Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones said she received the abuse to her “inbox and my office”.
The Labour MP was speaking during a Commons debate on neighbourhood policing, and thanked her own police force for its support.
She said: “I’d like to put on record my own thanks to… all of the local police in my south Wales area who have been an immense support to me in the recent weeks after I have spoken out about the horrendous abuse and behaviour of Andrew Tate online.
“As a result, my own inbox and my office have been bombarded with death threats, rape threats.”
The MP said the police response had been “brilliant”, but added “sadly this isn’t the case for everyone who experiences the same”.
Ms Davies-Jones raised concerns over the impact of Tate on schoolboys at a session of Prime Minister’s Questions earlier this month.
She said: “Teachers are now having to develop their own resources to re-educate boys who are being brainwashed online by his deeply toxic messaging.”
The former kickboxing world champion, who amassed millions of followers across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok for his divisive content, is facing allegations of human trafficking and being part of an organised crime gang.
He denies the allegations.
Following his arrest in Romania, he will remain in detention until late February after a judge granted a request to extend his detention by 30 days for a second time.
Total company insolvencies registered in 2022 leapt by 57% to 22,109 from the previous year, new data from the Insolvency Service revealed.
Experts said the rise was partly driven by the end of coronavirus support measures by the Government to support firms during the pandemic as well as weaker consumer demand.
The increase was also partially linked to the higher number of companies operating in total during the year.
The Insolvency Service reported the rise was driven by the highest number of Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations since records began in 1960.
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations are a process which allow directors to voluntarily fold their insolvent firms.
Administrations also increased against 2021 but were lower than pre-pandemic levels.
The final quarter of 2022 showed that insolvencies continued to accelerate during the year, as they increased by 7% to 5,995 compared with the previous three-month period.
Christina Fitzgerald, president of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 and partner at Edwin Coe LLP, said: “2022 was the year the insolvency dam burst.
“After nearly three years of trading through a pandemic, and in the face of the end of Government support, rising costs and a cost-of-living crisis, many directors simply ran out of road this year and chose to close their businesses before the choice was taken away from them.
“Alongside this, the end of the Government’s temporary legislation on winding-up orders has left creditors free to pursue unpaid debts, which is why compulsory liquidation numbers are at their highest in three years.”
David Kelly, head of insolvency in PwC’s restructuring and forensics practice, said: “Annually the construction, retail, accommodation and food services sectors were the hardest hit industries, a telling sign of the impact of rising costs and shift in consumer habits and the continued challenges certain sectors are facing getting and retaining staff.
“We are seeing many companies putting themselves in the shop window for a possible merger or acquisition, which is a sensible move in this environment helping redistribute capital.
“However, during the current challenging market conditions where values and appetite are uncertain, all options need to be considered including contingency planning for restructuring.”
The council said this claim is not true and there are still several legal steps it has to follow before any agreement can be signed.
Ben Herrington, who works at St David’s Hall, made the claim on Twitter on Sunday, January 29, the day that the public consultation on the council’s budget proposals closed.
Mr Herrington said he and other members of staff are heartbroken over the prospect of St David’s Hall changing operators.
He added: “I am in the process of finishing my masters. I have worked in the building for the past six years.
“I would have liked to have graduated in that building surrounded by colleagues I have known for the last seven years. We feel completely disillusioned with Cardiff Council.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “The claim that Cardiff Council has agreed, approved or signed the handover of St David’s Hall to AGM is not true.
“In fact, doing what is claimed without concluding the voluntary ex-ante transparency (VEAT) process and without taking a recommendation to cabinet for it to decide, along with the results of the public consultation on the budget for consideration, would be unlawful.”
With the council facing a £23.5 million budget gap and maintenance costs at St David’s Hall running into the millions of pounds, the council has been looking for a new operator to come in and take on its running.
An offer by AMG to take on St David’s Hall via a long-term lease was approved in principle by Cardiff Council’s cabinet in December.
The proposal has faced widespread opposition from employees, concert-goers and musicians. A petition opposing the proposal has received more than 21,700 signatures.
After a draft contract is drawn up, the council will publish what is known as VEAT notice, which is used to publish a commercial intention to the wider market.
