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The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England have opened applications for their Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS).

In a statement released today (30 September), the FCA and the Bank urged firms that are innovating in financial market infrastructure to apply.

They said the DSS will “reshape” how they regulate by allowing firms to test legislative changes in real-world scenarios before the changes are implemented.

DSS gives firms the opportunity to explore new technologies in traditional financial markets.

The new tech includes distributed ledger technology (DLT), a system for storing and managing information distributed across participants in a network.

It has the potential to improve efficiency and reduce costs in wholesale markets, benefitting industry and investors.

“We believe the DSS could also lead to a quicker, more effective and collaborative way of delivering regulatory change,” the statement said.

“The DSS supports innovation, helps protect financial stability and strengthens the UK’s leading position as a global and vibrant financial centre, built on globally respected high standards.”

The authorities said there is a range of support available to firms to help them through the application process.

Firms can arrange pre-application meetings to better understand the DSS requirements.

The DSS is open to legally established firms of all sizes and at all stages of development.

The firms could be an existing financial institution that is already authorised or recognised under current regulation or a new entrant to the market.

Find out more about the support available here.

The BBC has apologised to Amanda Abbington and upheld some of her complaints against her 2023 Strictly dance partner Giovanni Pernice, but cleared him of the most serious allegations.

While complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld, claims of physical aggression were not, BBC News understands.

The Sherlock actress called the BBC’s apology a “vindication” of her complaint and said she hoped others would now feel “more confident” that they would be believed.

A source close to Pernice said he was “pleased that this has been thrown out”, adding that the past nine months had been “torrid” for him.

In its statement, the BBC said that the production team did take steps to address the issues at the time but acknowledged that “ultimately, these were not enough”.

“This is why the measures we have taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important,” it said.

Abbington had previously accused Pernice of being “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean” during their rehearsals, which he had always strongly denied.

In a statement released on Monday, the BBC said it takes allegations of bullying and harassment “very seriously”, adding the review into Abbington’s complaints had taken time “due to its complex nature” and in order to ensure “a rigorous and robust process”.

“We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made,” it said.

“We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.”

In recent media interviews, Abbington has said she first raised concerns about Pernice’s behaviour with Strictly producers on her third day, and had “many” more discussions with programme bosses.

She eventually dropped out in week six, expressing her “deepest regret” at having to leave the show for “medical” and “personal reasons”. She later lodged a formal complaint about Pernice.

The actress has since claimed the BBC had known about his behaviour for years. She has also said she and her family had received death threats after she spoke out.

Charlotte Moore, chief content officer for the BBC, told BBC News that it was “terrible” Abbington had been subjected to online abuse, and personally apologised to the actress twice.

Responding to the BBC’s statement on Monday, Abbington said that coming forward “was not an easy thing to do”.

“In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I’ve been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and of being “mad and unstable”.

“I’ve also received rape and murder threats and a bomb threat was sent to my place of work. My family and children have also been subjected to threats and intimidation.

“Despite this vile abuse, I’ve never regretted coming forward, and today’s apology from the BBC is a vindication of my complaint.

“It’s not just a vindication for me, it’s a vindication for the other people who have contacted me since I made my complaint to express concerns about their own experiences on Strictly Come Dancing. I hope those who have felt unable to speak out now will be more confident that they will be listened to and believed.”

Abbington added that the BBC had invited her to meet with senior management and that she would be considering this.

“This apology means a great deal to me. So too does the fact that the BBC have acknowledged the steps that were put in place to support and protect me and past contestants were “not enough”.

“What matters most now is that lessons have been learned and that the BBC makes the changes they’ve promised, to ensure others don’t experience the same ordeal that I and others like me did.”

A source close to Pernice said: “Gio is pleased that this has been thrown out after what has been a torrid nine months or so for him.

“From the outset, Giovanni has rejected any claims of threatening or abusive behaviour.

“While it appreciates that the BBC has likely decided to uphold some allegations to avoid the accusations of a ‘whitewash’ – they’ve upheld the weakest allegations put to him.’”

The BBC announced a string of new measures in July, include introducing chaperones in all rehearsal rooms, as well as including two new welfare producers on the show

Earlier this year, the BBC confirmed that Pernice would not return to the Strictly professional line-up for the new series.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing launched on BBC One earlier this month.

Pernice has now joined his native Italy’s talent dance show, Ballando con le Stelle.

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Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has made a conditional offer for Mulberry, valuing the UK luxury brand at £83mn, after a “wholly unsatisfactory” response to an initial approach at the weekend.

Frasers, which owns about 37 per cent of Mulberry’s shares, said it had been taken by surprise when Mulberry proposed on Friday to raise almost £11mn from existing shareholders, including its largest investor — the Singapore-based Ong family that holds a 56 per cent stake.

Frasers said it had not been aware of the plan, which was designed to prop up the luxury group’s balance sheet, until “immediately prior to its announcement”, and would have been willing to fund it on potentially better terms.

Frasers has offered 130p per share, a premium of 11 per cent to the closing price on Friday, and said it was “the best steward to return Mulberry to profitability”. The board provided a “holding response” to its conditional offer on Sunday, a move that Frasers considered inadequate. Mulberry shares rose 11 per cent on Monday.

Mulberry said on Friday that it needed to raise cash to give it financial flexibility, after falling to an annual pre-tax loss of £34mn, from a £13mn profit the previous year, on a 4 per cent drop in revenue to £153mn.

Frasers said that as an existing shareholder it would “not accept another Debenhams situation where a perfectly viable business is run into administration” after Mulberry noted a “material uncertainty related to going concern” in its annual report.

Debenhams went into administration in 2020, having rejected a last-ditch rescue plan by Frasers — then called Sports Direct — which was a shareholder as part of an acrimonious battle with Debenhams’ board for control of the business.

Mulberry declined to comment on Monday. Frasers has until October 28 to either make a formal offer or walk away.

In July Mulberry appointed Andrea Baldo, the ex-boss of Ganni, as its new chief executive, replacing Thierry Andretta, who left with immediate effect, after the company became the latest luxury brand to warn of a slowdown in spending among affluent shoppers.

In 2020, Frasers, the retail conglomerate controlled by sportswear tycoon Ashley, bought a stake in Mulberry, which is a significant supplier to House of Fraser, the department store group also owned by Frasers following its collapse in 2018.

Ashley’s group also has a stake in Hugo Boss and owns upmarket department store chain Flannels.

Clive Black, head of consumer research at Shore Capital, said: “No doubt there will be much emotion and potential shenanigans around this illiquid stock that has had to face into well-versed UK luxury market headwinds in recent times.

“Quite whether the two large and dominating shareholders can come to an agreement will be at the heart of the next steps.”