Downing Street rejects leaked no-deal Brexit chaos claims August 18, 2019 Downing Street has insisted that Whitehall reports predicting chaos and disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit were outdated, as Boris Johnson dashes to meet EU leaders for last-minute talks next week. Claims made within the leaked dossier, codenamed Operation Yellowhammer, predicted food, fuel and medicine shortages in a no-deal exit. Read more: Food, [...]
Bank of England boss Mark Carney pulls out of UK-China dinner August 18, 2019 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has pulled out of a dinner in the Square Mile designed to foster relations between London and China. The City of London Corporation is holding the event at Guildhall on 3 September. It will be attended by China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, the Corporation’s policy chief Catherine [...]
Boris Johnson urged to recall parliament amid no-deal Brexit ’emergency’ August 18, 2019 One hundred MPs have urged Boris Johnson to recall parliament from the summer recess because of the “grave economic emergency” Britain faces in the event of a no-deal Brexit. MPs from across the political divide wrote to the Prime Minister to demand updates from the government over its no-deal Brexit preparations following leaked revelations in [...]
Food, fuel and drug shortages: Leaked paper reveals no-deal Brexit fears August 18, 2019 Britain faces shortages of food, medicine and fuel as well as civil unrest on the Irish border if it leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October, a leaked Whitehall document has revealed. The document, codenamed Operation Yellowhammer, says the UK also faces months of disruption at ports, EU airports and at St Pancras, [...]
Sajid Javid pledges £600m to housing project building 50,000 new homes August 17, 2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid has announced plans to make £600m available to help a project building 50,000 new homes by investing in the necessary infrastructure. It is the latest spending pledge by the government ahead of a budget in the autumn in which Javid will set out the government’s spending and taxation plans for the next [...]
Tory MP Oliver Letwin rules out backing Jeremy Corbyn to be caretaker Prime Minister August 17, 2019 Sir Oliver Letwin has ruled out supporting Jeremy Corbyn to become a caretaker Prime Minister in order to avoid no-deal Brexit. The senior Tory MP said having Corbyn in charge would do more damage than leaving the EU without a deal would. Read more: Corbyn fails to drum up support for plan to block no-deal [...]
German finance ministry warns no-deal Brexit a ‘high probability’ August 17, 2019 The German government believes there is a “high probability” that a no-deal Brexit will occur on 31 October. An assessment made by the finance ministry came to the conclusion it is “inconceivable” that Prime Minister Boris Johnson softens his stance on the Irish backstop. Read more: Corbyn fails to drum up support for plan to [...]
US to extend Huawei license to buy American goods for 90 days August 17, 2019 The US is set to extend a reprieve given to Huawei that allows the Chinese tech firm to buy supplies from US companies so that it can continue serving existing customers. The “temporary general license” will be extended for a further 90 days, according to Reuters. Read more: Chinese forces exercise on Hong Kong border [...]
Chancellor Javid to ‘simplify’ the tax system in autumn budget August 17, 2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid has suggested he will simplify the tax system when he sets out his first budget in the autumn. Javid said he was a “low tax guy” and that it was important to “always be thinking about the lowest paid” in his first interview since taking on the role, speaking to The Times. [...]
Lib Dems’ Swinson proposes alternatives to Corbyn for ‘unity government’ August 16, 2019 Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has said former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman and Tory chancellor Ken Clarke, two parliamentary “big beasts”, are willing to lead an emergency government to stop a no-deal Brexit. Read more: Corbyn fails to drum up support for plan to block no-deal Brexit Swinson’s statement came amid a row between [...]