UK weather: Warnings upgraded as heavy snow forecast

Staff reporter(wp/reuters):::

Heavy snow is expected to fall across Wales and southern England later, bringing travel disruption for the evening rush hour.

The Met Office has upgraded weather warnings from yellow to amber for heavy snow between 14:00 to 21:00 GMT.

Meanwhile, temperatures have fallen to the lowest level this winter, with Braemar, Aberdeenshire, dropping to -14.4 °C (6F) this morning.

It is the lowest in the UK since -15.6 °C in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, in 2012.

The Met Office warns the heavy snow could cause:

• Travel delays on roads which could strand some vehicles and passengers
• Some delays and cancellations to rail travel
• Rural communities could be cut off
• Power cuts are likely and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, could be affected

Further snow is forecast overnight into Friday, with up to 15cm (6in) possible in some parts of Wales.

In southern England, there could be 3-7cm (1-3in) of snow.

Southeastern Trains said 21 trains were cancelled or altered on Thursday morning to minimise the impact of ice forming on the rails.

It will run its "winter weather timetable" on Friday - with passengers warned of peak services being busier than normal because of changes to some train times.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland also recorded their lowest temperatures of the winter so far, with:

• Redesdale, Northumberland, falling to -10.4C (13.3F)
• Sennybridge, Powys, dropping to -9.3C (15.3F)
• Magilligan, County Londonderry, falling to -8.5C (16.7F).

UK consumer morale stuck at lowest since 2013 as Brexit nears

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::
British consumers remained their gloomiest in five-and-a-half years this month as a small improvement in their personal finances offset growing concern about the outlook for the next 12 months, when Britain is due to leave the European Union.

The GfK consumer confidence index held at -14 in January, its lowest since July 2013. Economists taking part in a Reuters poll had expected a slight fall to -15.

Businesses also gave a sobering outlook in surveys published on Thursday by the Confederation of British Industry and Lloyds Bank.

The GfK survey showed households’ assessment of their personal finances improved due to falling inflation and higher wages and employment. But their outlook on the economy over the next 12 months was the weakest since December 2011.

“Consumers, companies and corporations thrive on certainty, which is in short supply just two months before the planned date for the UK’s EU exit,” GfK executive Joe Staton said.

Faced with deep opposition to her Brexit plan within her own Conservative Party, Prime Minister Theresa May wants to renegotiate part of withdrawal agreement she struck with the EU, less than two months before Britain is due to leave the bloc.

Without a deal that is acceptable to both sides, Britain risks a disorderly exit from the EU on March 29 which businesses have warned could lead to widespread economic disruption and potential shortages of imported food and medicines.

The Confederation of British Industry said small businesses reported the sharpest decline in sentiment about exports since the financial crisis, despite above-average output growth in recent months.

“Uncertainty in the domestic and global trading environment is clearly hitting manufacturing SMEs hard, with sentiment falling, concerns over political and economic conditions abroad spiking and investment plans still well down on the past year,” CBI economist Alpesh Paleja said.

Political or economic conditions abroad were named as the biggest challenge to exports over the next three months since the survey began in 1988.

The survey by Lloyds Bank showed a small rise in business sentiment this month, after it hit its lowest since June 2016’s Brexit referendum in December.

The GfK survey, carried out on behalf of the European Commission, was conducted between Jan. 1 and 15, while the CBI survey was based on responses from Dec. 17 to Jan. 11 and the Lloyds data came between Jan. 2 and 16.

UK set to cancel parliament's planned February break as Brexit looms

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::

Britain’s parliament is likely to abandon plans for a 10-day break in February, House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom warned MPs on Thursday, as the country’s March 29 exit from the European Union draws nearer.

“It is only right that I give the House notice that there are currently no plans to bring forward a motion to agree dates for the February recess, and that the House may therefore need to continue to sit to make progress on the key business before the House,” Leadsom said.

