UK ambassador to Iran labelled ‘persona non grata’ by Iranian judges January 14, 2020 The UK’s ambassador to Iran has been called a “persona non grata” by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary, who claim he contributed to escalating anti-government tensions. Rob Macaire was detained by Iranian police this weekend for attending a vigil for those who died in last week’s plane crash in Tehran, before later being released. Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, [...]
Brexit: Analysts give govt just 20% chance of striking EU trade deal this year January 14, 2020 The government has just a 20 per cent chance of striking a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU within its stated deadline of this calendar year, a new report by Oxford Economics argues. Indeed, analysts believe there is a higher chance of talks disintegrating entirely, leaving the UK trading on WTO terms from the start [...]
Boris Johnson says Brexit trade deal ‘epically likely’; says he won’t risk UK security over Huawei January 14, 2020 Boris Johnson has said a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU by the end of this year is “epically likely” – but admitted he could fail to clinch it within the deadline. Speaking to BBC Breakfast this morning the Prime Minister said it was “very, very, very likely” the UK will get a trade deal [...]
In politics as in football, a star transfer player isn’t enough to save a struggling club January 14, 2020 As every football fan knows, the start of a new year marks the opening of the January transfer window. A host of Premier League teams, anxiously surveying their position in the table, will be forking out eight-figure sums for new players in order to drag themselves out of the relegation zone or up towards the [...]
DEBATE: Should Boris Johnson consider a complete cabinet overhaul after Brexit? January 14, 2020 Should Boris Johnson consider a complete cabinet overhaul after Brexit? Victoria Mackarness, account manager at CMS Strategic, says YES. Boris Johnson has an overwhelming majority, Brexit is on track to be delivered in just a couple of weeks, and the Conservative party is at last united on Europe for the first time in decades. This [...]
Three ways the Prime Minister can unleash the digital economy January 14, 2020 So far, the new government has yet to unveil its detailed plan for building a stronger, more prosperous, rebalanced Britain that we heard about so much during the election campaign last year. The first post-Brexit Budget in March will be an opportunity for Downing Street to show its commitment to this cause — and pledges [...]
Planning uncertainty over Nigel Farage Brexit night party January 13, 2020 Confusion surrounds the fate of Nigel Farage’s Brexit night party as City Hall and Westminster Council wrangle over planning permission for the event. The Brexit Party leader is planning on throwing a party at at Westminster’s Parliament Square to celebrate the UK’s exit from the EU at 11pm on 31 January. Read more: Boris Johnson’s [...]
Foreign secretary warns Iran of further economic isolation January 13, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has warned Iran of further political and economic isolation if the country does not start charting “a peaceful way forwards”. The government, which has been urging a de-escalation of tensions since the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by the US, is still seeking a full, independent investigation in the Ukranian [...]
China says Taiwan secession will ‘leave a stink for 10,000 years’ January 13, 2020 China’s top diplomat has said that Taiwanese separatists would “leave a stink for 10,000 years” as Beijing reacted to the re-election of President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday. Tsai was re-elected by a landslide majority over the weekend on a platform of standing up to the mainland government. Read more: Taiwan ready and able to be [...]
And then there were five… Thornberry scrapes through to second round of Labour leadership race, as Lewis drops out January 13, 2020 Five candidates have secured enough nominations to get through to the second round of the Labour leadership contest, with just one contender dropping out. Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry is thought to have scraped through after she secured enough support from MPs and MEPs with just minutes to go, however Clive Lewis dropped out before [...]