Pic:HSBC's global headquarters in London's Canary Wharf/wp/bbc Banking&Finance reporter(wp/bbc):
HSBC has been criticised for an advertising campaign that claims the UK "is not an island".
Thousands of people have reacted on social media, with some claiming the adverts are anti-Brexit.
However, HSBC told the BBC the campaign was "not about Brexit".
The agency behind the campaign, JWT, said the work was in response to the current "atmosphere" and to remind people that we are all global citizens "whatever the political climate".
One social media user questioned whether the HSBC risked "alienating a large number of potential customers" with the campaign.
Bob Seely, MP for the Isle of Wight, took up the subject on Twitter, asking whether Brexit could mean "higher standards for banking".
The mixed response has included praise of the adverts, with some calling it "brave".
An HSBC UK spokesperson said: "With the 'We are not an island' poster we are reinforcing our strong belief that the things that make us quintessentially British are the things that make us inescapably international."
More than 200 MPs have signed a letter to Mrs May, urging her to rule out a no-deal Brexit - which is one where the UK leaves the EU but without any agreed arrangements covering things like how trade or travel will work in the future.
Labour sources told the Guardian that the party would back a cross-party amendment, to be debated on Tuesday, which would stop the government from taking economic measures arising from a no-deal, including raising taxes, unless Parliament had "explicitly" agreed to leave without a deal.
The prime minister has been hosting critics of her deal, including former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and former leader Iain Duncan Smith, at a reception in Downing Street - the first of a series of events for Tory MPs this week.
Her deal - which covers the terms of the UK's divorce and the framework of future relations with the EU - has already been agreed with EU leaders. But it needs to pass a vote by MPs before it is accepted.
"In the coming days what we'll set out is not just about the EU but also about what we can do domestically, so we will be setting out measures which will be specific to Northern Ireland; we will be setting out proposals for a greater role for Parliament as we move into the next stage of negotiations," she said.
"And we're continuing to work on further assurances, on further undertakings from the European Union in relation to the concern that's been expressed by Parliamentarians."
But the EU Commission said there would be no renegotiation. A spokesman said "everything on the table has been approved and... the priority now is to await events" in the UK.
'Frankenstein monster'
Responding to an urgent question from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who asked for an update on progress made in achieving legal changes to the withdrawal agreement, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said the Commons debate would begin on Wednesday.
He said Mrs May had been in contact with "a number of her EU counterparts" over Christmas and said ministers "will be clear on Wednesday" what developments have been made.
"Securing the additional reassurance that Parliament needs remains our priority," he told MPs. "It's a good deal, it's the only deal, and I believe it is the right deal in offering certainty for this country."
But Mr Corbyn called Mrs May's deal a "Frankenstein monster of a deal".
"The government is trying to run down the clock in an attempt to blackmail this House and the country into supporting a botched deal," he said.
"We're now told, if we don't support it, the government is prepared to push our whole economy off a cliff edge."
Government sources have told the BBC the vote on the deal - which will come at the end of five days of debate - is set for Tuesday, 15 January, assuming MPs agree to sit this Friday.
The prime minister's deal is facing opposition from many of her own MPs, as well as Labour and other opposition parties including the Remain-supporting Liberal Democrats.
The DUP - which Mrs May's Conservative Party relies on for a majority in Parliament - has said it will not back the deal.
But Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng dismissed suggestions that the government had accepted it would lose next week's vote and was planning on returning to Brussels.
"The plan is to win the vote," Mr Kwarteng told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that a week was "a very long time in politics" and he was "very hopeful" the deal would be voted through.
"We have very little time left," she told the BBC's Politics Live. "We might have to extend Article 50. But I think it's very unlikely Parliament will actually stare down the barrel of that particular gun."
NHS bosses in England say a new 10-year plan could save up to 500,000 lives by focusing on prevention and early detection.
GPs, mental health and community care will get the biggest funding increases to shift the focus away from hospitals.
Prime Minister Theresa May hailed the launch of the plan as a "truly historic moment".
