Adam Butler

Retailers have been blasted for using 'unethical' discounts and rewards to encourage Brits to splash the cash using Buy Now Pay Later and other credit. Most high street stores now use forms of BNPL on their websites to encourage people to make purchases. Buy now, pay later products allow users to take out a loan for a specific purchase, which is then paid back in instalments. Often, these products offer an interest-free loan for an initial period. However, these products are generally unregulated, and providers don't have to run credit checks on users. This means that those who are already financially vulnerable could find themselves racking up even more debt if they don't pay the money back on time.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues in earnest, more and more people are struggling to afford essential items, and are looking for other ways to meet their payments and look after their families. With as many as 2.8 million declined credit over the past two years, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, it is likely that many of these have had no choice but to seek out loan sharks for the money they need to survive.

Following the discovery of 'risks' in a cyber-security audit, Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden informed MPs that the ban, as well as a limited number of operational 'exemptions,' would go into place immediately. The restriction was imposed in response to complaints that user personal information could be accessed by Beijing's authority ByteDance, the company's owner, who has its headquarters in China. Despite Tory backbenchers' demands, he came close to compel ministers and civil servants from deleting the app from their personal computers. Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries urged other MPs to follow her example and report it voluntary. However, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps will continue to use the app on his own phone.