Monday newspaper round-up: Budget, van drivers, Heathrow

(Sharecast News) - John Healey has been warned by Britain's leading tax and spending experts that his budget risks being a "work of fiction" unless he sets out plans to cover £35bn in spending pressures. As the war in the Middle East rattles the public finances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the damage from higher inflation meant the chancellor would need to either top up funds for his current government spending plans or impose deep real-terms cuts by the end of the decade. - Guardian

Millions of British van drivers face a combined £2.5bn cost to cover the rising price of diesel this year, according to figures, fuelling calls for the government to scrap its planned fuel duty rise. The owners of diesel vans and pickups can expect to collectively spend almost £8.5bn at the pump this year, according to analysis for the Guardian, after diesel prices climbed to record highs due to a global fuel shortage caused by disruption to refineries in the Middle East and Russia. - Guardian

Andy Burnham should consider taking a stake in Heathrow to keep its planned £49bn third runway under control, the owner of British Airways (BA) has said. Luis Gallego, the chief executive of BA owner International Airlines Group, said state involvement in Heathrow may be necessary to make the project affordable for passengers. Airlines have baulked at Heathrow's bill for expansion, which they claim would require the airport to more than double fees paid by passengers from £26 to £65. - Telegraph

A union boss has warned that "sycophantic" AI chatbots have led to a surge in claims from angry staff who wrongly believe they have a case for minor workplace grievances. Mike Clancy, the general secretary of Prospect, said unions were seeing a spike in "nonsense claims" as workers turn to AI following office rows and are then "wildly" misled about how much compensation they could be entitled to. - Telegraph

The world's largest offshore wind farm is struggling with serious construction problems that threaten to further delay promised cheap power for consumers. The Dogger Bank project in the North Sea got the go-ahead in 2019 with a contract locking in a record-low price for the electricity it would generate for 15 years. More than 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, it was originally scheduled to start delivering cheap power as early as 2023 but has repeatedly delayed its contract start dates after the failure of two turbine blades triggered "cascading" problems. - The Times