Parliament had been due to break up on Feb. 14 and return on Feb. 25, according to a provisional schedule.

May to meet MPs behind Brexit compromise plan - spokesman

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::

British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet the group of MPs behind an alternative Brexit proposal later on Thursday, her spokesman said.

In addition to May’s meeting with those behind the so-called ‘Malthouse Compromise’ plan, officials will meet trade union representatives, the spokesman said, adding the government wanted to secure changes to the Brexit deal with the European Union as soon as possible.

The government remained determined to have everything in place to leave the EU on March 29, he said.

UK car output falls at fastest rate since recession

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::

The once runaway autos sector, which employs some 850,000 people in Britain and has been lauded by politicians as a rare manufacturing success story, has seen sales, company spending and output slump since 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum.

Volumes have also been hit by a crackdown on diesel, stricter emissions rules disrupting supply and a slowdown in China, the world’s no. 1 autos market, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

Britain, the world’s fifth-largest economy, is due to leave the EU, the globe’s biggest trading bloc, without an agreement on March 29 after lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal, prompting fears of major disruption.

Last year saw the biggest drop in production since a slump of nearly a third in 2009 following the financial crisis and the fall in investment to 589 million pounds leaves it at the lowest level since the SMMT started compiling figures in 2012.

“Brexit uncertainty has already done enormous damage to output, investment and jobs,” said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes, calling on the government to avoid a no-deal exit.

“Yet this is nothing compared with the permanent devastation caused by severing our frictionless trade links overnight, not just with the EU but with the many other global markets with which we currently trade freely.”

Output is expected to fall another 3 percent this year based on Britain leaving the EU with a deal followed by a transitional period.

Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, which has been hit by a slump in demand from China and for diesel models, recorded a 15.6 percent drop in domestic output, while Nissan, which runs Britain’s largest car factory, fell by 10.7 percent.

A series of investment decisions are coming up, including whether Peugeot’s parent company PSA will keep its Ellesmere Port plant open, where staffing will fall to just 850 people by the end of 2019 after a series of job cuts.

Output there fell by 15.9 percent last year, the biggest decline of any of Britain’s six big carmakers.

PSA will also decide later this year on whether to build electric vans at its southern English Luton facility and petrochemicals firm Ineos is choosing the location for its off-roader.

The Chinese Geely-owned London Electric Vehicle Company, which builds the famous London black taxi, is cutting 70 agency staff at its central English plant, around 20 percent of its line-side workforce.

“Given the global headwinds, the challenges to the sector are immense,” said Hawes.

EU could offer more backstop assurances if UK moves on customs union - EU lawmaker

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::
The European Union can offer Britain more assurances over the Irish border ‘backstop’ in a political declaration on post-Brexit ties if London moves towards accepting a permanent customs union, a leading EU lawmaker dealing with Brexit said.
Danuta Hubner spoke to Reuters as British Prime Minister Theresa May headed back to Brussels to demand the renegotiation of the legal withdrawal treaty she agreed with the EU but cannot get ratified at home.

May wants to replace the emergency Irish border fix with unspecified “alternative arrangements” to ensure no return of extensive border checks on the island of Ireland, something the EU says is vague and not enough of a guarantee.

“‘Alternative arrangements’...relates to the future. What can be added or changed in the political declaration is to ensure some new arrangements that would solve the issue of a hard border,” Hubner said on Wednesday evening.

“Key to this is the conversation with Corbyn. Cross-party dialogue must yield some new elements for the future...The only thing we have not yet tried is a shift of the UK’s red lines,” she said of May’s talks with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn wants Britain to be in a permanent customs union with the EU after Brexit, something May has opposed so far as it would hinder Britain’s ability to pursue independent trade deals around the world.

“If there is no openness on the UK side to include those assurances in the political declaration on the future EU-UK ties, the process could mechanically take us to no-deal.”

