Brexit

Bloomberg News reports: London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday will blame Brexit for costing the UK economy £140 billion ($178 billion), calling on the government to “urgently” rebuild relations with the European Union to stem the decline. Britain’s EU divorce has also meant there are 2 million fewer jobs nationwide than there otherwise would have been, including 290,000 lost positions …

The Daily Mail reports: Nigel Farage’s team fired off a legal letter to ITV bosses for showing him naked in the I’m A Celebrity jungle shower. His furious aides claim there is an ‘indecency’ clause in his contract which bans the channel from showing footage of him nude. But after scenes on Monday night’s show, when Mr Farage’s bottom was …

The Daily Beast reports: Three months before he won the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump gave himself a new nickname: Mr. Brexit. After the nation voted to break away from the rest of Europe, Trump appeared at Turnberry, his golf course in Scotland, and commended the Brits who “took back their country.” He later said Brexit was “a great …

Reuters reports: Britain gave France 48 hours on Monday to back down in a fishing row that threatens to spiral into a wider trade dispute between two of Europe’s biggest economies or face tortuous legal action under the Brexit trade deal. Post-Brexit bickering over fish culminated last Wednesday in the French seizure of a British scallop dredger, the Cornelis Gert …

Reuters reports: Britain and Ireland traded barbs on Twitter on Sunday after British Brexit negotiator David Frost restated his view that the EU must agree “significant change” to the Northern Ireland protocol that governs trade and border rules in the province. The protocol was part of the Brexit settlement Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated with the EU, but London has …

The Associated Press reports: The British government’s reserve tanker fleet was being deployed Wednesday to help deliver gasoline to empty pumps across the U.K., and military drivers will begin operating fuel tankers in the coming days to ease the country’s fuel-supply crisis, a top official said. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the first of dozens of troops trained to operate …

The BBC reports: The Army is ready to help ease fuel supply problems after a fourth day of long queues and pump closures. Up to 150 military tanker drivers will prepare to deliver to forecourts which have run dry because of panic buying. The surge in demand came amid fears a driver shortage would hit fuel supply – which is …

NBC News reports: BP said nearly a third of its British gas stations had run out of the two main grades of fuel as panic buying forced the government to suspend competition laws and allow firms to work together to ease shortages. Lines of vehicles formed at gas stations for a third day running Sunday as motorists waited, some for …

The Washington Post reports: Hoping to ease a supply-chain crisis and forestall a Christmas logjam, the British government announced late Saturday night that more than 10,000 foreign workers will be eligible for temporary visas to work as truck drivers and in the food industry. The move is a departure for Boris Johnson’s administration, which, since Britain’s exit from the European …

The Guardian reports: The EU is preparing to act against the “disproportionate” amount of British television and film content shown in Europe in the wake of Brexit, in a blow to the UK entertainment industry and the country’s “soft power” abroad. The UK is Europe’s biggest producer of film and TV programming, buoyed up by £1.4bn from the sale of …

Reuters reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Scotland on Thursday to try to stem growing support for a new independence referendum by arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic had shown the benefits of staying together. The bonds that tie England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together in a $3 trillion economy have been severely strained by both Brexit and Johnson’s …

Politico Europe reports: U.K. border officials have begun asking some EU citizens who live in the country to show evidence they are legal residents, in apparent breach of the law, according to EU diplomats. Following the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, border officials are entitled to ask questions to check whether a non-British national is entering …

Sky News reports: A number of British expats hoping to return to their homes in Spain say they have been stopped from boarding their flight at Heathrow Airport. Two airlines have reportedly claimed their proof of residency documents were no longer valid after the end of the Brexit transition period with the EU on 31 December. Spanish and British authorities …

Bloomberg News reports: U.S. President Donald Trump’s golf business in northeast Scotland extended losses and warned about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and Britain’s departure from the European Union. Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd., which operates a course in Aberdeenshire, reported a net loss of 1.1 million pounds ($1.5 million) for 2019 after losing 1.07 million pounds the …

Reuters reports: The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was in the process of applying for a French passport to maintain his ties with the European Union after Brexit. Stanley Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament who voted Remain in Britain’s 2016 referendum, told RTL radio he wanted to become a French citizen …

The Independent reports: Boris Johnson has confirmed that UK and EU negotiators have finally agreed a Brexit trade deal, just eight days before the transition period was due to end – in a historic move for Britain. It follows a press conference given by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and former chief negotiator Michel Barnier just moments ago …

The Associated Press reports: Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides next week. Trade will change regardless come Jan. 1, when the U.K. leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union. But …

Reuters reports: Britain formally left the European Union on Jan. 31 after its 2016 referendum, busince then it has been in a transition period under which rules on free travel and trade remain unchanged. That period ends on Dec. 31. Fourteen European countries, including Portugal and Spain, will grant Britons arriving before Dec. 31 the right to five years of …

The Sunday Times reports: Supermarkets are this weekend stockpiling food and other goods after being told by ministers that a no-deal Brexit is on the cards. Food producers have warned there will be shortages of vegetables for three months and emergency planners predict that no-deal would spark panic-buying on a scale that could dwarf the coronavirus crisis. In a sign …

Reuters reports: Britain and the European Union held emergency talks on Thursday over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to undercut parts of the Brexit divorce treaty, with Brussels exploring possible legal action against London. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic expressed concern about the plan before a meeting with British counterpart Michael Gove in London, taking place alongside trade talks …