hugely - were not on his negotiating agenda.

Published: 07 February 2013

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Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating allegations of historic child abuse centring around a guesthouse and a care home.

A man aged 66 from Norfolk and another aged 70 from East Sussex were held on Wednesday morning on suspicion of sexual offences.

The allegations are linked to Elm Guest House and the Grafton Close care home in Barnes, south west London.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Fernbridge, which was launched after concerns were raised by MP Tom Watson.

Speaking in Parliament in October last year, he said that a file of evidence used to convict Peter Righton of importing child pornography in 1992 contained "clear intelligence" of a sex abuse gang.

Mr Watson alleged that a member of the group had bragged about links with a senior aide to a former prime minister.

Published: 06 February 2013

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