Sunday newspaper round-up: Coronavirus cases, Shareholder spring, Wuhan

Daily coronavirus cases have risen by nearly 40 per cent in a week to 3,240 while deaths remain flat at just six as 537,000 more vaccinations were carried out in England yesterday. It comes as ministers prepare contingency plans to extend restrictions beyond June 21, amid fears that a surge in cases of the Indian variant could lead to a spike in hospital admissions and deaths. Department of Health figures published this afternoon show that daily cases have risen from 2,325 last Sunday to 3,240 today, while deaths rose just one in a week - from five last Sunday to six. - Financial Mail on Sunday

Britain's boards are set for a bruising round of investor revolts in June as the 'shareholder spring' picks up pace. Investors at Morrisons have been advised to vote against executive pay packets after chief executive Dave Potts saw his earnings jump despite profits more than halving. Informa, the world's largest events company, is facing a massive revolt over 'target-free' bonuses for bosses, and there are also calls to vote down Google's pay report. - Financial Mail on Sunday

British intelligence agencies now believe it is “feasible” that the global pandemic began with a coronavirus leak from a Chinese research laboratory. In a significant sharpening of tension with Beijing, they are investigating a possible leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which Beijing angrily insists was not the source of the virus that has caused more than 3.5 million deaths and is still raging globally. They do so as controversy grows about the alleged silencing of scientists who wanted an investigation of the lab-leak theory. - Sunday Times

The role of UK companies in allegedly helping to prop up Europe’s so-called “last dictatorship” is coming under unprecedented pressure amid signs that lobbying by Belarusian exiles and others is paying off. Rolls-Royce and British American Tobacco are among the firms that have responded to lobbying by the Belarusian diaspora and indicated they were willing to take action. - Guardian

BT has taken a £149m hit after ending a two-decade old relationship with electricals retailer Dixons Carphone. A disclosure in the telecoms operator’s annual report revealed the cost of the settlement after it chose to end a contract between EE, its mobile division, and Carphone Warehouse last September. BT said it had resolved all outstanding matters with the retailer, including “revenue share costs that could have previously been recognised over future years”. - Sunday Telegraph

Clarks shoes lost its way but will bounce back to rival Dr Martens and Birkenstock, its new boss has vowed. The founding family, whose ancestors Cyrus and James Clark founded the company in 1825, lost control in a dramatic restructuring last year. Its new boss Victor Herrero, the sixth in as many years, said Clarks can overcome its image as a chain selling sensible shoes for school and work. The 53-year-old said: 'Nobody was moving forward. There was no urgency or desire to evolve the brand. We have iconic brands, like the Desert Boots and Wallabees. We have the brand and relevancy, we just have to execute,' he told the Financial Times. - Financial Mail on Sunday

Marks & Spencer has identified 100 key product lines it hopes will deliver a major boost to its core womenswear business later this year. Chief executive Steve Rowe personally reviewed the autumn range earlier this month to see the 'must-haves'. The retailer is preparing to stock at least 30 per cent more of these key products than it would do normally. Rowe told a meeting with City banks and brokers last week that the range is 'phenomenal', adding that the company has kept a war chest of cash to buy even more heavily into key products if it becomes clear they are selling better than hoped. - Financial Mail on Sunday

The activist hedge fund stalking GlaxoSmithKline has homed in on its vaccines business in talks with other investors. Elliott Management is understood to have sought shareholders’ views on how to unlock value from the division, which contributed £7 billion towards Glaxo’s £34 billion sales last year and almost a third of its earnings. Glaxo’s vaccines business is the biggest in the world by sales and makes products including Shingrix, the blockbuster shingles shot. Reports of Elliott’s talks suggest the American hedge fund thinks the value of Glaxo’s vaccines division is hurt by its pharmaceuticals arm, where sales fell by 3 per cent to £17 billion in 2020. - Sunday Times