The lawyers must be kept in check

“It might be July, or even August, but eventually we are going to crank the economy back to life,” says Matthew Lynn. However, a big problem as we lift lockdown is likely to be Britain’s “lawyerdominated health-and-safety-obsessed culture”. Any company contemplating opening up will have to reckon “with an army of liability and employment lawyers” waiting to pounce on every minor transgression – “no doubt egged on by a Labour Party leader who first made his name as an ultra-aggressive employment barrister”. Many firms may decide it’s just not worth the risk. We could fix this, first, by “ring-fencing liability” – so that no company can be held liable if a worker or customer is diagnosed with Covid-19, “unless it has been completely reckless”; second, by banning “no-win-no-fee” law firms from touting for coronavirus business. We still have a huge amount to learn about controlling the virus’s spread. But “fear of legal action should not be allowed to keep the economy closed for longer than necessary”. The key to a V-shaped recovery? “Keep lawyers in check.”

The on/off nature of the proposed Saudi bid for Newcastle United must be frustrating for the so-called “Queen of British football”, Amanda Staveley, who fixed the deal. Staveley, 47, who heads up Dubai-based PCP Capital Partners, is a past master at shaking up the beautiful game, said MailOnline. Probably best known for orchestrating the purchase of Manchester City by Sheik Mansour in 2008, she also played a key role in Barclays’ fateful emergency cash-call during the 2007-08 financial crisis. The Newcastle deal marks “a return to high-profile dealmaking” for Staveley, who reportedly turned down a marriage offer from Prince Andrew in 2003, said the FT. A determined individual, renowned for her ability to penetrate “deep-pocketed circles”, she is “systematically underestimated”.