Belgium may resort to a 17th-century charter granted by a British king to retain fishing rights in Britain’s coastal waters if London and the European Union fail to agree on a trade deal by the end of this year.
Britain will resume talks with the European Union on Thursday, marking a new push by the two sides to protect billions of dollars worth of trade from the beginning of next year.
Britain’s government borrowing in the first half of the financial year was more than six times higher than before the COVID pandemic, official figures showed on Wednesday, taking public debt to its highest since 1960.
Air Alderney has taken delivery of its first BN-2 Islander in the form of G-BLNI (msn 2188), according to the UK civil aircraft register. The 1987-vintage aircraft was previously operated by the Falkland Islands Government Air Service, FIGAS as VP-FBI. It remains parked at London Biggin Hill, according to Flightradar24 ADS-B data, but is already in Air Alderney's livery.
Passengers will undergo a one-hour coronavirus test before flying out of the United Kingdom under plans to open up international travel, The Times reported on Tuesday. Rapid tests will be introduced from Tuesday at Heathrow Airport to allow travelers to enter countries where a negative COVID-19 test result is needed to skip quarantine, the newspaper said.
Ratings agency Moody’s cut the United Kingdom’s debt rating on Friday over the huge economic hit from the coronavirus crisis, Brexit and the lack of clear budget plans from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.
The negotiations between Britain and the European Union over their future relationship are lurching toward a crisis after European Union leaders told Boris Johnson he must make concessions only hours before the prime minister is due to decide whether to walk away.
Queen Elizabeth II carried out her first major engagement since the United Kingdom's coronavirus lockdown began in March, visiting the Porton Down military research facility on Thursday. The lab in south-west England was involved in dealing with the 2018 Novichok nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in the nearby city of Salisbury.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared himself disappointed in the progress of post-Brexit trade talks on Wednesday, but he will wait for news from an EU summit before deciding whether to pull the plug.
The European Union demanded a substantive movement on Tuesday from Britain on fisheries, dispute settlement, and guarantees of fair competition in their talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, with Germany saying they were at a critical stage.