UK 'must relax immigration for Australians in exchange for free trade deal'

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Britain will have to relax immigration rules for Australians if it wants to strike a free trade deal post-Brexit, the country’s high commissioner to London has said.

Alexander Downer said Australia would seek better access for business people before reaching a post-Brexit trade agreement with the UK.

Theresa May has made clear that she wants to reform the UK's relationship with the EU customs union so it can agree trade deals with countries from around the world after Brexit.

Australia is ready to reach a deal with Britain and it may take on more urgency given United States president Donald Trump's wish to pursue an "America first" strategy, raising doubts about a potential UK-US agreement.

Mr Downer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We would want to see greater access for Australian businesspeople working in the UK and that's often been a part of free trade negotiations - it hasn't always been by the way, but it's often been part of our free trade negotiations."

He went on: "It might just make it a bit simpler actually, for example an Australian company that invests in the UK might want to bring some of its executives to the UK.

"That can be done with what are called Tier 2 visas but maybe that could be made a little bit easier, I suspect they would be the only sort of changes you'd be looking at."

Any negotiation over visa arrangements could be conducted separately but at the same time as a deal for the free movement of goods and services between the two nations, he suggested.

An Australia-UK agreement could be reached very quickly after Brexit, given that Canberra struck a deal with the US in eight months during George W Bush's presidency, he said.

Mr Downer said a similar timeframe could be realistic if Britain does not want to protect certain industries and revealed exploratory discussions had already taken place at many levels.

He said: "Obviously once the UK leaves the EU it can negotiate free trade agreements but not before then.

"But we can scope it out and we've provided a scoping paper to the British Government to explain what we think the scope of a free trade agreement should look like."

Mayor Sadiq Khan in stinging attack on Theresa May's Brexit plans

Political reporter(wp/es):

Sadiq Khan today launched a blistering attack on Theresa May’s plans for Brexit, warning that her tough stance could “rip Britain apart”.

The Mayor claimed the Prime Minister’s ‘hard Brexit’ strategy was to paper over splits in the Conservative party and not in the best interests of the country.

He said Britons risked being left to explain to future generations why they had put the country’s economy and prosperity at threat.  

It came after Mrs May warned Brussels in a major speech she would walk away from talks if offered a bad deal, as she set out her Brexit vision for the first time.

She confirmed Britain would leave the single market, hinted at a cap on European Union migrants and said the final Brexit deal would be put to a vote in Parliament.

But writing in the Standard, Mr Khan said: “A hard-line approach to Brexit may hold the Conservative Party together, but it could rip Britain apart.

“And if we continue on this path - towards a ‘hard Brexit’ – we risk having to explain to future generations why we knowingly put their economy, their prosperity and their place on the world stage in such peril.”

The Mayor accused the PM of “brushing away” the importance of securing privileged access to the single market which would be “critical” for London to flourish. 

In a speech at the global economic summit in Davos, he warned that without access to the EU trading bloc many businesses in the capital could struggle to survive.

“Securing privileged access to the single market must be the top priority for the negotiations. It’s critical for London. Nothing else will do. It can’t be brushed aside – as it was yesterday,” he was expected to say.

“The benefits of Britain retaining privileged access are real and tangible. Having access to the single market would mean the difference between businesses thriving and growing, or struggling to survive.”

The Mayor urged European businesses leaders to press their governments for a workable Brexit deal during his 24-hour visit to Davos - warning that a hard Brexit would be a “lose-lose” for the whole of the EU.

He was expected to meet heads of government including Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway, which is a member of the single market but not the EU, as well as the chief executives of Siemens, Hitachi and Mastercard.

In a keynote speech hosted by Morgan Stanley, he said: “A ‘hard Brexit’ would cut Europe off from its only truly global financial centre. This would be bad news for Europe as well as Britain. So a hard Brexit really would be a lose-lose situation.

“Tell your political leaders that a ‘hard Brexit’ deal is not in the best interests of your company. This won’t be easy. But I’m confident that despite the Prime Minister’s rhetoric, there is still a sensible deal to be done.”

Student, 19, stabbed to death near Wembley Stadium

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A university student stabbed to death near Wembley Stadium has been named by police.

Djodjo Nsaka, 19, a business studies student from Streatham, was attacked in the early hours of Friday morning.

A post mortem has found that Mr Nsaka, who studied at Middlesex University, died from a single stab wound to the chest, Scotland Yard said.

He is believed to be the first teenager murdered on the streets of London this year.

Police were called to Fulton Road at around 1.15am on Friday following reports that a man had been assaulted.

Officers and London Ambulance Service fought to save Mr Nsaka but he died at the scene shortly afterwards.

An inquest into his death was yet to be set. A 20-year-old man was also treated for minor injuries.

The road, which is a few hundred yards from the stadium, was closed while forensic officers scoured the scene.

Scotland Yard said that a man in his 20s, who had been arrested on suspicion of murder, has been released with no further action.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are leading the investigation.