The Weekly Briefing - 25 May

Headlines

BBC News

Government borrowing fell in April as UK reopened

Government borrowing fell in April compared with the same month last year, as parts of the economy reopened after lockdown measures eased. Borrowing - the difference between spending and tax income - was £31.7bn, official figures show, which was £15.6bn lower than April last year. However, the figure was the second highest for April since records began. Borrowing has been hitting record levels with billions being spent on measures such as furlough payments. Read

BBC to publish report on Bashir rehiring next week

An investigation into why the journalist Martin Bashir was rehired in 2016 will be published next week, BBC director general Tim Davie has said. Read

The Guardian

Tory Islamophobia report a ‘whitewash’, say Muslims in party

A long-awaited review into Islamophobia within the Conservative party has been condemned as a whitewash by Muslim Tories despite criticising the language used by Boris Johnson and the mayoral campaign run by Zac Goldsmith for being insensitive to Muslim communities. Read

George Floyd’s death started a fire, but the kindling had been piling up for years

The killing a year ago sparked a justified, constructive anger at racial injustice that is still felt around the world. Read

The Fashion Roundtable Focus

Fashion United

Fashion helps drive surge in April retail sales

According to The Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales volumes increase sharply by 9.2 percent month-on-month in April, as non-essential retailers were permitted to reopen from April 12 in England and Wales, from April 26 in Scotland and from April 30 in Northern Ireland. Non-food stores performed particularly well, with a 69.4 percent increase in sales volumes at clothing stores as shoppers looked to update their wardrobe for post-lockdown life. Read

The Independent

Brexit disruption saw UK goods trade with EU plunge by 23% in first quarter

The UK’s trade in goods with EU countries fell by 23 per cent in the first quarter of the year, with exports to Ireland particularly badly hit by Brexit-related disruption. Read

Business of Fashion

Gap Bets It All on Yeezy. Read