UK business given £12.3bn export support from government June 23, 2021 The government’s export credit agency has announced it gave a “record level” of financial support to UK exporters in the last year. UK Export Finance (UKEF) provided £12.3bn of support to UK exporters in the last financial year, almost three times the amount given in 2019-20, according to its annual results published today. The agency, [...]
Boris Johnson hails UK’s ‘regained sovereignty’ on fifth anniversary of Brexit vote June 22, 2021 Boris Johnson has hailed the UK’s “regained sovereignty” post-Brexit tonight on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the 2016 EU referendum. Johnson said that the “decision to leave the EU may now part of our history” and that “our clear mission is to utilise the freedoms it brings to shape a better future for [...]
FCA boss says regulator will crank up post-Brexit checks on foreign firms June 22, 2021 European financial firms will be expected to pass a “rigorous review” if they are to operate in the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority’s boss said in a speech today. Nikhil Rathi told a City audience that since the end of the transition period, the regulator has taken action against 13 firms who are currently operating [...]
UK starts Asia-Pacific trade negotiations June 22, 2021 Dominic Raab will today start trade talks about joining a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region, which would grant the UK access to some of the biggest economies in the world. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is made up of 11 nations including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, [...]
David Frost hits out at EU’s fast ‘resort to threats’ in Northern Ireland talks June 22, 2021 Boris Johnson’s UK-EU minister has slammed the EU for its “fast resort to threats” in post-Brexit negotiations over Northern Ireland, telling Brussels to “dial it down”. Lord David Frost told a Westminster committee today that talks with the EU over how to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol had progressed in “one or two areas”, but [...]
Manufacturing output grows at fastest rate on record in last quarter June 22, 2021 Increased production of cars, foodstuffs, and drinks helped the UK’s manufacturing output grow at the fastest pace ever recorded in the last three months. According to the CBI’s latest Industrial Trends survey, output grew in 15 out of 17 sectors, with volumes up 37 per cent in total over the period. That’s the fastest rate [...]
EU commissioner says the bloc is not trying to steal business from City of London June 22, 2021 The EU’s financial services chief has said Brussels is not trying to steal business and investment from the City of London and that they are not pursuing a protectionist policy on financial services. Mairead McGuinness, EU commissioner for financial services, also said today that Brussels will look again at equivalence for the City later this [...]
EU commissioner: There has been ‘positive movement’ on Northern Ireland Protocol talks June 21, 2021 One of Brussels’ top officials has said there has been recent “positive movement” in post-Brexit talks over Northern Ireland and that the UK will consider a negotiated delay to the so-called Great British sausage ban. European Commissioner for financial services Mairead McGuinness revealed today that the UK has formally written to the EU to say they [...]
Race to identify EU nationals who have yet to apply for post-Brexit papers as cut-off date is next week June 21, 2021 The Government said today it is working hard to identify tens of thousands of Europeans living in the UK who have yet to apply for a new post-Brexit residency scheme ahead next week’s cut-off date. Downing Street said only a “small minority” of those eligible for the settled status scheme – which closes at the [...]
Michelin starred Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia stops lunch due to ‘Brexit and Covid’ June 21, 2021 In another sign of the post-Covid recruitment crisis, one of London’s oldest Michelin-starred restaurants has closed its lunch service until further notice. Fitzrovia’s Pied à Terre says Brexit and Covid have impacted recruitment so badly it is no longer able to open for the whole day. The restaurant said it could not “protect the welfare [...]