United Kingdom

    Dozens of Labour MPs have written to Theresa May condemning her plan to potentially put Britain through the hardest possible Brexit by threatening to leave the European Union with no trade deal. The Prime Minister has insisted she will walk away from negotiations with Brussels if she is only offered a bad deal, threatening to adopt a Singapore-style low-tax, low-regulation economic model to maintain competitiveness. The group of MPs have attacked Mrs May's idea, saying it would make Britain "the sweatshop of Europe" with public services, workers' rights and environmental protections all at risk. The letter was organised by senior Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who chairs Vote Leave Watch and said he would not rebel against Jeremy Corbyn over triggering Brexit. The Labour leader h...

    Britain has sold almost £50m-worth of arms to Turkey since the crackdown on opposition groups by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after last year’s failed coup attempt. Newly published export statistics confirm that Turkey is now a major buyer of UK-made weapons. Between 1 July and 30 September, the UK sold Turkey £26m-worth of ML13 licences, which relate to exports of armoured plate, body armour and helmets. In addition, Britain sold Turkey £8.5m-worth of ML10 licences, for aircraft, helicopters and drones, and almost £4m-worth of ML4 licences, for missiles, bombs and counter-measures. Since 2015 the UK has sold Turkey £330m-worth of arms. The country is on the Department for International Trade’s list of priority markets for arms exports. But the sales come amid mo...

    Britain will have to relax immigration rules for Australians if it wants to strike a free trade deal with the Commonwealth nation, its high commissioner to London has said. Alexander Downer said Australia would seek better access for businesspeople before reaching a post-Brexit trade agreement with the UK. Theresa May has made clear that she wants to reform the UK’s relationship with the EU customs union so it can agree trade deals with countries from around the world after Brexit. Australia is ready to reach a deal with Britain and it may take on more urgency given United States president Donald Trump’s wish to pursue an “America first” strategy, raising doubts about a potential UK-US agreement. Mr Downer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: We would want to see greater ac...

    I’ve been lucky enough to visit Botswana for more than 20 years and am incredibly fortunate to be able to call it my second home, the 32-year-old said in a statement. Being Patron of RCB is an opportunity to give something back to a country that has given so much to me. Since his shining service in the army, Harry’s focus has been animal rights and conservation in Africa, even spending three months in the region as a wildlife crusader, a role he’s described as his dream job. Prince Harry often takes trips to Africa, following in the footsteps of his mother, Diana. The 32-year-old has even wondered what life would be life if he could move there. I don’t know how well this would get on, but I’d probably live in Africa. I’d like to spend all my time out there... as a job it w...

    Theresa May will be one of the first foreign leaders to hold talks with President Donald Trump, it has been reported. The Prime Minister could fly out to Washington DC as early as next Thursday to meet with Mr Trump and visit for a couple of days, government sources were quoted as saying. Plans to meet Ms May were pushed forward by Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s chief strategist, as they look to secure a strong relationship with Britain, according to The Telegraph. Despite overtly criticising Mr Trump during the 2016 campaign period, Ms May is hopeful of being able to work effectively with the new President, Downing Street reportedly said. Ms May had previously suggested she disapproved of the way Mr Trump’s campaign had been conducted and said he was just plain wrong on his com...

    It’s tough to be gloomier than billionaire George Soros right now. America has elected a would-be dictator as president, the European Union is disintegrating, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May won’t last long as her nation prepares to secede from the EU, and China is poised to become an even more repressive society, the investor told Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua from the World Economic Forum in Davos. It is unlikely that Prime Minister May is actually going to remain in power, Soros said. She has a divided cabinet and base and Britons are in denial about the economic impact of Brexit, he said. On Tuesday May, who took office in July after the U.K. voted to leave the EU, set out her strategy for a clean break from the 28-nation trade bloc and pitched the nation as o...

    Labour is in chaos over Brexit as Jeremy Corbyn appeared to back down after telling MPs they would be forced to vote in favour of triggering Article 50. The party descended deeper into a row over how to respond to the Prime Minister’s speech on leaving the EU after the Labour leader warned that all MPs would be expected to back the Government instead of taking a stand against leaving the EU. But the decision came as one of Mr Corbyn’s most senior shadow cabinet allies publicly warned he will not vote for Article 50, while a further group of his most senior team threatened to do the same. And just hours after suggesting MPs will be subjected to a three-line whip on the vote, meaning they would have no choice but to back Mrs May, aides close to the leader said no decision on...

    A man has been charged with murder after the body of a much loved mum was found in a suitcase. Kiran Daudia, 46, was found dead in a Leicester alleyway yesterday morning. Leicestershire Police said last night they had charged Ashwin Daudia, 50, with murder and remanded him in custody. Daudia, of Lyme Road, Leicester, will appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Thursday. Ms Daudia's family paid tribute to her saying: Kiran was a much loved mum, daughter, sister and auntie, and she will be deeply missed by us all. We ask that our privacy be respected during this very difficult time. Neighbour Mohammed Asgar Pathan, 49, who lives just a few doors away from the Cromer Street, told the Leicester Mercury: It is very worrying so close to my home. I came home at about 12.30pm o...

    The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator has criticised Theresa May's threatening tactics and warned the days of Britain cherry-picking its relationship with Brussels are over. Guy Verhofstadt said the Prime Minister's decision to suggest the UK would become a low-tax, low-regulation haven if the EU failed to agree a good exit deal was a counter-productive strategy. He also called on Mrs May to listen to the concerns of the 48% of voters who backed Remain. Mr Verhofstadt, president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, said: Britain has chosen a hard Brexit. May's clarity is welcome but the days of UK cherry-picking and Europe a la carte are over. Threatening to turn the UK into a deregulated tax heaven will not only hurt British people - it ...

    The pound has surged by more than three cents on Theresa May's Brexit speech putting it on course for its biggest one-day rise against the US dollar since 2008. Sterling rocketed after the Prime Minister's vision for exiting the European Union appeared less "hawkish" than had been expected - and floated the possibility of an associate membership of the tariff-free customs union. Markets were also cheered by the confirmation that Parliament would get a vote on the final terms of the Brexit deal and that there would be a transition phase to Brexit after divorce negotiations are completed. What Theresa May's Brexit plan really means Sterling leapt by as much as 2.5% to match the scale of one-day gains last seen in 2008 and overtake the size of a rally seen earlier this year a...