Brexit brings risks of food shortages if the UK does not manage to get its customs processes sorted out, the British Retail Consortium has warned, but Brexit campaigners said technology meant there would be no need for hold-ups at borders.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is in Japan for a round of trade and security talks. During her stay, the Mrs. May will hope to further along progress over an ambitious trade deal with Japan ready for when Britain quits the European Union.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has delivered a fresh rebuke to Theresa May over her Government’s handling of the Brexit process. He said official papers setting out the UK Government’s positions were not satisfactory and it was “crystal clear” that an “enormous amount” of issues needed to be settled before talks on a future trade deal could begin
The UK has been told by the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator that it needs to take withdrawal talks “seriously”. Michel Barnier used the opening of a third round of talks in Brussels on Monday to insist that London must end “ambiguity” regarding key positions like the Brexit divorce bill.
Labour would keep the UK in the EU single market and customs union for a transitional period after leaving the EU, the party has said. Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer clarified Labor's position on leaving the EU in The Observer.
Brexit Secretary David Davis is heading for a Brussels showdown, with a demand for the European Commission to be more “flexible” in negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. With the third round of formal talks beginning on Bank Holiday Monday in the Belgian capital, Davis is pushing for EU negotiator Michel Barnier to be less rigid in his refusal to discuss the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and Europe.
UK-based vehicle manufacturing outfit Alexander Dennis will be exporting 90 iconic red double-decker buses to Mexico, the company confirmed on Wednesday. The contract was backed by an equivalent £44m finance deal via UK Export Finance – part of the Department for International Trade - which has provided £1.7bn of backing to businesses since the department's creation in 2016 to help businesses export post-Brexit.
Nearly 30,000 EU nationals applied to become British citizens in the 12 months after last summer's Brexit vote - almost double the number of the previous year. Home Office statistics show 28,502 such applications between July 2016 and June 2017, up 80% from 15,871 in 2015-16. The total number of applications, from all nationalities, fell by 8%.
Net migration has fallen to the lowest level for three years after a surge in the number of EU nationals leaving the UK since last June's Brexit vote. Net migration - the difference between those entering and leaving the UK - fell 81,000 to 246,000 in the year to March 2017.
Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK will come to an end with Brexit. As the government published new details of its position, the PM said the UK would take back control of our laws.