Tyrrells plans to give vegetable crisps the chop

A giant 1,600-tonne machine called Madeleine that will bore a tunnel taking HS2 trains into central London has been switched on. Named after Madeleine Nobbs, the former president of the Women’s Engineering Society, the 190m-long contraption will create a 4.5 mile link connecting Old Oak Common in west London to a proposed expanded station at…

The scheme is designed to support firms that are high energy users in sectors such as automotive and aerospace, steel producers, metal fabricators, pharmaceutical and medical supplies companies, recycling businesses, plastic producers, nuclear fuel processors, and cooling and ventilation equipment manufacturers, the government said.

The former chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended his pandemic-era Bounce Back Loan scheme against accusations that it was subject to excessive levels of fraud. He said he was aware of the risks, but given the need for speed, he would do the same again. Bounce back loans (BBLs) offered small businesses up to £50,000 with…