German defence minister confirms US car tariff threat over Iran January 16, 2020 Germany’s defence minister has confirmed that the US is threatening to impose new tariffs on European car exports if they continue to support the Iranian nuclear deal. Yesterday, Washington Post cited European sources as saying the Trump administration was threatening a 25 per cent levy on cars made in the UK, Germany and France, over [...]
Downing Street pulls back from Big Ben bongs campaign January 16, 2020 Downing Street pulled further back from the “Big Ben bongs” campaign, as Brexiters plough cash into a crowdfunder to raise half a million pounds. The Prime Minister’s spokesman gave the clearest signal yet that the iconic bells would not chime on 31 January even if the £500,000 is raised. Although he stopped short of suggesting [...]
Boris Johnson to attend summit on Libya conflict January 16, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson will attend a summit on the conflict in Libya this weekend, his spokesperson said today. The PM will travel to Berlin on Sunday, with representatives across Europe, the Middle East and the US invited, though US President Donald Trump is not expected to make the trip. “The conflict in Libya has [...]
Businesses urged to support employees seek settled status, or risk ‘catastrophic’ consequences after Brexit January 15, 2020 Businesses are being urged to ensure their employees apply for settled status as soon as possible, or risk losing up to a fifth of their workforce, with more than a million Europeans still yet to do so. A third of UK-based EU nationals, of which the vast majority are in employment, have failed to secure [...]
Revealed: Why the government bailed out Flybe, but not Thomas Cook January 15, 2020 At first glance, some might find it hard to understand why the government decided to save Flybe – a small, regional airline – but not holiday giant Thomas Cook. After all, when the latter went bust in September more than 150,000 Brits were left stranded abroad, prompting a mammoth repatriation effort by the Civil Aviation [...]
Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy says party should have been ‘bold’ on free movement January 15, 2020 Labour should have been “bold enough to defend free movement” while the party formulated its Brexit position, leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy has said. The Wigan MP, who has been running an exhaustive series of events as part of her leadership campaign, said Labour had to “connect the local and the global”, acknowlegding that the system [...]
Health secretary Hancock suggests A&E waiting targets could be scrapped January 15, 2020 Four-hour waiting targets for A&E could be scrapped in England, on the back of the worst figures on record this winter, Matt Hancock hinted this morning. The health secretary said “clinically appropriate” aims and the “right targets” would be a better approach, as he sought to defend the NHS’s failure to meet existing targets in [...]
Nickie Aiken: The country must move forward as one January 14, 2020 At times during last month’s General Election, City A.M. readers could be forgiven for thinking it was taking place in a different country. For much of the campaign the focus was far from London, with frontbenchers and their battle buses taking them through the midlands and the north as Labour and Tories fought it out [...]
UK, France and Germany trigger dispute mechanism over Iran nuclear deal January 14, 2020 The UK, France and Germany have triggered a dispute mechanism over the nuclear deal with Iran, amid fears that the country is slipping back towards developing weapons. Iran has suspended all limits on its production of enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons. City A.M. understands that officials [...]
No second Scottish referendum, Boris Johnson tells Nicola Sturgeon January 14, 2020 There will be no second Scottish independence referendum, Boris Johnson has told Nicola Sturgeon, despite the SNP clearing up north of the border during last month’s general election. Sturgeon has been attempting to pile the pressure onto the Prime Minister since claiming 48 seats in the December poll, 8.1 per cent more than in the [...]