London should compete with New York and Singapore, not Paris and Frankfurt in post-Brexit world
London should compete with financial markets in New York and Singapore – rather than with European economic hubs – in the post-Brexit world, Barclays boss Jes Staley has said.
“I think what London needs to be focused on is not Frankfurt or not, Paris – it needs to be focused on New York and Singapore,” he told the BBC.
Mr Staley, who has run the bank since 2015, also said that Brexit had the potential to deliver a “positive” future for Britain.
Such optimism is not currently shared in Northern Ireland, where leaders have called for calm amid growing tension over post-Brexit trade disruption over the Irish Sea.
Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland’s first minister, encouraged people to channel their frustrations through constitutional means, after the country’s chief constable warned of a “febrile” atmosphere there.
Simon Byrne, who heads the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said it was a time “for wise words and calm heads”.
The Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney echoed this sentiment by saying that parties needed to “dial down the rhetoric” on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which unionists want to be scrapped.
No ‘current plans’ for vaccine passports despite reports, says Downing Street
Downing Street has said the government has no “current plans” for vaccine passports after The Times reported that officials were working on a certification system which would enable people to travel to countries allowing foreign visitors if they can show they have been innoculated.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “There are still no current plans to roll out vaccine passports. Going on holiday is currently illegal.
“We have always been clear that we will keep the situation under review. We are not going to speculate on this matter any further.”
Sounds like a “maybe” then… Our Travel Correspondent Simon Calder explains what a vaccine passport scheme could look like if ministers were to introduce one:
Liam James5 February 2021 13:52
Local elections will go ahead in May, Downing Street confirms after confusion
Downing Street was forced to issue a correction during a wobbly press briefing where reporters were left guessing after a notice saying local elections will go ahead in May was withdrawn.
A No 10 spokesperson initially said that a Cabinet Office press notice — confirming local elections would go ahead on 6 May — had been issued “in error” and had been withdrawn.
However, a few minutes later the spokesperson said the notice was correct.
“We have confirmed today that the elections must go ahead,” the spokesperson said. “The Cabinet Office document is correct.”
Liam James5 February 2021 13:25
Government should avoid ‘being driven by a calendar’ on Covid
A pair of scientists advising the government have warned against lifting coronavirus restrictions too quickly.
Professor Graham Medley, chair of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), said ministers should “make decisions dependent on the circumstances, rather than being driven by a calendar of wanting to do things”.
He was backed by Dr Mike Tildesley, also from Spi-M, who said there needed to be a gradual easing out of lockdown to avoid having to later return to restrictions due to a surge in cases.
Liam James5 February 2021 13:05
Handforth parish council: The history of a feud
An unlikely political hero emerged last night from the depths of the rural-urban fringe near Manchester Airport.
Everyone now knows Jackie Weaver, acting clerk at a heated Handforth Parish Council meeting that went viral on Thursday, has the authority. But why was she forced to assert it over grumpy chairman Brian Tolver and his supporters?
Adam Forrest has taken a deep dive into the recent affairs of Handforth Parish Council to find what led to the chaotic power struggle in that fateful Zoom meeting:
Liam James5 February 2021 12:47
UK finalises Ghana trade deal
The UK and Ghana have concluded negotiations on a future trade deal, the Department for International Trade (DiT) has announced.
Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, said on Twitter the deal accounts for £1.2bn in trade and would be signed shortly.
DiT said the agreement will provide for “duty free and quota free” access for Ghana to the UK and “preferential tariff reductions” for UK exporters to Ghana.
Liam James5 February 2021 12:31
Top nine priority groups will be vaccinated by May, No 10 confirms
Everyone in the top nine priority groups will receive their first coronavirus vaccine dose by May, the government has confirmed.
As a result, a Cabinet Office statement said that ministers could commit “with confidence” to local elections going ahead in England and Wales in May.
Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 12:03
Covid cases must drop to below 1,000 a day before lockdown lifts, says Hunt
The former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that lockdown should only be lifted if Covid-19 case numbers fall below 1,000 cases a day.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Hunt said the UK should look to Taiwan and South Korea as examples on how to keep transmission rates low.
His message comes as the prime minister faces pressure from some of his backbenchers to ease restrictions fully by the end of May.
Here’s Chiara Giordano with the details:
Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 11:46
All over-50s to have Covid vaccine by May, says government
The government has announced that all over-50s in the UK will receive their first coronavirus jab by the end of May.
So far, almost 10.5 million people have been given their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 11:18
No 10 adviser on ethnic minorities considered quitting
Downing Street’s senior adviser on ethnic minorities thought about resigning because of concerns that Boris Johnson’s government was pursuing a “politics steeped in division”.
Samuel Kasumu’s wrote a resignation letter to the prime minister, which was then retracted on Thursday following a conversation with the Covid vaccine rollout minister Nadhim Zahawi, according to the BBC.
Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 10:59
PM under pressure to end support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen
Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure to withdraw UK support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, after Joe Biden announced that the conflict “has to end”.
The new US president, who has stopped “relevant” US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, said the fighting had created a “humanitarian and strategic catastrophe”.
Like the Trump administration, Mr Johnson has sold arms to the Saudis. The UK has also lent Riyadh technical support.
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said on Friday that “the government’s support for Saudi campaign in Yemen is not only morally wrong but increasingly leaves Britain isolated on the world stage”.
Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 10:40
