High standards will keep London competitive, incoming FCA chief says July 22, 2020 Maintaining high regulatory standards rather than having a “competitiveness” mandate is the best way to preserve the City of London’s status as a dynamic financial centre, the Financial Conduct Authority’s incoming chief said today. Britain will no longer have to comply with European Union rules after December when transition arrangements that followed Brexit in January [...]
Labour calls for review of Russia Today’s UK TV licence July 22, 2020 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for state-backed broadcaster Russia Today (RT) to have its TV licence reviewed on the back of fresh warnings about Kremlin interference in the UK. Starmer called on Boris Johnson at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) to “stop the spread of Kremlin-backed disinformation”, adding that the UK’s High Court [...]
How badly will the UK unemployment rate spike when furlough ends? July 22, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s furlough scheme has so far saved the UK unemployment rate from sharp increases during the coronavirus lockdown, but it is drawing to an end. Consequently job losses are set to spike after furlough concludes in October, according to economists. Currently the government is paying 80 per cent of over 9m British workers’ [...]
UK and US close diplomatic immunity loophole used in Harry Dunn case July 22, 2020 UK and US officials have struck a deal to amend the “anomaly” that allowed Harry Dunn’s alleged killer Anne Sacoolas to claim diplomatic immunity following his death in a road collision last year, the foreign secretary has said. Dominic Raab this morning said changes had been made that would “see justice done” if another family [...]
Legislation day – A vision to reshape and modernise HMRC for the future July 22, 2020 As one might expect from Legislation Day, yesterday included the publication of draft legislation ahead of the Autumn Budget. However, the core theme from yesterday’s announcements that accompanied the legislation was the Government’s clear mission to change the role that HMRC plays in tomorrow’s society. This builds from the critical role that the tax authority [...]
Grant Shapps says there is ‘no evidence’ of Russian Brexit interference July 22, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said there is no evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit vote and therefore the UK secret services did not need to investigate the allegations. Shapps’s statement came the day after lawmakers finally released the delayed Russia report. It said the government failed to investigate possible Russian interference in [...]
UK abandons hope of trade deal with US by the end of year July 22, 2020 The government has reportedly abandoned hopes of reaching a trade deal with the US by the end of the year, with officials blaming the pandemic for the lack of progress. The Prime Minister and international trade secretary Liz Truss wanted to agree a deal before November’s American presidential election. But the Financial Times reports that [...]
DEBATE: Will the ban on Huawei technology benefit the UK in the long run? July 22, 2020 Will the ban on Huawei technology benefit the UK in the long run? John Longworth, director general of the Centre for Brexit Policy and chairman of the Independent Business Network, says YES. China represents a tiny percentage of UK exports and we are able, in the nick of time, to escape dependence on investment by [...]
Mike Pompeo calls for global coalition to ‘push back’ against China July 21, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has called for “every nation” to form a coalition to “push back” against China at a press conference today in London. Pompeo took aim at Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying that his government’s “exploitation of [the coronavirus] disaster to further its own interests has been disgraceful”, while also calling [...]
Boris Johnson tells Mike Pompeo ‘justice must be done’ on Harry Dunn death July 21, 2020 Boris Johnson has told US secretary of state Mike Pompeo about the “need for justice to be done” in regards to the death of Harry Dunn and that his killer should be extradited to the UK. Dunn, 19, was killed in a traffic collision in Northamptonshire when former CIA operative Anne Sacoolas hit him while [...]