Angela Merkel faces a make-or-break moment of her own making June 29, 2018 Angela Merkel had a message for her parliamentary colleagues on Thursday: the future of the EU rests on finding a solution to the migration issue. The German Chancellor is right that today’s summit is a make-or-break moment for the EU. What she neglected to mention, however, is that the migration crisis is the direct result [...]
Theresa May is ready for Brexit negotiations to ‘accelerate and intensify’ but Michel Barnier says big divergences remain June 29, 2018 Theresa May has told European Union leaders the UK is ready for Brexit talks to pick up, with the publication of a much-anticipated Brexit white paper to be published shortly. But EU chief negotiatior Michel Barnier said today that while progress had been made – big differences remained. He added that he hoped a British [...]
Chequers Brexit meeting to result in ‘softest of hard Brexits’ as full Cabinet tips balance away from pro-Leave ministers June 27, 2018 Next week's crunch meeting to thrash out a final position on the customs union is likely to result in "the softest of hard Brexits" after the balance has been shifted away from favouring government's most ardent Brexiters. While it had originally been planned as a two-day overnight stay at the grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire mansion, the first [...]
KPMG says audits for scandal-hit Malaysian 1MDB fund not ‘true and fair’ assessment June 26, 2018 Big four accountant KPMG has told under-fire Malaysian state fund 1MDB that its audits for three years do not provide an accurate picture and should not be relied upon. The fund is at the centre of a massive political and financial scandal and currently faces money laundering investigations in six countries including the US. It [...]
Theresa May should let Boris be Boris from the backbenches June 26, 2018 Is Boris Johnson such a good foreign secretary that the rules of cabinet collective responsibility simply need not apply to him? Is he such a skilled diplomat that the rules must bend to excuse him from a vote on the vital issue of our country's future aviation strategy? Is this country so in need of [...]
Boris Johnson stands by ‘f*** business’ comments by suggesting they were aimed at lobbyists June 26, 2018 Boris Johnson has failed to deny reports he said "f*** business", instead suggesting his comments were aimed at lobbyists. The foreign secretary was accused of uttering the four-letter word to dismiss an EU diplomat's concerns about how firms would continue to trade after Brexit. According to The Telegraph he was speaking with Belgium’s ambassador to [...]
Where’s Boris? Foreign secretary slammed over Heathrow no show June 25, 2018 Boris Johnson should resign over his long-held objections to Heathrow expansion, one of his colleagues has said, while otgers admit they've no idea where he's hiding. The foreign secretary is today expected to be out of the country, avoiding this afternoon's vote on the matter. However it is not clear where, with rumours putting him [...]
Brexit: Government plots rainbow tour of EU27 to talk future relationship before Michel Barnier can ‘whip them into line’ June 25, 2018 Theresa May is planning to go direct to key EU27 member states in a bid to get them onside with the UK’s position on the future relationship, City A.M. understands. While the Brexit white paper had been expected before this week’s European Council meeting, one source said the delay was now being viewed as a [...]
Trade secretary Liam Fox says extended Brexit transition would be acceptable June 24, 2018 International trade secretary Liam Fox today set himself on collision course with his fellow Brexit backers in the Conservative party by saying he would accept an extension to a period of transition from the EU. The Cabinet minister, one of the most prominent voices in favour of leaving the EU during the referendum campaign, said [...]
Brexit: Two years on, are we actually any closer to leaving? June 23, 2018 Two years after the EU referendum, and for many little seems to have changed. By and large, voters still hold the same view they did on 23 June 2016 – although a YouGov study published over the weekend shows a slight tipping in favour of Remain, with thousands of people marching in Londondemanding for a [...]