Friday newspaper round-up: Housing targets, WH Smith, Thurrock council

Angela Rayner has been warned that the government could risk missing its housing targets by placing too much emphasis on creating new towns across England. The deputy prime minister announced plans last month for the “largest housebuilding programme since the postwar period”, kickstarted by the construction of a generation of new towns. – Guardian

A debt-ridden English council has alleged in a high court lawsuit that a Dubai-based businessman misused £150m of its investments for personal gain, including buying a luxury yacht and private jet. Thurrock council in Essex, which formally declared effective bankruptcy in 2022 having run up debts of more than £1bn after a series of disastrous investments, is suing Liam Kavanagh and his firm Rockfire Capital in London’s high court. – Guardian

A flagship green fuel factory has been scrapped by the renewable energy giant Ørsted amid a lack of demand from customers. Work has halted on the FlagshipONE project, a proposed e-methanol plant in the Swedish town of Örnsköldsvik, meant to supply container ships as part of the battle to reach net zero. – Telegraph

Ministers must work closely with business to avoid “spooking” employers as they carry the biggest overhaul of workers’ rights in decades, a leading recruitment trade body has said. Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), said: “The government is right to make economic growth its focus. Only growth can turn employers’ sentiment to hire and invest, into action. – The Times

To many people, it is the place where you buy a book or magazine or to pick up some stationery. However, after 232 years in business, WH Smith has decided to open its first café. The first Smith’s Kitchen officially opened on Thursday in Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton. The 26-seat, 495 sq ft café, featuring both takeaway and dine-in options, is set to be rolled out to other hospitals. It comes shortly after WH Smith launched an own-brand food range of 30 products, including sandwiches. – The Times