But unions are concerned that staffing shortages could undermine the ambitions - one in 11 posts are currently vacant.
And some senior doctors warned hospitals were facing a "near-on impossible task."
Society of Acute Medicine president Dr Nick Scriven said he was "staggered" by the plans given the problems facing hospitals.
Many trusts are missing all three key waiting time targets for A&E, cancer care and routine operations, and are struggling to balance the books.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens indicated there may be changes to the current target - that at least 95% of patients attending Accident and Emergency departments should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours - to take into greater account clinical need.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The problem with that is it doesn't distinguish between turning up at A&E with a sprained finger versus turning up with a heart attack.
"The top doctors in the NHS are looking at what are the most appropriate clinical standards to improve outcomes in emergency care. They will make their recommendations and then, on the back of that, we will meet them."
The plan, unveiled by Simon Stevens and Mrs May, committed to giving a third of the extra £20bn the NHS will get by 2023 on GPs, community care and mental health.
Currently they account for less than a quarter of spending, while hospitals take up around half of the £114bn frontline budget.
Mr Stevens called it a "practical, costed and phased route map" for the decade ahead.
What will the money be spent on?
Mental health is due to get £2.3bn extra of the £20bn, while GP and community care is to get £4.5bn.
NHS England said that will help pay for:
Mental health support in schools and 24-hour access to mental health crisis care via the NHS 111 service
Extra support in the community so patients can be discharged quickly from hospital and reduce the number of outpatient appointments by a third
Digital access to health services, including online GP booking and remote monitoring of conditions such as high blood pressure
More social prescribing to give GPs a range of options to tackle social problems like loneliness through connecting people to activities such as choirs and arts groups
Healthy living programmes for patients struggling with ill-health
New testing centres for cancer patients to ensure earlier diagnosis
DNA testing for children with cancer and those with rare genetic disorders to help select the best treatment
NHS England believes that combined the new vision could save 500,000 lives through preventing diseases, such as strokes, heart problems and cancer, and spotting them earlier to improve the chances of survival.
As healthcare policy is politically devolved, the plan only applies to the NHS in England.
But the other UK nations are drawing up their own plans. Under the government's funding system they are getting an extra £4bn between them by 2023.
What is this long-term NHS plan?
The prime minister asked for the plan to be drawn up when she unveiled extra funding for the health service in the summer to mark its 70th birthday.
The budget will grow by £20bn a year by 2023 - the equivalent of annual rises of just under 3.5%.
She said a long-term plan for the next decade was needed to ensure the money was wisely spent.
Mrs May said it was a "historic" moment for the NHS and would help pay for "world class" treatments.
But shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said the plan lacked both the staffing and funding to succeed and accused the government of "mismanagement" of the health service.
"The NHS needs a credible fully-funded plan for the future, not a wish list to help Theresa May get through the coming months."
What do others make of it?
The ambitions are being welcomed. Prof Carrie MacEwen, of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said: "It's good to have a plan which sets a clear direction for the NHS."
But unions have warned the workforce shortages could undermine the programme.
Unison head of health Sara Gorton said: "Without the staff, there is no NHS.
"Ministers must say more about how they plan to address the staffing shortages."
Mr Stevens told the BBC that the NHS planned to train between 25% and 50% more nurses and had five new medical schools ready to train doctors.
He said: "We've got to do a better job of looking after the staff that we have. I think people are under huge stress and pressure. We've got to change the way the health service works."
There is also unease that other parts of the wider health system have been cut - the £20bn promise only applies to NHS England's budget for frontline health care.
It does not cover other areas such as training and public health. The money made available to councils to pay for initiatives such as smoking cessation and healthy weight programmes is being cut by more than 4% next year once inflation is taken into account.
What is more, the government has yet to publish its green paper on social care despite promising to in 2017.
Councils and care homes have warned care homes and home help services for the elderly and adults with disabilities are at risk because of insufficient funding.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents health managers, said the focus on out-of-hospital care should help relieve the pressures on hospitals.
