United Kingdom

    Sir Keir Starmer has piled pressure on the government to negotiate a soft Brexit as he outlined Labour’s vision for Britain to stay in a customs union and a single market variant. The shadow Brexit secretary led a co-ordinated Labour frontbench effort to soften the party’s stance on Brexit and put more distance between its position and that of the government. He also left open the question of a second referendum. Sir Keir said that Labour was prepared to continue paying into the EU budget after Brexit, and endorsed easy movement of workers to keep the benefits of the single market and customs union. Theresa May has pledged to take the UK out of both. Sketching an outline of Brexit that looked like a Norway-style agreement for the 21st century, Sir Keir made clear that Labo...

    Theresa May is facing her first Commons defeat on her Brexit bill within days, amid a last-minute plea to pro-European Tories to force a truly meaningful vote on Britain’s final EU deal. Leading Tory rebels believe they have a real chance of securing the measure, with party whips also said to be worried that they cannot prevent an embarrassing defeat for the prime minister before she heads off to Brussels for a historic EU summit. In a joint statement on Saturday night, senior figures from across the Commons told the Observer that MPs considering whether or not to join this week’s rebellion should put the national interest, not party politics, first. The statement is signed by the leaders of the all-party parliamentary group on EU relations, including former Tory business ...

    Theresa May’s headaches are only just beginning. Theresa May’s hopes of securing a unique post-Brexit trade deal with the EU were under threat on Saturday night as Brussels said it was coming under international pressure to deny Britain special treatment. After a week that saw May reach a deal with the EU that will allow Brexit talks to move forward on to future trade relations, EU officials insisted a bespoke deal more favourable to the UK than other non-EU nations was out of the question. One EU source close to the talks said: We have been approached by a number of [non-member] countries expressing concerns and making it clear that it would constitute a major problem for them if suddenly the UK were to get better terms than they get. The official said that once the UK is...

    Flights have been temporarily suspended at Birmingham Airport due to heavy snow. The airport said flights would resume once the runway was cleared of snow. Our teams are working hard to get flights in/out as soon as they can, the airport said on its website. Snow in the warning areas are widely expected to reach depths of 10cm We apologise for any delays suffered but safety is our number one priority, it added. Snow is continuing to fall heavily in large parts of the country, including the Midlands, Wales and parts of Scotland. Rural communities could become cut off as roads become increasingly challenging with up to 20cm of snow expected to fall in some areas, the Met Office has warned. Many rail services are affected, with Chiltern Railways and East Some parts of Scotlan...

    UK bank shares soar after regulation update proves softer than investors feare. UK banking stocks have made big gains after global rules designed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis proved softer than investors initially feared. The changes, which complete an update of the world’s financial rulebook, known as Basel III, were agreed at a meeting of international financial regulators in Frankfurt late yesterday. They aim to stop big banks gaming the system and ensure they hold enough capital to survive an economic crash. But after a year-long deadlock, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision that devises the rules, set lower capital requirements than originally envisaged in order to win the approval of sceptical nations including France. Lloyds led the banki...

    Leadsom wouldn't comment on reports Sir Michael Fallon resigned as defence secretary partly over comments he made to her Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has said she feels embarrassed for people whose bad behaviour has been exposed by a wave of parliamentary sleaze allegations. Leadsom said she was working on a cross-party drive to change the culture at Westminster. The Cabinet minister refused to be drawn on reports that allegations she made about comments from Sir Michael Fallon played a role in his resignation as Defence Secretary, the Press Association reports. Leadsom told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: I don’t comment on private conversations. I was absolutely not interested in discussing issues in public, and I was very sorry to see what was said in the press. That wa...

    A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault following a disturbance in the Palace of Westminster. Police were called to the Strangers Gallery, outside the House of Lords Chamber, on Friday morning. A man, thought to be in his 20s, was escorted from the building and arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage. The specific details of the allegations against him have not been revealed. A House of Lords spokesperson said: "A member of the public caused a disturbance at the entrance to Strangers Gallery outside the House of Lords Chamber. The Metropolitan Police escorted the individual away from the Chamber. A Met spokesman said: At approximately 11.15am police were called to reports of a disturbance within the Palace of Westminster. A man, believed aged in his 20...

    The agreement between UK and EU in Brexit deal required give and take on both sides, says May. The deal has been confirmed as follows: EU citizens • EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the rest of the EU have the right to stay. Rights of their children and those of partners in existing “durable relationships” are also guaranteed. • UK courts will preside over enforcing rights over EU citizens in Britain but can refer unclear cases to the European court of justice for eight years after withdrawal. Irish border • The agreement promises to ensure there will be no hard border and to uphold the Belfast agreement. • It makes clear the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland, will be leaving the customs union. • It leaves unclear how an open border will be achieved but s...

    Michael Gove says any Brexit supporter should be delighted the UK will be free from the ECJ, single market and customs union. Michael Gove and Boris Johnson led senior Brexit supporters in congratulating Theresa May for securing a deal to withdraw the UK from the EU that promises to guarantee the rights of citizens and prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. The environment secretary, who led the Vote Leave campaign, claimed Theresa May had won and hailed it as a significant personal achievement. Johnson, who had warned the agreement must work for the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland, added his warm words soon afterwards, saying: Congratulations to PM for her determination in getting today’s deal. We now aim to forge a deep and special partnership with o...

    Prime Minister Theresa May has agreed the text of a Brexit divorce deal after holding all night talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the DUP, and the Irish government. May travelled to Brussels on Friday morning with Brexit secretary David Davis to Brussels for talks with the European Commission, before the deal was finalised and published by the EU. Getting to this point has required give and take on both sides, May told the world media this morning. I very much welcome the prospect of moving ahead to the next phase to talk about trade and security and to discuss the positive and ambitious future relationship that is in all of our interests. The wording of the deal shows that the British side had to make concessions on a number of key issues in or...