This allows competitors to come forward with a challenge to the proposal, which would lead to a procurement process.
A VEAT notice will normally stand for about 10 to 20 days.
If no challenge is presented once the VEAT period is up, a final report will be presented to the council’s cabinet for approval.
At the time of the offer being approved in principle, Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for culture, parks and events, Cllr Jennifer Burke Davies, said: “There is undeniably a need to secure investment into St David’s Hall.
“Given the current pressure on budgets – we face a significant budget gap next year – the council is keen to explore alternative models which can revitalise and upgrade the building, while protecting the venue’s status as the National Concert Hall of Wales.
“This council knows the importance of St David’s Hall to classical music lovers and the proposal does protect the main classical programme, community events, and includes opportunities for these to be extended.
“The hall would continue to deliver a world-class international concert series and classical music programme which gives residents and visitors access to classical music, delivered by respected full symphonic orchestras in the hall’s specially-designed auditorium.
“It also commits to a substantial investment to repair and upgrade the building while ensuring the hall’s reputation for world-class acoustics will remain.
“The original acoustic engineers Sandy Brown have seen the plans for the seating arrangements and are content that they will not adversely affect the acoustics and that St David’s will maintain its reputation as one of the best sounding concert halls in the world.
“The proposal also protects all existing employees on their current terms and conditions through a TUPE agreement, but the council will absorb the Arts Active team into the education department so that they can continue the great work they do bringing classical music to new audiences each year.”
Cardiff Council is aiming for a final cabinet decision on the potential takeover in March.
Rishi Sunak has refused to suspend Mr Raab despite the number of allegations to his bullying inquiry reportedly swelling significantly and being added to by a former top civil servant.
The Prime Minister has been under increased pressure after he sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Tory chairman following a furore over his tax affairs.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have urged Mr Sunak to suspend Mr Raab while he is under investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC.
According To the Times, former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Simon McDonald has given evidence to Mr Tolley as a witness.
At least 24 civil servants, and perhaps more than 30, are involved in formal complaints, The Guardian has reported. Mr Raab denies allegations of bullying.
Mr Rees-Mogg said it is “completely sensible” for Mr Raab to remain as Mr Sunak’s deputy, and Justice Secretary, while under investigation.
The former Brexit opportunities minister and Commons leader told Sky News: “I think we’ve got to be slightly careful about the bullying allegations.
“We mustn’t be too snowflakey about it. People need to be able to say this job has not been done well enough and needs to be done better.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab (PA)
“It’s a very difficult line to judge. It’s not a straightforward issue in most cases. It’s how did somebody react, what did somebody say, is it reasonable to demand from senior and well-paid professionals a level of good service? And then you have to judge whether that line has been overstepped.”
Mr Rees-Mogg backed then-PM Boris Johnson for keeping Priti Patel on as home secretary despite her being found to have broken the ministerial code over bullying allegations.
Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union representing senior civil servants, said: “Even by Rees-Mogg’s standards this is outrageous.
“A former leader of the House trivialising bullying that we know has ruined lives and careers.
“Not only should he be ashamed of himself but his leader and party should distance themselves from this.”
Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister Florence Eshalomi added: “It speaks volumes that Jacob Rees-Mogg is seeking to belittle the serious claims of bullying and intimidation that have been made against the Deputy Prime Minister.
“He should be ashamed of himself. If Rishi Sunak was serious about his zero-tolerance approach, he would distance himself and his party from Jacob Rees-Mogg’s remarks.”
Last week, No 10 insisted the number of formal allegations against Mr Raab remained at eight but could not rule out each complaint including multiple accusers.
Speaking during a Cabinet awayday at his Chequers grace-and-favour retreat, Mr Sunak said he will await the outcome of Mr Tolley’s investigation before taking any action.
“I appointed an independent investigator to have a look at that matter. I’ll wait for that independent investigator to complete that investigation and report back to me,” he said.
Last week, Mr Raab insisted he is “always mindful of the way I behave”.
“I’m confident I behaved professionally throughout, and of course the Government takes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying,” he told the BBC.
