Brexit backer Arron Banks is being investigated by the UK’s serious crime agency for “suspected criminal offences” over £8 million of campaign funding during the Brexit referendum.
Shale gas has flowed for the first time at the UK's only fracking site currently in operation, energy firm Cuadrilla says. Operations began at the Lancashire site in October for the first time since 2011 when it was suspended because of earth tremors. There have been suspensions of the renewed underground drilling operations after further tremors in the area.
Brussels and Downing Street have played down speculation about a breakthrough in Brexit talks. Reports that a Brexit deal could safeguard the City’s access to European Union markets led to an increase in the value of sterling.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned interest rates could rise in the event of a no-deal Brexit if a cliff-edge withdrawal sends the pound into free fall. Mr. Carney said there are scenarios where policy “might need to be tightened in the event of a no deal, no transition Brexit”, should a plunge in the value of the pound cause inflation to surge and impact UK production.
British overseas territories hit by natural disasters could get access to foreign aid under plans agreed by the richest nations, according to a report from the BBC. Some Caribbean islands damaged last year by hurricanes did not get official development assistance because their national incomes were too high.
British and Canadian politicians have joined forces in calling on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to explain “failures of process” regarding the spread of propaganda on the social network. Leading MPs from both parliaments co-signed a letter to Mr Zuckerberg announcing an “international grand committee” on “disinformation and fake news” to be held at the end of November.
Brexit deal involving a customs union and a “close” relationship with the single market would win a majority in the Commons and have the backing of business, John McDonnell has said. The shadow chancellor said Labour MPs would vote in favor of a Brexit deal that “protects jobs and the economy” but acknowledged that was “not the way it is at the moment” under Theresa May’s strategy.
Britain's Brexit secretary has told lawmakers that he expects a long-elusive divorce deal with the European Union to be finalized before November 21, though there is still little sign of a breakthrough on the vexed issue of the Irish border.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has struck a deal with the European Union that would give UK financial services companies continued access to European markets after Brexit, the Times reported on Thursday.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced on Tuesday announced a major expansion of Britain's diplomatic network around the world, five months before it leaves the European Union. For the first time, people from outside the civil service will be eligible to become ambassadors as the Foreign Office seeks to swell its numbers by almost 1,000.