Bitesize Blighty: May 18, 2018
- The Big Four accountancy firms have drawn up contingency plans for a break up of their UK businesses, an option politicians and regulators are increasingly pushing to solve conflicts of interest embedded in the industry. The pressure on the four firms that dominate the sector — KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC — to prepare for a forced break-up has increased following high-profile corporate collapses that have called into question the quality of their work as both auditors and consultants for the UK’s largest companies.
- On Wednesday, London's position as one of the leading technology hubs in the world was cemented as a new report ranked it alongside Silicon Valley and China. The UK was in the top three countries for total capital investment in digital tech companies last year, behind only China and the US, according to the Tech Nation annual report.
- Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal has been discharged from hospital, two months after being poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury. The 66-year-old was found slumped on a park bench in the city on 4 March, with his daughter Yulia. They were taken to Salisbury District Hospital's intensive care unit, where they were stabilised after being exposed to Novichok. Ms. Skripal was released on 9 April and was moved to a secure location.
