Greenwich stabbing: 18-year-old man knifed to death at flat in south London town

Crime reporter,London(wp/es):

A 18-year-old man has been stabbed to death at a flat in Greenwich town centre, police said.

The teenager was knifed on Saturday night at an apartment in the south London town. 

Police and paramedics raced to the flat in Topham House, Prior Street, at 10.40pm. 

Medics fought to save the victim but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Scotland Yard said a 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the attack and remains at a south London police station. 

A Met Police spokesman said: "His [the victim's] next of kin have been informed. A post-mortem examination will be held in due course. Formal identification awaits. "

A crime scene remained in place on Sunday morning and murder detectives are investigating with police from Greenwich.

Police are appealing for witnesses and those with information about this attack to contact police them 101 quoting CAD 7621/8Dec or calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. 

UK economy slows in three months to October, trade prospects darker

Business reporter(wp/Reuters):
Britain’s economy lost speed as expected in the three months to October, reflecting falling car sales and factory stoppages due to weaker demand, raising questions about the economy’s health ahead of Brexit.
Gross domestic product growth in the three months to October slowed to 0.4 percent from an unusually robust 0.6 percent in the third quarter of 2018, in line with a Reuters poll of economists.

However, the Office for National Statistics warned that the third-quarter growth data was at risk of being revised downwards, due to a big upwards revision in Britain’s trade deficit for the three months to September.

Compared with a year earlier, growth in October held at September’s 1.5 percent, against expectations of a slight pick-up, while in October alone GDP rose by 0.1 percent as expected.

Monday’s data confirm the British economy’s strength in the third quarter of 2018 represented something of a blip, caused by a boost to consumer spending from an unusually warm summer.

More recent business surveys suggest Britain’s economy is slowing sharply as businesses stall in the face of uncertainty about the terms on which the country will leave the European Union on March 29 next year.

A closely watched purchasing managers’ index for November last week pointed to growth of just 0.1 percent in the final quarter of 2018.

Monday’s data do not give updated details of business investment, which fell sharply in the three months to September.

Britain’s economy has slowed since the June 2016 Brexit vote, its annual growth rate slipping from top spot among the Group of Seven group of rich nations to vying with Japan and Italy for bottom place in the rankings.

Monday’s data showed annual growth in Britain’s dominant services sector picked up to 1.8 percent from 1.6 percent, but factory output recorded its largest fall since March 2016, down 1.0 percent on the year.

EU court ruling boosts Brexit opponents

Political reporter(wp/Reuters):
The European Union’s top court ruled on Monday that the British government may reverse its decision to leave the bloc without consulting other member states in a decision welcomed by those campaigning to stop Brexit.

In an emergency judgement delivered just a day before the British parliament is due to vote on a Brexit deal agreed with the EU by Prime Minister Theresa May, the Court of Justice (ECJ) said: “The United Kingdom is free to revoke unilaterally the notification of its intention to withdraw from the EU.”

The ruling is in line with an opinion delivered last week by a Court legal adviser. That had boosted the hopes of British Brexit opponents that a new referendum could be held that would prevent Britain’s scheduled departure on March 29, 2019.

May faces heavy opposition in parliament to her Brexit deal and many expect her quest for approval to be defeated, setting up further tense talks with the EU when she goes to Brussels on Thursday for a summit of national leaders.

Alyn Smith, a Scottish nationalist member of the European Parliament and one of those Brexit opponents who raised the case seeking clarification of Article 50 of the EU treaty to the European Union’s supreme court in Luxembourg said:

“Today’s ruling sends a clear message to UK MPs ahead of tomorrow’s vote that there is a way out of this mess. A light at the end of the tunnel for the economy, for jobs and for the UK’s standing on the world stage. Now it’s up to the UK.

“If the UK chooses to change their minds on Brexit, then revoking Article 50 is an option and the European side should make every effort to welcome the UK back with open arms.”

May’s environment minister Michael Gove, who campaigned for Brexit, dismissed the ruling by repeating the government’s insistence that it would not reverse its decision to leave.

The ECJ said in its statement that Britain should suffer no penalties if it halts the Article 50 process which May triggered last year after a June 2016 referendum: “Such a revocation, decided in accordance with its own national constitutional requirements, would have the effect that the United Kingdom remains in the EU under terms that are unchanged.”

EU leaders have long insisted they would welcome Britain changing its mind, but many EU officials and legal experts had believed that the approval of either all or most of the other 27 members states would be needed to halt Brexit altogether.

Some senior EU officials have also said that Britain should be allowed to remain but could be asked to give up some of the special terms it has acquired over the past four decades, notably a hefty rebate on its payments to the bloc’s budget.

It is far from clear whether or how Britain could organise a new referendum, notably given the short time left until Brexit.

If May wins her vote on Tuesday, the withdrawal seems likely to proceed as agreed with Brussels last month. If she loses, her own position could be in jeopardy, there could be a move for a new election, or possibly to hold a new referendum.

Many warn, however, that it could stir unrest. Opinion polls suggest that any new majority for staying in the EU is narrow.