THE DAILY BRIEFING

BAE BLUES star fund manager £160m Neil investment Woodford in has defence ditched contractorhis BAE. Woodford, who runs the £9bn Woodford Equity income fund, said he was concerned about the company’s £6.1bn pension deficit. the renowned investor recently sold a £300m stake in Bt too, another firm with a rising pension black hole.

FRAUD FIGHT the serious Fraud Office is ramping up its investigations as it continues a crackdown on white collar crime. it forced 177 witnesses to attend interviews last year, an increase of 37pc on the previous 12 months. Witnesses who are ‘compelled’ to attend interviews may have to give evidence against colleagues, employers or family members.

GOING GREEN Budget retailer B&M has opened its 100th Garden Centre in salisbury and announced ambitious new expansion plans. Last year alone B&M sold enough artificial turf to cover more than nine football pitches, enough fence panels to cross the channel five times and more than 5m plants.

HIRING FREEZE the number of employers expecting to increase staff levels over the next three months has dropped by four percentage points since Brexit. A report by the Chartered institute of Personnel and Development has revealed that just 36pc of employers are expecting to increase employee numbers over the next quarter.

LANDING EXPERTS Gatwick Airport has lined up two former ministers in a bid to beef up its campaign for a second runway. Former transport minister steven Norris and former Minister for the Olympics and for London tessa Jowell will co-chair a new committee which will examine the wider economic and social impacts of the airport’s growth plans on the local area and the UK as a whole.