Angela Rayner claims the PM is ‘too weak’ to do anything about Mr Raab (PA)
The investigation centres on when Mr Raab was foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary.
Last year, Lord McDonald alleged Mr Raab was so demeaning and abrasive to junior colleagues that many were “scared” to enter his office.
“Colleagues did not complain to me formally, it was kind of their professional pride to cope, but many were scared to go into his office,” the crossbench peer told Times Radio.
“His sort-of defence was that he treated everybody in the building in the same way. He was as abrasive and controlling with junior ministers and senior officials as he was with his private secretaries.”
Mr Sunak has pledged to take “whatever steps are necessary to restore the integrity back into politics”.
But Downing Street would not be drawn on whether the Prime Minister was told of informal concerns about Mr Raab’s behaviour when he made him his deputy.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Sunak had the “requisite information needed” to make the appointment and had acted swiftly by appointing Mr Tolley to investigate once formal complaints were made.
The Premier League leaders have had a bid accepted by their London rivals and the Italy midfielder is set to undergo a medical and sign a one-and-a-half-year deal.
Arsenal are keen to bolster their midfield and have turned attention to the 31-year-old having been rebuffed by Brighton in their attempts to sign Moises Caicedo.
Chelsea, for their part, are willing to let the player go as they pursue their own interest in Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez.
Jorginho, left, will strengthen Arsenal’s midfield (John Walton/PA)
The deal also allows the Blues to bring in a fee for a player who would have been out of contract at the end of the season.
Big-spending Chelsea could make Fernandez the most expensive player in British history having made a reported £120m approach for the Argentinian World Cup winner.
The fee would eclipse the £100m Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in August 2021.
Chelsea, who have already spent more than £450m since the end of last season, have also been linked with a late bid for Caicedo and it remains to be seen if Arsenal’s interest in him is over.
Enzo Fernandez, pictured, could replace Jorginho at Chelsea (Adam Davy/PA)
Elsewhere, Tottenham remain cautiously optimistic about finalising a transfer for Sporting Lisbon defender Pedro Porro ahead of the Tuesday night deadline.
Joao Cancelo is poised to join Bayern Munich on loan for the remainder of the season from Manchester City.
The German club would have a £61.5m option to buy the Portugal full-back in the summer.
Newcastle have followed up their signing of Anthony Gordon from Everton by securing Scotland Under-21 full-back Harrison Ashby from West Ham for a reported £3m.
Ashby, 21, has been signed with an eye on the future and manager Eddie Howe told nufc.co.uk: “Harrison is a very talented young player with a lot of potential so we are delighted to sign him and are looking forward to working with him in this exciting new chapter of his career.”
The proposed HS2 high speed line from London to the Northern England was under discussion exactly ten years ago this week.
However, building HS2 between Birmingham and Crewe/Manchester is not yet beyond the strategic evaluation stage and so not guaranteed. If it were, parts of North Wales around Wrexham would benefit through driving to Crewe. North Wales will only benefit more generally if the North Wales Mainline is electrified to Holyhead. This will enable high speed trains to continue their journey on the existing track with higher line speeds.
This principle has worked well in France where TGV trains travel on new lines to, for example, Marseilles and on ‘classique’ track onwards to the Cote d’Azur. However that is the beneficial limit of HS 2 for Wales
South Wales receives an economic set back. Cardiff, Newport, Bristol and their hinterlands have benefitted from the creation of major company back-office functions employing highly qualified and relatively well-paid staff. This has brought an input of wealth into those areas. The attractions are the lower office space rental costs compared with London and south-east England and, for many employees, a better quality of life.
The current journey time between Cardiff and London is one hour and 50 minutes compared with Leeds (2h 20m) or Manchester (2h 08m). This attractive journey time competitiveness will be lost when HS2 delivers a journey time to Leeds and Manchester of only 1h 20m. Of course the underlying rationale for HS2 is to relieve congestion on the London – Birmingham route where the new journey time will be 49 minutes.
There are sound economic reasons for HS2 providing a levelling-off function for parts of northern England. However this scheme has been designated an ‘England and Wales’ scheme rather than an ‘England only’ scheme. This implies that Wales receives the same economic benefit from HS2 as does England but that rationale has no basis. The consequence is however financially disadvantageous for Wales’ government expenditure.
