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'Wonga is targeting Britain's bankruptcy capital': Insolvency industry launches blistering attack on payday lender's sponsorship of Newcastle United
The official body for the insolvency industry has launched a blistering attack on Wonga’s sponsorship of Newcastle United, accusing it of targeting Britain’s bankruptcy capital. The controversial payday lender is set to become the new shirt sponsor of Newcastle United in a £24 million deal, after the club decided to drop Virgin Money at the end of the season. But figures from R3, which is made up of 97 per cent of the UK’s insolvency practitioners, suggest the payday lender is preying on an area with the highest personal bankruptcy rate in the whole country. .....Read more HERE
Mr Horne was asked by 5 Live whether the FA would like to see the kind of sponsorship deal such as Wonga’s recently announced deal with Newcastle, removed:
“We’re talking to the leagues on Friday about it, but if you include it in the category of things that are inappropriate for children, like gambling and alcohol, then it seems as if it’s in that category for me.”
....Read more HERE
A senior Downing Street aide is to reignite the row over the payday lending sector by taking a job at Wonga, Sky News learns.
Controversy over business access to the heart of government will be reignited this week when a senior adviser to David Cameron defects to Wonga, the payday loan provider. I have learned that Jonathan Luff, a senior Downing Street aide, is to leave before taking up a role running government affairs at Wonga. Mr Luff, who has been running a key trade promotion campaign for several months, is not subject to any restrictions on the timing of his move and is expected to start his new job in the coming weeks. It is likely to provoke protest among MPs critical of Wonga's business model that the company will have inappropriate access to ministerial decision-makers.
Mr Luff's appointment comes as the Office of Fair Trading intensifies a crackdown on payday lenders amid concern over the industry's business practices.