Marissa Mayer, the former Google executive who is now in charge of Yahoo, is poised to create yet another nothing-to-riches tale in the web industry with the $1.1bn (�720m) acquisition of the blogging site Tumblr.

In the letter to the leaders of ten crown dependencies and British overseas territories David Cameron said he backed their right to low tax jurisdictions, but insisted rules needed to be set and enforced fairly.

Marks & Spencer's store staff could see their meagre �100 bonus trimmed or ditched after the retail bellwether posts a further fall in annual profits this week.

The Scots are accustomed to having their views ignored in the British political system. In 18 general elections since the second world war, the Conservatives have had a majority in Scotland only once (1955), yet they have formed the government nine times.

It began as a sideline on a Herefordshire farm little over a decade ago but is now being touted around the world to potential buyers for �100m.