Category Archives: Brexit

Brexit backers Tate & Lyle set to gain £73m from end of EU trade tariffs

Posted on by

Greenpeace investigators say the firm, which also donated to the Conservatives, will be sole beneficiary of rule changes on importing raw cane sugar

A company that backed Brexit and has donated to the Conservatives is in line to save £73m as the only direct beneficiary of a post-Brexit trade reform.

Under plans that will come into force at the end of the year, the government has confirmed that companies will be able to import 260,000 tonnes of raw sugar cane from anywhere in the world, tariff-free.

Continue reading...

Number of UK citizens emigrating to EU has risen by 30% since Brexit vote

Posted on by

Exclusive: crisis has led to 500% increase in Britons taking up citizenship in an EU state

The number of British nationals emigrating to other EU countries has risen by 30% since the Brexit referendum, with half making their decision to leave in the first three months after the vote, research has found.

Analysis of data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Eurostat shows that migration from Britain to EU states averaged 56,832 people a year in 2008-15, growing to 73,642 a year in 2016-18.

Continue reading...

Steve Bannon hails Dominic Cummings and predicts lurch to right for No 10

Posted on by

Architect of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign reveals admiration for Boris Johnson’s aide in interview on dark politics

Steve Bannon, who has previously backed a range of notorious far-right political figures, has publicly endorsed Dominic Cummings for the first time, calling him a “brilliant guy”.

Donald Trump’s former chief strategist also said that Boris Johnson will become an increasingly populist prime minister after jettisoning his political positioning as a “globalist” to “opportunistically jump on Brexit”.

Continue reading...

Brexit: Boris Johnson faces Eurotunnel test

Posted on by

UK and EU at odds over role of European court of justice in settling disputes

Boris Johnson is facing a major Brexit test with the future of Eurotunnel operations at stake, it has emerged.

The EU wants the UK to drop its opposition to a role for the European court of justice in British affairs to ensure trains keep running between France and the UK after Brexit is implemented on 1 January.

Continue reading...

UK close to securing post-Brexit ‘continuity’ trade deal with Japan

Posted on by

Both sides seeking deal to secure continuous trade once Brexit implemented on 1 January

The UK is close to sealing a “continuity” trade deal with Japan that will mirror that of the EU pact that Britain will no longer be part of next January.

But in order to strike an agreement in time for it to be ratified by the Japanese parliament, the international trade secretary, Liz Truss, has had to drop her ambitions for preferential treatment for British food exports.

Continue reading...

Pandemic has exposed Britain’s vulnerabilities says food policy review

Posted on by

Henry Dimbleby’s national food strategy starts with review of ‘slow-motion disaster’ diet, poverty, and post-Brexit laws

It is a year since Michael Gove asked the businessman Henry Dimbleby to produce a national food strategy. In that time the coronavirus pandemic has brutally exposed the cracks in the British food system so the launch of part one of his review this Wednesday comes in a new and urgent context.

After only a few weeks of lockdown three million people in Britain were in households where someone was forced to skip meals and go hungry.

Continue reading...

I’m optimistic about a Brexit deal – despite the gloomy outlook | Charles Grant

Posted on by

Both Brussels and London have moved in talks, and both grasp the political advantages of even a minimal free trade agreement

• Charles Grant is the director of the Centre for European Reform

After six rounds of talks, the UK and the EU are far from reaching an accord on their future relationship. Both sides are warning that failure – meaning that Britain would leave after the transition period on 31 December without a deal – is a real prospect. Those working for Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, complain that the British have wasted July by refusing to offer meaningful compromises.

Failure is certainly possible. But a deal this year is more likely, for several reasons. First, there has been more progress than one might suppose from the public comments of Barnier and David Frost, the UK negotiator. The EU has hinted at a softer line on fisheries and state aid, and agreed that an arbitration mechanism rather than the European court of justice should adjudicate on disputes.

Continue reading...

Brexit will deliver double shock to UK economy, study finds

Posted on by

Exclusive: LSE report says even sectors unscathed from coronavirus crisis will be severely affected

A Brexit hit is looming for sectors that have emerged relatively unscathed from the Covid-19 pandemic, analysis by the London School of Economics suggests.

The LSE report says Brexit will deliver a double shock to the economy – with business conditions worsening for those sectors that have survived the impact of coronavirus and lockdown measures – whether Boris Johnson secures a deal with the EU or not.

Continue reading...

49% of voters believe Kremlin interfered in Brexit referendum

Posted on by

Opinium poll for the Observer also reveals 47% of public think Putin’s government affected UK’s 2019 general election

Almost half the British public believes the Russian government interfered in the EU referendum and last year’s general election, according to a poll. The latest Opinium poll for the Observer found that 49% of voters think there was Russian interference in the Brexit referendum, with 23% disagreeing. Some 47% believed Russia interfered in the December general election.

The poll findings come after the long-awaited publication of the report into Russian interference by parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee last week. It found that the government had not attempted to investigate potential Russian interference in the referendum. It said the UK had “badly underestimated” the Russian threat.

Continue reading...

Timid, incompetent … how our spies missed Russian bid to sway Brexit

Posted on by

MPs who compiled the Russia report were incredulous at Britain’s reluctance to tackle Kremlin

In September 2015 a tall young man with jet black hair and a pleasant grin made his way to Doncaster. His name was Alexander Udod. With the EU referendum vote on the horizon, Udod was attending Ukip’s annual conference. In theory he was a political observer. Actually Udod was an undercover spy, based at the Russian embassy in London.

