Bitesized Blighty: August 11, 2017
- A former conservative party aide has launched a call to form a new political party that will position itself on a platform opposing Brexit. James Chapman – the man in question - claims two cabinet ministers had already expressed interest in the idea, and that many more are set to follow. Mr Chapman is the Daily Mail's former political editor and was a senior adviser to former Chancellor George Osborne before becoming Brexit Secretary David Davis's chief of staff. He quit the government before June's general election and now works in public relations.
- On Tuesday, an unidentified jogger was filmed pushing a woman into a row of oncoming vehicles after she happened to be standing in his way on a jogging path along Putney Bridge. The woman narrowly avoided death after a bus driver’s quick decision to take a sharp turn averted the potential fatality. Officers said the jogger ran back the other way across the bridge about 15 minutes later and the victim tried to speak to him but “he did not acknowledge her”. A man arrested on suspicion of pushing the woman has been identified as Eric Bellquist; a partner at a Mayfair-based private equity firm.
- British financial services behemoth Prudential is set to merge its UK and European insurance arm with M&G Investments – creating a £332 billion subsidiary. It revealed that job cuts are likely as it looks to save £145 million a year by 2022, but it said it was too early to say how this will affect the combined workforce of nearly 7,300 in the UK. According to Prudential Chief Executive, Mike Wells “Combining these businesses will allow us to better leverage our considerable scale and capabilities”.
