Police make 14 arrests after thousands of activists descend on central London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

Police have made 14 arrests after around 2,000 protestors descended on central London as part of a huge demonstration by climate group Extinction Rebellion. 

One activist superglued herself to the gates of Buckingham Palaceas the climate change group “held a memorial on Parliament Square to mark the loss of life our planet is experiencing”.  

Scotland Yard said 14 people have been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage – including two people who are suspected of digging up grass in Parliament Square. 

Another was arrested on suspicion of causing damage to the Women at War memorial, a police spokesman said. 

Extinction Rebellion said one activist was arrested for spray-painting the extinction symbol on the grounds in front of the palace. 

The activists blocked all of the roads around Parliament Square as they planned to bury a coffin which they said represented the future of life on the planet.

Images showed the coffin being marched to Downing Street and the gates of Buckingham Palace during Saturday's rally, which reportedly attracted around 2,000 activists. 

Photos showed clashes between police and protesters, who said they aimed to highlight the “criminal inaction of the British Government in the face of the imminent ecological and climate emergency.” 

Reading out a letter addressed to the Queen, activist Dr Gail Bradbook said: “We are facing the biggest threat to our entire realm and way of life in 1,000 years of our history.

“We know our rights and are in rebellion to save ourselves, our loved ones and our entire nation. We have asked our government to meet with us and address our demands."

The demonstration, named Rebellion Day 2, comes after days of protests on the capital’s roads during the last week which caused rush hour traffic to repeatedly grind to a halt.

Extinction Rebellion said it has no choice but to hold the demonstrations to draw attention to government inaction on pollution levels and climate change.

Last Saturday, Rebellion Day 1 was said to be a celebration of the life on earth protesters want to save as thousands blocked five bridges in central London.

Emily, 36 from London, said of the second protest: “I’m standing amongst hundreds of people prepared to rise up in rebellion to save what we can of our future.

“We are going to take every action that we can, we are going to disrupt again and again and again so that space might be cleared where we can create a better future.”

Invited guests, speakers and performers included human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, rapper Dizraeli, folk singer Sam Lee and author of Only Planet Ed Gillespie.

In a statement, Extinction Rebellion said: “We Rebel because we love this world. It breaks our hearts to see it ravaged, to watch so many people and animals all over this world already dying, to know that this will soon happen to our children without urgent changes.

“There is no way forward without giving credence to our grief. We are serious, this is an emergency, this is our home we are watching collapse.”

UK Black Friday sales down year-on-year, data shows

Business correspondent(wp/Reuters):

Black Friday spending in Britain fell year-on-year, credit card data showed on Friday, dealing a blow to retailers who had hoped for strong sales at the start of the Christmas shopping season.

Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of all UK debit and credit card transactions, had as of 1300 GMT seen a 12 percent drop in the amount spent, though the volume of transactions was 15 percent higher than seen at the same point of last year’s Black Friday.

“Our data shows that people have been making a higher number of less expensive purchases than at this time last year,” said Konrad Kelling, managing director of Barclaycard Payment Solutions.

Black Friday spending in Britain fell year-on-year, credit card data showed on Friday, dealing a blow to retailers who had hoped for strong sales at the start of the Christmas shopping season.

Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of all UK debit and credit card transactions, had as of 1300 GMT seen a 12 percent drop in the amount spent, though the volume of transactions was 15 percent higher than seen at the same point of last year’s Black Friday.

“Our data shows that people have been making a higher number of less expensive purchases than at this time last year,” said Konrad Kelling, managing director of Barclaycard Payment Solutions.

“This suggests that, while Black Friday is clearly encouraging shoppers to buy, consumers are more likely to be purchasing smaller ‘treat’ products, rather than splashing out on high-end items.”

Britain’s retailers were hoping Black Friday discounts would get shoppers spending again after a torrid year for much of the sector that has seen a string of store groups go out of business or announce shop closures.

Retailers are battling subdued consumer spending, rising labour costs, higher business property taxes, growing online competition and uncertainty over Brexit.

Some retailers said the event had got off to a busy start. Dixons Carphone’s (DC.L) Currys PC World electricals business said it had seen three orders per second. Best-selling items included the Nintendo Switch Neon Red games console.