For all UK Government expenditure there exists in the financial relationship between the UK and Welsh governments the ‘Barnet consequential funding formulae’. Under this, 5% of England’s domestic expenditure transfers into the Welsh block grant from Westminster to the Welsh Government. The expenditure so far planned for HS2 is £50bn giving Wales £2.5bn – and contribute to electrifying the North Wales Mainline to Holyhead and the South Wales Main Line to Swansea and Carmarthen.
These are all aspirations of Welsh Government in both the Network Rail 2024 – 29 network infrastructure expenditure period (referred to as control period 7) and in the longer term.
Of course Welsh Government could spend that funding on any aspect of expenditure but this column would prefer it spent on public transport.
Building HS2 then begs the question – why not an HS3 westwards to South Wales and the west of England?
In terms of population and distance from London, the Cardiff and Bristol urban agglomeration together with the South Wales industrial belt meet the criteria set down as a prerequisite for high-speed rail construction (Commission for Integrated Transport 2006).
The case was made for HS3 in 2010 with several studies (involving this columnist and others) through reduced journey times. Speeds then of 250 kph/156mph have risen in Europe to 300 kph/186mph would provide for a 50 minute journey between Cardiff and London. Even faster speeds being developed in China to reach 400 kph/248 mph and where currently the 1300 km/800 miles between Beijing and Shanghai takes 4h 30m.
This reduced journey time accessibility is an essential pre-condition for economic development. It will also provide a competitive mode to the M4 corridor which, though a critical transport artery for south Wales, is congested. Evidence from France’s TGV programme suggests that a significant number of the 100,000 car users could be enticed from their cars on the M4 onto HS 3.
HS3 would bring to South Wales regeneration, new employment opportunities, reduced journey times, increased track capacity and environmentally sustainable travel. It would also put south Wales on the inward investment map, particularly with further electrification to west Wales.
However all such schemes, large and small, have to be not just planned, but also constructed, if we are to achieve the net-zero emissions targets all governments claim they want.
Professor Stuart Cole, CBE, is Emeritus Professor of Transport (Economics and Policy), University of South Wales
YOUNG people could get business funding to help keep them in Welsh language strongholds like Carmarthenshire or to encourage those who have left the area to return.
The Welsh Government has allocated £11 million to boost the economy in leading Welsh language counties, Gwynedd, Anglesey, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.
The scheme – Arfor, now in its second round of funding – is a bigger package than first time up.
Speaking at a Carmarthenshire Council cabinet meeting, Cllr Gareth John, cabinet member for regeneration, leisure, culture and tourism, said the first £2 million round of Arfor funding was shared between the four same counties, with Carmarthenshire allocated £500,000.
Cllr John said this money was invested in 40 food and creative industry enterprises, creating 40 jobs and safeguarding a further 170 jobs.
Among those to benefit was honey business Gwenyn Gruffydd Ltd, which was set up by Gruffydd Rees and his wife Angharad.
It started as a hobby in 2010 with two hives at the back of Mr Rees’s parents’ back garden in Crwbin, near Pontyberem, and these days comprises 250 hives around the county.
The Welsh-speaking couple, who now live in Dryslwyn, have a part-time employee and run bee-keeping courses and sell bees as well as honey.
Mr Rees said the Arfor support helped them buy machinery to extract beeswax and bottle honey to meet demand.
The 35-year-old said bees clustered in their hives at this time of year to keep warm, feeding off honey they’d produced months previously. “This week and next week we’ll check their food levels,” he said.
Mr Rees said an average-sized hive would produce anything from 20kg to 80kg of honey a year, with bees more productive in warm, dry summers.
“Last summer we had our best crop ever,” he said. “It can get too hot and dry for bees, but I’ve never seen that in Wales.”
The new round of Arfor funding aims to develop careers and business opportunities for young people aged under 35 and families to stay or return to their place of origin. The idea is to foster enterprising Welsh-speaking communities, and strengthen them by supporting the use of the language and encouraging a sense of place and loyalty.
Council leader Darren Price said it was an important project.
