UK's proposed legal relationship with EU would leave ECJ in charge, lawyer says

Political reporter(reuters/wp):
Britain’s proposed judicial ties with the EU would still see the European Court of Justice take the binding decision on important cases in UK law after Brexit, according to a legal opinion seen by Reuters that could stir concern among hardline Brexit campaigners.

Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged that Britain will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the ECJ after Brexit, and regaining full control of Britain’s laws is one of the key attractions of Brexit to its proponents.

May has proposed an “independent arbitration panel” in cases where there is a dispute with the European Union. But in areas where Britain has agreed to abide by a “common rulebook” with the bloc, Britain would recognise that the ECJ is supreme on the interpretation of EU law.

An opinion by Carl Baudenbacher, a former president of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court, to be published by a committee of lawmakers, said that such a relationship would likely be modelled on agreements by the EU with Ukraine and Moldova.

“It is... in my view unlikely that the EU institutions and in particular the ECJ will agree to an arbitration model that is more favourable to the UK than the Ukraine model is to Ukraine,” he wrote in an opinion to be published by a committee of UK lawmakers and seen by Reuters on Thursday.

“This means that in all important cases, the ECJ, i.e., the court of the other side, would take the binding decision.”

Baudenbacher said that any “attempt to break elements out of the Ukraine and Moldova agreements and transplant them into a UK-EU agreement is amateurish bricolage,” he said, using a phrase suggesting an incoherent jumble.

Instead, Britain should consider a judicial relationship with the European Union modelled on EFTA’s arrangements so that it can ensure its autonomy from the ECJ after Brexit, he said.

The European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement has the EFTA Court and the ECJ as its two pillars, with the EFTA Court - which could have British judges - often making the key rulings for non-EU members.

British banks risk ratings downgrades in disorderly Brexit - S&P

Business correspondent(reuters/wp):
British banks could face potential credit rating downgrades if there is a disorderly Brexit as this would be likely to trigger a domestic political crisis and economic contraction, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s said on Thursday.
British banks could face potential credit rating downgrades if there is a disorderly Brexit as this would be likely to trigger a domestic political crisis and economic contraction, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s said on Thursday.

Fitch Ratings, a rival ratings agency, said that UK banks are well funded to face a no-deal Brexit, but could face challenges if wholesale markets were disrupted for a lengthy period.

“Their ratings should be able to withstand economic deterioration in the no-deal scenarios,” Fitch said in a statement.

S&P reiterated warnings from the Bank of England on Tuesday that derivatives markets face disruption from a no-deal Brexit unless the EU allows EU customers to continue using LCH, part of the London Stock Exchange, that clears the bulk of euro denominated swaps.

Some euro clearing of these transactions has already moved to rival central counterparty (CCP) Eurex (DB1Gn.DE) in Frankfurt.

The EU is in the process of introducing a law that would require LCH to be supervised by the bloc’s regulators as well as the Bank of England if it wants to continue serving EU customers.

“While dual supervision could yet be a negotiated middle ground for one or more U.K. CCPs, it appears challenging to apply effectively in practice, not least when clear and rapid decision making is required in a crisis,” S&P said.

Clearing houses such as LCH act as a financial backstop if transactions they handle run into trouble.

Pressure to shift euro clearing would moderately affect LCH, S&P said.

“Our base-case view is that LCH Ltd will maintain its market leading franchise in OTC interest rate swaps following Brexit, and an (ratings) upgrade would depend on us becoming increasingly confident in this outcome,” the agency said.

Fitch said there would be significant negative consequences for banks and financial stability if no interim solution was in place for derivatives ahead of a no-deal Brexit.

Theresa May warned by DUP she could go if ‘red lines’ are crossed on EU border deal

Pic:Theresa May with the DUP's Arlene Foster ( PA )
Political reporter(wp/es):

Theresa May’s allies in the Democratic Unionist Party today said any Brexit breakdown of the pact propping up the Government could fall “on the head of the Prime Minister”.

Sources in the Northern Ireland party indicated that a change of Tory leader, rather than a general election, could result if Downing Street accepts a deal with the EU that would see the Province remain subject to European rules while the rest of the UK breaks away.

Their warning came as a senior Conservative MP said a leadership contest could be completed in “days” if necessary.

Mark Pritchard, a former secretary of the 1922 Committee which would be in charge of the process, tweeted: “Lots of wild and loose talk about leadership moves. There is no vacancy. 

“However, on a technical point, if a vacancy did arise process need not take more than 2 working weeks — 4 days in Commons (if needed) and 6 days with membership — does not need to be an overly long process.”

Mrs May was due to bring together senior ministers for a meeting this evening where insiders think she aims to “bind” key figures into a possible deal that would keep Britain in a form of customs union and also mean extra regulatory checks on goods from the mainland to Northern Ireland.

A Whitehall source said: “I think it is all about getting people over the line whom she thinks might be the biggest risk.”  

Among ministers expected to attend were Brexit-backers Michael Gove and Liam Fox, but not Commons leader Andrea Leadsom or Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

Brexit negotiations are set to come to a head next week at an EU summit where Mrs May will be under pressure to agree an Irish “backstop” that the DUP sees as tantamount to keeping the Province in the single market, including remaining subject to European Court rulings.

Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson went further than the party’s threat to vote down the Budget by saying it could refuse to support social and welfare legislation as well.

“We are hoping that the Government will deliver on the promises it made not to accept any arrangements that would make Northern Ireland separate from the UK,” he told the Standard. “The signs are not good at present.”

A party source said the DUP would look like “patsies” if it failed to make a stand. Responding to claims from some government insiders that it would risk a general election and a Jeremy Corbyn victory, the DUP source said: “Will responsibility simply fall on the head of the Prime Minister? Could it result in a change of leader, or could it result in the Government falling? It will depend on how the Government react to such a hypothetical vote.”

Former Conservative prime minister John Major said the “bullying” behaviour of dissident Brexiteers towards Mrs May was worse than the anti-Maastricht rebels he famously dubbed “bastards”.

“I have great sympathy for her plight and I think the way she has been treated by some of her colleagues has been absolutely outrageous,” he told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast.

“People in Parliament who are undermining the Prime Minister by wandering round saying we are going to have 40-odd signatures for a leadership election tomorrow, saying unless the Prime Minister does this thing or that thing we are going to vote against it, that’s an intolerable way to treat a Prime Minister who is in the middle of negotiations.”

Labour ex-premier Tony Blair said the DUP were asking the impossible because they could not have both an open border with the Republic and different trade rules.

Former Cabinet minister and Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith urged Mrs May to “listen very carefully” to the DUP’s warnings. He insisted it was  “wholly feasible to have non-hard  borders” after Brexit.

Woman who stabbed friend in arm at haunted house event told police she thought knife was prop

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A woman who stabbed her friend in the arm at a haunted house event claimed she thought the knife was a prop and that she was playing along with a scene, a police report said.

Tawnya Greenfield, 29, told police she and friends were waiting to enter the Nashville Nightmare haunted house with friends on October 5, when a person she believed to be an employee at the venue, dressed up in character, asked if her friend James Yochim was bothering her.

Believing she was playing along with one of the haunted house's scenarios, she said the person handed her a knife and said: "Well here, stab him," ABC News reported.

Ms Greenfield said she believed the knife was a prop and so plunged the knife into Mr Yochim's left arm.

But she pulled back when she realised there was blood on the knife, and a hole in her friend's shirt from which blood was gushing down the victim's arm.

Officers were called to reports of a stabbing at the venue and the victim was taken to Nashville's Skyline Emergency Hospital.

Mr Yochim gave an interview to USA Today, and said the man who handed his friend the knife was just as surprised it was real.

He said: "Keep in mind, we'd been chased by chainsaws, holding other weapons, all kinds of stuff all night, and it was all fake," he said. "So she stabs at me with it, and everything got really black.

"The thing I remember is the guy who gave it to her kind of freaking out," he said, "saying things like, 'Oh, I didn't know my knife was that sharp. I didn't know. I'm so sorry.'"

Nashville Nightmare medical staff responded immediately to the incident and the company said it is investigating further.

They said in a statement: "As we have continued to review the information, we believe that an employee was involved in some way, and he has been placed on leave until we can determine his involvement.

"We are going over all of our safety protocols with all of our staff again, as the safety and security of all of our patrons is always our main concern."

Police are investigating the case.

Singapore Airlines prepares for world's longest ever non-stop flight

Pic:Singapore Airlines(wp)
Staff reporter(wp/es):

A record-breaking non-stop flight sets off for its maiden voyage today on the new Singapore to New York route.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is re-launching the service for the first time in five years as the flight was originally too expensive.

The airline will be able to take passengers from Singapore to New York in 19 hours.

The flight takes off at 11.35pm Singapore time (4.35pm UK time).

Shortly before take-off the airline posted online: " Counting down to the launch of our non-stop flight to New York on the Airbus A350 Ultra Long Range!"

The long-haul flight covers 15,000km (9,300 miles) and travels between Changi Airport in Singapore to the Newark International airport in New Jersey, near New York.

Airline bosses said there was barely a seat to spare as they find generally when a stop-over service is replaced with non-stop, their ticket sales go up three-fold.

Qantas launched a 17-hour non-stop service from Perth to London earlier this year, while Qatar runs a 17.5-hour service between Auckland and Doha.

SIA told the BBC there were only 67 business-class seats and 94 premium economy on the luxury Airbus A350-900 ULR but no standard class available.

The flight has overtaken the 17-hour Qantas route from Perth to London as the longest in the world.

Business class seating on Singapore Airline's new A350-900 ULR - the flight will not offer any economy seating.

SIA reportedly purchased seven of the planes, which were designed to replace Boeing's older 777 series and use between 20 and 30 per cent less fuel, the airline said.

The company abandoned its marathon Newark and Los Angeles routes in 2013 when high fuel prices made the use of the four-engine Airbus A340-500 jets uneconomic.

Corrine Png, chief of transport research firm Crucial Perspective, said: “Operating trans-Pacific connecting flights opened Singapore Airlines to a lot more competition from other carriers and resulted in the loss of high-yielding business traffic.

“We expect Singapore Airlines to regain market share, especially in the premium travel market.”