Brexit checks on animal and food products arriving into Belfast and Larne ports have been suspended amid fears over the safety of staff, Northern Ireland’s agriculture ministry has said. The decision came after Mid and East Antrim borough council agreed on Monday night to remove 12 of its staff at Larne port with immediate effect, following an “upsurge in sinister and menacing behaviour in recent weeks”. – Guardian
More than 200,000 households could face delays to their boiler repairs during some of the coldest weeks of winter as the GMB union calls to resume its British Gas strike from Friday. The union has called on its members working as field engineers for Britain’s largest energy supplier to down tools for another five days as part of a nation-wide response to the company’s “fire and rehire” plans. – Guardian
The Governor of the Bank of England and other senior regulators showed a “lack of judgment” by asking not to be named in a report into the City watchdog’s response to the London Capital and Finance investment scandal, MPs have been told. Andrew Bailey, who led the Financial Conduct Authority until last March, was one of three executives named in a damning report last month by Dame Elizabeth Gloster into the FCA’s handling of the LCF scandal. – Telegraph
The first person convicted by a jury for manipulating Libor has accused his former employer UBS of using him as a “negotiating pawn” during the scandal and pledged to clear his name just days after finishing a five-and-a-half year spell in prison. In his first interview since his release last Friday, Tom Hayes, 41, told The Times that he “absolutely” believed he would have his conviction for Libor-rigging overturned. – The Times
Insurance firms have been accused of “dragging their heels” over Covid-19 payouts, despite a Supreme Court judgment that is expected to pave the way for payments to tens of thousands of companies. Law firms representing claimants who believe they have a valid claim on their business interruption insurance policies say there is a fear that companies could go to the wall before they receive a settlement. – The Times