But he added: "If we are serious about helping people to stay well and live independently for as long as possible it is vital that we also see appropriate investment and support for social care and public health."
What about Brexit?
When it comes to this plan, there are probably two key things to bear in mind about Brexit - funding and staffing.
During the referendum campaign, Vote Leave said the money saved in payments to the EU would mean an extra £350m a week could be spent on the NHS.
When the prime minister announced the £20bn extra in the summer she said it was partly being paid for by a Brexit "dividend".
But others have dismissed that suggestion. The Treasury has said a combination of economic growth and perhaps even tax rises may be needed.
Alongside that debate, fears have been raised that Brexit could worsen staffing shortages.
About 5% of the NHS workforce is from Europe. The government has promised those currently working here will have the opportunity to obtain "settled status" to allow them to stay in the UK and there will be a new skilled migrants system, similar to the one that operates for workers from the rest of the world.
But unions have pointed out that some lower-paid nurses and non-clinical staff, such as health care assistants and porters, will not be covered by such a system, because the cut-off is that the worker must be earning at least £30,000 a year.
MP Anna Soubry has criticised the police for failing to intervene after she was verbally abused by protesters outside Parliament.
The Conservative ex-minister was accused "of being a Nazi", while being interviewed on the BBC News channel.
She called for the protesters, who were wearing yellow vests, to be prosecuted under public order legislation.
Commons Speaker John Bercow said he was worried about a "pattern" of women MPs and journalists being targeted.
Raising the issue in the House of Commons, Labour's Mary Creagh said the "really vile, misogynistic thuggery" that had been seen was not an isolated incident.
She accused far-right groups of re-playing Monday's clip and others like it on social media sites to "raise revenue for their trolling activities".
Ms Soubry, the pro-European MP for Broxtowe who supports another Brexit referendum, was subjected to verbal abuse while being interviewed by the BBC's Simon McCoy.
Protesters standing just a few yards from the entrance to Parliament accused her of being a liar and then chanted: "Anna Soubry is a Nazi."
She was later shouted at and jostled as she tried to re-enter the Palace of Westminster.
Reacting during the live interview, she told McCoy she "objected to being called a Nazi", adding that such language was "astonishing - and this is what has happened to our country".
She said she would not be silenced nor intimidated but it was wrong that MPs and others doing their job in such a public space should "have to accept this as part of the democratic process".
After the incident, she told BBC News the police needed to "do their job". And it is understood she will be contacting them about the matter. The MP has already been in touch with the parliamentary authorities responsible for security.
A number of MPs raised the matter with Mr Bercow at the end of a statement on the government's Brexit policy.
Labour's Stephen Doughty called for "proper action" to be taken by the Metropolitan Police against those responsible for what he said were "potentially unlawful actions".
'Total safety'
And Conservative MP Nick Boles urged Mr Bercow to ensure everything possible was done to not only protect the right to freedom of speech but the right of MPs to move freely in and around Parliament in "total safety".
Mr Bercow said he was aware of protests in recent weeks around the Palace of Westminster "involving aggressive and threatening behaviour towards members by assorted groups that have donned the yellow vests seen in France" - a reference to last year's "gilet jaune" anti-government demonstrations.
While the Met had responsibility for security outside the parliamentary estate, he said, he was keeping a "close eye" on the issue amid concerns that women, in particular, were being targeted.
"I share 100% the concerns expressed and it's necessary to state very publicly the difference between peaceful protest on one hand and the aggressive, intimidatory and threatening protest on the other."
Ms Creagh said there was a "strong streak of misogyny" in the wave of Brexit-related abuse directed against MPs.
"We in this place remember our friend Jo Cox, who was murdered by a far-right neo-Nazi," she said.
"We remember that people have gone to prison for plotting to murder another Labour MP and many people have been jailed for the abuse of other colleagues."
No 10 said the incident was "unacceptable" and MPs "should be free to do their jobs without any form of intimidation". A Downing Street spokesman said there were laws dealing with public order offences and cases of harassment and threatening behaviour.
