Rishi Sunak has come under further pressure to suspend the state pension triple lock after wage figures showed that the chancellor is on course to pay pensioners a rise of more than 8% next year. Sunak is understood to be considering telling Britain’s 12 million state pension claimants that the pandemic has artificially inflated the official wages figures and a new formula is needed to calculate the rise in the basic state pension for next year.- Guardian
Shareholders in the asthma inhaler maker Vectura have been urged to reject a £1.1bn takeover by the tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI), in an open letter signed by 35 health charities, public health experts and doctors from around the world. Investors in the Wiltshire-based respiratory medicine specialist have until 15 September to decide whether to sell their shares to PMI, which has touted its ambitions for a “smoke-free” future but still derives 75% of its revenue from cigarettes. – Guardian
Nando’s has been forced to shut restaurants and reduce hours at some after its chicken deliveries were hit by a nationwide shortage of lorry drivers. The popular restaurant chain, known for its spicy peri-peri chicken, revealed it would lend 70 staff to its suppliers to minimise disruption, which is affecting around 50 of its restaurants. – Telegraph
Three hundred workers are being taken on by Wrightbus as the company accelerates its plans for growth in a new era of zero-emission transport. “We are firmly back in business, creating jobs,” said Jo Bamford, son of Lord Bamford, the JCB chairman and owner, who rescued the business in 2019 when the workforce numbered only 56. The new jobs will take employee numbers at its plant in Ballymena to more than 900. – The Times
The sale of new boilers that run exclusively on natural gas could be banned by 2026 in the UK’s push to hit climate goals. The Government is consulting on plans to make sure that all new boilers are capable of running on hydrogen instead. Hydrogen does not produce carbon dioxide when burned and ministers hope it could supply up to 35pc UK’s energy by 2050. – The Times
