With Article 50 to be triggered next Wednesday, who is the least prepared for the Brexit process: the UK or the EU? March 20, 2017 Peter Wilding, director at British Influence, says the UK. The UK is going for hard Brexit. The holy grail is taking back full control over borders, laws and money while still getting full access to the Single Market. It thinks that the EU has a weak hand. Greed for access to the British market and [...]
Sir Tim Barrow tells MPs Brexit negotiations will be unprecedented but everybody is prepared to get going March 20, 2017 The UK's ambassador to the EU told MPs today Brexit negotiations will be unprecedented, but he is confident everybody is prepared to stick to the two-year Article 50 timetable. Sir Tim Barrow also told the European Scrutiny Committee: The truth is, nobody has done this sort of negotiation before. A lot of the speculation [about how [...]
Former chancellor George Osborne defends his Evening Standard role in the House of Commons March 20, 2017 Former chancellor George Osborne has come out in defence of his new role as editor of the Evening Standard, arguing parliament is "enhanced" by such opportunities. Labour tabled an urgent question calling on the government to asses the functioning of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) and the Ministerial Code following Osborne's appointment. The former chancellor submitted [...]
FBI director confirms agency is investigating links between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign March 20, 2017 FBI director James Comey has confirmed the security agency is investigating allegations that Russia had an influence over President Trump's campaign ahead of last year's election, and revealed the probe began last July. Comey was testifying to the US House of Representatives intelligence committee, along with National Security Agency director Admiral Mike Rogers. It is unusual [...]
Spy partner GCHQ reveals the name of its new leader March 20, 2017 GCHQ, the government agency accused by Donald Trump's administration of spying on him, has revealed who will take over as its new head. Jeremy Fleming, the deputy director general of MI5 since 2013, has been appointed by foreign secretary Boris Johnson to take over from Robert Hannigan as the director of GCHQ this Easter. Read more: US makes [...]
Sterling drops against the dollar and the euro after Theresa May confirms Article 50 trigger date as 29 March March 20, 2017 The pound has pared earlier gains against both the dollar and the euro, after the trigger date for Brexit negotiations was confirmed this morning. Sterling was up against the dollar, hitting around $1.2431, and the euro, at €1.1546, in earlier trading, but has since declined. At pixel time, the pound was at $1.2383 and €1.152 [...]
Theresa May confirms she will trigger Article 50 on Wednesday 29 March, kicking off Brexit process March 20, 2017 The kick-off date for the Brexit process has been confirmed as Wednesday 29 March. The UK's ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, contacted EU council president Donald Tusk today to provide advance notice of the launch of Brexit talks. May will contact Tusk directly to launch negotiations. A spokesperson for May said: "We have always been [...]
Now banks have pulled their Google ad spend as Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds pile on pressure March 20, 2017 Google is facing growing pressure over claims it's profiting from hate speech as some of Britain's biggest banks are the latest to pull their ads from YouTube. Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds have suspended their advertising with the tech giant following an investigation which revealed household brand names were appearing next to offensive and extremist [...]
Professor Stephen Hawking fears he won’t be welcome in President Donald Trump’s US March 20, 2017 Professor Stephen Hawking has said he doesn't feel welcome in the US now it's under the power of President Donald Trump. In an interview with Good Morning Britain today, he expressed concern about the "definite swing to a right wing, more authoritarian approach" in US politics and the emergence of President Donald Trump. Read more: [...]
Britain needs a smart state, not big government, to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution March 20, 2017 In her first party conference speech as Prime Minister, Theresa May declared it was “time to remember the good that government can do”. Setting out a new approach to the role of the state, she rightly acknowledged that Whitehall doesn’t have all the answers but should instead be a proactive “force for good”. That’s certainly the right [...]