Vue lecture

UK trade policy: time to stop the secret deals and get systematic

7 février 2026 à 17:00

Liam Byrne is echoing Robin Cook’s ethical trade policy, warning the UK needs deals more open to scrutiny to prevent future issues

Trade can be a dirty business. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was tolerated as a “special representative for trade and investment” in the noughties despite allegations that he kept convicted gun smugglers for friends, while Peter Mandelson’s ability to schmooze the rich and famous repeatedly overruled concerns about his probity.

To close a deal, there are always compromises to be made, and sometimes the terms are unsavoury.

Dubai’s potent lure: the reality behind the real-estate frenzy

The Guardian

Par :Phillip Inman

5 février 2026 à 15:10

Bankers and billionaires are flocking to the city where income tax is zero but critics say it ignores money laundering – and pay disparities are huge

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Aidan Doyle was an estate agent in Liverpool before he decamped to Dubai and turned a £30,000 annual income into £500,000 a year and climbing.

Acting as an agent for buyers and sellers, Doyle has seen his commission soar beyond anything he could hope to generate in the UK after just three years in the city, one of seven city-states in the United Arab Emirates.