Asked whether he targeted reporter who investigated party finances, Brexit campaigner says: ‘When you live by the sword, you die by the sword’ The prominent Reform UK member and Brexit campaigner Arron Banks is said to have set private investigators on a Sunday Times journalist after he broke a series of stories about Nigel Farage. Banks is alleged to have paid for the services of investigators to examine Gabriel Pogrund, editor of the paper’s Insight investigations team. Continue reading...
Mike Ashley says it’s in a ‘death spiral’ but a refocus on design could be what the department store needs Such was the buzz around Harvey Nichols in its 90s heyday that the department store was regularly name-checked in Absolutely Fabulous, with Edina and Patsy’s frequent retail therapy trips to the store reflecting its position at the heart of the fashion industry at the time. How times change. These days Harvey Nichols is a business in trouble, one that has not turned a profit since the pandemic. Pre-tax losses were £35.3m in 2024. The retail chain – comprising the the original store in Knightsbridge, London, plus stores in cities including Bristol, Leeds and Manchester – was put up for sale in June by its current owner, Sir Dickson Poon, with Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and Next bidding to take control. Continue reading...