Udod chatted with the man who would play a key role in Brexit – the Bristol businessman Arron Banks. The spy invited Banks to meet the Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko. What allegedly followed was a series of friendly encounters between Leave.EU and the Russians in the crucial months before the June 2016 poll: a boozy lunch, pints in a Notting Hill pub, and the offer of a Siberian gold deal. (Banks denies receiving money from Russia and previously stated his only contact with the Russian government in the run-up to the referendum consisted of “one boozy lunch” with the ambassador.)

Continue reading...

Germany calls on UK to show more realism in Brexit negotiations

Posted on by

Comments will be a blow to No 10, which had hoped Merkel would help break deadlock

Angela Merkel’s government has called for more realism from the UK in the ongoing trade and security talks, after the EU capitals were given a “sobering” update by Michel Barnier following the recent round of Brexit negotiations.

After a presentation by the EU’s chief negotiator to ambassadors from the 27 member states on Friday, a spokesman for the German government, which holds the rolling EU presidency, said the bloc was ready to move negotiations quickly forward but “expressed the need for more realism in London”.

Continue reading...

Brexit negotiations have not broken down, say No 10 sources

Posted on by

Downing Street officials say there has been neither ‘breakthrough nor breakdown’ on major sticking points

Downing Street sources have denied Brexit negotiations between the UK and European Union have broken down, but admit they are at an impasse.

After two full days of talks in London, No 10 officials described the current state of play as neither a “breakthrough nor a breakdown”. The latest round is expected to end on Thursday without advancing on a deal.

Continue reading...

UK government ‘did not want to know’ about Russian interference in EU referendum – video

Posted on by

Long-delayed findings on Russia’s influence over UK politics reveals that the British government and intelligence agencies failed to conduct any proper assessment of Kremlin attempts to interfere with the 2016 EU referendum.

Parliament’s intelligence and security committee revealed the findings in a long overdue report that said ministers, in effect, ignored allegations of Russian disruption

Continue reading...

Russia report reveals UK government failed to investigate Kremlin interference

Posted on by

Intelligence and security committee publishes long-delayed findings on Russian influence over UK politics

The British government and intelligence agencies failed to conduct any proper assessment of Kremlin attempts to interfere with the 2016 Brexit referendum, according to the long-delayed Russia report.

The damning conclusion is contained within the 50-page document from parliament’s intelligence and security committee, which said ministers in effect turned a blind eye to allegations of Russian disruption.

Continue reading...

Russia report to be released on Tuesday after nine-month delay

Posted on by

Document on Russian interference into UK politics blocked by Boris Johnson before election

The long-awaited Russia report from the UK parliament’s intelligence and security committee is due to be released on Tuesday morning, nine months after its publication was blocked by Boris Johnson before the general election.

An examination of the reach of the Kremlin into UK politics and public life, the document is the product of 18 months’ work by a cross-party committee taking evidence in secret from British intelligence and independent experts.

Continue reading...

UK urges EU countries to ensure Britons living abroad can stay after Brexit

Posted on by

Government launches multimillion pound campaign to reach 1m British citizens in EU

The UK government is launching a multimillion pound communications campaign to reach the estimated 1 million British citizens living in the EU to ensure they know what steps to take if they wish to remain in their host countries after Brexit.

And it is urging all EU member states to accelerate the process to enable British nationals to secure their rights amid concern among campaigners that some countries have not yet even opened schemes for UK citizens.

Continue reading...

Revealed: Italy’s call for urgent help was ignored as coronavirus swept through Europe

Posted on by

Exclusive: A litany of failings meant that when Italy faced disaster, its distress call to the EU met with a shocking silence

It was a moment of chilling clarity. On 26 February, with the numbers of Italians known to be infected by coronavirus tripling every 48 hours, the country’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, appealed to fellow EU member states for help.

His hospitals were overwhelmed. Italian doctors and nurses had run out of the masks, gloves and aprons they needed to keep themselves safe, and medics were being forced to play God with the lives of the critically-ill due to an acute lack of ventilators.

Continue reading...

Police ability to detain EU suspects ‘slower’ without Brexit deal

Posted on by

Senior officer says powers less effective if UK forces are denied access to criminal databases

The ability of UK police forces to detain criminal suspects from the EU will become slower and less effective if the government fails to seal a Brexit security deal, a senior officer has told MPs.

Richard Martin, a deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police and the lead for Brexit and international criminality, said forces would lose the “instant, at your fingertips” access to EU-wide databases on criminals and criminal activity that could be the difference between catching a criminal and losing them.

Continue reading...

UK to open 10-12 Brexit border customs sites in EU trading shake-up

Posted on by

New border checks in Kent and elsewhere reverse 47 years of removal of trade barriers

The UK government is to build “10 to 12” new Brexit border customs and controls sites across the country in a move that Michael Gove has said cements the mission to “take back control” from the EU.

In the biggest shake-up to trading with the EU for 50 years, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced the £470m programme for facilities to process freight going to and from the EU, along with a 206-page document detailing new border controls.

Continue reading...

Brexit: UK’s new fast-track immigration system to exclude care workers

Posted on by

Minimum salary thresholds to also remain in place, presenting additional barrier

Care home staff have been excluded from a post-Brexit fast-track visa system for health workers, in a move that critics say could prove “an unmitigated disaster” and may increase the risk of spreading coronavirus.

Confirming there would be no special treatment for carers coming from the EU or the rest of the world, the government said it hoped Britons would fill a shortfall of around 120,000 workers, equating to 10% of all posts. Currently 17% of care jobs are filled by foreign citizens.

Continue reading...