The political declaration is a non-legally binding document that accompanies the legally binding withdrawal deal negotiated by the EU and May’s government. The British parliament resoundingly rejected that deal two weeks ago and has told May to reopen negotiations with the EU on it.

Hubner said the EU would not blink on refusing to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement or replacing the backstop.

“A step further would risk undermining the single market. If the single market loses its integrity, it would be the end of the EU,” she said. “It’s not just about Ireland.”

“The risk of no-deal Brexit has grown.”

NHS trust chief in no-deal Brexit medicine warning

Health reporter(wp/bbc):::

NHS trusts could "quickly run out of vital medicine" in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the chief executive of a leading hospital group has warned.

Dr David Rosser of University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) said that, despite NHS stockpiling, shortages would likely occur due to "unprecedented" distribution challenges.

Dr Rosser made the warning in a paper presented to the UHB board last week.

The Department of Health said planning for a no-deal Brexit was "ongoing".

It added: "We are working closely with the NHS, industry and the supply chain to make detailed plans to ensure continued access to healthcare, medical devices and clinical supplies in the event of no deal."

In his memo to the UHB board, Dr Rosser said: "In terms of the potential for major operational impact and severe and widespread risks to public safety, by far the greatest concern is the availability of medicines, devices and clinical supplies."

He added that a Department for Health report into which medicines were likely to face shortages had "not been made available" to NHS trusts but that "it is assumed that a significant proportion of the medicines and consumables we use at UHB on a daily basis may be at risk".

These shortages, Dr Rosser said, would lead to most non-urgent operations being postponed.

• Brexit: MPs back May's bid to change deal
• Is the NHS already finding it hard to get medicines?
• Pharmacists warn of a 'surge' in shortage of common medicines
• Six key questions Brexit poses for the NHS

On Tuesday, MPs backed an amendment in Parliament rejecting a no-deal Brexit, but the vote was not binding - meaning the date for exit remains 29 March.

MPs also backed seeking "alternative arrangements" to replace the Irish backstop in Theresa May's Brexit plan - but the EU has said it will not change the legal text agreed with the UK PM.

Dr Rosser also warned "a fractious no-deal scenario" could have a "major impact" on EU staff working in the NHS.

"We employ around 1,200 EU staff, of whom 262 are doctors, 375 are nurses or midwives, 320 are scientific or other clinical staff, and the balance are in support services," he said.

"All of these people are vital and highly valued colleagues."

Islington stabbing: Three arrested over boy's death

Crime watch(wp/bbc):::

Three teenagers have been arrested after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in a street attack.

He was pronounced dead in Caledonian Road, Islington, north London, after police were called at about 19:00 GMT on Tuesday.

Two male suspects, aged 16 and 17, were arrested on suspicion of murder close to the scene, Scotland Yard said. An 18-year-old was later arrested at an address in Islington.

All three remain in custody.

The stabbing happened just over a mile away (about 1.6km) from The Emirates stadium where Arsenal played Cardiff City on Tuesday evening.

Supporters were told to avoid Caledonian Road after the football match.

• How London's deadliest year in a decade began
• Can Chicago cure London's violence?
• Murder victim's family leave UK and say London 'too dangerous'

Formal identification has yet to take place but the Met Police said officers were "confident they know the identity of the deceased".

A post-mortem examination was due to be held, the force added.

Officers put in place a Section 60 stop and search order, which allowed police to search anyone in a given area until 03:00 on Wednesday.

That area covered much of Islington, Clerkenwell, Finsbury Park and Bloomsbury.

Park Lane doorman stabbing: Three charged with murder

Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

Three men have been charged with the murder of a doorman who was stabbed to death at a private party in London's West End on New Year's Day.

Security guard Tudor Simionov, 33, was attacked outside Fountain House at around 05:30 GMT on 1 January.

The Romanian, who lived in Ilford, was attacked by a group of men who tried to enter the party, police said.