John Lewis [JLPLC.UL], Britain’s biggest department store group, said the number one searched-for products so far on Friday were Apple Airpods and the Applewatch series 3, which had savings of 15 pounds and 60 pounds respectively.

Separately Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre warned that Black Friday sales could be targeted for cyber-crime. The UK’s cyber-security defence agency, part of the GCHQ intelligence service, said shoppers should be wary of risks and take precautions.

Boris Johnson, sniping at May, calls for 'no deal' Brexit minister

Political reporter(wp/Reuters):
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson on Saturday called for the government to appoint a minister to prepare for a “no-deal” British exit from the European Union in order to increase London’s leverage in talks with Brussels.

He also called for Prime Minister Theresa May to withhold much of Britain’s exit payment, to renegotiate its withdrawal deal and to dump the Northern Ireland backstop, while avoiding triggering a no-deal Brexit.

The withdrawal treaty’s ‘backstop’ provision could ultimately align Northern Ireland more closely with the EU than the rest of the United Kingdom if no other way can be found to avoid a hard border with EU member the Republic of Ireland.

The proposals received a rapturous reception from the audience at the annual conference of Northern Ireland’s pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party, but Johnson did not explain how he would secure EU acquiescence to the plan.

EU leaders have repeatedly said they are not willing to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, and observers have suggested Britain would have to make major concessions elsewhere for it to be changed.

May is due formally to agree the withdrawal deal with the EU’s remaining 27 members on Sunday.

“Unless we junk this backstop, we will find that Brussels has got us exactly where they want us – a satellite state,” Johnson told the crowd. Britain, he said, risked “economic and political humiliation.”

“We need a secretary of state for no-deal or WTO (World Trade Organisation) terms, with real powers across Whitehall (Britain’s civil service) to make things happen,” Johnson told the conference, winning a standing ovation.

“I do not believe that we will exit without a deal – that is totally unnecessary – but it is only responsible of government to make the proper preparations.”

Johnson, one of Prime Minister Theresa May’s fiercest critics since he quit her cabinet in July, has not formally called for her ouster.

But he is one of the leaders of a large group of Conservative members of parliament opposing May’s strategy and is regularly touted as a possible contender to replace her as Conservative Party leader should she fall over Brexit.

May does not currently have enough support in the British parliament to ratify the deal.

She has warned lawmakers they have a simple choice: back her deal or risk ushering in a no deal departure, a delay to Brexit or possibly no Brexit at all.

Speaking to the BBC, Johnson said he did not believe a no-deal Brexit was likely, but added: “I don’t think it will be nearly as bad as some people suggest.”

Johnson, who is known for his colourful language and at-time outlandish proposals, repeated a call for the construction of a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland, a project that several experts have dismissed as impractical.

“We need urgently to recover our confidence and our self belief, and to stop treating Brexit as if it were a plague of frogs or a murrain on our cattle or some adverse weather event that had to be managed,” he said.

Man arrested after Tesco worker slashed in the ankle following altercation inside Enfield store

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A Tesco worker was slashed in the ankle following an altercation at a store in Enfield.

Two males entered the store on Savoy parade at around 6.40am on Tuesday when they were challenged by security staff about an apparent shoplifting offence.

During an altercation, one member of staff received a slash wound to the ankle.

The injured man was taken to hospital for treatment however his condition is not life threatening.

One of the men was arrested at the scene on suspicion of GBH and remains in custody.

The second suspect made off from the scene and police are continuing to trace him.

The store was closed with investigations continuing.

British banks await stress-test trigger for shareholder payouts

Business correspondent(wp/Reuters):
Britain’s bank bosses are hoping for the green light to return more capital to long-suffering investors when the Bank of England publishes results next week from its annual stress test of leading lenders.

A decade after the financial crisis that triggered taxpayer-funded bank bailouts, the central bank has said repeatedly that they now hold enough capital to withstand extreme theoretical shocks such as Britain crashing out of the European Union next March without a deal.

The Bank of England has acknowledged that there was no need, therefore, to make the tests any tougher than last year, raising hopes of positive outcomes when the numbers are delivered at 0700 GMT on Nov. 28.

Barclays (BARC.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)(RBS.L) have all signalled that they plan to ramp up dividend payments and share buybacks as a means of returning excess capital to investors hit by plunging share prices, caused by fears over Britain’s exit from the European Union and weaker than hoped for revenue growth.

