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Supreme Court rules the prime minister’s decision to prorogue parliament was unlawful

The pound is up against the dollar this morning after the Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson's decision to prorogue parliament for five weeks was unlawful.

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Key Points

• What next for the pound after historic Supreme Court decision?
• UK budget deficit increases by almost £7bn
• Uber granted two-month London licence extension

[24 September 2019 09:38 · ben.chapman]

Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of business and economic events in the UK and around the world. 

The Supreme Court's ruling to be delivered this morning could throw Boris Johnson's Brexit plans into disarray, with an inevitable impact on markets.

If the justices decide he acted unlawfully in proroguing parliament, MPs could soon be recalled giving it more time to potentially scupper the prime minister's plans for exiting the EU on 31 October.

Elsewhere, the business secretary Andrea Leadsom has said bailing out Thomas Cook would have been a waste of taxpayers money.

[24 September 2019 09:40 · ben.chapman]

Sterling is barely moving this morning. 

Tourists going abroad can expect the following rates for the pound:

Australia 1.74 dollars

Brazil 4.63 reals

Canada 1.57 dollars

China 7.90 yuan

Euro 1.08 euro

Hong Kong 9.25 dollars

India 77.63 rupees

Japan 127.32 yen

Mexico 21.57 pesos

New Zealand 1.84 dollars

Norway 10.73 krone

Philippines 55.58 pesos

South Africa 17.36 rand

South Korea 1294.00 won

Sri Lanka 213.00 rupees

Switzerland 1.17 francs

Turkey 6.73 new lira

USA 1.19 dollars

(Rates for indication purposes only - PA news agency)

[24 September 2019 09:45 · ben.chapman]

Thomas Cook bosses are under scrutiny over 'fat-cat' pay

'Boris Johnson has criticised travel firm bosses for paying themselves millions of pounds as their businesses “go down the tubes”, following the collapse of Thomas Cook,' writes The Independent's  travel correspondent Simon Calder.

Mr Johnson said:

I think the questions we’ve got to ask ourselves now are how can this thing be stopped from happening in the future?” he told reporters in New York.

How can we make sure that tour operators take proper precautions with their business models where you don’t end up with a situation where the taxpayer, the state, is having to step in and bring people home?

I have questions for one about whether it’s right that the directors, or whoever, the board, should pay themselves large sums when businesses can go down the tubes like that.

Simon's full story is here:

Boris Johnson lashes out at travel bosses who 'pocket large sums as firms go down the tubes'

[24 September 2019 09:55 · ben.chapman]

Google wins court case over 'right to be forgotten'

Google does not have to make the "right to be forgotten" available worldwide, Europe's top court has ruled.

Citizens within the EU can already demand that Google removes search results abut them that are "inadequate, irrelevant or... excessive", a measure that the tech giant has expressed strong disagreement with.

Results are only removed when the search is carried out within the EU. The web page containing the offending content still exists so a determined searcher will be able to find it.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was asked to decide whether the rule should apply beyond Google's European sites such as Google.fr.

Judges decided that it should not because the balance between privacy and freedom of information varies in different parts of the worls.

It came into force in 2014, after Spanish national Mario Costeja sought to remove out-of-date links relating to unsettled debts that had since been settled.

France's data regulator, the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL), had been probing the European Court of Justice to clarify whether the ability to de-list links should go beyond google.fr, the French site of Google, extending to other versions across the world.

It continued: "The Court adds that the right to the protection of personal data is not an absolute right, but must be considered in relation to its function in society and be balanced against other fundamental rights, in accordance with the principle of proportionality."

[24 September 2019 10:04 · ben.chapman]

Tui will fly home customers booked on Thomas Cook flights 

Holidaymakers who booked through German tour operator Tui may be on Thomas Cook flights.

Tui's boss Friedrich Joussen, has sought to reassure those customers:

TUI is preparing measures to support. Where TUI customers are booked on Thomas Cook Airlines flights and these are no longer operated, replacement flights will be offered.

We are currently assessing the short term impact of Thomas Cook's insolvency under the current circumstances, on the final week of our FY19 financial result.

[24 September 2019 10:09 · ben.chapman]

Uber granted two-month London licence extension

Uber has been granted a two-month extension to its licence to operate in London which had been suspended in 2017 over concerns the company was not a "fit and proper" private car hire operator.

TfL previously removed Uber’s right to operate in the city in 2017 due to alleged failings in its approach to reporting serious criminal offences and driver background checks.

That decision prompted legal action, which led to a judge granting the Silicon Valley company a probationary 15-month licence in 2018 after it made several changes to its business model in London.

London is one of the most important markets for the firm in Europe.

[24 September 2019 10:21 · ben.chapman]

Uber responds to two-month London operator's licence decision

Responding to TfL's decision, Jamie Heywood, regional general manager for Northern & Eastern Europe, said: 

“TfL’s recognition of our improved culture and governance reflects the progress we have made in London. We will continue to work closely with TfL and provide any additional requested information.

“Over the past two years, we’ve launched a range of new safety features in the app, introduced better protections for drivers and our Clean Air Plan is helping to tackle air pollution.

“We will keep listening, learning and improving to provide the best service while being a trusted partner to London.”

[24 September 2019 10:36 · ben.chapman]

UK budget deficit increases

The gap between government income and expenditure increased 28% in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2018.

[24 September 2019 10:39 · ben.chapman]

Supreme Court says prorogation of parliament is 'justiciable', ie, a matter for the courts.

[24 September 2019 10:42 · ben.chapman]

BREAKING: Prorogation was unlawful, Supreme Court rules