May's government faces contempt vote over Brexit legal advice

Political reporter(wp/Reuters):
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government could be found in contempt of parliament on Tuesday for refusing to release its full legal advice on Britain’s exit from the European Union, underlining the depth of opposition to her deal with Brussels.

The row threatens to overshadow the start of five days of debate in parliament on May’s Brexit deal ahead of a crucial vote on Dec. 11, when lawmakers will be asked to approve it.

Opposition parties and the small Northern Irish party which props up May’s minority government have condemned ministers for only providing an outline of the legal basis for its Brexit deal after parliament voted last month to force it to make public the full advice.

They have put forward a motion which, if passed following a debate later on Tuesday, would find government ministers in contempt of parliament and order the immediate publication of the advice.

It does not mention potential punishment but the sanctions ultimately available include suspending a lawmaker, most likely the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, from parliament.

This would be unprecedented, with such punishment usually reserved for backbench lawmakers guilty of individual wrongdoing including financial misconduct. In reality, the vote is about putting pressure on an already weakened government.

“Symbolically it would be very significant. Parliamentarians do take the sovereignty and privileges of parliament very seriously, it would not be a hollow strike against the government for them to be reprimanded in this way,” said Catherine Haddon, senior fellow at the Institute for Government.

“This is an opposition who are facing off with a government who are on the back foot so they are going to use every opportunity they have to show the instability of the government.”

With eurosceptics and europhiles from both May’s Conservatives and opposition parties having spoken out against the deal, the odds look stacked against her winning that vote.

“It is a show of force,” said Haddon of the contempt motion, adding that it could be indicative of both the final vote on the deal, and the various amendments lawmakers are trying to attach to that approval of the deal.

“What will be the role of the DUP for instance?,” she said, referring to May’s Northern Irish allies. “It will be interesting to see whether there is a show of parliamentary unity against the government on this issue or whether a majority of parliamentarians duck away from this particular one.”

Cox, who on Monday outlined the legal advice he gave to the government including over a contentious “backstop” arrangement to prevent the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member state Ireland, has said it would not be in the public interest to publish the full advice.

“The House has at its disposal the means by which to enforce its will. It can bring forward a motion of contempt, seek to have that motion passed and seek ... to impose a sanction. I fully accept that,” he said on Monday.

The government are seeking to refer the issue to parliament’s Committee of Privileges, which would slow down the process and mean it would not be resolved before the crucial vote on the deal next week.

“Next week MPs face the most important vote of our political lives. Forcing us to make that decision without all the facts shows contempt for Parliament & the public. Government won’t get away with it,” Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas said on Twitter.

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.