Three men, aged between 20 and 25, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

Scotland Yard named the trio as Haroon Akram, 25, Adham Khalil, 20 and Adham Elshalakany, 23.

All three are charged with Mr Simionov's murder, as well as four counts of grievous bodily harm and one count of violent disorder.

Detectives are still appealing for information to help trace Ossama Hamed, 25, and 23-year-old Nor Aden Hamada in connection with the murder investigation.

A 26-year-old woman has already been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to the case and a 25-year-old man has been charged with violent disorder.

Snow and ice hit parts of UK

Staff reporter(wp/bbc):::

Snow showers and icy conditions have swept across the UK, with weather warnings in place for large parts of the country.

The Met Office has issued four yellow warnings for snow and ice and has predicted up to 10cm (4in) of snowfall on higher ground.

No services will run on Merseyrail until around 11:00 GMT on Wednesday due to ice on the tracks.

And Liverpool Airport is also expecting delays due to snowfall.

Customers travelling to the airport have been advised to check with their airline before setting off and to "allow plenty of travel time".

A number of roads and schools were closed in Scotland, northern England and Wales on Tuesday.

Forecasters expect similar conditions until Friday.

Police have been urging motorists to take extra care and plan ahead.

The four weather warnings affect most of the UK, warning of road and rail delays.

• The first for Wales, northern and western England came into place on Tuesday and will last until 11:00 GMT on Wednesday. It warns that rain will turn to snow, especially on the hills.
• The second warns of further snow showers across north-west parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland from late Tuesday afternoon until 11:00 GMT on Wednesday.
• Another warning, for south-east England, the Midlands, and East Anglia, took effect from 17:00 GMT on Tuesday, continuing until midday on Wednesday.
• Finally, the Met Office has said it expects rain and snow to move in from the south-west, moving across England and Wales through Thursday into Friday.
• The Met Office said there was a "slight chance" that some rural communities could be cut off and a "small chance" that power cuts may occur and mobile phone coverage could be affected.

Britain proposes tougher stewardship code for asset managers

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::
Asset managers in Britain should spell out in greater detail how they picked sustainable investments that benefit clients, society and the environment, regulators proposed on Wednesday.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) set out major revisions to toughen up the stewardship code that asset managers, proxy advisers, investment consultants and pension fund trustees follow on a “comply or explain” basis.

It heaps pressure on a sector that is already facing a “value for money” drive from regulators.

The revisions introduce substantial changes to encourage asset managers to explicitly take environmental, social and governance factors into account when investing.

This could include climate change, and the treatment of customers and suppliers of companies in which they are investing.

The revision also proposes that asset managers state their values and culture policies, and report publicly each year on how their activities achieved them.

“It’s a substantial change. This code, hopefully, is as groundbreaking as when we launched the first one,” David Styles, FRC director of corporate governance, told Reuters.

“There is no requirement to sign up. Those who are interested in responsible investment for the long term ought to do so,” Styles said.

The revisions are being put to public consultation until March with a final version published in July. The code, last revised in 2012, is separate from the corporate governance code that directors of companies are asked to comply with.

The FRC ruffled industry feathers with the current code by slotting companies into two tiers to indicate full and partial compliance with the code.

Some asset managers decided not to apply it at all, but Styles said that public findings on compliance by those who sign up may be changed.

“With the new code, we will have substantially more information, and we going to have to look at exactly how we evaluate and we publish the assessment,” Styles said.

The FRC is also proposing to extend the code beyond investments in listed companies to include other assets like bonds, fixed income, infrastructure and private equity to reflect the changing nature of investments.

UK shop prices rise at fastest pace in nearly six years: BRC

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::
Prices in shops in Britain rose by the most in nearly six years in January, but inflation is not a big risk as long as the country can avoid a no-deal Brexit, a group representing retailers said o
n Wednesday.

Shops increased prices by an 0.4 percent compared with a year earlier, the most since April 2013, the British Retail Consortium said.

