Donald Trump has threatened tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the UK, the EU and Australia, over alleged forced labour failures. The move is the latest attempt to revive his signature trade policy.
The EU immediately hit back, saying it expected the US to respect the tariff deal it entered into last July and arguing that stealth tariffs breached the spirit of that agreement.
In other news, Ovo Energy has agreed to pay more than £10m after Ofgem found a lack of monitoring of vulnerable customers with prepayment meters could have exposed them to a 'clear risk of harm'.
British taxpayers will provide £1.3bn in funding to help Hollywood studio giant Universal build its first theme park in Europe. The park will be built on the site of former Kempston Hardwick brickworks near Bedford.
Consumer confidence rose by the most in May since 2021, according to a poll by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Its index rose by 2.6 points to 104.9, driven by an improvement in people's perception of their household finances.