Lloyds could return as much as 12 billion pounds through dividends and buybacks over the next three years, analysts said, while RBS could pay out as much as 7 billion pounds over the same period.

RBS Chief Executive Ross McEwan has indicated that the bank is considering special dividends and buybacks to return more capital to shareholders but says a clean bill of health from the central bank is a prerequisite.

“We are considering all options; we’ve got to get through a stress test beginning of December,” McEwan said last month.

Shares in Standard Chartered (STAN.L) rose briefly on Thursday morning after media reports said that it, too, is contemplating buybacks.

SPOTLIGHT ON BARCLAYS, LLOYDS

HSBC (HSBA.L), Nationwide Building Society and Santander UK (SAN.MC) are the other lenders being scrutinised on their ability to withstand deep simultaneous recessions in Britain and global economies, as well as a slump in asset prices.

The lenders also face a separate assessment of the impact from potential misconduct fines.

Of those under the microscope, Barclays and Lloyds are under particular scrutiny after faring worst in this year’s EU health check of 48 lenders from across the bloc. Barclays struggled to make it through the Bank of England’s test last year.

Rob Smith, a partner at consultants KPMG, said that all seven will clear the hurdles set by the Bank of England, though some will feel the impact of a new accounting rule that forces lenders to make earlier provisions for souring loans.

Even if, as expected, Britain’s biggest banks perform favourably in the tests, lingering anxiety over the economic impact of Brexit could dampen expectations of generous capital returns in the near term.

“I don’t see the stress tests as necessarily giving the green or even amber light for dividends,” said Julian van Kan, head of financial institutions coverage at MUFG (8306.T) in London.

“While we still have the outcome of Brexit looming no bank will be too ambitious in returning capital to shareholders.”

Analysts will also look at whether the central bank signals any intention to mirror moves in the United States to ease back on stress tests.

For a graphic on British banks' share price declines, see - tmsnrt.rs/2PR51he

UAE signals jailed UK academic could be freed in 'amicable solution'

Staff reporter(wp/es):
The United Arab Emirates signalled on Friday a British academic it jailed for life on spying charges could be freed after his family appealed for clemency in a case that has strained ties between the longstanding allies.

Matthew Hedges, 31, was sentenced on Wednesday on charges of spying for the British government, in a move described as deeply disappointing by Prime Minister Theresa May.

“Mr Hedges’ family have made a request for clemency and the government is studying that request,” the UAE’s ambassador to London, Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui, said.

“We have an extremely close partnership with the UK,” he told reporters. “Because of the strength of that relationship we are hopeful that an amicable solution can be reached.”

The doctoral student at Durham University has been held since May 5, when he was arrested at Dubai International Airport after a two-week research visit.

“We have asked for clemency - we will wait to see what happens,” Hedges’ wife Daniela Tejada told Reuters after the ambassador spoke. She denies he is a spy.

His family have cast him as a talented researcher who fell foul of the UAE’s security and justice system. The UAE cast him as a British spy who was given a fair trial for grave espionage offences.

“We hope the UAE now looks favourably on the family’s request for clemency,” a spokeswoman for Britain’s Foreign Office said.

PARDON

The Gulf state does not dictate verdicts to its courts and there was full and proper legal process in Hedges’ case, the ambassador said. There had not been a “five minute show trial” as he said some media had reported.

“This was an extremely serious case. We live in a dangerous neighbourhood and national security must be a top priority,” said Almazroui, adding that everyone had the right to request a pardon.

“This was an unusual case: many researchers visit the UAE freely every year without breaking our laws,” he said.

Hedges’ family said the evidence presented against him consisted of notes from his dissertation research.

“Matt was held in an undisclosed location in solitary confinement for over 5 months, with no charge, no lawyer and very limited consular access,” his wife said.

“The judicial system in the UAE and the UK cannot be compared. I was in the courtroom and the hearing lasted less than 5 minutes,” she added.

A life sentence for a non-Emirati entails a maximum of 25 years in jail followed by deportation, according to UAE state-run media.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had warned that the verdict could hurt relations with the UAE.

£475,000 for patient covered with sores who spent 8 years in hospital

Health reporter(wp/es):
A pensioner who has spent eight years in hospital because of blunders in his care while recovering from a spinal injury has received a £475,000 compensation payout. 