In December prices rose by an annual 0.3 percent.

Retailers have been holding prices down in the face of tough online competition and faltering consumer confidence as Britain approaches the date when it is due to leave the European Union.

Despite the gradual increase in shop prices over the past four months, the BRC said consumers had little to fear from inflation as the underlying upward pressure on prices was easing.

“That is unless the UK leaves the EU without a deal on March 29, leading to increases in the price of many goods in the weekly shopping basket,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.

Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to rally her own Conservative Party behind her plans for taking Britain out of the European Union in less than two months’ time, raising fears of border delays and a fall in the value of the pound that would make imports more expensive.

Food price inflation held at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in January despite a faster increase in the cost of perishable items. Non-food prices showed the fell by the smallest amount since March 2013, dropping by 0.3 percent.

Britain’s official measure of consumer price inflation stood at 2.1 percent in December, a touch above the Bank of England’s 2 percent target. The BoE expects inflation to drift down as it raises interest rates gradually.

Separately on Wednesday, a survey showed confidence among employers about Britain’s economic outlook and about their hiring and investment decisions sank to their joint-lowest levels since June 2016, the month of the Brexit referendum.

“The business community is united in wanting a no deal Brexit off the table,” said Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which commissioned the survey, which took place between Sept. 25 and Dec. 19.

The survey showed companies expected to hire more permanent staff but the resilience of the labor market would not defy the effects of deep uncertainty about Brexit indefinitely, Carberry said.

FTSE seen boosted by weaker sterling after Brexit vote

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::

Britain’s blue-chip index is expected to open higher on Wednesday following a sharp fall in sterling overnight after British lawmakers voted down a proposal in parliament that aimed to prevent a potentially chaotic “no-deal” Brexit.

The exporter-focused FTSE 100, which makes 70 percent of its income abroad, is seen up 35 points at 6,869, according to financial spreadbetter IG.

The index is often boosted by a weaker domestic currency because its multinational companies earn a big portion of their revenue abroad in foreign currency.

The CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX 30 are see lower.

British lawmakers instruct May to change Brexit deal; EU says 'No'

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::
British lawmakers on Tuesday instructed Prime Minister Theresa May to reopen a Brexit treaty with the European Union to replace a controversial Irish border arrangement - and promptly received a flat rejection from Brussels.

Two weeks after overwhelmingly rejecting May’s Brexit deal, parliament backed a proposal intended to send her back to Brussels with a stronger mandate to seek changes that were more likely to win their support.

At the same time, they rejected a proposal to give parliament a path to prevent a potentially chaotic ‘no-deal’ exit by making May ask Brussels for a delay if she cannot get a deal through parliament.

With two months left until Britain is due by law to leave the EU, investors and allies have urged the government to clinch a deal to allow an orderly exit from the club it joined in 1973.

“Tonight, a majority of honourable members have said they would support a deal with changes to the backstop,” May said, only two weeks after her divorce deal was crushed in the biggest parliamentary defeat in modern British history.

“It is now clear that there is a route that can secure a substantial and sustainable majority in the house for leaving the EU with a deal,” May said, adding she would seek “legally binding changes”.

The Irish backstop is an insurance policy that aims to prevent the reintroduction of a hard border between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland, a crucial part of a 1998 peace deal that ended decades of sectarian violence, and preserve frictionless trade.

However, critics said it could bind the United Kingdom to the EU’s rules indefinitely.

The proposal, put forward by influential Conservative lawmaker Graham Brady and passed by 317 votes to 301, called for the backstop to be replaced with unspecified “alternative arrangements”, and said parliament would support May’s Brexit deal if such a change was made.

“RENEGING ON COMMITMENTS”

However, Brussels has repeatedly said it does not want to reopen a treaty signed off by the other 27 EU leaders.

Speaking immediately after the vote in parliament, a spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk said the backstop was part of the withdrawal deal and not up for negotiation, a stance echoed by the Irish government.

