Closing post
Time to wrap up for the day (and the week! 🎉).
The UK’s grocery industry watchdog has launched an investigation into Amazon over allegations that the retail and technology company is failing to pay its suppliers on time.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Amazon had breached a part of the groceries supply code of practice, which mandates that there should not be delays in payments made to suppliers.
The investigation into Amazon comes almost a year after the GCA told the online retailer it needed to take “swift and comprehensive action” to improve its compliance with industry rules designed to protect suppliers.
The GCA is responsible for regulating the relationships between the UK’s 14 largest grocery retailers – including the biggest supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s – and their direct suppliers.
Amazon has promised to co-operate fully with the investigation. A spokesman for the firm added:
“We have already made significant improvements to our grocery supplier experience, including to payment practices, with supplier contacts on this reducing falling year-on-year.
In other news….
Economists have warned that Rachel Reeves may need to raise taxes by more than £20bn in the autumn budget after figures showed the government’s spending deficit reached £17.7bn in May, the second highest on record for the month.
British retail sales volumes have recorded their sharpest drop since December 2023, as demand fell after shoppers splurged on food, summer clothes and home improvements the month before.
Retail sales fell across all sectors in May 2025. This was the largest monthly fall since December 2023.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) June 20, 2025
Retail sales volumes have fallen 2.7% in May 2025, following a rise of 1.3% in April 2025 (revised up from 1.2%).
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/0spSOuwdhv pic.twitter.com/us5TVl1cfl
Developing countries need a fresh round of debt relief, to prevent money urgently needed for health and education being diverted to creditors, according to a major new report commissioned by the late Pope Francis.
The chief executive of Royal Mail has left after just over a year, weeks after the delivery company’s owner was sold for £3.6bn to a Czech billionaire.
Emma Gilthorpe resigns as chief executive of Royal Mail
The chief executive of Royal Mail has left after just over a year, weeks after the delivery company’s owner was sold for £3.6bn to a Czech billionaire, my colleague Alex Lawson reports.
Emma Gilthorpe, who joined from Heathrow airport in May 2024, left the company on Thursday, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the chief operating officer, Alistair Cochrane, with immediate effect, the Guardian has learned.
Daniel Křetínský completed a deal to buy International Distribution Services (IDS), the owner of the 509-year-old Royal Mail, in April.
A group of existing IDS non-executive directors, including the chair, Keith Williams, resigned earlier this month. However, the company had made no mention of Gilthorpe’s future after the deal.