The 70-year-old man was taken to The Royal London Hospital by ambulance after his fall in October 2010, and was unable to feel anything below his chest. As well as spinal damage, he had fractures in his left leg, hip, and ribs, and his left lung had collapsed. Within 10 days of being hospitalised he developed pressure sores over his body due to his very limited ability to move independently.

The sores had not properly healed when he was moved in March 2011 to a spinal care unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and he then developed more pressure ulcers. Lawyers Bolt Burdon Kemp launched a compensation claim in 2015 against the two hospitals, alleging that failures in his care allowed the sores to develop and never fully heal, and hinder his rehabilitation. 

Raquel Siganporia, who leads the spinal injury team at the law firm, described the case as “beyond appalling”, saying that without complications the man should have spent only three months in a hospital bed. Instead he remains under NHS care. “This case is one of the most severe I have seen in relation to pressure sores,” she said. “It is shocking how a seemingly innocuous sore can have such devastating consequences on someone with a spinal cord injury when left without proper treatment and care. 

“My client ended up remaining in hospital for eight years as a direct result of the escalation in his condition, which was solely down to the pressure sores.” Both hospitals have now admitted negligence in failing to offer proper pressure sore care management, and a High Court judge approved £475,000 in compensation for the man’s future care. 

The claim stated that The Royal London failed to properly assess the pensioner’s needs after his accident, or recognise he was at high risk of pressure sores. He was not given proper pressure relief, skin inspections, hygiene care, or dressings while in hospital, and was not referred to a consultant plastic surgeon when the “need was obvious” on his transfer to Stoke Mandeville. 

The court was told the man had to undergo several surgical procedures and now needs specialist equipment to help him breathe. “Adapting to a spinal cord injury is already a life-changing event, without the addition of negligent treatment leading to a far worse set of conditions to contend with — conditions which my client ought never have had to face,” said Ms Siganporia. 

“Hospitals which treat spinal-injured patients need to improve the training they have about why pressure sores should be prevented, how to aid prevention, and the need for close monitoring and extreme vigilance. That two hospitals failed my client so badly is beyond appalling and I hope to see improvements in this field immediately.”

The case was concluded last month. A joint statement from Barts Health NHS trust and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust, which run the two hospitals, said: “We sincerely apologise that our treatment fell below the standard our patients rightly expect and we recognise the significant effect this has had on this particular patient. 

“Preventing and treating pressure ulcers is one of the NHS’s most important safety priorities. In recent years we’ve taken a range of actions including enhancing training for staff.”

Quarter of older teenage girls have a mental illness and nearly half have self-harmed, study shows

Health reporter(wp/es):

One in eight children in England has a mental disorder — with the illness found in almost a quarter of older teenage girls, a shock report revealed today.

The most detailed NHS analysis in almost 15 years of mental ill health in children also detected problems in those as young as two.

Girls aged 17 to 19 were twice as likely as boys of the same age to have a mental disorder, with 23.9 per cent found to have a condition.

Within the same age group, which was the most troubled and had the highest rates of self-harm, emotional disorder was found in 22.4 per cent of girls — more than three times the incidence in boys.

A quarter of 11 to 16-year-olds with a mental disorder had self-harmed or attempted suicide. This rose to 46 per cent of those in the 17 to 19 age group.

Today’s study, published by NHS Digital, is the first looking at prevalence of mental ill health in children since 2004.

It did not explain what was driving the rise in mental ill health, although children were asked about the impact of social media and cyber bullying. 

Tom Foley, of NHS Digital, said: “These figures reflect the suffering and some of the difficulties a proportion of children and young people have to cope with.”

It collated information from 9,117 children and young people or their parents or teachers. For the first time, those aged two to four were included.

There was a slight increase in incidence in the five to 15 age group from 10.1 per cent in 2004 to 11.2 per cent last year. This rose to 12.8 per cent when 15 to 19 year olds were included but there was no direct comparison with previous years. 

Disorders were grouped into four categories — emotional, behavioural, hyperactivity and less common disorders. One in 18 (5.5 per cent) pre-school children — those aged two to four — were found to have at least one mental disorder. Behavioural disorders were found in one in 40 pre-schoolers.

