5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today – 5 June 2025.

• Scammers steal £47 million from the HMRC: Scammers stole £47 million from the online accounts of 100,000 people after posing as taxpayers, HMRC has revealed. The tax authority said it is writing to those affected to confirm it has secured their accounts, they haven’t lost any money, and they don’t need to do anything. [BBC]

• Shortage of key doctors: People with cancer face a “ticking time bomb” of delays in getting diagnosed and treated because the NHS is too short-staffed to provide prompt care, senior doctors have warned. [Guardian]

• Sweeping pension changes planned: Ministers will unveil a sweeping overhaul of Britain’s pensions system on Thursday aimed at unpicking problems created by previous rules and boosting the retirement savings of millions of people. The pensions bill will cover six areas of reform and include a “reserve” power to force pension schemes to invest more in the UK if they fail to meet a voluntary commitment. [Financial Times]

• Wind energy problems: Britain has spent more than £500m on switching off wind farms this year to avoid overloading the creaking power grid. So-called curtailment, where wind farms are switched off because the network is too congested to accept their power, cost grid operators £6 million on Tuesday alone. [Telegraph]

• On Thursday, Oil was trading slightly lower at $64.68 a barrel. The pound was trading at £1.36 to the dollar, £1.19 to the euro and £9.73 to the yuan.

Now read: 33% of UK hospitality businesses now operating at a loss