UK energy prices have continued to surge after a fire yesterday knocked out a crucial power cable that can supply electricity to 1.4m homes.

Day-ahead power prices climbed 19 per cent on the back of the incident, with the “interconnector” not expected to be repaired until March.

Soho's temporary road closures will come to an end September 30 but the Council is said to be working on plans to extend a longer-term scheme (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

One in four businesses are struggling to fill roles as a result of a sharp reduction in the supply of suitable applicants caused by EU workers leaving the UK, shows new research from the Office for National Statistics (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Gavin Williamson came under repeated pressure to resign over his handling of disruption to schools during the pandemic and the fiasco around grading of GCSE and A-level students amid cancelled exams.

After more than two years in the job, his time as Education Secretary has finally come to an end as he declared he was “proud” of his post-16 education reforms “despite the challenges” of the pandemic.

Only last week, the 45-year-old MP for South Staffordshire faced further criticism after he said he had met footballer Marcus Rashford online, when he had instead talked to rugby player Maro Itoje.

TV personality Jeremy Clarkson has called on the government to protect Britain’s food supplies just as the country is defended from attacks from foreign powers by its armed forces.

Speaking at an event in Westminster hosted by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) earlier today, Clarkson urged the Government to commit to not let Britain’s self-sufficiency in food production slip below its current level of 60 per cent.

The NFU also wants more British food in public sector catering such as schools and hospitals, action to increase home-grown produce and help for consumers to buy British through filters and better labelling of online groceries.

Shares in French media group Langardere have surged as much as 20 per cent today, after fellow media giant Vivendi snapped up another stake in the company.

It comes as Vivendi separates from Universal Music, the world’s largest music company, amid its highly anticipated Amsterdam listing due next week.

The French media group confirmed the proposed acquisition of its shares in a statement yesterday, with a takeover likely on the horizon.

Just over 70 per cent of all Brits do not feel a return to full-time office working is on the cards after the pandemic, according to new YouGov research shared with City A.M.

The majority of those questioned by YouGov said they would favour to either work from home full-time, or have a hybrid arrangement.

But the poll, commissioned by the BBC, also found concern from senior leaders that creativity and collaboration could suffer if employees were staying at home.

The Department for Work & Pensions published a report this morning which showed that, over the past year, older people have been exiting the workforce earlier. Moreover, the employment rate of people aged 50-64 has also fallen slightly.

City A.M. sought the views of six recruitment, HR and financial experts on why this is happening.

Sarah Loates, director at Loates, a HR consultancy, thinks “it’s too early to know” whether the fall in the average age of exit from the labour market and reduced employment rate among people aged 50-64 over the past year “is a short-term blip or the beginning of a longer-term trend,” where older workers are seen as less relevant in the post-pandemic world of remote working.

A SpaceX rocket ship blasted off from Florida last night carrying a billionaire e-commerce executive and three less-wealthy private citizens he chose to join him in the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit. Watch the full report.

The decision to spin out its beauty business comes just a year after Manchester-based THG (previously The Hut Group) listed on the London Stock Exchange, raising £1.88bn in the largest UK IPO since 2015.

The main increase in customs costs comes from the “rule of origin” tariff, which applies to goods imported from the EU which were originally made, or contain components made, outside of the EU.

Almost half of UK employees would not talk to their employer if they were experiencing a health issue, having a detrimental impact on business performance and culture, according to new research shared with City A.M. this morning.As many as 43 per cent of individuals reported that they wouldn’t feel confident discussing any health issue with their employer, with many worrying about what it would mean for their career and relationships within the workplace, not-for-profit healthcare provider Benenden Health found.Almost a third of businesses (28 per cent) accepted that they would have concerns about offering support to those in need, with as many as a fifth (19 per cent) revealing that they have previously hired someone with pre-existing health conditions but wouldn’t do so again, perpetuating the cycle of hidden health issues at work whilst open conservations and effective support are not forthcoming.With more than...

Care homes may be forced to shut because of staff shortages as the deadline for care workers to get vaccinated looms today, Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, warned this morning.

Green told Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s a real crisis around recruitment in the social care sector which has, in the pandemic, gotten a lot worse. Lots of things the Government has done, including the mandatory vaccination process, hasn’t helped.”

“We are also going to see millions of pounds going out of the sector because of the national insurance contributions rising and we won’t see that extra money coming in until about 2023,” he said.

Protests in El Salvador turned violent as thousands of demonstrators expressed their anger about Bitcoin becoming legal tender.

Yesterday, anti-government marchers took to the streets bearing signs which read “no to dictatorship” and “we were defrauded by Bitcoin.” Bitcoin ATMs, installed ahead of the crypto currency becoming legal tender earlier this month, were burned by demonstrators.

London’s FTSE 100 climbed during opening exchanges today, lifted by a rally among travel stocks that helped to reverse yesterday’s poor performance.

The capital’s premier index gained 0.44 per cent to hit 7,047.52 points, cancelling out losses registered on a choppy day on London markets yesterday.

Superdry said store and wholesale revenues were recovering well despite high streets remaining quiet.

The fashion retailer reported a pre-tax loss of £37m for the year to April 24, compared with a £167m loss from a year earlier.

Revenues fell 21.1 per cent to £556m for the year after a number of lockdowns across key regions.

South London’s tube map is about to get a whole lot messier.

The opening of two new stations – Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms – means Harry Beck’s tube map masterpiece needs a makeover.

The stations will open this coming Monday as a Northern Line spur, with passengers changing at Kennington.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 15: Liz Truss, appointed as the new foreign secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on September 15, 2021 in London, England. The British prime minister replaced several cabinet ministers shortly after introducing his social care plan and a corresponding tax rise that is unpopular with some members of his party. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Ryanair today announced that it now expects to fly 225m passengers a year by March 2026, a 25m hike on its previous target.

In a statement ahead of today’s AGM, the Irish carrier said that it now expected to see traffic growth of 50 per cent – compared to pre-Covid levels – up from past estimates of 33 per cent.

TV personality Jeremy Clarkson has called on the government to protect Britain’s food supplies just as the country is defended from attacks from foreign powers by its armed forces.

Speaking at an event in Westminster hosted by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) earlier today, Clarkson urged the Government to commit to not let Britain’s self-sufficiency in food production slip below its current level of 60 per cent.

The NFU also wants more British food in public sector catering such as schools and hospitals, action to increase home-grown produce and help for consumers to buy British through filters and better labelling of online groceries.

In a speech earlier today, Liz Truss set out how the UK’s post-Brexit trade strategy will be increasingly about attempting to secure business with eastern growth markets in India and elsewhere.

Rio Tinto has been issued with a £186.36m fine from Australian authorities, which the mining giant said it “will dispute”.

The fine, dished out by the Australian Taxation Office, was for denying interest deductions on an isolated borrowing that was used to pay an internal dividend back in 2015.

While the borrowing was repaid in 2018, Rio Tinto has also been requested to pay around £14.2m as part of an interest assessment, which the authorities reduced by around £10m.