United Kingdom

    Investors in Standard Life’s property funds have been told that they cannot withdraw their money, after the firm acted to stop a rush of withdrawals following the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The firm halted trading on its Standard Life Investments UK Real Estate Fund and associated funds at midday on Monday, citing “exceptional market circumstances” for the decision. It said the suspension would remain in place until it is “practicable” to lift it, and that it would review the decision at least every 28 days. The £2.9bn fund, which invests in commercial properties including shopping centres, warehouses and offices, is thought to be the first UK property fund to suspend trading since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when some of the biggest names in investment management ...

    Dominic Grieve A second EU referendum could be justified if it becomes clear public opinion has shifted strongly against Brexit, the former attorney general has said. Dominic Grieve, a Conservative MP who was the Government’s chief legal advisor until 2014, said the result of the first referendum had to be “treated with respect” but that it was not necessarily set in stone. In correspondence seen and verified by The Independent Mr Grieve tells a constituent that the result of the first referendum cannot be ignored, but that a second plebiscite could become democratically justifiable. “We have to accept … that the referendum result represents, at the time it was held, a clear statement of a majority view that we should leave the EU,” he wrote. “In a democracy such a result ...

    Theresa May has refused to rule out the deportation of EU nationals living in Britain after the country leaves the European Union, amid fears that guaranteeing their rights at this stage could lead to a “huge influx” of migrants during the Brexit negotiation phase. It comes as the Home Secretary, who has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the race to succeed David Cameron as Conservative leader, said today that although she wanted to “guarantee the position” of EU citizens currently living in the UK she admitted their future could be up for negotiation. A source close to Ms May told The Independent: “She [Ms May] was saying it’s unwise to promise right now that all EU nationals living in Britain should be able to stay indefinitely. The reason for that is if we did that th...

    A nationwide strategy to calm community tensions and challenge the post-referendum surge in racism will be launched on Monday amid fears that an emboldened far right could provoke rising racial conflict in the wake of the Brexit vote. The anti-fascist organisation Hope Not Hate will unveil an initiative involving more than 100 unity meetings in identified racist “hotspot” communities, the start of a summer-long campaign to tackle intolerance that has seen reported hate crimes soar during the past week. The #moreincommon initiative – partly funded by the Jo Cox campaign, which has raised almost £1.5m from nearly 44,000 donations since the MP was murdered shortly before the referendum – coincides with evidence that rightwing extremists feel legitimised by the Vote Leave vic...

    “All political lives end in failure.” These were the words of David Cameron when he realised he had lost the EU referendum in the early hours of 24 June, according to his biographer Anthony Seldon. The night before Mr Cameron made his resignation speech, the mood of the Prime Minister and his team swung from jubilant to morose as results came in and it became clear the Leave campaign had won. And despite pleas from some of his closest allies, including George Osborne, to stay on as Prime Minister in the case of a Brexit win, Mr Cameron decided before the first results were announced that he would leave if he lost the referendum. In an extract from an updated version of Mr Seldon’s biography of Mr Cameron published in The Times, the Prime Minister is quoted telling cabine...

    Andrea Leadsom The Conservative leadership contest should be cut short and one of the candidates given a coronation, a minister has said. Anna Soubry, the business minister, said a period uncertainty would be bad for the party and country at a time of instability. “It would be best if the candidates among themselves could just back one person and then we can get on with it,” she told LBC radio. “This uncertainty — for this to drag on till September — is not great for our country.” The Times newspaper cites an anonymous Conservative source as saying there will be “strong pressure” for MPs to start conceding if favourite Theresa May opens up an overwhelming lead in the race. Ms May, the Home Secretary, backs Remain, and is now in poll position in the contest after Bori...

    Thousands of people have gathered in central London to protest against plans to leave the European Union. Demonstrators wearing EU flags as capes and with homemade banners saying "Bremain" and "We Love EU" gathered on the streets around Park Lane for the March for Europe rally. Protesters taking part in the event, which was organised on social media, were due to march through London to Parliament Square. Comedian and satirist Mark Thomas organised the march to address his "anger, frustration and need to do something". He estimated between 20,000 and 40,000 people would be at the event. He said: "We would accept the result of the referendum if it was fought on a level playing field. But it was full of misinformation and people need to do something with their frustration." A...

    Let us separate matters. We face a political upheaval of the first order, but this is a necessary catharsis. Governments come and go. So do political parties. We face a much more serious constitutional crisis. It is why some of us want a national unity government, keenly alert to the interests of Scotland and Northern Ireland. As Professor Kevin O'Rourke from All Souls College argues here, most Leavers waltzed into Brexit with scarcely a moment's thought for trauma inflicted on both sides of the Irish border. This carelessness must be rectified immediately. What we do not yet face is a global financial crisis or a “Lehman moment”. The world’s central banks were ready for Brexit and have acted in unison. The S&P 500 index of Wall Street stocks has shrugged off the vote....

    Michael Gove has launched his bid to be the Conservative party leader, pitching himself as the candidate for change who will deliver on the British people’s desire to leave the European Union. In his speech in Westminster the day after he put Boris Johnson out of the race, Gove claimed to be a man of conviction, rather than ambition, who only entered the contest at the last minute after concluding the former London mayor was unsuited to the job. “I want this country I love – and which has given me so much – to embrace this opportunity for change with optimism and conviction,” the justice secretary said. “I never thought I’d ever be in this position. “I did not want it, indeed I did almost everything not be a candidate for the leadership of this party. I was so very relucta...

    Comedian/civics instructor John Oliver has devoted a couple of segments to the dire effects to come, while Lindsay Lohan made her “Remain” case on Twitter. More conventional economic thinkers have outlined their disagreement with Brexit results, and economist Tim Hardford sounds downright heartbroken on a recent episode of NPR’s Planet Money podcast. Economist Intelligence Unit’s Alex White predicts a serious economic slowdown in the U.K. next year. The markets, meanwhile, are jumping all over the place. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 900 points in the two days following the Brexit vote, only to rebound more than 500 points Tuesday and Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 is up almost 3%, after a few disastrous days, while London’s FTSE gained 4% after dropping ...