“Understanding the relationship between the economy and the language is going to be central to us in the next few years, especially thinking about the context we are in at the moment with the results of the recent census, which were disappointing,” he said.
The percentage of Welsh speakers in Carmarthenshire fell from 43.9% to 39.9% between 2011 and 2021, according to the 2021 census – the largest decline of any council area in Wales. Put another way, there were just over 5,200 fewer Welsh-speaking Carmarthenshire residents in 2021 than a decade previously.
The council wants to make the language the county’s main one, and is firmly behind the Welsh Government’s ambition to have a million Welsh speakers by 2050.
Cllr Price said the authority needed to do as much it could to show Welsh speakers there was a future for them in the county, and to encourage young people to create work locally.
The £11 million will be spent by the four counties up to the end of March, 2025, on a youth programme supporting entrepreneurial skills, grants for businesses, start-ups and social enterprises, and funding for organisations which develop and pilot Arfor-focused activities. A key element will be monitoring the results and the impact of the programme.
Cllr Glynog Davies, whose cabinet brief includes the Welsh language, said: “It’s important that we do something positive to promote the Welsh language in these areas and that we look at the identity and the strength of the areas and try to give them a boost forward.”
The freehold of two multi-let industrial estates in South Wales have been sold to a property investment firm in a deal supported by advisers at Alder King and Savills.
Springfall Properties has sold Dyffryn Court and Withey Court in Caerphilly to MVJ Capital. The sale price reflects a net initial yield of 7.75 per cent.
The two assets combined comprise 276,704 sq ft of industrial space on 14.7 acres and are let to 23 tenants including Direct Healthcare Group, Dustandthings, Star Linen, Get Set Scenery, Landscapes for Learning and Fastenal.
The total combined passing rent is £833,739 per annum, reflecting a low average rent of £3.00 per sq ft. Both estates offered asset management opportunities to improve the income profile and drive rents.
Alder King acted for the vendor while Savills represented the purchaser.
Owen Young, partner at Alder King in Cardiff, said: “Acting for a family owned business, who originally purchased and subdivided these large buildings, it was pleasing to receive interest from a number of parties, all wishing to cash in on the potential to increase income in this strong sector of the market. The family will be using the proceeds to concentrate on new development opportunities.”
Ross Griffin, director at Savills, added: “We were pleased to act for MVJ capital on this transaction which gives the opportunity to further asset manage and add value for my client.
“The attractive income return proved attractive in a sector they felt confident in with a lack of occupational space available in South Wales.”
MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (Reuters) – New South Wales is set to finalise an order by mid-February that will require all mining firms in Australia’s biggest coal exporting state to reserve as much as 10% of their output for domestic supply.
A Department of Planning and Environment spokesperson said the government would issue final directions after talks with miners.
“The draft revised directions allow suppliers the option to provide coal from their own production or to strike an agreement from another supplier to meet their obligations under the directions,” the spokesperson said.
The updated plan, disclosed last week, is designed to keep a lid on coal prices and drive down household power bills. The state last week had planned to issue the expanded order by the end of January, but has faced resistance from miners.
The department did not say how many tonnes of coal will be required.
Whitehaven Coal (WHC.AX) Chief Executive Paul Flynn has said the government appeared to be looking to secure around 3 million to 5 million tonnes, but the company was pressing the state to explain how that shortfall estimate had been determined.
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Directions issued in December required a dozen coal mines that supply power plants in New South Wales to fill a shortfall in supply at a capped price of A$125 a tonne – well below the export price currently at about $265 a tonne – under a deal with the federal government.
The mines are mainly owned by Glencore Plc (GLEN.L), Peabody Energy (BTU.N), New Hope Corp (NHC.AX) and Thailand’s Banpu PCL (BANPU.BK).
The state now wants to spread the requirement to all the state’s coal producers, including those that export all of their output, including BHP Group (BHP.AX), Whitehaven Coal (WHC.AX) and Yancoal Australia (YAL.AX).
BHP has said the new policy could affect its plan to keep its Mt Arthur coal mine, the state’s largest single coal mine, open until 2030.
Reporting by Sonali Paul; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