One in 20 older teenage girls had body dystrophic disorder, an anxiety disorder characterised by the obsessive idea that some aspect of their body or appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix.

The figures came as the Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, revealed that of the 338,000 children referred to mental health services, only 31 per cent received help within a year. She called for an NHS-funded counsellor in every school.

Berkeley denies claims of bribery from former finance director

Business correspondent(wp/es):

Housebuilder Berkeley has denied claims of bribery from a sacked former finance director, which emerged in court documents on Thursday.

The documents relate to a High Court battle between Nic Simpkin, who was fired in 2014, and the major London builder, led by industry veteran Tony Pidgley.

The High Court papers revealed by the Guardian and Finance Uncovered relate to two cases brought against the firm by Simpkin, who had options over 3.5 million shares worth tens of millions of pounds when he was ousted. 

In the documents related to the second case in 2015, Simpkin accused the Berkeley chairman of being “consistently engaged in bribing one of the partners in a major estate agency” which the firm dealt with over land acquisitions, including “expensive gifts” and “loans”. 

Simpkin withdrew both cases but the High Court papers lodged by Berkeley in its defence show the company denying claims that Pidgley had benefited from “around” £660,000 of money to fit out one of his flats, as well as “inappropriate” payments to his son.

Berkeley settled with Simpkin for £9.5 million, including £4.55 million in legal fees, 18 months ago. In court documents Berkeley claimed Simpkin had lost the confidence of senior colleagues. 

A group spokesman said: “There was a thorough and extensive investigation by a QC and a senior lawyer from a major law firm which concluded that these allegations were unfounded, following which Mr Simpkin withdrew his allegations and settled all his claims.” 

Simpkin said Berkeley’s counter-claims were “unfounded”.

Lawyer still fighting to reclaim £1m from ‘conman’ lover 10 years on

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A high-flying lawyer who handed vast sums of money to her “confidence trickster” ex-lover is still trying to claw back more than £1 million over a decade after they split, the High Court was told.

Moira O’Hara, 56, was “deeply in love” with film director Paul Markham and started giving him money just weeks after they first met. He promised to pay her back with profits from a French film project, but was later exposed as a “charming and convincing” conman who used the money to buy a fine art collection. Mr Markham, now 75, was ordered in 2009 to pay back the money but still owes more than £1 million, the court was told.

In their latest legal battle, Mr Markham claimed Miss O’Hara was holding onto £900,000 worth of his possessions, including an 18th century Chinese pot. But Mr Justice Males threw out the case on Tuesday as an “abuse of process”, accusing Mr Markham of putting “fanciful” values on his property and using the courts to “harass” Miss O’Hara, once married to a judge. 

She met Mr Markham while doing voluntary work at a citizen’s advice bureau in 1999, and they lived together between 2003 and 2005. 

In 2009 Judge Philip Raynor QC described Mr Markham as a “convincing and effective confidence trickster” as he rejected his claim that Miss O’Hara had given him money as gifts.

Mr Markham claimed the cash was in return for business advice, emotional support and help in looking after her three children, but Judge Raynor  dismissed this as “untrue”, “fiction” and “unbelievable”. Mr Markham was ordered to pay back £850,000, plus nearly £300,000 in interest which has continued to build since then, and also hand over a £1 million property in Notting Hill which he held on trust for Miss O’Hara.

“Her conduct was extraordinary but she was deeply in love with Mr Markham,” said Judge Raynor. 

“I find that love and Mr Markham’s charm, persuasion and lies clouded her reason and common sense.”

Mr Markham lost an appeal against the ruling and was hit with an asset freezing order, but has only handed back a fraction of the money in the following years. 

“His conduct is obsessive and part of a wider campaign to cause distress to Miss O’Hara,” said her barrister, Daisy Brown.

Ruling on the latest case, Mr Justice Males said: “It is quite clear he has no intention of paying anything to Miss O’Hara.” The judge added that Mr Markham, who has no known address and claims to have no assets, may be ordered to stop making future “meritless” court applications against Miss O’Hara.

Police arrest man after makeshift bombs found in London flat

Crime reporter(wp/Reuters):

British police arrested a man on Thursday after two makeshift bombs were found in an unoccupied flat in northwest London but said he did not have links to any terrorist organisations.