The BBC and other broadcasters have set up temporary studios on College Green, a traditional spot for political interviews, ahead of the big Commons vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal on 15 January.
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said some MPs had expressed unease privately about being interviewed there given the frequency and vehemence of the protests.
Business reporter(wp/reuters): British carmaker Aston Martin (AML.L) has triggered contingency plans to cope with a potentially disorderly Brexit, including hiring a new supply chain chief and preparing to fly in components as well as use ports other than Dover.
Britain, the world’s fifth largest economy, is due to leave the European Union in just over 80 days but a negotiated withdrawal agreement looks set to be voted down by MPs next week, making a “no deal” exit - and disruption to trade - more likely.
Britain’s car industry, which employs over 850,000 people and is one of the country’s rare manufacturing success stories, has warned that leaving the world’s biggest trading bloc without a deal would add costs and could halt output due to snarl-ups.
Aston Martin Chief Executive Andy Palmer said the luxury automaker, which outlined its contingency plans in October, had no choice but to authorise them at a board meeting in December.
“I don’t think we’ve been in a position in the last two years where we’ve been further apart from understanding where we’re going to end up,” Palmer told Reuters, declining to put a figure on the “accumulating” cost of the plans.
“We programme a car to align and order all the parts for those cars twelve weeks in advance. You don’t need to do the maths to know that therefore takes us across the Brexit period.”
“We have to prepare for the worst case scenario.”
Aston Martin, the preferred drive of fictional secret agent James Bond, joins a growing list of companies readying for a no deal Brexit. Data last week showed manufacturers ramping up stocks in preparation for potential border delays.
Aston is signing deals with supplier DHL to allow for the use of ports other than Dover - Britain’s busiest and so most likely to be disrupted by any customs delays - and has authorised its supply chain team to make air freight bookings.
The government has said it will prioritise the movement of key supplies such as medicines if the flow of goods is hit after Brexit, so it is unclear what would happen to other items.
“We don’t have any assurances,” said Palmer. “One assumes if you’re putting parts onto a standard chartered plane, no one’s going to kick you off.”
POLITICIANS NOT DOING THEIR DUTY
Aston Martin, which built more than 6,000 top-end models last year at its central English plant in Gaydon, its only factory, is also holding a stock of cars in Germany.
“It’s an inventory to some extent that we put in place during the course of 2018 ... and depending on what happens in the next few weeks, may or may not increase,” Palmer said.
Carmakers fear their just-in-time production will grind to a halt if there are delays imposed after Brexit, but different manufacturers face different challenges.
Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE), Britain’s favourite carmaker accounting for over 20 percent of sales, builds only 11,000 Bentleys in the country, while Ford (F.N) counts Britain as its third-largest market but makes no cars there.
Meantime Nissan (7201.T), which builds around half a million cars at its northern English Sunderland plant, and Toyota (7203.T) export the overwhelming majority of their British-built vehicles to the rest of the EU.
While mass-market brands are most worried about potential trade tariffs, smaller, high-end players such as Aston and McLaren believe their affluent customers could absorb extra costs and are more concerned about customs checks and delays.
Aston has hired John Griffiths, who has worked for Nissan and aerospace firm Rolls-Royce, as interim vice president for supply chain, in a role Palmer said “there was a nagging need (for) which has been confirmed with Brexit.”
Palmer criticised politicians on both sides of the Channel.
“Both the European and the UK politicians are not discharging the duty for which they are put in place which is basically to plan and bring certainty to allow the country to thrive,” he said.
As carmakers prepare for multiple Brexit eventualities, they are also dealing with stricter emissions rules and a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy, China, which has hit a variety of firms including Apple (AAPL.O).
While some automakers have reported falling demand, Aston, which has seen its share price fall by more than a third since it listed in October, said it had a record 2018.
“There has not been any downflow since those (Q3) numbers so in fact, broadly speaking, the opposite as we launched (sports cars) DBS and Vantage into China,” said Palmer.