“This is a deal which was negotiated with the UK, by the UK, signed off by the UK and the prime minister - and now it looks as though this evening, essentially, there is a row-back and a reneging on the commitments that were made,” said Irish European Affairs minister Helen McEntee.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said there could be no renegotiation and demanded a “credible” British proposal.

If the British parliament cannot find a majority for a way forward, the United Kingdom will leave the largest global trading bloc without any deal, a scenario that businesses fear will bring chaos to the world’s fifth biggest economy.

Neither May nor her ministers spelled out what compromises she would seek from the EU, but suggestions include securing a time limit to the backstop or allowing a unilateral exit clause - elements that defeat its purpose, according to the EU.

Hardline pro-Brexit Conservative lawmakers made clear that their support for May on Tuesday was conditional on her securing a deal they approved of.

“The backstop is not going to get through this parliament,” Steve Baker, a leading member of the group, told Reuters. “Change the backstop, fix the date of the end of the implementation period, and agree a plan C.”

“MAY WILL BE REBUFFED”

However, EU diplomats played down May’s chances of being able to present a substantially different deal to the British parliament in a decisive vote expected to take place on Feb. 13.

“May will now come back to Brussels and be rebuffed,” one diplomat said. “The House of Commons will have to vote again mid-February on plan C. And it will have to be plan A all over again, but with even more pressure of no-deal Brexit looming.”

Members of parliament (MPs) on Tuesday rejected two amendments that set out a clear path for parliament to prevent a no-deal exit if May cannot get a deal passed next month.

However, they did later approve a symbolic proposal calling on the government to stop a potentially disorderly no-deal exit, sending a signal that a majority oppose such a departure.

It provided no mechanism for preventing a no-deal Brexit, but kept open the option that members of parliament could try to take the initiative in the “amendable” vote that May has promised for Feb. 14 if she cannot get a deal approved.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would meet May to “find a sensible Brexit solution that works for the whole country”, listing changes that Labour wanted to see, but that May has shown no sign of supporting.

Sterling, which recently hit a 2-1/2-month high of $1.3218 on hopes that a no-deal Brexit would be avoided, fell about 0.8 percent. [GBP/]

“This isn’t a good night for the country,” Labour lawmaker Wes Streeting tweeted.

“The prime minister voted against her own deal to go back to Brussels for something she’s said is impossible. MPs voted against ‘no deal’ - but also voted to make ‘no deal’ more likely. We’ll be back for another round of Groundhog Day soon.”

Leicester woman jailed for blackmailing girl over indecent images

Pic--Shilpa Uga (left) and Jatin Gohil both admitted making and distributing images of the girl/LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

A teenager tried to kill herself after being blackmailed by a "callous" woman who threatened to share indecent images of her, a court heard.

The girl was contacted through social media by Shilpa Uga, posing as a 21-year-old man who asked her to send intimate photos and videos.

Uga, from Leicester, then demanded large amounts of money from the girl.

She was jailed for three years after admitting blackmail and five counts of having indecent images of a child.

• Latest news and stories from the East Midlands

Leicester Crown Court on Friday heard Uga had been in contact with the girl between January and April 2014, when the girl was aged 16.

Uga, 26, of Pine Tree Avenue, later threatened to post the images she had received online if the girl did not hand over the cash she had asked for.

Uga's offences only came to light when the teenager tried to take her own life and was found by a family member.

'Traumatic period'

During the police investigation it was revealed Uga had also shared the photos and videos with Jatin Gohil, 28, of St Barnabas Road, Leicester.

He pleaded guilty earlier this month to seven counts of possession, making and distributing indecent images of a child.

He was also jailed for three years, and both defendants were placed on the sex offenders register.

Det Con Skarv Hussain said: "This was an extremely traumatic period for the victim who felt she had no alternative than to take her life.

"Uga's actions were callous and she had no regard for the effect it would have on the young victim."