Police were called on Wednesday to a flat in Harlesden, northwest London, after the two devices were found, triggering an investigation by counter-terrorism officers.

The 48-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosive Substances Act.

“At this early stage of the investigation, detectives do not believe that the arrested man has links to any terrorist organizations, or that there are any ongoing public safety issues,” police said.

Britain is on its second-highest threat level after several attacks in 2017.

EU, UK agree Brexit text, but gaps remain before summit

Political reporter(wp/Reuters):
Britain and the European Union agreed a draft text setting out a close post-Brexit relationship, officials said, though wrangles over fish and the future of Gibraltar must still be settled before leaders meet on Sunday.

Thursday’s news sent the pound nearly one percent higher on relief among investors that 18 months of tense negotiation were bearing fruit, keeping Britain close to its biggest market and ensuring nothing much will change for at least two years.

British Prime Minister Theresa May told reporters in London: “The British people want this to be settled, they want a good deal that sets us on course for a brighter future ... That deal is within our grasp and I am determined to deliver it.”

EU officials said there was a solid consensus that remaining niggles should not hold up a final deal for Sunday, as the other 27 governments go through the new paperwork. The main question mark is over whether Spain, seeing Brexit as an opportunity to swing the EU’s weight behind its 300-year campaign to reclaim Gibraltar from Britain, can be persuaded to remain patient.

After a draft treaty last week set the terms for Britain’s departure in March, May had met EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday, hoping to finalise an ambitious declaration on future ties that can help her secure backing at home for the whole Brexit package in the teeth of furious parliamentary opposition, even within her own party.

She is due to meet Juncker again on the eve of the summit, at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Saturday, and a spokesman for Juncker said that by then there should nothing much left to sort out.

With Spain, France and other EU member states lobbying for various national vested interests in that political declaration - a 26-page wishlist on future trade and security ties separate from the 585-page withdrawal agreement - there was concern in Brussels that haggling could get out of hand and derail Sunday’s tightly choreographed formal summit of the 27 leaders with May.

Summit chair Donald Tusk said: “It has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level.”

PARKED

EU sources told Reuters that other demands from governments would be parked in a separate page or two of short text to be endorsed at the summit. French calls for access to British fishing grounds and insistence that post-Brexit Britain follow EU environment, tax, labour and industrial rules are largely drafted, leaving a gap for Spain’s concerns that Madrid be given an effective veto over applying any future deal to Gibraltar.

The main text of the political declaration, seen by Reuters, said the EU and Britain “agree to develop an ambitious, wide-ranging and balanced economic partnership.

“This partnership will be comprehensive, encompassing a free trade area as well as wider sectoral cooperation ... will be underpinned by provisions ensuring a level playing field.”

Crucially for May, it commits the EU to looking for ways to avoid triggering a “backstop” clause intended to ensure the Irish border remains free of customs checks. Those include, it says, technical and administrative means favoured by May’s pro-Brexit allies that could limit Britain’s need to keep its broader economic and trade rules in line with the continent.

The European Commission said Juncker encouraged May to talk with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, which they had done late on Wednesday, and that Gibraltar, along with some questions on fishing, were what remained unresolved.

The text said the post-Brexit relationship would respect “the integrity of the Union’s Single Market and the Customs Union as well as the United Kingdom’s internal market, and recognise the development of an independent trade policy by the United Kingdom beyond this economic partnership”.

The latter point responds to complaints from May’s key parliamentary allies in Northern Ireland that the EU plan to avoid a hard border with EU-member Ireland could isolate the province from the British mainland. The former deals with EU concern that Britain is using the Irish question to get special access to the EU market while dispensing with its regulations.

Both sides need an accord to keep trade flowing between the world’s biggest trading bloc and the fifth largest national economy. But May has struggled to untangle nearly 46 years of membership without damaging trade or upsetting the members of parliament who will ultimately decide the fate of any deals she can secure.

Despite the hopes of financial firms in London, Britain secured no improvements to its proposed future trading relations in financial services.

May updated her cabinet on the state of talks by teleconference but her spokesman cautioned that no final deal can be agreed ahead of the EU summit on Sunday. In practice, however, EU leaders who will meet for an hour before they meet May, want all negotiating finished before.

The transition period, currently due to end after 21 months in December 2020, can be extended for up to two years. May has said it must end before a British election due in mid-2021.