Britain's economy contracted in December, official figures revealed on Monday, suggesting that uncertainty over whether the country will leave the European Union with or without a deal is starting to hurt. Data from the UK's Office of Nation al Statistics, ONS, shows that gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.4% in December.
The UK and Switzerland have signed a deal to continue trading after Brexit as they did before it. The continuity agreement - based on the EU's existing free trade deal with Switzerland - was agreed in December but ratified on Monday.
The UK food industry has threatened to stop co-operating with government policy consultations, saying it is busy trying to stave off the catastrophic impact of a no-deal Brexit. The warning came in a letter to Environment Secretary Michael Gove from more than 30 business leaders.
Prime Minister Theresa May will tell British lawmakers this Tuesday they must hold their nerve over Brexit to force the European Union to accept changes to the divorce deal that would pave the way for an orderly exit.
Philip Hammond must spend billions extra to end austerity, says think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). To maintain per capita spending across government departments which don't have ring-fenced budgets, he must find an extra £5bn a year by 2023, it adds. And maintaining spending on unprotected services as a share of national income would require £11bn on top of spending plans set out in the 2018 Budget.
Theresa May has responded to Jeremy Corbyn's letter setting out his five demands for a Brexit deal. The prime minister queried his call for the UK to stay in a customs union with the EU - but welcomed more talks with Labour on a Brexit agreement.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday said he believed “a deal can be done” to avoid a disorderly British exit from the EU, after a meeting with a key ally of British Prime Minister Theresa May that he said went very well.
British Prime Minister Theresa May came away from a day in an increasingly impatient Brussels on Thursday with a pledge of renewed talks that held out some hope for a new Brexit deal, if no sign of compromise yet. Ms May is scheduled to fly to Dublin this Friday.
The Bank of England expects growth this year to be the slowest since 2009 when the economy was in recession. It is forecasting growth of 1.2% this year, down from its previous November forecast of 1.7%. The Bank said it had seen further evidence that businesses were being cautious in the run-up to Brexit, including evidence from its own survey of firms. As expected the Bank kept interest rates on hold at 0.75%.
European Council President Donald Tusk has spoken of a “special place in hell” for “those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it out safely”. He was speaking after talks with Irish leader Leo Varadkar in Brussels.Brexit-backing MPs reacted with anger to the comments, accusing Mr Tusk of “arrogance”.